CN108810909B - Cell merging method, cell merging control device and network controller - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a cell merging method, a cell merging control device and a network controller, wherein at least two base stations are arranged in a region to be processed by acquiring interference values among the base stations in the region to be processed; grouping the base stations in the area according to the acquired interference value, wherein each group is a base station cluster; combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule; the method and the device effectively solve the problem of interference caused by density increase of the base station while meeting corresponding performance indexes, ensure the stability, reliability and performance requirements of the combined cells, and are favorable for improving the communication service quality and improving the user experience.

Description

Cell merging method, cell merging control device and network controller

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, and in particular, to a cell merging method, a cell merging control apparatus, and a network controller.

Background

With the development of communication networks, the network demand is increasing. In order to meet the requirement of network capacity, the density of base stations is continuously increased, and although the network capacity is improved to a certain extent, the distance between the base stations is continuously reduced, and the frequency spectrum resources are limited, which will cause interference between the base stations to be further increased, and especially for the base stations using the same or similar frequency spectrums, the influence is more obvious, so that the communication quality of part of users, especially users in edge cells, is reduced.

In order to solve the problem of interference increase between base stations caused by the increase of the density of base stations, the prior art provides a cell merging scheme, where a fixed point is selected in a corresponding base station distribution area, and the base stations close to the point are merged into a cell by using the point as a center of circle, so that each cell merged into the same cell uses the same logical cell identifier, and is controlled and managed by using the same RRU (Radio Remote Unit), thereby solving the problem of interference increase between base stations, and ensuring the stability and reliability of a communication system to a certain extent, but after the corresponding cells are merged by the conventional cell merging scheme, it cannot be well ensured that the corresponding performance indexes of the merged cells can meet certain requirements, for example, the network capacity may be seriously reduced, so that the number of users that can be carried by the merged cells is seriously reduced, effective service cannot be provided for all users in the cell, and user experience is affected.

In order to avoid interference between cells caused by the increase of the density of base stations to the maximum extent and obtain higher network capacity at the same time, a cell merging algorithm is explored.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a cell merging method, a cell merging control device and a network controller, and mainly solves the technical problems that: the conventional cell merging scheme cannot well ensure that the corresponding performance requirements are met.

To solve the foregoing technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a cell merging method, including:

grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster;

and combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a cell merging control apparatus, including:

the device comprises an acquisition module, a processing module and a processing module, wherein the acquisition module is used for acquiring interference values among base stations in a region to be processed, and the number of the base stations in the region to be processed is at least two;

the clustering module is used for grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value obtained by the obtaining module, and each group is a base station cluster;

and the merging module is used for merging the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index merging rule.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a network controller, which comprises a processor, a memory and a communication bus;

the communication bus is used for realizing connection communication between the processor and the memory;

the processor is configured to execute the cell merging method program stored in the memory to implement the following steps:

grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to interference values among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster;

and combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer storage medium, where a computer-executable instruction is stored in the computer storage medium, and the computer-executable instruction is used to execute any one of the foregoing cell merging methods.

The beneficial effects of the invention are:

according to the cell merging method, the cell merging control device, the network controller and the computer storage medium provided by the embodiment of the invention, by acquiring the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is at least two; grouping the base stations in the area according to the acquired interference value, wherein each group is a base station cluster; combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule; the method and the device effectively solve the problem of interference caused by density increase of the base station while meeting corresponding performance indexes, ensure the stability, reliability and performance requirements of the combined cells, and are favorable for improving the communication service quality and improving the user experience.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a cell merging method according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating interference relationships between base stations according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of clustering of a base station according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4a is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4b is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a sixth schematic diagram of a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a seventh schematic diagram illustrating a base station combining process according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a cell merging control apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a network controller according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to satisfy the normal traffic of each terminal device and ensure the communication capacity of each terminal device, the number of the existing terminal devices is increased sharply, but along with this, the problem of increased interference of the base station and the base station is caused. Therefore, in order to reduce the interference between the base stations, it is necessary to perform corresponding combining processing on the base stations to reduce the mutual interference. In the existing base station combining scheme, a certain base station or location is usually used as a center, and base stations within a distance range are directly combined to ensure that interference between the base stations within the range is minimized, but the combining scheme cannot ensure that the combined base stations can reach corresponding performance indexes, that is, a problem that normal service communication cannot be met is likely to exist. The cell merging scheme provided by the application is based on the interference values which are easy to obtain among the base stations to be merged, and further can be used for merging according to the interference value sequence, the base stations with the largest interference are merged at first, so that the merging efficiency is better guaranteed, the cell performance index is used as the merging criterion in the merging process, the performance after merging meets the requirement, and the problem that normal service communication cannot be guaranteed after merging cannot occur, so that the cell merging process is more convenient, accurate and efficient, and the problem that the corresponding performance cannot be guaranteed after merging needs to be merged again cannot occur.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The first embodiment is as follows:

in order to solve the problem that the existing cell merging scheme cannot well ensure that the merged cell can reach the corresponding performance index, the embodiment of the invention provides a cell merging method.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a cell merging method according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method includes the following steps:

s11: and acquiring interference values among base stations in a region to be processed, wherein the number of the base stations in the region to be processed is at least two.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the area to be processed may be an area with a high density of base stations or an area with a high interference between base stations, such as a certain railway station, pedestrian street, etc. The cell merging scheme provided by this embodiment is used to merge the cells in the to-be-processed region, so that the performance requirements of the merged cells can be met while reducing interference between base stations. When obtaining the interference value between the base stations in the region to be processed, information can be obtained through an X2 interface between the base stations, taking three base stations A, B, C as an example, A, B the base station can obtain interference information, RB (resource block) information, and the like through an X2 interface between the base stations, B, C the base stations, A, C the base stations can also obtain corresponding data information of the other base station in the same way, so that the interference, RB information, and the like of all the base stations in the region to be processed can be obtained.

