Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: sending first information to a terminal device, the first information instructing the terminal device to identify a data packet discarded when no network congestion occurs; sending data packets to the terminal device; and receiving first packet loss information from the terminal device, wherein the first packet loss information comprises packet loss information when no network congestion occurs, and / or packet loss information when network congestion occurs. Thus, an application server can know packet loss when no network congestion occurs, and / or packet loss when network congestion occurs, and the impact of packet loss of base stations on media services can be more accurately obtained.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410637030.7, filed on May 17, 2024, and entitled "A communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] Considering the decoding feature of a media service, a base station can select to discard data packets useless for decoding recovery of a media service receiving end. For example, the base station performs protocol data unit (PDU) set integrity processing, and can discard the entire PDU set or can directly discard data packets after a data packet with a packet loss in the PDU set. For another example, the base station performs PDU set processing under forward error correction (FEC) encoding, and can discard data packets in the PDU set according to a certain ratio. Based on the above processing of the base station, the purpose of saving air interface resources can be achieved.

[0005] Currently, how to accurately know the influence of packet loss of a base station on a media service is a problem that needs attention. SUMMARY

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus to accurately know the influence of packet loss of a base station on a media service.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to an application server or a chip in an application server, the method comprising: sending first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating the terminal device to identify data packets discarded in a case where network congestion does not occur; sending data packets to the terminal device; and receiving first packet loss information from the terminal device, wherein the first packet loss information comprises packet loss information in a case where network congestion does not occur and / or packet loss information in a case where network congestion occurs.

[0008] By using the method, the application server can instruct the terminal device to identify the data packets discarded in the case that the network is not congested, and obtain the first packet loss information fed back by the terminal device, wherein the first packet loss information can reflect the packet loss in the case that the network is not congested and / or the packet loss in the case that the network is congested, that is, the application server can know the packet loss in the case that the network is not congested and / or the packet loss in the case that the network is congested. Compared with the case that the application server only obtains the total packet loss rate or the total packet loss number, the application server can more accurately know the influence of the packet loss of the base station on the media service, and further determine whether to trigger the code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss information.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the second information is sent to the first core network device, and the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in the case that the network is not congested.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in the case that the network is not congested means that the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets in the PDU set are allowed to be discarded in the case that the network is not congested.

[0011] In a possible implementation, third information is sent to the terminal device, and the third information indicates that the terminal device feeds back the first packet loss information.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information; the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information are one or more of a total packet loss number, a packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested, a ratio of the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first packet loss information includes one or more of the total packet loss number, the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested, the ratio of the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested to the total number of data packets, the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested, and the ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0014] In a possible implementation, fourth information is sent to the second core network device, and the fourth information is used to request to provide the network congestion information for the terminal device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the fourth information is used to request marking of an Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) bit in the data packet.

[0016] In a possible implementation, before sending the second information to the first core network device, fifth information is acquired, the fifth information comprising one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information; wherein the server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate that processing is requested in PDU set granularity.

[0017] In a possible implementation, sixth information is sent to a third core network device, the sixth information being used to request the network to provide a number of lost packets W, the number of lost packets W comprising a number of lost packets occurring in at least one of the following: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element.

[0018] With the above method, the sixth information can improve the accuracy of the first lost packet information determined by the terminal device.

[0019] In a possible implementation, after receiving the first lost packet information from the terminal device, it is determined whether to trigger a code rate adjustment according to the first lost packet information; and if the code rate adjustment is triggered, a code rate adjustment value is determined.

[0020] With the above method, the application server can determine whether to trigger a code rate adjustment in combination with the first lost packet information, and determine a suitable code rate adjustment value when the code rate adjustment needs to be performed.

[0021] In a possible implementation, according to the first lost packet information, if a ratio of a number of lost packets to a total number of data packets in a case where no congestion occurs in the network is greater than a first preset threshold, the code rate adjustment is not triggered; or, according to the first lost packet information, if a ratio of a number of lost packets to a total number of data packets in a case where congestion occurs in the network is less than a second preset threshold, the code rate adjustment is not triggered.

[0022] With the above method, the application server can determine whether to trigger a code rate adjustment in combination with the first lost packet information, and can not trigger the code rate adjustment when the number of lost packets or the packet loss rate is large in a case where no network congestion occurs.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to a terminal device or a chip in a terminal device, the method comprising: receiving first information from an application server, the first information indicating that the terminal device identifies data packets discarded in a case where no congestion occurs in a network; receiving data packets from the application server; and sending first lost packet information to the application server, the first lost packet information being lost packet information in a case where no congestion occurs in the network and / or lost packet information in a case where congestion occurs in the network.

[0024] By using the method, the terminal device can determine the first packet loss information according to the received first information, and feed back the first packet loss information to the application server, wherein the first packet loss information can reflect the packet loss condition in the case where the network does not occur congestion, and / or the packet loss condition in the case where the network occurs congestion, that is, the application server can learn the packet loss condition in the case where the network does not occur congestion, and / or the packet loss condition in the case where the network occurs congestion, compared with providing only the total packet loss rate or the total packet loss number to the application server, the application server can more accurately learn the influence of the base station packet loss on the media service.

[0025] In a possible implementation, third information from the application server is received, and the third information indicates that the terminal device feeds back the first packet loss information.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information; the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information are one or more of a total packet loss number, a packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion, a ratio of the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion, and a ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion to the total number of data packets.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first packet loss information includes one or more of the total packet loss number, the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion, the ratio of the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion to the total number of data packets, the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion, and the ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case where the network does not occur congestion to the total number of data packets.

[0028] In a possible implementation, network congestion information is acquired; and the first packet loss information is determined according to the first information and the network congestion information.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the network congestion information is carried in an ECN bit in a received data packet.

