Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and an apparatus, which are applied to a first communication system. The method comprises: a first network apparatus in the first communication system sends a first request to a second network apparatus, the first request being used for acquiring an interference map, and the interference map being used for indicating an interference-channel prior database corresponding to interference generated from a second access network device in a second area to a first terminal device in a first area and / or from a second terminal device in the second area to a first access network device in the first area, wherein the first terminal device is managed by means of a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by means of a second DU; and the first network apparatus acquires the interference map sent by the second network apparatus. In the method, when matching is performed on the basis of a channel map, matching of signal feature bases is considered, and matching of interference feature bases is further incorporated, such that a matched grid can better conform to an actual source of an interference signal, thereby effectively improving accuracy of channel estimation, further improving spectral efficiency, and thus improving communication performance.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510125793.8, filed on January 26, 2025, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0004] With the rapid development of network technology, the increasing system bandwidth, the proliferation of terminal antennas, and the heavier network load have exacerbated the contradiction between the surge in wireless channel dimensions and the limited pilot measurement resources, leading to significant challenges in high-precision wireless channel measurement. Accurate wireless channel measurement is the cornerstone of mobile communication network research and is crucial for the design, analysis, and optimization of wireless communication networks. To address the problem of limited pilot measurement resources in wireless communication systems, channel maps can be used to achieve low-pilot-overhead channel measurements. For example, channel maps can provide candidate beam sets at specific locations, reducing beam scanning overhead in actual communication; channel maps can also provide channel covariance matrices at specific locations, using prior channel covariance matrix information to help reduce the sounding reference signal (SRS) pilot overhead.

[0005] However, existing channel measurement methods based on channel maps have a high matching error rate, resulting in poor communication performance. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of interference information in channel maps.

[0007] Firstly, a first communication method is provided, which can be applied to a first device, such as a network device or a component of a network device. This includes communication modules, circuits or chips responsible for communication functions (e.g., modem chips, also known as baseband chips, or system-on-chip (SoC) chips containing modem cores, system-in-package (SIP) chips, chip systems, or processors, etc.) or other functional modules within the network device. This chip system or functional module can implement the functions of the network device. For example, it can be disposed within the network device, or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. For instance, the first device can be an access network device, or it can be a service unit (SU) or a distributed unit (DU).

[0008] The method includes: a first network device in the first communication system sending a first request to a second network device in the first communication system, the first request being used to obtain an interference map, the interference map being used to indicate a priori library of interference channels generated by a second access network device in the second region against a first terminal device in the first region, and / or by the second terminal device in the second region against the first access network device in the first region, the priori library of interference channels including at least one interference feature, the interference feature including one or more of channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss; the first terminal device being managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device being managed by a second DU; the first region and the second region partially or completely overlapping, or not overlapping at all; the first network device obtaining the interference map sent by the second network device.

[0009] By employing the above method, this application embodiment, when performing matching based on channel maps, considers not only the matching of signal feature bases but also the matching of interference feature bases. This allows the matched grid to better reflect the actual source of the interference signal, resulting in a lower matching error rate and effectively improving the accuracy of channel estimation, thereby enhancing spectral efficiency and ultimately improving communication performance. For example, based on this approach, this application embodiment not only focuses on the matching of useful signals between the serving cell and the serving user but also considers the matching of interference signal bases, including interference from neighboring base stations to the local user and interference from the local station to neighboring users. For instance, based on this approach, when performing downlink interference, this application embodiment can use not only useful signals for matching but also interference information, resulting in higher accuracy of the matched grid. Furthermore, based on this approach, for uplink interference, since the useful signal and interference signal originate from different users, this application embodiment provides a method for obtaining interference maps. Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide methods for spectrum interaction between different base stations (e.g., SUs), and how to distribute and manage interference spectra without introducing new network elements. For example, the interaction of interference spectra may also involve cross-control unit (CU) interaction. When the distribution units (DUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs, and the service units (SUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs, the interference spectrum matching problem in this scenario is solved, resulting in greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first DU associated with the first terminal device, and the second network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device. The first CU stores a channel map, which includes the interference map. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a solution for map interaction between different DUs in a shared CU architecture, and for how to distribute and manage interference maps without introducing new network elements. This solves the interference map matching problem in this scenario, resulting in greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, and the second network device is a second CU associated with the second terminal device, with a connection between the first CU and the second CU. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a method for graph interaction between different CUs in a cross-CU architecture, and for distributing and managing interference graphs without introducing new network elements. This solves the interference graph matching problem in such scenarios, offering greater communication flexibility and better adaptability. For example, interference graph interaction may also involve cross-control unit (CU) interaction when the distribution units (DUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs. This method solves the interference graph matching problem in such scenarios, offering greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, and the second network device is a core network element associated with the first terminal device. The core network element stores a channel map, which includes the interference map. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a method for obtaining interference maps from core network elements, offering greater applicability.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first communication system further includes a third network device, and the method further includes:

[0014] The second network device sends the first request to the third network device; the third network device obtains the interference map based on the first request and sends the interference map to the second network device.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first DU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, and the third network device is a first SU associated with the first terminal device. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a method for graph interaction between different DUs sharing a CU and an SU architecture, and for addressing issues such as how to distribute and manage interference graphs without introducing new network elements. This solves the interference graph matching problem in this scenario, resulting in greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is a core network element associated with the first terminal device, and the third network device is a second CU associated with the second terminal device. There is no connection between the first CU and the second CU. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a solution for interference map interaction between different CUs in a cross-CU architecture where there is no connection between CUs, and for how to distribute and manage interference maps without introducing new network elements. This solves the interference map matching problem in this scenario, offering greater communication flexibility and better adaptability. For example, interference map interaction may also involve cross-control unit (CU) interaction when the distribution unit (DU) of a neighboring station and the local station belongs to different CUs. This solution addresses the interference map matching problem in this scenario, resulting in greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the first communication system further includes a fourth network device, and the method further includes:

[0018] The third network device sends the first request to the fourth network device; the fourth network device obtains the interference map based on the first request and sends the interference map to the third network device.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first SU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, the third network device is a second CU associated with the second terminal device, and the fourth network device is a second SU associated with the second terminal device. The first CU and the second CU are connected. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a solution for interference map interaction between different SUs in a cross-CU architecture, addressing issues such as how to distribute and manage interference maps, thus solving the interference map matching problem in this scenario. This results in greater communication flexibility and better adaptability. For example, interference map interaction may also involve cross-control unit (CU) interaction, such as when the distribution units (DUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs, or when the service units (SUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs. This solution addresses the interference map matching problem in such scenarios, resulting in greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first communication system further includes a fifth network device, and the method further includes:

[0021] The fourth network device sends the first request to the fifth network device; the fifth network device obtains the interference map based on the first request and sends the interference map to the fourth network device.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first network device is a first SU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, the third network device is a core network element associated with the first terminal device, the fourth network device is a second CU associated with the second terminal device, and the fifth network device is a second SU associated with the second terminal device. There is no connection between the first CU and the second CU. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a solution for how to distribute and manage interference maps in a cross-CU architecture where there are no connections between CUs and different SUs. This solves the interference map matching problem in such scenarios, offering greater communication flexibility and better adaptability. For example, interference map interaction may also involve cross-control unit (CU) interaction, such as when the distribution unit (DU) of a neighboring station and the local station belong to different CUs, or when the service unit (SU) of a neighboring station and the local station belong to different CUs. This solution addresses the interference map matching problem in such scenarios, offering greater communication flexibility and better adaptability.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device acquiring interference channel information, the interference channel information including first interference channel information between a second access network device in the second region and a first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region; and determining matching index information based on the interference map and the interference channel information, the matching index information including one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a method for determining map index matching based on interference map and interference channel information, which is more adaptable.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: acquiring useful channel information and a useful spectrum between the first network device and the first terminal device, wherein the useful channel information is used to indicate channel information capable of supporting data transmission and performance requirements between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region; the useful spectrum is used to indicate a useful channel prior library generated by the first access network device in the first region for the first terminal device in the first region, the useful channel prior library including at least one useful feature, the useful feature including one or more of channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss; and determining the matching index information based on the interference spectrum, the useful spectrum, the interference channel information, and the useful channel information. In this way, embodiments of this application provide a method for determining spectrum index matching based on interference spectrum and interference channel information, combined with useful spectrum and useful channel information. This method not only considers the matching of signal feature basis but also incorporates the matching of interference feature basis, thereby making the matched grid more consistent with the actual source of the interference signal, resulting in a lower matching error rate, effectively improving the accuracy of channel estimation, and thus improving spectral efficiency and communication performance.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device sending a second request to a first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of a reference signal; the configuration information including one or more of the spatial domain, frequency domain, code domain, or sequence parameters of the reference signal.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device sending a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information, the channel state information including interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device; the third request including a first reference signal determined based on the configuration information, and / or, a second signal; the first reference signal being used to determine the interference channel information, and the second reference signal being used to determine the useful channel information.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the first request includes first region information of the first terminal device and / or identification information of the first network device.

[0028] Secondly, a communication device is provided. The communication device can be the first network device described in the first aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the first network device. For example, the communication device is capable of implementing the functions described in the first aspect above. For instance, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to performing the operations involved in the first aspect above. These modules, units, or means can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The communication device is, for example, a network device, or a component of a network device, such as a communication module, circuit or chip (or chip system), or other functional module applicable to a network device. This chip system or functional module can implement the functions of the network device, and is, for example, disposed within the network device. In one 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 (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). A transceiver unit can perform both sending and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit performs the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also called a sending module), and when it performs the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also called a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called the transceiver unit and can perform both sending and receiving functions; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a collective term for these functional modules.

[0029] In an optional implementation, the processing unit is configured to send a first request to a second network device in the first communication system. The first request is configured to acquire an interference map, the interference map being configured to indicate a priori interference channel generated by a second access network device in the second region against a first terminal device in the first region, and / or by the second terminal device in the second region against the first access network device in the first region. The priori interference channel includes at least one interference feature, the interference feature including one or more of channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss; the first terminal device is managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by a second DU; the first region and the second region partially or completely overlap, or do not overlap at all; and is further configured to acquire an interference map sent by the second network device.

[0030] In an alternative embodiment, the communication device further includes a storage unit (sometimes also called a storage module), and the processing unit is configured to couple with the storage unit and execute programs or instructions in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform the functions of the first network device described in the first aspect above.

[0031] Thirdly, a communication device is provided. The communication device can be the second network device described in the first aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the second network device described above. For example, the communication device has the functions described in the first aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to performing the operations involved in the first aspect above. These modules, units, or means can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The communication device is, for example, a network device, or a component of a network device, such as a communication module, processor, chip system (or chip or circuit), or other functional module applicable to a network device. This chip system or functional module can realize the functions of the network device, and is, for example, disposed within the network device. In one 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 (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). The implementation of the transceiver unit can be found in the description of the second aspect.

[0032] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit (or the receiving unit) is configured to acquire a first request, the first request being used to acquire an interference map, the interference map being used to indicate a priori interference channel generated by a second access network device in a second region against a first terminal device in a first region, and / or by a second terminal device in a second region against a first access network device in a first region, the priori interference channel including at least one interference feature, the interference feature including one or more of channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss; the first terminal device is managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by a second DU; the first region and the second region partially or completely overlap, or do not overlap at all; and is further configured to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to a first network device.

[0033] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit (or the receiving unit) is further configured to make a first request to other network devices; and / or to acquire the interference unit sent by other network devices.

