Wireless Handover Flow-to-DRB Mapping Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for wireless device handovers between base stations often result in reduced end-user and system performance due to differences in how different base stations map flow identifiers to Data Radio Bearers (DRBs), leading to inconsistent Quality of Service (QoS) treatment.
Innovation Solution
The method involves determining that a wireless device needs to be handed over from a source base station to a target base station and sending the current mapping of flow identifiers to DRBs, allowing the target base station to apply operator-defined QoS policies and optimize performance by re-mapping flow identifiers to DRBs, thereby ensuring consistent QoS treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different base stations use different mapping methods for flow identifiers to Data Radio Bearers, then each base station can optimize locally, but QoS treatment becomes inconsistent across handovers
Solution Approach 1:
The source base station performs preliminary action by determining the current flow-to-DRB mapping before handover and sending this mapping information to the target base station in advance. This allows the target base station to pre-configure the same mapping, ensuring QoS consistency is maintained from the moment of handover without requiring re-mapping decisions at the target side.
2Productivity
If the target base station re-maps flow identifiers to DRBs upon receiving the wireless device, then local optimization is achieved, but handover delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mapping information is prepared in advance by the source base station and transmitted to the target base station before the wireless device completes handover. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming re-mapping operations at the target base station, thereby reducing handover delay while still allowing the target to apply the optimized mapping immediately upon device arrival.
3Reliability
If the source base station sends flow-to-DRB mapping information to the target base station, then QoS consistency is improved, but signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential mapping information (flow identifier to Data Radio Bearer associations) from the complete base station configuration and transmits only this specific subset to the target base station. This selective extraction minimizes signaling overhead by sending only the critical data needed for QoS consistency, rather than transmitting entire configuration sets or redundant information.
Data Source
AI summary
A source base station determines that a wireless device is to be handed over from the source base station to a target base station and sends, to the target base station in a handover signaling message, a current mapping between two or more flow identifiers and a first data radio bearer used for communication between the wireless device and the source base station. The source base station receives, from the target base station, an indication that the current mapping is to be used and hands over the wireless device from the source base station to the target base station.