[0030] In a possible implementation, a packet loss number W is received; the packet loss number W includes a packet loss number occurring in at least one of the following cases: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element; and when the first packet loss information is determined according to the first information and the network congestion information, the first packet loss information is determined according to the first information, the network congestion information, and the packet loss number W.

[0031] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to an application server or a chip in the application server, the method comprising: sending information X to an access network device, the information X indicating that the access network device feeds back a first packet loss result, the first packet loss result comprising a number of packet losses and / or a packet loss rate in a case where network congestion does not occur; and receiving the first packet loss result from the access network device.

[0032] With the above method, the application server can instruct the access network device to feed back the first packet loss result, and obtain the first packet loss result fed back by the access network device, wherein the first packet loss result comprises the number of packet losses and / or the packet loss rate in the case where network congestion does not occur, and the application server can know the packet loss request in the case where network congestion does not occur, that is, more accurately know the influence of base station packet loss on media service, and further determine whether to trigger code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss result.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the information Y is sent to the terminal, the information Y indicating that the terminal feeds back a second packet loss result, the second packet loss result comprising a total number of packet losses and / or a total packet loss rate; and the second packet loss result is received from the terminal.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the second information is sent to the first core network device, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in the case where network congestion does not occur.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in the case where network congestion does not occur means that the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets in a PDU set are allowed to be discarded in the case where network congestion does not occur; and one or more PDU sets are sent to the terminal device when the data packets are sent to the terminal device, each PDU set comprising one or more data packets.

[0036] In a possible implementation, before the second information is sent to the first core network device, fifth information is obtained, the fifth information comprising one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information; wherein the server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate that processing is requested in a PDU set granularity.

[0037] In a possible implementation, whether to trigger code rate adjustment is determined according to the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result; and if code rate adjustment is triggered, a code rate adjustment value is determined.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a transceiver and a processing unit, wherein the processing unit invokes the transceiver to send first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating the terminal device to identify a data packet discarded in a case where no congestion occurs in a network; send a data packet to the terminal device; and receive first packet loss information from the terminal device, wherein the first packet loss information comprises packet loss information in a case where no congestion occurs in the network and / or packet loss information in a case where congestion occurs in the network.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to send second information to a first core network device, wherein the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in a case where no congestion occurs in the network.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in a case where no congestion occurs in the network means that the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets in a protocol data unit (PDU) set are allowed to be discarded in a case where no congestion occurs in the network.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to send third information to the terminal device, wherein the third information indicates the terminal device to feed back the first packet loss information.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information, wherein the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information comprise one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where no congestion occurs in the network, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where no congestion occurs in the network to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where no congestion occurs in the network, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where no congestion occurs in the network to the total number of data packets.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the first packet loss information comprises one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where no congestion occurs in the network, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where no congestion occurs in the network to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where no congestion occurs in the network, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where no congestion occurs in the network to the total number of data packets.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to send fourth information to a second core network device, wherein the fourth information is used to request the terminal device to provide network congestion information.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the fourth information is used to request to mark an explicit congestion notification (ECN) bit in a data packet.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to acquire fifth information before sending the second information to the first core network device, the fifth information comprising one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information; wherein the server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate a request for processing in a PDU set granularity.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to send sixth information to a third core network device, the sixth information being used to request the network to provide a number of lost packets W, the number of lost packets W comprising a number of lost packets occurring in at least one of the following: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is configured to determine whether to trigger a code rate adjustment according to the first lost packet information after receiving the first lost packet information from the terminal device; and determine a code rate adjustment value if the code rate adjustment is triggered.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to determine whether a ratio of a number of lost packets to a total number of data packets in a case where the network is not congested is greater than a first preset threshold according to the first lost packet information, and not trigger the code rate adjustment; or determine whether a ratio of a number of lost packets to a total number of data packets in a case where the network is congested is less than a second preset threshold according to the first lost packet information, and not trigger the code rate adjustment.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a transceiver and a processing unit, the processing unit invoking the transceiver to perform the following: receiving first information from an application server, the first information indicating the terminal device to identify data packets discarded in a case where the network is not congested; receiving data packets from the application server; and sending first lost packet information to the application server, the first lost packet information being lost packet information in a case where the network is not congested and / or lost packet information in a case where the network is congested.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to receive third information from the application server, the third information indicating the terminal device to feed back the first lost packet information.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information; the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information are one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the first packet loss information includes one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to acquire network congestion information; and the processor is configured to determine the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the network congestion information is carried in an ECN bit in a received data packet.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to receive a number of packet losses W, the number of packet losses W including a number of packet losses occurring in at least one of the following: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element; and the processor is configured to determine the first packet loss information according to the first information, the network congestion information, and the number of packet losses W when determining the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information.

[0057] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising: a transceiver and a processor, the processor being configured to invoke the transceiver to perform: sending information X to an access network device, the information X indicating that the access network device feeds back first packet loss information, the first packet loss information including a number of packet losses and / or a packet loss rate in a case where the network is not congested; and receiving the first packet loss information from the access network device.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to send information Y to a terminal, the information Y indicating that the terminal feeds back second packet loss information, the second packet loss information including a total number of packet losses and / or a total packet loss rate; and receive the second packet loss information from the terminal.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to send second information to the first core network device, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded when the network is not congested.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded when the network is not congested means that the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets in a PDU set are allowed to be discarded when the network is not congested; and the one or more PDU sets are sent to the terminal device when the data packets are sent to the terminal device, and each PDU set includes one or more data packets.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the transceiver is configured to obtain fifth information before sending the second information to the first core network device, the fifth information including one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information; the server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate a request for processing in a PDU set granularity.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is configured to determine whether to trigger code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result, and determine a code rate adjustment value if the code rate adjustment is triggered.

