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WO2012019811A1 - Method of exchanging data in a communications network - Google Patents

Method of exchanging data in a communications network Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2012019811A1
WO2012019811A1 PCT/EP2011/060085 EP2011060085W WO2012019811A1 WO 2012019811 A1 WO2012019811 A1 WO 2012019811A1 EP 2011060085 W EP2011060085 W EP 2011060085W WO 2012019811 A1 WO2012019811 A1 WO 2012019811A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
data
network
layer
connections
data flows
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2011/060085
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Alexander Sayenko
Hans Thomas Hoehne
Tommi Olavi Harakkamaki
Original Assignee
Nokia Siemens Networks Oy
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Siemens Networks Oy filed Critical Nokia Siemens Networks Oy
Publication of WO2012019811A1 publication Critical patent/WO2012019811A1/en

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Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W76/00Connection management
    • H04W76/10Connection setup
    • H04W76/15Setup of multiple wireless link connections
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L45/00Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
    • H04L45/24Multipath
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W80/00Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
    • H04W80/02Data link layer protocols

Definitions

  • the invention generally relates to a method of exchanging data in a communications network.
  • the invention relates to more efficient multiple carrier transmission in wireless communications networks .
  • RLC radio link control
  • ARQ automatic repeat request
  • the ultimate goal of introducing multiple carriers is to cater for higher application level data rates.
  • TCP transport control protocol
  • UDP non-real-time user datagram protocol
  • Another problem with multiple carriers is that data scheduled for a transmission may reach a mobile station in a quite different order to that intended.
  • PDU 1 is scheduled for carrier 1
  • PDU 4 is scheduled for carrier 4
  • a terminal may treat this situation as having lost PDUs 1-3.
  • An implementation-specific behaviour might be to wait for some time before constructing the feedback, but this leads to unnecessary delays if PDUs 1-3 are indeed lost.
  • the invention provides a method of exchanging data in a communications network.
  • the method includes receiving data from a data source at a node of the network, splitting the data received from the data source into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of
  • connections established with the network and directing each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of the connections .
  • Each independent data flow can be treated as a separate layer 2 connection from the point of view of the network.
  • This allows a number of ARQ entities to be provided in the system and therefore solves the problem of ARQ acknowledgements arriving at different moments of time. Furthermore, it allows higher data rates to be achieved without increasing the ARQ window size of switching for a larger PDU size.
  • both the network side and mobile station side can be scaled for higher data rates by reusing existing hardware and software elements, which reduces the need for costly upgrading of hardware and software.
  • the data source is an application layer so that the original data flow to be split into a number of independent data flows is an application level data flow.
  • An identifier may be assigned to each of the plurality of data flows, for example PDCP SDU numbering can be used to number each of the data packets. The identifier does not have to be completely unique but should be unique within a certain time window so that data packets are received in the correct order.
  • a receiver entity can use an application level or some middle level packet counters to ensure that application packets are forwarded in a correct order. In the case of
  • this task can be performed by a receiver by analysing the SDU sequence number from the PDCP layer so existing hardware and software can be re-used .
  • the step of splitting occurs in a PDCP layer but it could also occur in a MAC layer or an RLC layer.
  • the uppermost layer is the PDCP layer, followed by the RLC layer (in which ARQ processes take place) , then the MAC layer (in which HARQ processes take place) .
  • the advantage of splitting the data flow into a plurality of independent data flows in the PDCP layer is that the ARQ window size can remain the same and does not have to be increased. This in turn means that the PDU size does not have to be increased and therefore errors are reduced.
  • the advantage of splitting the data no earlier than the PDCP layer lies in that a) the PDCP entity is located in the RNC . Thus, there is no need to introduce a new encapsulating header for, e.g., a UDP packet.
  • the PDCP layer allows separate RLC PDU sizes to be selected for separate links.
  • An RLC PDU size can be chosen according to a physical path (e.g. carrier or Node B (cell)) that the RLC connection is related to.
  • the number of connections can be equal to the number of activated data carriers for a particular mobile station. In this case, each of the plurality of data flows can be
  • the number of connections is equal to a number of cells of the network participating in data transmission.