[0034] In an alternative embodiment, the communication device further includes a storage unit (sometimes also called a storage module), and the processing unit is configured to couple with the storage unit and execute programs or instructions in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform the functions of the second network device described in the second aspect above.

[0035] Fourthly, a communication device is provided. The communication device can be other network devices described in the first aspect, such as a third, fourth, or fifth network device, etc., without limitation. The communication device possesses the functions of the aforementioned other network devices. For example, the communication device can implement the functions described in the first aspect. For instance, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to performing the operations involved in the first aspect. These modules, units, or means can be implemented through software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The communication device is, for example, a network device or a component of a network device, such as a communication module, processor, chip system (or chip or circuit), or other functional module applicable to a network device. This chip system or functional module can implement the functions of the network device, and is, for example, disposed within the network device. In one 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 (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). For details on the implementation of the transceiver unit, please refer to the description in the fourth aspect.

[0036] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit (or the receiving unit) is configured to send a first request; or receive the first request; or send the interference map.

[0037] In one optional implementation, the processing unit is used to acquire the interference spectrum.

[0038] In an alternative embodiment, the communication device further includes a storage unit (sometimes also called a storage module), the processing unit being coupled to the storage unit and executing programs or instructions in the storage unit to enable the communication device to perform the functions of the other network devices described in the first aspect above.

[0039] Fifthly, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising a memory and one or more processors. The memory is used to store part or all of a computer program or instructions necessary for implementing the functions described in the first aspect above. The one or more processors are executable to carry out the computer program or instructions, such that, when executed, the apparatus implements the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect above.

[0040] In one possible design, the device may further include interface circuitry, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices or components via the interface circuitry.

[0041] In one possible design, the device may also include the memory.

[0042] The aforementioned device may be a network device, a communication module in a network device, or a chip in a network device that is responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC or SIP chip that contains a modem module.

[0043] Sixthly, a communication system is provided, the communication system comprising a first network device and a second network device;

[0044] The first network device is configured to send a first request to the second network device, the first request being used to obtain an interference map, the interference map being used to indicate a priori library of interference channels generated by a second access network device in the second region against a first terminal device in the first region, and / or by a second terminal device in the second region against a first access network device in the first region, the priori library of interference channels including at least one interference feature, the interference feature including one or more of channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss; the first terminal device is managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by a second DU; the first region and the second region partially or completely overlap, or do not overlap at all;

[0045] The second network device is configured to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the first network device.

[0046] In one alternative implementation, the communication system further includes a third network device;

[0047] The second network device is further configured to send the first request to the third network device;

[0048] The third network device is used to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the second network device.

[0049] In one alternative implementation, the communication system further includes a fourth network device;

[0050] The third network device is further configured to send the first request to the fourth network device;

[0051] The fourth network device is used to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the third network device.

[0052] In one alternative implementation, the communication system further includes a fifth network device;

[0053] The fourth network device is further configured to send the first request to the fifth network device;

[0054] The fifth network device is used to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the fourth network device.

[0055] In one alternative implementation, the first network device includes one of the following:

[0056] The first DU refers to the first CU corresponding to the first terminal device, or the first SU corresponding to the first terminal device.

[0057] In one alternative implementation, the second network device includes one of the following:

[0058] The first CU, the second CU corresponding to the second terminal device, the core network element corresponding to the first terminal device, or the first SU.

[0059] In one alternative implementation, the third network device includes one of the following:

[0060] The first SU, the second CU corresponding to the second terminal device, the core network element corresponding to the first terminal device, or the second SU corresponding to the second terminal device.

[0061] In one alternative implementation, the fourth network device includes one of the following:

[0062] The second CU corresponding to the second terminal device, or the second SU corresponding to the second terminal device.

[0063] In one alternative implementation, the fifth network device includes a second SU corresponding to the second terminal device.

[0064] Optionally, the communication system may also include a terminal device.

[0065] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the methods performed by the first network device, the second network device, and / or other network devices (including, but not limited to, one or more of the third network device, the fourth network device, and the fifth network device, etc.) in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0066] Eighthly, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, causes the methods described in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0067] Ninthly, a chip system is provided, including a processor and an interface, the processor being configured to call and execute instructions from the interface to enable the chip system to implement the methods of the above aspects.

[0068] For the technical effects of the various alternative implementations of the second to ninth aspects, please refer to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect or the corresponding implementation. Attached Figure Description

[0069] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which the method of this application is applicable;

[0070] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an access network device;

[0071] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the access network equipment;

[0072] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of digital twin technology;

[0073] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a cell communication scenario according to an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams of the network architecture to which the method of the embodiments of this application is applicable;

[0075] Figures 12, 13 and 14 are flowcharts of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0076] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of scenario one provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process in Scenario 1 provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of scenario two provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0079] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process in scenario two provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of scenario three provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0081] Figure 20 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process in scenario three provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram of scenario four provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0083] Figure 22 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process in scenario four provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of scenario five provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0085] Figure 24 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process in scenario five provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 25 is a schematic diagram of scenario six provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0087] Figure 26 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process of scenario six provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0088] Figure 27 is a schematic diagram of scenario seven provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0089] Figure 28 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process of scenario seven provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0090] Figure 29 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 30 is a schematic diagram of another device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0092] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0093] Before introducing the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, the technical terms, applicable network architectures, and scenarios involved in the embodiments of this application will be introduced first.

[0094] In this application's embodiments, "channel map" can be understood as a data set or database, including channel statistical covariance matrix, angle spectrum, delay spectrum, path loss, etc. For example, physical cells can be divided into two-dimensional grid-level segments, with each grid storing several channel features in the form of a matrix, vector, or scalar, thereby obtaining a channel map. Although called a "map," the representation of a channel map is not necessarily in the form of a "graph." Essentially, a channel map is a collection of channel feature information, and any form that can store channel information can be considered a channel map. For example, a channel map can be one or more of the following: graph, table, data structure, chart, etc.

[0095] In this application embodiment, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, refers to "singular nouns or plural nouns," that is, "one or more." "At least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: 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.

[0096] In the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device taking corresponding actions under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-limited, nor do they require the device to perform a judgment action, nor do they imply any other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "if" can be substituted, and "when" and "in the case of" can be substituted. "When" and "if" / "if" can be substituted.

[0097] The ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. Furthermore, the numbering of steps in the various embodiments described in this application is only to distinguish different steps and is not used to limit the order of steps. In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplarily" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design scheme described as an "example" in this application should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of the term "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner. In the embodiments of this application, "of," "corresponding (relevant)," and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably; it should be noted that their intended meanings are consistent when their distinctions are not emphasized.

[0098] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to various wireless communication systems, such as fourth-generation (4G) communication systems, LTE communication systems, and fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, such as 5G new radio (NR) communication systems, or various communication systems evolved after 5G, such as future communication systems. The technical solutions of this application can also be applied to universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS), wireless local area networks (WLANs), short-range wireless communication systems (such as sidelink, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, etc.), wired networks, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, or long-range radio (LoRa) systems. The technical solutions of this application can also be applied to sidelink (SL) communication. The technical solutions of this application embodiment can also be applied to terrestrial networks (TN); or, the methods provided in this application embodiment can also be applied to non-terrestrial networks (NTN), such as satellite communication systems, for example, transparent satellite architecture, backhaul satellite architecture, or regenerative satellite architecture, etc., without limitation. NTN can be a communication system integrated with other communication systems such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future communication systems, such as NR NTN, IoT NTN, etc.

[0099] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. The communication devices may include network devices and terminal devices, and the network devices may include access network devices and / or core network devices. Wireless communication between communication devices may include: wireless communication between network devices and terminals, wireless communication between network devices, and wireless communication between terminals. Wireless communication between communication devices can utilize air interface resources. Air interface resources may include at least one of time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, code resources, and spatial resources. In this application, the term "wireless communication" may also be abbreviated as "communication," and the term "communication" may also be described as "data transmission," "information transmission," or "transmission."

[0100] This application describes the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example. When applying the technical solution of this application to other communication systems, the devices, components, modules, etc. in the embodiment can be replaced with corresponding devices, components, modules in other communication systems without limitation.

[0101] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applied in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one access network device (110a-110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal device (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in the figure). The terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN device 110. The RAN device 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN device 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0102] RAN 100 can be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, NTN (non-terrestrial network) systems, or future-oriented evolution systems. RAN 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, or a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0103] Terminal device 120 is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, as a mobile device, handheld device (e.g., mobile phone), wearable device, or vehicle-mounted device; or it can be deployed on water (e.g., ship); or it can be deployed in the air (e.g., airplane, balloon, and satellite); or it can also have a wireless device (e.g., communication module, modem, or chip system) built into the above devices.

[0104] Terminal device 120 is used to connect people, things, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios, including but not limited to the following: sensing scenarios, cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine / machine-type (M2M / MTC) communication, Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, and terminal devices in indoor commercial scenarios (such as mobile phone screen projection, file sharing, and mobile phone to VR glasses). When the terminal device is used in V2X, it can also be called a V2X device, such as a smart car, digital car, unmanned car, driverless car, pilotless car, or automobile, self-driving car, or autonomous car, pure electric vehicle (EV), hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), new energy vehicle, or roadside unit (RSU). Terminal device 120 can also be a device used in D2D communication, such as an electricity meter or water meter.

[0105] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the terminal device 120 can also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0106] The various terminal devices described above, if located in a vehicle (e.g., placed inside or installed inside a vehicle), can all be considered in-vehicle terminal devices, also known as on-board units (OBUs). The terminal device of this application can also be an in-vehicle module, in-vehicle component, in-vehicle chip, or in-vehicle unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. The vehicle can implement the methods of this application through the built-in in-vehicle module, in-vehicle component, in-vehicle chip, or in-vehicle unit.

[0107] Terminal equipment 120 may sometimes be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access station, UE station, remote station, wireless communication equipment, or user device, etc.

[0108] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the terminal device function can be a terminal device, which can be a terminal device or a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device. In this application embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in this application embodiment, the device for implementing the terminal function is a terminal, and the terminal is a UE as an example to describe the technical solution provided in this application embodiment.

[0109] Access network device 110 may sometimes be referred to as RAN device, RAN entity, access node, RAN node, or access network element. Access network device 110 has wireless transceiver capabilities and can be used to communicate with terminal device 120, helping terminal device 120 achieve wireless access. For example, terminal device 120 resides in the cell provided by access network device 110. Multiple access network devices 110 in the communication system can be nodes of the same type or different types; in other words, multiple access network devices 110 can support networks using the same access technology or networks using different access technologies. Access network device 110 may contain one or more co-located or non-co-located transmission and reception points. In some scenarios, the roles of access network device 110 and terminal device 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in the diagram can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminal devices 120j accessing RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; but for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal device. Access network device 110 and terminal device 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a-110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal device functions. Access network device 110 can be located on the ground or in the air, for example, it can be located on a satellite, a drone, or an aircraft, or the network device can be a satellite, a drone, or an aircraft.

