CN120050340A - Communication method and related device - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication method and related apparatus, in which a first network device determines an Ethernet data packet and sends the Ethernet data packet. The format of the Ethernet data packet is an eCPRI message format, the Ethernet data packet includes IQ data in N CPRI frames, and the packet header includes an IQ stream identifier. Each CPRI frame includes IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell includes one or more antenna channels, and the IQ stream identifier is used to determine the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0. The method provided by the present application is conducive to improving the transmission efficiency of CPRI data.

Description

Communication method and related device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method and a related device.

Background

The common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI) is an interface standard between a Distributed Unit (DU) and a Radio Unit (RU), the enhanced common radio interface (enhanced common public radio interface, eCPRI) is an interface standard evolved from CPRI, in some scenarios, in order to save the laying cost of optical fibers, a scheme is proposed in which a CPRI cell can share a transmission network between RU and DU with eCPRI cells, for example, an "IWF Type0" function can be deployed on a forwarding gateway (fronthaul gateway, FHGW) or RU supporting eCPRI protocol, and the "IWF Type0" is used for the interconversion of eCPRI protocol and CPRI protocol. However, the transmission efficiency of the scheme that the current CPRI data is converted into eCPRI message format for transmission is lower.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a related device, which are beneficial to improving the transmission efficiency of CPRI data.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and optionally, the execution body of the method may be the first network device, a component or an apparatus (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the first network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first network device. The method comprises the steps of determining an Ethernet data packet, wherein the format of the Ethernet data packet is eCPRI message formats, the Ethernet data packet comprises IQ data in N CPRI frames, the packet head of the Ethernet data packet comprises an IQ stream identifier, the CPRI frames comprise IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell comprises one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used for determining the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0. And sending the Ethernet data packet.

In the application, the transmission efficiency of CPRI data can be improved by packaging IQ data in a plurality of CPRI frames in one eCPRI Ethernet data packet (namely, eCPRI Ethernet data packet in message format) for transmission. In addition, by carrying an IQ stream identifier in the header of the eCPRI ethernet packet, the IQ stream identifier can be used to identify to which antenna channel(s) of which cell(s) the IQ data in the ethernet packet belongs, which is beneficial for the receiving end to correctly parse the received eCPRI ethernet packet. It should be understood that the first network device in the present application may be a Distributed Unit (DU) supporting the eCPRI protocol, or the first network device may be a Radio Unit (RU) supporting the eCPRI protocol, which is not limited in this aspect of the present application.

In one possible design, the method further comprises:

Transmitting first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information:

the value of N;

the IQ flow identification is associated with an antenna channel of a cell or,

The arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet data packet;

The arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In this implementation, the first indication information may be carried in a control plane message/message, and generally, the first indication information is indication information that the DU sends/notifies to the RU. Thus, when the first network device is the sender of the first indication information, the first network device is typically a DU supporting eCPRI protocol.

In one possible design, the value of N, the association between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, or one or more pieces of information in the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet are preconfigured or predefined, and the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In this implementation, besides the value of the control plane message/message configuration N, the association relationship between the IQ flow identification and the antenna channel of the cell, or one or more pieces of information such as the arrangement position of IQ data in the ethernet packet, these pieces of information may also be predefined or preconfigured by the protocol, which is not limited by the present application.

In one possible design, the header of the ethernet packet further includes a timestamp T, where the timestamp T is used to indicate a generation time or a packaging time of the ethernet packet.

In this implementation manner, a time stamp T may be further carried in the header of the ethernet packet, where the time stamp T represents a generation time or a packaging time of the ethernet packet, which is favorable for a receiver of a subsequent ethernet packet to determine the receiving buffer time based on the time stamp T.

In one possible design, the method further comprises:

and sending second indicating information, wherein the second indicating information indicates a time delay Z, and the Z is larger than the average transmission time delay of the Ethernet data packet.

In this implementation, the second indication information may be carried in a control plane message/message, and generally, the second indication information is indication information that the DU sends/notifies to the RU. Thus, when the second network device is the sender of the second indication information, the second network device is typically a DU. In general, the first indication information and the second indication information may be sent in the same control plane message, or the first indication information and the second indication information may be sent in different control plane messages respectively, which is not limited in the present application.

In one possible design, the timestamp T and the delay Z are used to determine a receive buffering time of the ethernet packet.

In this implementation manner, the timestamp T and the delay Z may be used to determine a receiving buffer time of a receiving party of the ethernet packet, specifically, for the receiving party of the ethernet packet, when the local time reaches t+z according to the timestamp T and the delay Z, the first CPRI frame is sent to the downstream processing node, where the first CPRI frame includes IQ data in the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames, which is favorable for absorbing the transmission delay jitter of the eCPRI link, so that the transmission delay of the IQ data becomes a stable value, and further the downstream processing node can obtain the CPRI frame with continuous non-lost frames.

In one possible design, the timestamp T is the frame number of the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

In this implementation manner, the timestamp T may specifically be the frame number of the first CPRI frame in the N CPRI frames, which has strong operability and high applicability.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and optionally, the execution body of the method may be the second network device, a component or an apparatus (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the second network device, or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second network device. The method comprises the steps of receiving an Ethernet data packet, wherein the format of the Ethernet data packet is eCPRI message formats, the Ethernet data packet comprises IQ data in N CPRI frames, the packet head of the Ethernet data packet comprises an IQ stream identifier, the CPRI frames comprise IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell comprises one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used for determining the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0.

