Configurable granularity for measuring and reporting transmission latency in wireless networks

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems and methods, and in particular to monitoring and reporting of uplink and downlink data transmission latencies according to configurable timing and data granularity. Various example implementations disclosed herein provide mechanisms for the network side of a wireless network system to flexibly configure monitoring, measuring, calculating, and reporting of information related to downlink and uplink data transmission latencies among various network nodes, devices, and entities, and in coordination between the control plane and user plane of the wireless network.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Technical Field The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication systems and methods, and in particular to monitoring and reporting of uplink and downlink data transmission delays in accordance with configurable timing and data granularity. [Background Art]

[0002] Background Data transmission between a wireless terminal and a core network in a wireless communication system may depend on both an over-the-air wireless communication interface between the wireless terminal and a radio access network node, and one or more communication interfaces between the radio access network node and the core network. End-to-end time delay or latency for such data transmission (the two terms are used interchangeably in the present disclosure) constitutes an important performance indicator of wireless communication systems, especially for ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) applications. Effective monitoring and reporting of such end-to-end communication delay facilitates diagnosis and improvement of wireless network transmission functions. [Summary of Invention] [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0003] Summary This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication systems and methods, and more particularly to the monitoring and reporting of uplink and downlink data transmission delays according to configurable timing and data granularity. The various exemplary implementations disclosed herein provide mechanisms for the network side of a wireless network system to flexibly configure the monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting of information related to downlink and uplink data transmission latency, among various network nodes, devices, and entities, and in coordination between the control plane and user plane of the wireless network. The disclosed implementations provide a configurable network latency segmentation scheme, in addition to a format for monitoring / measuring / calculating / reporting configurable timing, data or data flow granularity, content, and associated latency information. Thus, various network devices or nodes are coordinated under adaptive configuration by the network to efficiently monitor, measure, calculate, and report latency information tailored to the needs of specific applications and specific data communication sessions. Dedicated protocol data units (PDUs) are also designed and constructed for reporting latency information in the user plane.

[0004] In several exemplary implementations, a method is disclosed for a wireless access network node of a wireless network to provision data transmission delay between a wireless terminal device and a core network. The method may include receiving a transmission delay configuration from the core network, the transmission delay configuration specifying at least one of a transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme from among a plurality of segmentation schemes, or a monitoring / reporting configuration for data transmission delay from among a plurality of monitoring / reporting configurations. The method may further include transmitting at least a portion of the transmission delay configuration to a wireless terminal device, receiving transmission delay information items from the wireless terminal device during a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device, and generating and transmitting a report to the core network based on the transmission delay information items according to the transmission delay configuration.

[0005] In the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme may include either an end-to-end delay scheme or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay scheme.

[0006] In any of the above implementation forms, the monitoring / reporting configuration includes at least one of the following: a reporting timing configuration, a reporting granularity configuration, or a data packet transmission timestamp scheme.

[0007] In any of the above implementation configurations, the reporting timing configuration indicates either the reporting frequency or the reporting time period.

[0008] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as at least one of the following: average data packet delay, packet delay, packet delay distribution, or packet delay distribution formula information.

[0009] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as a packet delay distribution, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, the uplink PDU session frame containing a first field indicating the number of delay ranges, and a plurality of blocks of the field, each block of the field containing the number of packets having latency values ​​that fall into one of the delay ranges.

[0010] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution formula information, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, and the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, a second field for indicating the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula, and a block of fields containing the values ​​of the number of parameters.

[0011] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as a per-packet delay, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, the PDU session frame containing a first field indicating the number of per-packet delay samples and a number of second fields, each containing a per-packet delay sample.

[0012] In any of the above implementation forms, the data packet transmission timestamp method indicates either including a transmission timestamp in the data packet header or including a transmission timestamp in the packet data convergence protocol header.

[0013] In any of the above implementation configurations, data transmission delay is associated with the user plane of the wireless network.

[0014] In any of the above implementation configurations, the data transmission delay includes the downlink user plane data transmission delay.

[0015] In any of the above implementation forms, the method further comprises relaying at least one downlink data packet from the core network to a wireless terminal device, wherein the transmission delay information item associated with at least one downlink data packet includes end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with at least one downlink data packet, which is received from the wireless terminal device within the control plane of the wireless access network node and calculated by the wireless terminal device.

[0016] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item is received within the control plane of the radio access network node as part of the radio resource control (RRC) measurement report.

[0017] In any of the above implementations, generating and transmitting a report to the core network includes inserting the report into an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) message and transmitting the NGAP message to the core network within the control plane.

[0018] In any of the above implementation forms, generating a report and transmitting it to the core network includes inserting the report into an E1 Application Protocol (E1AP) message in the control plane and transmitting the E1AP message to the user plane of the radio access network node, extracting the report from the E1AP message and inserting the report into a PDU session information PDU in the user plane of the radio access network node, and transmitting the PDU session information PDU to the core network in the user plane.

[0019] In any of the above implementation configurations, the data transmission delay includes the uplink user plane data transmission delay.

[0020] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item received from the wireless terminal device includes timestamp information of at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the wireless terminal device.

[0021] In any of the above implementation configurations, the timestamp information of at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the wireless terminal device is included in the header of at least one uplink data packet.

[0022] In any of the above implementations, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme includes an end-to-end delay scheme, which generates and transmits reports according to the transmission delay configuration to the core network, and includes relaying timestamp information to the core network so that the core network can calculate the data transmission delay.

[0023] In any of the above implementation forms, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme includes a RAN partial delay scheme, and generating and transmitting a report according to the transmission delay configuration to the core network includes calculating RAN partial delay information associated with at least one uplink data packet in the user plane of the radio access network node, transmitting the RAN partial delay information to the control plane of the radio access network node, and transmitting the RAN partial delay information to the core network via NGAP messages within the control plane.

[0024] In any of the above implementation forms, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme includes a RAN partial delay scheme, which generates and transmits reports to the core network according to the transmission delay configuration, and includes calculating RAN partial delay information associated with at least one uplink data packet in the user plane of a radio access network node, and transmitting the RAN partial delay information to the core network via an uplink PDU session information PDU within the user plane.

[0025] In some other implementation forms, a method for monitoring / reporting data transmission delay between a wireless terminal device and a core network in a wireless network by the wireless terminal device is disclosed. The method may comprise receiving a transmission delay configuration from a control plane of a radio access network node, wherein the transmission delay configuration identifies at least one of a transmission delay provisioning segmentation method selected from among a plurality of segmentation methods, or a monitoring / reporting configuration for data transmission delay selected from among a plurality of monitoring / reporting configurations. The method may further comprise transmitting a transmission delay information item to the radio access network node during a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device in accordance with the transmission delay configuration.

[0026] In the above implementation form, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation method comprises one of an end-to-end delay method or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay method.

[0027] In any one of the above implementation forms, the monitoring / reporting configuration comprises at least one of a reporting timing configuration, a reporting granularity configuration, or a data packet transmission timestamp method.

[0028] In any one of the above implementation forms, the reporting timing configuration indicates a reporting frequency or a reporting time period.

[0029] In any one of the above implementation forms, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as at least one of an average data packet delay, a per-packet delay, a packet delay distribution, or packet delay distribution information.

[0030] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as a packet delay distribution, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, and the uplink PDU session frame contains a first field indicating the number of delay ranges, and a plurality of blocks of the field, each block of the field containing the number of packets having a delay value that falls into one of the delay ranges.

[0031] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution formula information, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, and the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, a second field for indicating the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula, and a block of fields containing the values ​​of the number of parameters.

[0032] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as a per-packet delay, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, which includes a first field indicating the number of per-packet delay samples and a number of second fields, each containing a per-packet delay sample.

[0033] In any of the above implementation forms, the data packet transmission timestamp method indicates either including a transmission timestamp in the data packet header or including a transmission timestamp in the packet data convergence protocol header.

[0034] In any of the above implementation configurations, data transmission delay is associated with the user plane of the wireless network.

[0035] In any of the above implementation configurations, the data transmission delay includes the downlink user plane data transmission delay.

[0036] In any of the above implementations, the method further includes obtaining reception timestamp information for at least one downlink data packet, and generating a transmission delay information item by calculating end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with at least one downlink data packet according to the reception timestamp information and transmission delay configuration, wherein the transmission delay information item is transmitted to the control plane of the radio access network node.

[0037] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item is transmitted as part of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) measurement report.

[0038] In any of the above implementation configurations, the data transmission delay includes the uplink user plane data transmission delay.

[0039] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item includes timestamp information for at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the wireless terminal device.

[0040] In any of the above implementation configurations, the timestamp information of at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the wireless terminal device is included in the header of at least one uplink data packet.

[0041] Furthermore, several other implementations disclose methods for provisioning data transmission delay between a wireless terminal device and the core network by a core network node of a wireless network. The method may include transmitting a transmission delay configuration to a wireless access network node, the transmission delay configuration specifying at least one of a transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme from among a plurality of segmentation schemes, or a monitoring / reporting configuration for data transmission delay from among a plurality of monitoring / reporting configurations. The method may further include receiving a transmission delay information item from a wireless access network node during a data transmission session between the core network node and the wireless terminal device, the transmission delay information item being generated by the wireless access network node or the wireless terminal device according to the transmission delay configuration.

[0042] In the above implementation configuration, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme includes one of the following: an end-to-end delay scheme or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay scheme.

[0043] In any of the above implementation forms, the monitoring / reporting configuration includes at least one of the following: a reporting timing configuration, a reporting granularity configuration, or a data packet transmission timestamp scheme.

[0044] In any of the above implementation configurations, the reporting timing configuration indicates either the reporting frequency or the reporting time period.

[0045] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as at least one of the following: average data packet delay, packet delay, packet delay distribution, or packet delay distribution formula information.

[0046] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as a packet delay distribution, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, and the uplink PDU session frame contains a first field indicating the number of delay ranges, and a plurality of blocks of the field, each block of the field containing the number of packets having a delay value that falls into one of the delay ranges.

[0047] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution formula information, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, and the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, a second field for indicating the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula, and a block of fields containing the values ​​of the number of parameters.

[0048] In any of the above implementations, the reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as a per-packet delay, which is contained within an uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame, which includes a first field indicating the number of per-packet delay samples and a number of second fields, each containing a per-packet delay sample.

[0049] In any of the above implementation forms, the data packet transmission timestamp method indicates either including a transmission timestamp in the data packet header or including a transmission timestamp in the packet data convergence protocol header.

[0050] In any of the above implementation configurations, data transmission delay is associated with the user plane of the wireless network.

[0051] In any of the above implementation configurations, the data transmission delay includes the downlink user plane data transmission delay.