[0110] In one possible scenario, the access network device 110 can be a base station (base transceiver station, BTS, Node B, evolved Node B (eNodeB) / eNB, or next-generation Node B (gNodeB) / gNB), access point (AP), transmission reception point (TRP), base station in future mobile communication systems, base station evolved under the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), access node in a WiFi system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, etc. The access network device 110 can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a pico base station, a small cell, a relay station, a relay node, or a donor node. In some scenarios, the access network device 110 can be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station; or multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each performing some of the functions of a base station. Access network device 110 can also be a radio controller, CU, and / or DU in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Optionally, access network device 110 can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, the access network device can be a roadside unit (RSU). In satellite communication systems, access network device 110 can be a satellite, a base station mounted on a satellite, or a gateway station (also called a ground station, earth station, signaling station, gateway, or gateway station). In some scenarios, access network device 110 can also be a satellite communication terminal, such as a portable station, a fixed station, a vehicle-mounted or airborne satellite communication terminal. It should be understood that in these scenarios, the satellite communication terminal communicates with the satellite and can act as a micro base station or satellite data station to further provide data interfaces to user equipment accessing the satellite communication terminal. In future scenarios, access network devices may also have other evolved forms, such as not being distinguished from core network devices and being collectively referred to as network devices. The following description uses a base station as an example to illustrate access network device 110. The base station can communicate with terminal devices, or it can communicate with terminal devices through relay stations. Terminal devices can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies.

[0111] Referring to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of an access network device structure, in the CU-DU architecture or in an ORAN system, the access network device may include one or more logical network elements such as CU, DU, CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), or radio unit (RU). CU and DU can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). RU may be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as in a remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), or remote radio head (RRH).

[0112] In this system, core network equipment and access network equipment can communicate via a backhaul link and with the UE via an air interface. For example, the BBU in the access network equipment can communicate with the core network equipment via a backhaul link, and the radio unit (RU) in the access network equipment can communicate with at least one UE via an air interface. The RU can be connected to an antenna to communicate with the UE through the antenna. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link. The BBU and RU can be co-located or not. Within the access network equipment, the BBU includes at least one CU and at least one DU. The CU and DU can communicate with each other via a midhaul link, and the DU and RU can communicate with each other via a fronthaul link.

[0113] The CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU can be configured to implement the functions of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer and above (such as the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer and / or the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer); the DU can be configured to implement the functions of protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as one or more of the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, or Physical (PHY) layer). As another example, the CU can be configured to implement the functions of protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC and / or SDAP layers), and the DU can be configured to implement the functions of protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as one or more of the RLC, MAC, or PHY layers).

[0114] In some examples, the CU is a logical node carrying the RRC, SDAP, PDCP, and other control functions of the access network equipment. The CU connects to network nodes such as the core network through interfaces, which can be interfaces like the E2 interface. Optionally, the CU may have some core network functions. The CU (e.g., PDCP layer and higher layers) connects to the DU (e.g., RLC layer and lower layers) through interfaces, which can be interfaces like the F1 interface. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., the F1 interface) can provide control plane and user plane functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). F1AP is the application protocol for the F1 interface, defining the F1 signaling procedures in some examples. The F1 interface supports control plane F1-C and user plane F1-U.

[0115] In some examples, the CU can be split into CU-CP and CU-UP. CU-CP is a logical node carrying the RRC layer and PDCP-C (Control plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the CU's control plane functions. CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement control plane functions. These network elements in the core network can be access and mobility function (AMF) network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in a 5G system. AMF network elements are responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as terminal device location updates, terminal device registration with the network, and terminal device handover. CU-UP is a logical node carrying the SDAP layer and PDCP-U (User plane part of PDCP) layer, used to implement the CU's user plane functions. CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network used to implement user plane functions. These network elements in the core network, such as the user plane function (UPF) in a 5G system, are responsible for data forwarding and receiving in terminal devices.

[0116] In some examples, the DU is a logical node that carries the RLC layer, MAC layer, higher physical layer (Higher PHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, the DU can control at least one RU. The DU connects to the RU through interfaces, which can be fronthaul interfaces. In some examples, the Higher PHY layer includes the PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation.

[0117] In some examples, the RU is a logical node that carries both Lower Physical Layer (Lower PHY) and Radio Frequency (RF) processing. In some examples, the RU can be a 3GPP Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an RRH, or other similar entity. In some examples, the Low-PHY includes portions of the PHY processing, such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering. The RU communicates with one or more UEs via a radio link.

[0118] The DU and RU can be co-located or separate. The DU and RU exchange control plane and user plane information via a fronthaul link through the Lower-Layer Split CUS-Plane (LLS-CUS) interface. LLS-CUS may include LLS-C and LLS-U interfaces, respectively providing the control plane and user plane. In some examples, the control plane refers to real-time control between the DU and RU. The DU and RU exchange management information via an LLS-M interface on the fronthaul link; the management plane (M-Plane) refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and RU.

[0119] The above CU and DU configurations are merely examples; the functions of the CU and DU can be configured as needed. For instance, the CU or DU can be configured to have more protocol layer functions, or only some protocol layer processing functions. For example, some RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions above the RLC layer can be placed in the CU, while the remaining RLC layer functions and protocol layer functions below the RLC layer can be placed in the DU. Furthermore, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to service type or other system requirements, such as by latency. Functions that require low latency can be placed in the DU, while functions that do not require low latency can be placed in the CU.

[0120] DU and RU can cooperate to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of DU and RU can be configured in various ways depending on the design. For example, a DU can be configured to implement baseband functions, and an RU can be configured to implement mid-RF functions. Another example is that a DU can be configured to implement higher-level functions in the PHY layer, and an RU can be configured to implement lower-level functions in the PHY layer, or to implement both lower-level and RF functions. Higher-level functions in the physical layer can include a portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the MAC layer, while lower-level functions in the physical layer can include another portion of the physical layer's functions that are closer to the mid-RF side.

[0121] Alternatively, another structure for the access network equipment can be seen in Figure 3, which illustrates an access network device implemented using a chip, such as a RAN chip. The RAN chip may include a CU, DU, and RU. The CU can perform L2 and L3 functions, etc.; the DU can perform L1 functions and some L2 functions, etc.; and the RU can perform L1 computation and radio frequency (RF) digital functions, etc. The CU communicates with the core network equipment through a backhaul interface, which carries the traffic between the CU and the core network equipment. The hardware of the CU or DU may include a chassis platform, motherboard, peripherals, and cooling equipment. The motherboard includes a processing unit, memory, internal input / output (I / O) interfaces, and external connection ports. Its hardware accelerator is designed with interfaces, and the hardware functional components include: storage for software, hardware, and system debugging interfaces, and a single-board management controller. For example, a CU may include a central processing unit (CPU) based on an x86 or ARM architecture, as well as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or other accelerators. The CPU can communicate with the FPGA, GPU, or other accelerators via a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interface.

[0122] The CU and DU communicate via a mid-channel interface, which carries the traffic between the CU and DU. The DU is typically implemented using a multi-core processor and one or more hardware accelerators. For example, the DU may include an x86 or ARM architecture CPU, and FPGAs, GPUs, or other accelerators, which can communicate with the CPU via a PCIe interface. Parts of the protocol stack on the DU can be implemented in software running on the multi-core processor; computationally intensive L1 and L2 functions can be offloaded to the FPGA or GPU-based hardware accelerator; or all L1 functions can be offloaded to the FPGA or GPU-based hardware accelerator, while other protocol stack content is implemented in software running on the processor; or the entire protocol stack can be implemented in software running on the processor. The hardware accelerator supports interconnection with x86 or non-x86 processors. Similarly, the accelerator has a multi-channel PCIe interface pointing to the CPU and external connections via GbE.

[0123] The DU and RU communicate via a fronthaul interface, which carries the traffic between the DU and RU. If the access network equipment uses an integrated DU, the integrated DU can include the functions of both the DU and RU, and the RAN may no longer need to include a separate RU. The RU may include a RAN fronthaul processing unit, a digital processing unit (DPU), and an RF processing unit. The RAN fronthaul processing unit, also known as the ORAN processing pnit (OPU), receives Ethernet common public radio interface (eCPRI) frames from the ORAN fronthaul interface and performs fronthaul interface processing, the lowest level L1 (such as encoding, scrambling, modulation, layer mapping, precoding), synchronization, beamforming, and resource unit mapping. This RAN fronthaul processing unit can be implemented, for example, using a CPU, FPGA, or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The DPU can be used to perform synchronization, DDC (digital downconversion in UL), DUC (digital upconversion in DL), CFR, and DPD, improving power amplifier efficiency by reducing PAPR / ACLR at the RF front end. This DPU can be implemented, for example, using an FPGA or ASIC. The RF processing unit includes a transceiver module, up / down converters, power amplifiers (PA), low noise amplifiers (LNA), and transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) filters. All conversions between the analog and digital domains (DAC and ADC) (e.g., RF sampling, frequency conversion using RF, IF, and LO mixing during upconversion and downconversion) are performed within the transceiver module. No specific boundaries are required for the physical and logical partitioning within this RF processing unit.

[0124] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called an open CU (O-CU), DU can also be called an open DU (O-DU), CU-CP can also be called an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP can also be called an open CU-UP (O-CU-CP), and RU can also be called an open RU (O-RU). For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples in its embodiments. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in the embodiments of this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0125] The O-RAN system aims to achieve an intelligent and open access network. A key feature of the O-RAN architecture is the separation of hardware and software, enabling the virtualization of network functions and the standardization of hardware. Furthermore, in addition to the functional units shown in Figures 2 and 3, the O-RAN system can include other components. For example, when the RAN is O-RAN, it can also have artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities; for instance, the O-RAN includes an intelligent controller. The intelligent controller can be a non-real-time RAN intelligent controller (RIC / non-RT RIC / NRT RIC) or a near-real-time RAN intelligent controller (RIC / near-RT RIC / nRT RIC). The non-real-time RIC can be used to implement non-real-time intelligent management of RAN functions, enabling workflows including model training and model updates, and guiding applications / functions in the nRT RIC based on policies. The near-real-time RIC can be used to implement near-real-time intelligent management of the RAN. Through data collection and related operations on the E2 interface, near-real-time control and optimization of O-RAN modules and resources are achieved.

[0126] The core network 200 is responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network, managing the network elements of the mobile network, and providing terminal devices with functions such as user access control, session management, mobility management, data processing, policy management, user security authentication, and billing. The names of the devices implementing the core network functions may differ in systems using different access technologies, and this application does not limit this. Taking a 5G system as an example, the core network 200 consists of multiple functional units, such as control plane network elements (or control plane functional units) and user plane network elements (or user plane processing units). The user plane network elements are responsible for transmitting service data; for example, user plane network elements may include, but are not limited to, user plane function (UPF) network elements. Control plane network elements can be used to manage the mobile network. For example, control plane network elements may include, but are not limited to, access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, authentication server function (AUSF) network elements, network exposure function (NEF) network elements, network function repository function (NRF) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, unified data management (UDM) network elements, and application function (AF) network elements. The names of the devices implementing core network functions may differ in systems using different access technologies; this application does not limit this.

[0127] The network devices in this application embodiment may include access network devices and / or core network devices. The apparatus for implementing the functions of the network device may be called a network device. This network device may be a network element, a network device, or a device capable of supporting the network device or network element to implement the function, such as a chip system. This device may be installed in the network device. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the network device is described as a network device (for example, the apparatus for implementing the functions of an access network device is an access network device, and the apparatus for implementing the functions of a core network device is a core network device).

[0128] In the embodiments of this application, "storage" or "preservation" can refer to storage in one or more memories. These memories can be separately configured or integrated into an encoder, decoder, processor, or communication device. Alternatively, some memories can be separately configured, while others can be integrated into a decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this is not limited.

