Method for assigning identifiers to fronthaul traffic flows in O-RAN compliant radio access network

Abstract

A method of enabling enhanced Management Plane functions on the fronthaul interface between Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit (O-RU) and O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) includes: identifying four subfields within 16-bit Extended Antenna Carrier Id (Eaxc-ID) field using a first set of four specified bitmasks including DU_Port_ID bitmask, BandSector_ID bitmask, CC_ID bitmask, and RU_Port_ID bitmask; and providing a second set of specified bitmasks including at least one of band-bitmask, sector-bitmask, channel-type-bitmask, and layer-antenna-port-bitmask, wherein: i) band bitmask defines which bits within the BandSector_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate band; ii) sector bitmask defines which bits within the BandSector_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate sector-id; iii) channel-type bitmask defines which bits within the RU_Port_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate channel type; and iv) layer-antenna-port bitmask defines which bits within the RU_Port_ID bitmask subfield are used to indicate one of antenna port number or data layer number.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.