[0063] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes units for performing the method in any of the aspects above.

[0064] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes at least one processing element and at least one storage element, wherein the at least one storage element is configured to store programs and data, and the at least one processing element is configured to read and execute the programs and data stored in the storage element, so that the method in any of the aspects above is implemented.

[0065] In a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any of the aspects above.

[0066] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to provide input and / or output of programs or instructions for at least one processor, and the at least one processor being configured to execute the programs or instructions so that the communication device can implement the method in any of the aspects above.

[0067] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes the at least one processor.

[0068] In a eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium, wherein a software program is stored in the computer storage medium, and the software program, when read and executed by one or more processors, can implement the method in any one of the above aspects.

[0069] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method in any one of the above aspects.

[0070] In a thirteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, which comprises at least one chip and a memory, and the at least one chip is configured to read and execute a program stored in the memory to implement the method in any one of the above aspects.

[0071] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which comprises a terminal device and an application server, wherein the terminal device executes the method in any one of the above second aspects, and the application server executes the method in any one of the above first aspect and third aspect.

[0072] On the basis of the implementation provided in the above aspects, the present application can be further combined to provide more implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0073] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture;

[0074] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a SEALDD service architecture;

[0075] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the transmission of a SEALDD service architecture;

[0076] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a mechanism for QoS processing based on PDU set granularity;

[0077] FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of packet loss information feedback;

[0078] FIG. 6 shows an overview flowchart of a communication method;

[0079] FIG. 7 shows a specific flowchart of obtaining first packet loss information under a SEALDD service architecture;

[0080] FIG. 8 shows an overview flowchart of another communication method;

[0081] FIG. 9 shows a specific flowchart of obtaining first packet loss information and second packet loss structure under a SEALDD service architecture;

[0082] FIG. 10 shows an overview flowchart of yet another communication method;

[0083] FIG. 11 shows an overview flowchart of another method of communication;

[0084] FIG. 12 shows a detailed flowchart of obtaining second packet loss information under an architecture of a SEALDD service;

[0085] FIG. 13 shows a detailed flowchart of obtaining third packet loss information and fourth packet loss information under an architecture of a SEALDD service;

[0086] FIG. 14 shows a structural diagram of a communication device;

[0087] FIG. 15 shows a structural diagram of another communication device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The specific implementation manners of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. However, the implementation manners of the present application can also include combinations of these embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application, such as using other embodiments and making structural changes. Therefore, the detailed description of the following embodiments should not be interpreted in a limiting sense. The terms used in the embodiment part of the present application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0089] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 1 can include an access network device and a core network device. A terminal device accesses a data network (DN) through the access network device and the core network device. The core network device includes, but is not limited to, part or all of the following network elements: an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, a unified data repository (UDR) network element (not shown in the figure), a network repository function (NRF) network element (not shown in the figure), a network exposure function (NEF) network element (not shown in the figure), an application function (AF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, and a network slice selection function (NSSF) network element.

[0090] The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal device, etc. The terminal device can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an urban air vehicle (such as a pilotless plane, a helicopter, etc.), a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. For ease of illustration, the UE is taken as an example of the terminal device, and the UE appearing in any subsequent position can be replaced by the terminal device.

[0091] The access network device can be a wireless access network device (RAN device) or a wired access network device. Among them, the wireless access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc.; it can also be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of the base station, for example, it can be a central unit (CU), and it can also be a distributed unit (DU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or the entire physical layer. For specific descriptions of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The wireless access network device can be a macro base station, or a micro base station or an indoor station, and can also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the wireless access network device. For ease of description, the base station is taken as an example of the access network device, and the base station appearing in the subsequent positions can be replaced by the access network device.

[0092] The base station and the UE can be fixed in position or mobile. The base station and the UE can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and artificial satellites in the air. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the UE.

[0093] The functions of several core network devices are briefly described below:

[0094] The AMF network element contains functions such as performing mobility management, or access authentication / authorization. In addition, it is also responsible for transmitting user policies between the UE and the PCF network element.

[0095] SMF network element, containing functions of performing session management, performing control policy issued by PCF network element, selecting UPF network element, or allocating internet protocol (IP) address of UE, etc.

[0096] UPF network element, containing functions of completing user plane data forwarding, session / stream level-based charging statistics, or bandwidth limitation, etc.

[0097] UDM network element, containing functions of performing management of subscription data, or user access authorization, etc.

[0098] NEF network element, used for supporting opening of capabilities and events.

[0099] AF network element, delivering application-side requirements for network side, for example, quality of service (QoS) requirements or user state event subscription, etc. AF can be a third-party functional entity, or an application service deployed by an operator, such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service. Among them, the AF network element includes an AF network element in the core network (namely, an AF network element of an operator) and a third-party AF network element (such as an application server of an enterprise).

[0100] PCF network element, containing policy control functions responsible for charging, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management at session, service flow level, or UE policy decision, etc.

[0101] AUSF network element, responsible for authenticating a user to determine whether to allow the user or device to access the network.

[0102] NSSF network element, mainly responsible for network slice selection, determining network slice instances allowed to be accessed by a terminal device according to slice selection assistance information, subscription information, etc. of the terminal device.

[0103] DN is a network outside the operator network, and the operator network can access multiple DNs. Various services can be deployed on the DN, and data and / or voice services can be provided for UEs. For example, the DN is a private network of a smart factory, and sensors installed in a workshop of the smart factory can be UEs, and a control server of the sensors is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensors. The sensors can communicate with the control server, obtain instructions of the control server, and transmit collected sensor data to the control server according to the instructions, etc. For another example, the DN is an internal office network of a company, and mobile phones or computers of employees of the company can be UEs, and the mobile phones or computers of the employees can access information and data resources on the internal office network of the company.