Generally, the number of base stations in the area to be processed should be greater than or equal to two, otherwise, the combination is meaningless. When the number of base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, for example, 4 base stations, the interference values obtained between the base stations at this time should be 6, please refer to fig. 2, and the 4 base stations are assumed to be A, B, C, D respectively, then the 6 obtained interference values are: A. interference values w3 between interference values w2, C, D between interference values w1, B, C between B, interference values w4 between A, C, interference values w5 between B, D and interference values w6 between A, D.

S12: and grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the acquired interference value, wherein each group is a base station cluster.

When grouping is carried out according to the acquired interference values among the base stations, if the number of the base stations in the current area to be processed is only two, the two base stations are directly merged into one group to form a base station cluster. However, the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is usually more than two, for example, may be 10, 20, or even hundreds, and at this time, all the base stations in the area to be processed may be grouped into corresponding groups according to corresponding grouping methods, so as to form one or more base station clusters.

Specifically, the two base stations with the largest mutual interference value are selected from all the base stations in the area to be processed, and are merged into one base station cluster as a cluster head, and all other base stations are traversed, and all the base stations are tried to be merged into the base station cluster in sequence.

When trying to merge a certain base station into a certain base station cluster, it should be determined whether the interference value of the base station to the cluster head of the base station cluster is greater than or equal to the interference value of the base station to each other base station, if so, the base station is merged into the base station cluster, further, all the interference values related to the base station merged into the base station cluster can be cleared, that is, the interference values between the base station and all the base stations in the area to be processed are cleared; until all base stations in the area to be processed are clustered once, for one clustering process, some base stations may not meet the condition of being merged into the base station cluster, and at this time, clustering can be performed again for the corresponding base stations which are not clustered:

specifically, the two base stations with the largest mutual interference value are selected from the remaining base stations which are not finished with clustering as a cluster head and are merged into a new group, then any one base station is selected from the remaining base stations which are not finished with clustering, whether the base station meets the preset grouping condition merged into the base station cluster or not is judged, namely whether the interference value of the base station to the cluster head of the base station cluster is larger than or equal to the interference value of the base station to the remaining base stations which are not finished with clustering or not is judged, if yes, the base station is merged into the base station cluster, and further all the interference values related to the base station can be cleared; of course, for the base station which does not satisfy the preset grouping condition, the base station is not merged into the corresponding base station cluster, but the interference value between the base station and the base station cluster is cleared. The clustering process is repeatedly executed until all the base stations complete clustering, that is, each base station in the area to be processed is already allocated to a certain base station cluster.

For better understanding of the present invention, for the above clustering process, the following description is made with reference to specific examples, please refer to fig. 3, and assume that the base stations in the to-be-processed area are four base stations, namely, a base station a, a base station b, a base station c, and a base station d, and the interference value magnitude relations among them are: (a, b), (a, c), (a, d), (b, c), (b, d), (c, d), where (a, b) represents the interference value between the base station a and the base station b, and similarly, (a, c), (a, d), (b, c), (b, d), (c, d) represent the interference value between the two base stations in parentheses, respectively, the same applies hereinafter, and will not be described again. At this time, the base stations with the largest interference value between the base stations, which are assumed to be base stations a and b, may be grouped as a cluster head to the base station cluster 1. Traversing other base stations, that is, base stations c and d, for example, trying to merge the base station c into the base station cluster 1, then judging whether the interference value of the base station c to the cluster head (base station a and base station b) in the base station cluster 1 is greater than or equal to the interference value of the base station c to the base station d, since the interference value of the base station c to the base station cluster 1 may specifically include the interference values of the base station c to the base station a and the base station b, the larger interference value of the two is selected as the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1. For example, if the interference value (a, c) between the base station c and the base station a is greater than the interference value (b, c) between the base station c and the base station b, then (a, c) may be taken as the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1. It should be understood that, of course, the interference value between the base station c and the base station b (b, c) may also be taken as the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1, or the average value of (a, c) and (b, c) may also be taken as the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1, which is not limited herein.

If the interference value (a, c) between the base station c and the base station a is taken as the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1, and if it is determined that (a, c) is smaller than the interference value (c, d) between the base station c and the base station d, that is, the interference value of the base station to the cluster head is smaller than the interference value between the base station and other base stations, the base station c is abandoned to be merged into the base station cluster 1, and further, the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1 can be cleared, where the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1 includes: (a, c), (b, c) the 2 interference values.

It should be understood that when the base station a and the base station b are used as cluster heads, the interference value between the base stations a and b may be cleared, that is, (a, b) is cleared.

Then, trying to merge the base station d into the base station cluster 1, if it is determined that the interference value of the base station d to the cluster head (base station a and base station b) is also smaller than the interference value of the base station d to the base station c, then also abandoning to merge the base station d into the base station cluster 1, and further, clearing the interference value between the base station d and the base station cluster 1, where the interference value between the base station d and the base station cluster 1 includes: (a, d), (b, d) 2 interference values.

In the first clustering process, the base station c and the base station d do not complete clustering, and therefore, the clustering process needs to be repeatedly executed, specifically, the base station c and the base station d with the largest interference value among the base stations which do not complete clustering, that is, the base stations c and d are selected, and the base stations c and d are used as cluster heads to form a new base station cluster 2. At this time, the interference value between the base stations c and d may also be cleared. By this point, the process of clustering base stations in the area to be processed has been completed.

