Method and device for determining service strategy and communication system

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for determining a service strategy and a communication system. The method comprises the following steps: a first function network element acquires user information of a first service; determining policy information of the first service according to the user information of the first service; the policy information of the first service comprises execution range information of the first service and service quality information of the first service; and the first function network element sends the policy information of the first service to the second function network element. According to the method, the first function network element determines the strategy information of the service from the service dimension, the service quality of the service can be provided, the execution range of the service can also be provided, and any new service of the communication network service can be supported as well. Therefore, the method can effectively meet and support strategy requirements of various services.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and particularly to a method and apparatus for determining a service policy, and a communication system. Background Art

[0002] In an existing communication network, a policy and charging control (PCC) architecture is adopted to provide users with differentiated and intelligent service services and experiences, and to implement dynamic policy management and charging methods. The policy and charging rule function (PCRF) is the core of the PCC architecture of a fourth-generation (4G) or long term evolution (LTE) network. The PCRF is used to assist in service data flow detection, policy implementation, and flow-based charging, and to ensure reliable monitoring of services or use cases and the costs associated with each use case. The policy control function (PCF) is the core of the PCC architecture of a fifth-generation (5G) network. The PCF can be considered an evolution of the PCRF. The PCF has increased the ability to request and monitor the quality of service (QoS) by session, and in addition to retaining these session-based functions, the PCF has also added other functions, including control of network slices and new control mechanisms for terminal activities, such as roaming and mobility management.

[0003] In the 4G policy architecture, different qualities of service (QoS) are loaded end-to-end through bearers. Data flows on the same bearer can obtain the same QoS, and data flows on different types of bearers obtain different QoS. It can be seen that the QoS control granularity is coarse, resulting in problems such as large signaling overhead and long QoS control interaction processes, and it is difficult to handle bursty services and integrated services. In the 5G policy architecture, end-to-end is the quality of service flow (QoS flow), and two-level mapping of the 5G next generation user plane function (NG-U) tunnel and radio bearer can be performed on the access network side, that is, the radio access network is allowed a certain degree of freedom, thereby improving the flexibility and adaptability of service bearer control to a certain extent.

[0004] With the evolution of communication technologies, in addition to providing connection services, a communication system will also integrate new services such as sensing, computing, intelligence, and trust to provide integrated services. However, the existing policy architecture cannot meet or support the policy requirements of new services. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application proposes a method and apparatus for determining a service policy and a communication system, and this method can meet or support the policy requirements of new services in a communication network.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining a service policy. This method can be executed by a first functional network element, or by a chip, or a chip system, or a logic module or software corresponding to the first functional network element, and there is no limitation thereto. Taking the first functional network element as an example, the method may include: the first functional network element obtains user information of a first service; then, according to the user information of the first service, determines the policy information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes the execution scope information of the first service and the quality of service information of the first service; the first functional network element sends the policy information of the first service to a second functional network element.

[0007] In the embodiment of the present application, the first functional network element may be independently deployed in a communication network / communication system, or the first functional network element may be co-located with a policy control functional network element, and the first functional network element may also be a policy decision function (PDF) network element. The second functional network element may be independently deployed in the core network or access network or network management system in the communication network / communication system, or the second functional network element may be co-located with a first service network element. The first service network element may be, but is not limited to: a data controller, or a sensing service control function, or a task anchor, or a task scheduler. The present application does not limit the specific deployment, form, and quantity of the first functional network element and the second functional network element.

[0008] The first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a sensing service, an artificial intelligence service, a network service, an Internet of Things (IoT) service, a security service, and a sustainable service. Exemplarily, the sensing service may include services such as identification, speed measurement, distance measurement, and target positioning. The artificial intelligence service may include: anomaly detection, intelligent service, intelligent orchestration and scheduling, intelligent agent, etc. The network service may include services of a network operator, such as network optimization, maintenance, operation, construction, etc. The physical network service may include services such as an autonomous driving or intelligent transportation system that needs to analyze data generated by sensors, machines in the Internet of Things (IoT), network-connected devices or facilities in the vehicle-to-everything network, etc. The security service may include security protection, privacy protection, etc. for network elements, networks, systems, etc. The sustainable service may include services for network green energy conservation, sustainability, etc.

[0009] In the solution of this application, the first functional network element can determine the policy information of the first service according to the user information of the first service. The policy information of the first service includes the execution scope information of the first service and the quality of service information of the first service. Thus, it can be seen that the first functional network element in this application determines the policy information of each service from the service dimension. The first functional network element can not only provide the quality of service of the service, but also provide the execution scope of the service. For one or more new services that may be introduced in the communication system, the first functional network element also provides support. Therefore, the method for determining the service policy provided by this application can meet and support the policy requirements of various services (including new services of communication network services).

[0010] In a possible implementation manner, the user information of the first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the user subscription information of the first service, the user account opening information of the first service, and the service subscription information of the first service. Through this implementation manner, the first functional network element can effectively determine the corresponding policy information for the first service based on the user information of the first service.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner, the first functional network element obtains the user information of the first service, including: obtaining the user information of the first service from the service user management network element; the service user management network element can be independently deployed in the network, or the service user management network element is co-located with the data storage network element, or the service user management network element is the data storage network element.

[0012] In the embodiment of this application, the service user management network element can be used to manage or store the user information of the service. For different services, the service user management network elements of the services can be the same network element or different network elements, which is not limited. If the service user management network elements corresponding to different services are different, then the names of the service user management network elements of each service may be the same or different, which is also not limited.

[0013] Through this implementation manner, the first functional network element can effectively obtain the user information of the first service.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the quality of service information of the first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the bandwidth information of the first service, the priority information of the first service, the delay information of the first service, the delay variation information of the first service, the security level information of the first service, the privacy level information of the first service, the transmission rate information of the first service, the routing information of the first service, and the key information used by the first service.

[0015] Through this implementation manner, the first functional network element allocates the corresponding bandwidth, priority, delay, delay variation, security level, privacy level, transmission rate, routing, key, etc. for the first service according to the user information of the first service to ensure the quality of service of the first service.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the policy information of the first service may further include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the collection policy information of the first service, the flow policy information of the first service, the computing policy information of the first service, and the security policy information of the first service. Through this implementation manner, the first functional network element can further determine other policy information required by the first service to meet various policy requirements of the first service. Among them, the flow policy information of the first service can provide a composition policy for realizing the data bearer of the first service, and may include topological information such as sources, destinations, intermediate nodes, data pipelines, etc., as well as policies such as bandwidth and delay required for data to flow therein.

[0017] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining a service policy. This method can be executed by a second functional network element, or by a chip, or a chip system, or a logic module or software corresponding to the second functional network element, and this is not limited. Taking the second functional network element as an example, this method may include: the second functional network element receives the policy information of the first service from the first functional network element, and the policy information of the first service includes the execution scope information of the first service and the quality of service information of the first service; obtain the status information of the network and / or node capabilities information within the execution scope of the first service; the second functional network element then determines the data bearer information of the first service and the quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service and the status information of the network and / or node capabilities information; the data bearer information includes information of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope, and the quality of service information of the data bearer includes the quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline.

[0018] In the embodiment of the present application, the first functional network element can be independently deployed in a communication network / communication system, or the first functional network element can be co-located with a policy control functional network element, and the first functional network element can also be a policy decision function (PDF) network element. The second functional network element can be independently deployed in the core network or access network or network management system in the communication network / communication system, or the second functional network element can be co-located with the first service network element, and the first service network element can be, but is not limited to: a data controller, or a sensing service control function, or a task anchor, or a task scheduler. The present application does not limit the specific deployment, form, and quantity of the first functional network element and the second functional network element.

[0019] The first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of sensing services, artificial intelligence services, network services, Internet of Things services, security services, and sustainable services.

[0020] In the solution of this application, the second functional network element further refines the policy of the first service based on the policy information of the first service from the first functional network element, in combination with the status information of the network and / or the capability information of the nodes within the execution scope of the first service. That is, the second functional network element determines the data bearer for the first service and the quality of service of the data bearer. The data bearer for the first service includes at least one data pipeline for transmitting the data of the first service within the execution scope of the first service, and the quality of service of the data bearer includes the quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline. In this method, the second functional network element can perceive the real-time situation of the network, based on the policy information of the service from the first functional network element, and globally plan or orchestrate the transmission and quality of service of the service in combination with the real-time situation of the network.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the quality of service information of the first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: bandwidth information of the first service, priority information of the first service, delay information of the first service, delay variation information of the first service, security level information of the first service, privacy level information of the first service, transmission rate information of the first service, routing information of the first service, and key information used by the first service.

[0022] Through this implementation, the second functional network element can obtain the bandwidth, priority, delay, delay variation, security level, privacy level, transmission rate, routing, key, etc. corresponding to the first service provided by the first functional network element, so as to ensure that the second functional network element can effectively and accurately plan the policy of the first service.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the policy information of the first service may further include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: collection policy information of the first service, transfer policy information of the first service, computing policy information of the first service, and security policy information of the first service. Through this implementation, the second functional network element can also obtain other policy information required by the first service, so as to further determine a more accurate policy for the first service and meet various policy requirements of the first service.

[0024] In a possible implementation, for the second functional network element to determine the data bearer information for the first service and the quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service, the status information of the network, and / or the node capability information, it may include: the second functional network element determines the information of the destination node and the source node corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline within the execution scope of the first service according to the execution scope information of the first service, the status information of the network, and / or the node capability information; and then determines the quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline according to the quality of service information of the first service, the status information of the network, and / or the node capability information.

[0025] In this embodiment, within the execution scope of the first service, the second functional network element selects relatively stable and suitable nodes within this execution scope by combining the status information of the network and / or the capability information of each node in the network, and uses these nodes to construct at least one data pipeline for transmitting the first service data; the second functional network element can also determine the corresponding quality of service for this at least one data pipeline according to the quality of service information of the first service and by combining the status information of the network and / or the capability information of each node in the network. Through this embodiment, the second functional network element can effectively arrange a more accurate layout and quality of service for the data bearer of the first service.

[0026] In a possible embodiment, the information of each data pipeline includes the information of at least one destination node and the information of at least one source node; the method further includes: the second functional network element sends the quality of service information of the corresponding data pipeline to the at least one source node respectively according to the information of the at least one source node corresponding to each data pipeline.

[0027] In this embodiment, the source nodes and destination nodes corresponding to each data pipeline are flexible and can be arbitrarily topologized and arranged by the second functional network element. The second functional network element can send the quality of service information of each data pipeline to the corresponding source node. Optionally, the second functional network element can also send the indication information of the data pipeline (such as the identifier of the data pipeline (datapipeline identifier, DPID)) to the corresponding source node. Through this embodiment, each source node can learn the quality of service information of the data pipeline for which it provides services.

[0028] In a possible embodiment, the information of the data pipeline may further include the information of at least one intermediate node located within the execution scope of the first service. Through this embodiment, the location / type, etc. of the nodes used to construct the data pipeline are flexible, and the quantity is also flexible.

[0029] The following third aspect is the steps executed by a source node (the first source node of the first data pipeline) of a data pipeline (such as the first data pipeline) corresponding to the first service. For the other source nodes of the first data pipeline or the source nodes of other data pipelines, the methods provided in the third aspect can be referred to, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on all source nodes one by one.

[0030] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for determining a service policy. This method can be executed by the first source node of the first data pipeline, or by a chip, or a chip system, or a logic module or software corresponding to the first source node of the first data pipeline, and there is no limitation in this regard. Taking the first source node of the first data pipeline as an example, this method may include: the first source node of the first data pipeline receives the quality of service information of the first data pipeline from a second functional network element; the first data pipeline is any one of at least one data pipeline corresponding to the first service; the first source node sends an indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present application, the first source node may be a policy enforcement function network element; the policy enforcement function network element may be independently deployed and serve the second service network element, or the policy enforcement function network element may be deployed in the second service network element; the second service network element may be, but is not limited to: a terminal, or a radio access network node, or an access and mobility management function, or a session management function, or a unified data repository, or a user plane function, or a perception data processing function.

[0032] The indication information of the quality of service of the first data pipeline may be identification information of the quality of service (such as identification ID, serial number, label, name, etc.), or the indication information of the quality of service of the first data pipeline is the quality of service of the first data pipeline, and there is no limitation in this regard.

[0033] In the solution of the present application, the first source node of the first data pipeline receives the quality of service information of the first data pipeline sent by the second functional network element, and after collecting the data of the first service, sends out the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline together. After receiving the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline sent by the first source node, the receiving end (such as the destination node of the first data pipeline) can determine the quality of service information corresponding to the data of the first service through the indication information of the quality of service information, so as to allocate corresponding resources (such as delay, rate, priority, etc.) for subsequent processing / transmission of the data of the first service, so as to meet the policy requirements of the first service. In addition, the receiving end may also use the indication information of the quality of service (such as QoS identification) to perform corresponding communication tunnel / wireless bearer mapping for the data of the first service, and effectively complete the data transmission of the first service.

