Communication control device, communication control method, and computer program

Abstract

This communication control device comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires information relating to a computer resource of an accelerator to be allocated to a DU; and a control unit that determines, on the basis of the information relating to the computer resource of the accelerator, a switching condition for allocating, to the accelerator, processing of the DU already allocated to a CPU allocated to the DU, and starts up a new DU to be replaced with the DU when the switching condition is satisfied.

Description

Communication control device, communication control method, and computer program

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication control device, a communication control method, and a computer program. This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-007416, filed in Japan on January 20, 2025, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) Alliance is exploring the open and intelligent nature of next-generation radio access networks (RANs), such as 5G mobile communication systems (see, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1-2). The O-RAN specifications developed by the O-RAN Alliance include, for example, technologies related to Distributed Units (DUs).

[0003] “O-RAN Acceleration Abstraction Layer General Aspects and Principles 10.0”, O-RAN.WG6.AAL-GAnP-R004-v10.00, October 2024 “O-RAN O2dms Interface Specification: Profile based on ETSI NFV Protocol and Data Models 8.0”, O-RAN.WG6.O2DMS-INTERFACE-ETSI-NFV-PROFILE-R004-v08.00, October 2024

[0004] The DU (O-DU) of the O-RAN specification executes the processing of the DU using an accelerator (ACC) such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) in addition to the CPU (Central Processing Unit). However, in the conventional O-RAN specification, it is not possible to dynamically switch the DU processing assigned to the CPU and the DU processing assigned to the ACC according to the operating status of the ACC. Also, in a CF-mMIMO (Cell-Free massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output)) system, the processing of P-MMSE (Partial Minimum Mean-Squared-Error) changes in computational complexity according to the number of user terminals (User Equipment: UE) and the surrounding environment, but for example, it is not possible to dynamically switch the use of the ACC according to the number of UEs. [[ID=!]]

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and its object is to improve the efficiency of DU processing.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a communication control device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information on the computing resources of an accelerator assigned to a DU (Distributed Unit) in an O-RAN specification wireless access network; and a control unit that, based on the information on the computing resources of the accelerator, determines the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the DU, which is already assigned to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assigned to the DU, to the accelerator, and if the switching conditions are met, launches a new DU to replace the DU. Another aspect of the present invention is a communication control device in which, if the already deployed DU can be reconfigured, the control unit sends a message to the already deployed DU instructing it to reconfigure the processing assigned to the CPU and the processing assigned to the accelerator. Another aspect of the present invention is a communication control device in which, if the already deployed DU can be reconfigured, the control unit includes in the properties of the DU to be deployed the conditions under which the DU will use an accelerator.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a communication control method executed by a communication control device in an O-RAN specification wireless access network, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring information on the computing resources of an accelerator assigned to a DU (Distributed Unit); and a control step of determining, based on the information on the computing resources of the accelerator, the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the DU, which is already assigned to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assigned to the DU, to the accelerator, and starting up a new DU to replace the DU if the switching conditions are met.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a computer program for performing communication control in an O-RAN specification wireless access network, which causes a computer to execute the following steps: an acquisition step of acquiring information on the computing resources of an accelerator assigned to a DU (Distributed Unit); a control step of determining, based on the information on the computing resources of the accelerator, the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the DU, which is already assigned to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assigned to the DU, to the accelerator, and starting up a new DU to replace the DU if the switching conditions are met.

[0009] According to the present invention, the effect of improving the efficiency of DU processing can be obtained.

[0010] This is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a wireless access network (RAN) of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment. This is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a "Non-RT RIC" (communication control device) according to one embodiment. This is a diagram showing an example of a communication control method according to one embodiment. This is a diagram showing an example of a communication control method according to one embodiment. This is a diagram showing an example of a communication control method according to one embodiment. This is a diagram showing an example of an "NF Deployment Instantiation" message according to one embodiment.