S13: and combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule.

After the base stations in the area to be processed are clustered, the base stations can be combined independently for each base station cluster, and the combining process of each base station cluster is not affected. The base stations in each base station cluster are merged according to a preset performance index merging rule, merging is carried out based on different performance thresholds, and performance evaluation can be carried out once merging is carried out, so that the merging process meets the corresponding performance requirements. That is, the corresponding performance indexes are ensured, and simultaneously, the corresponding base stations are combined, so that the purposes of lower interference and better stability are achieved. Performance indicators include, but are not limited to, throughput, outage probability.

Combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule, specifically, but not limited to, the following two ways:

the first method is as follows: the method includes the steps that two base stations with the largest mutual interference value in each base station cluster are obtained, the two base stations are combined, the combination is sequentially carried out from large to small according to the interference value of the base station which is combined currently, and the combination is stopped when a preset performance threshold value is reached or all the base stations in the base station clusters are combined into a cell.

The second method comprises the following steps: and in each base station cluster, acquiring the resource block utilization rate of each base station in the base station cluster, combining the resource block utilization rates from small to large in sequence, and stopping combining when a preset performance threshold is reached or all the base stations in the base station cluster are combined into a cell.

It should be understood that the preset performance threshold includes, but is not limited to, a preset throughput threshold, a preset outage probability threshold, and the size of the preset performance threshold can be flexibly set based on the actual situation or actual demand of the cell.

For better understanding, the following description is made for an example of a base station merging process, please refer to fig. 4a, and it is assumed that two base station clusters, namely a base station cluster m and a base station cluster n, are formed after clustering base stations in an area to be processed, where the base station cluster m includes four base stations, i.e., a base station 41, a base station 42, a base station 43, and a base station 44; the base station cluster n includes three base stations, i.e., a base station 45, a base station 46, and a base station 47.

When the base stations in the two base station clusters are combined, the combining processes of the two base stations can be performed simultaneously, the combining processes of the two base stations are not affected, and the combining processes can be performed sequentially without limitation.

When the base station combining is performed on the base station cluster m, firstly, a base station with the largest interference value between the two base stations (for example, the base station 41 and the base station 42) is screened from four base stations (respectively, the base stations 41, 42, 43, and 44) included in the base station cluster m, then, the two base stations are combined, whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold is judged, here, the preset performance threshold is assumed to be a preset throughput threshold, and if the preset throughput threshold is reached, the combining is stopped, and the combining of the base station 41 and the base station 42 is cancelled.

If the preset throughput threshold is not reached after the base station 41 and the base station 42 are combined, continuing to combine; acquiring a base station with the largest interference value to the combined base station 41 and base station 42 from the base station cluster m, for example, the base station 43, at this time, trying to combine the base station 43 into the base station 41 and the base station 42, and determining whether the combined throughputs of the three base stations reach a preset throughput threshold after combining the base station 43 into the base station 41 and the base station 42, if so, still not reaching the preset throughput threshold; then, the base station 44 is selected to try to merge into the base stations 41, 42 and 43, and it is determined whether the throughput of the 4 merged base stations (base stations 41 to 44) reaches the preset throughput threshold, and if the throughput has fallen below the preset throughput threshold, that is, the throughput reaches the preset throughput threshold, the base station 44 is cancelled to merge into the base stations 41 to 43, and at this time, the base station cluster m is already merged, as shown in fig. 4 b.

At this time, the throughput of the base stations 41 to 43 after combination is reduced, but the base stations are ensured to be within the normal range, the normal use of the base stations is not influenced, the service quality is not greatly influenced, and compared with the base stations 41 to 43 before combination, the interference between the base stations is greatly reduced, the stability and the reliability of a communication system are improved, the cell switching times are reduced, the interruption probability is reduced, the optimal balance between the performance and the interference is achieved, and the user experience is improved.

Further, continuing to combine the base station cluster n in the area to be processed, here, combining is explained based on the resource block utilization rate of the base station: the resource block utilization rates of the three base stations (base stations 45 to 47) in the base station cluster n can be obtained first, and also can be ranked from small to large according to the resource block utilization rates, two base stations with the smallest resource block utilization rates are selected to start combining, assuming that the base stations 45 and the base station 46 are the base stations, whether a preset interruption probability threshold is reached after the base stations 45 and the base station 46 are combined is judged, if not, the base stations 47 are continuously combined into the base stations 45 and the base stations 46, and if the preset interruption probability threshold is not reached, combining is stopped because all the base stations in the base station cluster n are combined at this time, and finally all the base stations (base stations 45 to 47) in the base station cluster n are combined into one cell, please refer to fig. 4 b. At this time, compared with the base station 45-47 before combination, the interruption probability of the base station 45-47 after combination is further reduced, and the interference between the base stations is effectively reduced compared with the prior base station, thereby improving the communication quality.

It should be understood that the cell combining method provided in this embodiment provides a combining basis for cell combining, and the subsequent combining process of the base station is not limited herein, and the base station combining may be any existing base station combining manner.

According to the cell merging method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the interference values among all base stations in the area to be processed are obtained, the base stations in the area are clustered according to the obtained interference values, and the base stations in all the base station clusters are merged according to the preset performance index merging rule; the interference problem caused by the increase of the density of the base station is effectively solved while the corresponding performance indexes are met, the stability, the reliability and other performance requirements of the combined cells are ensured, the communication service quality is favorably improved, and the user experience is improved.