[0104] It can be understood that the above network element is an example of an implementation manner, and the application does not exclude that a network element or device having the function of the above network element exists in a 6G or newer wireless communication system, has other names, or has other forms. In addition, the above network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, or a software function running on a special hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). As a possible implementation method, the above network element or function can be implemented by one device, or can be implemented by multiple devices together, or can be a functional module in a device, and the embodiments of the application do not make specific limitations here.

[0105] The current 3GPP SA6 is discussing the architecture and function of the service enabler architecture layer data delivery (SEALDD) service, and the basic function structure is as shown in FIG. 2.

[0106] The SEALDD enhancement layer (or data transmission enhancement layer) is composed of a SEALDD client and a SEALDD server, wherein the SEALDD client is deployed in the form of software or a system component on the UE, and the SEALDD server is deployed in the form of an independent or integrated server between the UPF network element and the application server (AS), or between the UPF network element and the vertical application layer (VAL) server, or as a functional module in the DN. According to the deployment of the UPF network element and the AS, the SEALDD server can be distributedly deployed.

[0107] For the SEALDD interface aspect, the SEALDD client communicates with the VAL client through the SEALDD-C interface, and the SEALDD server communicates with the VAL server through the SEALDD-S interface. The SEALDD-UU interface is used for user plane data transmission between the SEALDD client and the SEALDD server, and the SEALDD-UU interface is carried on the user plane session constructed by the 3GPP network system. The SEALDD-E interface is used for interaction between the SEALDD servers, such as providing control plane context transmission and forwarding of user plane data.

[0108] Exemplarily, the SEALDD server can serve as an AF network element to interact with a PCF network element through an N33 / N5 interface for control plane message interaction, where N5 is an interface between the AF network element and the PCF network element, N33 is an interface between the AF network element and a NEF network element, and the AF network element can indirectly communicate with the PCF network element through the NEF network element. For example, the SEALDD server can serve as an AF network element to send an AF request or a notification subscription to a 5G core (5GC) to a PCF network element through an N33 / N5 interface. Exemplarily, the SEALDD server can serve as a functional module in a DN to perform user plane data transmission with a 5GC UPF network element through an N6 interface.

[0109] As a data transmission enhancement layer, the SEALDD provides a communication connection and data transmission function for a VAL application, for example, supports transmission of application, media data and signaling data, and a transmission schematic diagram is shown in FIG. 3.

[0110] For uplink data transmission, the VAL client transmits a data packet to the SEALDD client through a SEALDD-C interface, the SEALDD client performs data packet encapsulation, and then transmits the data packet to the SEALDD server through a SEALDD-UU interface, the SEALDD server performs data packet analysis / decapsulation, and then transmits the data packet to the VAL server through a SEALDD-S interface. Downlink data transmission is similar to uplink data transmission, the VAL server transmits a data packet to the SEALDD server through a SEALDD-S interface, the SEALDD server performs encapsulation on the data packet, and then transmits the data packet to the SEALDD client through a SEALDD-UU interface, and the SEALDD client performs data packet analysis / decapsulation, and then transmits the data packet to the VAL client through a SEALDD-C interface.

[0111] The following briefly introduces technical concepts related to the present application:

[0112] 1. PDU set

[0113] Currently, for media services, such as the currently emerging augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and cloud gaming services, the end-to-end delay has extremely stringent requirements, and the corresponding data processing granularity of the upper-layer media service during encoding and transmission can no longer be the granularity of a data packet. For example, when encoding at the media service layer, media frames, slices, and the like can be used as the basic granularity for processing, that is, media frames, slices, and the like can be independently encoded and processed; at the same time, the receiving side also performs decoding and display processing with the same media frames, slices, and the like as the basic granularity. A media frame, slice, often contains multiple data packets (such as IP data packets). In order to represent the basic data unit of the above-mentioned media service layer, the embodiments of the present application refer to it as a protocol data unit set (PDU Set) or a data packet set, each PDU set includes multiple data packets, which can also be referred to as PDU data packets. The PDU set is the basic unit that can be independently processed at the upper-layer service layer, and once a data packet in the PDU set is lost or damaged, the entire PDU set can be difficult to correctly decode and display.

[0114] The PDU set can be referred to as a media service frame or a media slice or a media service data packet set.

[0115] In one example, there is a mapping relationship between the media service frame / media service slice / media service data packet set and the PDU set. For example, media service frame #1 contains multiple data packets, which can be mapped to PDU set #1. For another example, the application server transmits data packets through the RTP protocol (without carrying the RTP extension header or the special RTP extension header carrying the PDU set information), and the UPF can determine the PDU set information based on the RTP protocol and the payload encoding protocol, that is, the mapping relationship between the media service frame / media service slice / media service data packet set and the PDU set.

[0116] In another example, the media service frame / media service slice / media service data packet set and the PDU set are equivalent. For example, the application server transmits data packets through the RTP extension header protocol, and the PDU set information is directly carried in the RTP extension header.

[0117] 2. Mechanism for QoS processing based on PDU set granularity

[0118] The R18 XRM issue proposes a mechanism for QoS processing based on PDU set granularity for extended reality (XR) (that is, AR / VR / MR) services, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0119] The AF network element provides a protocol description of the current XR service to the 5G network, which can include but is not limited to the following: a transport layer protocol (such as real-time transport protocol (RTP)), a transport layer extension header (such as an RTP extension header), and a payload format (such as H.264, H.265, etc.). Based on the protocol description of the XR service, the UPF network element identifies the PDU set, obtains PDU set information, which can include but is not limited to the following: a PDU set sequence number, an end marker of a PDU set packet, a PDU set packet sequence number, a PDU set size, and PDU set importance. The PDU set information can be transmitted to the base station through a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) header, which is used for PDU set granularity QoS processing by the base station, such as PDU set integrity transmission and PDU set differential transmission, as shown in FIG. 4. If the AF network element is a non-trusted network element, the AF network element can communicate with the PCF network element through the NEF network element. If the AF network element is a trusted network element, the AF network element can directly communicate with the PCF network element.

