Primary o-du driven multi-vendor DL carrier aggregation in o-ran

Abstract

Embodiments of a method in a network node for transmitting downlink data to a user equipment. A network node operating as a DU hosting a PCell (pDU) sends, to a second network node operating as a DU hosting an SCell (sDU), a scheduling request message including first parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE. The pDU receives, from the sDU, a scheduling result message indicating success or failure. Responsive to the received scheduling result message indicating success, the pDU sends, to the sDU, a scheduling complete message including second parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE. The pDU sends, to the sDU, the downlink data in accordance with at least the second parameters.

Description

P112703W001Primary O-DU Driven Multi-Vendor DL Carrier Aggregation in O-RANCross Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application is based on, and claims benefit of, US provisional patent Application No. 63 / 748052 filed January 22, 2025, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to transmission scheduling, and in particular, primary O-DU driven multi-vendor DL carrier aggregation in O-RAN.Background

[0003] Carrier Aggregation is a core technology in LTE and 5G in which UE can connect to several carriers / cells to receive and transmit data. This can provide larger bandwidth and improve throughput performance, additionally, it provides enhanced carrier configuration which can be used for coverage enhancement for higher frequency carriers. Note that the considered cells for carrier aggregation can be collocated in one Distributed Unit (DU) or distributed across multiple DUs. The DUs themselves can be geographically co-located or distributed across different sites.

[0004] There exist several vendor specific solutions to provide CA across distributed nodes where tight coupling relying on internal architecture, data and functionality is exploited to provide optimized performance (e.g. see [1]).

[0005] Open network architecture is becoming more important as network providers demand flexibility and interoperability between equipment / software providers. Recently, O-RAN is looking into D2 which explores new possibilities for vendor agnostic realization of carrier aggregation [2],Node and UE Interconnection

[0006] An inter-vendor DU interface is useful when the different DUs from different vendors host different carriers that can all be used to serve traffic to a UE using spectrum aggregation protocols as defined in LTE / NR. FIG. 1 illustrates anP112703W001example Inter-DU interface for CA as part of RAN. In the example of FIG. 1 , two partner DUs (DU1 and DU2) 102a-b from respective different vendors establish an Inter-DU interface 104, referred to as “D2” interface, and can coordinate to provide DL scheduling service over the different component carriers. FIG. 1 also depicts how one DU can act as PCell for one UE, whereas acts as SCell for another UE. For example, DU1 102a can interact with a corresponding radio unit (RU) 106a to host a set of component carriers within a respective cell 108a. Similarly, DU2 102b can interact with a corresponding radio unit (RU) 106b to host a set of component carriers within a respective cell 108b. A first UE (e.g. UE-A, 110a) may be configured with DU1 102a acting as PCell, and configured with DU2 102b acting as SCell. Conversely, a second UE (e.g. UE-B, 110b) may be configured with DU1 102a acting as SCell, and configured with DU2 102b acting as PCell.

[0007] This is an example figure and does not preclude the case where there are more than two DUs involved. For example, UE A 110a has its PCell in carrier hosted at DU1 102a, whereas UE B 110b has its PCell in carrier hosted in DU2 102b. Their SCells may be hosted in a different DU from a different vendor. Radio bearers may terminate at the PCell DU for each UE. The RLC data may get scheduled in both local PCell and an SCell in another DU.

[0008] For a given UE, data-path and scheduling functions carried out by each DU depend on whether the DU is hosting the PCell with termination of radio bearers (referred to as a primary DU, pDU), or SCell (referred to as a secondary DU, sDU). This is shown in FIG. 2.

