HARQ RLC transmitter interaction for fast polling

Abstract

Embodiments of a method in a transmitter network node in a radio access network. The transmitter network node includes a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity and a Hybrid Automatic Request (HARQ) process. The method includes starting, by the RLC entity, a timer when the HARQ process transmits a poll for status report, the poll being associated with an RLC sequence number of an RLC PDU. The RLC performs any one or more of: restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll; stopping the timer on receipt of either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; early expire the timer when a Local NACK from the HARQ process is indicated to the RLC entity; and retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer.

Description

HARQ RLC Transmitter Interaction For Fast Polling Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communications network management, and in particular to Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Radio Link Control (RLC) Transmitter Interaction For Fast Polling.Background

[0002] Research on 6G as the next generation of mobile communication system is ongoing. This invention relates to potential technical components of 6G which are described utilizing existing definitions and descriptions according to 5G specifications.

[0003] The 5G user-plane architecture and protocols are described with help of FIG. 1. UE is connected over the air via the Uu protocol with the radio access network (RAN) gNB. The gNB may be separated into distributed unit (DU) and centralized unit (CU), connected via Fl interface. The gNB is connected to the core network (CN) including the user-plane function (UPF). Typically, IP data is transported via UE-gNB-UPF. The RAN protocol stack between UE and gNB includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) protocol, for handling mapping of QoS flows as established by the UPF to data radio bearers (DRBs) as established by the gNB. The protocol data convergence protocol (PDCP) is among others responsible for encryption / integrity protection and handover forwarding and retransmission. For handovers between gNBs the Xn interface is employed. The radio link control (RLC) is among others responsible for segmentation of higher layer PDCP / IP data to fitting the transport blocks (TBs) available for the lower layer over the air transmission. Also, retransmissions are based on automatic repeat request (ARQ) in acknowledged mode of RLC. MAC protocol stands for medium access control and supports scheduling of transmissions over the air, and entails the hybrid automated repeat request (HARQ) protocol. The physical layer (PHY) handles e.g. modulation and coding and the actual physical transmission.Background on HARO

[0004] In 3GPP radio access networks, e.g. 5GNR, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) protocol facilitates retransmissions of data in case of transmission errors over the air. A HARQ entity maintains multiple HARQ processes for data transmission.

[0005] For uplink HARQ, data transmission on a HARQ process is granted by the gNB by downlink control indicators (DCI) carried on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and data is transmitted on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Different encoding is applied to these channels resulting in different error rates.

[0006] HARQ retransmission of a HARQ process is triggered upon request by gNB based on DCI on PDCCH as well. The HARQ process may also be overridden to be used for new data also based on gNB indicating this via DCI.

[0007] The HARQ protocol may result in residual errors. After a certain number of retransmissions the gNB may give up on a HARQ process and not retransmit the data anymore, leading to data loss. Furthermore, the UE may erroneously detect a false grant / DCI on PDCCH, even though the gNB didn’t send it, leading to undiscoverable HARQ process transmission for which data loss occurs as well.Radio Link Control

[0008] The radio link control (RLC) protocol, which resides on top of the HARQ protocol, in acknowledged mode (AM), is able to detect and correct HARQ residual errors. Therefore, RLC maintains its own state of which data packets are already successfully received. This is based on RLC status reporting from the receiver. Counters and timers are employed to poll, trigger and if needed retransmit RLC status reports and retransmit RLC data until reception success is ensured. RLC status reports are considered data in the HARQ protocol, meaning they undergo HARQ retransmissions in case of unsuccessful reception. The drawback of RLC retransmissions is increased latency.

[0009] There currently exist certain challenges. In current systems, recovery loops of residual HARQ errors by RLC layer are based on the RLC round trip time, which means long delays for retransmissions. Short latencies for time critical services can thus not be guaranteed. In particular the RLC poll mechanisms for polling the RLC Status report that triggersretransmission of data does not take all information available at the transmitter side into account to enable shorter recovery cycles.Summary

[0010] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. To improve the latency of triggering RLC retransmissions (with potential re-segmentation to adapt to smaller transport blocks) over an occasionally failing HARQ protocol, this disclosure provides a method where RLC poll retransmissions are used to trigger RLC status reports, and subsequent retransmissions are controlled by a short timer that is related to an expected HARQ round trip time (instead of a longer timer related to expected RLC round trip time as in prior art systems).