[0120] 3. PDU set integrity processing

[0121] PDU set integrity processing, also known as PDU set integrity transmission, if a data packet in the PDU set is discarded, the entire PDU set can be discarded, or the data packets after the discarded data packet in the PDU set can be discarded or no longer transmitted, thereby reducing the waste of air interface transmission resources.

[0122] PDU set differential processing, also known as PDU set differential transmission. According to the importance difference between PDU sets, different QoS processing is selected, such as discarding PDU sets with lower importance when the air interface is congested, thereby reducing air interface congestion.

[0123] 4. Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoding

[0124] FEC encoding is an application layer encoding and decoding technology. Under FEC encoding, the sending end adds extra redundant data packets to the data packets to be sent. In the network transmission process, when a certain amount or proportion of data packets in a PDU set are lost, the receiving end can decode and recover the data packets according to the redundant data packets. Therefore, the network can discard redundant packets or discard data packets at a certain rate while ensuring decoding at the receiving end

[0125] 5. Error concealment (EC) mechanism

[0126] EC is also an application layer encoding and decoding technology. Under the EC mechanism, when packet loss occurs in the network, the data packets before the lost data packets in the PDU set are still useful for decoding at the receiving end, but the data packets after the lost data packets in the PDU set are useless for decoding at the receiving end. Therefore, when packet loss occurs in the network, the data packets after the lost data packets in the PDU set can no longer be transmitted and can be discarded directly to save air interface resources at the base station side.

[0127] 6. Code rate

[0128] Code rate is the degree of compression of the encoder for media (such as video), which can determine the size of the final media file and the quality of the media. The lower the code rate, the higher the compression degree, the smaller the corresponding media file, and the worse the display quality of the media.

[0129] In an existing code rate adjustment scheme, the sender of media service data transmits data packets based on a specific data transmission protocol. The receiver of media service data determines whether packet loss occurs and the packet loss condition based on the sequence number and other information of the data packets, and feeds back the packet loss information, as shown in FIG. 5. Further, the sender of media service data adjusts the code rate adaptively based on the packet loss information fed back by the receiver.

[0130] A specific code rate adjustment scheme is as follows: when the sender of media service data determines that the packet loss rate is greater than the code rate adjustment threshold (such as 0.1) according to the packet loss information, the sender triggers a decrease in the sending bandwidth / code rate, and the higher the packet loss rate, the greater the decrease in the code rate. When the sender of media service data determines that the packet loss rate is less than 0.02 according to the packet loss information, the sender triggers an increase in the sending code rate. When the sender of media service data determines that the packet loss rate is greater than 0.02 but less than 0.1 according to the packet loss information, the sender keeps the current code rate unchanged.

[0131] With the above code rate adjustment scheme, when data packets are lost due to network congestion and the like, the receiver of media service data can perceive the packet loss condition and notify the sender of media service data of the packet loss information, and the sender of media service data adjusts the code rate based on the packet loss information to avoid further network congestion.

[0132] However, for the processing scenario of PDU set granularity in R18 and R19, there is a network / base station discarding processing of data packets in the PDU set when packet loss occurs in the PDU set for the purpose of saving air interface resources. At this time, the packet loss rate perceived by the receiver of the media service data increases, which may cause the sender of the media service data to lower the code rate, resulting in poor experience of the application, for example, poor picture quality.

[0133] The above is described in combination with specific examples: assume that the application server sends 3 PDU sets, which are PDU set #1, PDU set #2 and PDU set #3. PDU set #1 is composed of PDU packet #1, PDU packet #2 and PDU packet #3; PDU set #2 is composed of PDU packet #4, PDU packet #5, PDU packet #6 and PDU packet #7; PDU set #3 is composed of PDU packet #8, PDU packet #9 and PDU packet #10; if the PDU sets sent by the application server are sent to the base station through the UPF network element, there is loss of some data packets in the PDU set due to unreliable N6 / N3 transmission or overload of the UPF network element (such as loss of PDU packet #4), and under network non-congestion, the base station has the following two processing conditions:

[0134] Case one: if the base station has enabled the feature of processing with PDU set granularity, for example, considering PDU set integrity processing, the base station discards all data packets in PDU set #2 corresponding to PDU packet #4, the UE receives PDU set #1 and PDU set #3, and all data packets in PDU set #2 are regarded as discarded packets, i.e. the number of lost packets is 4.

[0135] Case two: if the base station does not enable the feature of processing with PDU set granularity, the UE receives PDU set #1 and PDU set #3 and other data packets in PDU set #2, i.e. PDU packet #5, PDU packet #6 and PDU packet #7. At this time, the number of lost packets is 1.

[0136] In the above case one, the number of lost packets is 4, which does not truly reflect the real congestion degree of the current network. When the UE feeds back the lost packet information (such as the number of lost packets or the lost packet rate) to the application server, the application server may trigger the code rate to be reduced, thereby affecting the user experience. In the above case two, the number of lost packets is 1, which fails to effectively save the air interface resources on the base station side. Since the application server only obtains the number of lost packets or the lost packet rate, it cannot perceive whether the lost packets are due to the base station losing packets under network congestion or losing packets under network non-congestion. When the lost packet rate is large, the application server may mistakenly believe that the network congestion is increased, which may further trigger the application server to reduce the code rate, and even cause the phenomenon of excessive adjustment of the code rate, thereby causing the experience of the application to be poor. Therefore, how to save the air interface resources while avoiding the excessive adjustment of the code rate affecting the user experience is a problem worthy of attention.