[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates an example downlink traffic flow in the example system of FIG. 1. In the example of FIG. 2, DL traffic for transmission to the UE-A 110 is received at DU 1 102a acting as pDU. DU 1 102a performs Radio Link Control (RLC) 202, media access control (MAC) 204 and Layer- 1 upper 206 functions in a manner known in the art. Downlink traffic scheduled for transmission in the PCell, is then forwarded to RU1 106a which performs Layer- 1 lower functions 208 to transmit the DL data to the UE-A 110a. On the other hand, MAC 204 can coordinate with DU2 102b, via the D2 interface 104 to handle some of the downlink traffic. In this case, theP112703W001MAC 204 may forward TBs through the D2 interface 104 to the DU2 MAC 210, which performs its own local scheduling to schedule the TBs for transmission to the UE-A 110a. The scheduled data is then forwarded to RU2 106a which performs Layer- 1 lower functions 214 to transmit the DL data to the UE-A 110a.

[0010] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In current networks, there is no mechanism to provide multi-vendor aggregation which limits flexibility in vendor selection for subsets of their network configuration. This has not been considered in 3GPP standards and leads to several key questions, including:• How scheduling can be managed since each cell in the DU from one vendor has its own scheduling algorithm which is unknown for the DU from other vendor.• The timing profile and processing budgets in one DU from one vendor are different and unknown for the DU from another vendor.• Distribution and ownership of various UE states.• Balancing performance versus vendor implementation independence and flexibility

[0011] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0012] An objective is to facilitate seamless interoperability and flexibility among different vendors' O-DUs by maximizing the independency and isolation in scheduling for Carrier Aggregation (CA) among these O-DUs, while achieving as high performance as possible. Toward this objective, this disclosure provides pDU driven scheduling where pDU drives the UE state handling, traffic steering, air interface scheduling times across carriers while offering the scheduling implementation flexibility on sDU.

[0013] Though not described in detail herein, it is assumed that UE L3 / RRC configuration is done in advance of scheduling and that these procedures as well asP112703W001internal DU procedures provide configuration details towards the layer2 schedulers for each DU.

[0014] A core principle is to encapsulate the many complicated user equipment state machines within the pDU leaving the sDU able to be operate stateless reacting to on-demand requests. This prevents duplicate state handling between nodes while leaving per-carrier configuration and general downlink channel allocation encapsulated independently per DU.

[0015] In general terms there is disclosed a process including the following steps.• pDU sends a request which contains data size (per bearer), target AIR slot (or multiple slots) and UE reported channel state information (this can also be sent asynchronously).• The sDU accepts the request and does downlink control (PDCCH) and shared channel (PDSCH) allocation sending the success or failure response for the overall request back to pDU.• pDU then aligns that response with uplink feedback channels (PUCCH / PUSCH), DL HARQ ordering coordination with other parallel downlink allocations and sends the finalized allocation (or failure) information back to the sDU.• If successful, pDU also builds MAC PDUs to fit within the TBS provided by sDU and sends the data associated with the above control information.• The sDU is then responsible for normal LI downlink procedures for the target air slot.

[0016] Timing of the above sequence is expected to be flexible and relaxed to allow low coupling between different vendor DU realizations. The sequence above can be repeated in pipeline (e.g. multiple requests can be ongoing in parallel). The specific time deadlines for each of the signals can be negotiated in advance based on per oDU processing capability as well as network signaling round-trip-time measurements.

[0017] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The disclosed pDU-driven CA solution promotes a good balanceP112703W001between inter-vendor implementation flexibility, optimized traffic steering, and minimal duplicate state / buffer management, that has many benefits over potential alternative solutions that rely either on maximum coupling (which limits the applicability in inter-vendor context) or on maximum decoupling (including sDU-driven approach that have traffic-steering and scheduling control that are closer in principle to the Dual-connectivity approach as disclosed in 3GPP). In particular,• Single UE state ownership with no need to exchange or independently track UE state and buffer across DUsa. Maintaining the UE-level states such as DRX (Discontinuous Reception) in the PCell causes the consistent state management, since PCell has centralized knowledge about the network resources. b. Maintaining the HARQ state at the pDU ensures efficient retransmission management and help reduce latency and improving reliability.c. Less runtime error-handling scenarios due to parallel state management / operations• Encapsulated component carrier channel ownership between nodes offering flexibility for vendor-internal scheduling realization (including handling of QoS attributes at MAC level and multiplexing in time or frequency with other users)• Better opportunity for unified traffic steering across intra-vendor and inter-vendor component carriers.a. The pDU decides when scheduling on SCell should be attempted and determines the timing of new transmissions per bearer and retransmissions. This helps pDU ensure that scheduling is coordinated and aligned with overall network strategies.b. Single point of buffer ownership allows more precise distribution of that data across carriers and faster reaction to new packet arrivalP112703W001