[0129] It should be noted that the communication system and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0130] In the embodiments of this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission by other units or modules via the air interface. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the sender of the information being YY, which may include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY by other units or modules via the air interface. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between access network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0131] In the embodiments of this application, "instruction" may include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, and implicit instruction. When describing a certain instruction information for indicating A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0132] In this embodiment, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index. It can also indirectly indicate the information to be instructed by indicating other information, where there is a correlation between the other information and the information to be instructed. It can also indicate only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent. Furthermore, the information to be instructed can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information units, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information units can be the same or different.

[0133] The technical features involved in the embodiments of this application will be described below.

[0134] 5G communication systems offer extremely high spectral efficiency, extremely low communication latency, extremely high connection density, and extremely low power consumption. However, 5G also places higher demands on system capacity and spectral efficiency. As the technology that unlocks the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G communication urgently needs to improve the depth of information interaction to meet the demands of future deep wireless communication networks. The evolution of 5G communication systems further enhances information interaction capabilities, meeting the needs of deeper mobile internet, thereby continuously expanding the depth and breadth of information interaction, ultimately achieving true IoT. Based on this, future communication systems will greatly expand the breadth and depth of communication coverage, deeply integrating traditional cellular communication with deep-sea ocean communication, aviation communication, and satellite communication.

[0135] In the development of 5G communication systems, 5G evolution communication systems, and future communication systems, digital twin technology is an important technology for depicting, simulating, optimizing, and visualizing the physical world in the virtual world. As shown in Figure 4, the idea behind digital twin technology is that the physical world provides sensory data to construct the virtual world; the virtual world provides simulation data to guide the system design and algorithm optimization of the physical world.

[0136] A channel is a physical or logical medium used to transmit information in a communication system. Simply put, a channel is the transmission path of information from the sender to the receiver. Signals are transmitted through channels and may be affected by factors such as noise, interference, and attenuation. Digital twin channel technology refers to creating a digital twin of a physical channel using digital twin technology. The physical channel (such as a wireless channel) is the foundation of the digital twin channel. Accurate perception and understanding of the physical channel is a prerequisite for establishing a digital twin channel. In the physical channel, environmental electronic maps (including terrain, building distribution, river distribution, vegetation distribution, material electromagnetic parameters, etc.) are physical entities. The digital twin channel describes the interaction and coupling relationships of physical entities, thereby analyzing and predicting changes in the wireless propagation channel. A virtual channel is a real, objective, and complete mapping of the physical channel in digital space and is the carrier of digital twin channel data. A virtual channel includes geometric models, physical models, behavioral models, and rule models. The geometric model can describe the physical entities involved in the physical channel, such as the three-dimensional model of the geometric parameters (e.g., size, location) of terrain and features, achieving good spatiotemporal consistency with the physical entities. The physical model, based on the geometric model, describes the physical properties and characteristics of the physical channel. Digital simulation tools are used to simulate and analyze the structure and electromagnetic fields within the wireless channel, achieving a dynamic approximate simulation of the channel. The behavioral model characterizes the changes in the physical channel at different granularities caused by external environmental disturbances, such as the evolution of the channel model as it varies spatially and the changes in the channel over time.

[0137] In real-world communication scenarios, the application of digital twin channel technology can more effectively grasp the entire lifecycle of communication transmission, more accurately feed back communication performance to the design end, and reduce end-to-end feedback overhead and latency.

[0138] With the development of communication technology, the increasing system bandwidth, the proliferation of terminal antennas, and the heavier network load have exacerbated the contradiction between the surge in wireless channel dimensions and the limited resources available for pilot measurement, leading to significant challenges in high-precision wireless channel measurement. Accurate wireless channel measurement is fundamental to mobile communication network research and is crucial for the design, analysis, and optimization of wireless communication networks. Traditional pilot signal-based wireless channel measurement methods are insufficient to meet the demands of future communication technology development, making the search for new channel measurement methods a current research hotspot.

[0139] To address the limited pilot measurement resources in wireless communication systems, channel maps can be used to achieve low pilot overhead channel measurements. For example, channel maps can provide candidate beam sets for specific locations, reducing beam scanning overhead in actual communication; channel maps can also provide channel covariance matrices for specific locations, using prior channel covariance matrix information to help reduce SRS pilot overhead.

[0140] For example, related technologies provide a method that utilizes feature matching to enable terminals and base stations to match all small grid bases under a corresponding large grid based on measurement signals and report the matching index. After obtaining the matching index, the map management unit sends out the map to achieve two-level map positioning and matching, enabling assisted communication. For example, autocorrelation matrix matching is performed based on the following formula 1: R Q (n)=v H Formula 1 (n)Qv(n)

[0141] The autocorrelation matrix RHH of the spectrum is matched using the eigenvector corresponding to the largest eigenvalue of the measured signal to obtain the matching result, Q = UU^H, which represents all the eigenvectors of the spectrum. Then, eigenvector matching is performed based on the following formulas 2 and 3:

[0142] Where, P = UU H P is a matrix consisting of three eigenvectors stored in the graph.

[0143] However, as described above regarding existing technologies, current spectrum indexing methods only consider matching useful signals (such as useful bases) and do not consider matching interference bases. For downlink interference, using only useful signals for matching means that the matched grid may not be the source of the interference signal. When two grids have similar useful bases, matching errors can occur, resulting in unsimilar interference maps that cannot be used. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the current core network architecture only focuses on matching useful signals between the serving cell and the serving user, ignoring the matching of interference signal bases, including interference from neighboring base stations to the local user and interference from the local station to neighboring users. For uplink interference, since useful and interference signals originate from different users, existing technologies cannot obtain interference maps. For downlink interference, matching based solely on useful signals may result in matched grids that are not the actual source of the interference signal. Furthermore, the relevant technologies do not cover the interaction of interference maps between different base stations (e.g., SUs), or how to distribute and manage interference maps without introducing new network elements. For example, the interaction of interference maps may also involve interaction across control units (CUs). When the distribution units (DUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs, and the service units (SUs) of neighboring stations and the local station belong to different CUs, the existing technologies cannot solve the interference map matching problem in this scenario, resulting in insufficient communication flexibility and poor adaptability.

[0144] In summary, existing channel measurement methods based on channel maps have a high matching error rate, resulting in poor communication performance.

[0145] Based on this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus that utilize interference channel information for spectrum indexing, effectively improving matching accuracy. The method and apparatus are based on the same inventive concept. Since the principles by which the method and apparatus solve the problem are similar, implementations of the apparatus and method can be mutually referenced, and repeated details will not be elaborated further.

[0146] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of this application. This application scenario may include a first network device and a second network device. The first network device sends a request to the second network device to obtain an interference spectrum. After obtaining the interference spectrum, the second network device sends the interference spectrum back to the first network device, thereby achieving more accurate spectrum index matching. Furthermore, this application scenario may also include one or more of a third network device, a fourth network device, a fifth network device, and a terminal device, etc., without limitation. The first to fifth network devices and the terminal device can improve the matching accuracy of the spectrum index and provide cross-control unit interaction according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application. The first to fifth network devices can be the network devices mentioned above, or devices capable of supporting network devices or network elements to implement this function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device.

[0147] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a potential network architecture provided by an embodiment of this application. Figure 7 is based on a 5G core network (5G core, 5GC). The network architecture shown in Figure 7 can also be an application scenario of an embodiment of this application.

[0148] In the architecture shown in Figure 7, a new MMF (Multi-Level Function) is added. The MMF can be a device or component providing network map management functions, such as constructing and maintaining channel maps (or interference maps), and can also be called a map management network element or map management unit. The MMF can be deployed on the core network side or the RAN side; Figure 7 shows an example of deployment in the core network. The network architecture shown in Figure 7 also includes a location management function (LMF), which can be used to achieve UE location estimation. The gNB and AMF communicate through the next-generation-control plane (NG-C) interface. The AMF acts as a router for communication between the gNB, LMF, and MMF, while the MMF and AMF communicate through the NLs interface.

[0149] In addition, the map construction and management functions can also be deployed on the RAN side.

[0150] In some possible scenarios, existing functional units can be used to implement the functions of interference map construction and management. For example, the functions of interference map construction and management can be implemented through CU or DU. In practical scenarios, interference at a specific location may come from interference within the same cell or from interference from other cells. When other cells are involved, the process of accurately detecting the interference map may involve interaction with equipment in other cells. Figures 8 to 11 show schematic diagrams of the network architecture when multiple cells are involved on the RAN side.

[0151] Figure 8 illustrates a network architecture that does not span multiple CUs. In this architecture, the local cell and neighboring cells correspond to the same CU. The local cell includes DU1 and RU1. DU1 can communicate with the CU, DU1 can communicate with RU1, and RU1 can communicate with the UEs within the local cell. The neighboring cells include DU2 and RU2. DU2 can communicate with the CU, and DU2 can communicate with RU2.

[0152] Figures 9(a) and (b) illustrate a cross-CU network architecture. In this architecture, the local cell and neighboring cells correspond to different CUs. The local cell corresponds to CU1, and the neighboring cell corresponds to CU2. The local cell includes DU1 and RU1. DU1 can communicate with CU1 and RU1, and RU1 can communicate with UEs within the local cell. The neighboring cell includes DU2 and RU2. DU2 can communicate with CU2 and RU2. The difference between Figures 9(a) and (b) is that in the network architecture shown in Figure 9(a), CU1 and CU2 have an Xn interface, allowing them to communicate via the Xn interface. However, in the network architecture shown in Figure 9(b), CU1 and CU2 do not have an interface; if they need to communicate, they must use the AMF for forwarding.

[0153] In other possible scenarios, a Sub-Unit (SU) can be added on the RAN side to implement functions such as acquiring map indexes, map construction, and management. This SU can be an entity independent of the access network device and can connect to the access network device through an interface similar to the Xn interface. If the access network device is a CU-DU structure, the SU can communicate with the CU. When the SU is an entity independent of the access network device, it can also be considered a communication node independent of the access network device (e.g., called an SU node). For example, the SU can be a functional unit within the access network device and can communicate with the CU through an interface similar to F1. Figure 10 shows a possible network architecture diagram of introducing an SU on the RAN side. Figure 10 uses a base station as an example of an access network device, which can be a CU-DU structure. As shown in Figure 10, the SU can connect to the CU, and therefore the SU can communicate with the CU.

[0154] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture when multiple cells are involved on the RAN side.

[0155] Figure 11(a) shows a network architecture that does not cross CUs. The network architecture shown in Figure 11(a) is similar to that shown in Figure 9(a), except that Figure 11(a) adds an SU connected to the CU. This SU can communicate with the CU and can be used to implement functions such as obtaining map indexes related to the local cell and neighboring cells.

[0156] Figure 11(b) illustrates the cross-CU network architecture. The network architecture shown in Figure 11(b) is similar to that shown in Figure 9(b), except that Figure 11(b) adds SUs connected to the CUs. As shown in Figure 11(b), SU1 is connected to CU1 and can communicate with CU1, enabling functions such as obtaining map indexes related to the local cell; SU2 is connected to CU2 and can communicate with CU2, enabling functions such as obtaining map indexes related to neighboring cells.