[0011] Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a transmitter network node in a radio access network. The transmitter network node includes a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity and a Hybrid Automatic Request (HARQ) process. The method comprises starting, by the RLC entity, a timer when the HARQ process transmits a poll for status report, the poll being associated with an RLC sequence number of an RLC PDU. The RLC entity performs any one or more of: restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll; stopping the timer on receipt of either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; early expire the timer when a Local NACK from the HARQ process is indicated to the RLC entity; and retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the RLC entity stopping or pausing the timer in response to receipt, from the HARQ process, a Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) without a retransmission indication.

[0013] In some embodiments, starting, by the RLC entity, the timer comprises: the RLC entity sending, to the HARQ process, a poll request indication; and the RLC entity starting the timer.

[0014] In some embodiments, restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll comprises: the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, an indication that theHARQ process has retransmitted the poll; and in response to receiving the indication, restarting the timer.

[0015] In some embodiments, stopping the timer comprises: the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, and indication that the HARQ process has received either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; and in response to receiving the indication, stopping the timer.

[0016] In some embodiments, early expiring the timer comprises: the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, a local NACK (L-NACK) associated with the RLC sequence number; and in response to receiving the indication, early expiring the timer.

[0017] In some embodiments, retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer comprises: the RLC entity detecting that the timer has expired without receipt of any of: an indication that the HARQ process has retransmitted the poll; an indication of either one or both of HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; and a L-NACK indication from the HARQ process; and in response to detecting that the timer has expired: the RLC entity causing the HARQ process to retransmit the poll; and the RLC entity restarting the timer.

[0018] A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a network node of a radio access network. The network node comprises: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the above-noted method steps; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0019] Thus, the present disclosure provides a method in a transmitter, where poll for status report (to control retransmissions) is retransmitted based on a timer (e.g. on RLC a t-PollRetransmit timer). The method comprises any one or more of the following:• Restart the timer when HARQ retransmits. The HARQ layer may indicate this to RLC entity if poll is included in the retransmitted HARQ message.• Stop the timer when reliable HARQ ACK is received. The HARQ layer may indicate this to the RLC entity. The timer is also stopped when RLC ACK is received.• Early expire the timer i.e. trigger RLC retransmission of poll, when Local NACK from HARQ is indicated to the RLC entityo Local NACK triggered if HARQ layer local NACK timer expires, i.e. when no HARQ feedback is received for certain time o Local NACK triggered by specific request indication from receiver side, which provides transmission grants (e.g. network in case of UL transmission)• optimization: stop / pause timer (to give time for scheduler decisions), when (LI or L2) NACK without retransmission trigger for HARQ is received.o the timer may later be restarted for the cases as described above, or Local NACK may trigger actions described for early expire, as described above.• Upon expiry of the timer, retransmitting the poll (as part of RLC retransmission)

[0020] The timer is associated with a poll for an RLC sequence number of an RLC PDU. The above conditions for stop / start / expiry of the timer are dependent on if this sequence number / PDU was included in the HARQ process triggering the indication to RLC.

[0021] In a generalization of the above the invention is applicable to any timer handling retransmission of data (e.g. on RLC layer), i.e. it is restarted / stopped / early-expired / paused under the conditions described above. Instead of a poll, data is retransmitted. This should consider the data included in the considered lower layer transmission (HARQ process). In an alternative all data with (RLC) sequence numbers smaller or same as the data in the considered lower layer transmission (HARQ process) are retransmitted.

[0022] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The solution allows configuring a much shorter pollRetransmitTimer to trigger faster retransmissions, which lowers the guaranteeably latency required by certain time critical communication services.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] 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.

[0024] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a 5G user-plane architecture known in the art.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a message flow diagram illustrating a method in accordance with some embodiments.

[0026] FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0027] FIG. 4 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0028] FIG. 5 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.Detailed Description

[0030] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0031] 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• AM Acknowledged Mode• Ao A 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 InformationDAI Downlink Assignment IndexdB DecibelDCI Downlink Control Information DFT Discrete Fourier TransformDSP Digital Signal ProcessoreNB Enhanced or Evolved Node BFIR Finite Impulse ResponseFPGA Field Programmable Gate Array gNB New Radio Base StationHARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat ReQuest ICC Information Carrying Capacity HR Infinite Impulse ResponseLTE Long Term EvolutionMAC Medium Access ControlMIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output MME Mobility Management Entity MMSE Minimum Mean Square Error MTC Machine Type Communication NR New RadioOTT Over-the-TopPBCH Physical Broadcast Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RAM Random Access MemoryRLC Radio Link ControlROM Read Only MemoryRRC Radio Resource Control• RRH Remote Radio Head• SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function• SINR Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio• TBS Transmission Block Size• UCI Uplink Control Information• UE User Equipment• ULA Uniform Linear Array• URA Uniform Rectangular Array

[0032] Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” is either a radio access node or a wireless device.