  • Each of the pluralities of data flows may then be scheduled over a corresponding data carrier.
  • a correct order of data packets in the flow of data can be signalled. In this way, a mobile station receiving packet data from the network knows in which order to receive the data packets.
  • a method of exchanging data in a communications network includes receiving an application layer data flow at a network node and splitting the application layer data flow into a plurality of independent data flows. Splitting the application layer data flow into a plurality of independent data flows is performed in a first layer below the
  • Splitting the data and transmitting it to a mobile station accessing the network on separate carriers or cells has the advantage that the layer 2 functionality is not impacted by changes in the physical layer, for example the use of multiple carriers instead of a single carrier, which could lead to a throughput bottleneck in layer 2. This is because b the sliding window algorithm with selective repeat ARQ is not adapted to the increased bandwidth. Instead, the layer 2 entities can remain unchanged and do not need to perform a packet reordering - each of the independent data flows can have its own ARQ entity.
  • the layer 2 entities can be
  • the first layer in which the data flow is split into a number of independent data flows can be a PDCP layer, or
  • Each of the data flows can be directed to the network node indicating a highest readiness.
  • a Node B for example, can indicate a readiness to receive a flow of packet data.
  • each data flow is directed over the Node B that indicates the highest readiness (the most recent data is directed to the Node B indicating the highest readiness) .
  • the invention also provides a network node for a
  • the network node can be a control node, for example a radio network controller (RNC) , and includes a receiver configured to receive data from a data source, and a control module configured to split the data into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of connections established with the network, wherein the control module is further configured to direct each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of the connections .
  • RNC radio network controller
  • the invention further provides a mobile station.
  • the mobile station has a transceiver configured to exchange each of a plurality of data flows split from a received data flow with a network node of a communications network over a different one of a corresponding plurality of connections established between the mobile station and the network node.
  • a processor is also provided in the mobile station, which is configured to order the plurality of data flows into an order that they are received from the network.
  • the mobile station be further configured so that it sends a number of ARQ acknowledgements equal to the number of independent data flows exchanged with the network.
  • FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic block diagram of a communications network in
  • FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic block diagram of a communications network in
  • FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic diagram of data flow in physical layers of the communications network in a method according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 1 shows a wireless communications network that can be accessed by a mobile terminal or user equipment (UE) 1.
  • the UE 1 includes a transmit/receive unit 2 and a processor 3.
  • the UE 1 accesses the network via a base station or Node B 4 over a Uu interface.
  • the Node B 4 includes a scheduler S and is controlled by a radio network controller (RNC) 5 over an Iub interface.
  • RNC radio network controller
  • the UE can exchange packet data with the network, which
  • a data flow can be received by the RNC 5 from the application layer data source 6 at a transmit/receive unit 7 of the RNC 5, which is in turn coupled to a controller 8.
  • the number of L2 connections corresponds to the number of activated carriers for the UE 1.
  • the number of L2 connections may also correspond to the number of cells participating in data transmission for a multi-carrier case. In this case, more than one Node B controlled by the RNC 5 would be involved in data exchange.
  • the controller 8 splits the data flow into a number of independent sub-flows a, b and c in the PDCP layer, as shown in Figure 3. Three data sub-flows are shown here for simplicity but the actual number in fact corresponds to the number of L2 connections between the UE 1 and the network. Each independent data flow has its own ARQ entity, as shown in the RLC layer illustrated in Figure 3.
  • the RNC 5 signals a correct order of data packets in the flow of data. This is achieved by using an application level or middle level packet counters in the receiver 7 to ensure that packets from the application layer data source are forwarded in the correct order, for example by numbering the packets using PDCP SDU numbering.
  • the receiver 7 analyses the SDU sequence number from the PDCP layer and signals to the UE 1 the correct order in which the transmit/receive unit of the UE 1 should receive the data packets.
  • the scheduler S in the Node B 4 ensures that each of the data sub-flows are scheduled over a corresponding carrier supported by the UE 1.