[0157] The methods provided in the embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of this application, all steps indicated by dashed lines are optional steps. The various embodiments herein can be applied to the network architectures shown in Figures 1-3 and Figures 7-11. For example, the first network device described in the various embodiments herein can be the access network device shown in Figure 1, and the second network device described in the various embodiments herein can be the core network device shown in Figure 1; or, both the first network device and the second network device described in the various embodiments herein can be access network devices. For example, the first network device described in the various embodiments of this document may be the (local station side) DU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11, and the second network device may be the (local station side) CU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11; or, the first network device may be the (local station side) SU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11, and the second network device may be the (local station side) CU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11; or, the first network device may be the (local station side) CU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11, and the second network device may be the core network element shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11; or, the first network device may be the (local station side) CU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11, and the second network device may be the (neighboring station side) CU shown in Figures 2 and 3, or Figures 9 to 11, etc., without limitation. The first or second network device described in the various embodiments of this document may also be other devices not shown in the above figures.

[0158] Please refer to Figure 12, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 12, the method may include the following steps:

[0159] Step 1201: The first network device sends a first request to the second network device, the first request being used to obtain an interference map.

[0160] As an example, in this application embodiment, the first request is used to obtain an interference map. The interference map is used to indicate the interference channel prior library generated by the second access network device in the second region against the first terminal device in the first region, and / or by the second terminal device in the second region against the first access network device in the first region. The interference channel prior library includes at least one interference feature. The interference feature includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss. It should be noted that the interference feature in this application embodiment may include other content besides the above. This application embodiment does not limit the scope of the interference feature. Any interference feature that can be used in this application embodiment is within the protection scope of this application. The first terminal device is managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by a second DU. The first region and the second region may partially or completely overlap, or not overlap at all. For example, the first area may include the candidate grid ID of the first terminal device, and / or the candidate grid ID of the first access network device, etc., and the second area may include the candidate grid ID of the second terminal device, and / or the candidate grid ID of the second access network device, wherein the candidate grid ID may include the physical address of the corresponding device, and / or the virtual address, etc., which are not limited here.

[0161] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the interaction scenario for executing step 1201 varies depending on the different situations of the first network device, and is not limited to the following situations:

[0162] Case 1: The first network device is the first DU of this station, and the second network device is the first CU of this station.

[0163] Scenario 2: The first network device is the first CU of this station, and the second network device is a core network element.

[0164] As an example, the core network elements in this application embodiment include, but are not limited to, AMF network elements, MMF network elements, etc., and are not limited here.

[0165] Case 3: The first network device is the first CU of this station, and the second network device is the second CU of the neighboring station.

[0166] Case 4: The first network device is the first SU of this station, and the second network device is the first CU of this station.

[0167] Please refer to Figure 12 below.

[0168] Step 1202: The second network device acquires the interference map and notifies the first network device of the interference map.

[0169] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, interference spectrum acquisition can be achieved through collaboration (or interaction) between multiple devices during step 1202. The scenarios in which the second network device acquires the interference spectrum vary depending on the storage conditions of the interference spectrum, and are not limited to the following:

[0170] Storage 1: The interference spectrum is stored in the first CU on the local station side.

[0171] As an example, based on the case of storage 1, the second network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first CU, the first network device can be a first DU, or a first SU, so that the first DU can obtain the interference spectrum from the first CU, or the first SU can obtain the interference spectrum from the first CU.

[0172] Storage 2: Interference maps are stored in the core network elements.

[0173] As an example, based on the case of storage 2, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first CU, and the second network device can be a core network element, so that the first DU can obtain the interference spectrum from the core network element.

[0174] As an example, based on the case of storage 2, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first DU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first DU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the third network device (e.g., core network element) and notifies the first DU.

[0175] As an example, based on the case of storage 2, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first SU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first SU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the core network element and notifies the first SU.

[0176] Storage 3: The interference map is stored in the second CU on the adjacent station side.

[0177] As an example, based on the case of storage 3, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first CU, and the second network device can be a second CU, so that the first CU can obtain the interference spectrum from the second CU, and the second CU determines the interference spectrum and notifies the first CU.

[0178] As an example, based on the case of storage 3, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first DU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first DU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second CU and notifies the first DU.

[0179] As an example, based on the case of storage 3, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first SU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first SU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second CU and notifies the first SU.

[0180] As an example, based on the case of storage 3, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first SU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first SU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the core network element. The core network element obtains the interference spectrum from the second CU and notifies the first CU. After obtaining the interference spectrum, the first CU notifies the first SU.

[0181] As an example, based on the case of storage 3, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first DU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first DU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the core network element. The core network element obtains the interference spectrum from the second CU and notifies the first CU. After obtaining the interference spectrum, the first CU notifies the first DU.

[0182] Storage 4: Interference maps are stored in the second SU on the adjacent station side.

[0183] As an example, based on the storage 4 case, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first CU, and the second network device can be a second CU. Thus, the first CU can request the second CU to obtain the interference spectrum, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second SU, the second SU determines the interference spectrum and notifies the second CU, and the second CU notifies the first CU after obtaining the interference spectrum.

[0184] As an example, based on the storage 4 case, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first DU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first DU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU requests the second CU to obtain the interference spectrum. The second CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second SU, the second SU determines the interference spectrum and notifies the second CU, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first CU, and the first CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first DU.

[0185] As an example, based on the case of storage 4, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first SU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first SU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU requests the second CU to obtain the interference spectrum. The second CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second SU, the second SU determines the interference spectrum and notifies the second CU, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first CU, and the first CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first SU.

[0186] As an example, based on the case of storage 4, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first SU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first SU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU requests the core network element to obtain the interference spectrum. The core network element requests the second CU to obtain the interference spectrum, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second SU, the second SU determines the interference spectrum and notifies the second CU, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the core network element, the core network element obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first CU, and the first CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first SU.

[0187] As an example, based on the case of storage 4, the first network device in step 1202 of this application embodiment can be a first DU, and the second network device can be a first CU. Thus, the first SU can request the first CU to obtain the interference spectrum, and then the first CU requests the core network element to obtain the interference spectrum. The core network element requests the second CU to obtain the interference spectrum, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second SU, the second SU determines the interference spectrum and notifies the second CU, the second CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the core network element, the core network element obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first CU, and the first CU obtains the interference spectrum and notifies the first DU.

[0188] As an example, after obtaining the interference map in this embodiment, the interference map can be used to determine matching index information. The matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0189] The interaction scenarios performed vary depending on the device used to determine the matching index information, and are not limited to the following two interaction scenarios:

[0190] Interaction Scenario 1: When the device for determining the matching index information is the first DU, as shown in Figure 13, the embodiments of this application determine the content of the matching index information based on the interference spectrum, which is not limited to the following process steps:

[0191] Step 1301: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU. The second request is used to obtain the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0192] In the embodiments of this application, the reference signal may be one or more types, including but not limited to one or more of the following:

[0193] (1) Cell-specific reference signals (CRS) are mainly used for downlink channel estimation and demodulation, and support multiple user MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output).

[0194] (2) User Equipment-Specific Reference Signals (UERS) are used for downlink channel estimation and demodulation for specific user equipment, and are mainly used in beamforming or MU-MIMO (Multi-User MIMO) scenarios.

[0195] (3) Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) is used for uplink channel state information (CSI) feedback to help the base station understand the quality of the uplink, thereby optimizing scheduling and resource allocation.

[0196] (4) Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) is used to measure downlink channel state information, providing more accurate channel estimation and supporting more complex MIMO and beamforming operations.

[0197] (5) Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) is used to demodulate data signals to ensure the accuracy and reliability of data transmission.

[0198] (6) Phase-tracking reference signal (PTRS) is used to compensate for carrier frequency offset and phase noise in high-speed mobile environments and improve demodulation accuracy.

[0199] (7) Reciprocity-based Reference Signal (RRS) is used to reduce channel estimation overhead by taking advantage of the reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels in TDD (Time Division Duplex) systems.

[0200] As an example, the configuration information of the reference signal in embodiments of this application includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0201] Configuration Information 1: Spatial domain of the reference signal.

[0202] Configuration information 2: Frequency domain of the reference signal.

[0203] Configuration information 3: Code field of the reference signal.

[0204] Configuration information 4: Sequence parameters of the reference signal.

[0205] S1302: The first CU sends configuration information of the reference signal to the first DU.

[0206] S1303: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0207] As an example, the sequence parameters of the reference signal in embodiments of this application include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0208] (1) Sequence generation parameters, including but not limited to the root sequence index, cyclic shift (CS), and scrambling sequence.

[0209] (2) Time and frequency resource configuration parameters, including but not limited to slot / symbol position, subcarrier spacing, frequency offset, and bandwidth part (BWP).

[0210] (3) Power control parameters, including but not limited to reference signal power (RSPower).

[0211] (4) Periodicity and pattern configuration parameters, including but not limited to periodicity and pattern.

[0212] (5) Advanced configuration parameters, including but not limited to beam direction and reciprocity configuration.

[0213] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the number of reference signals determined by the first DU for channel estimation based on the configuration information of the reference signals can be one or more, and the reference signals include, but are not limited to, the first reference signal and the second reference signal. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first DU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals, or it can use the same reference signal to estimate the channel state between itself and some devices, and use a different reference signal to estimate the channel state between itself and other devices.

[0214] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0215] S1304: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0216] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0217] As an example, the third request described in this application embodiment may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0218] Content 1: First reference signal.

[0219] Content 2: Second reference signal.

[0220] Content 3: The type of channel state information to be acquired, or the link to which the channel state information needs to be acquired. For example, the type of channel state information to be acquired includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and / or, interfering channel information.

[0221] For example, based on this content 3, the embodiments of this application can enable the first terminal device to send reference signals (e.g., CSIRS) more specifically to detect the channel status with the corresponding target device.

[0222] S1305: The first terminal device estimates the channel state and obtains the channel state information.

[0223] S1306: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the channel status information.

[0224] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first DU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0225] S1307: The first DU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0226] As an example, the fourth request sent by the first DU to the first CU may include the identifier of the first terminal device, and / or the identifier of the first DU.

[0227] S1308: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0228] As an example, in an embodiment of this application, the first CU can send a fourth request to the core network element LMF.

[0229] As an example, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the LMF may further include the identifier of the first CU, such as the identifier of the added CU being C-RNTI, and / or one or more of the identifier of the first CU itself, without limitation here.

[0230] S1309: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first DU.

[0231] S1310: The first DU acquires the first region.

[0232] S1311: The first DU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0233] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, this application embodiment can match the useful map and useful channel information separately, and match the interference channel information and interference map to obtain a comprehensive matching index information. Optionally, the useful channel information in this application embodiment is used to indicate channel information that can support the data transmission and performance requirements between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first area; the useful map is used to indicate the useful channel prior library generated by the first access network device in the first area for the first terminal device in the first area, and the useful channel prior library includes at least one useful feature, which includes one or more of the following: channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss. It should be noted that the content of the useful map and the content of the useful features in this application embodiment may also include other content, and this application embodiment does not limit them. Any useful feature that can be used in this application embodiment is within the protection scope of this application.

[0234] In some implementations, when performing channel map matching with channel information (e.g., matching interference channel information with interference map, and / or matching useful channel information with useful map) in the embodiments of this application, there may be multiple matching methods, which are not limited to similarity matching, distance matching, feature point matching, etc., and are not limited here. Any map index matching method that can be applied to the embodiments of this application is within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0235] As an example, the useful spectrum in the channel map can be obtained by the first DU from the first CU.

[0236] As an example, after performing step S1311 above, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device. For example, the first DU can notify the first terminal device of the matching index information through the first CU, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectrum index.