In one possible design, the method further comprises:

receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information:

the value of N;

the IQ flow identification is associated with an antenna channel of a cell or,

The arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet data packet;

The arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the value of N, the association between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, or one or more pieces of information in the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet are preconfigured or predefined, and the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the header of the ethernet packet further includes a timestamp T, where the timestamp T is used to indicate a generation time or a packaging time of the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the method further comprises:

And receiving second indication information, wherein the second indication information indicates a time delay Z, and the Z is larger than the average transmission time delay of the Ethernet data packet.

In one possible design, the timestamp T and the delay Z are used to determine a receive buffering time of the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the timestamp T is the frame number of the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

In one possible design, the method further comprises:

And according to the timestamp T and the time delay Z, when the local time reaches T+Z, sending a first CPRI frame, wherein the first CPRI frame comprises IQ data in a first CPRI frame in the N CPRI frames.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be the first network device or a module or chip in the first network device. The communication device includes:

The processing unit is used for determining an Ethernet data packet, the format of the Ethernet data packet is eCPRI message formats, the Ethernet data packet comprises IQ data in N CPRI frames, the packet head of the Ethernet data packet comprises an IQ stream identifier, the CPRI frames comprise IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell comprises one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used for determining the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0.

And the receiving and transmitting unit is used for transmitting the Ethernet data packet.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is configured to:

Transmitting first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information:

the value of N;

the IQ flow identification is associated with an antenna channel of a cell or,

The arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet data packet;

The arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the value of N, the association between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, or one or more pieces of information in the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet are preconfigured or predefined, and the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the header of the ethernet packet further includes a timestamp T, where the timestamp T is used to indicate a generation time or a packaging time of the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

and sending second indicating information, wherein the second indicating information indicates a time delay Z, and the Z is larger than the average transmission time delay of the Ethernet data packet.

In one possible design, the timestamp T and the delay Z are used to determine a receive buffering time of the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the timestamp T is the frame number of the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be the second network device or a module or chip in the second network device. The communication device includes:

The receiving and transmitting unit is used for receiving an Ethernet data packet, the format of the Ethernet data packet is eCPRI message formats, the Ethernet data packet comprises IQ data in N CPRI frames, the packet head of the Ethernet data packet comprises an IQ stream identifier, the CPRI frames comprise IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell comprises one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used for determining the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information:

the value of N;

the IQ flow identification is associated with an antenna channel of a cell or,

The arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet data packet;

The arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the value of N, the association between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, or one or more pieces of information in the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet are preconfigured or predefined, and the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the header of the ethernet packet further includes a timestamp T, where the timestamp T is used to indicate a generation time or a packaging time of the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

And receiving second indication information, wherein the second indication information indicates a time delay Z, and the Z is larger than the average transmission time delay of the Ethernet data packet.

In one possible design, the timestamp T and the delay Z are used to determine a receive buffering time of the ethernet packet.

In one possible design, the timestamp T is the frame number of the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

In one possible design, the communication device further comprises a processing unit for:

And when the local time reaches T+Z, sending a first CPRI frame through the receiving and transmitting unit according to the time stamp T and the time delay Z, wherein the first CPRI frame comprises IQ data in a first CPRI frame in the N CPRI frames.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor for executing a computer program, causing the communication device to perform the method according to any one of the first to second aspects.

In one possible design, the communication device may be a chip or a device comprising a chip implementing the method of any of the first to second aspects.

In one possible design, the communication device further comprises a transceiver. The processor is coupled to the transceiver.

In one possible design, the communication device further includes a memory. The processor is coupled to the memory, the memory having stored therein a computer program, the processor further configured to invoke the computer program in the memory. The processor and memory may also be integrated, for example.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communications device comprising a processor for implementing the method according to any one of the first to second aspects by logic circuitry or executing code instructions.

Optionally, the communication device further comprises an interface circuit for receiving signals from other communication devices than the communication device and transmitting signals to or transmitting signals from the processor to other communication devices than the communication device.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a method according to any of the first to second aspects.

In an eighth aspect, the application provides a computer program product which, when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the first to second aspects.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising communication means for implementing the method of any of the first aspects and comprising communication means for implementing the method of any of the second aspects.

The advantages of the second to ninth aspects can be seen from the advantages of the first aspect, and are not repeated here.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a transmission network between RU and DU shared by CPRI cells and eCPRI cells;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which IWF Type0 is deployed;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an ethernet packet according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a group book all or most of the seats in the theatre or cinema scene provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a delay Z provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is another flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of networking to which the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is applicable;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a possible communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Specific embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms first and second and the like in the description, in the claims and in the drawings are used for distinguishing between different objects and not for describing a particular sequential order. Furthermore, the terms "comprise" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those listed steps or elements but may include other steps or elements not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Reference herein to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly appreciate that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

In the present application, "at least one item" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more, and "at least two items" means two or three or more, and/or "for describing association relation of association objects" means that three kinds of relation may exist, for example, "a and/or B" may mean that only a exists, only B exists, and three cases of a and B exist at the same time, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one of a, b or c may represent a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

The following explains the related technical features related to the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are for easier understanding of the embodiments of the present application, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present application.

1. Radio access network (radio access network, RAN) node

RAN nodes may also be sometimes referred to as network devices, access network devices, RAN entities, access nodes or base stations, etc., and refer to wireless communication stations installed at fixed locations in a cellular mobile communication network, where the main function of the RAN nodes is to provide wireless coverage and support communication between terminals and a core network. The RAN node includes, but is not limited to, an evolved base station (evolutional Node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), a base station (gndeb, gNB) in a fifth generation (5 g) network such as New Radio, NR, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node may also be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in CRAN scenarios, etc.