The second embodiment:

an embodiment of the present invention provides a cell merging method based on the first embodiment, which is described by way of specific examples, please refer to fig. 5:

the area to be treated comprises: base station a, base station b, base station c, base station d and base station e. Obtaining the interference values among the 5 base stations, wherein for convenience of understanding, the interference values are represented by connecting lines between the two base stations, and the interference values are respectively as follows:

a1、

a2、

a3、

a4、

b1、

b2、

b3、

c1、

c2、

d1, it should be noted that,

a1 denotes that the interference value between the base station a and the base station b is a 1; other base stations are not described in detail herein.

Further, the obtained values of the interference values between the base stations can be sorted.

Grouping corresponding base stations according to the acquired interference values between the base stations, and selecting two base stations with the largest interference values from the acquired interference values between the base stations as cluster heads, wherein a base station a and a base station b are assumed as the cluster heads, and a base station cluster 1 is assumed; further, the interference value between the base station a and the base station b may also be cleared.

Traversing other base stations, including base station c, base station d, and base station e, for example, first trying to merge base station c into base station cluster 1, first judging whether the interference value of base station c to the cluster head (base station a and base station b) is greater than or equal to the interference value of base station c to other base stations (base station d and base station e), if so, merging base station c into base station cluster 1, and clearing all interference values related to base station c, where the method includes:

a2、

b1、

c1、

c2, see fig. 6 after zero clearing.

Assuming that the base station d tries to be merged into the base station cluster 1 again, judging whether the interference value of the base station d to the cluster head (the base station a and the base station b) is larger than or equal to the interference value of the base station d to other base stations (the base station e), if not, canceling the base station d from being merged into the base station cluster 1, and clearing the interference value between the base station d and the base station cluster 1, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

a3、

b2、

c1, since the interference value between base station c and base station d has already been merged into base station cluster 1 successfully

c1 is cleared, therefore, when the interference value between the base station d and the base station cluster 1 is cleared, only the interference value between the base station d and the base station cluster 1 needs to be cleared

a3、

b2 to zero. At this time, please refer to fig. 7.

Finally, the base station e may try to merge into the base station cluster 1, and it should be determined whether the interference value of the base station e to the cluster head (base station a and base station b) is greater than or equal to the interference value of the base station e to the other base station (base station d), if not, the base station e is cancelled to merge into the base station cluster 1, and the interference value between the base station e and the base station cluster 1 is cleared, which includes:

a4、

b3、

c2, since the interference value between base station c and base station e has already been successfully merged into base station cluster 1

c2 is cleared, therefore, when the interference value between the base station e and the base station cluster 1 is cleared, only the interference value between the base station e and the base station cluster 1 needs to be cleared

a4、

b3 is cleared. At this time, please refer to fig. 8.

In the clustering process, the base station a, the base station b and the base station c are successfully merged into the base station cluster 1, but the base station d and the base station e are not clustered, so that the remaining base stations which are not clustered in the area to be processed need to be clustered again, and at the moment, only the base station d and the base station e 'are left, so that the base station d and the base station e' can be directly used as cluster heads to form a new base station cluster 2. Further, the interference value between the base station d and the base station e can be cleared, that is, the interference value between the base station d and the base station e is cleared

d1 is cleared. So far, all the base stations in the area to be processed have been clustered, so that each base station is allocated to a different base station cluster, please refer to fig. 9 specifically.

After the clustering of the base stations in the area to be processed is completed, the base stations should be combined, specifically, combining may be started from the base station cluster 1, or combining may be started from the base station cluster 2, and the combining processes between the base station clusters may be performed independently, simultaneously, without affecting each other, or sequentially. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that combining is performed from base station cluster 1:

acquiring two base stations with the largest mutual interference value in the base station cluster, such as a base station a and a base station b, combining the base stations a and b, judging whether the throughput after combination (combination of the base stations a and b) is reduced to a preset throughput threshold value, and if not, continuing to combine; selecting a base station with the largest interference to the combined base station a and base station b from the base station cluster 1, that is, trying to combine the base station c into the base station a and the base station b, determining whether the throughput threshold after combining (combining the base station a, the base station b, and the base station c) is reduced to a preset throughput threshold, if not, combining the base station c into the base station a and the base station b, at this time, please refer to fig. 10.

After the base station cluster 1 is combined, although the throughput is reduced to some extent, the throughput is still above the preset throughput threshold, the throughput of the combined cell is ensured to be within the preset range, the service can be normally provided to the outside, the interference between the base stations can be well reduced, the interruption probability is reduced, the soft handover times can be effectively reduced due to the combination of the cells, the communication quality is ensured, and the user experience is improved.

For the base station cluster 2, acquiring the base station with the largest mutual interference value in the base station cluster 2, and starting to combine, because the base station cluster 2 only includes the base station d and the base station e, the base station d and the base station e can be directly combined. Of course, it should also be determined whether the throughput of the base station d and the base station e after being merged falls to the preset throughput threshold, and if so, the base station d and the base station e are not merged, please refer to fig. 11. The combination between the base station d and the base station e is cancelled, namely the combination is stopped when the preset performance threshold is reached, so that the problem that the corresponding performance after the combination can not reach the standard in the prior art is solved, and the problem that the cell performance after the combination is set regardless by the distance between the base stations in the prior art is solved.

The embodiment of the invention provides a cell merging method, which comprises the steps of obtaining interference values among base stations in a region to be processed, clustering the base stations in the region according to the obtained interference values, and merging the base stations in the base station clusters according to a preset performance index merging rule; the interference problem caused by the increase of the density of the base station is effectively solved while the corresponding performance indexes are met, the stability, the reliability and other performance requirements of the combined cells are ensured, the communication service quality is favorably improved, and the user experience is improved.