[0052] In any of the above implementations, the transmission delay information item includes end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with at least one downlink data packet received from a radio access network node, calculated by a radio terminal device, and relayed by the radio access network node.

[0053] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item is received from the control plane of the wireless access network node in an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) message.

[0054] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item is received from the user plane of the wireless access network node as a header within the PDU session information PDU.

[0055] In any of the above implementation forms, the transmission delay information item includes RAN partial downlink transmission delay information, and the method further includes calculating end-to-end downlink transmission delay information based on the transmission delay information item and the core-to-access transmission delay information associated with at least one downlink data packet.

[0056] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme includes an end-to-end delay scheme, and the transmission delay information item includes timestamp information for transmitting at least one uplink data packet from the wireless terminal device.

[0057] In any of the above implementations, the transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes a RAN partial delay method, and the transmission delay information item includes RAN partial delay information calculated by the radio access network node.

[0058] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item is received from the control plane of the wireless access network node in an NGAP message.

[0059] In any of the above implementation configurations, the transmission delay information item is received from the user plane of the wireless access network node within the PDU session information PDU.

[0060] In some other implementations, a wireless device comprising a processor and memory is disclosed. The processor may be configured to read computer code from memory in order to carry out one of the methods described above.

[0061] Furthermore, several other implementations disclose a computer program product comprising a non-temporary computer-readable program medium in which computer code is stored. When the computer code is executed by a processor, it can cause the processor to perform one of the methods described above.

[0062] The embodiments described above, as well as other and alternative forms of their implementation, are described in more detail in the following drawings, description, and claims. The present invention provides, for example, the following items: (Item 1) A method for provisioning data transmission delay between a wireless terminal device and a core network by a wireless access network node of a wireless network, The transmission delay configuration is received from the core network, and the transmission delay configuration is A transmission delay provisioning segmentation method from among multiple segmentation methods, or Monitoring / reporting configuration for the above data transmission delay from among multiple monitoring / reporting configurations Identifying at least one of the following, Transmitting at least a portion of the above transmission delay configuration to the above wireless terminal device, During a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device, the transmission delay information item is received from the wireless terminal device. Based on the above transmission delay information items, a report is generated according to the above transmission delay configuration and transmitted to the above core network. Methods that include... (Item 2) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme is the method described in item 1, which includes one of the following: an end-to-end delay scheme or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay scheme. (Item 3) The above monitoring / reporting configuration is: Reporting timing configuration, Reporting granularity structure, or Data Packet Transmission Timestamp Method The method described in item 2, comprising at least one of the following. (Item 4) The above reporting timing configuration is the method described in item 3, which indicates the reporting frequency or reporting time period. (Item 5) The above reported granularity configuration reduces the above data transmission delay. Average data packet delay, Delay per packet, Packet delay distribution, or Packet delay distribution formula information The method described in item 3, indicating that it will be reported as at least one of the following. (Item 6) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as the above packet delay distribution. The above packet delay distribution is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, The first field indicates the number of delay ranges and Multiple blocks of a field, where each block of the field includes the number of packets having a latency value that falls within one of the above delay ranges, and The method described in item 5, including the method described in item 5. (Item 7) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as the above packet delay distribution formula information. The above packet delay distribution formula information is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, A first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, A second field to indicate the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula above, A block of fields containing the above number of parameter values ​​and The method described in item 5, including the method described in item 5. (Item 8) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as a delay for each packet. The above packet-by-packet delay is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above PDU session frame is, The first field shows the number of delayed samples per packet, Multiple second fields, each containing a delay sample for each packet. The method described in item 5, including the method described in item 5. (Item 9) The above data packet transmission timestamp method is: The data packet header must include a transmission timestamp, or The packet data convergence protocol header must include a transmission timestamp. A method described in item 3, which indicates one of the following. (Item 10) The above data transmission delay is associated with the user plane of the above wireless network, as described in item 3. (Item 11) The above data transmission delay is the method described in item 10, including the downlink user plane data transmission delay. (Item 12) The above method further includes relaying at least one downlink data packet from the core network to the wireless terminal device. The method according to item 11, wherein the transmission delay information item associated with the at least one downlink data packet is received from the wireless terminal device within the control plane of the wireless access network node and includes end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with the at least one downlink data packet, calculated by the wireless terminal device. (Item 13) The above transmission delay information item is received within the control plane of the above radio access network node as part of a radio resource control (RRC) measurement report, as described in item 12. (Item 14) The method of item 12, wherein generating the above report and transmitting it to the above core network includes inserting the above report into an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) message and transmitting the above NGAP message to the above core network in the control plane. (Item 15) Generating the above report and transmitting it to the above core network is The above report is inserted into an E1 Application Protocol (E1AP) message within the control plane, and the E1AP message is transmitted to the user plane of the wireless access network node. Extract the above report from the above E1AP message and insert the above report into the PDU session information PDU in the above user plane of the above wireless access network node, The above PDU session information PDU is transmitted to the above core network within the above user plane. The method described in item 12, including the method described in item 12. (Item 16) The above data transmission delay is the method described in item 10, including the uplink user plane data transmission delay. (Item 17) The method according to item 16, wherein the transmission delay information item received from the above wireless terminal device includes timestamp information of at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the above wireless terminal device. (Item 18) The method according to item 17, wherein the timestamp information of the at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the above wireless terminal device is included in the header of the at least one uplink data packet. (Item 19) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes the above end-to-end delay method, The method of item 17, wherein generating the above report in accordance with the above transmission delay configuration and transmitting it to the above core network includes relaying the above timestamp information to the above core network so that the above core network can calculate the above data transmission delay. (Item 20) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes the above RAN partial delay method, To generate the above report according to the above transmission delay configuration and transmit it to the above core network is: To calculate the RAN partial delay information associated with at least one uplink data packet in the user plane of the above wireless access network node, The above RAN partial delay information is transmitted to the control plane of the above wireless access network node, The above RAN partial delay information is transmitted to the core network via NGAP messages within the control plane. The method described in item 17, including the method described in item 17. (Item 21) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes the above RAN partial delay method, To generate the above report according to the above transmission delay configuration and transmit it to the above core network is: To calculate the RAN partial delay information associated with at least one uplink data packet in the user plane of the above wireless access network node, The above RAN partial delay information to the above core network is transmitted to the above core network via the uplink PDU session information PDU within the user plane. The method described in item 17, including the method described in item 17. (Item 22) A method for monitoring and reporting data transmission delays between a wireless terminal device and a core network within a wireless network, wherein the wireless terminal device monitors and reports data transmission delays between the wireless terminal device and the core network within the wireless network, The transmission delay configuration is received from the control plane of the wireless access network node, and the transmission delay configuration is: A transmission delay provisioning segmentation method from among multiple segmentation methods, or Monitoring / reporting configuration for the above data transmission delay from among multiple monitoring / reporting configurations Identifying at least one of the following, In accordance with the above transmission delay configuration, during a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device, transmission delay information items are transmitted to the wireless access network node. Methods that include... (Item 23) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme is the method described in item 22, which includes one of the following: an end-to-end delay scheme or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay scheme. (Item 24) The above monitoring / reporting configuration is: Reporting timing configuration, Reporting granularity structure, or Data Packet Transmission Timestamp Method The method described in item 23, which includes at least one of the following. (Item 25) The above reporting timing configuration is the method described in item 24, which indicates the reporting frequency or reporting time period. (Item 26) The above reported granularity configuration reduces the above data transmission delay. Average data packet delay, Delay per packet, Packet delay distribution, or Packet delay distribution formula information The method described in item 24, indicating that it will be reported as at least one of the following. (Item 27) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as the above packet delay distribution. The above packet delay distribution is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, The first field indicates the number of delay ranges, Multiple blocks of a field, where each block of the field includes the number of packets having a delay value that falls within one of the above delay ranges, and The method described in item 26, including the method described in item 26. (Item 28) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as the above packet delay distribution formula information. The above packet delay distribution formula information is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, A first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, A second field to indicate the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula above, A block of fields containing the above number of parameter values ​​and The method described in item 26, including the method described in item 26. (Item 29) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as a delay for each packet. The above packet-by-packet delay is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, The first field shows the number of delayed samples per packet, Multiple second fields, each containing a delay sample for each packet. The method described in item 26, including the method described in item 26. (Item 30) The above data packet transmission timestamp method is: The data packet header must include a transmission timestamp, or The packet data convergence protocol header must include a transmission timestamp. The method described in item 24, which indicates one of the following. (Item 31) The above data transmission delay is associated with the user plane of the above wireless network, as described in item 22. (Item 32) The above data transmission delay is the method described in item 31, including the downlink user plane data transmission delay. (Item 33) The above method includes obtaining reception timestamp information for at least one downlink data packet, and generating the transmission delay information item by calculating end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with the at least one downlink data packet according to the reception timestamp information and the transmission delay configuration. The above transmission delay information item is transmitted to the control plane of the above wireless access network node, as described in item 32. (Item 34) The above transmission delay information item is transmitted as part of a radio resource control (RRC) measurement report, as described in item 33. (Item 35) The above data transmission delay is the method described in item 31, including the uplink user plane data transmission delay. (Item 36) The method according to item 35, wherein the above transmission delay information item includes timestamp information of at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the above wireless terminal device. (Item 37) The method according to item 36, wherein the timestamp information of the at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the above wireless terminal device is included in the header of the at least one uplink data packet. (Item 38) A method for provisioning data transmission delay between a wireless terminal device and the core network by a core network node of a wireless network, The transmission delay configuration is transmitted to the wireless access network node, wherein the transmission delay configuration is: A transmission delay provisioning segmentation method from among multiple segmentation methods, or Monitoring / reporting configuration for the above data transmission delay from among multiple monitoring / reporting configurations Identifying at least one of the following, During a data transmission session between the core network node and the wireless terminal device, a transmission delay information item is received from the wireless access network node, wherein the transmission delay information item is generated by the wireless access network node or the wireless terminal device in accordance with the transmission delay configuration. Methods that include... (Item 39) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation scheme is the method described in item 38, which includes one of the following: an end-to-end delay scheme or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay scheme. (Item 40) The above monitoring / reporting configuration is: Reporting timing configuration, Reporting granularity structure, or Data Packet Transmission Timestamp Method The method described in item 39, which includes at least one of the following. (Item 41) The above reporting timing configuration is the method described in item 40, which indicates the reporting frequency or reporting time period. (Item 42) The above reported granularity configuration reduces the above data transmission delay. Average data packet delay, Delay per packet, Packet delay distribution, or Packet delay distribution formula information The method described in item 40, indicating that it will be reported as at least one of the following. (Item 43) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as the above packet delay distribution. The above packet delay distribution is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, The first field indicates the number of delay ranges, Multiple blocks of a field, where each block of the field includes the number of packets having a delay value that falls within one of the above delay ranges, and The method described in item 42, including the method described in item 42. (Item 44) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as the above packet delay distribution formula information. The above packet delay distribution formula information is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, A first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, A second field to indicate the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula above, A block of fields containing the above number of values ​​for the above parameters and The method described in item 42, including the method described in item 42. (Item 45) The above reporting granularity configuration indicates that the above data transmission delay is reported as a delay for each packet. The above packet-by-packet delay is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. The above uplink PDU session frame is, The first field shows the number of delayed samples per packet, Multiple second fields, each containing a delay sample for each packet. The method described in item 42, including the method described in item 42. (Item 46) The above data packet transmission timestamp method is: The data packet header must include a transmission timestamp, or The packet data convergence protocol header must include a transmission timestamp. A method of item 40 that shows one of the following. (Item 47) The above data transmission delay is associated with the user plane of the above wireless network, as described in item 40. (Item 48) The above data transmission delay is the method described in item 47, including the downlink user plane data transmission delay. (Item 49) The above transmission delay information items are: Received from the above wireless access network node, and, The method according to item 48, comprising end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information calculated by the above-mentioned wireless terminal device and associated with at least one downlink data packet relayed by the above-mentioned wireless access network node. (Item 50) The above transmission delay information item is received from the control plane of the above wireless access network node in an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) message, as described in item 49. (Item 51) The above transmission delay information item is received from the above user plane of the above wireless access network node as a header in the PDU session information PDU, as described in item 49. (Item 52) The above transmission delay information item includes the above RAN partial downlink transmission delay information, and the above method is The end-to-end downlink transmission delay information is calculated based on the above transmission delay information items and the core-to-access transmission delay information associated with at least one downlink data packet. The method described in item 49, further including the method described in item 49. (Item 53) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes the above end-to-end delay method, The method according to item 47, wherein the above transmission delay information item includes timestamp information for transmitting at least one uplink data packet from the wireless terminal device. (Item 54) The above transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes the above RAN partial delay method, The above transmission delay information item includes RAN partial delay information calculated by the above wireless access network node, as described in item 47. (Item 55) The above transmission delay information item is received in an NGAP message from the control plane of the above wireless access network node, as described in item 54. (Item 56) The above transmission delay information item is received from the above user plane of the above wireless access network node in the PDU session information PDU, as described in item 54. (Item 57) A wireless network node in a wireless network device, comprising memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the above instructions and performing any of items 1 through 56. (Item 58) A computer-readable non-temporary medium for storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the processor of a wireless network device, cause the wireless network device to perform any of items 1 to 56. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0063] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication network comprising a wireless access network, a core network, and a data network.