[0033] 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 Long Term 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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 3 GPP network and a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] The description herein focuses on a 3 GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used.However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system.

[0040] A method performed by a transmitter network node in a radio access network. The transmitter network node includes a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity and a Hybrid Automatic Request (HARQ) process. The method comprises starting, by the RLC entity, a timer when the HARQ process transmits a poll for status report, the poll being associated with an RLC sequence number of an RLC PDU. The RLC entity performs any one or more of: restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll; stopping the timer on receipt of either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; early expire the timer when a Local NACK from the HARQ process is indicated to the RLC entity; and retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer.

[0041] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the RLC entity stopping or pausing the timer in response to receipt, from the HARQ process, a Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) without a retransmission indication.

[0042] In some embodiments, starting, by the RLC entity, the timer comprises: the RLC entity sending, to the HARQ process, a poll request indication; and the RLC entity starting the timer.

[0043] In some embodiments, restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll comprises: the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, an indication that the HARQ process has retransmitted the poll; and in response to receiving the indication, restarting the timer.

[0044] In some embodiments, stopping the timer comprises: the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, and indication that the HARQ process has received either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; and in response to receiving the indication, stopping the timer.

[0045] In some embodiments, early expiring the timer comprises: the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, a local NACK (L-NACK) associated with the RLC sequence number; and in response to receiving the indication, early expiring the timer.

[0046] In some embodiments, retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer comprises: the RLC entity detecting that the timer has expired without receipt of any of: an indication that the HARQ process has retransmitted the poll; an indication of either one or both of HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; and a L-NACK indication from the HARQ process; and in response to detecting that the timer has expired: the RLC entity causing either the HARQ process or another HARQ process to retransmit the poll; and the RLC entity restarting the timer.

[0047] A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a network node of a radio access network. The network node comprises: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the above-noted method steps; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0048] The invention is described in further details with the reference to FIG. 2. In legacy systems the polling mechanisms for RLC status reporting (to trigger RLC retransmissions) is handled entirely on the RLC layer. A poll may be included regularly by the transmitter. When it is included, RLC layer waits for certain time i.e. t-PollRetransmit timer before retransmitting the poll, unless RLC receives an RLC status report indicating the RLC data unit with the poll has been received or not received. This may take significant time, as the t-PollRetransmit timerneeds to account for one RLC round-trip time (RTT), i.e. UL and DL HARQ transmission and retransmission times to convey the RLC data in both directions.

[0049] According to one embodiment, the t-PollRetransmit timer is configured with a shorter interval, that considers a lower time, as it refers to only the HARQ RTT. This is enabled by restarting the t-PollRetransmit timer when HARQ retransmits the poll, and the HARQ layer informs / indicates to the RLC layer about this. The information is provided selectively from the RLC layer to the HARQ layer when an RLC poll was included in the HARQ transmission. If the timer is not running, it is started instead of being restarted at the occasion of the indication from HARQ that it has performed transmission including the RLC poll.

[0050] The t-PollRetransmit timer is stopped when an RLC status report acknowledges reception of the POLL SN, i.e. the sequence number of the RLC PDU that triggered the poll. In addition, according to one embodiment, the timer is stopped when HARQ reliably realizes that the transmission was received, i.e. when a reliable HARQ ACK is received from the HARQ receiver. Then, the HARQ transmitter indicates this to the RLC transmitter. In other words, the timer is stopped if the HARQ process that has been acknowledged carried the RLC data with a sequence number corresponding to the POLL SN.

[0051] Upon expiry of the timer, RLC retransmits the poll alongside with RLC data.According to one embodiment the timer is expired early, i.e. shortcut, when HARQ layer indicates a Local NACK, as further specified below. The Local NACK from HARQ to RLC is an indication that the HARQ layer failed to deliver the data to the receiver. The Local NACK may be triggered by an indication from the network i.e. a request to trigger Local NACK, for example when the network realizes that the HARQ process failed. Alternatively, Local NACK may be triggered when a HARQ timer at the UE side expires. This HARQ timer may waits or HARQ feedback and if no feedback arrived within this time, it triggers local NACK.