The physical structure of the RAN node mainly includes a Baseband Unit (BU) and a Radio Unit (RU).

2、BU

BU refers to a module or device having a baseband signal processing function and/or a RU management function. Baseband signal processing such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, clipping the power of a carrier, cancelling the clipping of the power, etc. Illustratively, the BU may be an indoor baseband processing unit (BBU), a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and the like.

3、RU

RU refers to a module or device having an intermediate frequency signal, a radio frequency signal, or a medium radio frequency signal processing function. For example, the RU may be a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU) or an active antenna unit (ACTIVE ANTENNA unit, AAU), or the like.

4. Distributed base station (distributed base station DBS)

DBS refers to a base station where a baseband unit and a radio frequency unit are separately deployed. The core concept of the distributed base station is that the traditional macro base station equipment is divided into two functional modules according to functions, wherein the functions of base band, main control, transmission, clock and the like of the base station are integrated on a module of a base band unit (usually called BU or BBU), the base band unit is small in size and flexible in installation position, the radio frequency functions of a transceiver, a power amplifier and the like are integrated on another radio frequency unit (usually called RU), and the radio frequency unit is installed on an antenna end. The radio frequency unit and the baseband unit are connected through optical fibers to form a distributed base station.

5. CU and DU

The BBU is evolved in the 5G network to two entities, CU and DU. The CU is mainly used to handle non-real-time functions, such as processing of higher layer protocol stacks, e.g. processing of packet data convergence protocol (PACKET DATA convergence protocol, PDCP) layer, radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) layer. Optionally, the CU is also configured to take on part of the core network functions and edge application services. The DUs are mainly used to take on real-time functions in the BBU, such as Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, radio link layer control protocol (radio link control, RLC) layer functional modules.

In different systems, CUs (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DUs or RUs may also have different names, but the meaning will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN) system, a CU may also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), a DU may also be referred to as an O-DU, a CU-CP may also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, a CU-UP may also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and a RU may also be referred to as an O-RU. For convenience of description, the present application is described by taking CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

6、AAU

The RRU and passive antenna are integrated together to form an AAU. The AAU is used for realizing the functions of the RRU and the functions of the antenna. Optionally, the AAU is also configured to implement a function of a portion of the physical layer of the BBU.

7. General public wireless interface (common public radio interface CPRI)

CPRI is an interface standard between BBU and RRU to replace conventional coaxial cable connections. The CPRI protocol provides a specification of a communication interface between a radio equipment control (radio equipment control, REC) and a Radio Equipment (RE) in a cellular wireless network. CPRI is an interface standard based on cable direct connection, realizes data multiplexing in a TDM mode, requires exclusive transmission bandwidth, and defines three types of data streams including user, control, management and synchronization, wherein the user plane data stream is used for transmitting an IQ modulation (I is in-phase) signal of a quantized RRU antenna, and Q is quadrature (quadrature).

A typical example of REC is BBU and a typical example of RE is RRU. In some scenarios, the REC is also referred to as a DU supporting the CPRI protocol, and the RE is also referred to as an RU supporting the CPRI protocol.

Data between REC and RE is typically transmitted through CPRI frames defined by the CPRI protocol.

8. CPRI frame

The CPRI frames may be divided into superframes, each of which contains 256 CPRI Basic frames, which are Basic units transmitted through the CPRI, and CPRI Basic frames (Basic frames). Wherein, the CPRI basic frame has a specific frame structure. The transmission period of each CPRI basic frame is 1/3.84MHz, i.e., 260.416667ns. And, each CPRI base frame contains 16 words, and 1 Control Word (Control Word) and 15 words for carrying In-phase/quadrature (IQ) data, which 15 words are also commonly referred to as IQ data area, are contained In the 16 words. The control word is used for bearing control data except IQ data and control word information customized by each manufacturer. The IQ data refers to a digitized representation of the antenna carrier. And mapping the user plane data to be transmitted into the CPRI basic frame by taking the antenna carrier as a unit, and obtaining corresponding IQ data. The antenna carrier is an electromagnetic wave modulated in frequency, amplitude or phase, and can transmit signals such as text, audio or image, and the electromagnetic wave can be transmitted through the antenna to be transmitted to the terminal device. That is, based on the CPRI basic frames, transmission of control plane data and user plane data can be achieved. Taking the example of the RU receiving the CPRI basic frame sent by the DU, the RU can obtain the control plane data from the DU by extracting the control word in the CPRI basic frame, and the RU can obtain the user plane data to be sent to the terminal device through the antenna carrier by extracting the IQ data in the CPRI basic frame.

It should be understood that the CPRI frames mentioned in the following embodiments mainly refer to CPRI basic frames.

9、eCPRI

ECPRI is an interface standard that has evolved from CPRI. The eCPRI protocol defines specifications for connections eCPRI REC (eREC) and eCPRI RE (eRE) over a forwarding network (fronthaul network). Unlike CPRI, eCPRI is a packet-based interface standard, does not specify a network implementation form, and can be implemented by any network, such as Ethernet (ETH), internet protocol (internet protocol, IP), transmission control protocol (transmission control protocol, TCP), user datagram protocol (user datagram protocol, UDP), optical transport network (optical transport network, OTN), and the like. eCPRI several types of division references are proposed based on the BBU-RRU segmentation mode defined by the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), by dividing part or all of the physical layer functions into RRUs, so that the data transferred between the BBU and the RRUs is changed from IQ signals on the antennas into modulation symbols (IID), coded bit sequences (ID) and even raw data bits (D). Compared with CPRI, eCPRI is helpful to reduce the transmission bandwidth between the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit, so as to meet the requirement of large-bandwidth multi-antenna services such as large-scale multiple-in multiple-out (massive MIMO) and the like on bandwidth resources.