[0137] Based on this, in order to accurately know the influence of the lost packets of the base station on the media service, several possible communication methods are provided in the embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 13.

[0138] It can be understood that the architecture of the SEALDD service described above can be used as one possible application scenario of the embodiments of the present application, and in addition, the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other scenarios, which are not limited by the present application.

[0139] Exemplarily, the application scenario of the embodiments of the present application can be further extended to the general application server and application client mechanism. For example, the whole SEALDD server and the VAL server can be replaced by the application server, and the whole SEALDD client and the VAL client can be replaced by the application client.

[0140] Exemplarily, the application scenario of the embodiments of the present application can be further extended to the media server architecture defined by SA4. For example, the SEALDD server corresponds to the 5G media server, the VAL server corresponds to the 5G media providing server, the SEALDD client corresponds to the 5G media client, and the VAL client corresponds to the 5G media perception client.

[0141] In the present application, the data packets discarded in the case where the network does not occur congestion can also be referred to as non-network congestion caused lost packets, which is simply referred to as non-congestion lost packets. The data packets discarded in the case where the network occurs congestion can also be referred to as network congestion caused lost packets, which is simply referred to as congestion lost packets. The sum of the number of non-congestion lost packets and the number of congestion lost packets is the total number of lost packets. The network does not occur congestion can be replaced by network non-congestion or non-network congestion. The network occurs congestion can be replaced by network congestion.

[0142] In addition, the ratio of the number of lost packets to the total number of packets when the network is not congested is also referred to as a non-congestion packet loss rate. The ratio of the number of lost packets to the total number of packets when the network is congested is also referred to as a congestion packet loss rate. The sum of the non-congestion packet loss rate and the congestion packet loss rate is a total packet loss rate. The total number of packets refers to the total number of packets sent by a packet sender, which in this case refers to the total number of packets sent by an application server.

[0143] In addition, in this application, when the network is not congested, it can also be understood as non-network resource shortage, and when the network is congested, it can also be understood as network resource shortage. Therefore, the non-congestion packet loss can also be understood as a packet loss caused by non-resource shortage, and the congestion packet loss can also be understood as a packet loss caused by resource shortage.

[0144] In each of the following embodiments, an application server and a terminal device are taken as examples for illustration. The application server can also be replaced by a communication device with an application server function, or a chip, unit or module inside the communication device with an application server function. For example, the application server can be a SEALDD server, or a chip or module in the SEALDD server, or a module in a DN, etc., which is not limited in this application. The terminal device can also be replaced by a communication device with a terminal device function, or a chip, unit or module inside the communication device with a terminal device function, or an operating system or client in the terminal device. For example, an application client can be installed in the terminal device, for example, the application client can be a SEALDD client.

[0145] As shown in FIG. 6, the application provides a communication method, which comprises:

[0146] Step 600: The application server sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the application server.

[0147] The first information indicates that the terminal device identifies a packet discarded when the network is not congested. The first information can also be referred to as a non-network congestion packet loss identification indication.

[0148] That is, the first information indicates that the terminal device identifies a non-network congestion caused packet loss, wherein the non-network congestion caused packet loss can be understood as a non-base station congestion, or a non-air interface congestion, or a non-data radio bearer (DRB) congestion caused packet loss, and the execution subject of the non-network congestion packet loss is an access network device, such as a base station.

[0149] Alternatively, the first information can also indicate to identify the data packets discarded in the case of network congestion, where the data packets discarded in the case of network congestion can be the data packets discarded due to congestion of a path or a network node (such as a base station, N3, N6, UPF network element, and the like) between the application server and the terminal device.

[0150] In a possible implementation, the first information can also indicate the terminal device to identify the data packets discarded due to PDU set integrity processing (i.e., identify PDU set integrity discarded packets), and / or the first information can also indicate the terminal device to identify the data packets discarded due to FEC encoding processing of the PDU set (i.e., identify PDU set FEC discarded packets), and / or the first information can also indicate the terminal device to identify the data packets discarded due to EC mechanism processing of the PDU set. In this way, the specific reason for the terminal device to identify the discarded packets can be indicated, and then the terminal device can count the number of discarded packets or the packet loss rate based on different reasons for the discarded packets. It can be understood that the above content can be carried by the first information, or can be carried by other information, and if it is carried by other information, the information can be carried by the same message or different messages as the first information, and the present application does not limit this.

[0151] In a possible implementation, the application server can obtain fifth information before sending the first information to the terminal device. The fifth information includes one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information. The server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate that the PDU set is requested to be processed in granularity.

[0152] Further, the application server can send the second information to the first core network device according to the fifth information, and send the first information to the terminal device according to the fifth information. Alternatively, the application server can send the second information to the first core network device according to the fifth information, and then send the first information to the terminal device according to the second information.

[0153] The second information indicates to allow part or all of the data packets to be discarded in the case where the network does not occur congestion. Illustratively, the second information indicates to allow part or all of the data packets to be discarded in the case where the network does not occur congestion, which can be understood as the second information indicating to allow part or all of the data packets in the PDU set to be discarded in the case where the network does not occur congestion. Alternatively, the second information indicates to allow part or all of the data packets to be discarded in the case where the network does not occur congestion, which can be understood as the second information indicating to process in granularity of the PDU set, or the second information indicating to request to process in granularity of the PDU set.