Example three:

an embodiment of the present invention provides a cell merging control device, configured to implement the cell merging methods described in the first and second embodiments, please refer to fig. 12, where fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a cell merging control device provided in a third embodiment of the present invention, where the cell merging control device 120 includes an obtaining module 121, a clustering module 122, and a merging module 123, where:

the obtaining module 121 is configured to obtain an interference value between base stations in a to-be-processed area, where the number of the base stations in the to-be-processed area is at least two.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the area to be processed may be an area with a high density of base stations or an area with a high interference between base stations, such as a certain railway station, pedestrian street, etc. When acquiring the interference value between the base stations in the region to be processed, the acquiring module 121 may acquire information through an X2 interface between the base stations, so as to obtain interference, RB information, and the like of all the base stations in the region to be processed.

Generally, the number of base stations in the area to be processed should be greater than or equal to two, otherwise, the combination is meaningless. When the number of the base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, for example, 4, the obtaining module 121 should obtain 6 interference values between the base stations at this time, for example, the 4 base stations are assumed to be A, B, C, D respectively, and then the obtained 6 interference values are: A. interference values w3 between interference values w2, C, D between interference values w1, B, C between B, interference values w4 between A, C, interference values w5 between B, D and interference values w6 between A, D.

The clustering module 122 is configured to group the base stations in the area according to the obtained interference value, where each group is a base station cluster. When the clustering module 122 performs grouping according to the obtained interference value between the base stations, if the number of the base stations in the current region to be processed is only two, the clustering module 122 may directly merge the two base stations into one group to form a base station cluster. However, generally, the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is more than two, for example, may be 10, 20, or even hundreds, and the clustering module 122 may group all the base stations in the area to be processed into corresponding groups according to corresponding grouping methods, so as to form one or more base station clusters.

Specifically, the clustering module 122 selects two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from all base stations in the to-be-processed area, merges the two base stations as a cluster head into one base station cluster, traverses all other base stations, and tries to merge all the base stations into the base station cluster in sequence.

When merging a certain base station into a certain base station cluster, the clustering module 122 determines whether the interference value of the base station to the cluster head of the base station cluster is greater than or equal to the interference value of the base station to each other base station, and if so, merges the base station into the base station cluster, and further, the clustering module 122 can clear all the interference values related to the base station merged into the base station cluster, that is, clear the interference values between the base station and all the base stations in the area to be processed; the clustering module 122 sequentially performs a clustering process on all base stations in the area to be processed, and for a case that some base stations may not meet the condition of being merged into the base station cluster in the clustering process, at this time, the clustering module 122 may perform clustering again for all base stations for which clustering is not completed, specifically:

the clustering module 122 selects the two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from the remaining base stations which are not clustered, as a cluster head, and merges the two base stations into a new group, and then selects any one base station from the remaining base stations which are not clustered, and determines whether the base station meets a preset grouping condition which is merged into the base station cluster, that is, whether the interference value of the base station to the cluster head of the base station cluster is greater than or equal to the interference value of the base station to the remaining base stations which are not clustered, if so, the clustering module 122 merges the base station into the base station cluster, and further can clear all interference values related to the base station; of course, for the base station that does not satisfy the predetermined grouping condition, the clustering module 122 does not merge the base station into the corresponding base station cluster, but clears the interference value between the base station and the base station cluster. The clustering module 122 repeatedly performs the clustering process until all the base stations complete clustering.

For better understanding of the present invention, the clustering process of the clustering module 122 is described below with reference to specific examples, and it is assumed that the base stations in the to-be-processed area are respectively 5 base stations, namely, base station a, base station b, base station c, base station d, and base station e, and the interference value magnitude relationship among them is: (a, b), (a, c), (a, d), (a, e), (b, c), (b, d), (b, e), (c, d), (c, e), (d, e), where (a, b) denotes the interference value between the base station a and the base station b, and similarly for (a, c), (a, d), (a, e), (b, c), (b, d), (b, e), (c, d), (c, e), (d, e) the interference values between these two base stations in the parentheses are respectively denoted. At this time, the clustering module 122 selects a base station with the largest interference value between base stations, which is assumed to be base stations a and b, and the clustering module 122 uses the base station as a cluster head and merges the cluster head to the base station cluster 1; the clustering module 122 traverses the remaining base stations c, d, and e, for example, the clustering module 122 first attempts to merge the base station c into the base station cluster 1, determines whether an interference value of the base station c to a cluster head (base station a or base station b) in the base station cluster 1 is greater than or equal to an interference value of the base station c to the base station d and the base station e, for example, takes an interference value between the base station c and the base station a of the cluster head as an interference value of the base station c and the cluster head, at this time, if the clustering module 122 determines that (a, c) is greater than or equal to (c, d), and is also greater than or equal to (c, e), that is, an interference value of the base station c to a cluster head in the base station cluster 1 is greater than or equal to an interference value of the base station c to other base stations (base station d and base station e), at this time, the clustering module 122 merges the base station c into the base station cluster 1, and clears all interference values related to the base station c; if it is determined as no, that is, if the clustering module 122 determines that (a, c) is less than (c, d), or is less than (c, e), the clustering module 122 abandons to merge the base station c into the base station cluster 1, and further, may zero the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1, where the interference value between the base station c and the base station cluster 1 includes: (a, c), (b, c) the 2 interference values.

It should be noted that, when the base station a and the base station b are used as cluster heads, the clustering module 122 may zero the interference value between the base stations a and b, that is, (a, b) is cleared.