ECPRI the protocol is at the same level in the protocol stack as the protocol stack of the application layer standard, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (hypertext transport protocol, HTTP) protocol, the file transfer protocol (FILE TRANSFER protocol, FTP) protocol, etc. The transport layer protocol underlying the eCPRI protocol may alternatively be a TCP/IP protocol or an ethernet MAC layer protocol. That is, from the perspective of the message format, the header encapsulated by one eCPRI message outer layer may be a UDP header or a TCP header, or may skip the TCP/IP protocol stack, and directly encapsulate the MAC ethernet frame header on eCPRI message outer layer.

The eCPRI protocol provides three interfaces, namely a user plane (U-plane, also called data plane) interface, a synchronization plane (synchronization plane, S-plane) interface, and a control and management plane (control & MANAGEMENT PLANE, C & M plane or C plane) interface.

The user plane interface is used for transmitting service data between the base station and the user equipment, such as IQ data, i.e. sampled data modulated by orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM). Optionally, the user plane interface is further configured to transmit real-time control data related to the service data.

The synchronous surface interface is used for transmitting the synchronous and timing information of the data between the BBU and the RRU.

The control and management interface is used for transmitting operation maintenance management (operation administration AND MAINTENANCE, OAM) operation, maintenance and management data of the BBU to the RRU.

A typical example of eREC is BBU and a typical example of eRE is AAU or RRU. In some scenarios, the eREC is also referred to as a DU supporting eCPRI protocols, and the eRE is also referred to as an RU supporting eCPRI protocols.

10. Forward interface and forward network

The forward interface refers to a communication interface between the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit. The forwarding interface includes, but is not limited to, CPRI or eCPRI. Of course, the forward interface may be other interfaces evolved from CPRI or eCPRI. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 10 is any system that performs communication based on a wireless communication technology, such as a wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GENERAL PACKET radio service, GPRS), a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), a general mobile communication system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX) communication system, a fifth generation (5 g) new air interface (NR) system, and a future sixth generation communication system. Wherein the communication system 10 comprises a baseband unit 101 and at least one radio frequency unit 102, the baseband unit 101 and the at least one radio frequency unit 102 being connected by a forwarding network.

It should be noted that, the forwarding network in the present application is mainly a network between eREC (i.e. baseband units such as BBU) and eRE (i.e. radio frequency units such as AAU and RRU). That is, in fig. 1, the baseband unit 101 may be an eREC, and the radio frequency unit 102 may be eRE. In fig. 1, the forwarding interfaces of the baseband unit 101 and the rf unit 102 are eCPRI. The forward interfaces of the baseband unit 101 and the rf unit 102 in fig. 1 include, but are not limited to, a U-plane interface, an S-plane interface, or a C & M-plane interface.

The baseband unit 101 and the radio frequency unit 102 are connected through a forwarding network. The forwarding network includes but is not limited to a wired network or a wireless network, the forwarding network includes but is not limited to a TCP/IP network, an ethernet network or a private network, and the hardware based on the forwarding network when implemented includes but is not limited to an optical fiber, a feeder line, a switch, a router, and the like.

Currently, in order to save the laying cost of the optical fiber, a scheme is proposed that a CPRI cell can share a transmission network between RU and DU with eCPRI cells, for example, a CPRI cell of a 3G universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunications system, UMTS)/4G can share a transmission network between RU and DU with eCPRI cells of NR, and fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a transmission network between RU and DU shared by a CPRI cell and eCPRI cells.

The eCPRI 2.0.0 specification defines an "IWF Type0" Function (Function) for connecting an eREC (i.e., a DU supporting eCPRI protocol) and an RE (i.e., an RU supporting CPRI protocol) to afford conversion of eCPRI protocol and CPRI protocol, in order to adapt to a scheme of a transmission network between RU and DU shared by CPRI cells and eCPRI cells. Generally, IWF Type0 may be deployed on eRE, frontHaul GateWay, or eREC, etc. The application is schematically illustrated with an IWF Type0 deployed on eRE as an example.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic view of a scenario in which IWF Type0 is deployed. As shown in fig. 3, the CPRI data is transmitted between the REs and eRE through the CPRI protocol, then the CPRI data from the REs is converted into eCPRI message format (i.e. eCPRI ethernet data packet) through IWF Type0 deployed in eRE, and then transmitted to the rec through the ethernet forwarding network, and then after the CPRI data is resolved from eCPRI ethernet data packet through IWF Type0 deployed in the rec, the resolved CPRI data is transmitted to the downstream processing node by the rec.

However, when the current CPRI data is converted into eCPRI message format for transmission, the IQ data of a single cell or a single antenna channel (PHYSICAL CHANNEL) is encapsulated in a eCPRI ethernet data packet according to the existing specification for transmission, generally, the IQ data size of the single antenna channel is 2 bytes (byte) to 30 bytes, so that the scheme that the IQ data of the single antenna channel is encapsulated into a eCPRI ethernet data packet for transmission causes too short payload and too high overhead of a message header, so that the efficiency of data transmission is low. In addition, when IQ data of multiple cells and multiple antenna channels are simultaneously transmitted, the receiving end cannot identify which antenna channel of which cell the IQ data belongs to from the eCPRI ethernet packet.