[0034] For example, the first source node is a terminal device, the receiving end is an access network device, and the indication information of the quality of service information corresponding to the first data pipeline is a QoS identification; after receiving the data of the first service and the QoS identification sent by the terminal device, the access network device will map the data of the first service from the first data pipeline to the corresponding wireless bearer by using the QoS identification and the quality of service rule.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline is located in the same data packet. Through this implementation, the first source node can effectively send the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline while sending the data of the first service. In the embodiments of the present application, the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline may also be located in the same message, and the type of this message is not limited. In addition, the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline may also be located in different data packets or messages, and this is not limited either. The first source node can select a suitable transmission method according to actual needs.

[0036] In a possible implementation, when the first source node is deployed in the first radio access network node, the first source node sending the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline includes: mapping the first data pipeline to the corresponding first communication tunnel; sending, through the first communication tunnel, the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to the second radio access network node or the core network element; where the second radio access network node and the core network element may be the destination node or the intermediate node corresponding to the first data pipeline.

[0037] In the embodiments of the present application, at least one communication tunnel (including the first communication tunnel) may be established in advance, or may be established in real time, and this is not limited. The first source node can match the corresponding communication tunnel according to the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

[0038] Exemplarily, the quality of service (QoS) value or the quality of service (QoS) range corresponding to at least one communication tunnel (including the first communication tunnel) is set in advance; if the QoS value of the first data pipeline is the QoS value corresponding to the first communication tunnel, or the QoS value of the first data pipeline is within the QoS range corresponding to the first communication tunnel, it is determined that the communication tunnel matched by the first data pipeline is the first communication tunnel.

[0039] Through this implementation, for the case where the first source node is a radio access network node and the destination node is also a radio access network node or a core network node, the first source node can perform tunnel mapping, that is, determine the communication tunnel corresponding to the first data pipeline, and then effectively send the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to the destination node through the communication tunnel.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the first communication tunnel may also correspond to a second data pipeline, and the second data pipeline is used to transmit the data of the second service. It can be seen that in the embodiments of the present application, the data pipelines of different services can be matched to the same communication tunnel.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, when the first source node is deployed in a terminal, the first source node sends indication information of data of a first service and quality of service information of a first data pipeline, including: the first source node maps the first data pipeline to a corresponding first data radio bearer; through the first data radio bearer, the first source node sends the data of the first service and the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to a radio access network node; the radio access network node may be a destination node or an intermediate node corresponding to the first data pipeline.

[0042] In the embodiments of the present application, at least one data radio bearer (including the first data radio bearer) may be established in advance, or may be established in real time, and there is no limitation thereto. The first source node may match a corresponding data radio bearer according to the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

[0043] Exemplarily, quality of service (QoS) values or QoS ranges respectively corresponding to at least one data radio bearer (including the first data radio bearer) are set in advance; if the QoS value of the first data pipeline is the QoS value corresponding to the first data radio bearer, or the QoS value of the first data pipeline is within the QoS range corresponding to the first data radio bearer, it is determined that the data radio bearer matched by the first data pipeline is the first data radio bearer.

[0044] In a possible implementation manner, the first data radio bearer may further correspond to a second data pipeline, and the second data pipeline is used to transmit data of a second service. It can be seen that in the embodiments of the present application, data pipelines of different services may be matched to the same data radio bearer.

[0045] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which may include: a first functional network element and a second functional network element; wherein, the first functional network element is configured to obtain user information of a first service; determine policy information of the first service according to the user information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes execution scope information of the first service and quality of service information of the first service; then the first functional network element sends the policy information of the first service to the second functional network element; the second functional network element is configured to obtain status information of a network within the execution scope of the first service and / or node capability information; and then determine data bearer information of the first service and quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service and the status information of the network and / or the node capability information; the data bearer information includes information of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope of the first service, and the quality of service information of the data bearer includes quality of service information respectively corresponding to the at least one data pipeline.

[0046] In the embodiments of the present application, the first functional network element may be independently deployed in a communication network / communication system, or the first functional network element may be co-located with a policy control function network element, and the first functional network element may also be a policy control function PDF network element. The second functional network element may be independently deployed in the core network, access network, or network management system of the communication network / communication system, or the second functional network element may be co-located with the first service network element. The first service network element may be, but is not limited to: a data controller, or a sensing service control function, or a task anchor, or a task scheduler. The present application does not limit the specific deployment, form, and quantity of the first functional network element and the second functional network element.

[0047] In a possible design, the first functional network element is further configured to execute the method provided in any one of the possible implementation manners in the first aspect above; the second functional network element is further configured to execute the method provided in any one of the possible implementation manners in the second aspect above.

[0048] In a possible design, the communication system may further include at least one destination node and at least one source node corresponding to each data pipeline; any one of the at least one source nodes executes the method provided in any one of the possible implementation manners in the third aspect and the third aspect above.

[0049] In the embodiments of the present application, the source node and / or the destination node and / or the intermediate node may be a policy enforcement function network element; the policy enforcement function network element may be independently deployed and serve the second service network element, or the policy enforcement function network element may be deployed in the second service network element; the second service network element may be, but is not limited to: a terminal, or a radio access network node, or an access and mobility management function, or a session management function, or a unified data repository, or a user plane function, or a sensing data processing function.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device. The device may be configured to execute the method in the first aspect. The device may be the first functional network element, or the device may be a component in the first functional network element (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit), or the device may be a logic module or software corresponding to the first functional network element, or the device may be a device that can be used in combination with the first functional network element.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the device may include modules or units corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In a possible implementation, the device may include a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (also referred to as a communication module). Among them, the communication unit may be used to perform the functions of receiving and / or sending, and the processing unit may be used to perform the method described in the above first aspect or any possible implementation manner in the first aspect.

[0052] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The device may be used to perform the method in the second aspect. The device may be a first functional network element, or a component in the second functional network element (for example, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or a logic module or software corresponding to the second functional network element, or a device that can be used in combination with the second functional network element.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the device may include modules or units corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In a possible implementation, the device may include a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (also referred to as a communication module). Among them, the communication unit may be used to perform the functions of receiving and / or sending, and the processing unit may be used to perform the method described in the above second aspect or any possible implementation manner in the second aspect.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The device may be used to perform the method in the third aspect. The device may be a first source node, or a component in the first source node (for example, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit), or a logic module or software corresponding to the first source node, or a device that can be used in combination with the first source node.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the device may include modules or units corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the third aspect. The module or unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In a possible implementation, the device may include a processing unit (also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (also referred to as a communication module). Among them, the communication unit may be used to perform the functions of receiving and / or sending, and the processing unit may be used to perform the method described in the above third aspect or any possible implementation manner in the third aspect.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus of other source nodes corresponding to the first service is the same as that of the first source node, and will not be elaborated here.

[0057] In an eighth aspect, an apparatus is provided in the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus includes at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is used to communicate with other apparatuses. The processor is used to run a set of programs so that the apparatus can implement the method provided in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof, or so that the apparatus can implement the method provided in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof, or so that the apparatus can implement the method provided in the third aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0058] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided in the embodiments of the present application. Computer programs or instructions are stored in the storage medium. When the computer programs or instructions are executed by a computer, the methods provided in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof can be implemented, or the methods provided in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof can be implemented, or the methods provided in the third aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof can be implemented.

[0059] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product including computer programs or instructions is further provided in the embodiments of the present application. When it runs on a computer, the method provided in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof is executed, or the method provided in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof is executed, or the method provided in the third aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof is executed.

[0060] In an eleventh aspect, a chip system is further provided in the embodiments of the present application. The chip system includes a processor, which is used to support the first functional network element to implement the functions involved in the first aspect; or is used to support the second functional network element to implement the functions involved in the second aspect; or is used to support the first source node to implement the functions involved in the third aspect.

[0061] In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, and the memory is used to save the necessary program instructions and data for the loading device to execute. The chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0062] It should be noted that the technical effects that can be achieved by the above fourth aspect to the eleventh aspect or any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect to the eleventh aspect can be correspondingly described with reference to the technical effects that can be achieved by the first aspect to the third aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the third aspect; they will not be repeated here. Description of the Drawings

[0063] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a data plane function architecture;

[0064] Figure 2A It is a schematic diagram of the mapping relationship between the data channels of 4G and 5G and the underlying bearer;

[0065] Figure 2B It is a schematic diagram of the specific mapping relationship between the data channels of the 5G PCC architecture and the underlying bearer;

[0066] Figure 3 It is a comparison schematic diagram of the policy architecture proposed in the embodiments of the present application and the current architecture;

[0067] Figure 4 It is a possible and non-limiting schematic diagram of a unified policy architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0068] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the position of the DFP protocol layer in the 6G data plane protocol stack provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0069] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the flow of a method for determining a service policy provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0070] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the policies of three service dimensions provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0071] Figure 8A It is a schematic diagram of the mapping relationship among UE1, RAN1, and PEF provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0072] Figure 8B It is a schematic diagram of the specific mapping relationship among UE1, RAN1, and PEF provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0073] Figure 9A It is a schematic diagram of the flow of an implementation manner provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0074] Figure 9B It is a schematic diagram of the policy architecture of an AI training service provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0075] Figure 10A It is a schematic diagram of the flow of another implementation manner provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0076] Figure 10B It is a schematic diagram of the policy architecture of a perception service provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0077] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0078] Figure 12 Schematic diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 13 Schematic diagram of another chip device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Specific implementation manners

[0080] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. As used in the specification and claims of the present application, the singular forms "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "this" are also intended to include, for example, the expression "one or more", unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the embodiments of the present application, for the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, it means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one (item)" or a similar expression thereof refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0081] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" or the like described in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, statements such as "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The "embodiment" in this specification is the same as the foregoing for the same reason. The terms "comprising", "including", "having" and their variants all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. Words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or designs. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific way for easy understanding.

[0082] The "multiple" involved in the embodiments of the present application means greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first", "second", and "1", "2", etc. are for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor as indicating or implying an order. In addition, the term "used to indicate" mentioned in the description of the embodiments of the present application may include being used to directly indicate and being used to indirectly indicate. When it is described that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it may include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and it does not mean that A must be carried in the indication information. In addition, the steps corresponding to the dashed boxes or dashed lines in the drawings of the specification represent optional steps.

[0083] The present application provides a method for determining a service strategy. To better understand the solution of the embodiments of the present application, the following first explains the relevant technical features and names involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are for making the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection required by the present application.

[0084] I. Data plane function architecture:

[0085] Based on the data plane, a normalized data service architecture can be constructed to provide trusted data for intelligent services such as artificial intelligence (AI) and perception in a communication network. Figure 1A data plane function architecture is shown. The data plane mainly includes data orchestration (DO), data agent (DA), trust anchor agent (TAA), and data storage function (DSF).

[0086] Data orchestration DO: Responsible for coarse-grained and non-real-time data orchestration tasks. DO can be used to select DA according to the received data service request, and orchestrate and manage the DA function, so as to dynamically establish an end-to-end (E2E) logical (overlay) data transmission network topology for data applications, and orchestrate the flow of data between DAs in this network, and feedback the response to the request to the application.

[0087] DO can also convert the received data service request into a corresponding data pipeline construction request and send it to the data controller DC. DO is also responsible for collaborating with other network services. For example, the computing power network service orchestrates the computing power, while DO orchestrates the data. In some embodiments, DO and DC can also be deployed in the same entity device.

[0088] In addition, a data security protection and privacy protection technology library is built into DO, which includes techniques such as differential privacy, homomorphic encryption, and zero-knowledge proof, etc., to provide data security and privacy protection capabilities, and empower the data protection technology to DA as needed.

[0089] Data controller (DC): Responsible for fine-grained and real-time orchestration tasks. DC can be used to monitor and manage DA in real time, and combine data pipelines according to the capabilities of DA and the requirements of data services. The cooperation between DO and DC can achieve the elasticity of the data pipeline (the elasticity of the data pipeline means being able to quickly adapt to changing requirements) and programmability (that is, being able to flexibly configure the data pipeline).

[0090] Data agent DA: Used to provide functions such as data collection, preprocessing, storage, and analysis. DA can be deployed on network functions (NF), radio access networks (RAN), transfer network (TN) nodes, terminals, operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) systems of operator networks, etc., or can be deployed independently (standalone).

[0091] In the embodiments of the present application, the DO / DC can select a data agent DA according to service requirements and the capabilities reported by each DA, and orchestrate the DA to establish a dynamic data bearer for providing services to the service. A data bearer has an identifier (ID) of a service and a data service task ID (DSID), and a data bearer can be composed of multiple data pipelines, and each data pipeline has its own ID, such as a data pipeline ID (DPID). Each data pipeline is composed of a series of data processing units as needed and in sequence, and the output of the previous unit is the input of the next unit. Thus, the data stream carried by the data bearer can be output from the DA according to service requirements from data collection, preprocessing, storage to application / analysis, and is provided to external applications by the DA through a service interface.

