Dual Connectivity Context Management for 5G RRC Inactive Transitions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current 5G NR systems face challenges in efficiently managing context information storage for NR-DC devices during transitions between RRC modes, particularly in reducing latency and conserving memory while maintaining service continuity.
Innovation Solution
The system determines criteria for the secondary node to store or not store UE context information based on factors like UE mobility, device type, and data traffic patterns, allowing for optimized storage and retrieval strategies to improve RRC session setup times and reduce memory usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the secondary node stores UE context information during RRC inactive state, then service continuity and RRC session setup time are improved, but memory usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the storage state parameter of UE context information by compressing it into a reduced representation (e.g., storing only essential identifiers and minimal context data) rather than full context, allowing the secondary node to maintain context with reduced memory footprint while still enabling fast RRC resumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the critical portions of UE context information needed for RRC resumption (such as security parameters, radio resource configuration, and identification data) and stores them at the secondary node, while leaving out redundant or less critical data that would consume memory without providing proportional benefit to service continuity
2Loss of time
If the secondary node stores UE context information, then RRC session setup time is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the UE context information into multiple parts: critical data stored at the secondary node for fast access, and non-critical data retained only at the master node. This segmentation allows RRC session setup to proceed quickly using the stored critical data while avoiding the complexity of managing complete context synchronization between nodes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-storing essential UE context parameters at the secondary node during the initial connection setup or previous active states, so that when RRC resumption is needed, the data is already in place and no time-consuming retrieval or reconstruction is required
3Reliability
If context information is stored at both master and secondary nodes, then service continuity is maintained during node transitions, but memory consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the storage of UE context information selective rather than uniform: the secondary node stores only specific portions of context data that are locally relevant or frequently accessed, while the master node retains the complete context. This localized storage approach maintains service continuity for local operations without duplicating the entire context across all nodes
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, methods, and computer-readable media described herein and provide for sending, by a first wireless station, a suspend message to a wireless station associated with a radio resource control (RRC) session for a dual connectivity (DC) capable user equipment (UE) device that places the DC capable UE device in an RRC inactive mode; storing, by the first wireless station, UE context information from a core network for the DC capable UE device for the RRC session; and evaluating, by the first wireless station, a set of criteria to determine whether to also store the UE context information at the wireless station.