[0154] In the case that part or all of the data packets are discarded when the network is not congested, it can be understood that the discarding is not caused by the network congestion directly, but part or all of the data packets can be discarded when the network is not congested and it is determined that the discarding has no impact on the decoding and data recovery of the receiver of the data packets.

[0155] For example, if the base station finds that data packets in a PDU set are discarded, the base station can discard the entire PDU set or discard the data packets after the discarded data packets in the PDU set.

[0156] For another example, if the base station finds that data packets have been transmitted to a certain ratio under FEC encoding, the base station can perform discarding of the data packets.

[0157] Exemplarily, the second information can indicate that one or more of the following is allowed to be performed: PDU set integrity processing, PDU set processing under FEC encoding, and PDU set processing under EC mechanism. For example, the above can be indicated by a PDU set QoS parameter.

[0158] As a possible example, the application server determines that the service of the terminal device is a media service according to the server identifier and / or the service identifier in the fifth information. Since the data processing granularity of the media service (e.g., XR) is no longer the data packet granularity, but is processed in the granularity of a PDU set, the application server sends the second information to the first core network device. For example, in the case that the service of the terminal device is a media service, the application server determines that the PDU set QoS parameter includes a PDU set integrated handling indication (PSIHI), where the PSIHI is used to trigger the network to perform PDU set integrity processing. The application server sends the second information to the first core network device, and the second information includes the above-mentioned PDU set QoS parameter. Further, since the above-mentioned PDU set QoS parameter includes the PSIHI, considering that the PDU set integrity processing can cause discarding of data packets when the network is not congested, the application server further sends the first information to the terminal device. Wherein, the network performing PDU set integrity processing can be understood as the access network device performing PDU set integrity processing, that is, the network performing PDU set integrity processing is the access network device, such as a base station.

[0159] As another possible example, the application server determines, according to the transmission indication information in the fifth information, that the request is to be processed in PDU set granularity, and in response to the fifth information, the application server sends, to the first core network device, second information indicating that the request is to be processed in PDU set granularity. For example, the second information can specifically indicate to perform PDU set integrity processing and / or PDU set processing under FEC coding. And in response to the fifth information, the application server also sends, to the terminal device, the first information, considering that processing in PDU set granularity can cause packet loss under the condition that the network is not congested.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the application server can also send, to the terminal device, third information indicating that the terminal device feeds back the first packet loss information. The third information can also be referred to as packet loss feedback indication.

[0161] For example, the application server can determine the first information and the third information according to the fifth information, or the application server can determine the second information according to the fifth information, and then determine the first information and the third information according to the second information. The first information and the third information can be carried in the same message or different messages, which is not limited in the present application.

[0162] For example, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information. The feedback period can also be replaced by feedback frequency.

[0163] For example, the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information include one or more of the total number of packet losses, the number of packet losses under the condition that the network is not congested, the ratio of the number of packet losses under the condition that the network is not congested to the total number of data packets, the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses under the condition that the network is not congested, and the ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses under the condition that the network is not congested to the total number of data packets. It can be understood that the above listed parameters are only examples and are not limited in the present application. The difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses under the condition that the network is not congested can also be referred to as the number of packet losses caused by network congestion, or the number of network congestion packet losses. The ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses under the condition that the network is not congested to the total number of data packets can also be referred to as the ratio of the number of network congestion packet losses to the total number of data packets, or the network congestion packet loss rate.

[0164] For example, if the first packet loss information includes the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network does not occur congestion, the application server can determine the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network does not occur congestion, that is, the number of packet losses in the case where the network occurs congestion, and further calculate the ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network occurs congestion and the total number of data packets, that is, the congestion packet loss rate, and determine whether the code rate needs to be adjusted based on the congestion packet loss rate. Similarly, if the first packet loss information includes the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network does not occur congestion, or the ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network does not occur congestion and the total number of data packets, the application server can also obtain the congestion packet loss rate, and further determine whether the code rate needs to be adjusted based on the congestion packet loss rate.

[0165] For another example, if the first packet loss information includes the ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network does not occur congestion and the total number of data packets, the application server can obtain the non-congestion packet loss rate, and further determine whether the code rate needs to be adjusted based on the non-congestion packet loss rate.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the application server can further send fourth information to the second core network device, where the fourth information is used to request to provide network congestion information for the terminal device.

[0167] It can be understood that the second core network device herein can be the same as or different from the first core network device, which is not limited in the present application. If the second core network device is the same core network device as the first core network device, the second information and the fourth information can be carried by the same message or different messages, which is not limited in the present application.

[0168] For example, the application server can determine the second information and the fourth information according to the fifth information.

[0169] The possible implementation of the fourth information is described below:

[0170] Method 1: The fourth information can be used to request to mark the explicit congestion notification (ECN) bit in the data packet. For example, the ECN bit includes 2 bits, and the value of the ECN bit is 11, indicating that the network occurs congestion, and if the value of the ECN bit is not 11, it indicates that the network does not occur congestion.

[0171] Option 2: The fourth information can be used to request the terminal device or the application server to be informed of the time period during which the network is congested and / or the time period during which the network is not congested. If the fourth information is used to request the application server to be informed of the time period during which the network is congested and / or the time period during which the network is not congested, the application server can further inform the terminal device of the time period during which the network is congested and / or the time period during which the network is not congested after learning of the time period during which the network is congested and / or the time period during which the network is not congested.

[0172] Alternatively, the fourth information can be used to request the terminal device or the application server to be informed of whether the network is congested at a specified time or time period. If the fourth information is used to request the application server to be informed of whether the network is congested at a specified time or time period, the application server can further inform the terminal device of whether the network is congested at the specified time or time period after learning of whether the network is congested at the specified time or time period.