[0092] Data storage function DSF: DSF is an extension of DA storage, supporting the storage of streaming and batch type data; and supporting distributed or centralized deployment.

[0093] Trusted anchor agent TAA: used to provide trusted services such as authentication authorization accounting (AAA); can store non-tamperable data, for example, public keys of terminals or network devices, short transactions, indexes, or important data that cannot be tampered with. This data service architecture realizes the user's autonomous control of data through the trusted anchor agent, realizes data trust, auditability, and traceability, and meets compliance requirements such as the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

[0094] II. Policy and charging control (PCC) architecture:

[0095] The PCC architecture is a commonly used policy architecture in current mobile communication networks. In the PCC architecture of 4G or LTE networks, the PCRF is the core. The PCRF is used to assist in service data flow detection, policy implementation, and flow-based charging to ensure reliable monitoring of services or use cases and the costs associated with each use case. In the PCC architecture of 5G networks, the PCF is the core. It is an evolution of the 4G policy and charging rules function (PCRF). The functions of the PCF have been enhanced with the ability to request per-session and monitor the quality of service. In addition to retaining session-based functions, the PCF has added additional functions, including control of network slices and new control mechanisms for terminal activities such as roaming and mobility management.

[0096] The differences between the policy architectures of 4G and 5G mainly include the following:

[0097] (1) The mapping relationship between the data channel and the underlying bearer is different: 4G has end-to-end (E2E) bearers, such as evolved packet system (EPS) bearers, and end-to-end quality of service (QoS) is achieved through EPS bearers. The end-to-end E2E transmission in 5G is through QoS flows, and the transmission involves two levels of mapping, such as the mapping of the 5G next-generation user plane function tunnel (NG-U Tunnel) and the mapping of radio bearers (RB).

[0098] The first-level mapping in 4G: There is a one-to-one correspondence between each underlying bearer in 4G. After the sender completes the mapping of data packets to the evolved packet system EPS bearer, the association between data packets and the bearer can be achieved. For example Figure 2AAs shown in (1), for the mapping of the uplink EPS bearer, between the user equipment UE and the base station eNode, the physical transmission channel of the EPS bearer is the radio bearer RB. The UE can map the data of an uplink service (such as APP1) to an RB through the uplink (UL) traffic flow template (TFT, which is a set of packet filters (PF)) and send it to the base station eNodeB. The UE can also aggregate and map the data of multiple uplink services (such as APP2 and APP3) to an RB through the UL TFT (a set of multiple PFs) and send it to the base station eNodeB. Between the eNodeB and the serving gateway (S-GW), the physical transmission channel of the EPS bearer can be a dedicated bearer (a type of S1 bearer). The eNode can map the RBs one by one to the dedicated bearer and transmit it to the S-GW through the dedicated bearer. Between the S-GW and the PDN gateway (P-GW), the physical transmission channel of the EPS bearer is the S5 / S8 bearer (GTP tunnel). The S-GW can map the dedicated bearers one by one to the S5 / S8 bearer and transmit it to the P-GW through the S5 / S8 bearer. For the mapping of the downlink EPS bearer, the P-GW side can map the data of a service (such as the application APP1) to an S5 / S8 bearer through the downlink (DL) traffic flow template TFT, or aggregate and map the data of multiple services (such as APP2 and APP3) to an S5 / S8 bearer through the DL TFT and send it to the S-GW. Then the S-GW side maps the S5 / S8 bearers one by one to the dedicated bearers and sends them to the eNodeB. The eNodeB maps the dedicated bearers one by one to the RBs and sends them to the terminal.

[0099] Secondary mapping in 5G: The packet sender maps the packet to the Quality of Service flow (QoS flow), and the QoS flow on the air interface side to the radio bearer; it can achieve the end-to-end association of the packet and the QoS Flow. The mapping relationship between the packet and the QoS Flow and the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the radio bearer are both N:1, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example Figure 2AAs shown in (2), there is a mapping between the Quality of Service (QoS) flow and the radio bearer between the User Equipment (UE) and the access network (AN), and there is a mapping between the radio bearer and the Next Generation User Plane Function Tunnel (NG-U tunnel) between the access network AN and the user plane function (UPF) in the core network. The mapping relationship between the radio bearer and the NG-U tunnel is M:1, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0100] Figure 2B shows the specific policy mapping relationship of 5G. As Figure 2B shown, the first-level mapping is the mapping of data packets to the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, and the second-level mapping is the mapping of the QoS flow on the radio air interface side to the data radio bearer (DRB). The corresponding relationship between the QoS rule on the UE and the QoS flow, and the corresponding relationship between the packet description rule (PDR) and the QoS Flow on the user plane function UPF are both N:1 corresponding relationships (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1). At the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer of the user plane protocol stack of the UE and the gNB, the QoS flow identifier (QoS flow id, QFI) can be added, so that the receiving end can perform the mapping between the QoS Flow and the DRB by reading the value of this identifier.

[0101] (2) The traffic splitting mechanisms of 4G and 5G are different: a PDU session has only one N3 / N9 tunnel, and the N3 / N9 interface uses the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GPRS tunneling protocol, GTP), and only one tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) is used for correspondence. If different QFIs need to be identified, new fields are required. The GTP tunnel of the user plane message of the N3 interface encapsulates the QFI parameter in the message header. The padding in the signaling file is divided into four bits. The first two bits are used to identify the uplink or downlink, and the last two bits are used to identify the QFI.

[0102] For the 4G policy architecture, all data flows on the same bearer will receive the same QoS guarantee (such as scheduling policy, buffer queue management, link layer configuration, etc.), and different QoS guarantees use different types of EPS bearers. The 4G QoS architecture has problems such as coarse QoS control granularity, large signaling overhead, and long QoS control interaction process, and is not suitable for bursty services and comprehensive services.

[0103] For the 5G policy architecture, the basic granularity of the 5G QoS architecture is refined into QoS flow, and the two-level mapping of the 5G QoS architecture allows a certain degree of freedom on the RAN side compared to 4G QoS control. The 5G QoS architecture improves the flexibility and adaptability of service bearer control to a certain extent.

[0104] With the evolution of communication technologies, in addition to providing connection services, communication systems will also integrate new services such as sensing, computing, intelligence, and trust to provide comprehensive services. However, the existing policy architectures cannot meet or support the policy requirements of new services. For example, the following reasons may exist:

[0105] (1) For new services such as sensing and AI, the source and destination nodes are more flexible, rather than anchored to the UE or UPF, etc., and may terminate at the RAN node, which poses challenges to service classification and policy execution and is not supported by the existing PCC architecture. Security, sustainability, etc. require considering the network-wide unified policy;

[0106] (2) The current policy architecture is insensitive to services. It adds QoS tags from the perspective of the terminal UE and performs traffic splitting based on information such as the 5-tuple from the upstream and downstream sources. However, for services with multiple UEs or multiple sources (such as AI and sensing), there is a lack of a global policy orchestration mechanism;

[0107] (3) The current policy architecture lacks the ability to sense and update policies in real time, especially on the radio access network (RAN) side. In a 5G network, the QoS requirements are determined by the core network. Since the core network cannot obtain real-time information such as the resource status and air interface changes on the access network side in a timely manner, the core network formulates QoS policies and parameters only based on user subscription information and service requirements, which may lead to the mismatch between the QoS requirements of services and the QoS capabilities of the network, resulting in problems such as poor service experience and inefficient network operation.

[0108] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a policy architecture and technical solution, which can support or meet the policy requirements of various services (including new services introduced in communication networks). The policy architecture and technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems evolved after 5G, such as 6G communication systems. Similarly, a policy architecture and technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to 4G communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems, and can also be applied to 5G communication systems, such as 5G New Radio (NR) communication systems, without limitation. In addition, the policy architecture and technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to satellite communication systems, where the satellite communication system can be integrated with the above-mentioned communication systems. Of course, the policy architecture and technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems as long as there is a need to formulate policies in the communication system. In addition, the communication system can be applicable to future-oriented communication technologies. The system described in the embodiments of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the policy architecture and technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the policy architecture and technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the art know that with the evolution of the network architecture, the policy architecture and technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0109] The following introduces the policy architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0110] A policy architecture proposed by the embodiments of the present application adds policy services for services such as security, data, and sustainability in addition to the existing connection policies. These policy services can be referred to as policy services beyond connection, or can be referred to by other names, without limitation.

[0111] Figure 3 Shows a policy architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application and several existing policy architectures. Figure 3 (1) in shows the 3G policy architecture, Figure 3 (2) in shows the 4G policy architecture. It can be seen that the policy architectures of 3G and 4G provide Quality of Service (QoS) management and charging. Figure 3 (3) in shows the 5G policy architecture. It can be seen that access management (AM) and UE access policy management are added to the 5G policy architecture. Generally speaking, from 3G to 5G, it is mainly a policy architecture for connection, that is, a policy for establishing a communication channel between a UE and a network anchor point (such as the Public Data Network (PDN) Gateway (GW) of 4G and the UPF of 5G).

[0112] Figure 3Figure (4) shows a policy architecture for supporting beyond-connection policy services proposed in an embodiment of the present application. Refer to Figure 3 As shown in Figure (4), this policy architecture adds a beyond-connection policy architecture on the basis of the connection-based policy architecture. The beyond-connection policy architecture mainly includes functions such as a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Policy Delivery Function (PDF), and a Policy Enforcement Function (PEF). For the original policy architecture that includes PCF, Session Management Function (SMF) / Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), and User Plane Function (UPF), it can still be used to serve connection policies.

[0113] Figure 4 Figure shows a possible and non-limiting unified policy architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 4 shown, this policy architecture includes Unified Data Management (UDM), Policy Control Function PCF, Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), Access and Mobility Management Function AMF, Session Management Function SMF, User Equipment (UE), (Radio) Access Network ((R)AN), and User Plane Function UPF.

[0114] In addition, in this policy architecture, functions / network elements for providing beyond-connection policy services are newly added, including: a beyond-connection policy decision function, a beyond-connection policy delivery function (such as Figure 4 the PDF in Figure), a beyond-connection policy enforcement function (such as Figure 4 the PEF in Figure), and a beyond-connection management function (such as Figure 4 the x Service Subscriber Management (xSSM) in Figure).

[0115] Among them, the policy decision-making function of the beyond connection can obtain the user subscription information of the service (the service of the beyond connection) from the management function of the beyond connection, and then formulate the policy of the service based on the user subscription information of the service, etc., and then send the policy of the service to the policy transmission function of the beyond connection; the policy transmission function of the beyond connection can generate policy parameters for specific service dimensions according to the policy of the service and in combination with information such as the actual requirements of the service and the network status, and then send the policy parameters for specific service dimensions to the policy execution function of the beyond connection for execution.

[0116] In the above, the policy decision-making function of the beyond connection can be integrated or built-in in Figure 4 the policy control function PCF, or can also be a separate NF or network element, and there is no limitation to this. If the policy decision-making function of the beyond connection is integrated or built-in in the policy control function PCF, it is equivalent to the PCF adding a policy decision-making function for new services (such as security, data, sustainability, etc.) on the basis of the existing functions.

[0117] The following will Figure 4 introduce each network element / function / device in the policy architecture shown in detail.

[0118] The functions of the UDM include: user subscription context management, responsible for managing the subscription data of the UE, and responsible for notifying the corresponding network element when the subscription data is modified.

[0119] The functions of the NWDAF include: collecting data from NFs (such as SMF, UPF, AMF, etc.), application functions (AF), and the operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) system of the operator network, and then analyzing the collected data and feeding back the analysis results to the NFs and AFs for subsequent processing.

[0120] The functions of the AMF include: access management and mobility management of the UE, responsible for maintaining the status of the UE, reachability management of the UE, forwarding of non-access-stratum (NAS) messages of mobility management (MM), and forwarding of N2 messages of session management (SM), etc.

[0121] The functions of the SMF include: allocating resources for the UE's session and releasing resources. The resources include session quality of service (QoS), session path, forwarding rules, etc. The SMF is responsible for selecting or reselecting the UPF, allocating Internet protocol (IP) addresses, and is also responsible for the establishment, modification, and release of bearers, etc.

[0122] User Equipment UE: User equipment can refer to terminal equipment. The terminal equipment can communicate with the core network through the access network AN. The terminal equipment can include access terminals, user units, user stations, mobile stations, mobile handsets, remote stations, remote terminals, mobile devices, user terminals, terminals, wireless communication devices, user agents, or user devices. The access terminal can be a cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminals in various communication networks evolved after 5G (such as 6G communication networks), etc.

[0123] (R)AN's functions include: mainly responsible for providing wireless connections for terminal equipment and ensuring the reliable transmission of the uplink and downlink data of terminal equipment, etc.