[0018] Embodiments of a base station, communication system, and a method in a communication system are also disclosed.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain principles of the disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an example Inter-DU interface for CA as part of RAN known in the art;

[0021] FIG. 2 illustrates an example downlink traffic flow in the example system of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates an example signal sequence in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 4 illustrates example signal arrival deadline times in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 5 illustrates example pipelining of scheduling processes in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments;

[0026] FIG. 7 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

[0027] FIG. 8 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments; and

[0028] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.Detailed Description

[0029] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosureP112703W001and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0030] At least some of the following abbreviations and terms may be used in this disclosure.• 2D Two Dimensional• 3 GPP Third Generation Partnership Project• 5G Fifth Generation• AAS Antenna Array System• AoA Angle of Arrival• AoD Angle of Departure• ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit• BF Beamforming• BLER Block Error Rate• BW Beamwidth• CPU Central Processing Unit• CSI Channel State Information• DAI Downlink Assignment Index• dB Decibel• DCI Downlink Control Information• DFT Discrete Fourier Transform• DSP Digital Signal Processor• eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node B• FIR Finite Impulse Response• FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array• gNB New Radio Base Station• ICC Information Carrying Capacity• UR Infinite Impulse Response• LTE Long Term EvolutionP112703W001MIMO Multiple Input Multiple OutputMME Mobility Management EntityMMSE Minimum Mean Square ErrorMTC Machine Type CommunicationNR New RadioOTT Over-the-TopPBCH Physical Broadcast ChannelPDCCH Physical Downlink Control ChannelPDSCH Physical Downlink Shared ChannelP-GW Packet Data Network GatewayRAM Random Access MemoryROM Read Only MemoryRRC Radio Resource ControlRRH Remote Radio HeadSCEF Service Capability Exposure FunctionSINR Signal to Interference plus Noise RatioTB Transmission BlockTBS Transmission Block SizeUE User EquipmentULA Uniform Linear ArrayURA Uniform Rectangular Array

[0031] Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” is either a radio access node or a wireless device.

[0032] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” is any node in a radio access network of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP LongP112703W001Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), and a relay node.

[0033] Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), or the like.

[0034] Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” is any type of device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a cellular communications network by wirelessly transmitting (and / or receiving) signals to (and / or from) a radio access node. Some examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device.

[0035] Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network or the core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0036] Cell: As used herein, a “cell” is a combination of radio resources (such as, for example, antenna port allocation, time and frequency) that a wireless device may use to exchange radio signals with a radio access node, which may be referred to as a host node or a serving node of the cell. However, it is important to note that beams may be used instead of cells, particularly with respect to 5G NR. As such, it should be appreciated that the techniques described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0037] Note that references in this disclosure to various technical standards (such as 3GPP TS 38.211 V15.1.0 (2018-03) and 3GPP TS 38.214 V15.1.0 (2018-03), for example) should be understood to refer to the specific version(s) of such standard(s) that is(were) current at the time the present application was filed.

[0038] The description herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3 GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3 GPP terminology isP112703W001oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3 GPP system.

[0039] Systems and methods are disclosed herein that provideNode Responsibility Split

[0040] The present disclosure provides a responsibility split between pDU and sDU that could be referred to as pDU-driven approach. This, as mentioned above, includes L2 / L1 procedures that are needed for DL CA operation. This can be seen as specific “distributed and multi-vendor realization” of 3 GPP air-interface (Uu) protocols for a DL Carrier Aggregation UE.