[0064] [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an exemplary radio access network including multiple mobile stations or UEs and radio access network nodes communicating with each other via an over-the-air radio communication interface.

[0065] [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a split architecture for separating a wireless access network node into a central unit (CU) and one or more distributed units (DUs).

[0066] [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows various network functions of an exemplary core network.

[0067] [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows various network functions of an exemplary 5G core network.

[0068] [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an exemplary flow for configuring a QoS flow using QoS latency monitoring and reporting within the core network, access network, and wireless terminals.

[0069] [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an exemplary flow for configurable downlink end-to-end latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting.

[0070] [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an exemplary flow for configurable uplink end-to-end latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting.

[0071] [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an exemplary flow for configurable downlink RAN ​​partial latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting.

[0072] [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an exemplary flow for configurable uplink RAN ​​partial latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0073] Detailed explanation The technologies and examples of implementations and / or embodiments described herein can be used to facilitate the configuration, monitoring, and reporting of data transmission delays in wireless communication network systems. The term “exemplary” is used to mean “an example of” and, unless otherwise specified, does not mean an ideal or preferred example, implementation, or embodiment. Section headers are used in this disclosure to facilitate the understanding of the implementations disclosed and are not intended to limit the technologies disclosed within a section to the corresponding section only. The implementations disclosed may be further embodied in a variety of different forms, and therefore the scope of this disclosure or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments described below. The various implementations may be embodied as methods, devices, components, systems, or non-temporary computer-readable media. Thus, embodiments of this disclosure may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0074] This disclosure focuses particularly on the monitoring and reporting of uplink and downlink data transmission delays according to configurable timing and data granularity. Various exemplary implementations disclosed herein provide mechanisms for the network side of a wireless network system to flexibly configure the monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting of information related to downlink and uplink data transmission latency, among various network nodes, devices, and entities, and in coordination between the control plane and user plane of the wireless network. The disclosed implementations provide a configurable network latency segmentation scheme, in addition to a format for monitoring / measuring / calculating / reporting configurable timing, data or data flow granularity, content, and associated latency information. Thus, various network devices or nodes are coordinated under adaptive configuration by the network to efficiently monitor, measure, calculate, and report latency information tailored to the needs of specific applications and specific data communication sessions. Dedicated protocol data units (PDUs) are also designed and constructed for reporting latency information in the user plane.

[0075] Overview of Wireless Networks The exemplary wireless communication network shown as 100 in Figure 1 may include wireless terminal devices or user equipment (UEs) 110, 111, and 112, a carrier network 102, various service applications 140, and other data networks 150. The carrier network 102 may include, for example, access networks 120 and 121 and a core network 130. The carrier network 110 may be configured to transmit voice, data, and other information (collectively referred to as data traffic) between the UEs 110, 111, and 112 and the service applications 140, or between the UEs and other data networks 150. The access networks 120 and 121 may be configured as various wireless access network nodes (WANNs, also referred to as base stations) for interacting with the UEs on one side of a communication session and the core network 130 on the other side. The core network 130 may include various network nodes configured to control the communication session and perform network access management and traffic routing. The service application 140 may be hosted by various application servers located outside the core network 130 but connected to it. Similarly, other data networks 150 may also be connected to the core network 130.

[0076] In the wireless communication network 100 in Figure 1, UEs can communicate with each other via a wireless access network. For example, UEs 110 and 112 can be connected to the same access network 120 and communicate with each other via it. UEs can communicate with each other via both the access network and the core network. For example, UE 110 may be connected to access network 120, while UE 111 may be connected to access network 121, and therefore UEs 110 and UE 111 can communicate with each other via access networks 120 and 121, as well as the core network 130. UEs can further communicate with service applications 140 and data networks 150 via the core network 130. Furthermore, UEs can communicate directly with each other via sidelink communication, as shown by 113.

[0077] Figure 2 further illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a wireless access network 120, including a WANN 202 serving UEs 110 and 112 via an over-the-air interface 204. Wireless transmission resources for the over-the-air interface 204 include a combination of frequency, time, and spatial resources. Each of the UEs 110 and 112 may be a mobile or fixed terminal device with a mobile access unit, such as a SIM / USIM module, installed for accessing the wireless communication network 100. Each of the UEs 110 and 112 may be implemented as a terminal device, including, but not limited to, a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, laptop computer, vehicle-mounted communication equipment, roadside communication equipment, sensor devices, smart appliances (such as televisions, refrigerators, ovens), or other devices capable of communicating wirelessly over the network. As shown in Figure 2, each of the UEs, such as UE 112, may include a transceiver circuit 206 coupled to one or more antennas 208 to perform wireless communication with another UE, such as the WANN 120 or UE 110. The transceiver circuit 206 may also be coupled to the processor 210, which may also be coupled to memory 212 or other storage devices. Memory 212 may be temporary or non-temporary and may store computer instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 210, cause the processor 210 to perform various methods described herein.

[0078] Similarly, WANN120 may include a base station or other radio network access point that can communicate wirelessly with one or more UEs via the over-the-air interface 204 and communicate with the core network 130. For example, WANN120 may be implemented in the form of a 2G base station, 3G node B, LTE eNB, 4G LTE base station, 5G NR base station, 5G central unit base station, or 5G distributed unit base station, without limitation. Each of these types of WANNs may be configured to perform a corresponding set of radio network functions. WANN202 may include a transceiver circuit 214 coupled to one or more antennas 216, which may include various forms of antenna towers 218 to perform radio communication with UEs 110 and 112. The transceiver circuit 214 may be coupled to one or more processors 220, which may be further coupled to memory 222 or other storage devices. Memory 222 may be temporary or non-temporary, and when read and executed by one or more processors 220, it may store within itself instructions or code that cause one or more processors 220 to implement various functions of the WANN120 described herein.

[0079] In a wireless access network, such as the example illustrated in Figure 2, data packets can be transmitted as protocol data units (PDUs). The data contained therein can be packaged as PDUs in various network layers, wrapped in nested and / or hierarchical protocol headers. Once a connection (e.g., a radio link control (RRC) connection) is established between the transmitting and receiving ends, PDUs can be communicated between a transmitting device or the transmitting end (these two terms are used interchangeably) and a receiving device or the receiving end (these two terms are also used interchangeably). Either the transmitting or receiving device may be a wireless terminal device, such as devices 110 and 120 in Figure 2, or a wireless access network node, such as node 202 in Figure 2. Each device may be both a transmitting and receiving device for bidirectional communication.

[0080] As shown in Figure 3, one or more base stations 202 of WANN120 may include multiple separate access network nodes in the form of, for example, a central unit (CU) 302 and at least one distributed unit (DU) 304 and 306. For example, in a 5G network, a base station may be implemented as a gNB. Correspondingly, a gNB 202 may functionally and / or physically include a gNB-CU 302 and one or more gNB-DUs 304 and 306. For example, a CU may be configured to provide support for higher layers of communication protocols such as Service Data Adaptive Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and Radio Resource Control (RRC), while a DU may be configured to provide support for lower layers of the protocol stack such as Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and the physical layer.

[0081] In some other implementations, the CU302 may be further divided into two distinct functional or physical entities: the CU-CP (control plane unit of the gNB-CU) which hosts RRC entities, and the CU-UP (user plane unit of the CU) which hosts SDAP and PDCP entities. Such separation of the user plane and control plane in the upper protocol layer (CU layer) within the base station can provide improved flexibility in access network deployment.

[0082] In some implementations, as shown in Figure 3, CU302 may be connected to DU1 304 and DU2 306 via various F1 interfaces. For example, the F1 interfaces may further include F1-C and F1-U interfaces, which can be used to carry control plane information and usage plane information, respectively. The F1-C interface may be used, for example, between the DU and the CU-CP portion of CU302, and the F1-U interface may be used between the DU and the CU-UP portion of CU302. gNB202 may be connected to the core network 130 via, for example, an NG interface. If the gNB is separated as CU and DU, the NG connection to the core network may be implemented between CU302 and the core network, as shown in Figure 3. As further shown in Figure 3, the UE may be connected to the core network 130 via WANN120 via a radio interface.