[0124] In a possible scenario, the access network device can be a base station, evolved NodeB (eNodeB), transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), next generation NodeB (gNB), next generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, base station in a future mobile communication system, satellite, or access point (AP) in a WiFi system, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, network device in a mobile switching center non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, that is, it can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite, etc. The access network device can be a macro base station, micro base station or indoor station, relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The access network device can also be a device that serves as a base station function in device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication, or machine communication. Optionally, the access network device can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle or in-vehicle device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0125] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices cooperate to assist a terminal in achieving wireless access, and different access network devices respectively implement some functions of a base station. For example, the access network device can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the access network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be classified as a device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU can be classified as a device in the core network (CN), which is not limited here.

[0126] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, the CU can also be called an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be called an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be called an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be called an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as examples in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0127] The functions of the UPF include: a user plane function network element for the terminal device. Its main functions include packet routing and forwarding, quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, etc. In one possible implementation, it is possible to support inserting multiple session anchor UPFs on the user plane path of a protocol data unit (PDU) session to support the connection to a local data network (DN), so that the terminal device can access applications in the local DN nearby. Specifically, there can be multiple UPFs between the terminal device and the DN, and some of the UPFs can be used as an uplink classifier (ULCL) or a branching point (BP); some of the UPFs can be used as a PDU session anchor (PSA).

[0128] The functions of the xSSM include: storing / managing the subscription information of users of the service, functions such as new user account opening requests and service subscriptions.

[0129] Among them, x can be used to represent the corresponding service. x can be the name or code of the service, etc. For example, x is Sensing, or Artificial Intelligence (AI), or Data, etc. When the xSSM is the Sensing SSM, it represents the user management of the sensing service. When the xSSM is the AI SSM, it represents the user management of the artificial intelligence service.

[0130] In the embodiments of the present application, the xSSM can be co-located with the unified data management function (UDM), or the xSSM can be co-located with other storage / managing network elements, or the xSSM can be independently deployed, and there is no limitation in this regard.

[0131] The functions of the PDF include: generating policy parameters corresponding to specific service dimensions (such as each data pipeline) according to the policies of the service from the PCF, and combining information such as the actual requirements of the service and the network status, and sending them to the PEF for execution.

[0132] Exemplarily, the functions of the PDF may include: 1. If the PDF is provided in the DO / DC, the DO / DC selects to establish a data bearer according to the service in combination with the PCF policy, determines the source node and the destination node, and the PDF issues the establishment policy of the to-be-established DPID pipeline to the PEFs of the source node and the destination node (uplink and downlink) respectively; 2. Generate policies including data transmission policies, charging methods, access policies when the user is in arrears, incentive policies, etc. (For the policies at the service dimension, the PCF makes the decisions, and the PDF determines the management / policies specific to each data pipeline DP and issues them to the PEF for execution); 3. The PDF determines the quality of service value of the service and issues it to the PEFs of the source node and the destination node corresponding to the data bearer of the service.

[0133] In the embodiments of the present application, the PDF may be deployed independently, or may be deployed inside any one of a data controller (DC), a sensing service control function (SSCF), a task anchor / task scheduler (TA / TS), etc., or may be co-located with any one of a data controller (DC), a sensing service control function (SSCF), a task anchor / task scheduler (TA / TS), etc. in the same device, and there is no limitation thereto.

[0134] In the above, as a function in the data plane architecture, the DC (or DO) can be used to collect the capabilities reported by the underlying data agent (DA), and then select a suitable DA according to the service requirements in combination with the capabilities reported by the DA, and orchestrate to form a data bearer, including the topology structure, the functions of each node, etc., to complete the service. In a possible implementation manner, the DC may be deployed in the access network (which can be called the radio access network data controller RAN-DC), or may be deployed in the core network (which can be called the core network data controller CN-DC), and there is no limitation thereto.

[0135] The SSCF is a function in the sensing architecture. The functions of the SSCF include: receiving the capability registration of the sensing entity and implementing the control and orchestration of the sensing service. The SSCF can communicate with other network functions NF through a service based interface (SBI). In a possible implementation, when constructing a sensing data service architecture based on the Figure 1 shown data plane function architecture to provide data services for sensing services, the SSCF can be regarded as the DO / DC in the data plane function architecture.

[0136] TA / TS is a core function in the task architecture, which takes tasks as the central mechanism. Among them, tasks can be defined and can be completed collaboratively through four elements: computing power, algorithms, data, and connections. TA / TS is used to decompose a task into one or more subtasks and orchestrate the resources of these four elements to complete the task.

[0137] Exemplarily, after receiving the decision rule from the PCF, the PDF directly generates specific parameters for the service dimension policy according to the decision rule of the PCF, or the PDF generates specific parameters for the service dimension policy according to the decision rule of the PCF and combines the orchestration control requirements of the DC, SSCF, TA / TS, etc., and then sends them to the PEF. In addition, the PDF can be directly sent to an independent PEF, or transmitted through a network element to the built-in PEF. For example, the PDF is transmitted through the SMF to the built-in PEF of the UPF, the PDF is transmitted through the AMF to the built-in PEF of the RAN, and the PDF is transmitted through the non-access stratum NAS message to the built-in PEF such as the UE, etc., and this is not limited. Among them, the PDF can be RAN-DC or CN-DC, so that the PDF can combine the DA real-time reporting information to sense the resource changes and perform real-time policy updates, so as to realize the integration of the communication network and the service and dynamic adaptability, and the QoS supports cross-layer and cross-domain connectivity.

[0138] The functions of the PEF include: the PEF receives the policy parameters sent by the PDF and performs the collection and processing of service data, etc.

[0139] In the embodiments of the present application, the PEF can be independently deployed or built into the UE, RAN node, UPF, etc., and this is not limited.

[0140] Exemplarily, in the sensing architecture, the sensing data processing function (SDPF) is used to implement the data plane function of the sensing service. For example, the SDPF is used to process the sensing data of the sensing service to obtain the sensing result of the sensing service. Therefore, the PEF can also be built in or integrated into the SDPF. In one possible implementation, when constructing a sensing data service architecture based on the Figure 1 shown data plane function architecture to provide data services for the sensing service, the SDPF can be equivalent to the DA in the data plane function architecture.

[0141] The PEF is executed according to the service dimension. A service is provided with a bearer service by a data bearer, and the corresponding identifier of the data bearer can be the data service task identifier (DSID). A data bearer can be composed of one or more data pipelines, and each data pipeline is correspondingly identified by a DPID. The minimum granularity for the PEF to execute the policy is the data pipeline (or it can be said that the data pipeline is the basic unit for the PEF to execute the policy).

[0142] The data pipeline (with the same DPID) between the source node and the destination node that has the same Quality of Service (QoS) requirement and belongs to the same service is the minimum granularity for QoS processing. The QoS of the data pipeline can be controlled by the PDF, pre-configured, or determined or established during the establishment or modification of the IP address (DPIP) of the data pipeline. There is no specific limitation on this.

[0143] In the embodiment of the present application, there are a ground-side mapping and an air interface bearer mapping on the PEF side, which are specifically as follows:

[0144] 1. Ground-side mapping: The mapping from the data pipeline to the tunnel (at both ends of the ground side). 2. Air interface bearer mapping: The mapping from the data pipeline to the Data Radio Bearer (DRB) (i.e., the mapping between both ends of the air interface).

[0145] In the embodiment of the present application, when establishing a tunnel, the source end can add a QoS identifier / tag in the corresponding protocol layer of the data based on the transport protocol. In addition, from a terminal to the air interface, there can be multiple DRBs, and the correspondence between the DRB and the service (or data pipeline) can be 1:N.

[0146] Figure 5 Shows the position of a data forwarding protocol (DFP) layer in the data plane protocol stack, as Figure 5 shown, the data plane protocol stack can include a data forwarding protocol DFP layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer. Among them, the DFP layer includes the following two functions:

[0147] Function 1: The DFP layer at the sending end (or source end) can add an identifier / tag of the QoS corresponding to the data pipeline, such as a QoS ID, to the uplink data packet or downlink data packet. Correspondingly, the DFP layer at the receiving end (or destination end) can read the QoS identifier / tag from the uplink data packet or downlink data packet. Function 2: Map one or more data pipelines to one Data Radio Bearer (DRB).

[0148] Exemplarily, for a downlink data packet, if the source PEF sends the downlink data packet to the destination UE, or the source RAN1 node sends the downlink data packet to the destination RAN2 node, or the source NF1 node sends the downlink data packet to the destination NF2 node, then the DFP layer of the source PEF or RAN1 node or NF1 adds a QoS identifier / tag to the downlink data packet and sends the downlink data packet carrying the QoS identifier / tag.

[0149] In addition, if the intermediate node that the downlink data packet carrying the QoS identifier / tag reaches is a RAN node, then a secondary mapping (i.e., terrestrial side mapping and radio bearer mapping) is performed on the RAN side.

[0150] For an uplink data packet, if the source UE sends the uplink data packet to the destination PEF, then the UE adds a QoS identifier / tag to the uplink data packet (or the header of the uplink data packet). If the source RAN node sends the uplink data packet to the PEF, then the RAN node adds a QoS tag / tag to the uplink data packet (or the header of the uplink data packet).

[0151] In addition, if the intermediate node that the uplink data packet carrying the QoS identifier / tag reaches is a RAN node, then a secondary mapping (i.e., terrestrial side mapping and radio bearer mapping) is performed on the RAN side.

[0152] In the embodiments of the present application, the data radio bearer may also be referred to as the data radio access bearer, or other names, which is not limited thereto. The above-mentioned terrestrial side mapping and radio bearer mapping may also be named other names. For example, the radio bearer mapping may be called radio access mapping, etc., which is not limited thereto and can be correspondingly replaced according to the application scenario, as long as the substantial content expression is the same.

[0153] PCF: Used to provide user policy management, generate and manage user, session, and QoS flow processing policies. It can also provide policy decisions for new services (such as security, data, sustainability, etc.).

[0154] Specifically, PCF not only has the function of policy decision-making for connection, charging, and access (such as AM access management and UE access policy management), but also newly adds the function of policy decision-making for services such as data (such as perception, AI, network, IoT, machine-type data), security, and sustainability.

[0155] For example, as shown in Table 1, the policy content that PCF can formulate / decide not only includes policies for connection, charging, and access, but also includes policies for data, security, and sustainability. For each policy, there is a corresponding input source and output of the policy. For each policy, PCF can obtain the input information of the policy from the corresponding input source, perform policy calculation based on the input information of the policy, and determine the corresponding output of the policy.

[0156] Regarding connection strategies (such as connection + charging + access strategies): The PCF can obtain the user's subscribed information from the UDM, calculate the quality assurance for the user's Internet access, and match the "rules", where the "rules" carry the QoS parameters for the user's access services determined by the PCF. The PCF can also dynamically adjust the policy parameters according to the real-time analysis results of the NWDAF on the network status and distribute them to the SMF / AMF, UPF, or UE.

[0157] Regarding strategies beyond connection (i.e., strategies other than connection, charging, and access strategies, such as data, security, and sustainability strategies): The PCF can obtain the subscribed information of the service user from the xSSM, calculate the quality of service indicators for the service, and distribute them to the PDF. Then, the PDF combines the actual requirements of the service to generate specific service dimension policy parameters and distributes them to each PEF. Exemplarily, the PDF distributes the service dimension policy parameters along with the match and action (M&A) mechanism. The PCF can also dynamically adjust the policy parameters from the service dimension according to the real-time analysis results of the NWDAF on the network status and distribute them to each PEF. In this application, the M&A mechanism refers to setting at least one collection / filtering condition and the corresponding actions to be executed for each collection / filtering condition in the data orchestration DO or the data controller DC, and distributing the M&A to the data processing nodes. When a data packet matches a certain collection / filtering condition, the corresponding action is executed.

[0158] Table 1

[0159]

[0160] The above Table 1 is only shown as an example of some policy contents. In fact, the policy contents supported by the policy architecture proposed in the embodiments of this application may contain more or less, and will not be listed in detail here.

[0161] The above Figure 4 is only an example of a policy architecture provided in the embodiments of this application. Compared with Figure 4 the shown policy architecture, the policy architecture provided in the embodiments of this application may actually contain more or fewer functional network elements, etc. There is no limitation on this. The policy architecture provided in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other communication networks / systems / scenarios. If applied to other communication networks / systems / scenarios, Figure 4 all or some of the shown functional network elements can be correspondingly replaced. In addition, for the functional network elements in the policy architecture of the embodiments of this application, they can also be represented by other names. There is no limitation on this.

[0162] The above is a detailed introduction to the policy architecture proposed in the embodiments of this application. The embodiments of this application describe the policy architecture and business scenarios to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art know that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the policy architecture provided by the embodiments of this application is equally applicable.

[0163] In some scenarios of the embodiments of this application, the scenarios of 5G / 6G communication networks in wireless communication networks are taken as examples for illustration. It should be noted that the solutions in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other wireless communication networks, and the corresponding names can also be replaced by the names of the corresponding functions in other wireless communication networks.

[0164] The following introduces the technical solutions of this application in combination with specific embodiments.