[0041] pDU-driven UE state control. The pDU autonomously triggers CSI request on PCell-PUSCH for all component carriers. The pDU is in control of determining when an SCell should be activated. It can use information available from sDU if desired, but the decision itself is made by pDU. The pDU manages and tracks UE’s states (DRX state, measurement gap etc.) and is aware of the instants when UE is not monitoring necessary physical channels and reference signals.

[0042] pDU-driven scheduling. The pDU has full flexibility in how to distribute and aggregate Data Radio Bearer (DRB) data across DUs (including over or under dimensioning requests). sDU can operate in a “state-less” manner reacting to scheduling request from pDU. It however has full flexibility when it comes to allocating PDCCH / PDSCH resource on its component carrier based on its own internal realization of QoS, and the physical channel configurations, and link adaptation algorithms. The pDU is responsible for allocating necessary HARQ-feedback resource (PUCCH / PUSCH) for DL assignments towards UE. It includes the case of semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook as well as dynamic HARQ-Ack codebook. In the latter case, it needs to select the appropriate pdsch-to-harq feedback slot offset (i.e. KI selection), and computation of cross-carrier DAI consistent DAI values.

[0043] pDU-managed HARQ control. pDU maintains and tracks HARQ Feeback state for all HARQ processes. pDU also can perform prioritization decision of new transmission or HARQ retransmissions. sDU requests TBS based on resources that itP112703W001can allocate. pDU builds MAC PDU (Transport Block) by multiplexing RLC PDUs / segments from different DRBs to fit into the provided size and forwards this to sDU. sDU carries out the PHY layer processing on the received TB and transmits it over the air.Signal Sequence Diagram

[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates an example signal sequence that realizes the above specified responsibility split. The signal naming and content details has some flexibility. Annotations in the sequence have been added to describe possible functional decisions that can be made by pDU or sDU although it is not mandatory for the overall systemization or signal sequence. In the example of FIG. 3, the pDU handles local scheduling, overall UE / SCell state, and decisions on what carriers to use for data, including buffer tracking for single / multi vendor requests. T

[0045] Step 1 (at 302): upon receipt of downlink data for transmission to the UE, the pDU performs local state management and scheduling in a conventional manner.

[0046] Step 2 (at 304): If the pDU chooses to forward the downlink data to the UE via the sDU, the pDU enters an external scheduling process, and sends a Scheduling Request message to the sDU. The Scheduling Request message includes the DL CSI information (CQI, PMI and other link adaptation data (laData)) as well as information on the amount of DL data from zero or more radio bearers that it would like sDU to schedule for transmission over SCell DLSCH; and “target slot data” identifying a proposed air-interface slot for transmission to the UE.

[0047] The external scheduling process may be asynchronous to other local scheduling processes at either pDU or sDU and it is vendor internal handling on how to synchronize and prioritize.

[0048] Step 3 (at 306): Following receipt of the Scheduling Request message from the pDU, the sDU performs an its own scheduling process to schedule the downlink transmission to the UE, based on the data contained in the Scheduling Request message. In the illustrated embodiment, this scheduling process is referred to as ScheduleExternalUE to reflect the fact that the sDU does not perform RLC processingP112703W001of the downlink data, as described above with reference to FIG. 2. The ScheduleExternalUE process may include internal scheduling of PDSCH / PDCCH, and interaction and prioritization with other local or external requests.

[0049] Step 4 (at 308): Following completion of the ScheduleExternalUE process, the sDU may send an SchedulingResult message to the pDU. The SchedulingResult message may include PDCCH timing data and PDSCHresult data indicating success or failure of ScheduleExternalUE process.

[0050] Step 5 (at 310): Following receipt of the SchedulingResult message, the pDU can update and finalize scheduling info, KI selection (i.e., the slot offset between SCell PDSCH and the PCell PUCCH for HARQ feedback), PUCCH allocation and Downlink Assignment Index (cDAI and tDAI) across carriers.