[0083] As further shown in Figures 320 and 330, each DU may serve UEs through one or more cells. Each cell is associated with a coverage area. These cells may be referred to as serving cells. Coverage areas between cells may partially overlap. Each UE may actively communicate with at least one cell, but may be potentially connected to or connectable to two or more cells. In the example in Figure 3, UE1, UE2, and UE3 may be served by cell 1 320 of DU1, while UE4 and UE5 are served by cell 2 330 of DU1. In some implementations, a UE may be served by two or more cells simultaneously. Each UE may be mobile, and the signal strength and quality from different cells in the UE may depend on the UE's location. In some embodiments, a CU may be a gNB central unit (gNB-CU), and a DU may be a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU). The various implementations described below are provided in the context of 5G cellular radio networks, but the fundamental principles described herein are applicable to other types of radio access networks, including other generations of cellular networks, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, and WiMAX networks, without being limited to these.

[0084] In some exemplary implementations, the cells shown in Figure 3 may be alternatively referred to as serving cells. Serving cells may be grouped into serving cell groups (CGs). A serving cell group may be either a master CG (MCG) or a secondary CG (SCG). Within each type of cell group, there may be one primary cell and one or more secondary cells. For example, a primary cell in an MSG may be called a PCell, while a primary cell in an SCG may be called a PScell. All secondary cells in either an MCG or an SCG may be called SCells. A primary cell containing both a PCell and a PScell ​​may be collectively called a SpCell. All of these cells may be referred to as serving cells or cells. The terms “cell” and “serving cell” may be used interchangeably in a general manner unless otherwise specified. The term “serving cell” may refer to a cell that is serving, will serve, or can serve a UE. In other words, a “serving cell” does not have to be currently serving a UE. The various embodiments described below may often refer to one of the serving cell types described above, but the basic principles apply to all types of serving cells in both types of serving cell groups.

[0085] Figure 4 shows an exemplary division of network functions within the core network 130. Although only single instances of network nodes for some functions are shown in Figure 4, those skilled in the art will understand that each of these network functions can be instantiated as multiple instances or network nodes distributed throughout the core network 130. Furthermore, each network node within the core network 130 may support one or more of the core network functions illustrated. As shown in Figure 4, the core network 130 may include, but is not limited to, an access management network node (AMNN) 430, a session management network node (SMNN) 440, a data routing network node (DRNN) 450, a policy control network node (PCNN) 420, and an application data management network node (ADMNN) 410.

[0086] The access management network node 430 communicates with the access network 120, the session management network node 442, and the policy control network node 420, respectively, via communication interfaces 122, 432, and 424, and may be responsible for UE registration, authentication, and provisioning of access to the core network 130, as well as assigning session management network nodes 440 to support specific UE communication needs. The session management network nodes 440 assigned by the access management network node 430 are then responsible for assigning data routing network nodes 450 to support specific UE communication needs, and these assigned data routing network nodes 450 may be controlled via communication interface 446. Alternatively, or additionally, in some implementations, the data routing network nodes 450 may be directly assigned by the access management network node 430 via interface 434 and controlled by the session management network 442 via communication interface 446. Access policies and session routing policies applicable to the UE may be managed by a policy control network node 420, which communicates the policies to the access management network node 430 and the session management network node 440 via communication interfaces 424 and 422, respectively. Signaling and data exchange between various types of network nodes via various communication interfaces, as shown by the various connection lines in Figure 4, may be carried by signaling or data messages in accordance with a predetermined type of format or protocol.

[0087] To support a specific end-to-end communication task requested by the UE, a communication session may be established to support a data traffic pipeline for transporting specific end-to-end communication data traffic. As shown by 470 in Figure 4, the carrier network portion of the data traffic pipeline may include one or more network nodes in the access network 120 and a set of data routing network nodes 452, 454, and 456 in the core network 130, such that they are selected and controlled by a set of session management network nodes 442 and 444, which may be selected and controlled by an access management network node 430 responsible for establishing and managing communication sessions. The data traffic is routed through communication interfaces such as 124, 458, and 459 within the other end of the data traffic pipeline, including the UE at one end of the data traffic pipeline, the carrier network portion of the data traffic pipeline (including the set of network nodes in the access network 120 and the selected data routing network nodes 452, 454, and 456 in the core network 130), and, for example, another UE, an application server 140, or another data network 150.

[0088] The application server 140 may further communicate other configuration and control information to the core network 130. Information communicated to the core network 130 may be referred to as application data. Such application data may be processed and managed by a specific type of network node, referred to in Figure 4 as an Application Data Management Network Node (ADMNN) 410. Application data may be communicated, for example, by messages from the application server 140 to the Application Data Management Network Node 410 via a communication interface 414. Alternatively, the application server 140 may access the Application Data Management Network Node 410 using an open API provided by the core network 130. Although Figure 4 shows only a single application server, those skilled in the art will understand that in actual implementations, the core network 130 may support multiple service applications of different types.

[0089] In some specific implementations, Figure 5 shows that the wireless communication network 500 may include the UE 110, the application server 140, the data network 150, and a carrier network including the RAN 520 and the core network 502. Corresponding to the more general description of Figure 4 above, specific implementations of the core network 502 may include application function (AF) 514, network exposure function (NEF) 512, and integrated data repository (UDR) function 510. These three types of network nodes may be served together as the application data management network node 410 in Figure 4. The core network 502 may further include access and mobility management function (AMF) 530 and session management function (SMF or I-SMF, indicating intermediate SMF) 544 and 542. The AMF and SMF are served as the access management network node (AMNN) 430 and session management network node (SMNN) 440 in Figure 4, respectively. The AMF530 and SMF544 and 542 can each obtain communication policy information from separate access / mobility management policy control functions (AM PCF) 520 and session management policy control functions (SM PCF) 522, respectively. The AM PCF520 and SM PCF522 serve as policy control network nodes (PCNN) 420 in Figure 4.

[0090] As further shown in Figure 5, each of the SMFs and I-SMF522 and 544 controls one or more User Plane Functions (UPFs) 552. The RAN520 and one or more UPF552s may be allocated by the core network and may form the carrier network portion of a data traffic pipeline (or data traffic path) for a particular communication session. The UPF552s may serve as Data Routing Network Nodes (DRNNs) 450 in Figure 4.

[0091] The various network nodes or network functions in Figure 5 communicate signaling information and data via various communication interfaces, as indicated by the various connection lines in Figure 5, using signaling or data messages that conform to a predetermined type of format or protocol. For example, several exemplary communication interfaces, such as those defined in the new fifth-generation radio radio communication specification, may be used within the communication network 500 between various network nodes, as indicated by the labels along the connection lines in Figure 5, including the N1 interface via RAN520 between UE110 and AMF530, the N2 interface between RAN520 and AMF530, the N3 interface between RAN520 and UPF550, the N4 interface between SMF542 / 544 and UPF552, the N11 interface between AMF530 and I-SMF542, and the N16a interface between I-SMF542 and SMF544.

[0092] Data transmission end-to-end latency The end-to-end latency / delay of data transmission in the wireless communication system described above represents the amount of time it takes for a source device to communicate and reach its destination. In the case of uplink communication, the source device may be a wireless terminal or UE, and the destination may be a UPF network node within the core network described above. Similarly, in the case of downlink communication, the source device may be a UPF network node, and the destination may be a wireless terminal device or UE.

[0093] In a communication network, end-to-end communication can be established as a data communication session (or, as it may be called, a data session or a communication session). Each data session may involve the transmission of data of different types, characteristics, and transmission requirements. Thus, a data session may be configured to include multiple data flows, each containing data with similar transmission characteristics and / or associated with similar transmission quality requirements. The transmission of each of these data flows may be controlled and configured based on its transmission characteristics / requirements. For example, the allocation of communication resources to a data flow by a communication network may be based on the transmission characteristics / requirements of the data flow.

[0094] Such transmission characteristics / requirements of a data flow may be used to determine a set of transmission parameters, collectively referred to as the data flow's transmission profile. The configuration of the data flow's transmission (e.g., communication resource allocation) may be based on such a transmission profile. A data flow may also be referred to as a Quality of Service (QoS) flow and may be characterized by a set of QoS parameters configurable by the network. Data within each QoS flow may be transmitted as data packets. The term data packet may be used to refer to the minimum granularity of a data unit transmitted over either an uplink or a downlink. Data transmission succeeds or fails at the data packet level. The term data as used in this disclosure is used in a general sense to include both user data and control information transmitted as data packets. Data packets within a QoS flow, or more generally within a data communication session, may be associated with a sequence so that received data packets can be assembled to reconstruct the original data in the correct sequence.

[0095] The transmission of data packets is typically associated with transmission latency or delays related to the over-air radio interface and other wired or wireless interfaces between the various network nodes described above. Some implementations of data transmission, such as 5G Ultra-High Reliability Low Latency Communications (URLLC) applications, are intended to provide services with stringent requirements for data transmission latency and service availability. Therefore, 5G mobile networks supporting URLLC must provide low latency with minimal packet loss or out-of-order packet arrival. For example, some URLLC services may require end-to-end communication latency to be in the range of 0.5ms to 50ms at the application layer. In another specific example, the maximum latency (or radio latency) at the air interface may be further specified. For some 5G URLLC services, it may be required that such radio interface latency not exceed 1ms.

[0096] Therefore, monitoring, measuring, and reporting network latency for both uplink and downlink data transmission is crucial. For example, such latency information can be used to perform network diagnostics and devise modifications to improve wireless network performance. In another example, such latency information can be used to adjust resource allocation and QoS parameters within and within data flows, within data communication sessions, and among different users to balance and optimize the overall network performance.

[0097] In some implementations, network latency monitoring, measurement, and reporting may be configurable on their own. Such configurations may be included, for example, within network control messages carrying QoS parameters. Such data transmission latency monitoring, measurement, and reporting configurations may be provided to various network nodes before or during the establishment of a data communication session or data flow. The various network nodes may then act accordingly during the communication session to collectively support network data transmission latency monitoring and reporting.

[0098] Such monitoring / reporting configurations may be designed to provide the network with flexibility to identify the levels, segmentation, granularity, timing, format, and other aspects of the various network nodes involved within a communication session, in order to monitor, calculate, and / or report information related to network communication latency in either the uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) direction.

[0099] In particular, to ensure low end-to-end latency for URLLC, 5G networks need to support performance metric definitions related to UL / DL packet latency for 5G networks. Unlike conventional latency monitoring and measurement, end-to-end UL / DL packet latency needs to be measured for QoS flow per 5G Flow Quality Indicator (5QI) between the UPF and UE (delay from UE to UPF). Such end-to-end UL / DL packet latency between the UE and UPF can be measured separately, or by measuring two segmented delays and adding the two segmented delays together, where the two segmented delays are the UL / DL packet latency between the UPF and RAN (delay from UPF to RAN) and the UL / DL packet latency between the UE and RAN (delay from UE to RAN, or radio interface latency).