Based on this, the application provides a communication method, which is favorable for improving transmission efficiency, and can make the receiving end identify eCPRI which cell or which antennas of which cells the IQ data carried in the Ethernet data packet belong to. Besides, aiming at the problem that the transmission delay of the eCPRI Ethernet data packet has jitter to cause the frame loss of data, the application also provides a solution capable of absorbing the transmission delay jitter of the eCPRI link, which is beneficial to improving the communication performance.

The following describes the communication method and the communication device provided by the application in detail:

It should be noted that, the first network device mentioned later may be a DU (or called rec) supporting the eCPRI protocol, the second network device may be an RU (or called eRE) or FHGW supporting the eCPRI protocol, or the first network device may be an RU (or called eRE) or FHGW supporting the eCPRI protocol, and the second network device may be a DU (or called rec) supporting the eCPRI protocol. It should be appreciated that eRE/FHGW, rec may both send IQ data (or user plane data or traffic data), but for control plane messages, typically sent/notified by rec to eRE or FHGW.

Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication method includes the following steps S401 to S402. The method execution body shown in fig. 4 may be the first network device and the second network device, or the method execution body shown in fig. 4 may be a chip in the first network device and a chip in the second network device. Illustratively, the second network device may be a non-terrestrial second network device (e.g., a satellite) or an access network device (e.g., a base station), etc., as the application is not limited in this regard. For convenience of description, fig. 4 mainly illustrates an execution body of the method by using the first network device and the second network device as examples. It should be noted that fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a method embodiment of the present application, showing detailed communication steps or operations of the method, but these steps or operations are only examples, and other operations or variations of the various operations in fig. 4 may also be performed by the embodiment of the present application. Furthermore, the various steps in fig. 4 may be performed in a different order than presented in fig. 4, respectively, and it is possible that not all of the operations in fig. 4 are to be performed. Wherein:

S401, the first network device determines an Ethernet data packet.

Here, the format of the ethernet packet is eCPRI message format, that is, the ethernet packets mentioned in the embodiment of the present application are eCPRI ethernet packets (hereinafter referred to as ethernet packets). Each ethernet packet includes IQ data in N CPRI frames, each CPRI frame includes IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell includes one or more antenna channels (PHYSICAL CHANNEL), N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0. That is, the first network device may package the IQ data in the received continuous multiple CPRI frames into one eCPRI ethernet packet for transmission, and this multi-frame package manner may significantly reduce the header overhead bandwidth, which is beneficial to improving the data transmission efficiency.

In addition, the header of the ethernet packet includes an IQ stream identifier, where the IQ stream identifier is used to determine the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the ethernet packet belongs, i.e. the IQ stream identifier may be used to determine which antenna channels of which cells the IQ data in the ethernet packet specifically comes from. Specifically, based on the IQ stream identifiers carried in the packet header of the ethernet data packet, and then combining the association relations between each IQ stream identifier and the antenna channels of the cells, the antenna channels of the cells to which the IQ data in the ethernet data packet belongs can be determined.

It should be understood that the antenna channel (PHYSICAL CHANNEL) referred to in the present application may be understood as a physical channel for a base station to transmit and receive radio signals, and a multiple-input multiple-output (multiple input multiple output, MIMO) cell uses multiple antenna channels simultaneously for transmitting and receiving radio signals. Alternatively, the antenna channel is sometimes referred to as a transceiver channel, a physical channel, etc., which is not particularly limited in the present application.

Optionally, the header of the ethernet packet may further include a timestamp T, where the timestamp T is used to indicate a generation time or a packaging time of the ethernet packet. In general, the time stamp T may be specifically the frame number of the first CPRI frame in the N CPRI frames, or the time stamp T may be the frame number of the last CPRI frame in the N CPRI frames, which is not limited in the present application. For ease of understanding, the case where the time stamp T is the frame number of the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames will be described hereinafter.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an ethernet packet according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the ethernet packet is composed of a packet header (header) and a packet Wen Fuzai (payload), where the header includes information such as IQ stream identification and a timestamp, and the payload includes IQ data in N CPRI frames.

S402, the first network device sends an Ethernet data packet to the second network device. Accordingly, the second network device receives the ethernet packet from the first network device.

In some possible implementations, the first network device may send ethernet packets to the second network device over an ethernet forwarding network (or referred to as ethernet). Here, when the first network device is rec, the second network device may be eRE or FHGW, and when the first network device is eRE or FHGW, the second network device may be rec.

It should be appreciated that for the second network device, the second network device may parse the received ethernet packet. Generally, the second network device may determine, based on IQ stream identifiers carried in a header of the ethernet packet, an antenna channel of a cell to which IQ data in the ethernet packet belongs in combination with association relationships between the IQ stream identifiers and the antenna channels of the cell, respectively. In addition, the second network device may further obtain an arrangement position of IQ data in the ethernet packet, and analyze IQ data carried in the ethernet packet based on the arrangement position of IQ data in the ethernet packet. Here, the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

Optionally, the IQ data in the ethernet packet may be arranged according to a cell, or may also be arranged according to an antenna channel. For example, assuming that x=4, that is, each CPRI frame includes IQ data corresponding to 3 cells (that is, cell 0 to cell 2), each cell includes 4 antenna channels, ① if IQ data in an ethernet packet is arranged according to the cell, the arrangement may be that cell 0 (antenna channel 0, antenna channel 1, antenna channel 2, antenna channel 3), cell 1 (antenna channel 0, antenna channel 1, antenna channel 2, antenna channel 3), and cell 2 (antenna channel 0, antenna channel 1, antenna channel 2, antenna channel 3). ② If IQ data in the ethernet packet is arranged according to the antenna channel, the arrangement may be antenna channel 0 (cell 0, cell 1, cell 2), antenna channel 1 (cell 0, cell 1, cell 2), antenna channel 2 (cell 0, cell 1, cell 2), antenna channel 3 (cell 0, cell 1, cell 2).