[0051] Step 6 (at 312): If the SchedulingResult message received from the sDU (at 308) indicates that the ScheduleExternalUE process (at 306) was successful, the pDU can send a SchedulingComplete message to the sDU. The SchedulingComplete message may include finalized scheduling data, including the KI selection, PUCCH allocation and DAI.

[0052] Step 7 (at 314): After sending the SchedulingComplete message, the pDU may send a transport block (TB, also referred to as a MAC PDU) containing the downlink data to be transmitted to the UE by the sDU.

[0053] Step 8 (at 316): If the SchedulingResult message received from the sDU (at 308) indicates that the ScheduleExternalUE process (at 306) failed, the pDU can send a SchedulingFailed message to the sDU. In some embodiments, the SchedulingFailed message may indicate that the pDU has released scheduling data for transmission of the downlink data through the sPU. Correspondingly, upon receipt of the SchedulingFailed message from the pDU, the sDU may release any resources scheduled for transmitting the downlink data to the UE.

[0054] As noted above, the external scheduling process may be asynchronous to other local scheduling processes and / or events at either pDU or sDU. FIG. 3 illustrates one example asynchronous event 318, in this case a Scheduling Information message toP112703W001provide asynchronous data to the sDU such as HARQ data and / or link adaptation data (LaData) that may be used for counters, outer loop link adaptation (OLA) etc.

[0055] FIG. 4 illustrates the signal arrival deadline times relative to the target on air slot (or slots) to be scheduled for SCell PDCCH / PDSCH.

[0056] The two nodes, at connection establishment, exchange agreement on the time deadlines for arrival at either pDU or sDU for each of the signals. The sDU would provide the schedulingComplete deadline, the pDU the schedulingResult deadline and the sDU the schedulingRequest deadline.

[0057] The illustration of FIG. 4 is a simple example and not intended to imply any specific negotiated timing for a given DU pair.

[0058] Sequence Pipeline Diagram

[0059] The sequence and timing diagrams in previous sections refer to a single scheduling request, confirm, complete sequence. The sequence is not intended to run within a single 3GPP slot timing but can span multiple slots due to interconnect or DU processing budgets.

[0060] In order for the air interface to be fully used at SCell, this sequence may be pipelined for different air target opportunities. FIG. 5 illustrates this principle for an arbitrary scheduling target (A, B and C) for a given SCell where that target can be running any numerology and can be for a single or multiple slot window.

[0061] FIG. 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0062] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3 GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will beP112703W001appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 602 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 602, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.

[0063] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.P112703W001

[0064] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0065] The UEs 612 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 602.

[0066] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 616. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 608. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication ServerP112703W001Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0067] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunication network 602. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and prerecorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0068] As a whole, the communication system 600 of Figure 6 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0069] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunications network 602 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing EnhancedP112703W001Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0070] In some examples, the UEs 612 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0071] In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.P112703W001

[0072] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 610b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0073] FIG. 7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 700 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 612 of Figure 1. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.P112703W001

[0074] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0075] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a power source 708, a memory 710, a communication interface 712, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 7. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0076] The processing circuitry 702 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 710. The processing circuitry 702 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 702 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0077] In the example, the input / output interface 706 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a videoP112703W001card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 700. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0078] In some embodiments, the power source 708 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0079] The memory 710 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, andP112703W001corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0080] The memory 710 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external minidual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 710 may allow the UE 700 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0081] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712. The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 718 and / or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.P112703W001

[0082] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 712 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0083] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0084] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0085] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but notP112703W001limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0086] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0087] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or theP112703W001second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0088] FIG. 8 shows a network node 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0089] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0090] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).P112703W001

[0091] The network node 800 includes a processing circuitry 802, a memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808. The network node 800 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 800 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 800 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 800.

[0092] The processing circuitry 802 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 800 components, such as the memory 804, to provide network node 800 functionality.

