METHOD FOR SELECTING THE TRANSPORT NETWORK LAYER ASSOCIATION (TNLA) WITHIN 5G RAN SYSTEMS

1 . A method of enabling a Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN)-compatible central unit (CU) to modify at least one dynamic Transport Network Layer Association (TNLA) in communication with a C-RAN-compatible distributed unit (DU), comprising:

generating, by the CU, a first TNLA distinct from an existing second TNLA;

communicating, by the CU to the DU, assigned first and second weight factors associated with the first and second TNLAs, respectively, wherein at least one of i) the assigned first weight factor associated with the first TNLA indicates required selection, and ii) the assigned second weight factor for the second TNLA indicates required non-selection;

establishing a new Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) connection towards a gNB-CU IP address associated with the first TNLA; and

automatically selecting, by the DU, the first TNLA for any new UE requiring service.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second weight factors are communicated to the DU using a “gNB-CU Configuration Update” message.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the DU to the CU, a “gNB-CU Configuration Update Acknowledge” message, after the establishing of the SCTP connection.

4 . A method of enabling a Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN)-compatible central unit (CU) to modify at least one dynamic Transport Network Layer Association (TNLA) in communication with a C-RAN-compatible distributed unit (DU), comprising:

communicating, by the CU to the DU, assigned first weight factor associated with a first TNLA and assigned second weight factor associated with a second TNLA, wherein at least one of i) the assigned first weight factor associated with the first TNLA indicates required selection, and ii) the assigned second weight factor for the second TNLA indicates required non-selection;

updating, by the DU, the first and second weight factors for the first and second TNLAs, respectively; and

automatically selecting, by the DU, the first TNLA for any new UE requiring service.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the first and second weight factors are communicated to the DU using a “gNB-CU Configuration Update” message.

6 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein:

the first TNLA is the TNLA to be retained, and the second TNLA is the TNLA to be deleted; and

the number of UEs assigned to the second TNLA is reduced to zero after a period of time based on the assigned first and second weight factors.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , further comprising:

initiating a deletion of the second TNLA after the number of UEs assigned to the second TNLA is reduced to zero.

8 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein:

the first TNLA is initially less loaded with UEs in comparison to the second TNLA; and

the number of UEs assigned to the first TNLA becomes substantially equal to the number of UEs assigned to the second TNLA after a period of time based on the assigned first and second weight factors.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the first and second weight factors are communicated to the DU using a “gNB-CU Configuration Update” message.

10 . The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:

updating, by the CU, the first and second weight factors to be equal after the number of UEs assigned to the first TNLA becomes substantially equal to the number of UEs assigned to the second TNLA.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least the communicating step is performed using F1-C interface.

12 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein at least the communicating step is performed using F1-C interface.

13 . A method of enabling a first Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN)-compatible central unit (CU) to modify at least one dynamic Transport Network Layer Association (TNLA) in communication with a second C-RAN-compatible CU, comprising:

communicating via Xn-C interface, by the first CU to the second CU, assigned first weight factor associated with a first TNLA and assigned second weight factor associated with a second TNLA, wherein at least one of i) the assigned first weight factor associated with the first TNLA indicates required selection, and ii) the assigned second weight factor for the second TNLA indicates required non-selection;

storing, by the second CU, the first and second weight factors for the first and second TNLAs, respectively; and

automatically selecting, by the second CU, the first TNLA for any new UE requiring service.

14 . A method of enabling a Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN)-compatible central unit (CU) to modify at least one dynamic Transport Network Layer Association (TNLA), comprising:

communicating via E1 interface, by CU user plane (CU-UP) to CU control plane (CU-CP), assigned first weight factor associated with a first TNLA and assigned second weight factor associated with a second TNLA, wherein at least one of i) the assigned first weight factor associated with the first TNLA indicates required selection, and ii) the assigned second weight factor for the second TNLA indicates required non-selection;

storing, by the CU-CP, the first and second weight factors for the first and second TNLAs, respectively; and

automatically selecting, by the CU-CP, the first TNLA for any new UE requiring service.