[0237] Interaction Scenario 2: When the device for determining the matching index information is the first SU, as shown in Figure 14, the embodiments of this application determine the content of the matching index information based on the interference spectrum, which is not limited to the following process steps:

[0238] Step 1401: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU. The second request is used to obtain the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0239] The relevant configuration information in this step can be found in Figure 13 above, and will not be elaborated upon here for the sake of brevity.

[0240] S1402: The first CU sends configuration information of the reference signal to the first DU.

[0241] S1403: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0242] The relevant information about the reference signal in this step can be found in Figure 13 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be elaborated here.

[0243] S1404: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0244] The relevant information about the channel state information in this step can be found in Figure 13 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be elaborated here.

[0245] S1405: The first terminal device estimates the channel state and obtains the channel state information.

[0246] S1406: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the channel status information.

[0247] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first DU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0248] S1407: The first DU notifies the first SU of the channel state information.

[0249] S1408: The first SU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0250] As an example, the fourth request sent by the first SU to the first CU may include the identifier of the first terminal device, and / or the identifier of the first SU.

[0251] S1409: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0252] As an example, in an embodiment of this application, the first CU can send a fourth request to the core network element LMF.

[0253] As an example, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the LMF may further include the identifier of the first CU, such as the identifier of the added CU being C-RNTI, and / or one or more of the identifier of the first CU itself, without limitation here.

[0254] S1410: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first SU.

[0255] S1411: The first unit acquires the first region.

[0256] S1412: The first SU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0257] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0258] As an example, the useful spectrum in the channel map can be obtained by the first DU from the first CU.

[0259] As an example, after performing step S1412, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device. For example, the first DU can notify the first terminal device of the matching index information through the first CU, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectrum index.

[0260] By using the above method, this application embodiment considers not only the matching of signal feature bases but also the matching of interference feature bases when performing spectrum index matching. This makes the matched grid more consistent with the actual source of the interference signal, effectively improving the accuracy of channel estimation, thereby improving spectrum efficiency and thus enhancing communication performance.

[0261] To better illustrate this application, the following sections describe different architectural scenarios, but are not limited to the two communication architectures and communication interaction processes outlined below:

[0262] Scenario 1: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 15.

[0263] The system architecture of this scenario includes a first network device and a second network device, for example, the first network device is a first DU and the second network device is a first CU.

[0264] In this scenario, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs can share a CU. The shared CU can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, and the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area.

[0265] Referring to Figure 16, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference map from the second network device (for example, the first DU obtains the interference map from the shared CU). The specific process is as follows:

[0266] S1601: The first DU sends a first request to the shared CU, the first request being used to obtain the interference spectrum.

[0267] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first DU, thereby enabling the shared CU to better determine the source of sending the first request.

[0268] As an example, since the first DU and the second DU share a CU, when the first DU sends a first request to the shared CU to obtain the interference spectrum, it can also obtain the useful spectrum from the shared CU. For example, the first request is used not only to indicate the acquisition of the interference spectrum, but also to indicate the acquisition of the useful spectrum; or, the first DU can obtain the useful spectrum by sending other requests to the shared CU.

[0269] S1602: Shared CU determines the interference spectrum.

[0270] As an example, in a scenario where the first DU in S1601 above also indicates the acquisition of a useful spectrum, the spectrum determined by the shared CU may include both interference and useful spectra.

[0271] S1603: The shared CU sends the interference map to the first DU.

[0272] As an example, in the scenario where the first DU further instructs the acquisition of a useful spectrum in S1601 above, the spectrum sent by the shared CU to the first DU may include both interference spectrum and useful spectrum.

[0273] S1604: The first DU sends a second request to the shared CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0274] S1605: Configuration information for the shared CU to send reference signals to the first DU.

[0275] S1606: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0276] In step S1606, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0277] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first DU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other devices.

[0278] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0279] S1607: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0280] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0281] S1608: The first terminal device estimates the channel state and obtains the channel state information.

[0282] S1609: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the channel status information.

[0283] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first DU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0284] S1610: The first DU sends a fourth request to the core network element through the shared CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first area.

[0285] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the first DU can send a fourth request to the shared CU, and the shared CU can send a fourth request to the core network element LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first DU to the shared CU may include the identifier of the first terminal device, and / or the identifier of the first DU; the fourth request sent by the shared CU to the LMF may further include the identifier of the shared CU, for example, the identifier of the added CU is C-RNTI, and / or one or more of the identifier of the shared CU itself, which are not limited here.

[0286] S1611: The first DU acquires the first region.

[0287] S1612: The first DU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0288] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0289] As an example, after performing step S1612 above, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device. For example, the first DU can notify the first terminal device of the matching index information through the first CU, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectrum index.

[0290] Scenario 2: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 17.

[0291] The system architecture of this scenario includes a first network device and a second network device. For example, the first network device is a first CU and the second network device is a second CU, wherein there is a connection between the first CU and the second CU.

[0292] In this scenario, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs correspond to different CUs. The second CU can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, while the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area. The first DU is controlled by the first CU, and the second DU is controlled by the second CU.

[0293] Referring to Figure 18, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference map from the second network device (for example, the first CU obtains the interference map from the second CU). The specific process is as follows:

[0294] S1801: The first CU sends a first request to the second CU, the first request being used to obtain the interference spectrum.

[0295] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first CU, thereby enabling the second CU to better determine the source of the first request.

[0296] S1802: The second CU determines the interference spectrum.

[0297] S1803: The second CU sends the interference map to the first CU.

[0298] S1804: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0299] S1805: Configuration information for the first CU to send a reference signal to the first DU.

[0300] The description of the configuration information of the reference signal in step S1805 of this application embodiment can be found in the content of Scenario 1 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0301] S1806: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0302] In step S1806, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0303] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first CU based on the configuration information of the reference signals can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first CU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other parts of the devices.

[0304] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0305] S1807: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0306] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0307] S1808: The first terminal device estimates the channel state information.

[0308] S1809: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the channel status information.

[0309] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first CU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0310] S1810: The first DU sends a fourth request to the first CU. The fourth request is used to obtain the first area.

[0311] S1811: The first CU sends a fourth request to the core network element. The fourth request is used to obtain the first area.

[0312] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the first CU can send a fourth request to a core network element, such as an LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the core network element may include one or more of the identifier of the first terminal device, the identifier of the first CU, and the identifier of the first DU, which is not limited here.

[0313] S1812: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first DU.

[0314] S1813: The first DU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0315] As an example, the matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0316] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0317] As an example, after performing step S1813, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectral index.

[0318] Scenario 3: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 19.

[0319] The system architecture in Scenario 3 includes a first network device, a second network device, and a third network device. For example, the first network device is the first CU, the second network device is the core network element, and the third network device is the second CU. There is no connection between the first CU and the second CU.

[0320] In this scenario three, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs correspond to different CUs. The second CU can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, while the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area. The first DU is controlled by the first CU, and the second DU is controlled by the second CU.

[0321] Referring to Figure 20, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference map from the second network device, and then the second network device can obtain the interference map from the third network device (for example, the order of obtaining the interference map is that the first CU obtains the interference map from the core network element, and the core network element obtains the interference map from the second CU). The specific process is as follows:

[0322] S2001: The first CU sends a first request to the core network element, the first request being used to obtain the interference map.

[0323] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first CU, thereby enabling the core network element and / or the second CU to better determine the source of the first request.

[0324] S2002: The core network element sends the first request to the second CU.

[0325] S2003: The second CU determines the interference spectrum.

[0326] S2004: The second CU sends the interference map to the core network elements.

[0327] S2005: The core network element sends the interference map to the first CU.

[0328] S2006: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0329] The description of the configuration information of the reference signal in step S2006 of this application embodiment can be found in the content of Scenario 1 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0330] S2007: Configuration information for the first CU to send reference signals to the first DU.

[0331] S2008: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0332] In step S2008, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0333] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first CU based on the configuration information of the reference signals can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first CU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other parts of the devices.

[0334] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0335] S2009: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0336] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0337] S2010: The first terminal device estimates the channel state information.

[0338] S2011: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the estimated channel state information.

[0339] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first CU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0340] S2012: The first DU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0341] S2013: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0342] As an example, after receiving the fourth request, the first CU in this embodiment of the application can send the fourth request to a core network element, such as an LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the core network element may include one or more of the identifier of the first terminal device, the identifier of the first CU, and the identifier of the first DU, which is not limited here.

[0343] S2014: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first DU.

[0344] S2015: The first DU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0345] As an example, the matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0346] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0347] As an example, after performing the above step S2015, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectral index.

[0348] Scenario 4: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 21.

[0349] The system architecture in Scenario 4 includes a first network device, a second network device, and a third network device. For example, the first network device is the first DU, the second network device is the first CU, and the third network device is the first SU.

[0350] In this scenario four, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs share the same CU and the same SU. The first SU can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, and the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area. The first DU and the second DU are both controlled by the first CU, and the first CU controls the first SU.

[0351] Referring to Figure 22, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference spectrum from the second network device, and then the second network device can obtain the interference spectrum from the third network device (for example, the order of obtaining the interference spectrum is that the first DU obtains the interference spectrum from the first CU, and the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the first SU). The specific process is as follows:

[0352] S2201: The first DU sends a first request to the first CU, the first request being used to obtain an interference spectrum.

[0353] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first DU, thereby enabling the first CU and / or the first SU to better determine the source of the first request.

[0354] S2202: The first CU sends the first request to the first SU.

[0355] S2203: The first SU determines the interference spectrum.

[0356] S2204: The first SU sends the interference map to the first CU.

[0357] S2205: The first CU sends the interference map to the first DU.

[0358] S2206: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0359] The description of the configuration information of the reference signal in step S2206 of this application embodiment can be found in the content of Scenario 1 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0360] S2207: Configuration information for the first CU to send reference signals to the first DU.

[0361] S2208: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0362] In step S2208, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0363] As an example, in this embodiment of the application, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first CU based on the configuration information of the reference signals can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first CU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other parts of the devices.

[0364] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0365] S2209: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0366] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0367] As an example, the third request described in this application embodiment may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0368] Content 1: First reference signal.

[0369] Content 2: Second reference signal.

[0370] Content 3: The type of channel state information to be acquired, or the link to which the channel state information needs to be acquired. For example, the type of channel state information to be acquired includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and / or, interfering channel information.

[0371] For example, based on this content 3, the embodiments of this application can enable the first terminal device to send reference signals more specifically to detect the type of channel state information to be acquired, or the channel state of the link to be acquired.

[0372] S2210: The first terminal device estimates the channel state information.

[0373] S2211: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the estimated channel state information.

[0374] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first CU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0375] S2212: The first DU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0376] S2213: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0377] As an example, after receiving the fourth request, the first CU in this embodiment of the application can send the fourth request to a core network element, such as an LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the core network element may include one or more of the identifier of the first terminal device, the identifier of the first CU, and the identifier of the first DU, which is not limited here.

[0378] S2214: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first DU.

[0379] S2215: The first DU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0380] As an example, the matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0381] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0382] As an example, after performing step S2215 above, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectral index.

[0383] Scenario 5: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 23.

[0384] The system architecture of Scenario 5 includes a first network device, a second network device, and a third network device. For example, the first network device is the first CU, the second network device is the core network element, and the third network device is the second CU.

[0385] In this scenario five, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs can correspond to different CUs. The core network elements can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, and the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area. The first CU and the second CU can be connected or not.