[0052] In some embodiments, the timer is stopped / paused when a NACK without retransmission trigger for HARQ is received. The NACK may be reliable or not (LI or L2). The idea of this optimization is to give time for the scheduler to decide upon actions for the HARQ process, or prioritize other UEs / transmissions in the meantime. Later indications from the scheduler to either retransmit on the HARQ process or give up on the HARQ process wouldtrigger the actions described above (e.g. start / restart timer or at Local NACK actions upon expiry of timer).Downlink based restart

[0053] As an extension to the invention the RLC entity may also be informed about failed receptions in the reverse direction. We describe the example for UL, i.e. poll is transmitted in UL, status report in DL, retransmissions in UL; this is indicated in () as an example. However, the method is applicable in both directions. If a (DL) scheduling, indicating a data (DL) transmission that could contain the status report (in DL, for UL), is received but the (DL) data decoding fails, the RLC entity restarts t-PollRetransmit (UL). The detection that a data transmission could contain a status report (in DL, for UL) could be any (DL) data transmission while t-PollRetransmit (UL) is running or determined based on timing from (UL) transmission containing poll and / or the size of the allocated transport block (DL).Generalization to any timer for retransmission

[0054] In a generalization of the above the invention is applicable to any timer handling retransmission of data (e.g. on RLC layer), i.e. it is restarted / stopped / early-expired / paused under the conditions described above. Instead of a poll, data is retransmitted. This should consider the data included in the considered lower layer transmission (HARQ process). In an alternative all data with (RLC) sequence numbers smaller or same as the data in the considered lower layer transmission (HARQ process) are retransmitted.

[0055] FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication system 300 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0056] In the example, the communication system 300 includes a telecommunication network 302 that includes an access network 304, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 306, which includes one or more core network nodes 308. The access network 304 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 310a and 310b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 310), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated 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 bya single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 302 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 302 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 302, including one or more network nodes 310 and / or core network nodes 308.

[0057] 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 310 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 312a, 312b, 312c, and 312d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 312) to the core network 306 over one or more wireless connections.

[0058] 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 300 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 300 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0059] The UEs 312 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 310 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 310 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 312 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 302 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 302.

[0060] In the depicted example, the core network 306 connects the network nodes 310 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 316. 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 306 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 308) 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 308. 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 Server Function (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).

[0061] The host 316 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 304 and / or the telecommunication network 302. The host 316 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality ofUEs, 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.

[0062] As a whole, the communication system 300 of FIG. 3 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.

[0063] In some examples, the telecommunication network 302 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 302 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 302. For example, the telecommunications network 302 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0064] In some examples, the UEs 312 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 304 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 304. 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).

[0065] In the example, the hub 314 communicates with the access network 304 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 312c and / or 312d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 310b). In some examples, the hub 314 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 314 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 306 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 314 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 310, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 314. As another example, the hub 314 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 314 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 314 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 314 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 314 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0066] The hub 314 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 310b. The hub 314 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 314 and UEs (e.g., UE 312c and / or 312d), and between the hub 314 and the core network 306. In other examples, the hub 314 is connected to the core network 306 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 314 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 304 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 310 while still connected via the hub 314 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 314 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 310b. In other embodiments, the hub 314 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 310b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0067] FIG. 4 shows a UE 400 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 400 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 312 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.

[0068] 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).

[0069] The UE 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input / output interface 406, a power source 408, a memory 410, a communication interface 412, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG. 4. 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.

[0070] The processing circuitry 402 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 410. The processing circuitry 402 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 402 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0071] In the example, the input / output interface 406 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 video card, 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 400. 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.

[0072] In some embodiments, the power source 408 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 408 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 408 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 400 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 408. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification tothe power from the power source 408 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 400 to which power is supplied.

[0073] The memory 410 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 410 includes one or more application programs 414, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 416. The memory 410 may store, for use by the UE 400, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0074] The memory 410 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 mini-dual 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 410 may allow the UE 400 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 410, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0075] The processing circuitry 402 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 412. The communication interface 412 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 422. The communication interface 412 may includeone 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 418 and / or a receiver 420 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 418 and receiver 420 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 422) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0076] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 412 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.

[0077] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 412, 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).

[0078] 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, themotor, 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.

[0079] 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 not limited 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 400 shown in FIG. 4.

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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 controlleroperating 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 the second 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.

[0082] FIG. 5 shows a network node 500 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 0-RAN node (e g., 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0083] 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 0-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).

[0084] 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).

[0085] The network node 500 includes a processing circuitry 502, a memory 504, a communication interface 506, and a power source 508. The network node 500 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., aNodeB component and aRNC 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 500 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 500 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 504 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 510 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 500 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 500, 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 500.

[0086] The processing circuitry 502 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 500 components, such as the memory 504, to provide network node 500 functionality.