[0165] The embodiments of this application provide a method for determining a service policy. This method is applicable to but not limited to Figure 4 the policy architecture shown. This method can be executed by the first functional network element, the second functional network element, and the execution node (such as the first source node); or this method can be executed by the components (modules, chips, etc.) corresponding to the first functional network element, the second functional network element, and the execution node; or this method can be executed by a device used in correspondence with the first functional network element, the second functional network element, and the execution node; it can be understood that this application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution entity of the method provided in the embodiments of this application and the number of each execution entity, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application by running a program recording the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following takes the interaction between the first functional network element, the second functional network element, and the first source node as an example for illustration. The order of the steps in each of the following processes is only an example. In actual applications, the order of the steps in each process can be adjusted.

[0166] Please refer to Figure 6 as shown, the specific process of this method is as follows:

[0167] S601: The first functional network element obtains the user information of the first service.

[0168] In the embodiments of this application, the first functional network element can be independently deployed in the network, or the first functional network element can be co-located with the policy control functional network element in the network, or the first functional network element can be the policy control functional network element, and there is no limitation thereto.

[0169] In addition, the first service can be one or more of but not limited to a perception service, an artificial intelligence service, a network service, an Internet of Things service, a security service, and a sustainable service.

[0170] Exemplarily, the sensing services may include services such as identification, speed measurement, distance measurement, and target positioning. The artificial intelligence services may include anomaly detection, intelligent services, intelligent orchestration and scheduling, intelligent agents, etc. The network services may include services of network operators, such as network optimization, maintenance, operation, construction, etc. The physical network services may include services such as autonomous driving or intelligent transportation systems that require analysis of data generated by sensors, machines in the IoT, networked devices or facilities in the vehicle-to-everything network, etc. The security services may include security protection, privacy protection, etc. for network elements, networks, systems, etc. The sustainable services may include services for network green energy saving, sustainability, etc.

[0171] In a possible implementation manner, the user information of the first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the user subscription information of the first service, the user account opening information of the first service, and the service subscription information of the first service.

[0172] In a possible implementation manner, the first functional network element obtains the user information of the first service, including: the first functional network element obtains the user information of the first service from the service user management network element; wherein, the service user management network element may be independently deployed in the network, or the service user management network element is co-located with the data storage network element, or the service user management network element is the data storage network element. For example, the data storage network element may be a unified data management UDM network element.

[0173] Exemplarily, the service user management (or the service user management network element) may be represented as xSSM, where x may represent the corresponding service. For example, the user management of the sensing service is represented as sensing SSM, the user management of the AI service is represented as AI SSM, and the user management of the data service is represented as data SSM.

[0174] S602: The first functional network element determines the policy information of the first service according to the user information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes the execution scope information of the first service and the service quality information of the first service.

[0175] Exemplarily, the user information of the first service may be equivalent to the input information of the policy provided by the policy input source in Table 1 above. The policy information of the first service may be equivalent to the output of the policy in Table 1 above.

[0176] In an embodiment of the present application, the execution scope of the first service may be the network area where the first service is executed, or the candidate nodes corresponding to the first service, or the candidate data pipelines corresponding to the first service, and no specific limitation is made thereto. Moreover, no limitation is made to the number of network areas where the first service is executed, the number of candidate nodes corresponding to the first service, and the number of candidate pipelines corresponding to the first service. In addition, the execution scope information of the first service may include one or more of the information of the network area of the first service, the information of the candidate nodes, and the information of the candidate data pipelines. The specific form of the execution scope information of the first service may be information, a list, or the like.

[0177] Exemplarily, the execution scope information of the first service is a list of network areas where the first service is executed, and the list may include one or more areas.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the quality of service of the first service may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the bandwidth information of the first service, the priority information of the first service, the latency information of the first service, the latency variation information of the first service, the security level information of the first service, the privacy level information of the first service, the transmission rate information of the first service, the routing information of the first service, and the key information used by the first service (such as the length and type of the key).

[0179] Exemplarily, the bandwidth information of the first service may include the type of bandwidth occupied by the first service (such as uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth), the bandwidth size, etc. The latency information of the first service may include: the maximum or minimum transmission latency (or calculation latency, or acquisition latency, etc.) supported for the first service data / information. The latency variation information of the first service may include: the offset of the transmission latency (or the offset of the calculation latency, or the offset of the acquisition latency, etc.) supported for the first service data / information. The transmission rate information of the first service may include the maximum or minimum rate for transmitting the data / information of the first service. The routing information of the first service may include the path information for transmitting the first service data (such as the addresses of the involved nodes and interfaces). The key information used by the first service may include the key type, key length, etc. used for encrypting or decrypting the data / information of the first service. The priority information of the first service may include the priority for transmitting or processing the data / information of the first service. The privacy level information of the first service may include the privacy security level or privacy risk level of the data / information of the first service.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the policy information of the first service may also include one or more of the acquisition policy information of the first service, the transfer policy information of the first service, the calculation policy information of the first service, and the security policy information of the first service, and no limitation is made thereto.

[0181] Exemplarily, the collection policy information of the first service may include the collection channels, collection methods, etc. of the data of the first service. The flow policy information of the first service may provide a composition policy for realizing the data bearing of the first service, and may include topological information such as sources, destinations, intermediate nodes, data pipelines, etc., as well as policies such as bandwidth and latency required for data to flow therein. The computing policy information of the first service may include algorithms or methods used for computing, participating nodes in the computing, computing time consumption, etc. The security policy information of the first service may include the integrity of the first service, whether the data / information of the first service is protected by privacy, etc.

[0182] S603: The first functional network element sends the policy information of the first service to the second functional network element. Correspondingly, the second functional network element receives the policy information of the first service.

[0183] In the embodiments of the present application, the second functional network element may be independently deployed in the core network, access network or network management system, or the second functional network element may be co-located with the first service network element; wherein, the first service network element may be, but is not limited to, any one of the following:

[0184] Data Controller DC (such as DC of the access network or DC of the core network), Sensing Service Control Function, Task Anchor, Task Scheduling.

[0185] S604: The second functional network element obtains the status information and / or node capability information of the network within the execution scope of the first service.

[0186] Exemplarily, the status information of the network within the execution scope of the first service may include the status information of each node, each link, etc. within the execution scope. For example, the status information of a node / link may include the address of the node / link, the load condition of the node / link, whether the node / link is occupied, whether the node / link is stable / healthy, etc., and the capability information of the node may include the service capability, computing capability, etc. of the node, which is not limited thereto.

[0187] In the embodiments of the present application, for the case where the execution scope of the first service includes the network area where the first service is executed, the second functional network element obtains the status information of the network in this network area (such as network load, link load, etc.) and / or the capability information of each node in this network area (such as the service providing capability of the node, computing capability, etc.). For the case where the execution scope of the first service includes the candidate nodes corresponding to the first service, the second functional network element can obtain the status information of these candidate nodes (such as the load of the node, whether the node is stable, etc.) and / or the capability information of these candidate nodes (such as the service providing capability of the node, computing capability). For the case where the execution scope of the first service includes the candidate data pipelines corresponding to the first service, the second functional network element can obtain the status information and / or the capability information of each node (such as one or more of the source node, intermediate node, and destination node) corresponding to these candidate data pipelines, and can also obtain the status information of these candidate data pipelines (such as the load of the data pipeline, whether it is stable, etc.). The second functional network element can flexibly obtain the status information and / or the capability information of the network within the execution scope of the first service according to the actual policy information of the first service, and no specific limitation is made thereto.

[0188] S605: The second functional network element determines the data bearer information of the first service and the quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service, the status information of the network, and / or the node capability information.

[0189] Among them, the data bearer information may include information of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope of the first service, and the quality of service information of the data bearer may include the quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline. The at least one data pipeline can be used to carry / transmit the data of the first service.

[0190] In a possible implementation manner, for the second functional network element to execute S605, it may include: determining the information of the destination node and the source node corresponding to each of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope of the first service according to the execution scope information of the first service, the status information of the network, and / or the node capability information; and then determining the quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline according to the quality of service information of the first service, the status information of the network, and / or the node capability information.

[0191] In the embodiments of the present application, the information of each data pipeline includes the information of at least one destination node and the information of at least one source node. Optionally, the information of any one or more of the at least one data pipeline further includes the information of at least one intermediate node.

[0192] Exemplarily, the information of each node may be the address information of the node, the identification information of the node, etc.

[0193] In the embodiments of the present application, the source node, the destination node, or the intermediate node can be regarded as a policy execution function network element; the policy execution function network element can be independently deployed in the network and serve the second service network element, or the policy execution function network element can be deployed in the second service network element; wherein, the second service network element can be, but is not limited to: a terminal, a radio access network node, an access and mobility management function, a session management function, a unified data repository, a user plane function, a perception data processing function.

[0194] In the embodiments of the present application, the quality of service information corresponding to each data pipeline can include, but is not limited to: the bandwidth information of the data pipeline, the priority information of the data pipeline, the delay information of the data pipeline, the delay variation information of the data pipeline (such as the delay variation amount, the delay jitter amount), the security level information of the data pipeline, the privacy level information of the data pipeline, the transmission rate information of the data pipeline, the routing information of the data pipeline, the key information used corresponding to the data pipeline. In a possible implementation manner, the second functional network element can also determine one or more of the acquisition policy information, the transfer policy information, the calculation policy information, and the security policy information corresponding to the data pipeline.

[0195] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the second functional network element sends the quality of service information of the corresponding data pipeline to each of the at least one source node according to the information of the at least one source node corresponding to each data pipeline. Wherein, the information of the source node may be the address information of the node or the identifier of the node, etc., and is not limited thereto.

[0196] The following S606 - S607 are described by taking the first source node of the first data pipeline corresponding to the first service as an example. For other source nodes of the first data pipeline or source nodes of other data pipelines, the steps executed by the first source node can be referred to for implementation, and the embodiments of the present application will not elaborate on all source nodes one by one.

[0197] S606: The second functional network element sends the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to the first source node of the first data pipeline, and the first data pipeline is any one of at least one data pipeline corresponding to the first service.

[0198] Exemplarily, the second functional network element sends the quality of service QoS value of the first data pipeline to the first source node according to the address information of the first source node of the first data pipeline.

[0199] S607: The first source node sends the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

[0200] In the embodiments of the present application, the indication information sent by the first source node for the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline may include, but is not limited to, the following implementation manners:

[0201] Implementation method 1: When the first source node is deployed in the first radio access network node, the first source node sends the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline, which may include: the first source node first maps the first data pipeline to the corresponding first communication tunnel; then through the first communication tunnel, sends the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to the second radio access network node or the core network element. Among them, the second radio access network node (or core network element) may be the destination node or intermediate node corresponding to the first data pipeline.

[0202] In the embodiments of the present application, at least one communication tunnel (including the first communication tunnel) can be established in advance, or can be established in real time, and there is no limitation in this regard. The first source node can match the corresponding communication tunnel according to the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

[0203] Exemplarily, the quality of service QoS values or quality of service QoS ranges corresponding to at least one communication tunnel (including the first communication tunnel) are set in advance; if the quality of service QoS value of the first data pipeline is the quality of service QoS value corresponding to the first communication tunnel, or the quality of service QoS value of the first data pipeline is within the quality of service QoS range corresponding to the first communication tunnel, it is determined that the communication tunnel matched by the first data pipeline is the first communication tunnel.

[0204] In a possible implementation, the first communication tunnel may also correspond to a second data pipeline, and the second data pipeline is used to carry / transmit the data of the second service.

[0205] In the embodiments of the present application, the data pipelines of the same service may correspond to the same communication tunnel, or may correspond to different communication tunnels, and the data pipelines of different services may correspond to different communication tunnels, or may correspond to the same communication tunnel, and there is no limitation in this regard.

[0206] Implementation method 2: When the first source node is deployed in the terminal, the first source node sends the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline, which may include: the first source node first maps the first data pipeline to the corresponding first data radio bearer; then through the first data radio bearer, sends the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to the radio access network node. Among them, the radio access network node may be the destination node or intermediate node corresponding to the first data pipeline.

[0207] In the embodiments of the present application, at least one data radio bearer (including the first data radio bearer) can be established in advance, or can be established in real time, and there is no limitation in this regard. The first source node can match the corresponding data radio bearer according to the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

[0208] Exemplarily, at least one data radio bearer (including the first data radio bearer) is preset with a corresponding quality of service (QoS) value or a QoS range; if the QoS value of the first data pipeline is the QoS value corresponding to the first data radio bearer, or the QoS value of the first data pipeline is within the QoS range corresponding to the first data radio bearer, it is determined that the data radio bearer matched by the first data pipeline is the first data radio bearer.

[0209] In a possible implementation manner, the first data radio bearer may also correspond to a second data pipeline, and the second data pipeline is used to carry / transmit data of a second service.

[0210] In the embodiments of the present application, data pipelines of the same service may correspond to the same data radio bearer, or may correspond to different data radio bearers, and data pipelines of different services may correspond to different data radio bearers, or may correspond to the same data radio bearer, and this is not limited.