[0386] Referring to Figure 24, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference map from the second network device, and then the second network device can obtain auxiliary information from the third network device. The auxiliary information is used to help the core network element better determine the interference map. The auxiliary information includes, but is not limited to, relevant information in the second region (for example, the order of obtaining the interference map is that the first CU obtains the interference map from the core network element). The specific process is as follows:

[0387] S2401: The first CU sends a first request to the core network element, the first request being used to obtain the interference map.

[0388] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first CU, thereby enabling core network elements to better determine the source of the first request.

[0389] S2402: The core network element sends a fifth request to the second CU, the fifth request being used to obtain auxiliary information.

[0390] As an example, the auxiliary information described in this application embodiment can be used to help core network elements better determine the interference pattern. Optionally, the auxiliary information includes, but is not limited to, relevant information in the second region.

[0391] S2403: The second CU determines the auxiliary information and notifies the core network elements.

[0392] Steps S2402 and S2403 are optional.

[0393] S2404: Interference pattern determined by core network elements.

[0394] As an example, in an embodiment of this application, the core network element can determine the interference pattern based on the acquired auxiliary information.

[0395] S2405: The core network element sends the interference map to the first CU.

[0396] S2406: The first CU sends the interference map to the first DU.

[0397] S2407: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0398] The description of the configuration information of the reference signal in step S2407 of this application embodiment can be found in the content of Scenario 1 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0399] S2408: Configuration information for the first CU to send reference signals to the first DU.

[0400] S2409: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0401] In step S2409, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0402] As an example, in this application embodiment, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first CU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other devices.

[0403] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0404] S2410: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0405] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0406] S2411: The first terminal device estimates the channel state information.

[0407] S2412: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the estimated channel state information.

[0408] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first CU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0409] S2413: The first DU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0410] S2414: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0411] As an example, after receiving the fourth request, the first CU in this embodiment of the application can send the fourth request to a core network element, such as an LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the core network element may include one or more of the identifier of the first terminal device, the identifier of the first CU, and the identifier of the first DU, which is not limited here.

[0412] S2415: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first DU.

[0413] S2416: The first DU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0414] As an example, the matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0415] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0416] As an example, after performing step S2416 above, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectral index.

[0417] Scenario 6: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 25.

[0418] The system architecture of Scenario 6 includes a first network device, a second network device, a third network device, and a fourth network device. For example, the first network device is the first SU, the second network device is the first CU, the third network device is the second CU, and the fourth network device is the second SU.

[0419] In this scenario six, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs can correspond to different CUs. The second SU can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, and the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area. The first CU controls the first DU and the first SU, and the second CU controls the second DU and the second SU. There is a connection between the first CU and the second CU.

[0420] Referring to Figure 26, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference spectrum from the second network device, then the second network device can obtain the interference spectrum from the third network device, and the third network device can obtain the interference spectrum from the fourth network device (for example, the order of obtaining the interference spectrum is: the first SU obtains the interference spectrum from the first CU, the first CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second CU, and the second CU obtains the interference spectrum from the second SU). The specific process is as follows:

[0421] S2601: The first SU sends a first request to the first CU, the first request being used to obtain an interference spectrum.

[0422] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first SU.

[0423] S2602: The first CU sends a first request to the second CU.

[0424] As an example, in step S2602 of this embodiment of the application, the first request sent by the first CU to the second CU may also carry the identification information of the first CU, so that the second CU can better determine the source of the first request.

[0425] S2603: The second CU sends the first request to the second SU.

[0426] As an example, in step S2603 of this embodiment of the application, the first request sent by the first CU to the second CU may also carry the identification information of the second CU, thereby enabling the second CU to better determine the source of the first request.

[0427] S2604: The second SU determines the interference spectrum and sends it to the second CU.

[0428] S2605: The second CU sends the interference map to the first CU.

[0429] S2606: The first CU sends the interference map to the first SU.

[0430] S2607: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0431] The description of the configuration information of the reference signal in step S2607 of this application embodiment can be found in the content of Scenario 1 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0432] S2608: Configuration information for the first CU to send reference signals to the first DU.

[0433] S2609: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0434] In step S2609, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0435] As an example, in this application embodiment, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first CU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other devices.

[0436] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0437] S2610: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0438] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0439] S2611: The first terminal device estimates the channel state information.

[0440] S2612: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the estimated channel state information.

[0441] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first DU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0442] S2613: The first DU notifies the first SU of the acquired channel state information.

[0443] S2614: The first SU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0444] As an example, after receiving the fourth request, the first CU in this embodiment of the application may send the fourth request to a core network element, such as an LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the core network element may include one or more of the identifier of the first terminal device, the identifier of the first CU, and the identifier of the first SU, which is not limited here.

[0445] S2615: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0446] S2616: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first SU.

[0447] S2617: The first SU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0448] As an example, the matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0449] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0450] As an example, after performing step S2617 above, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectral index.

[0451] Scenario 7: An introduction based on the architecture shown in Figure 27.

[0452] The system architecture of Scenario 7 includes a first network device, a second network device, a third network device, a fourth network device, and a fifth network device. For example, the first network device is the first SU, the second network device is the first CU, the third network device is the core network element, the fourth network device is the second CU, and the fifth network device is the second SU.

[0453] In this scenario six, different terminal devices can correspond to different DUs, and different DUs can correspond to different CUs. The second SU can store channel maps. For example, the first terminal device is managed by the first DU and corresponds to the first area, and the second terminal device is managed by the second DU and corresponds to the second area. The first CU controls the first DU and the first SU, and the second CU controls the second DU and the second SU. There is no connection between the first CU and the second CU.

[0454] Referring to Figure 28, under this architecture, the first network device can obtain the interference map from the second network device, then the second network device can obtain the interference map from the third network device, the third network device can obtain the interference map from the fourth network device, and the fourth network device can obtain the interference map from the fifth network device (for example, the order of obtaining the interference map is: the first SU obtains the interference map from the first CU, the first CU obtains the interference map from the core network element, the core network element obtains the interference map from the second CU, and the second CU obtains the interference map from the second SU). The specific process is as follows:

[0455] S2801: The first SU sends a first request to the first CU, the first request being used to obtain an interference spectrum.

[0456] As an example, the first request in this application embodiment may carry the identification information of the first SU.

[0457] S2802: The first CU sends the first request to the core network.

[0458] As an example, in step S2802 of this embodiment of the application, the first request sent by the first CU to the core network element may also carry the identification information of the first CU, so that the core network element can better determine the source of the first request.

[0459] S2803: The core network element sends the first request to the second CU.

[0460] S2804: The second CU sends the first request to the second SU.

[0461] As an example, in step S2804 of this embodiment of the application, the first request sent by the first CU to the second CU may also carry the identification information of the second CU, thereby enabling the second CU to better determine the source of the first request.

[0462] S2805: The second SU determines the interference spectrum and sends it to the second CU.

[0463] S2806: The second CU sends the interference map to the core network.

[0464] S2807: The core network element sends the interference map to the first CU.

[0465] S2808: The first CU sends the interference map to the first SU.

[0466] S2809: The first DU sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal.

[0467] The description of the configuration information of the reference signal in step S2809 of this application embodiment can be found in the content of Scenario 1 above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0468] S2810: Configuration information for the first CU to send reference signals to the first DU.

[0469] S2811: The first DU determines the reference signal based on the configuration information of the reference signal.

[0470] In step S2811, the reference signal determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal may include a first reference signal and a second reference signal.

[0471] As an example, in this application embodiment, the number of reference signals used for channel estimation determined by the first DU based on the configuration information of the reference signal can be one or more. For example, the first terminal device corresponding to the first CU can estimate the channel state with multiple devices based on the same reference signal, or it can estimate the channel state with different devices based on different reference signals. Alternatively, for some devices, the same reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those devices, and for another part of the devices, another reference signal can be used to estimate the channel state between itself and those other devices.

[0472] As an example, in the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be used to estimate interference channel information; the second reference signal can be used to estimate useful channel information.

[0473] S2812: The first DU sends a third request to the first terminal device, the third request being used to obtain channel state information.

[0474] As an example, the channel state information described in this application embodiment includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or, useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. Optionally, the interference channel information includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or, second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Optionally, the useful channel information may include useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first region.

[0475] S2813: The first terminal device estimates the channel state information.

[0476] S2814: The first terminal device notifies the first DU of the estimated channel state information.

[0477] As an example, the channel status notified by the first terminal device to the first DU in this embodiment of the application includes, but is not limited to, useful channel information and interfering channel information.

[0478] S2815: The first DU notifies the first SU of the acquired channel state information.

[0479] S2816: The first SU sends a fourth request to the first CU, the fourth request being used to obtain the first region.

[0480] S2817: The first CU sends the fourth request to the core network element.

[0481] As an example, after receiving the fourth request, the first CU in this embodiment of the application may send the fourth request to a core network element, such as an LMF. Optionally, the fourth request sent by the first CU to the core network element may include one or more of the identifier of the first terminal device, the identifier of the first CU, and the identifier of the first SU, which is not limited here.

[0482] S2818: The first CU acquires the first region and notifies the first SU.

[0483] S2819: The first SU determines the matching index information based on the channel map, channel state information, and the first region.

[0484] As an example, the matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region. For example, when performing uplink communication transmission, the matching index information may include two sub-region indices, such as the sub-region index corresponding to the first terminal device and the sub-region index corresponding to the second access network device that interferes with the first terminal device; or, when performing downlink communication transmission, the matching index information may include one sub-region index, such as the sub-region index where the first terminal device is located.

[0485] As an example, when the channel map includes a useful map and an interference map, and the channel state includes useful channel information and interference channel information, the embodiments of this application can match the useful map and the useful channel information separately, match the interference channel information and the interference map, and obtain the matching index information in a comprehensive manner.

[0486] As an example, after performing step S2819 above, the matching index information can be used directly in this embodiment of the application. For example, when performing uplink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, it is not necessary to send the matching index information to the corresponding first terminal device. The matching index information can be used to perform more refined channel estimation, etc. As another example, when performing downlink transmission, after obtaining the matching index information, the matching index information can be sent to the corresponding first terminal device, so that the first terminal device can obtain a refined spectral index.

[0487] It should be noted that the embodiments of this application are not limited to the content described in scenarios one to seven above. For example, any modification of any scenario one to seven above, or the integration and modification of any multiple scenarios one to seven above, all result in solutions that fall within the protection scope of this application. The above process steps of the embodiments of this application do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of this application. The embodiments of this application can be adjusted according to the actual situation, specifically not limited to deletion, addition of other steps, or adjustment of the order of process steps. For example, based on scenario one, before the first DU sends the first request to the shared CU, the first DU can first obtain the first region corresponding to the first terminal device, and when sending the first request to the shared CU, carry the first region of the first terminal device in the first request, thereby assisting the shared CU in better determining the interference spectrum from the second terminal device under the second DU to the first terminal device under the current large grid, etc., which is not limited here. For example, when this application embodiment involves multiple cells, i.e., a scenario with multiple neighboring cells, in order to better determine the spectrum index, this application embodiment can obtain the interference spectra of multiple neighboring cells based on the above scheme, and perform corresponding spectrum index matching in combination with the obtained multiple interference spectra. For example, when this application embodiment involves multiple cells, i.e., a scenario with multiple neighboring cells, in order to more specifically exclude interference from the neighboring cell with the strongest interference and better determine the spectrum index, this application embodiment can select the target neighboring cell from the multiple neighboring cells from which the interference spectra need to be obtained, then execute the above interference spectra acquisition method, and perform corresponding spectrum index matching in combination with the obtained interference spectra. Optionally, the target neighboring cell selected from the multiple neighboring cells in this application embodiment can be the neighboring cell with the strongest interference determined through channel estimation, etc., and is not limited here. Any method of determining the target neighboring cell falls within the protection scope of this application.