  • the receiver 2 of the UE 1 is aware that the established L2 connections share the same PDCP entity, as this is explicitly signalled to the UE 1 in the connection setup message during connection establishment.
  • the PDCP layer at the receiver side may ensure a correct application level packet data order because packets received from different L2
  • Figure 2 shows a similar communications network to Figure 1 but differs in that the UE1 is a multi-flow UE and can receive flows of data originating from different Node Bs 4a and 4b (different cells)
  • the splitting of the application level data happens in the same way as described above with reference to Figure 3. The difference is that the
  • independent data flows a and b are directed over the Node B 4a, whereas the independent data flow c is directed over the Node B 4b to the UE 1, instead of directing all independent data flows over the same Node B.
  • the traffic splitting entity in HSPA, the RNC; in LTE, the gateway implements a dynamic data flow split whereby new packets are distributed to the
  • the readiness signal may be a compound signal derived from various parameters, but in particular it may be chosen only as the indication of the latest successful transmission of the last PDU going through one Node B, e.g. the Node B 4.
  • the data packets are chosen in size to match expected HARQ packet sizes.
  • HARQ packet sizes are assigned dynamically by the Node B 4 and are therefore unknown at the time the data flow is split. However, upper limits can be deduced from another Node B or base station.
  • the data flow from the application layer data source 6 is split in the RLC layer or the MAC layer. However, it is most advantageous that the flow of data from the data source is split in the PDCP layer, since this ensures each independent data flow has its own ARQ (HARQ) entity and therefore it is not required to enlarge the ARQ window to support the increased data flow.
  • HARQ ARQ

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

A method of exchanging data in a communications network is provided. The method includes receiving data from a data source at a node of the network, splitting the data received from the data source into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of connections established with the network, and directing each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of these connections.

Description

Description
METHOD OF EXCHANGING DATA IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally relates to a method of exchanging data in a communications network.
More particularly, the invention relates to more efficient multiple carrier transmission in wireless communications networks .
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Introduction of multiple carriers and carrier aggregation in wireless networks offering broadband services has created a number of technical problems not visible earlier to higher transmission levels, for example with radio link control (RLC) / automatic repeat request (ARQ) caused by the fact that application data can be transmitted over multiple carriers.
The ultimate goal of introducing multiple carriers is to cater for higher application level data rates.
Since higher rates are usually associated with the transport control protocol (TCP) transmission (for data downloading) or non-real-time user datagram protocol (UDP) transmissions (for high-quality video streaming) , it is anticipated that the ARQ mechanism (hence, also a synonym for the 3GPP RLC
acknowledged mode) is switched on for such a data flow. As a result, it is often the case that the ARQ window size becomes a limiting factor for data rates.
Existing wireless communications systems, such as 3GPP and IEEE 802.16, solve this problem by increasing the RLC packet data unit (PDU) size (3GPP) or by increasing the ARQ block size (IEEE 802.16). In the case of IEEE 802.16, a larger ARQ block mandates implicitly larger PDU sizes. However, such an approach leads to higher error rates because larger PDUs are more vulnerable to channel errors. Since HARQ cannot cope with all errors, due to a limited number of retransmissions, losing one large PDU may have a negative impact on the TCP application level performance.
Another problem with multiple carriers is that data scheduled for a transmission may reach a mobile station in a quite different order to that intended. In other words, if PDU 1 is scheduled for carrier 1, while PDU 4 is scheduled for carrier 4, there is no guarantee that they will arrive at a terminal in exactly the same order due to different channel variations and characteristics, which is especially the case for operations in multiple bands, or even from different cells. In the example above, if a terminal receives PDU 4 first, it may treat this situation as having lost PDUs 1-3. An implementation-specific behaviour might be to wait for some time before constructing the feedback, but this leads to unnecessary delays if PDUs 1-3 are indeed lost.
Furthermore, higher data rates pose challenges for existing hardware and software units, especially on the network side. It is anticipated that new mobile terminal equipment may be based on a completely new hardware allowing for processing larger amount of data. However, this is not the case for the network side, where network operators expect a software upgrade of the core network elements to support more carriers and higher data rates. As a simple example, each processing unit can handle one or several RLC/ARQ entities up to a certain rate. After this, a hardware upgrade is needed to support higher rates. There may also be a problem also on the terminal side when a network operator wants to reuse existing hardware platforms.