[0211] In the embodiments of the present application, the indication information (such as the identifier, label, name, etc. of the quality of service information) of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline may be sent in the same data packet or message, or may be sent in different data packets / messages, and this is not limited. In addition, the indication information of the quality of service information of the first data pipeline may be the value corresponding to the quality of service information of the first data pipeline, or may be the identification information (such as identification ID, label, name, etc.) for identifying the quality of service information of the first data pipeline, and this is not specifically limited either.

[0212] In summary, the embodiments of the present application provide a method for determining a service policy, and the method includes: a first functional network element obtains user information of a first service; according to the user information of the first service, determines policy information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes execution scope information of the first service and quality of service information of the first service; the first functional network element then sends the policy information of the first service to a second functional network element. It can be seen that in this method, the first functional network element determines the policy information (including the quality of service information of the service and the execution scope of the service) of each service from the service dimension, so it can support providing policies for various services (including new services of communication network services) and can meet the policy requirements of various services (including new services of communication network services).

[0213] Based on the above Figure 6 described method for determining a service policy, the following is further elaborated in detail through several specific implementation manners.

[0214] Embodiment 1:

[0215] In Embodiment 1, the policy architecture of 5G is mainly compared, and the policies and mappings of services in the embodiments of the present application are introduced in detail. Taking three services as examples, Figure 7 shows a policy example diagram of three service dimensions. As Figure 7 shown in (1) therein, the ID of Service 1 is DSID1, and Service 1 corresponds to two data pipes (DSID1 / DPID1 and DSID1 / DPID2) for carrying or transmitting, and the IDs of these two data pipes are DPID1 and DPID2 respectively; among them, UE1 and UE2 are source nodes (PEF is deployed in each UE), and PEF1 is the destination node. The quality of service value of Service 1 can be set according to the requirements of Service 1, and the quality of service values of these two pipes (DPID1 and DPID2) can be set to be the same or identical, or the quality of service values of these two data pipes (DPID1 and DPID2) can be set to be different according to the actual network conditions, and there is no limit to this.

[0216] As Figure 7 shown in (2) therein, the ID of Service 2 is expressed as DSID2, and Service 2 corresponds to three data pipes (DSID2 / DPID1, DSID2 / DPID2, and DSID2 / DPID3) for carrying / transmitting, and among them, the IDs of these three data pipes are DPID1, DPID2, and DPID3 respectively. Among them, UE1, UE2, and RAN3 are source nodes (PEF is deployed in each UE and RAN3), and PEF2 is the destination node.

[0217] As Figure 7 shown in (3) therein, the ID of Service 3 is expressed as DSID3, and Service 3 corresponds to two data pipes (DSID3 / DPID1 and DSID3 / DPID2) for carrying / transmitting, and the IDs of these two data pipes are DPID1 and DPID2 respectively. UE1 and UE2 are source nodes (PEF is deployed in each UE), and RAN1 node is the destination node (PEF is deployed in RAN1).

[0218] It can be seen from Figure 7 that these three services respectively correspond to multiple source nodes, that is, there is no fixed anchor point, and the RAN (such as a base station) can be used as the source node of the service, and each service can also respectively correspond to multiple destination nodes. Figure 7 which is not shown therein and can be learned from the following Figure 9B It can be known. In addition, it can be seen from Figure 7 that one service corresponds to multiple data pipes (or multiple data pipes form a service). Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the data of one service can be transmitted or carried through one or more data pipes. For example, regarding the quality of service QoS flow in the 5G policy architecture as Figure 7A data pipeline in business 1 shown in (1) Figure 7 The service 1 shown in (1) is composed of two data pipes. As can be seen from the above, compared with the transmission of the QoS flow of 5G, the policy architecture shown in the embodiment of the present application not only has higher flexibility in the nodes for transmitting service data, but also has a finer granularity for transmitting service data.

[0219] In addition, the service quality value of each service can be obtained by PDF (the above Figure 6 The example of the second functional network element in the solution described in the example above) is sent to the corresponding source node based on a preset transmission mechanism (such as an M&A mechanism). For example, for service 2, see Figure 7 As shown in (2), PDF determines the service quality QoS values ​​of the three data pipes respectively, that is, DPID1 corresponds to QoS value 1, DPID2 corresponds to QoS value 2, and DPID3 corresponds to QoS value 3; then, PDF sends QoS value 1 to the source node UE1, PDF sends QoS value 2 to the source node UE2, and PDF sends QoS value 3 to the source node RAN3; after UE1 collects the data of service 2, it adds QoS value 1 to data packet 1 of service 2, performs air interface mapping, and sends data packet 1 to RAN1 through the corresponding air interface bearer (such as DRB1). RAN1 then performs tunnel mapping and sends data packet 1 to the destination node PEF through the corresponding tunnel. The source node UE2 is similar to UE1 and can perform mapping transmission with reference to UE1. Since the source node RAN3 does not involve air interface transmission, after RAN3 collects the data of service 2, it adds QoS value 1 to data packet 2 of service 2. RAN3 only needs to perform tunnel mapping and then send data packet 2 to the destination node PEF through the corresponding tunnel.

[0220] From above Figure 7 It can be seen that UE1 participates in three services. The mapping relationship between UE1---RAN1---PEF is taken as an example for detailed introduction.

[0221] Figure 8A The mapping relationship between UE1---RAN1---PEF is shown, as shown in Figure 8AAs shown, a first-level mapping is performed between the PEF and the RAN1, and a second-level mapping is performed between the RAN1 node and the UE. If the quality of service values corresponding to the data pipeline 1 (DSID1 / DPID1) of service 1, the data pipeline 1 (DSID2 / DPID1) of service 2, and the data pipeline 1 (DSID3 / DPID1) of service 3 are all the same, or different but close (for example, within a certain range), they can be mapped to the same Radio Bearer. If the quality of service values of the data pipelines of different services differ significantly, then they can be mapped to different Radio Bearers.

[0222] Exemplarily, taking the UE1 participating in three sensing services as an example, Figure 8B it shows the specific mapping relationship among UE1---RAN1---PEF in the policy architecture. As Figure 8BAs shown, starting from the left, the PDF sends a NAS message carrying the QoS values corresponding to each service data pipeline to the source node UE1, and sends the QoS values corresponding to each service data pipeline to the destination nodes (i.e., RAN1 and the sensing data processing function SDPF1). In addition, the SSCF also sends a Quality of Service rule (QoS rule) to UE1. On the UE1 side, according to the Quality of Service rule (QoS rule) (which is equivalent to a packet filter), the data of these three sensing services collected is subject to service identification and traffic splitting processing, and a 6QI (QoS value) is added. The data stream of each service is transmitted through the corresponding data pipeline. On the UE1 side, radio bearer mapping is performed, that is, the data pipelines of the three sensing services are mapped to the corresponding two radio bearers. For example, the data pipeline of sensing service 1 and the data pipeline of sensing service 2 are mapped to the same radio bearer DRB1, and the data pipeline of sensing service 3 is mapped to another radio bearer DRB2. The data of these three sensing services is transmitted to RAN1 through these two radio air interfaces (which can also be called DRB1 and DRB2). Since the destination node of sensing service 3 is RAN1, the data of sensing service 3 will no longer be transmitted subsequently. For DRB1 carrying the data of sensing service 1 and sensing service 2, RAN1 splits into two streams according to the Quality of Service file (Qos Profiles) (Qos Profiles includes various quality of service parameters and is used for RAN to perform radio air interface processing), that is, the streams corresponding to sensing service 1 and sensing service 2 respectively. These two streams are mapped into the tunnels corresponding to the data pipelines and sent to SDPF1 (equivalent to the destination node PEF1 of sensing service 1 and the destination node PEF2 of sensing service 2 are both deployed in SDPF1). SDPF1 then uses the QoS value corresponding to the data pipeline of sensing service 1 to allocate transmission resources (such as bandwidth, delay, priority, etc.) for the stream of sensing service 1, and uses the QoS value corresponding to the data pipeline of sensing service 2 to allocate transmission resources (such as bandwidth, delay, priority, etc.) for the stream of sensing service 2.

[0223] The above Figure 8A and Figure 8B both take UE1 participating in three services as an example to introduce the mapping relationship among UE1---RAN1---PEF). When transmitting service data between other source nodes and destination nodes, the executed mapping relationship can be referred to the above, and will not be elaborated one by one here.

[0224] Exemplarily, refer to Figure 2B the 5G policy architecture shown and Figure 8BThe policy architecture proposed in this application as shown below demonstrates the differences between the policy architecture of the embodiments of this application and the current 5G policy architecture in terms of policy content, QoS granularity, policy distribution point, policy execution point, policy input, service traffic splitting / QoS tagging, default bearer, and session in Table 2 below.

[0225] As shown in Table 2, for policy content, compared with the 5G policy architecture, the policy architecture proposed in this application adds new policy content of security + data + sustainability. For Quality of Service (QoS) granularity, compared with the 5G service quality flow, the policy architecture proposed in this application realizes the transmission of service data through data pipelines. For the policy distribution point, the policy distribution point of the policy architecture proposed in this application adds a PDF for services beyond connections. For the policy execution point, for the part beyond connections, the execution point of the secondary mapping in the policy architecture proposed in this application is a non-anchor point, multi-source, multi-destination node, with higher mapping flexibility. For the policy input source, the policy architecture proposed in this application adds xSSM, and NWDAF adds functions such as network situation and security analysis, and sustainability analysis. For service traffic splitting / QoS tagging, in the policy architecture proposed in this application, traffic splitting is performed according to the service dimension (services collaborated by multiple UEs, base stations, NFs, etc.). In addition, due to the global view, when matching the data source transmission mechanism M&A, the indication information of the quality of service information (such as Qos identifier / tag) can be added, and the indication information of the quality of service information can be added to the DFP data forwarding protocol. For the default bearer, compared with the 5G PCC architecture, there is no default bearer in the policy architecture proposed in this application. For the session, the policy architecture proposed in this application is not limited to UE-RAN-UPF and can also be divided into UE-RAN, RAN-RAN, RAN-CN, NF-NF, etc., with more flexible transmission.

[0226] Table 2

[0227]

[0228]

[0229] Embodiment 2:

[0230] Based on Figure 6 the method described above, in Embodiment 2, taking the AI training service as a specific example of the first service, the process of determining the policy for the AI training service is introduced in detail. Refer to Figure 9A As shown below, the process of determining the policy for the AI training service is as follows:

[0231] S901A: The service requester (user) registers and subscribes to xSSM.

[0232] S901A is the initial stage where the user registers and signs a contract with the xSSM.

[0233] Exemplarily, the process for a service requester (user) to register, sign a contract, and subscribe to services with the xSSM may include the following steps:

[0234] Step 1: The service requester (user) sends user account opening request information to the xSSM;

[0235] Step 2: The xSSM performs verification of the user's qualifications and creates a customer;

[0236] Through this Step 2, the xSSM can generate user level information.

[0237] Step 3: The xSSM sends confirmation information of the account opening request to the service requester (user);

[0238] Step 4: The service requester (user) sends AI service subscription request information to the xSSM;

[0239] Step 5: The xSSM generates an AI service ID (or the ID of the AI training service), service type, region, and AI-related service policies, etc. according to the AI service subscription request information; among them, the AI-related service policies may include the amount of entity data provided for the AI service, the network function (NF) for providing the AI service, the type of the model, the accuracy of the model, the time limit for the AI service, bandwidth, time period, and incentive policies, etc.

[0240] Step 6: The xSSM sends confirmation information of the AI service subscription request to the service requester (user) to notify the service requester (user) that the AI service subscription is successful.

[0241] S902A: The service requester (user) instructs the AF to activate the AI service.

[0242] S903A: The AF sends request information for the AI training service to the DO / DC. Correspondingly, the DO / DC receives the request information for the AI training service.

[0243] Among them, the request information for the AI training service (an example of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme) carries the ID of the AI training service.

[0244] In the second embodiment, as Figure 9B shown, the PDF is integrated in the DC or DO.

[0245] Through S903A, the user can request the AI training service from the DO / DC.

[0246] S904A: DO / DC sends a request message for user subscription information to xSSM. Correspondingly, xSSM receives the request message for user subscription information.

[0247] Optionally, the request message for user subscription information carries the ID of the AI training service.

[0248] Exemplarily, x in xSSM represents the AI training service.

[0249] S905A: xSSM sends user subscription information to DO / DC. Correspondingly, DO / DC receives the user subscription information.

[0250] The subscription information of this user (an example of the user information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme) may include AI-related service policies, user level information, etc. After obtaining the user subscription information, DO / DC can also obtain the location information carried by the service requester (user) when going online (for example, the location information of the cell where the service requester is located when accessing the network), etc.

[0251] S906A: DO / DC sends user information to PCF. Correspondingly, PCF receives the user information (an example of the user information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme).

[0252] The user information includes user subscription information and the location information carried by the user (requester) when going online, etc.

[0253] S907A: PCF generates a policy for the AI training service based on the user information (an example of the policy information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme).

[0254] The policy for the AI training service includes: the execution scope information of the AI training service, quality of service information, etc.

