Transmission of data within a communications network
View Patent ↗The invention relates to methods for providing a network element of a communications network with data, in particular HSDPA related data. In order to enable the transmission of user data, it is proposed that a controller of the network uses a dedicated frame structure for assembling frames with said user data. The frames can then be transmitted from the controller via an interface to the network element. In order to enable the transmission of control parameters, it is further proposed that an interface application protocol is employed which allows the controller to add control parameters to control messages transmitted from the controller to a network element via the interface.
1. A radio network controller comprising a component configured to provide a network element of a communications network via an interface in accordance with an interface application protocol with control parameters by inserting said control parameters into a control message associated with a high-speed downlink shared channel of said communications network and transmitted from said radio network controller of said communications network to said network element over said interface, said control message is one of a RADIO LINK SETUP REQUEST message and a RADIO LINK RECONFIGURATION PREPARE message, said control parameters comprising:
an identity of an high speed downlink shared channel currently to be used by said network element for high speed downlink packet access;
an allocation and/or retention priority indicating a priority level in the allocation and/or retention of internal resources of said network element;
a frame handling priority indicating a priority level to be used by said network element during the lifetime of a high speed downlink shared channel for temporary restrictions of allocated resources; and
a parameter to be used by said network element to configure hybrid automatic repeat request implemented in said network element.
2. The radio network controller according to claim 1 , said radio network controller being a radio network controller of a universal mobile telecommunication services terrestrial radio access network.
3. The radio network controller according to claim 1 , in which content of said at least one control parameter is a fixed value, a limiting value or a sequence of allowed values to be used by said network element.
4. The radio network controller according to claim 1 , in which said component is configured to insert said at least one control parameter, which is comprised in at least one information element, into the control message by adding said information element to the control message transmitted from said radio network controller to said network element over said interface.
5. A network element comprising a component configured to receive control messages from a radio network controller of a communications network via an interface, and configured to extract control parameters from at least one kind of received control message associated with a high-speed downlink shared channel of said communications network, into which the control parameters were inserted by said radio network controller, said control parameters comprising:
an identity of an high speed downlink shared channel currently to be used by said network element for high speed downlink packet access,
an allocation and/or retention priority indicating a priority level in the allocation and/or retention of internal resources of said network element;
a frame handling priority indicating a priority level to be used by said network element during the lifetime of a high speed downlink shared channel for temporary restrictions of allocated resources; and
a parameter to be used by said network element to configure hybrid automatic repeat request implemented in said network element, wherein
said at least one kind of received control message is one of a RADIO LINK SETUP REQUEST message and a RADIO LINK RECONFIGURATION PREPARE message.
6. The network element according to claim 5 , said network element being a Node B of a universal mobile telecommunication services terrestrial radio access network.
7. The network element according to claim 5 , in which said component is configured to receive as a content of said at least one control parameter a fixed value, a limiting value or a sequence of allowed values to be used by said network element.
8. The network element according to claim 5 , in which said component is configured to receive said at least one control parameter comprised in at least one information element that has been added to a control message of said at least one kind of control message transmitted from said radio network controller to said network element over said interface.
9. A method comprising:
forming a control message associated with a high speed downlink shared channel, at a radio network controller of a communications network, the control message is one of a RADIO LINK SETUP REQUEST message and a RADIO LINK RECONFIGURATION PREPARE message; and
transmitting said control message by the radio network controller to a network element over an interface in the communication network, the control message including parameters comprising,
an identity of a high speed downlink shared channel to be used by said network element for high speed downlink packet access,
an allocation and/or retention priority indicating a priority level in the allocation and/or retention of internal resources of said network element,
a frame handling priority indicating a priority level to be used by said network element during the lifetime of the high speed downlink shared channel for temporary restrictions of allocated resources, and
a parameter to be used by said network element to configure hybrid automatic repeat request implemented in said network element.
10. A method according to claim 9 , in which said communications network is a universal mobile telecommunication services terrestrial radio access network, said network element is a Node B, and said interface is an Iub interface.
11. A method according to claim 9 , in which said at least one control parameter comprises in addition one or more of the following parameters:
the identity of a high speed downlink shared channel currently to be used by said network element for high speed downlink packet access;
a binding identity identifying the user data stream which is currently to be transmitted by said network element; and
a transport layer address defining the current transport address of said network element.
12. A method according to claim 9 , in which said one or more parameters to configure hybrid automatic repeat request includes at least one of the number of channels to be used for hybrid automatic repeat request, a maximum allowed number of attempts for hybrid automatic repeat request, and restrictions of redundancy versions from which said network element can choose.
13. A method according to claim 9 , in which the content of said at least one control parameter is a fixed value, a limiting value or a sequence of allowed values to be used by said network element.
14. A method according to claim 9 , in which said at least one control parameter is comprised in at least one information element and is inserted into said control message transmitted from said radio network controller to said network element over said interface.