In order to solve these problems, it has been suggested that when using multiple carriers in 3GPP LTE architecture, there will be only one RLC/ARQ process per radio bearer or PDCP process. However, this itself may lead to the above- described problems, for instance of out-of-order PDU arrival. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a method of exchanging data in a communications network. The method includes receiving data from a data source at a node of the network, splitting the data received from the data source into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of
connections established with the network, and directing each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of the connections .
Each independent data flow can be treated as a separate layer 2 connection from the point of view of the network. This allows a number of ARQ entities to be provided in the system and therefore solves the problem of ARQ acknowledgements arriving at different moments of time. Furthermore, it allows higher data rates to be achieved without increasing the ARQ window size of switching for a larger PDU size. In addition, both the network side and mobile station side can be scaled for higher data rates by reusing existing hardware and software elements, which reduces the need for costly upgrading of hardware and software.
Preferably the data source is an application layer so that the original data flow to be split into a number of independent data flows is an application level data flow. An identifier may be assigned to each of the plurality of data flows, for example PDCP SDU numbering can be used to number each of the data packets. The identifier does not have to be completely unique but should be unique within a certain time window so that data packets are received in the correct order. To ensure a correct application level packet order, a receiver entity can use an application level or some middle level packet counters to ensure that application packets are forwarded in a correct order. In the case of
3GPP architecture, as set out in TS 25.323, this task can be performed by a receiver by analysing the SDU sequence number from the PDCP layer so existing hardware and software can be re-used .
Preferably, the step of splitting occurs in a PDCP layer but it could also occur in a MAC layer or an RLC layer. The uppermost layer is the PDCP layer, followed by the RLC layer (in which ARQ processes take place) , then the MAC layer (in which HARQ processes take place) . The advantage of splitting the data flow into a plurality of independent data flows in the PDCP layer is that the ARQ window size can remain the same and does not have to be increased. This in turn means that the PDU size does not have to be increased and therefore errors are reduced.
The advantage of splitting the data no earlier than the PDCP layer lies in that a) the PDCP entity is located in the RNC . Thus, there is no need to introduce a new encapsulating header for, e.g., a UDP packet.
Also, the PDCP layer allows separate RLC PDU sizes to be selected for separate links. An RLC PDU size can be chosen according to a physical path (e.g. carrier or Node B (cell)) that the RLC connection is related to. The number of connections can be equal to the number of activated data carriers for a particular mobile station. In this case, each of the plurality of data flows can be
scheduled over a corresponding data carrier, which can be performed by a base station or Node B scheduler.
Alternatively, the number of connections is equal to a number of cells of the network participating in data transmission. Preferably there is one independent data flow per carrier or per cell. Each of the pluralities of data flows may then be scheduled over a corresponding data carrier. Furthermore, a correct order of data packets in the flow of data can be signalled. In this way, a mobile station receiving packet data from the network knows in which order to receive the data packets.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of exchanging data in a communications network is provided. The method includes receiving an application layer data flow at a network node and splitting the application layer data flow into a plurality of independent data flows. Splitting the application layer data flow into a plurality of independent data flows is performed in a first layer below the
application layer and the independent data flows are treated as separate connections by the network in a second layer below said first layer.
Splitting the data and transmitting it to a mobile station accessing the network on separate carriers or cells has the advantage that the layer 2 functionality is not impacted by changes in the physical layer, for example the use of multiple carriers instead of a single carrier, which could lead to a throughput bottleneck in layer 2. This is because b the sliding window algorithm with selective repeat ARQ is not adapted to the increased bandwidth. Instead, the layer 2 entities can remain unchanged and do not need to perform a packet reordering - each of the independent data flows can have its own ARQ entity. The layer 2 entities can be
repeated in several instances, preferably one per carrier, which scales well with legacy hardware.