[0488] Figure 29 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of an apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 2900 can be any one of the first to fifth devices described in the embodiments shown in Figures 12 to 28, or the circuit system of the corresponding device, used to implement the method of the corresponding device in the above method embodiments. For example, one type of circuit system is a chip system.

[0489] The communication device 2900 includes at least one processor 2901. The processor 2901 can be used for internal processing within the device to implement certain control processing functions. Optionally, the processor 2901 includes instructions. Optionally, the processor 2901 can store data. Optionally, different processors can be independent devices, located in different physical locations, or located on different integrated circuits. Optionally, different processors can be integrated into one or more processors, for example, integrated on one or more integrated circuits.

[0490] Optionally, the communication device 2900 includes one or more memories 2903 for storing instructions. Optionally, the memories 2903 may also store data. The processor and the memories may be separate or integrated together.

[0491] Optionally, the communication device 2900 includes a communication line 2902 and at least one communication interface 2904. Since the memory 2903, communication line 2902, and communication interface 2904 are all optional, they are all represented by dashed lines in Figure 29.

[0492] Optionally, the communication device 2900 may further include a transceiver and / or an antenna. The transceiver can be used to send information to or receive information from other devices. The transceiver may be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver circuit, input / output interface, etc., and is used to realize the transmission and reception functions of the communication device 2900 via the antenna. Optionally, the transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver. For example, the transmitter can be used to generate a radio frequency (RF) signal from a baseband signal, and the receiver can be used to convert the RF signal back into a baseband signal.

[0493] Processor 2901 may include a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of programs according to the present application.

[0494] Communication line 2902 may include a path for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0495] Communication interface 2904 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wired access network, etc.

[0496] The memory 2903 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. The memory 2903 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 2901 via communication line 2902. Alternatively, the memory 2903 may be integrated with the processor 2901.

[0497] The memory 2903 stores computer execution instructions for implementing the present application scheme, and its execution is controlled by the processor 2901. The processor 2901 executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 2903, thereby implementing the steps performed by the first network device, second network device, third network device, fourth network device, or fifth network device in the embodiments shown in Figures 12 to 28.

[0498] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as application code, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0499] In a specific implementation, as one example, processor 2901 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG29.

[0500] In a specific implementation, as one embodiment, the communication device 2900 may include multiple processors, such as processors 2901 and 2905 in FIG. 29. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. Here, a processor may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0501] When the device shown in Figure 29 is a chip, such as a chip for a first network device, a second network device, or a third network device, or in other words, the first network device, the second network device, or the third network device is a chip, then the chip includes a processor 2901 (and may also include a processor 2905), a communication line 2902, and a communication interface 2904. Optionally, it may include a memory 2903. Specifically, the communication interface 2904 may be an input interface, pins, or circuits, etc. The memory 2903 may be a register, a cache, etc. The processor 2901 and the processor 2905 may be a general-purpose CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of a program that controls the communication method of any of the above embodiments.

[0502] This application embodiment can divide the device into functional modules according to the above method examples. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or software functional modules. The module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; other division methods may exist in actual implementation. For example, when dividing the device into functional modules according to each function, Figure 30 is a schematic diagram of a device. This device 3000 can be the first network device, second network device, or third network device involved in the above method embodiments, or a chip within the first, second, or third network device. The device 3000 includes a processing unit 3002 and a transceiver unit 3001.

[0503] It should be understood that the device 3000 can be used to implement the steps performed by the first device, the second device, the third device or the fourth device in the communication method of the embodiments of this application. The relevant features can be referred to the embodiments shown in Figures 12 to 28 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0504] Optionally, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 3001 and processing unit 3002 in Figure 30 can be implemented by the processor 2901 in Figure 29 calling computer execution instructions stored in memory 2903. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing unit 3002 in Figure 30 can be implemented by the processor 2901 in Figure 29 calling computer execution instructions stored in memory 2903, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 3001 in Figure 30 can be implemented by the communication interface 2904 in Figure 29.

[0505] Optionally, when the device 3000 is a chip or circuit, the function / implementation process of the transceiver unit 3001 can also be implemented through pins or circuits. Optionally, the transceiver unit 3001 may include a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit, wherein the transmitting unit is used to implement the transmitting function and the receiving unit is used to implement the receiving function; or, the transceiver unit 3001 may be an integral module capable of implementing the transmitting and / or receiving functions. Optionally, the transceiver unit 3001 can be implemented using a transceiver.

[0506] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the methods performed by the first network device, second network device, or third network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. Thus, the functions described in the above embodiments can be implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to it, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0507] This application also provides a computer program product comprising: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method executed by the first network device, the second network device, or the third network device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0508] This application also provides a processing apparatus, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the methods performed by the first network device, the second network device, or the third network device involved in any of the above method embodiments.

[0509] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0510] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented or operate the described functions using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor; alternatively, it can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented using a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0511] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of this application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software units can be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be disposed in an ASIC, which can be disposed in the various devices described above. Optionally, the processor and storage medium can also be disposed in different components of the various devices described above.

[0512] These computer program instructions may 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 one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0513] The contents of the various embodiments of this application can be referenced to each other. Unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0514] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the first network device, the second network device, or the third network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations thereof may also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the steps may be performed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to perform all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication system, the first communication system including a first network device and a second network device, the method includes: A first network device in the first communication system sends a first request to a second network device in the same system. The first request is used to obtain an interference map. The interference map is used to indicate a priori interference channel generated by a second access network device in the second region against a first terminal device in the first region, and / or by the second terminal device in the second region against the first access network device in the first region. The priori interference channel includes at least one interference feature, which may include one or more of the following: channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss. The first terminal device is managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by a second DU. The first region and the second region may partially or completely overlap, or may not overlap at all. The first network device acquires the interference map sent by the second network device.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first network device is a first DU associated with the first terminal device, and the second network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device. The first CU stores a channel map, which includes the interference map.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, and the second network device is a second CU associated with the second terminal device. There is a connection between the first CU and the second CU.

4. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first network device is the first CU associated with the first terminal device, and the second network device is the core network element associated with the first terminal device. The core network element stores a channel map, and the channel map includes the interference map.

5. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first communication system further includes a third network device, and the method further includes: The second network device sends the first request to the third network device; The third network device obtains the interference map based on the first request and sends the interference map to the second network device.

6. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The first network device is the first DU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is the first CU associated with the first terminal device, and the third network device is the first SU associated with the first terminal device.

7. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The first network device is the first CU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is the core network element associated with the first terminal device, and the third network device is the second CU associated with the second terminal device. There is no connection between the first CU and the second CU.

8. The method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The first communication system further includes a fourth network device, and the method further includes: The third network device sends the first request to the fourth network device; The fourth network device obtains the interference map based on the first request and sends the interference map to the third network device.

9. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first network device is a first SU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is a first CU associated with the first terminal device, the third network device is a second CU associated with the second terminal device, and the fourth network device is a second SU associated with the second terminal device. There is a connection between the first CU and the second CU.

10. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first communication system further includes a fifth network device, and the method further includes: The fourth network device sends the first request to the fifth network device; The fifth network device obtains the interference map based on the first request and sends the interference map to the fourth network device.

11. The method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The first network device is the first SU associated with the first terminal device, the second network device is the first CU associated with the first terminal device, the third network device is the core network element associated with the first terminal device, the fourth network device is the second CU associated with the second terminal device, and the fifth network device is the second SU associated with the second terminal device. There is no connection between the first CU and the second CU.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first network device acquires interference channel information, which includes first interference channel information between the second access network device in the second region and the first terminal device in the first region, and / or second interference channel information between the second terminal device in the second region and the first access network device in the first region. Based on the interference map and the interference channel information, matching index information is determined. The matching index information includes one or more of the following: the index of the sub-region corresponding to the first terminal device in the first region, the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second access network device in the second region, or the index of the sub-region corresponding to the second terminal device in the second region.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system acquires useful channel information and a useful spectrum between the first network device and the first terminal device. The useful channel information is used to indicate channel information that can support the data transmission and performance requirements between the first terminal device and the first access network device in the first area. The useful spectrum is used to indicate the useful channel prior library generated by the first access network device in the first area for the first terminal device in the first area. The useful channel prior library includes at least one useful feature, which includes one or more of the following: channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss. Based on the interference map, the useful map, the interference channel information, and the useful channel information, the matching index information is determined.

14. The method as described in claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first network device sends a second request to the first CU, the second request being used to obtain configuration information of the reference signal; The configuration information includes one or more of the spatial domain, frequency domain, code domain, or sequence parameters of the reference signal.

15. The method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first network device sends a third request to the first terminal device. The third request is used to obtain channel state information, which includes interference channel information between the first terminal device and the second access network device, and / or useful channel information between the first terminal device and the first access network device. The third request includes a first reference signal determined based on the configuration information, and / or a second signal; the first reference signal is used to determine the interference channel information, and the second reference signal is used to determine the useful channel information.

16. The method according to claims 1 to 15, characterized in that, The first request includes first region information of the first terminal device, and / or identification information of the first network device.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first network device and a second network device; The first network device is configured to send a first request to the second network device, the first request being used to obtain an interference map, the interference map being used to indicate a priori library of interference channels generated by a second access network device in the second region against a first terminal device in the first region, and / or by a second terminal device in the second region against a first access network device in the first region, the priori library of interference channels including at least one interference feature, the interference feature including one or more of channel covariance matrix, candidate beam set, angle spectrum, time delay spectrum, or path loss; the first terminal device is managed by a first DU, and the second terminal device is managed by a second DU; the first region and the second region partially or completely overlap, or do not overlap at all; The second network device is configured to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the first network device.

20. The communication system as described in claim 19, characterized in that, The communication system also includes a third network device; The second network device is further configured to send the first request to the third network device; The third network device is used to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the second network device.

21. The communication system as described in claim 20, characterized in that, The communication system also includes a fourth network device; The third network device is further configured to send the first request to the fourth network device; The fourth network device is used to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the third network device.

22. The communication system as described in claim 21, characterized in that, The communication system also includes a fifth network device; The fourth network device is further configured to send the first request to the fifth network device; The fifth network device is used to acquire the interference map and send the interference map to the fourth network device.

23. The communication system as described in any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that, The first network device includes one of the following: The first DU refers to the first CU corresponding to the first terminal device, or the first SU corresponding to the first terminal device.

24. The communication system as described in any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that, The second network device includes one of the following: The first CU, the second CU corresponding to the second terminal device, the core network element corresponding to the first terminal device, or the first SU.

25. The communication system as described in any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that, The third network device includes one of the following: The first SU, the second CU corresponding to the second terminal device, the core network element corresponding to the first terminal device, or the second SU corresponding to the second terminal device.

26. The communication system as described in any one of claims 21 to 22, characterized in that, The fourth network device includes one of the following: The second CU corresponding to the second terminal device, or the second SU corresponding to the second terminal device.

27. The communication system as described in claim 22, characterized in that, The fifth network device includes the second SU corresponding to the second terminal device.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16 to be performed.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

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