For example, referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic view of a group book all or most of the seats in the theatre or cinema according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6 (a), it is assumed that the CPRI data stream is IQ data of antenna channel 0 to antenna channel 3 of cell 1, and IQ data of antenna channel 0 to antenna channel 3 of cell 2. N CPRI frames are CPRI frames 1-CPRI frame N respectively, IQ data of antenna channel 0-antenna channel 3 of cell 1 and IQ data of antenna channel 0-antenna channel 3 of cell 2 in the CPRI frames 1-CPRI frame N are packaged in an Ethernet data packet for transmission. Taking one CPRI frame (e.g., CPRI frame 1) of the N CPRI frames as an example, assuming that the IQ data of antenna channel 0 through antenna channel 3 of cell 1 and the IQ data of antenna channel 0 through antenna channel 3 of cell 2 included in the CPRI frame 1 are arranged according to the cell in the ethernet packet, the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet may be described as follows:

The IQ data of antenna lane 0 of cell 1 is located at the first byte (or 1 st bit to 8 th bit) of payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 1 of cell 1 is located at the second byte (or 9 th bit to 16 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

The IQ data of the antenna channel 2 of cell 1 is located at the third byte (or 17 th bit to 24 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 3 of the cell 1 is located at the fourth byte (or 25 th bit to 32 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 0 of the cell 2 is located at the fifth byte (or 33 th bit to 40 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

The IQ data of the antenna channel 1 of cell 2 is located at the sixth byte (or 41 st bit to 48 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

The IQ data of the antenna channel 2 of cell 2 is located at the seventh byte (or 49 th bit to 56 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 3 of cell 2 is located at the eighth byte (or 57 th bit to 64 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1.

As another example, as shown in fig. 6 (b), assume that the CPRI data stream is IQ data of antenna channel 0 through antenna channel 3 of cell 1, and IQ data of antenna channel 0 through antenna channel 3 of cell 2. N CPRI frames are CPRI frames 1-CPRI frame N respectively, IQ data of antenna channel 0-antenna channel 3 of cell 1 and IQ data of antenna channel 0-antenna channel 3 of cell 2 in the CPRI frames 1-CPRI frame N are packaged in an Ethernet data packet for transmission. Taking one CPRI frame (e.g., CPRI frame 1) of the N CPRI frames as an example, assuming that the IQ data of antenna channel 0 through antenna channel 3 of cell 1 and the IQ data of antenna channel 0 through antenna channel 3 of cell 2 included in the CPRI frame 1 are arranged according to the antenna channel in the ethernet packet, the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet may be described as follows:

The IQ data of antenna lane 0 of cell 1 is located at the first byte (or 1 st bit to 8 th bit) of payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 0 of the cell 2 is located at the second byte (or 9 th bit to 16 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 1 of cell 1 is located at the third byte (or 17 th bit to 24 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 1 of the cell 2 is located at the fourth byte (or 25 th bit to 32 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

The IQ data of the antenna channel 2 of the cell 1 is located at the fifth byte (or 33 th bit to 40 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 2 of cell 2 is located at the sixth byte (or 41 st bit to 48 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1.

The IQ data of the antenna channel 3 of cell 1 is located at the seventh byte (or 49 th bit to 56 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1;

the IQ data of the antenna channel 3 of cell 2 is located at the eighth byte (or 57 th bit to 64 th bit) of the payload of the ethernet packet with IQ stream identification 1.

Optionally, in some possible embodiments, for the receiving end of the ethernet packet (i.e., the second network device), the second network device may further obtain a delay Z, where the delay Z is greater than the average transmission delay of the ethernet packet, for example, please refer to fig. 7, and fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the delay Z provided by the embodiment of the present application. Specifically, the second network device may send, when the local time reaches t+z, a first CPRI frame to a downstream processing node of the second network device according to the timestamp T and the delay Z, where the timestamp T is a frame number of a first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames, and the first CPRI frame includes IQ data in the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames. That is, the delay Z indicates how much transmission delay is, when the receiving end of the Ethernet data packet receives the Ethernet data packet, the receiving end outputs the IQ data to the downstream processing node after the local time reaches T+Z according to the timestamp T carried in the Ethernet data packet, so that the eCPRI link transmission delay jitter can be absorbed, the IQ data transmission delay becomes a stable value, and the downstream can obtain CPRI frames with continuous frame loss, thereby being beneficial to improving the communication performance. Here, the downstream processing node may be an RU running the CPRI protocol, or a baseband unit for processing IQ data inside a DU, etc., which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that, the above-mentioned value of N, the association between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet, or one or more information such as the delay Z may be configured by a control plane message, and in general, the control plane message is a message sent by the eREC to eRE or FHGW, and the control plane message may include first indication information, where the first indication information indicates one or more of ① N, the association between the ② IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, and the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet ③. Optionally, the control plane message may also include second indication information, where the second indication information indicates the size of the delay Z. It should be understood that the first indication information and the second indication information may be sent in the same control plane message, or the first indication information and the second indication information may also be sent in different control plane messages respectively, which is not limited in this aspect of the present application. Note that for user plane data (e.g., ethernet packets), both rec and eRE may be used as the sending end of the user plane data, for example, if rec is used as the sending end of the user plane data, eRE may be used as the receiving end of the user plane data, and for example, if eRE is used as the sending end of the user plane data, rec is used as the receiving end of the user plane data. For control plane messages, however, eREC is typically the sender of the control plane message and eRE is the receiver of the control plane message. Illustratively, as shown in fig. 8, the ethernet packet transmission case where the first network device is rec and the second network device is eRE is shown in fig. 8 (a), and the ethernet packet transmission case where the first network device is eRE is shown in fig. 8 (b) and the second network device is rec. Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a networking to which the communication method according to the embodiment of the present application is applicable. As shown in fig. 9 (a), the eREC and eRE are networked, and the CPRI cell and eCPRI cell coexist (or co-transmit network) on eRE, where ethernet packets may be sent to eRE by the eREC through the ethernet forwarding network, or sent to the eREC by eRE through the ethernet forwarding network, and the control plane message is sent/notified to eRE by the eREC. As shown in fig. 9 (b), the cases of the eREC and FHGW and RE networking are shown, where the ethernet packet may be sent to FHGW by the eREC through the ethernet forwarding network, or may be sent to the eREC by FHGW through the ethernet forwarding network, and the control plane message is sent/notified to FHGW by the eREC.