It may be signalled to a mobile station accessing the network and receiving data, for example by a Node B or base station, that the separate connections in the second layer share a same entity in the first layer.
The first layer in which the data flow is split into a number of independent data flows can be a PDCP layer, or
alternatively a MAC layer. Furthermore, splitting of the data flow into independent data flows may take place in an RLC layer. Each of the data flows can be directed to the network node indicating a highest readiness. A Node B, for example, can indicate a readiness to receive a flow of packet data.
Therefore, when the data has been split into independent data flows, each data flow is directed over the Node B that indicates the highest readiness (the most recent data is directed to the Node B indicating the highest readiness) .
The invention also provides a network node for a
communications network. The network node can be a control node, for example a radio network controller (RNC) , and includes a receiver configured to receive data from a data source, and a control module configured to split the data into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of connections established with the network, wherein the control module is further configured to direct each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of the connections . The invention further provides a mobile station. The mobile station has a transceiver configured to exchange each of a plurality of data flows split from a received data flow with a network node of a communications network over a different one of a corresponding plurality of connections established between the mobile station and the network node. A processor is also provided in the mobile station, which is configured to order the plurality of data flows into an order that they are received from the network. The mobile station be further configured so that it sends a number of ARQ acknowledgements equal to the number of independent data flows exchanged with the network.
The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to specific embodiments, and to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
- Figure 1 is a simplified schematic block diagram of a communications network in
which a method according to the invention may take place; and - Figure 2 is a simplified schematic block diagram of a communications network in
which a method according to the invention may take place for a multi-flow UE; - Figure 3 is a simplified schematic diagram of data flow in physical layers of the communications network in a method according to an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 shows a wireless communications network that can be accessed by a mobile terminal or user equipment (UE) 1. The UE 1 includes a transmit/receive unit 2 and a processor 3. The UE 1 accesses the network via a base station or Node B 4 over a Uu interface.
The Node B 4 includes a scheduler S and is controlled by a radio network controller (RNC) 5 over an Iub interface. The UE can exchange packet data with the network, which
originates from an application layer data source 6 coupled to the RNC 5. A data flow can be received by the RNC 5 from the application layer data source 6 at a transmit/receive unit 7 of the RNC 5, which is in turn coupled to a controller 8.
When the UE 1 is accessing the network, layer 2 (L2)
connections are established between the network (the RNC 5) and the UE 1 via the Node B 4. In the simplest case, the number of L2 connections corresponds to the number of activated carriers for the UE 1. However, the number of L2 connections may also correspond to the number of cells participating in data transmission for a multi-carrier case. In this case, more than one Node B controlled by the RNC 5 would be involved in data exchange.
In the case of downlink transmissions from the network to the UE 1, a flow of packet data intended for the UE 1 is received from the application layer data source 6 at the
transmit/receive unit 7 of the RNC 5. The controller 8 splits the data flow into a number of independent sub-flows a, b and c in the PDCP layer, as shown in Figure 3. Three data sub-flows are shown here for simplicity but the actual number in fact corresponds to the number of L2 connections between the UE 1 and the network. Each independent data flow has its own ARQ entity, as shown in the RLC layer illustrated in Figure 3.
These independent data flows remain independent in the MAC layer and are directed over the Node B 4 to the UE 1, where they are received at the transmit/receive unit 2 of the UE 1. The RNC 5 signals a correct order of data packets in the flow of data. This is achieved by using an application level or middle level packet counters in the receiver 7 to ensure that packets from the application layer data source are forwarded in the correct order, for example by numbering the packets using PDCP SDU numbering. The receiver 7 then analyses the SDU sequence number from the PDCP layer and signals to the UE 1 the correct order in which the transmit/receive unit of the UE 1 should receive the data packets.
Furthermore, the scheduler S in the Node B 4 ensures that each of the data sub-flows are scheduled over a corresponding carrier supported by the UE 1.