[0255] S908A: PCF sends the policy for the AI training service to DO / DC. Correspondingly, DO / DC receives the policy for the AI training service.

[0256] S909A: DO / DC selects appropriate clients and servers according to the policy for the AI training service, and determines the data bearer information (an example of the execution scope information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme) and the corresponding QoS value (an example of the quality of service information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme).

[0257] In a possible implementation, the DO / DC selects a suitable client (which can be regarded as the source node for collecting AI data) based on the capability information reported by each NF within the execution scope, and designs the data bearer, that is, designs at least one pipeline. The PDF determines the source node and destination node corresponding to each pipeline and the QoS value of each pipeline.

[0258] For example, referring to Figure 9B As shown, the PDF is deployed in the DO / DC. The DO / DC selects the AMF, SMF, unified data repository (UDR), and UPF as clients (which can be regarded as the source nodes of the pipeline), and the dNWDAF as the server (which can be regarded as the destination node of the pipeline).

[0259] In the above, the PCF is an example of the first functional network element in the above Figure 6 scheme. The DO / DC is an example of the second functional network element in the above Figure 6 scheme.

[0260] S910A: The DO / DC sends the QoS value of the corresponding pipeline to the dNWDAF, AMF, SMF, UDR, and UPF respectively.

[0261] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 9B As shown, the AMF can build a pipeline 1 (corresponding to QoS value 1) with the dNWDAF, the SMF can build a pipeline 2 (corresponding to QoS value 2) with the dNWDAF, the UDR can build a pipeline 3 (corresponding to QoS value 3) with the dNWDAF, and the UPF can build a pipeline 4 (corresponding to QoS value 4) with the dNWDAF. The DO / DC sends the QoS value 1 to the AMF, the QoS value 2 to the SMF, the QoS value 3 to the UDR, and the QoS value 4 to the UPF. The DO / DC can also send the QoS values of these pipelines to the dNWDAF.

[0262] Optionally, the DO / DC also sends the ID of the AI service or the ID of pipeline 1 to the AMF, also sends the ID of the AI service or the ID of pipeline 2 to the SMF, also sends the ID of the AI service or the ID of pipeline 3 to the UDR, and also sends the ID of the AI service or the ID of pipeline 4 to the UPF. Optionally, the DO / DC can also send the IDs of these pipelines to the dNWDAF. That is, the data bearer formed by Figure 9B the DSID1 / DPID1 - 4 shown in

[0263] Exemplarily, in the above, the DO / DC can send the corresponding QoS value, the ID of the service, or the ID of the pipeline to the AMF, SMF, UDR, and dNWDAF through the M&A mechanism.

[0264] S911A: The client AMF, SMF, UDR, and UPF respectively send corresponding model data packets carrying QoS value tags to the server dNWDAF.

[0265] See Figure 9B As shown, after the local model training of AMF, SMF, UDR, and UPF is completed respectively, the corresponding model data packets are obtained, the identifiers / tags of the corresponding QoS values are added to the packet headers of the model data packets, and then they are uploaded to the server dNWDAF respectively based on DSID / DPID.

[0266] For example, after the local training of AMF, the model data packet 1 is obtained, and the ID of QoS value 1 is added to the packet header of the model data packet 1. After the local training of SMF, the model data packet 2 is obtained, and the ID of QoS value 2 is added to the packet header of the model data packet 2. After the local training of UDR, the model data packet 3 is obtained, and the ID of QoS value 3 is added to the packet header of the model data packet 3. After the local training of UPF, the model data packet 4 is obtained, and the ID of QoS value 4 is added to the packet header of the model data packet 4.

[0267] Furthermore, based on the ID of pipeline 1, AMF sends the model data packet 1 (carrying the ID of QoS value 1) to the server dNWDAF. Based on the ID of pipeline 2, SMF sends the model data packet 2 (carrying the ID of QoS value 2) to the server dNWDAF. Based on the ID of pipeline 3, UDR sends the model data 3 (carrying the ID of QoS value 3) to the server dNWDAF. Based on the ID of pipeline 4, AMF sends the model data 4 (carrying the ID of QoS value 4) to the server dNWDAF.

[0268] S912A: After the server dNWDAF performs model aggregation, the aggregated model data packet is obtained, and then the aggregated model data packet is distributed to each client.

[0269] For example, the server dNWDAF performs model aggregation based on the model data packet 1, the model data packet 2, the model data packet 3, and the model data packet 4 to obtain the aggregated model data packet. dNWDAF adds the ID of QoS value 1 to the packet header of the aggregated model data packet and sends it to AMF. dNWDAF adds the ID of QoS value 2 to the packet header of the aggregated model data packet and sends it to SMF. dNWDAF adds the ID of QoS value 3 to the packet header of the aggregated model data packet and sends it to UDR. dNWDAF adds the ID of QoS value 4 to the packet header of the aggregated model data packet and sends it to UPF.

[0270] In the above Embodiment 2, applying a policy architecture proposed in an embodiment of the present application to the network scenario of the AI training service can effectively formulate policies for the AI training service and can effectively implement the policies of the AI training service.

[0271] Embodiment 3:

[0272] Based on Figure 6 the method described above, in Embodiment 3, taking the sensing service as a specific example of the first service, the process of determining the policy for the sensing service is introduced in detail. See Figure 10A as shown in

[0273] S1001A: The data consumer (e.g., APP) registers and subscribes to the xSSM.

[0274] S1001A is the initial stage, where the data consumer (APP) registers and subscribes to the xSSM.

[0275] Exemplarily, x in xSSM represents the sensing service, then xSSM is a function or network element that provides user management services for the sensing service.

[0276] Exemplarily, the process of the data consumer (APP) registering and subscribing to the xSSM and subscribing to services may include the following steps:

[0277] Step 1: The data consumer (APP) sends a user account opening request message to the xSSM;

[0278] Step 2: The xSSM performs verification of user qualifications and creates a customer;

[0279] Through this Step 2, the xSSM can generate user level information.

[0280] Step 3: The xSSM sends a confirmation message for the account opening request to the data consumer (APP);

[0281] Step 4: The data consumer (APP) sends a sensing service subscription request message to the xSSM;

[0282] Step 5: The xSSM generates a sensing service ID (or the ID of the sensing service), the sensing service type, the region, etc., as well as the sensing service policy according to the request message for the sensing service subscription; among them, the sensing service policy may include: the region information for the execution of the sensing service (e.g., the region where the entity providing the sensing service is located, etc.), the transmission policy (e.g., the maximum bandwidth, the guaranteed bandwidth, the maximum repetition period, the minimum delay, etc.), the acquisition policy (e.g., the number of measured sensing signals, the maximum time interval, real-time / non-real-time), the transfer policy (e.g., the topology information of the source, destination, intermediate nodes, data pipelines, etc., and the bandwidth, delay, etc. required for the data to flow therein).

[0283] Step 6: The xSSM sends a confirmation message for the sensing service subscription request to the data consumer (APP) to notify the data consumer (APP) that the sensing service subscription is successful.

[0284] S1002A: The data consumer (APP) instructs the AF to activate the sensing service.

[0285] S1003A: The AF sends a request message for the sensing service to the SSCF. Correspondingly, the SSCF receives the request message for the sensing service.

[0286] Optionally, the request message for the sensing service may include the ID of the sensing service.

[0287] As Figure 10B shown, the SSCF is equivalent to the DO / DC in the data plane functional architecture. The PDF can be integrated within the sensing service control function SSCF, and the PEF can be integrated within the SDPF, RAN node, and UE. Among them, the SDPF can be used to collect sensing data from other nodes (such as RAN nodes and UEs), process it to obtain the sensing result data, and then report it uniformly.

[0288] S1004A: The SSCF sends a request message for the user subscription information to the xSSM. Correspondingly, the xSSM receives the request message for the user subscription information.

[0289] Optionally, the request message for the user subscription information may include the ID of the sensing service.

[0290] S1005A: The xSSM sends the user subscription information to the SSCF. Correspondingly, the SSCF receives the user subscription information.

[0291] The SSCF obtains the user subscription information and may also obtain location information carried when the data consumer (APP) goes online, etc.

[0292] S1006A: The SSCF sends the user information (an example of the user information of the first service in the above Figure 6 described solution) to the PCF.

[0293] The user information includes the user subscription information and location information carried when the data consumer (APP) goes online, etc.

[0294] S1007A: The PCF generates a policy for the sensing service (an example of the policy information of the first service in the above Figure 6 described solution) according to the user information.

[0295] The policies for perception services may include: regional information for the execution of perception services (such as the region where the entity providing the perception service is located, etc.), transmission policies (such as maximum bandwidth, guaranteed bandwidth, maximum repetition period, minimum latency, etc.), acquisition policies (such as the number of perceived signals measured, maximum time interval, real-time / non-real-time), and transfer policies (such as topological information of source nodes, destination nodes, intermediate nodes, data pipelines, etc., and the bandwidth, latency, etc. required for data to flow therein).

[0296] S1008A: The PCF sends the policies for perception services to the SSCF. Correspondingly, the SSCF receives the policies for perception services.

[0297] S1009A: The SSCF selects the source node RAN, UE, and destination node SDPF according to the policies for perception services, and determines the data bearer information (an example of the execution scope information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme) and the corresponding QoS value (an example of the service quality information of the first service in the above Figure 6 scheme).

[0298] In a possible implementation, the SSCF (integrating the PDF) selects a suitable source node (such as RAN, UE) and destination node (SDPF) according to the capability information reported by each node within the execution scope of the perception service, and designs the data bearer, that is, designs at least one pipeline, determines the source node and destination node corresponding to each pipeline, and the QoS value of each pipeline.

[0299] For example, the SSCF determines that RAN and SDPF are constructed as a pipeline 1, and UE and SDPF are constructed as a pipeline 2. The SSCF also determines the QoS value 1 of pipeline 1 and the QoS value 2 of pipeline 2.

[0300] Among them, the PCF is an example of the first functional network element in the above Figure 6 scheme, and the SSCF is an example of the second functional network element in the above Figure 6 scheme.

[0301] S1010A: The SSCF sends the QoS values of the corresponding pipelines to the RAN, UE, and SDPF respectively.

[0302] For example, the SSCF determines that the RAN and the SDPF are constructed as a pipeline 1, and the UE and the SDPF are constructed as a pipeline 2. The SSCF also determines the QoS value 1 of pipeline 1 and the QoS value 2 of pipeline 2. The SSCF sends the QoS value 1 of pipeline 1 to the RAN. Optionally, the SSCF also sends the ID of pipeline 1 to the RAN. The SSCF sends the QoS value 2 of pipeline 2 to the UE. Optionally, the SSCF also sends the ID of pipeline 2 to the UE. Here, the SSCF sends the QoS value 1 and the QoS value 2 to the SDPF. Optionally, the SSCF also sends the ID of pipeline 1 and the ID of pipeline 2 to the SDPF.

[0303] In this embodiment, there is no specific limitation on the time sequence of the SSCF sending the QoS value of the corresponding pipeline, and / or the ID of the corresponding pipeline, to the RAN, the UE, and the SDPF respectively.

[0304] S1011A: After the RAN executes the sensing reception task, it obtains the sensing data packet 1, and adds the ID or label of the QoS value to the header of the sensing data packet 1.

[0305] S1012A: After the UE executes the sensing reception task, it obtains the sensing data packet 2, and adds the ID or label of the QoS value to the header of the sensing data packet 2.

[0306] S1011A and S1012A can be executed synchronously or asynchronously, and there is no specific limitation on the execution sequence.

[0307] S1013A: The RAN executes tunnel mapping and sends the sensing data packet 1 (carrying the ID or label of the QoS value) to the SDPF through the corresponding tunnel.

[0308] S1014A: The UE executes DRB mapping and sends the sensing data packet 2 (carrying the ID or label of the QoS value) to the RAN through the corresponding DRB.

[0309] S10013A and S1014A can be executed synchronously or asynchronously, and there is no specific limitation on the execution sequence.

[0310] S1015A: The RAN executes tunnel mapping and sends the sensing data packet 2 (carrying the ID or label of the QoS value) to the SDPF through the corresponding tunnel.

[0311] S1016A: The SDPF processes the sensing data according to the sensing data packet 1 and the sensing data packet 2, and obtains the sensing result.

[0312] The SDPF sends the sensing result (or measurement data, or raw data, etc.) to the AF, and then the AF forwards it to the user (i.e., the data consumer).

[0313] In addition, after the SSCF confirms the completion of the sensing task, it deletes the data bearer information.

[0314] In the above Embodiment 3, applying a policy architecture proposed in an embodiment of the present application to the network scenario of the sensing service can effectively formulate policies for the sensing service and effectively implement the policies of the sensing service.

[0315] In the above embodiments provided by the present application, the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of the interaction between various devices. To implement each function in the methods provided by the above embodiments of the present application, the first functional network element or the second functional network element or the first source node may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether a certain function among the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution.