Optionally, the above mentioned value of N, the association relationship between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, and one or more information of the arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet, or the delay Z may also be preconfigured or predefined, which is not limited in the present application. For example, the value of N may be pre-configured or predefined, which may save transmission bandwidth.

In the embodiment of the application, the transmission efficiency of the CPRI data can be improved by packaging the IQ data in a plurality of CPRI frames in one eCPRI Ethernet data packet (namely, eCPRI Ethernet data packet in message format) for transmission. In addition, by carrying an IQ stream identifier in the header of the eCPRI ethernet packet, the IQ stream identifier can be used to identify to which antenna channel(s) of which cell(s) the IQ data in the ethernet packet belongs, which is beneficial for the receiving end to correctly parse the received eCPRI ethernet packet. Further, by carrying the time stamp T in the ethernet packet, the receiving end of the ethernet packet may start to sequentially send CPRI frames to the downstream processing node when the local time reaches t+z according to the time stamp T and the acquired delay Z, so that the transmission delay jitter of the eCPRI link may be absorbed, so that the IQ data transmission delay becomes a stable value, the downstream may obtain the CPRI frames with continuous frames not lost, and the delay stability of the IQ data transmission in the ethernet network is improved.

The communication device provided by the application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 10 to 11.

It will be appreciated that, in order to implement the functions of the above embodiments, the communication device includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules that perform the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application scenario and design constraints imposed on the solution.

Fig. 10 and 11 are schematic structural diagrams of a possible communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices may be used to implement the functions of the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiments, so that the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments may also be implemented. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatuses may be the first network device or the second network device, or may be a component or an apparatus (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the first network device or the second network device, or may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first network device or the second network device.

As shown in fig. 10, the communication apparatus 1000 includes a processing unit 1010 and a transceiver unit 1020. The communication apparatus 1000 is configured to implement the functions of the first network device or the second network device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4.

When the communication apparatus 1000 is used to implement the functionality of the first network device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4:

The processing unit 1010 is configured to determine an ethernet packet, where the format of the ethernet packet is eCPRI message formats, the ethernet packet includes IQ data in N CPRI frames, and a header of the ethernet packet includes an IQ stream identifier, where the CPRI frames include IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell includes one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used to determine an antenna channel of a cell to which the IQ data in the ethernet packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0.

And a transceiver unit 1020, configured to send the ethernet packet.

When the communication apparatus 1000 is used to implement the functionality of the second network device in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4:

The transceiver 1020 is configured to receive an ethernet packet, where the format of the ethernet packet is eCPRI message formats, the ethernet packet includes IQ data in N CPRI frames, and the header of the ethernet packet includes IQ stream identifiers, where the CPRI frames include IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell includes one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifiers are used to determine antenna channels of a cell to which the IQ data in the ethernet packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0.

And a processing unit 1010, configured to send, by the transceiver unit 1020, a first CPRI frame according to the timestamp T and the delay Z when the local time reaches t+z, where the first CPRI frame includes IQ data in a first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

For other possible implementation manners of the communication apparatus, reference may be made to the description of the related device functions in the method embodiment corresponding to fig. 4, which is not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 11, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. The processor 1110 and the interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1120 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory 1130 for storing instructions to be executed by the processor 1110 or for storing input data required by the processor 1110 to execute instructions or for storing data generated after the processor 1110 executes instructions.

When the communication device is used to implement the method in the method embodiment, the processor 1110 is used to perform the functions of the processing unit 1010, and the interface circuit 1120 is used to perform the functions of the transceiver unit 1020.

When the communication device is a chip applied to the first network device, the chip realizes the function of the first network device in the method embodiment. The chip receives information from other devices, or the first network device chip sends information to other devices.

When the communication device is a chip applied to the second network device, the second network device chip realizes the function of the second network device in the embodiment of the method, and the second network device chip receives information from other devices, or the second network device chip sends information to other devices.

It is to be appreciated that the processor in embodiments of the application may be a CPU, but may also be other general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DIGITAL SIGNAL processor, DSP), application SPECIFIC INTEGRATED Circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (field programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGA) or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, it may be any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing software instructions by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in random access Memory (random access Memory, RAM), flash Memory, read-Only Memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (erasable PROM, EPROM), electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a first network device or a second network device. It is also possible that the processor and the storage medium reside as discrete components in a first network device or a second network device.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program or instructions may be stored in or transmitted across a computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, an optical medium such as a digital versatile disk (DIGITAL VERSATILEDISC, DVD), or a semiconductor medium such as a Solid State Drive (SSD).