The receiver 2 of the UE 1 is aware that the established L2 connections share the same PDCP entity, as this is explicitly signalled to the UE 1 in the connection setup message during connection establishment. In addition, the PDCP layer at the receiver side may ensure a correct application level packet data order because packets received from different L2
connections may arrive in a different order. Figure 2 shows a similar communications network to Figure 1 but differs in that the UE1 is a multi-flow UE and can receive flows of data originating from different Node Bs 4a and 4b (different cells) The splitting of the application level data happens in the same way as described above with reference to Figure 3. The difference is that the
independent data flows a and b are directed over the Node B 4a, whereas the independent data flow c is directed over the Node B 4b to the UE 1, instead of directing all independent data flows over the same Node B.
In a further embodiment, the traffic splitting entity (in HSPA, the RNC; in LTE, the gateway) implements a dynamic data flow split whereby new packets are distributed to the
participating Node B 4 according to indication of the
readiness of the Node B 4 to transmit. In particular, the most recent data will be passed on to the Node B in the network that indicates the highest readiness to receive data. The readiness signal may be a compound signal derived from various parameters, but in particular it may be chosen only as the indication of the latest successful transmission of the last PDU going through one Node B, e.g. the Node B 4.
The data packets are chosen in size to match expected HARQ packet sizes. HARQ packet sizes are assigned dynamically by the Node B 4 and are therefore unknown at the time the data flow is split. However, upper limits can be deduced from another Node B or base station. In another embodiment, the data flow from the application layer data source 6 is split in the RLC layer or the MAC layer. However, it is most advantageous that the flow of data from the data source is split in the PDCP layer, since this ensures each independent data flow has its own ARQ (HARQ) entity and therefore it is not required to enlarge the ARQ window to support the increased data flow.
Although the invention has been described hereinabove with reference to specific embodiments, it is not limited to these embodiments and no doubt further alternatives will occur to the skilled person that lie within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims

Patent claims
1. A method of exchanging data in a communications network, the method comprising:
receiving data from a data source at a node of the network;
splitting the data received from the data source into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of connections established with the network; and
directing each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of said connections.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising assigning an identifier to each of the plurality of data flows .
3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data source is an application layer.
4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of splitting occurs in a PDCP layer.
5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of splitting occurs in a MAC layer.
6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of splitting occurs in an RLC layer.
7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein a network node indicates a readiness to receive the data and each of the data flows are directed to the network node indicating a highest readiness.
8 The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein an RLC PDU size is chosen according to a physical path that the RLC connection is related to.
9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the number of said connections is equal to the number of activated data carriers for a particular mobile station.
10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the number of said connections is equal to a number of cells of the network participating in data transmission.
11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising scheduling each of said pluralities of data flows over a corresponding data carrier.
12. A method of exchanging data
communications network, the method comprising: receiving an application layer data flow at a network node; and
splitting the application layer data flow into a
plurality of independent data flows, wherein the splitting is performed in a first layer below the application layer and said independent data flows are treated as separate
connections by the network in a second layer below said first layer .
13. The method according to claim 12, further
comprising signalling to a mobile station connected to the network that the separate connections in said second layer share a same entity in the first layer.
14. The method according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the first layer is a PDCP layer.
15. A network node for a communications network, the network node comprising:
a receiver configured to receive data from a data source; and
a control module configured to split the data into a plurality of independent data flows corresponding to a number of connections established with the network, wherein the control module is further configured to direct each of said plurality of data flows over a different one of said connections .
16. The network node according to claim 15, further comprising a scheduler configured to schedule each of said plurality of data flows over a corresponding data carrier.
17. A mobile station, comprising a transceiver
configured to exchange each of a plurality of data flows split from a received data flow with a network node of a communications network over a different one of a
corresponding plurality of connections established between the mobile station and the network node; and a processor configured to order the plurality of data flows into an order that they are received from the network.
PCT/EP2011/060085 2010-08-12 2011-06-17 Method of exchanging data in a communications network WO2012019811A1 (en)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
TWI677216B (en) * 2017-02-16 2019-11-11 宏達國際電子股份有限公司 Device and method of performing an internet protocol multimedia subsystem service
US10476914B2 (en) 2017-02-16 2019-11-12 Htc Corporation Device and method for performing an internet protocol multimedia subsystem service

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