[0100] The following various exemplary implementations provide improved network latency monitoring, measurement, and reporting capabilities compared to existing technologies. In particular, current technologies lack support for the following requirements: ● Direct latency measurement from UE to UPF is not supported. Current technology only supports separate measurements of latency from UPF to RAN and latency from UE to RAN, and then these two latency are added together for latency from UE to UPF. Such a method increases the processing time and burden on network nodes and UEs, especially for applications where only end-to-end latency is of concern. ●Current technology does not support latency measurement per QoS flow and only provides average latency at the data radio bearer (DRB) level, which may result in insufficient granularity for some applications. ●Current technology does not support monitoring, measuring, and reporting network latency at the data packet level. ●Current technology does not provide various packet-level delay statistics, such as packet-level delay distributions that exceed the average delay at the DRB level. ●Current technology does not utilize any CU split between the control plane unit and the user plane unit.

[0101] The various exemplary implementations disclosed herein provide a mechanism for the network side of a wireless network system to flexibly configure the monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting of information related to downlink and uplink data transmission latency, in coordination between various network nodes, devices, and entities, as well as between the control plane and user plane of the wireless network. The disclosed implementations provide a configurable network latency segmentation scheme, in addition to a configurable timing, data or data flow granularity, content, and format for monitoring / measuring / calculating / reporting of associated latency information. Thus, various network devices or nodes are coordinated under adaptive configuration by the network to efficiently monitor, measure, calculate, and report latency information tailored to the needs of specific applications and specific data communication sessions. Dedicated protocol data units (PDUs) are also designed and constructed for reporting latency information in the user plane.

[0102] Network latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting configuration In some exemplary implementations, adaptive and flexible configurations for monitoring, measuring, calculating, and reporting network latency information may be determined by the network side of the wireless communication network. For example, the configuration may be determined by a core network entity / function or node. Configuration information may be distributed to various network nodes via various control / data messages and various network interfaces.

[0103] In certain non-exclusive examples, such configuration information may be included as part of a QoS parameter set. In this way, the configuration may be provided at the QoS flow level. In other words, for a particular user communication session, each separate QoS flow may be configured separately with respect to monitoring, measuring, calculating, and reporting network latency. Therefore, such configuration may be part of a QoS profile. A QoS profile may be predefined, each associated with a set of network latency configuration parameters among other QoS parameters. QoS profiles may be indexed and signaled using a QoS index. Alternatively, network latency configuration parameters may be explicitly included in a QoS configuration message.

[0104] In some exemplary implementations, network latency configuration parameters may include, but are not limited to, the following: [Table 1]

[0105] As shown in the example above, a network can comprise two types of delay measurements for QoS flow, including RAN partial delay measurement (delay between NG-RAN (gNB) and UE) and end-to-end (E2E) delay measurement (delay between UPF of CN (core network) and UE).

[0106] As further illustrated by the example above, for each QoS flow, a QoS latency configuration can be defined within the QoS parameters, and the QoS latency configuration includes at least one of the following parameters: A selection indicator or flag to indicate whether the system is configured to measure RAN partial latency (e.g., latency between NG-RAN (gNB) and UE) or E2E latency (e.g., latency between the CN (core network) UPF and UE). This flat provides flexibility for the system to determine, according to a particular application or QoS, whether only E2E latency is targeted, or whether finer granularity is also targeted with respect to alternative or additional segmented latency (e.g., radio interface latency) in addition to E2E latency. • Reporting frequency or time period to indicate the reporting frequency or time period of the UL / DL RAN portion or E2E delay measurement (note that if the E2E delay method is selected, the UL E2E delay may be calculated in CN, and RAN only needs to report the DL E2E delay measurement). The reporting period may be specified, for example, as an absolute time length in seconds. Alternatively, an index in a given set of indices may be used to indicate the reporting time period. Each index may correspond to a specific reporting period that may be predefined. Alternatively, a reporting frequency may be specified. The reporting frequency may be the reciprocal of the reporting period. • Timestamp type to indicate which type of timestamp to use when needed. For example, timestamp types may include including a timestamp within the IP header (i.e., within the header of each data packet) or within the PDCP header or information field. The IP header timestamping method refers to inserting a timestamp into the Internet Protocol (IP) header of IP packets associated with a QoS flow, while the PDCP timestamping method refers to inserting a timestamp into the information field of the PDCP header or PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) associated with a QoS flow. The timestamp included in this way indicates the time the packet was sent from or arrived at a PDCP entity and may be used by the receiving network device or node to derive or calculate uplink or downlink latency along with other timing information. • Reporting granularity to indicate the type of reporting for the results / information of monitored or measured latency information. For example, the granularity type may indicate whether reporting should be done per packet level, per QoS flow level, per packet statistics level, etc. For example, the granularity type may include one of the following: packet average, per packet, distribution range / histogram, distribution formula, etc. Reporting granularity parameters may indicate which of these given granularity schemes should be used for a particular configured QoS flow. Such parameters may be included in the QoS parameter set as an index or enumeration value corresponding to a given granularity configuration. For example, if the "average" type is indicated, NG-RAN(gNB) may report the average delay results for all packet samples over a specific period (e.g., the reporting time period described above). If the "per packet" type is indicated, NG-RAN(gNB) may report all delay / latency results for all packet samples over the reporting time period as a list. If the “Distribution Range” type is indicated, NG-RAN(gNB) may report a detailed delay distribution of all packet samples during the reporting time period, for example, as a histogram showing the number of packets for each of several latency ranges. If the “Distribution Formula” type is indicated, NG-RAN(gNB) may report a parameterized mathematical distribution formula for all packet samples during the reporting time period. Instead of a numerical histogram, the report may instead show the formulas in the set of distribution formulas used to describe the packet-level latency distribution (using a given set of formulas and indices of these formulas), along with the measured / derived parameter values ​​associated with the indicated formulas.

[0107] Configuration process for latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting parameters Various parameters for monitoring, measuring, calculating, and reporting data transmission latency can be provided from the core network side for each QoS flow. An exemplary procedure is shown in Figure 6 and described in more detail below.

[0108] Specifically, Figure 6 shows a flowchart for configuring a QoS flow using QoS network latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting parameters within the core network, access network, and UE. While specific references to 5G network terminology may be used in Figure 6, such limitations are not intended in the following description, and the fundamental principles disclosed below are broadly applicable to other wireless communication systems.

[0109] As shown in Figure 6, in step 1, the CN may send a message, e.g., an initial context setup request message or a PDU session setup / modification request message, to the access network, e.g., the gNB (gNB-CU-CP in the case of a CP / UP split of the gNB, as described above) to request the allocation / modification of resources for one or more PDU sessions for each QoS flow within a PDU session. As described above, the QoS monitoring configuration determined by the network for QoS may optionally be included in the QoS parameters set in the message. Such a message may be sent, for example, as an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) within the control plane. Thus, such a message may be received by the control plane of the access network. As shown in Figure 6, such a message is received by the gNB-CU-CP in the case of a functional and / or physical split between CP and UP functions within the access network.

[0110] In step 2, the access network, for example gNB-CU-CP, sends a message, such as a bearer context setup / modification request message, to the user plane of the access network, for example gNB-CU-UP in the case of a CP-UP split, to request the allocation / modification of resources for one or more PDU sessions for each QoS flow within a PDU session. The QoS monitoring configuration may optionally be included within the QoS parameters in the message. As an example, such a message may be implemented as an E1 message.

[0111] In step 3, the access network node, for example, gNB-CU-UP, stores the received QoS latency configuration of the QoS flow in the user plane of the access network node, for example, as the basis for subsequent operations related to monitoring, measuring, calculating, and reporting latency.

[0112] In step 4, the UE context in gNB-DU is established under provisioning by gNB-CU-CP.

[0113] In step 5, the gNB-CU-CP sends an RRC message to the UE for each QoS flow within the PDU session, such as an RRC setup complete message or an RRC reconfiguration request message. QoS latency configurations may optionally be included within the QoS parameters in the message so that the UE is notified by these latency configuration parameters.

[0114] In step 6, the UE stores the received QoS latency configuration for the QoS flow, thereby enabling the UE to determine its actions when monitoring, measuring, calculating, and reporting QoS data packet network latency information based on such QoS latency configuration.

[0115] In step 7, the PDU session may be established / modified in a core network, an access network such as a gNB, and a UE by at least one QoS flow configured with QoS latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting configurations.

[0116] Exemplary DL direct end-to-end (E2E) latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting method Under the direct E2E latency monitoring method as configured, the network may collaboratively monitor, measure, exchange, calculate, and report information related to configured E2E latency results (e.g., average, per-packet, distribution range, or distribution formula) for DL packets of the QoS flow.

[0117] Figure 7 shows an exemplary flow chart for monitoring, measuring, exchanging, calculating, and reporting latency information related to DL E2E latency from the UPF to the UE.

[0118] As shown in Figure 7, in step 1, a PDU session may be established in the CN, the gNB, and the UE using at least one QoS flow configured with a QoS latency configuration as described above with reference to Figure 6. It is assumed that the QoS latency configuration indicates an E2E method.

[0119] In step 2, after the UPF determines that the E2E latency method is to be used in accordance with the QoS latency configuration of the QoS flow, the UPF of the CN may transmit at least one downlink user plane packet together with a corresponding UPF timestamp to the user plane of the access network (e.g., gNB-CU-UP). Such a timestamp may, for example, be included in an Internet Protocol (IP) header of one or more corresponding IP packets of the QoS flow. The IP packets may be encapsulated in the downlink user plane packet. The UPF timestamp may indicate a time instance when the last encapsulated IP packet is transmitted from or arrives at the UPF.

[0120] In step 3, the gNB-CU-UP may transmit downlink user plane packets to the gNB-DU (when the CU-DU split is implemented within the access network).

[0121] In step 4, the gNB-DU may transmit the downlink user plane packet to the UE.

[0122] In step 5, after the UE determines that the end-to-end (E2E) latency scheme is used in accordance with the QoS latency configuration of the QoS flow, the PDCP layer of the UE may calculate the E2E downlink (DL) latency between the UPF and the UE for at least one received downlink IP packet by subtracting the UPF timestamp contained in the IP header of the at least one IP packet from the time when the at least one IP packet arrives at the PDCP entity of the UE. The UE may further record the calculated latency or latency result of the at least one DL packet.