[0011] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a wireless access network (RAN) of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment. The RAN1 shown in Figure 1 conforms to the O-RAN specification.

[0012] RAN1 includes an SMO (Service and Management Orchestration) 10 and an O-RAN-compliant cloud (O-Cloud) 20.

[0013] SMO10 controls the deployment of NF (Network Function) and O-Cloud20. SMO10 includes a RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller), such as a "Non-RT RIC (Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller)" 100 (communication control device).

[0014] O-Cloud 20 comprises O-Cloud Nodes 30, DMS (Deployment Management Services) 210, and IMS (Infrastructure Management Services) 220.

[0015] The "O-Cloud Node" 30 is equipped with a hardware accelerator (HW accelerator (HA)) 310 of the server 300. The "O-Cloud Node" 30 implements the functionality of AAL (Acceleration Abstraction Layer).

[0016] AAL is a layer that separates the hardware (HA) and software (SW) in the HA310-based accelerator (ACC). AAL includes the HA310 as a physical device and the AAL Profile, which enables various processes using the HA310. The AAL Profile is controlled by the IMS220's HW Accelerator Manager.

[0017] The O-RAN specification DU (O-DU) 320 uses the HA310 in addition to the CPU (not shown) that is assigned to the O-DU 320 from among the CPUs provided in RAN1 to perform DU processing. The processing of the O-DU 320 that is assigned to the HA310 is shown in the AAL profile.

[0018] DMS210 manages NF deployments. IMS220 manages the "O-Cloud Node" 30 and DMS210.

[0019] The DMS210 and SMO10 are connected via the O2dms interface. The IMS220 and SMO10 are connected via the O2ims interface. The O-DU320 and SMO10 are connected via the O1dms interface.

[0020] Figure 2 shows a schematic configuration of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 (communication control device) according to this embodiment. The "Non-RT RIC" 100 comprises an acquisition unit 110 and a control unit 120.

[0021] The acquisition unit 110 acquires information about the computing resources of HA310 that are allocated to O-DU320. The acquisition unit 110 acquires information about the computing resources of HA310 from IMS220 via the O2ims interface.

[0022] The control unit 120 determines the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the O-DU320, which is already assigned to the CPU that the O-DU320 is assigned to, to the HA310, based on the computer resource information of the HA310. These switching conditions are set in the control unit 120 in advance. When the switching conditions are met, the control unit 120 starts up a new O-DU320 to replace the old O-DU320. This replacement of the O-DU320 updates the processing of the DU assigned to the CPU and the processing of the DU assigned to the HA310 in the new O-DU320 compared to the O-DU320 before the replacement.

[0023] Furthermore, if the already deployed O-DU320 can be reconfigured, the control unit 120 may send a message to the already deployed O-DU320 instructing it to reconfigure the processing assigned to the CPU and the processing assigned to the HA310. As a result, the processing of the DU assigned to the CPU and the processing of the DU assigned to the HA310 are reconfigured in the already deployed O-DU320.

[0024] Furthermore, the control unit 120 may include a condition in the properties of the O-DU 320 to be deployed that the O-DU 320 will use the HA 310. As a result, the O-DU 320 will use the HA 310 if the condition included in the properties is met.

[0025] Next, an example of the communication control method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3-5.

[0026] [Example 1 of Communication Control Method] Figure 3 is a diagram showing Example 1 of the communication control method according to this embodiment. Example 1 of the communication control method according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 3. In Example 1 of the communication control method, an already deployed O-DU320 (#1) is replaced with a new O-DU320 (#2).

[0027] (Step S11) The IMS220 obtains HA310 monitoring information (HA monitoring) from the O-DU320 (#1) via the AALI-C-Mgmt interface. The HA310 monitoring information includes information on the HA310's computing resources (e.g., computing resource utilization).

[0028] (Step S12) The acquisition unit 110 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 acquires "O2ims_Infrastructure Monitoring Service" information from the IMS 220 via the O2ims interface. The "O2ims_Infrastructure Monitoring Service" information includes information on the HA310's computing resources (for example, computing resource utilization).

