US-12628152-B2 - Determining peak connections in a distributed environment

Abstract

Computer-implemented methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory storage media for determining peak connections in a distributed environment are provided. In some implementations, determining peak connections in a distributed environment can include receiving, according to a predetermined time schedule, data indicating a number of user equipments (UEs) connected to and a number of UEs disconnected from each of a plurality of scheduling units of a radio access network (RAN) during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period of time, determining, based on the received data, a maximum number of UEs connected to the scheduling units at a time in the first period of time, and transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to a network manager of the RAN.

Inventors

• Pradeep Kumar NALLA
• RAGHAVENDRA

Assignees

• RAKUTEN SYMPHONY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20221019

Priority Date

20220902

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving, according to a predetermined time schedule, data indicating a number of user equipments (UEs) connected to and a number of UEs disconnected from each of a plurality of scheduling units of a radio access network (RAN) during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period of time, wherein a plurality of data respectively indicating the number of UEs is received for a scheduling unit, among the plurality of scheduling units, respectively for the plurality of time windows; determining, based on the received data, a maximum number of UEs connected to the plurality of scheduling units at a time in the first period of time, the maximum number being a single number for an entirety of the first period of time; and transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to a network manager of the RAN configured to perform load balancing across the plurality of scheduling units based on the transmitted determined maximum number of UEs.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the received data is time stamped such that the time of the maximum number of UEs connected to the plurality of scheduling units is a known time.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined time schedule is such that data is received after each successive passage of a predetermined period of time in each of the plurality of time windows.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data is received at an end of each of the plurality of time windows.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of time windows is a predetermined length of time; and the first period of time is a sum of each of the predetermined lengths of time.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined maximum number of UEs is transmitted to the network manager after an end of the first period of time.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising repeating the receiving, the determining, and the transmitting for each of at least one additional period of time after the first period of time.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of scheduling units are associated with at least one of: a control plane component and a user plane component of a centralized unit of a base station.
9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of scheduling units are associated with the control plane component of the centralized unit of the base station.
10. 10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the base station includes at least one of the following: an eNodeB base station, a gNodeB base station, a wireless base station, a wireless access point, and any combination thereof.
11. 11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the centralized unit is communicatively coupled with at least one distributed unit (DU); each of the at least one DUs is communicatively coupled with at least one radio unit (RU); and the UEs connected to the plurality of scheduling units are communicatively coupled to the at least one RUs.
12. 12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the centralized unit is operating in an open radio access network (O-RAN) or in a virtual RAN.
13. 13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving, the determining, and the transmitting are performed by a base station in a wireless communication system.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the base station includes a centralized unit having a processor communicatively coupled to a memory; and the receiving, the determining, and the transmitting are performed by the centralized unit.
15. 15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the centralized unit includes at least one of: a control plane component, a user plane component, and any combination thereof.
16. 16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving, the determining, and the transmitting are performed by a radio access network (RAN) node having at least one processor communicatively coupled to at least one memory.
17. 17 . An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor, and at least one non-transitory storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving, according to a predetermined time schedule, data indicating a number of user equipments (UEs) connected to and a number of UEs disconnected from each of a plurality of scheduling units of a radio access network (RAN) during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period of time, wherein a plurality of data respectively indicating the number of UEs is received for a scheduling unit, among the plurality of scheduling units, respectively for the plurality of time windows; determining, based on the received data, a maximum number of UEs connected to the plurality of scheduling units at a time in the first period of time, the maximum number being a single number for an entirety of the first period of time; and transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to a network manager of the RAN configured to perform load balancing across the plurality of scheduling units based on the transmitted determined maximum number of UEs.
18. 18 . At least one non-transitory storage media storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving, according to a predetermined time schedule, data indicating a number of user equipments (UEs) connected to and a number of UEs disconnected from each of a plurality of scheduling units of a radio access network (RAN) during each of a plurality of time windows in a first period of time, wherein a plurality of data respectively indicating the number of UEs is received for a scheduling unit, among the plurality of scheduling units, respectively for the plurality of time windows; determining, based on the received data, a maximum number of UEs connected to the plurality of scheduling units at a time in the first period of time, the maximum number being a single number for an entirety of the first period of time; and transmitting the determined maximum number of UEs to a network manager of the RAN configured to perform load balancing across the plurality of scheduling units based on the transmitted determined maximum number of UEs.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to and is the 35 U.S.C. 371 United State National Phase application based on International Patent Application No. PCT/US22/78385, filed Oct. 19, 2022, and entitled “DETERMINING PEAK CONNECTIONS IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT,” which claims priority to Indian Patent Application number 202241050321 filed Sep. 2, 2022, and entitled “DETERMINING PEAK CONNECTIONS IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT,” and incorporates their disclosures herein by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD In some implementations, the current subject matter relates to telecommunications systems, and in particular, to determining peak connections in a distributed environment, such as an open-radio access network (“O-RAN”) architecture system, a virtual RAN system, long term evolution communications systems, 5G New Radio (“NR”) communications systems, and any other systems. BACKGROUND In today's world, cellular networks provide on-demand communications capabilities to individuals and business entities. Typically, a cellular network is a wireless network that can be distributed over land areas, which are called cells. Each such cell is served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, which is referred to as a cell site or a base station. Each cell can use a different set of frequencies than its neighbor cells in order to avoid interference and provide improved service within each cell. When cells are joined together, they provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area, which enables a large number of mobile telephones, and/or other wireless devices or portable transceivers to communicate with each other and with fixed transceivers and telephones anywhere in the network. Such communications are performed through base stations and are accomplished even if the mobile transceivers are moving through more than one cell during transmission. world, thereby allowing communications mobile phones and mobile computing devices to be connected to the public switched telephone network and public Internet. A mobile telephone is a portable telephone that is capable of receiving and/or making telephone and/or data calls through a cell site or a transmitting tower by using radio waves to transfer signals to and from the mobile telephone. In view of a large number of mobile telephone users, current mobile telephone networks provide a limited and shared resource. In that regard, cell sites and handsets can change frequency and use low power transmitters to allow simultaneous usage of the networks by many callers with less interference. Coverage by a cell site can depend on a particular geographical location and/or a number of users that can potentially use the network. For example, in a city, a cell site can have a range of up to approximately ½ mile: in rural areas, the range can be as much as 5 miles: and in some areas, a user can receive signals from a cell site 25 miles away. The following are examples of some of the digital cellular technologies that are in use by the communications providers: Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”), General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (“EV-DO”), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (“EDGE”), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (“DECT”), Digital AMPS (“IS-136/TDMA”), and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (“iDEN”). The Long Term Evolution, or 4G LTE, which was developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) standards body, is a standard for a wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. A 5G standard is currently being developed and deployed. 3GPP cellular technologies like LTE and 5G NR are evolutions of earlier generation 3GPP technologies like the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA digital cellular technologies and allows for increasing capacity and speed by using a different radio interface together with core network improvements. Cellular networks can be divided into radio access networks and core networks. The radio access network (“RAN”) can include network functions that can handle radio layer communications processing. The core network can include network functions that can handle higher layer communications, e.g., internet protocol (“IP”), transport layer and applications layer. In some cases, the RAN functions can be split into baseband unit functions and the radio unit functions, where a radio unit connected to a baseband unit via a fronthaul network, for example, can be responsible for lower layer processing of a radio physical layer while a baseband unit can be responsible for the higher layer radio protocols, e.g., MAC, RLC, etc. Conventional radio access networks typically provide wireless communication capabilities to a large number of communications mobile phones and mobile computing devices using scheduling units that each have a predetermined handling capacity. H