[0123] In step 6, the UE may measure / monitor / calculate the DL E2E latency within a reporting time period as indicated in the QoS latency configuration. Then, the UE may transmit an RRC message carrying a DL E2E latency report information item to the control plane of the access network, for example the gNB-CU-CP, via the gNB-DU. The E2E latency report information item may be generated in accordance with the QoS latency configuration described above. Accordingly, such a report information item may include, for example, an average latency during the reporting time period, a per-packet latency, a latency distribution histogram, or a latency distribution formula, as configured in the QoS latency configuration.

[0124] In the above exemplary implementation, the latency distribution information for a QoS flow may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following. A list of latency distribution ranges or latency histograms. Specifically, each item in this list may represent the number of latency samples within a particular latency range, where each range may be defined as the low latency and high latency values ​​of the range. Each item in the list may include at least one of the following: a "range ID" to indicate a given latency range, a "range start / end" pair to indicate the range by its minimum / maximum value, and a "sample count" to indicate the number of packets with measured network latency results within the latency range corresponding to the "range ID" or "range start / end" pair. For example, range ID=1 may represent latency values ​​between [0, 0.2 ms], range ID=2 may represent latency values ​​between [0.2, 0.4 ms], and range ID=3 may represent latency values ​​between [0.4, 0.6 ms]. Similarly, the "range start / end" pair may indicate the minimum / maximum value of the range. For example, if the delay range is (0.2ms, 0.4ms), the "range start" for that pair may be set to 0.2 and the "rung end" for that pair may be set to 0.4. A list of raw delay samples for distribution calculations. Each item in the list represents the delay result for a single packet and may optionally include the number of PDCP sequences associated with the measured packet. Such information may be used by other network nodes to perform desired derivations or calculations. • Information item corresponding to a parameterized mathematical delay distribution formula. Such an information item may include at least one of the following: a “Delay Distribution Formula ID” indicating a given delay distribution formula or probability density formula of a delay distribution; a “Number of Formula Parameters” indicating the number of parameters in the selected parameterized mathematical distribution formula; and a “List of Formula Parameters,” where each item in the list indicates the values ​​of the parameters of the distribution formula used in the corresponding order. For example, the case where a normal probability density formula is selected is shown below. [Table 2]

[0125] The above information items corresponding to the selected normal probability formula can represent the following: • The delayed distribution formula ID:ID=1 indicates that the normal probability density formula is used. • The number of parameters in the formula is equal to 2 (only two parameters, μ and σ). The first item in the formula parameter list: the value of μ, which is the first parameter. • The second item in the formula parameter list: the value of σ, which is the second parameter.

[0126] Returning to Figure 7, in step 7, QoS delay information during the reporting time period may be reported to the core network by the access network. Such reporting may be implemented by two exemplary optional methods.

[0127] In the optional implementation shown as Step 7A, reporting may be implemented within the control plane. Specifically, after receiving an RRC message containing DL delay information items sent from the UE, the gNB-CU-CP may, for example, send an NGAP message containing DL delay information items to the CN.

[0128] In the optional implementation shown as step 7B, reporting may instead be implemented within the user plane. In particular, as shown in step 7B-1 of Figure 7, after receiving an RRC message containing a DL delay information item sent by the UE, the gNB-CU-CP sends a message containing the DL delay information item (e.g., an E1 Application Protocol (E1AP) message) to the user plane of the access network node, e.g., the gNB-CU-UP. Furthermore, in step 7B-2, after receiving a message with a DL delay information item sent from the gNB-CU-CP, the gNB-CU-UP sends user plane data, such as an NG-U packet containing the DL delay information item, to the CN's UPF. The NG-U packet may be implemented, for example, as a UL PDU session information PDU. In other words, the NG-U packet may be encapsulated in a special PDU used to report UL PDU session information, in which case the UL PDU session information includes a QoS delay information item.

[0129] Exemplary UL direct E2E latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting methods Under a configured direct end-to-end latency monitoring scheme, the network can collaboratively monitor, measure, exchange, calculate, and report information related to the configured end-to-end latency results for UL packets of a QoS flow (e.g., average, per packet, distribution range, or distribution formula).

[0130] Figure 8 shows an exemplary flowchart for monitoring, measuring, exchanging, calculating, and reporting latency information regarding UL E2E delay from UE to UPF.

[0131] As shown in Figure 8, in step 1, the PDU session can be established within the CN, gNB, and UE using at least one QoS flow configured with a QoS latency configuration as described above in relation to Figure 6. It is assumed that the QoS latency configuration represents an E2E scheme.

[0132] In step 2, the UE may send an uplink user plane packet to the gNB-DU that has a UE timestamp in the Internet Protocol (IP) header of the IP packet associated with the QoS flow. The IP packet may be encapsulated within the uplink user plane packet. The UE timestamp may indicate the time the encapsulated IP packet was transmitted, for example, from the UE's PDCP layer.

[0133] In step 3, the gNB-DU may send uplink user plane packets to the gNB-CU-UP (if the CU-DU split is implemented within the access network).

[0134] In step 4, the gNB-CU-UP may send uplink user plane packets to the CN's UPF.

[0135] In step 5, the UPF in the CN can calculate the UL delay / latency between the UPF and the UE for the received uplink IP packet by subtracting the UE timestamp in the IP header of the IP packet from the time when the IP packet arrives at the UPF. The UPF can further record the delay / latency result of each UL packet. The UPF can measure the UL latency for a certain period of time (e.g., the configured reporting time period described above), and use the collected UL latency results to determine the UL E2E latency distribution (histogram or distribution formula) as described above.

[0136] Exemplary DL RAN portion latency monitoring, measurement, calculation and reporting scheme Under the RAN portion latency monitoring scheme as configured, the network can cooperatively monitor, measure, exchange, calculate and report information related to the configured RAN portion latency results (e.g., average, per-packet, distribution range, or distribution formula) for DL packets of QoS flows.

[0137] FIG. 9 shows an exemplary flow diagram for monitoring, measuring, exchanging, calculating, and reporting latency information related to DL RAN portion delay.

[0138] As shown in FIG. 9, in step 1, a PDU session can be established among the CN, the gNB, and the UE with at least one QoS flow configured with a QoS monitoring configuration. It is assumed that the QoS latency configuration indicates a RAN portion latency scheme.

[0139] In step 2, the UPF in the CN can transmit downlink user plane packets to the gNB-CU-UP.

[0140] In step 3, the gNB-CU-UP may send the PDCP PDU associated with the QoS flow to the gNB-DU along with a gNB timestamp in the PDCP PDU header or in the IP header of the IP packet encapsulated in the PDCP PDU. The gNB timestamp may indicate the time the PDCP PDU was sent from the gNB's PDCP layer / entity, or the time the corresponding PDCP SDU arrived at the gNB's PDCP layer.

[0141] In step 4, the gNB-DU may send downlink user plane packets to the UE.

[0142] In step 5, the UE's PDCP layer may calculate the DL delay / latency time between the gNB of the received downlink PDCP PDU and the UE by subtracting the gNB timestamp contained in the PDCP PDU header or the IP packet header inside it from the time the PDCP PDU reached the UE's PDCP layer / entity. The UE may further record the DL packet delay / latency result as the RAN partial delay / latency.

[0143] In step 6, the UE may measure the RAN partial DL delay over a specific period (e.g., a configured reporting time period as described above). The UE may then send an RRC message via the gNB-DU to the gNB-CU-CP having at least one delay information item related to the RAN partial DL delay (e.g., mean delay, delay per package, distribution range, and / or distribution formula information, as described above), in accordance with the UE's stored QoS latency configuration for the corresponding QoS flow.

[0144] In step 7, the control plane of the access network, e.g., gNB-CU-CP, reports delay / latency information items to the CN. Such reporting can be implemented by two exemplary optional methods.

[0145] In the optional implementation shown as step 7A, reporting may be implemented within the control plane. Specifically, as shown in step 7A, after receiving an RRC message with delay information items sent by the UE, the gNB-CU-CP sends an NGAP message with delay information items from the access network control plane to the CN, for example.

[0146] In the optional implementation shown in step 7B, reporting may instead be performed within the user plane. In particular, as shown in step 7B-1, after receiving an RRC message containing delay information items sent by the UE, the gNB-CU-CP sends a message containing delay information items, such as an E1AP message, to the user plane of the access network, such as the gNB-CU-UP. Furthermore, in step 7B-2, after receiving a message containing delay information items sent by the gNB-CU-CP, the gNB-CU-UP sends a user plane package, such as an NG-U packet containing delay information items, to the CN's UPF. The NG-U packet may be implemented, for example, as a UL PDU session information PDU. In other words, the NG-U packet may be encapsulated in a special PDU used to report UL PDU session information, in which case the UL PDU session information includes QoS delay information items.

[0147] Exemplary UL RAN partial latency monitoring, measurement, calculation, and reporting methods Under a configured RAN partial latency monitoring scheme, the network can collaboratively monitor, measure, exchange, calculate, and report information (e.g., average, per packet, distribution range, or distribution formula) related to the configured RAN partial latency results for UL packets of a QoS flow.

[0148] Figure 10 shows an exemplary flowchart for monitoring, measuring, exchanging, calculating, and reporting latency information related to UL RAN partial delay.

[0149] As shown in Figure 10, in step 1, a PDU session can be established within the CN, gNB, and UE using at least one QoS flow configured with a QoS latency configuration. It is assumed that the QoS latency configuration represents a RAN partial latency scheme.

[0150] In step 2, the UE may send the PDCP PDU associated with the QoS flow to the gNB-DU along with the UE timestamp in the PDCP PDU header or in the IP header of the IP packet encapsulated in the PDCP PDU. The UE timestamp indicates the time the PDCP PDU is sent from the UE's PDCP layer / entity, or the time the corresponding PDCP SDU arrives at the UE's PDCP layer / entity.

[0151] In step 3, the gNB-DU may send uplink user plane packets to the gNB-CU-UP.

[0152] In step 4, after receiving the PDCP PDU transmitted by the UE, the gNB-CU-UP (or the PDCP layer / entity of the gNB) may calculate the UL transmission delay / latency between the gNB and the UE for the received uplink PDCP PDU by subtracting the UE timestamp from the time the PDCP PDU arrived at the gNB-CU-UP (the PDCP layer / entity of the gNB). The UE timestamp can be extracted from the IP header of the PDCP PDU or the IP packet encapsulated in the PDCP PDU header. The gNB-CU-UP may then record the delay / latency result of the UL packet as the RAN partial latency.

[0153] In step 5, the gNB-CU-UP may further transmit uplink user plane packets to the CN's UPF.

[0154] In step 6, RAN partial QoS latency information may be reported to the CN by the access network. Such reporting may be implemented by two exemplary optional methods.