[0029] (Step S13) The control unit 120 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 determines the conditions for switching to assign the processing of O-DU320 (#1), which is already assigned to the CPU allocated to O-DU320 (#1), to the HA310, based on the computer resource information of the HA310. If the conditions for switching are met, the control unit 120 starts up a new O-DU320 (#2) to replace O-DU320 (#1). Specifically, the control unit 120 sends "NF Deployment Instantiation" to the DMS 210 via the O2dms interface. "NF Deployment Instantiation" includes the properties of the new O-DU320 (#2). The properties of the new O-DU320 (#2) are set to include the processing of the DU to be assigned to the CPU that will be updated from the O-DU320 (#1) before replacement, and the processing of the DU to be assigned to the HA310.

[0030] (Step S14) Based on the "NF Deployment Instantiation" received from the "Non-RT RIC" 100, the DMS210 starts up (instantiates) a new O-DU320 (#2). As a result, the new O-DU320 (#2) performs the processing of assigning DUs to the CPUs that are updated from the previous O-DU320 (#1) and the processing of assigning DUs to the HA310, as set in the properties of the new O-DU320 (#2) included in the "NF Deployment Instantiation".

[0031] (Step S15) The control unit 120 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 sends "NF Deployment Replacement" to the DMS 210 via the O2dms interface.

[0032] (Step S16) Based on the "NF Deployment Replacement" received from the "Non-RT RIC" 100, the DMS210 replaces O-DU320 (#1) with a new O-DU320 (#2).

[0033] (Step S17) The control unit 120 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 sends "NF Deployment Termination" to the DMS 210 via the O2dms interface.

[0034] (Step S18) Based on the "NF Deployment Termination" received from the "Non-RT RIC" 100, the DMS210 terminates the O-DU320 (#1).

[0035] [Example 2 of Communication Control Method] Figure 4 is a diagram showing Example 2 of the communication control method according to this embodiment. Example 2 of the communication control method according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 4. Example 2 of the communication control method is the case when it is possible to reconfigure an already deployed O-DU320.

[0036] (Step S21) The IMS220 obtains HA310 monitoring information (HA monitoring) from the O-DU320 via the AALI-C-Mgmt interface. The HA310 monitoring information includes information on the HA310's computing resources (e.g., computing resource utilization).

[0037] (Step S22) The acquisition unit 110 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 acquires "O2ims_Infrastructure Monitoring Service" information from the IMS 220 via the O2ims interface. The "O2ims_Infrastructure Monitoring Service" information includes information on the HA310's computing resources (for example, computing resource utilization).

[0038] (Step S23) The control unit 120 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 determines the conditions for switching to assign the processing of O-DU320, which is already assigned to the CPU assigned to O-DU320, to HA310, based on the computer resource information of HA310. If the conditions for switching are met, the control unit 120 sends a message "NF Deployment Reconfiguration" to O-DU320 via the O1dms interface or O2dms interface, instructing it to reconfigure the processing assigned to the CPU and the processing assigned to HA310. Based on the "NF Deployment Reconfiguration", O-DU320 reconfigures the processing assigned to the CPU and the processing assigned to HA310. Specifically, the AAL profile of O-DU320 is reset based on the "NF Deployment Reconfiguration". If the O2dms interface is used, the AAL profile of O-DU320 is controlled by the HW accelerator manager of IMS220. On the other hand, when using the O1dms interface, the AAL profile of the O-DU320 is controlled directly from the "Non-RT RIC" 100.

[0039] [Example 3 of Communication Control Method] Figure 5 is a diagram showing Example 3 of the communication control method according to this embodiment. Example 3 of the communication control method according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 5. In Example 3 of the communication control method, the properties of the O-DU 320 to be deployed include a condition that the O-DU 320 will use the HA 310.