The clustering module 122 then attempts to merge the base station d and the base station e into the base station cluster 1 in sequence, if there is a base station that does not complete clustering in the sequential clustering process, the clustering module 122 performs clustering processing on the remaining unfinished clustering again until all base stations in the area to be processed are allocated to corresponding base station clusters.

In this embodiment, the combining module 123 included in the cell combining control apparatus 120 is configured to perform combining processing on the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule. After the base stations in the area to be processed are clustered, the combining module 123 may perform combining processing independently for each base station cluster, and the combining process of each base station cluster is not affected by each other.

The combining module 123 combines the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule, combines the base stations based on different performance thresholds, and performs one performance evaluation each time the combining is performed, so that the combining process meets the corresponding performance requirement. That is, the corresponding performance indexes are ensured, and simultaneously, the corresponding base stations are combined, so that the purposes of lower interference and better stability are achieved. Performance indicators include, but are not limited to, throughput, outage probability.

The combining module 123 combines the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule, which specifically includes, but is not limited to, the following two ways:

the first method is as follows: the combining module 123 obtains two base stations with the largest mutual interference value in each base station cluster, and starts to combine the two base stations, and sequentially combines the interference values of the currently combined base stations from large to small, and stops combining when the preset performance threshold is reached or when all the base stations in the base station cluster are combined into one cell.

The second method comprises the following steps: the combining module 123 obtains the resource block utilization rate of each base station in each base station cluster, combines the resource block utilization rates sequentially from small to large, and stops combining when a preset performance threshold is reached or when all the base stations in the base station cluster are combined into one cell.

It should be understood that the preset performance threshold includes, but is not limited to, a preset throughput threshold, and a preset outage probability threshold, and the size of the preset performance threshold can be flexibly set based on the actual situation of the cell.

For better understanding, the process of combining the base stations by the combining module 123 is described below as an example, and it is assumed that the base stations in the area to be processed are clustered by the clustering module 122 to form three base station clusters, namely a base station cluster X, a base station cluster Y and a base station cluster Z, where the base station cluster X includes three base stations, namely a base station X1, a base station X2 and a base station X3; the base station cluster Y comprises three base stations of a base station Y1, a base station Y2 and a base station Y3; the base station cluster Z comprises a base station Z1 and a base station Z2, and then two base stations.

When the combining module 123 combines the base stations in the three base station clusters, the combining processes of the base stations and the base stations may be performed simultaneously, and at this time, the combining processes of the base stations and the base stations are not affected by each other, or may be performed sequentially, which is not limited herein.

For example, the combining module 123 first screens out a base station with the largest interference value between three base stations (respectively, the base station X1, the base station X2, and the base station X3) included in the base station cluster X, for example, the base station X1 and the base station X2, then the combining module 123 combines the two base stations, and determines whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold, where the preset performance threshold is assumed to be a preset throughput threshold, and if it is determined that the preset throughput threshold is reached at this time, the combining module 123 stops combining, and cancels combining the base station X1 and the base station X2. Of course, the combining module 123 will stop combining the base station x3 at this time.

If the merging module 123 determines that the preset throughput threshold is not reached after the base station x1 and the base station x2 are merged, the merging module 123 continues merging; acquiring a base station with the largest interference value to the base station X1 and the base station X2 after combination from the base station cluster X, wherein at this time, because only the base station X3 remains in the base station cluster X, the combination module 123 attempts to combine the base station X3 into the base station X1 and the base station X2, and judges whether the throughput of the three combined base stations reaches a preset throughput threshold value after combining the base station X3 into the base station X1 and the base station X2, if so, the preset throughput threshold value is still not reached; base station x3 was successfully merged into base station x1 and base station x 2. If the preset throughput threshold is determined to have been reached, the merging module 123 cancels merging of the base station x3 into the base station x1 and the base station x 2.

Further, the combining module 123 continues to combine the base station cluster Y in the area to be processed, where the combining description is performed based on the resource block usage rate of the base station: the resource block utilization rates of the three base stations (base station Y1, Y2 and Y3) in the base station cluster Y can be obtained firstly, the combining module 123 can also perform sorting from small to large according to the resource block utilization rates, the combining module 123 selects two base stations with the minimum resource block utilization rates to start combining, supposing base station Y1 and base station Y2, judges whether a preset interrupt probability threshold is reached after combining base station Y1 and base station Y2, if yes, the combining module 123 stops combining the base station Y3 in the base station cluster Y; if not, continuing to merge the base station Y3 in the base station cluster Y into the base station Y1 and the base station Y2, at this time, the merging module 123 determines whether the merged base station (base stations Y1, Y2, Y3) reaches a preset outage probability threshold, and if so, the merging module 123 stops merging of the following base stations in the base station cluster Y; of course, since the base stations in the base station cluster Y are already merged, when there is no base station needing to be merged in the base station cluster, if it is determined that the merged base stations (base stations Y1, Y2, and Y3) do not reach the preset outage probability threshold, the merging module 123 will also stop merging.

For the base station cluster Z, because it only has two base stations, namely, the base station Z1 and the base station Z2, when selecting two base stations with the largest mutual interference in the base station cluster, or when selecting two base stations with the smallest fast resource utilization rate in the base station cluster, the combining module 123 must be the base station Z1 and the base station Z2, and therefore, the combining module 123 can directly combine the base station Z1 and the base station Z2, and determine whether the combined base stations Z1 and Z2 reach the preset performance threshold, which is not described herein again.

It should be understood that the base station combining may be any combining manner of the existing base stations, and is not limited herein.

