Master Base Station Retains Secondary Configuration for Dual Connectivity Handovers
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Solution Overview
Problem
In dual connectivity wireless communication networks, existing techniques fail to effectively handle handover and re-establishment scenarios, particularly when user equipment moves between base stations of different release versions, leading to potential radio link failures and service interruptions due to inadequate configuration management.
Innovation Solution
The method involves retaining configuration information for radio resource control connections with secondary base stations and using delta or full configuration updates to manage handovers and re-establishments, allowing the master base station to 'spoof' radio bearers supported by the secondary base station, ensuring seamless transitions without service disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a user equipment connects to both MeNB and SeNB simultaneously in dual connectivity mode, then communication reliability is improved, but configuration management complexity increases when handover or re-establishment occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The master base station creates a copy of the secondary base station's configuration information and stores it locally. This copied configuration includes radio bearer settings, PDCP parameters, and other RRC parameters. When handover or re-establishment occurs, the master base station can use this copied configuration to quickly reconstruct the dual connectivity setup without requiring complex real-time coordination with the secondary base station, thus reducing configuration management complexity while maintaining communication reliability.
2Measurement precision
If the target base station receives complete configuration information from source base station, then handover accuracy is improved, but information loss during SeNB configuration transfer increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential configuration information from the secondary base station that is needed for handover and re-establishment operations. Specifically, the master base station extracts radio bearer configurations, PDCP parameters, and other critical RRC parameters, while leaving out redundant or non-essential information. This extracted configuration is then stored and used when needed, achieving accurate handover without the information loss that would occur if complete configuration transfer were attempted.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the master base station retains SeNB configuration information, then service continuity is improved during handover, but memory requirements at the master base station increase
Solution Approach 1:
The master base station applies local quality by selectively retaining only the specific configuration information that is locally relevant for maintaining service continuity during handover and re-establishment. Instead of storing all possible SeNB configuration data, the system retains precisely those parameters needed for rapid service restoration, such as radio bearer configurations and PDCP parameters. This approach ensures service continuity while minimizing the quantity of stored information to essential levels only.
Data Source
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AI summary
Aspects and embodiments provide: provides a base station method, a user equipment method, a base station and user equipment and computer program products operable to perform those methods. The base station method, comprises: when it is determined that a user equipment has been configured for dual connectivity with a master base station and a secondary base station, maintaining configuration information for a radio resource control connection with the secondary base station for utilisation in response to a change to the radio resource control connection with the secondary base station. Aspects recognise that if user equipment is operating in a dual connectivity network, it may be communicating with both a master and secondary eNB. As a result, information regarding the configuration of the user equipment may include information relating to radio bearers supported by the master eNB and the secondary eNB. Aspects also recognise that the handling of dual connectivity configuration information relating to the source eNB may not be supported by a target eNB and that the delta or full configuration options typically available within a network may not provide a suitable solution in relation to signalling support within a handover.