[0040] (Step S31) The control unit 120 of the "Non-RT RIC" 100 sends "NF Deployment Instantiation" to the DMS 210 via the O2dms interface. The "NF Deployment Instantiation" includes the properties of the O-DU 320 to be deployed. The properties of the O-DU 320 to be deployed include the conditions under which the O-DU 320 will use the HA 310.

[0041] (Step S32) Based on the "NF Deployment Instantiation" received from the "Non-RT RIC" 100, the DMS 210 starts up (Instantiates) a new O-DU 320. As a result, the new O-DU 320 uses the HA 310 when the conditions for using the HA 310 included in the properties within the "NF Deployment Instantiation" are satisfied.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the "NF Deployment Instantiation" message according to the present embodiment. In the example of the "NF Deployment Instantiation" message in FIG. 6, a "condition for using the HA 310" indicated by reference numeral 1000 in FIG. 6 is added in the VNFD (Virtual Network Function Description). In the example of the "condition for using the HA 310" indicated by reference numeral 1000, the O-DU 320 uses the HA 310 when the number of user terminals (UE number) exceeds 100. Note that the condition for using the HA 310 may be a condition other than the UE number, for example, a condition of the surrounding environment.

[0043] According to the present embodiment, an effect of improving the efficiency of the processing of the O-DU 320 can be obtained. For example, according to the operating status of the HA 310, the processing of the DU assigned to the CPU and the processing of the DU assigned to the HA 310 can be dynamically switched. Also, for example, in the processing of P-MMSE in a CF-mMIMO system, the presence or absence of using the HA 310 can be dynamically switched according to the UE number and the surrounding environment.

[0044] Note that, as a result, for example, since an improvement in the overall service quality in a wireless communication system can be realized, it becomes possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) led by the United Nations, "Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation."

[0045] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are also included.

[0046] Further, a computer program for realizing the functions of each of the above-described devices may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. Here, the "computer system" may include hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Further, the "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a writable non-volatile memory such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a flash memory, a portable medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system.

[0047] Furthermore, the "computer-readable recording medium" includes a volatile memory (for example, DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)) inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, which holds the program for a certain period of time. Also, the above program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. Also, the above program may be for realizing a part of the above-described functions. Further, it may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0048] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the DU's processing.

[0049] 1...Wireless access network, 10...SMO, 20...O-Cloud, 30...O-Cloud node, 100..."Non-RT RIC" (communication control device), 110...Acquisition unit, 120...Control unit, 210...DMS, 220...IMS, 300...Server, 310...HW accelerator, 320...O-DU

Claims

1. A communication control device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information on the computing resources of an accelerator assigned to a DU (Distributed Unit) in an O-RAN specification wireless access network; and a control unit that, based on the information on the computing resources of the accelerator, determines the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the DU, which is already assigned to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assigned to the DU, to the accelerator, and starts up a new DU to replace the DU if the switching conditions are met.

2. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sends a message to the already deployed DU instructing it to reconfigure the processing to be assigned to the CPU and the processing to be assigned to the accelerator, when the already deployed DU can be reconfigured.

3. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes in the properties of the DU to be deployed a condition that the DU will use an accelerator.

4. A communication control method to be executed by a communication control device in an O-RAN specification wireless access network, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring information on the computing resources of an accelerator assigned to a DU (Distributed Unit); and a control step of determining, based on the information on the computing resources of the accelerator, the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the DU, which is already assigned to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assigned to the DU, to the accelerator, and starting up a new DU to replace the DU if the switching conditions are met.

5. A computer program for performing communication control in an O-RAN specification wireless access network, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring information on the computing resources of an accelerator assigned to a DU (Distributed Unit); a control step of determining, based on the information on the computing resources of the accelerator, the conditions for switching to assign the processing of the DU, which is already assigned to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) assigned to the DU, to the accelerator, and starting up a new DU to replace the DU if the switching conditions are met; and a computer program for causing a computer to execute these steps.

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