The cell merging control device provided in the embodiments of the present invention may implement the corresponding function of the cell merging control device through a Base Station Controller (BSC), a network controller (RNC), or a base station, and is not described herein again.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a cell merging control apparatus 120, where an obtaining module 121 is configured to obtain interference values between base stations in a region to be processed, a clustering module 122 is configured to group the base stations in the region to be processed according to the obtained interference values, each group is a base station cluster, and a merging module 123 is configured to merge the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index merging rule; the interference problem caused by the increase of the density of the base station is effectively solved while the corresponding performance indexes are met, the stability, the reliability and other performance requirements of the combined cells are ensured, the communication service quality is favorably improved, and the user experience is improved.

Example four

An embodiment of the present invention provides a network controller, where the network controller 130 may be configured to implement the cell merging method described in the first embodiment and/or the second embodiment, please refer to fig. 13, where the network controller includes a processor 131, a memory 132, and a communication bus 133:

the communication bus 133 is used for realizing connection communication between the processor 131 and the memory 132;

the processor 131 is configured to execute the cell merging method program stored in the memory 132 to implement the following steps:

grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster;

and combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule.

In this embodiment, grouping, by the processor 131, the base stations in the area according to the obtained interference value includes: when the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is two, merging the two base stations into a base station cluster; when the number of base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, selecting two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from the current base stations as a cluster head of a base station cluster, and merging the base stations with the interference values of the base stations in the rest base stations and the cluster head meeting the preset grouping condition into the base station cluster; and after one base station cluster is grouped, repeating the grouping operation on the remaining base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

It should be noted that the preset grouping condition includes: and the interference value between the base station and the cluster head is more than or equal to the interference value between the base station and other base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

Further, before grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference values between the base stations in the area to be processed, the processor 131 is further configured to execute a cell merging method program stored in the memory 132 to implement the following steps:

and acquiring interference values among base stations in a region to be processed, wherein the number of the base stations in the region to be processed is at least two.

After merging the base stations meeting the predetermined grouping condition into the base station cluster, the processor 131 is further configured to execute the cell merging method program stored in the memory 132 to implement the following steps:

and clearing the interference values between the base station and all the base stations in the area to be processed.

Before repeating the above grouping operation for the remaining base stations not merged into the base station cluster, the processor 131 is further configured to execute the cell merging method program stored in the memory 132 to implement the following steps: and clearing the interference value between the base station which is not merged into the base station cluster and the cluster head of each base station cluster.

In this embodiment, the preset performance index combining rule at least includes the following two types:

firstly, combining two base stations with the maximum interference value in each base station cluster, judging whether the combined base stations reach a preset performance threshold value, and if so, stopping combining; if not, selecting one base station with the maximum interference value of the combined base stations from the residual base stations after combination, combining the selected base station with the combined base station, judging whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not, and stopping combination until the combined base station reaches the preset performance threshold value or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into one cell.

Secondly, in each base station cluster, acquiring the resource block utilization rate of each base station in the base station cluster, combining the resource block utilization rates in sequence from small to large, judging whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not every time the combination is performed, and if so, stopping the combination; if not, continuing to merge; and stopping combining until the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into a cell.

Wherein the preset performance threshold comprises: at least one of a preset throughput threshold and a preset interruption probability threshold.

The network controller provided in this embodiment implements connection communication between the processor and the memory through the communication bus, and the processor executes the cell merging method program stored in the memory, so as to implement: the base stations in the area to be processed are grouped according to the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, and the base stations in the base station clusters are combined according to the preset performance index combination rule, so that the corresponding performance indexes can be well ensured after the cells are combined, the optimal balance between the interference and the throughput of the base stations is achieved, the communication service quality is favorably improved, and the user experience is improved.

EXAMPLE five

An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer storage medium, where a cell merging method program is stored, where the cell merging method program is executable by one or more processors to implement the steps of the cell merging method described above, where the steps include:

grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to interference values among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster;

and combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule.

In this embodiment, grouping the base stations in the area according to the obtained interference value includes: when the number of base stations in the area to be processed is two, merging the two base stations into a base station cluster; when the number of base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, selecting two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from the current base stations as a cluster head of a base station cluster, and merging the base stations in the rest base stations and the base stations of which the interference values of the cluster heads meet preset grouping conditions into the base station cluster; and after one base station cluster is grouped, repeating the grouping operation on the remaining base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

It should be noted that the preset grouping conditions include: and the interference value between the base station and the cluster head is more than or equal to the interference value between the base station and other base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

Further, before grouping the base stations in the region to be processed according to the interference values between the base stations in the region to be processed, the method may further include obtaining the interference values between the base stations in the region to be processed, where the number of the base stations in the region to be processed is at least two.

And after the base stations meeting the preset grouping condition are merged into the base station cluster, clearing interference values between the base stations and all base stations in the area to be processed.

Before the above grouping operation is repeatedly performed on the remaining base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster, clearing the interference value between the base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster and the cluster head of each base station cluster.

In this embodiment, the preset performance index combining rule at least includes the following two types:

firstly, combining two base stations with the maximum interference value in each base station cluster, judging whether the combined base stations reach a preset performance threshold value, and if so, stopping combining; if not, selecting one base station with the maximum interference value of the combined base stations from the residual base stations after combination, combining the selected base station with the combined base station, judging whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not, and stopping combination until the combined base station reaches the preset performance threshold value or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into one cell.

Secondly, in each base station cluster, acquiring the resource block utilization rate of each base station in the base station cluster, combining the resource block utilization rates in sequence from small to large, judging whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not every time the combination is performed, and if so, stopping the combination; if not, continuing to merge; and stopping combining until the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into a cell.