In various embodiments of the application, where no special description or logic conflict exists, terms and/or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and may reference each other, and features of the various embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logic.

It will be appreciated that the various numerical numbers referred to in the embodiments of the present application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The sequence number of each process does not mean the sequence of the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined according to the function and the internal logic.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer readable storage medium, wherein computer execution instructions are stored in the computer readable storage medium, and when the computer execution instructions are executed, the method executed by the first network device or the second network device in the method embodiment is realized.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the method executed by the first network device or the second network device in the embodiment of the method is realized.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system which comprises the first network equipment and the second network equipment. The first network device is configured to execute the method executed by the first network device in the method embodiment. The second network device is configured to perform the method performed by the second network device in the method embodiment described above.

It should be noted that, for simplicity of description, the foregoing method embodiments are all described as a series of acts, but it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present application is not limited by the order of acts described, as some steps may be performed in other orders or concurrently in accordance with the present application. Further, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are all preferred embodiments, and that the acts and modules referred to are not necessarily required for the present application.

The description of the embodiments provided by the application can be referred to each other, and the description of each embodiment has emphasis, and the part of the detailed description of one embodiment can be referred to the related description of other embodiments. For convenience and brevity of description, for example, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of the method embodiments of the present application with respect to the functions and steps performed by the apparatus, devices, and methods provided by the embodiments of the present application, and reference may also be made to each other, to combinations, or to references between the apparatus embodiments.

It should be noted that the above embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical solution of the present application and not for limiting the same, and although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution described in the above embodiments may be modified or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced, and these modifications or substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution deviate from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (20)

1. A method of communication, for use with a first network device, comprising:

Determining an Ethernet data packet, wherein the format of the Ethernet data packet is an enhanced common radio interface eCPRI message format, the Ethernet data packet comprises in-phase quadrature IQ data in N common radio interface CPRI frames, and the packet header of the Ethernet data packet comprises an IQ stream identifier, wherein the CPRI frames comprise IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell comprises one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used for determining the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0;

And sending the Ethernet data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

Transmitting first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information:

the value of N;

the IQ flow identification is associated with an antenna channel of a cell or,

The arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet data packet;

The arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of N, the association between the IQ stream identification and the antenna channel of the cell, or one or more information of the arrangement position of IQ data in the ethernet packet is preconfigured or predefined, and the arrangement position of IQ data in the ethernet packet is a bit position of IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

4. A method according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that the header of the ethernet packet further comprises a time stamp T, which is used to indicate the generation time or the packing time of the ethernet packet.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

and sending second indicating information, wherein the second indicating information indicates a time delay Z, and the Z is larger than the average transmission time delay of the Ethernet data packet.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the timestamp T and the delay Z are used to determine a receive buffering time of the ethernet packet.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, wherein the timestamp T is a frame number of a first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

8. A method of communication, for use with a second network device, comprising:

Receiving an Ethernet data packet, wherein the format of the Ethernet data packet is an enhanced common radio interface eCPRI message format, the Ethernet data packet comprises in-phase quadrature IQ data in N common radio interface CPRI frames, the packet head of the Ethernet data packet comprises an IQ stream identifier, the CPRI frames comprise IQ data corresponding to X cells, each cell comprises one or more antenna channels, the IQ stream identifier is used for determining the antenna channel of the cell to which the IQ data in the Ethernet data packet belongs, N is an integer greater than 1, and X is an integer greater than 0.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates one or more of the following information:

the value of N;

the IQ flow identification is associated with an antenna channel of a cell or,

The arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet data packet;

The arrangement position of the IQ data in the ethernet packet is the bit position of the IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the ethernet packet.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the value of N is one or more of a correlation between the IQ stream identifier and an antenna channel of a cell, and an arrangement position of IQ data in the Ethernet packet is a bit position of IQ data corresponding to the antenna channel of the cell in the Ethernet packet.

11. The method according to any of claims 8-10, wherein the header of the ethernet packet further comprises a timestamp T, where the timestamp T is used to indicate the generation time or the packing time of the ethernet packet.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

And receiving second indication information, wherein the second indication information indicates a time delay Z, and the Z is larger than the average transmission time delay of the Ethernet data packet.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the timestamp T and the delay Z are used to determine a receive buffering time of the ethernet packet.

14. The method according to any of claims 11-13, wherein the timestamp T is the frame number of the first CPRI frame of the N CPRI frames.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

And according to the timestamp T and the time delay Z, when the local time reaches T+Z, sending a first CPRI frame, wherein the first CPRI frame comprises IQ data in a first CPRI frame in the N CPRI frames.

16. A communication device comprising means or modules for performing the method of any of claims 1-7 or means or modules for performing the method of any of claims 8-15.

17. A communication device comprising a processor and a transceiver for implementing the method of any of claims 1-7 or the method of any of claims 8-15.

18. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium has stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a communication device, implements the method according to any of claims 1-7 or implements the method according to any of claims 8-15.

19. A computer program product comprising computer program code for implementing the method of any of claims 1-7 or for implementing the method of any of claims 8-15 when said computer program code is run on a computer.

20. A communication system comprising a first network device for implementing the method of any of claims 1-7 and a second network device comprising the method of any of claims 8-15.