Cell Handover Method Using Split Control and User Planes
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cell handover processes, the increased transmission resources and significant delays occur due to the large amount of data that needs to be forwarded from a small node to a target eNB during offloading.
Innovation Solution
A method where the source eNB sends a handover request to the target eNB, including a context of the current serving small node and an offloading indication, allowing the target eNB to use the current serving small node as the user plane serving node and itself as the control plane serving node, thereby maintaining user plane data transmission in the small node and switching the control plane from the source eNB to the target eNB.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the small node forwards all buffered user plane data to the target eNB during cell handover, then the service continuity is ensured, but the transmission resource requirement increases and the delay becomes significant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary data forwarding operation from the complete data transfer process. Instead of forwarding all buffered data, the system maintains the small node as the user plane serving node, extracting only the control plane functions to the target eNB. This selective extraction avoids the time-consuming operation of transferring large volumes of data while ensuring service continuity through controlled plane handover.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the handover process into control plane and user plane components. The control plane is transferred to the target eNB while the user plane remains anchored at the small node. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each plane, enabling fast control plane switching without the overhead of complete data forwarding, thus reducing handover delay while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If the small node forwards all buffered user plane data to the target eNB during cell handover, then the service continuity is ensured, but the transmission resource requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential control plane handover function from the complete data forwarding process. By maintaining the small node as the user plane serving node, the system extracts minimal data forwarding requirements, avoiding the resource-intensive operation of transferring all buffered data through the target eNB while ensuring service continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the network functions into control plane and user plane, allowing them to be handled differently during handover. The control plane is transferred to the target eNB while the user plane remains at the small node, reducing the quantity of data that needs to be transmitted and optimizing resource utilization during the handover process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention provide a cell handover method and a device. The method includes: sending a handover request to a target eNB, so that the target eNB uses a current serving small node as a user plane serving node after UE is handed over and uses the target eNB as a control plane serving node after the UE is handed over; receiving a handover request acknowledgment sent by the target eNB; and sending offloading configuration information of the current serving small node to the current serving small node, and sending RRC reconfiguration information of the UE to the UE, so that offloading configuration is performed separately by the current serving small node and the UE. This avoids a problem that in a cell handover process, a transmission resource required for transmission increases and a delay is relatively great because the current serving small node forwards a large amount of data to the target eNB.