[0093] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and theP112703W001baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0094] The memory 804 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 802. The memory 804 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and memory 804 is integrated.

[0095] The communication interface 806 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 806 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio frontend circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. Radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to an antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 810 and processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes orP112703W001UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 820 and / or amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0096] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818, instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio front-end circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0097] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0098] The antenna 810, communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. AnyP112703W001information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0099] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 808. As a further example, the power source 808 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0100] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 8 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 6, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 818 and the RF transceiver circuitry 812 may be omitted.

[0101] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, orP112703W001components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 900 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 900 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

[0102] Applications 902 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0103] Hardware 904 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 906 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 908a and 908b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 908), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 906 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 908.

[0104] The VMs 908 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 906. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 902 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 908, and the implementations may beP112703W001made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0105] In the context of NFV, a VM 908 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, nonvirtualized machine. Each of the VMs 908, and that part of hardware 904 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 908 on top of the hardware 904 and corresponds to the application 902.

[0106] Hardware 904 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 904 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 910, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 902. In some embodiments, hardware 904 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 912 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0107] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations ofP112703W001components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0108] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.P112703W001

[0109] While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is representative, and that alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.

[0110] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

P112703W001ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a first network node operating as a Distributed Unit (DU) hosting a PCell (pDU) in a radio access network, the method comprising: receiving downlink data for transmission to a User Equipment (UE) configured with the PCell;sending, to a second network node operating as a DU hosting an SCell (sDU) in the radio access network, a scheduling request message including first parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE; receiving, from the sDU, a scheduling result message indicating success or failure; andresponsive to the received scheduling result message indicating success:sending, to the sDU, a scheduling complete message including second parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE; andsending, to the sDU, the downlink data in accordance with at least the second parameters.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising, responsive to the received scheduling result message indicating failure, sending a scheduling failed message to the sDU.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE comprise any one or more of: a data size;a target AIR slot; andUE reported channel state information.P112703W0014. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein receiving, from the sDU, a scheduling result message indicating success comprises receiving, from the sDU any one of more of:Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) timing data; anda transmission block size (TBS) for transporting the downlink data.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE comprise any one or more of: a finalized Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) allocation;a finalized Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) allocation;a finalized Downlink Assignment Index (DAI);Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) data; andPDSCH-to-HARQ feedback slot offset.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein sending, to the sDU, the downlink data in accordance with the second parameters comprises:building a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) in accordance with the received TBS, the MAC PDU including the downlink data; and forwarding the MAC PDU to the sDU in accordance with the second parameters.

7. A method performed by a second network node operating as a Distributed Unit (DU) hosting an SCell (sDU) in a radio access network, the method comprising: receiving, from a first network node operating as a DU hosting a PCell (pDU) in the radio access network, a scheduling request message including first parameters for scheduling a transmission of downlink data to a user equipment (UE) configured with the SCell;responsive to the received request, scheduling the transmission of downlink data to the UE, and sending, to the pDU, a scheduling result message indicting success;P112703W001receiving, from the pDU, a scheduling complete message including second parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE; receiving, from the pDU, the downlink data in accordance with at least the second parameters; andtransmitting, to the UE, the received downlink data in accordance with at least the second parameters.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:sending, to the pDU, a scheduling result message indicting failure; and subsequently receiving, from the pDU, a scheduling failed message.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE comprise any one or more of: a data size;a target AIR slot; andUE reported channel state information.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein sending, to the pDU, the scheduling result message indicating success comprises sending, to the pDU any one of more of:Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) timing data; anda transport block size (TBS) for transporting the downlink data.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second parameters for scheduling transmission of the downlink data to the UE comprise any one or more of:a finalized Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) allocation;a finalized Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) allocation;a finalized Downlink Assignment Index (DAI);P112703W001Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) data; andPDSCH-to-HARQ feedback slot offset.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein receiving, from the pDU, the downlink data in accordance with the second parameters comprises: receiving a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) from the pDU in accordance with the second parameters.

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