Wherein, presetting the performance threshold comprises: at least one of a preset throughput threshold and a preset interruption probability threshold.

A computer storage medium storing a cell merging method program, which is executable by one or more processors to implement steps of a cell merging method, includes: grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster; combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule; corresponding performance indexes can be well guaranteed after the cells are combined, optimal balance between base station interference and throughput is achieved, communication service quality is improved, and user experience is improved.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the modules or steps of the embodiments of the invention described above may be implemented in a general purpose computing device, they may be centralized in a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices, and alternatively, they may be implemented in program code executable by a computing device, such that they may be stored on a computer storage medium (ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) for execution by a computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in an order different from that described herein, or they may be separately fabricated as individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps therein may be fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The foregoing is a more detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not to be considered limited to such descriptions. For those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, several simple deductions or substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all shall be considered as belonging to the protection scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A cell combining method, comprising:

grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster;

combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule;

wherein the grouping the base stations in the area according to the obtained interference value comprises:

when the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is two, merging the two base stations into a base station cluster;

when the number of base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, selecting two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from the current base stations as a cluster head of a base station cluster, and merging the base stations with the interference values of the base stations in the rest base stations and the cluster head meeting the preset grouping condition into the base station cluster; and after one base station cluster is grouped, repeating the grouping operation on the remaining base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

2. The cell merging method of claim 1, further comprising:

and acquiring interference values among base stations in a region to be processed, wherein the number of the base stations in the region to be processed is at least two.

3. The cell merging method of claim 2, wherein the preset grouping condition comprises:

and the interference value between the base station and the cluster head is more than or equal to the interference value between the base station and other base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

4. The cell merging method according to claim 1, wherein after merging the base stations satisfying the predetermined grouping condition into the base station cluster, the method further comprises: clearing interference values between the base station and all base stations in the area to be processed;

before the above grouping operation is repeatedly performed for the remaining base stations not merged into the base station cluster, the method further includes: and clearing the interference value between the base station which is not merged into the base station cluster and the cluster head of each base station cluster.

5. The cell merging method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the predetermined performance index merging rule comprises:

in each base station cluster, combining two base stations with the maximum interference value, judging whether the combined base stations reach a preset performance threshold value, and if so, stopping combining; if not, selecting one base station with the maximum interference value of the combined base stations from the rest base stations after combination, combining the selected base station with the combined base station, judging whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not, and stopping combination until the combined base station reaches the preset performance threshold value or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into one cell;

or the like, or, alternatively,

in each base station cluster, acquiring the resource block utilization rate of each base station in the base station cluster, combining the resource block utilization rates from small to large in sequence, judging whether the combined base stations reach a preset performance threshold value or not every time the combination is performed, and if so, stopping the combination; if not, continuing to merge; stopping combining until the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into a cell;

the preset performance threshold includes: at least one of a preset throughput threshold and a preset interruption probability threshold.

6. A cell merge control apparatus, comprising:

the device comprises an acquisition module, a processing module and a processing module, wherein the acquisition module is used for acquiring interference values among base stations in a region to be processed, and the number of the base stations in the region to be processed is at least two;

the clustering module is used for grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value obtained by the obtaining module, and each group is a base station cluster;

the merging module is used for merging the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index merging rule;

the clustering module is used for merging the two base stations into one base station cluster when the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is two;

the cluster head is used for selecting two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from the current base stations as the cluster head of one base station cluster when the number of the base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, and merging the base stations with the interference values of the base stations in the rest base stations and the base stations with the cluster heads meeting the preset grouping condition into the base station cluster; after one base station cluster is grouped, repeatedly executing the grouping operation on the rest base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster; the preset grouping condition is that whether the interference value between the base station in the residual base stations and the cluster head of the base station cluster is larger than or equal to the interference value between the base station and other base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

7. The cell merging control device according to claim 6, wherein the merging module is configured to merge two base stations with the largest interference value in each base station cluster, determine whether the merged base station reaches a preset performance threshold, and if so, stop merging; if not, selecting one base station with the maximum interference value of the combined base stations from the residual base stations after combination, combining the selected base station with the combined base station, judging whether the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not, and stopping combination until the combined base station reaches the preset performance threshold value or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into one cell;

or the like, or, alternatively,

the merging module is used for acquiring the resource block utilization rate of each base station in each base station cluster, merging the resource block utilization rates from small to large in sequence, judging whether the merged base station reaches a preset performance threshold value or not every time merging is performed, and stopping merging if the merged base station reaches the preset performance threshold value; if not, continuing to merge; stopping combining until the combined base station reaches a preset performance threshold or all base stations in the base station cluster are combined into a cell;

the preset performance threshold includes: at least one of a preset throughput threshold and a preset interruption probability threshold.

8. A network controller comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication bus;

the communication bus is used for realizing connection communication between the processor and the memory;

the processor is configured to execute the cell merging method program stored in the memory to implement the following steps:

grouping the base stations in the area to be processed according to the interference value among the base stations in the area to be processed, wherein each group is a base station cluster;

combining the base stations in each base station cluster according to a preset performance index combining rule;

wherein the grouping the base stations in the area according to the acquired interference value includes:

when the number of the base stations in the area to be processed is two, merging the two base stations into a base station cluster;

when the number of base stations in the area to be processed exceeds two, selecting two base stations with the largest mutual interference value from the current base stations as a cluster head of a base station cluster, and merging the base stations with the interference values of the base stations in the rest base stations and the cluster head meeting the preset grouping condition into the base station cluster; and after one base station cluster is grouped, repeating the grouping operation on the remaining base stations which are not merged into the base station cluster.

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