[0087] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 512 and the baseband processing circuitry 514 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 512 and baseband processing circuitry 514 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0088] The memory 504 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 computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 502. The memory 504 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 502 and utilized by the network node 500. The memory 504 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 502 and / or any data received via the communication interface 506. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 502 and memory 504 is integrated.

[0089] The communication interface 506 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 506 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 516 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 506 also includes radio front-end circuitry 518 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 510. Radio front-end circuitry 518 comprises filters 520 and amplifiers 522. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may be connected to an antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 510 and processing circuitry 502. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 518 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 520 and / or amplifiers 522. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 510. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 510 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 518. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 502. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0090] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 500 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 518, instead, the processing circuitry 502 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 510. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 512 is part of the communication interface 506. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 506 includes one or more ports or terminals 516, the radio front-end circuitry 518, and the RF transceiver circuitry 512, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 506 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 514, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0091] The antenna 510 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 510 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 518 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 510 is separate from the network node 500 and connectable to the network node 500 through an interface or port.

[0092] The antenna 510, communication interface 506, and / or the processing circuitry 502 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 510, the communication interface 506, and / or the processing circuitry 502 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0093] The power source 508 provides power to the various components of network node 500 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 508 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 500 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 500 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 508. As a further example, the power source 508 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.

[0094] Embodiments of the network node 500 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 5 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 500 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 500 and to allow output of information from the network node 500. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 500. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 3, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 518 and the RF transceiver circuitry 512 may be omitted.

[0095] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 600 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, or components 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 600 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 600 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.

[0096] Applications 602 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in thevirtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0097] Hardware 604 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 606 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 608a and 608b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 608), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 606 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 608.

[0098] The VMs 608 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 606.Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 602 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 608, and the implementations may be made 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.

[0099] In the context of NFV, a VM 608 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 608, and that part of hardware 604 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 608 on top of the hardware 604 and corresponds to the application 602.

[0100] Hardware 604 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 604 may implement some functions via virtualization.Alternatively, hardware 604 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 managementand orchestration 610, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 602. In some embodiments, hardware 604 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 612 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0101] 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 of components. 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.

[0102] 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.EMBODIMENTS1. A method performed by a transmitter network node in a radio access network, wherein a poll for status report is retransmitted by the transmitter network node based on a timer associated with a poll for an RLC sequence number of an RLC PDU, the method comprising any one or more ofrestarting the timer when HARQ retransmits;stopping the timer on receipt of either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK; early expire the timer when a Local NACK from HARQ is indicated to RLC; and retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer.2. The method of embodiment 1, further comprising either one of stopping and pausing the timer in response to receipt of a (LI or L2) NACK without retransmission trigger for HARQ.3. A network node of a radio access network, the network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of embodiments 1 and 2;power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a transmitter network node in a radio access network, the transmitter network node including a Radio Link Control (RLC) entity and a Hybrid Automatic Request (HARQ) process, the method comprising:starting, by the RLC entity, a timer when the HARQ process transmits a poll for status report, the poll being associated with an RLC sequence number of an RLC PDU; andperforming, by the RLC entity, any one or more of:restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll;stopping the timer on receipt of either one or both of a HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number;early expire the timer when a Local NACK from the HARQ process is indicated to the RLC entity; andretransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the RLC entity stopping or pausing the timer in response to receipt, from the HARQ process, a Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) without a retransmission indication.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein starting, by the RLC entity, the timer comprises:the RLC entity sending, to the HARQ process, a poll request indication; and the RLC entity starting the timer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein restarting the timer when the HARQ process retransmits the poll comprises:the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, an indication that the HARQ process has retransmitted the poll; andin response to receiving the indication, restarting the timer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein stopping the timer comprises:the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, an indication that the HARQ process has received either one or both of: a HARQ ACK; and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; andin response to receiving the indication, stopping the timer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein early expiring the timer comprises:the RLC entity receiving, from the HARQ process, a local NACK (L-NACK) associated with the RLC sequence number; andin response to receiving the indication, early expiring the timer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein retransmitting the poll upon expiry of the timer comprises:the RLC entity detecting that the timer has expired without receipt of any of: an indication that the HARQ process has retransmitted the poll; an indication of either one or both of HARQ ACK and a RLC ACK associated with the RLC sequence number; and a L-NACK indication from the HARQ process; and in response to detecting that the timer has expired:the RLC entity causing either the HARQ process or another HARQ process to retransmit the poll; andthe RLC entity restarting the timer.

8. A network node of a radio access network, the network node comprising:processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1 -7; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

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