US-12621882-B2 - Tunnel reuse for multicast and broadcast service

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems for enabling effective reuse of a multicast or shared tunnel for a multicast and broadcast service are described. In one example aspect, a wireless communication method includes receiving, by a network node in a core network, information from a first access node requesting a multicast tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service, and transmitting, by the network node to the first access node, information about a shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service that has been established for a second access node.

Inventors

• Zijiang Ma

Assignees

• ZTE CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20221121

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method of wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a network node in a core network, information from a first access node in a first radio access network (RAN) requesting a multicast tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service; and transmitting, by the network node to the first access node, information about a shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service that has been established for a neighboring second access node in a second RAN, wherein the first access node and the neighboring second access node share a same user plane resource for the multicast and broadcast service, and wherein the shared tunnel established for the neighboring second access node is determined, by the first access node, to be usable by the first access node.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the shared tunnel is associated with at least one other multicast and broadcast service.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the multicast tunnel is for one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows of the multicast and broadcast service.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , comprising: determining, by the network node, whether to establish the multicast tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service for the first access node.
5. 5 . The method of claim 3 , comprising: receiving, by the network node, a response from the first access node indicating whether the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service or the one or more QoS flows of the multicast and broadcast service is usable by the first access node; and establishing, by the network node, a separate tunnel for the first access node upon determining, based on the response, that the shared tunnel is unusable by the first access node.
6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein whether the shared tunnel is usable by the first access node is determined based on whether the first access node and the neighboring second access node share the same user plane resource for the multicast and broadcast service or the one or more QoS flows of the multicast and broadcast service.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service comprises a tunnel endpoint identifier or an identifier identifying an access node for which the shared tunnel is established.
8. 8 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service comprises an identifier for at least one of the one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows associated with the multicast and broadcast service.
9. 9 . A method of wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by a first access node in a first radio access network (RAN) to a network node in a core network, information requesting a multicast tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service; receiving, by the first access node, information about a shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service that has been established for a neighboring second access node in a second RAN, wherein the first access node and the neighboring second access node share a same user plane resource for the multicast and broadcast service; and transmitting, by the first access node to the network node, a response indicating that the shared tunnel established for the neighboring second access node is usable by the first access node for the multicast and broadcast service.
10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the shared tunnel is associated with at least one other multicast and broadcast service.
11. 11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the multicast tunnel is for one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows of the multicast and broadcast service.
12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: determining whether the shared tunnel is usable by the first access node based on whether the first access node and the neighboring second access node share the same user plane resource for the multicast and broadcast service or the one or more QoS flows of the multicast and broadcast service.
13. 13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service comprises a tunnel endpoint identifier or an identifier identifying an access node for which the shared tunnel is established.
14. 14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service comprises an identifier for at least one of the one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows associated with the multicast and broadcast service.
15. 15 . A method of wireless communication, comprising: transmitting, by a second access node in a second radio access network (RAN) to a network node in a core network, information requesting a shared tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service; receiving, by the second access node, an indicator from the network node indicating an establishment of the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service for the second access node; and transmitting, by the second access node, information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service to a neighboring first access node in a first RAN, wherein the neighboring first access node and the second access node share a same user plane resource for the multicast and broadcast service, and wherein the shared tunnel established for the second access node is determined, by the neighboring first access node, to be usable by the neighboring first access node.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the shared tunnel is associated with at least one other multicast and broadcast service.
17. 17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the shared tunnel is for one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows of the multicast and broadcast service.
18. 18 . The method of claim 15 , comprising: receiving, by the second access node, a notification from the neighboring first access node indicating whether the shared tunnel is usable by the neighboring first access node.
19. 19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service comprises a tunnel endpoint identifier or an identifier identifying an access node for which the shared tunnel is established.
20. 20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service comprises an identifier for at least one of the one or more Quality of Service (QoS) flows associated with the multicast and broadcast service.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent document is a continuation of and claims benefit of priority to International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2020/092227, filed on May 26, 2020. The entire content of the before-mentioned patent application is incorporated by reference as part of the disclosure of this application. TECHNICAL FIELD This patent document is directed generally to wireless communications. BACKGROUND Mobile communication technologies are moving the world toward an increasingly connected and networked society. The rapid growth of mobile communications and advances in technology have led to greater demand for capacity and connectivity. Other aspects, such as energy consumption, device cost, spectral efficiency, and latency are also important to meeting the needs of various communication scenarios. Various techniques, including new ways to provide higher quality of service, longer battery life, and improved performance are being discussed. SUMMARY This patent document describes, among other things, techniques related to effectively reuse existing multicast or shared tunnel created for access nodes that share the same user plane resources, thereby preserving network resources and reducing signaling overhead. In one example aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a network node in a core network, information from a first access node requesting a multicast tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service; and transmitting, by the network node to the first access node, information about a shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service that has been established for a second access node. In another example aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes transmitting, by an access node to a network node in a core network, information requesting a multicast tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service. The method includes receiving, by the access node, information about a shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service that has been established for a neighboring access node. The method also includes transmitting, by the access node to the network node, a response indicating whether the shared tunnel is usable by the access node for the multicast and broadcast service. In another example aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes transmitting, by an access node to a network node in a core network, information requesting a shared tunnel associated with a multicast and broadcast service. The method includes receiving, by the access node, an indicator from the network node indicating an establishment of the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service. The method also includes transmitting, by the access node, information about the shared tunnel associated with the multicast and broadcast service to a neighboring access node. In another example aspect, a communication apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a processor that is configured to implement an above-described method. In yet another example aspect, a computer-program storage medium is disclosed. The computer-program storage medium includes code stored thereon. The code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement a described method. These, and other, aspects are described in the present document. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a Fifth-Generation (5 G) system. FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture for providing multicast and broadcast services. FIG. 3 illustrates an example deployment of 5 G systems in accordance with the present technology. FIG. 4A illustrates a conventional 5 G network deployment for Multicast and Broadcast Services (MBSs). FIG. 4B illustrates an example 5 G network deployment for MBS in accordance with the present technology. FIG. 5 is a flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication in accordance with the present technology. FIG. 6 is a flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication in accordance with the present technology. FIG. 7 is a flowchart representation of a method for wireless communication in accordance with the present technology. FIG. 8 shows an example of a wireless communication system where techniques in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology can be applied. FIG. 9 is a block diagram representation of a portion of a radio station in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present technology can be applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Section headings are used in the present document only to improve readability and do not limit scope of the disclosed embodiments and techniques in each section to only that section. Certain features are described using the example of Fifth Generation (5 G) wireless protocol. However, applicability of the disclosed techniques is not limited to only 5 G wirel