[0155] In the optional implementation shown as step 6A, reporting may be implemented within the control plane. Specifically, in step 6A-1, the gNB-CU-UP may measure the RAN partial UL delay over a specific period of time (e.g., a configured reporting time period). The gNB-CU-UP may then send a message, e.g., an E1AP message, containing at least one of the delay information items for the RAN partial UL delay of the QoS flow, according to the stored QoS latency configuration of the gNB-CU-UP's QoS flow, to the control plane of the access network, e.g., the gNB-CU-CP. Furthermore, in step 6A-2, after receiving the message containing the latency information item sent by the gNB-CU-CP, the gNB-CU-UP then sends a control plane message, e.g., an NGAP message containing the DL delay information item, to the CN.

[0156] In the optional implementation shown as step 6B, reporting may be implemented within the user plane. Specifically, as shown in step 6B of Figure 6, the gNB-CU-UP measures the RAN partial UL delay over a specific configured time period and then sends an NG-U packet to the CN's UPF, according to the gNB-CU-UP's stored QoS latency configuration for the QoS flow, having at least one delay information item for the user plane package, e.g., the RAN partial UL delay of the QoS flow. The NG-U packet may be implemented, for example, as a UL PDU session information PDU. In other words, the NG-U packet may be encapsulated in a special PDU used to report UL PDU session information, in which case the UL PDU session information includes a QoS delay information item.

[0157] UL PDU session PDU for reporting latency information items including latency distribution range ID As described above with respect to the implementation forms in Figures 7, 9, and 10, a UL PDU session PDU can be constructed to report QoS latency information from the user plane of the access network, e.g., gNB-CU-UP, to the core network. This can be considered a dedicated user plane PDU in parallel with other normal data PDUs.

[0158] In some implementations, such dedicated PDUs may be constructed to report latency information items containing latency distribution information related to latency range IDs, as described above. An exemplary construction of such a PDU is shown below, which illustrates the UL PDU session information PDU (referred to as PDU type 1) format with various UL / DL latency distribution information field definitions. Here again, such a UL PDU session information PDU may be used to transport UL / DL latency information related to the measured distribution of latency ranges with range IDs to the CN's UPF. It should also be understood that other types of PDUs (possibly multiple) containing similar fields for transporting UL / DL latency distribution information to target network nodes can be constructed. [Table 3-1] [Table 3-2]

[0159] In addition to the standard PDU fields, various latency / delay information fields are described in more detail below. A UL distribution indication (distribution indication) field (1 bit, value = 0 or 1) may be included. For example, if this bit is set to "1", DL delay distribution information is included / present in the PDU. Otherwise, such information is not included in the PDU.

[0160] The DL delay distribution (distribution) for the E2E indication (indication) field (1 bit, value = 0 or 1) may be included. This parameter indicates whether the DL delay distribution result is a RAN partial delay (delay between NG-RAN and UE) or an E2E delay (delay between UPF and UE) (for example, a value of 0 corresponds to a RAN partial delay, and a value of 1 corresponds to an E2E delay).

[0161] The UL delay distribution indication (distribution indication) field (1 bit, value = 0 or 1) may be included. If the bit is set to "1", UL RAN partial delay distribution information (between NG-RAN and UE) is included / present in the PDU. Otherwise, such information is not included in the PDU.

[0162] The DL delay distribution range number field may be included. If included, this parameter indicates how the delay ranges (blocks) are structured for the current DL delay distribution information. In one example, as shown in Table 3 above, if included, this field may occupy one octet and provide indications for up to 255 DL delay ranges.

[0163] For each DL latency range, a corresponding set of fields may be included to carry distribution information for each DL latency range, including the "DL Range ID" field and the "Number of DL Samples in Range" field, each field occupying, for example, one octet. The "DL Range ID" field may indicate a predefined DL latency range. For example, range ID=1 may represent a DL latency range of [0, 0.2 ms), range ID=2 may represent a DL latency value range of [0.2, 0.4 ms], range ID=3 may represent a DL latency value range of [0.4, 0.6 ms], and so on. In another example, "Number of DL Samples in Range" may be an integer representing the number of packets measured in the DL latency result within the corresponding latency value range indicated by the range ID. As shown in Table 3, these two fields are repeated within the PDU over the "Number of DL Latency Distribution Ranges" over time.

[0164] Furthermore, a "DL delay distribution range number" field may be included. If included, this parameter indicates how the delay ranges (blocks) are structured for the current UL delay distribution information. In one example, as shown in Table 3 above, if included, this field may occupy one octet and provide indications for up to 255 UL delay ranges.

[0165] For each UL latency range, a corresponding set of fields may be included to carry distribution information for each UL latency range, including the "UL Range ID" field and the "Number of UL Samples in Range" field, each field occupying, for example, one octet. The "UL Range ID" field may indicate a predefined UL delay range. For example, range ID=1 may represent a UL latency delay range of [0, 0.2 ms), range ID=2 may represent a UL latency value range of [0.2, 0.4 ms], range ID=3 may represent a UL latency value range of [0.4, 0.6 ms], and so on. In another example, "Number of UL Samples in Range" may be an integer representing the number of packets measured in the UL delay result within the corresponding latency value range indicated by the range ID. As shown in Table 3, these two fields are repeated within the PDU over the "Number of UL Latency Distribution Ranges" over time.

[0166] UL PDU session PDU for reporting latency information items including latency distribution range start / end pairs. In some implementations, such dedicated PDUs may be constructed to report latency information items that include latency distribution range start / end pair information. An exemplary construction of such a PDU is shown below, which illustrates the UL PDU session information PDU (referred to as PDU type 1) format with UL / DL latency distribution information field definitions. Here again, such a UL PDU session information PDU may be used to carry UL / DL latency distribution information related to latency ranges associated with start / end value pairs to the CN's UPF. It should also be understood that other types of PDUs can be constructed to include similar fields for carrying UL / DL latency distribution information related to latency ranges with start / end value pairs to target network nodes. [Table 4-1] [Table 4-2]

[0167] In addition to the standard PDU fields, the various latency / delay information fields in Table 4 are described in more detail below. Most of the field definitions for UL / DL delay distribution information are similar to those of the exemplary implementations related to Table 3, with the exception of the following fields.

[0168] Specifically, for each DL latency range, a corresponding set of fields may be included to carry distribution information for each DL latency range, which may include (1) a “range start” field, if indicated as present, which may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, the start latency value of the corresponding DL latency range; (2) a “range end” field, if indicated as present, which may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, the end latency value of the corresponding DL latency range; and (3) a “number of DL samples in range” field, which may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, the number of packets measured by the DL latency results within the range indicated by the range start and range end. As shown in Table 4, these three fields are repeated within the PDU over the “number of DL latency distribution ranges” of time.

[0169] Similarly, for each UL latency range, a corresponding set of fields may be included to carry distribution information for each UL latency range, which may include (1) a “range start” field, if indicated as present, which may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, the start latency value of the corresponding UL latency range; (2) a “range end” field, if indicated as present, which may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, the end latency value of the corresponding UL latency range; and (3) a “number of UL samples in range” field, for example, which may occupy one octet to indicate the number of packets measured by the UL delay results within the range indicated by the range start and range end. As shown in Table 4, these three fields are repeated within the PDU over the “number of UL delay distribution ranges” in time.

[0170] For example, if the "Range Start" field is set to 0.2 and the "Range End" field is set to 0.4, the corresponding latency range could be (0.2ms, 0.4ms).

[0171] UL PDU session PDU for reporting latency information items including packet delay samples. In some implementations, such dedicated PDUs may be constructed to report latency information items containing latency distribution information related to latency packet-level samples, as described above. An exemplary construction of such a PDU is shown below, which illustrates the UL PDU session information PDU (referred to as PDU type 1) format with UL / DL latency distribution information field definitions. Here again, such a UL PDU session information PDU may be used to carry UL / DL latency distribution information related to packet-level latency samples to the CN's UPF. It should also be understood that other types of PDUs may be constructed that contain similar fields for carrying UL / DL latency distribution information related to packet-level latency samples to target network nodes. [Table 5]

[0172] In addition to the standard PDU fields, the various latency / delay information fields in Table 5 are described in more detail below. Some of the field definitions for the UL / DL delay distribution information in Table 5 are similar to the implementation forms described above in Tables 3 and 4, with the exception of the following fields.

[0173] Specifically, it may include "DL delay sample count." If included, this parameter may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, up to 255 DL packet-level latency samples. This field may be followed by a corresponding number of blocks. Each block, if present, may occupy a number of octets (e.g., 4 octets) to carry latency information for each DL packet, and may occupy an additional number of octets (e.g., 4 octets) to carry the number of PDCP sequences associated with the corresponding DL packet. Each of these blocks corresponds to one of the "DL packet delay" fields and one of the "DL PDCP sequence count" fields in Table 5.

[0174] Similarly, the "UL Latency Sample Count" may be included. If included, this parameter may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, up to 255 UL packet-level latency samples. This field may be followed by a corresponding number of blocks. Each block, if present, may occupy a number of octets (e.g., 4 octets) to carry latency information for each UL packet, and may occupy an additional number of octets (e.g., 4 octets) to carry the number of PDCP sequences associated with the corresponding UL packet. Each of these blocks corresponds to one of the "UL Packet Latency" fields and one of the "UL PDCP Sequence Count" fields in Table 5.

[0175] The packet-by-packet latency information described above can be used by various network nodes within the wireless network to calculate latency distribution information.

[0176] UL PDU session PDU for reporting latency information items including latency distribution formula information. In some implementations, such dedicated PDUs may be constructed to report latency information items containing latency distribution information related to the latency distribution formula, as described above. An exemplary construction of such a PDU is shown below, which illustrates the UL PDU session information PDU (referred to as PDU type 1) format with a UL / DL latency distribution formula information field definition. Here again, such a UL PDU session information PDU may be used to transport the UL / DL latency distribution formula information to the CN's UPF. It should also be understood that other types of PDUs may be constructed to include similar fields for transporting the UL / DL latency distribution formula information to the target network node. [Table 6-1] [Table 6-2]

[0177] In addition to the standard PDU fields, the various latency / delay information fields in Table 6 are described in more detail below. Some of the field definitions for UL / DL delay distribution information in Table 6 are similar to the implementation forms described above in Tables 3, 4, and 5, with the exception of the following fields.

[0178] The field may contain "DL Latency Distribution Formula ID" information. If present, this field may occupy one octet to represent, for example, up to 255 DL latency distribution formula IDs corresponding to a given set of DL latency distribution formulas. For example, formula ID=1 may correspond to a given binomial distribution formula, formula ID=2 to a given normal distribution formula, and so on.

[0179] The "Number of parameters in the DL formula" field may be included. This parameter, if present, may occupy one octet to represent, for example, up to 255 parameters used in the parameterized mathematical distribution formula.

[0180] Each block of the "DL expression parameter" field may contain one of the DL expression parameters. Each of these fields, if present, may occupy, for example, four octets to identify a single DL expression parameter.

