Dynamic TP Muting for Energy Efficiency in Virtual RAN
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless networks face inefficiencies in energy consumption due to high power usage by base stations, which account for 80% of cellular network energy, and lack effective strategies for dynamic traffic offloading and transmit point muting, especially in high access point densities.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dynamic traffic offloading and transmit point (TP) muting in virtual radio access networks (V-RAN) through energy-aware scheduling, where a central controller determines initial and modified scheduling assignments to mute access points, reassigning user equipment (UEs) to optimize energy efficiency and improve utility by using a greedy approach and energy-aware utility functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If base stations are kept active to serve user equipments, then network service reliability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic TP muting where base stations transition between active and sleep modes based on real-time traffic conditions. The central controller continuously monitors UE distributions and dynamically selects TPs to mute, allowing the network to adapt its energy consumption profile to actual service demands while maintaining reliability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational state parameter of base stations from static (always on) to dynamic (on/off based on conditions). By modifying the operational parameter of TPs based on scheduling assignments and UE locations, the system achieves energy savings without compromising network reliability when UEs require service.
2Use of energy by moving object
If transmit points are muted to save energy, then energy efficiency is improved, but system capacity may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The central controller uses feedback from scheduling assignments and UE location information to make informed decisions about TP muting. By continuously monitoring the network state and using this feedback to select which TPs to mute and which UEs to reassign, the system optimizes energy efficiency while preventing capacity degradation through intelligent resource management.
Solution Approach 2:
The central controller acts as an intermediary that coordinates TP muting decisions with UE reassignments. It processes scheduling information, determines optimal muting configurations, and manages the reassignment of UEs from muted TPs to active TPs, thereby balancing energy efficiency with system capacity maintenance.
3Loss of energy
If user equipments are reassigned from muted access points, then energy savings are achieved, but scheduling complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the network into multiple TPs and UEs, allowing independent control and reassignment. By dividing the network into manageable units (individual TPs and UEs), the central controller can apply muting decisions to specific segments without requiring complete system reconfiguration, thereby reducing the practical complexity of implementation despite the increased scheduling decisions required.
Data Source
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AI summary
Energy efficient scheduling can be achieved by computing scheduling assignments in accordance with a transmit point (TP) muting utility. More specifically, candidate scheduling assignments that mute different combinations of transmit points are evaluated to determine which offers the highest utility. A greedy approach can be used to evaluate the candidate scheduling assignments in order to reduce the computational complexity of the scheduler. For example, a set of scheduling assignments may be evaluated during each iteration in a sequence of iterations, with each scheduling assignment muting a different one of the remaining TPs. At the end of each iteration, the scheduling assignment providing the highest utility is selected, and the TP muted by that scheduling assignment is muted during all succeeding iterations.