[0316] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, each functional module may be integrated in a processor, may exist independently physically, or two or more modules may be integrated in one module. The above integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0317] Similar to the above concept, as Figure 11 shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100 for implementing the functions of the first functional network element or the second functional network element or the first source node in the above method. For example, the communication device 1100 may be a software module or a chip system. In an embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. The communication device 1100 may include: a communication unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102.

[0318] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication unit 1101 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, which are respectively used to execute the sending and receiving steps of the first functional network element or the second functional network element or the first source node in the above method embodiments. The processing unit 1102 may be used to read instructions and / or data in the storage module, so that the communication device 1100 implements the foregoing method embodiments.

[0319] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a storage unit 1103, and the storage unit 1103 is equivalent to a storage module and may be used to store instructions and / or data.

[0320] Hereinafter, in combination with Figures 11 to 12A communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for the content not described in detail, reference may be made to the above text. Figure 6 and Figure 9A as well as Figure 10A For the method embodiments described above, for the sake of brevity, they will not be elaborated here.

[0321] The communication unit 1101 can also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver unit, a transceiver device, etc. The processing unit can also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Optionally, the devices in the communication unit 1101 used to implement the receiving function can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the devices in the communication unit 1101 used to implement the sending function can be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the communication unit 1101 includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit can sometimes also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiving unit can sometimes also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver unit, or a receiving circuit, etc. The sending unit can sometimes also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter unit, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0322] When the communication device 1100 executes the first functional network element in the process shown in the above embodiment Figure 6 : The communication unit 1101 is used to obtain user information of the first service; the processing unit 1102 is used to determine policy information of the first service according to the user information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes execution scope information of the first service and quality of service information of the first service; the communication unit 1101 is further used to send the policy information of the first service to the second functional network element.

[0323] When the communication device 1100 executes the second functional network element in the process shown in the above embodiment Figure 6 : The communication unit 1101 is used to receive the policy information of the first service from the first functional network element, and the policy information of the first service includes execution scope information of the first service and quality of service information of the first service; the communication unit 1101 is further used to obtain status information of the network within the execution scope and / or node capability information; the processing unit 1102 is used to determine data bearer information of the first service and quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service and the status information of the network and / or node capability information; the information of the data bearer includes information of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope, and the quality of service information of the data bearer includes quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline.

[0324] When the communication device 1100 executes the above embodiment Figure 6When it is the first source node in the process shown: the communication unit 1101, the communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the quality of service information of the first data pipeline from the second functional network element; the first data pipeline is any one of at least one data pipeline corresponding to the first service; the communication unit 1101 is further configured to send an indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline. The processing unit 1102 is configured to control / indicate the communication unit 1101 to perform the sending and / or receiving functions and the processing of data and / or information.

[0325] The above is just an example. The processing unit 1102 and the communication unit 1101 can also perform other functions. For more detailed descriptions, reference can be made to Figure 6 and Figure 9A as well as Figure 10A the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown, which will not be elaborated here.

[0326] Such as Figure 12 shown is the communication device 1200 provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 12 The communication device shown can be Figure 11 a hardware circuit implementation manner of the communication device shown. The communication device 1200 can be applied to the flowchart shown above to perform the functions of the first functional network element or the second functional network element or the first source node in the above method embodiments. For the sake of convenience of description, Figure 12 only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0327] Such as Figure 12 shown, the communication device 1200 includes a communication interface 1201 and a processor 1202. The communication interface 1201 and the processor 1202 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the communication interface 1201 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface, or can also be an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include a memory 1203, which is used to store the instructions executed by the processor 1202 or store the input data required for the processor 1202 to run the instructions or store the data generated after the processor 1202 runs the instructions.

[0328] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement Figure 6 and Figure 9A as well as Figure 10A the method shown, the communication interface 1201 is used to implement the function of the above communication unit 1101, and the processor 1202 is used to implement the function of the above processing unit 1102.

[0329] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the above communication interface 1201, processor 1202 and memory 1203 is not limited. The embodiments of the present application are in Figure 12In the Zhongyi, the memory 1203, the processor 1202, and the communication interface 1201 are connected through the communication bus 1204. The communication bus 1204 is Figure 12 represented by a thick line in the Zhongyi. The connection manners between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not restrictive. The communication bus 1204 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 12 it is only represented by a thick line in the Zhongyi, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0330] When the above communication device is a chip, Figure 13 a schematic diagram of the device structure of a simplified chip is shown. The chip 1300 includes an interface circuit 1301 and one or more processors 1302. Optionally, the chip 1300 may further include a bus. Among them:

[0331] The processor 1302 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method for determining the perception service policy can be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor 1302 or the instructions in software form. The above processor 1302 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods and steps disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0332] The interface circuit 1301 can be used for sending or receiving data, instructions, or information. The processor 1302 can use the data, instructions, or other information received by the interface circuit 1301 for processing, and can send the processed information through the interface circuit 1301.

[0333] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory 1303. The memory 1303 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide operation instructions and data to the processor. A part of the memory 1303 may further include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

[0334] Optionally, the memory stores executable software modules or data structures, and the processor can execute corresponding operations by calling the operation instructions stored in the memory (the operation instructions can be stored in the operating system).

[0335] Optionally, the chip can be used in the first functional network element, the second functional network element, or the first source node involved in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the interface circuit 1301 can be used to output the execution result of the processor 1302. For the method for determining the perception service policy provided by one or more embodiments of the present application, reference can be made to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0336] It should be noted that the functions corresponding to the interface circuit 1301 and the processor 1302 can be implemented through hardware design, can also be implemented through software design, or can be implemented through a combination of software and hardware, which is not limited here.

[0337] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by the first functional network element, the second functional network element, or the first source node in the above method embodiments are stored.

[0338] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the methods executed by the first functional network element, the second functional network element, or the first source node in the above method embodiments.

[0339] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product containing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a computer, the computer implements the methods executed by the first functional network element, the second functional network element, or the first source node in the above method embodiments.

[0340] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, including a processor, for calling the computer program or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor executes the above Figure 6 , Figure 9A and Figure 10A shown method for determining the perception service policy of the embodiments.

[0341] In a possible implementation manner, the input of the chip corresponds to the receiving operations in the above Figure 6 , Figure 9A and Figure 10A shown embodiments, and the output of the chip corresponds to the sending operations in the above Figure 6 , Figure 9A and Figure 10A shown embodiments.

[0342] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory through an interface.

[0343] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory which stores a computer program or computer instructions.

[0344] Wherein, the processor mentioned anywhere above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for executing a program of a method for determining a perception service policy of the embodiments shown above. The memory mentioned anywhere above can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc. Figure 6 , Figure 9A and Figure 10A For ease of description and brevity, the explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant content in any of the above communication devices can refer to the corresponding embodiments of the method for determining the perception service policy provided above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0345] In this application, between communication devices, there may further be a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. Among them, the hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and a memory (also known as the main memory). The operating system of the operating system layer can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement service processing through processes, for example, Linux operating system, Unix operating system, Android operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows operating system, etc. The application layer may include applications such as a browser, an address book, a word processing software, an instant messaging software, etc.

[0346] In the embodiments of this application, the division of modules is illustrative, merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Additionally, in each embodiment of this application, the various functional modules can be integrated in one processor, can also exist separately physically, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0347] In the embodiments of this application, the division of modules is illustrative, merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Additionally, in each embodiment of this application, the various functional modules can be integrated in one processor, can also exist separately physically, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0348] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes computer storage media and communication media, where the communication media includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example but not limitation: the computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-Only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer. In addition. Any connection can suitably be a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave from a website, server, or other remote source, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used in the embodiments of the present application, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where a disk typically magnetically replicates data, while a disc optically replicates data using a laser. The above combinations should also be included within the scope of protection of the computer-readable medium.

[0349] In summary, the above are only the embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made in accordance with the disclosure of the present application shall be included within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for determining a business strategy, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first functional network element and includes: Obtaining user information of a first service; Determining policy information of the first service according to the user information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes execution scope information of the first service and quality of service information of the first service; Sending the policy information of the first service to a second functional network element.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The user information of the first service includes one or more of the following: User subscription information of the first service, user account opening information of the first service, service subscription information of the first service.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The obtaining of the user information of the first service includes: obtaining the user information of the first service from a service user management network element; The service user management network element is independently deployed in the network, or the service user management network element is co-located with a data storage network element, or the service user management network element is the data storage network element.

4. A method for determining a business strategy, characterized in that The method is applied to a second functional network element and includes: Receiving the policy information of the first service from the first functional network element, where the policy information of the first service includes execution scope information of the first service and quality of service information of the first service; Obtaining status information of the network within the execution scope and / or node capability information; Determining data bearer information of the first service and quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service and the status information of the network and / or the node capability information; the information of the data bearer includes information of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope, and the quality of service information of the data bearer includes quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The determining of the data bearer information of the first service and the quality of service information of the data bearer according to the policy information of the first service and the status information of the network and / or the node capability information includes: Determining information of destination nodes and source nodes corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline within the execution scope according to the execution scope information of the first service, the status information of the network and / or the node capability information; Determining quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline according to the quality of service information of the first service, the status information of the network and / or the node capability information.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The information of each data pipeline includes information of at least one destination node and information of at least one source node; the method further includes: Sending, according to the information of at least one source node corresponding to each data pipeline, quality of service information corresponding to the data pipeline to the at least one source node.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The information of the data pipeline further includes information of at least one intermediate node located within the execution scope.

8. A method for determining a service strategy, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first source node of a first data pipeline and includes: Receiving the quality of service information of the first data pipeline from the second functional network element; the first data pipeline is any one of at least one data pipeline corresponding to the first service; Sending an indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline is located in the same data packet.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, When the first source node is deployed in the first radio access network node, the sending of the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline includes: Mapping the first data pipeline to a corresponding first communication tunnel; Sending, through the first communication tunnel, the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to a second radio access network node or a core network element; Wherein, the second radio access network node and the core network element are destination nodes or intermediate nodes corresponding to the first data pipeline.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, When the first source node is deployed in a terminal, the sending of the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline includes: Mapping the first data pipeline to a corresponding first data radio bearer; Sending, through the first data radio bearer, the indication information of the data of the first service and the quality of service information of the first data pipeline to a radio access network node; the radio access network node is a destination node or an intermediate node corresponding to the first data pipeline.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein The first communication tunnel also corresponds to a second data pipeline, and the second data pipeline is used to transmit data of a second service.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first data radio bearer also corresponds to a second data pipeline, and the second data pipeline is used to transmit data of a second service.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The quality of service information of the first service includes one or more of the following: The bandwidth information of the first service, the priority information of the first service, the delay information of the first service, the delay variation information of the first service, the security level information of the first service, the privacy level information of the first service, the transmission rate information of the first service, the routing information of the first service, the key information used by the first service.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, 14, characterized in that, The policy information of the first service further includes one or more of the following: The collection policy information of the first service, the flow policy information of the first service, the calculation policy information of the first service, the security policy information of the first service.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, 14, and 15, characterized in that The first functional network element is independently deployed, or the first functional network element is co-located with a policy control functional network element, or the first functional network element is a policy control functional network element.

17. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 13, characterized in that, The node is a policy enforcement functional network element; The policy enforcement functional network element is independently deployed and serves a second service network element, or the policy enforcement functional network element is deployed in the second service network element; the second service network element is any one of the following: A terminal, a radio access network node, an access and mobility management function, a session management function, a unified data repository, a user plane function, a perception data processing function.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, The second functional network element is independently deployed in the core network or the access network or the network management system, or the second functional network element is co-located with a first service network element; the first service network element is any one of the following: A data controller, a perception service control function, a task anchor, a task scheduler.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that, The first service includes one or more of the following: Perception services, artificial intelligence services, network services, Internet of Things services, security services, sustainable services.

20. A communication system, characterized in that, Including: The first functional network element and the second functional network element; The first functional network element is used to obtain user information of the first service; According to the user information of the first service, determine the policy information of the first service; the policy information of the first service includes the execution scope information of the first service and the quality of service information of the first service; Send the policy information of the first service to the second functional network element; The second functional network element is used to obtain the status information of the network within the execution scope and / or node capability information; According to the policy information of the first service and the status information of the network and / or node capability information, determine the data bearer information of the first service and the quality of service information of the data bearer; the data bearer information includes information of at least one data pipeline within the execution scope, and the quality of service information of the data bearer includes the quality of service information corresponding to each of the at least one data pipeline.

21. The communication system according to claim 20, characterized in that, The first functional network element is further used to execute the method according to any one of claims 2-3 and 14-16, 18-19; the second functional network element is further used to execute the method according to any one of claims 5-7 and 14-19.

22. The communication system according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, It further includes at least one destination node and at least one source node corresponding to each data pipeline; any one of the at least one source nodes executes the method according to any one of claims 8-13, 17-19.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-3 and 14-16, 18-19; or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 4-7 and 14-19; or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 8-13, 17-19.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Stores a computer program or instruction, and the computer program or instruction is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program, and when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

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