[0181] Similarly, a “DL Latency Distribution Formula ID” field may be included. If present, this field may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, up to 255 UL latency distribution formula IDs corresponding to a given set of UL latency distribution formulas. For example, formula ID=1 may correspond to a given binomial distribution formula, formula ID=2 to a given normal distribution formula, and so on. A “UL Formula Parameter Number” field may be included. If present, this parameter may occupy one octet to indicate, for example, up to 255 parameters used in a parameterized mathematical distribution formula. Blocks of “UL Formula Parameter” fields may each be included to carry one of the UL formula parameters. Each of these fields, if present, may occupy four octets to identify, for example, one UL formula parameter.

[0182] As explained above, a latency distribution formula may be a function that identifies all possible values ​​of a latency variable and quantifies the relative frequency (probability) of each particular latency variable value occurring. In other words, a latency distribution formula provides a parameterized mathematical function that can be used to calculate the probability of any individual observation of latency from the sample space.

[0183] Exemplary latency distribution formulas are not limited to these, but may include, for example, the binomial distribution, Poisson distribution, geometric distribution, normal distribution, and log-normal distribution. Latency distributions can be classified based on the type of data. For example, in the case of the partial delay of a packet collected from the RAN, or the end-to-end delay of a packet between the UPF and the UE, the normal distribution may be appropriately used to describe the collected data, as shown below. [Table 7]

[0184] If the above normal probability density formula is selected, the blocks (sets) of UL delay distribution information within the above UL PDU session PDU frame can be assigned as follows: • The delayed distribution formula ID:ID=1 indicates that the normal probability density formula is used. • The number of parameters in the formula is equal to 2 (only two parameters, μ and σ). The first item in the formula parameter list: the value of μ, which is the first parameter. • The second item in the formula parameter list: the value of σ, which is the second parameter.

[0185] The above description and accompanying drawings provide specific exemplary embodiments and implementations. However, the subject matter described may be embodied in a variety of different forms, and it is intended that the subject matter included or claimed is not limited to any exemplary embodiments described herein. A reasonably broad range of the subject matter claimed or included is intended. In particular, for example, the subject matter may be embodied as a method, device, component, system, or non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing computer code. Thus, embodiments may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, storage medium, or any combination thereof. For example, an embodiment of the method described above may be implemented by a component, device, or system including memory and a processor by executing computer code stored in memory.

[0186] Throughout this specification and the claims, terms may have subtly different meanings presented or implied in context beyond their expressly stated meanings. Similarly, the phrase “in one embodiment / implementation” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase “in another embodiment / implementation” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. For example, the subject matter described in the claims is intended to include combinations of embodiments that are illustrated whole or partially.

[0187] In general, terms can be understood at least partially from their usage in context. For example, terms such as “and,” “or,” or “and / or” as used herein may have a variety of meanings that may at least partially depend on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, when “or” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C in an exclusive sense. Furthermore, the term “one or more” as used herein may be used at least partially, depending on the context, to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,” or “the” may be understood, at least partially, depending on the context, to convey either a singular or plural usage. Furthermore, the term “based on” may be understood not necessarily to convey an exclusive set of factors, but instead, at least partially, depending on the context, to allow for the presence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described.

[0188] Throughout this specification, references to features, benefits, or similar terms do not imply that all features and benefits that may be realized by the Solution should or will be included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, terms referring to features and benefits should be understood to mean that certain features, benefits, or characteristics described in relation to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the Solution. Accordingly, descriptions of features and benefits, and similar terms throughout this specification, may, but not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0189] Furthermore, the features, advantages, and characteristics of the solution described herein can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the solution can be implemented without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other examples, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments where they are not present in all embodiments of the solution.

Claims

1. A method for a wireless access network node of a wireless network to provision data transmission delay between a wireless terminal device and a core network, wherein the method is: Receiving a transmission delay configuration from the core network, wherein the transmission delay configuration is A transmission delay provisioning segmentation method, wherein the transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes one of an end-to-end delay method or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay method, A monitoring / reporting configuration, wherein the monitoring / reporting configuration includes a reporting granularity configuration and Identifying, Transmitting at least a portion of the aforementioned transmission delay configuration to the wireless terminal device, During a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device, transmission delay information items are received from the wireless terminal device. Based on the aforementioned transmission delay information items and in accordance with the aforementioned transmission delay configuration, a report is generated, and the report is transmitted to the core network. Includes, The aforementioned reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as a packet delay distribution or packet delay distribution formula information. The packet delay distribution or packet delay distribution formula information is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. If the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as the packet delay distribution, the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field indicating the number of delay ranges, and a plurality of blocks of the field, where each block of the field includes the number of packets having a latency value that falls into one of the delay ranges, or If the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution formula information, the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, a second field for indicating the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula, and a block of fields containing values ​​for the number of parameters.

2. The reporting granularity configuration provides the data transmission delay, Average data packet delay, Delay per packet, The packet delay distribution, or The aforementioned packet delay distribution formula information The method according to claim 1, further indicating that it is reported as at least one of the following.

3. The aforementioned reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as a delay per packet. The delay for each packet is included within the uplink PDU session frame. The aforementioned uplink PDU session frame is A third field indicates the number of delayed samples per packet, A plurality of fourth fields, each of which includes a packet-by-packet delay sample, and The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

4. The aforementioned data transmission delay includes the downlink user plane data transmission delay. The method further includes relaying at least one downlink data packet from the core network to the wireless terminal device. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission delay information item associated with the at least one downlink data packet includes end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with the at least one downlink data packet, which is received from the wireless terminal device within the control plane of the wireless access network node and calculated by the wireless terminal device.

5. Generating the aforementioned report and transmitting the aforementioned report to the core network is Insert the aforementioned report into an NG Application Protocol (NGAP) message and transmit the NGAP message to the core network within the control plane, or Insert the report into an E1 Application Protocol (E1AP) message in the control plane, transmit the E1AP message to the user plane of the wireless access network node, extract the report from the E1AP message, insert the report into a PDU session information PDU in the user plane of the wireless access network node, and transmit the PDU session information PDU to the core network in the user plane. The method according to claim 4, including the method described in claim 4.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data transmission delay includes an uplink user plane data transmission delay, and the transmission delay information item received from the wireless terminal device includes a timestamp for at least one uplink data packet transmitted from the wireless terminal device.

7. The transmission delay provisioning segmentation method further includes the end-to-end delay method, The method according to claim 6, wherein generating the report in accordance with the transmission delay configuration and transmitting the report to the core network includes relaying the timestamp information to the core network so that the core network can calculate the data transmission delay.

8. The transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes the RAN partial delay method, Generating the report according to the transmission delay configuration and transmitting the report to the core network is: Calculate the RAN partial delay information associated with the at least one uplink data packet in the user plane of the wireless access network node, transmit the RAN partial delay information to the control plane of the wireless access network node, and transmit the RAN partial delay information to the core network via an NGAP message within the control plane, or The process involves calculating the RAN partial delay information associated with the at least one uplink data packet in the user plane of the wireless access network node, and transmitting the RAN partial delay information to the core network via the uplink PDU session information PDU within the user plane. The method according to claim 6, including the method described in claim 6.

9. A method for a wireless terminal device to monitor and report data transmission delays between the wireless terminal device and the core network within a wireless network, wherein the method is: Receiving a transmission delay configuration from the control plane of a wireless access network node, wherein the transmission delay configuration is A transmission delay provisioning segmentation method, wherein the transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes one of an end-to-end delay method or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay method, A monitoring / reporting configuration, wherein the monitoring / reporting configuration includes a reporting granularity configuration and Identifying, In accordance with the transmission delay configuration, during a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device, transmission delay information items are transmitted to the wireless access network node. Includes, The aforementioned reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as a packet delay distribution or packet delay distribution formula information. The packet delay distribution or packet delay distribution formula information is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. If the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as the packet delay distribution, the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field indicating the number of delay ranges, and a plurality of blocks of the field, where each block of the field includes the number of packets having a latency value that falls into one of the delay ranges, or If the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution formula information, the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field for identifying the packet delay distribution formula, a second field for indicating the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula, and a block of fields containing values ​​for the number of parameters.

10. The aforementioned reporting granularity configuration reduces the data transmission delay. Average data packet delay, Delay per packet, The packet delay distribution, or The aforementioned packet delay distribution formula information The method according to claim 9, further indicating that it is reported as at least one of the following.

11. The aforementioned reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is further reported as a delay per packet. The delay for each packet is included within the uplink PDU session frame. The aforementioned uplink PDU session frame is A third field indicates the number of delayed samples per packet, Multiple fourth fields, each containing a delay sample for each packet The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

12. The transmission delay configuration further includes a data packet transmission timestamp scheme, The aforementioned data packet transmission timestamp method is: The data packet header must include a transmission timestamp, or The packet data convergence protocol header must include a transmission timestamp. The method according to claim 9, which shows one of the following.

13. The aforementioned data transmission delay includes the downlink user plane data transmission delay. The method includes obtaining reception timestamp information for at least one downlink data packet, and generating the transmission delay information item by calculating end-to-end downlink transmission delay information or RAN partial downlink transmission delay information associated with the at least one downlink data packet according to the reception timestamp information and the transmission delay configuration. The method according to claim 9, wherein the transmission delay information item is transmitted to the control plane of the wireless access network node.

14. A wireless network node, The wireless network node comprises a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the instructions to be performed according to claim 1.

15. A wireless terminal device comprising a memory for storing instructions and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor executes the instructions, Receiving a transmission delay configuration from the control plane of a wireless access network node, wherein the transmission delay configuration is A transmission delay provisioning segmentation method, wherein the transmission delay provisioning segmentation method includes one of an end-to-end delay method or a radio access network (RAN) partial delay method, A monitoring / reporting configuration, wherein the monitoring / reporting configuration includes a reporting granularity configuration and Identifying, In accordance with the transmission delay configuration, during a data transmission session between the core network and the wireless terminal device, transmission delay information items are transmitted to the wireless access network node. It is for the purpose of doing so, The aforementioned reporting granularity configuration indicates that data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution or packet delay distribution formula information. The packet delay distribution or packet delay distribution formula information is included within the uplink protocol data unit (PDU) session frame. If the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as the packet delay distribution, the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field indicating the number of delay ranges, and a plurality of blocks of the field, where each block of the field includes the number of packets having a latency value that falls into one of the delay ranges, or If the reporting granularity configuration indicates that the data transmission delay is reported as packet delay distribution formula information, the uplink PDU session frame includes a first field for identifying a packet delay distribution formula, a second field for indicating the number of parameters associated with the packet delay distribution formula, and a block of fields containing values ​​for the number of parameters, in a wireless terminal device.

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