[0173] The specific implementation of each of the above information can also refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

[0174] In addition, in a possible implementation, the application server can further send sixth information to the third core network device, where the sixth information is used to request the network to provide the number of lost packets W, and the number of lost packets W includes the number of lost packets occurring in at least one of the following cases: N3 link, N6 link, UPF network element. Alternatively, the sixth information can also be described as being used to request the network to provide the number of lost packets before the data packets arrive at the access network device. Alternatively, the sixth information can also be described as being used to request the network to provide the number of lost packets caused by the transmission node or transmission path of the lost packets before the data packets arrive at the access network device.

[0175] Exemplarily, the third core network device can be a PCF network element, a NEF network element, a NWDAF network element, etc., which is not limited in the present application. The number of lost packets W can be fed back along with the user plane.

[0176] In some possible examples, the access network device can send the number of lost packets W to the terminal device, or the access network device can send the number of lost packets W to the UPF network element, and then the UPF network element provides the number of lost packets W to the terminal device.

[0177] In another possible example, the access network device can send the number of lost packets W to the UPF network element, and then the UPF network element provides the number of lost packets W to the application server (for example, an AF network element) through the NEF network element, or provides the number of lost packets W to the application server, or provides the number of lost packets W to the application server through the SMF network element and the PCF network element, or provides the number of lost packets W to the application server through the SMF network element and the PCF network element. Then, the application server further informs the terminal device of the number of lost packets W.

[0178] In yet some possible examples, the NWDAF collects or subscribes the number of dropped packets W and provides the application server, or provides the application server through a NEF network element. Then, the application server further informs the terminal device of the number of dropped packets W.

[0179] For example, the PDU set #1 includes PDU packet #1, PDU packet #2, PDU packet #3, PDU packet #4, before reaching the base station, PDU packet #2 and PDU packet #3 are both discarded (i.e. the dropped packets occurring on the N3 link and / or the N6 link and / or the UFP network element), the base station can discard PDU packet #4. Therefore, the base station can determine the number of dropped packets W as 2, or the base station can determine that the dropped packets occurring on the N3 link and / or the N6 link and / or the UFP network element are PDU packet #2 and PDU packet #3.

[0180] Step 610: The application server sends the data packets to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the data packets from the application server.

[0181] Wherein, the data packets sent by the application server to the terminal device are sent to the access network device through the UPF network element, and then sent to the terminal by the access network device. The access network device can perform processing with PDU set as granularity, for example, PDU set integrity processing, or PDU set processing under FEC coding, etc.

[0182] Exemplarily, when the application server sends the data packets to the terminal device, the application server sends one or more PDU sets to the terminal device, each PDU set including one or more data packets. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives one or more PDU sets from the application server.

[0183] Step 620: The terminal device sends the first dropped packet information to the application server. Correspondingly, the application server receives the first dropped packet information from the terminal device.

[0184] Wherein, the first dropped packet information includes the dropped packet information in the case where the network does not occur congestion, and / or the dropped packet information in the case where the network occurs congestion. The dropped packet information in the case where the network occurs congestion can also be replaced by the information of the discarded data packets other than the data packets discarded in the case where the network does not occur congestion.

[0185] Exemplarily, the first packet loss information comprises one or more of the following: total packet loss number, packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion, ratio of the packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion to the total packet number, difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion, ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion to the total packet number. The difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion can also be referred to as the packet loss number caused by network congestion, or network congestion packet loss number. The ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion to the total packet number can also be referred to as the ratio of the network congestion packet loss number to the total packet number, or network congestion packet loss rate.

[0186] It can be understood that the specific content included in the first packet loss information can be determined according to the third information described above, or defined by a protocol, which is not limited in the present application.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the terminal device can obtain network congestion information, and determine the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information. That is, in response to the first information, the terminal device needs to know the network congestion situation and the packet loss situation, and then determine whether the packet loss data is counted in the packet loss number in the case that the network does not occur congestion or in the packet loss number in the case that the network occurs congestion, in combination with the network congestion situation and the packet loss situation.

[0188] In another possible implementation, the terminal device can receive the packet loss number W, which comprises the packet loss number occurring in at least one of the following cases: N3 link, N6 link, user plane network element, and then the terminal device can determine the first packet loss information according to the first information, the network congestion information and the packet loss number W.

[0189] Exemplarily, the terminal device can know the network congestion situation in the following manner, but is not limited thereto: in combination with the manner 1 in the fourth information described above, the base station or the UPF network element can mark the ECN bit for the data packet, and then the terminal can determine whether congestion occurs according to the ECN bit in the received data packet. Or, in combination with the manner 2 in the fourth information described above, the terminal can determine the time period in which the network occurs congestion and / or the time period in which the network does not occur congestion according to the notification message from the base station, or the core network device, or the application server.

[0190] Exemplarily, the terminal device can know the packet loss condition in the following manners, but is not limited thereto. The terminal device can identify the PDU set information and determine the packet loss condition according to the PDU set information. For example, the PDU set information can include the sequence number of the PDU packets in the PDU set. The terminal device can determine whether the received data packets are all the data packets in the PDU set according to the above content, and further determine whether each PDU set is completely received. If not, the terminal device can determine the number of discarded data packets. For another example, the PDU set information can further include the PDU set sequence number, and the terminal device can further know whether there is a PDU set that is completely discarded.

[0191] Further, in the case that part or all of the data packets in the PDU set are discarded and the network is not congested, the discarded data packets are counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is not congested. Or in the case that part or all of the data packets in the PDU set are discarded and the network is not congested, the difference between the discarded data packets and the number of packet losses W is counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is not congested.

[0192] In addition, in the case that part or all of the data packets in the PDU set are discarded and the network is congested, the discarded data packets are counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is congested.

[0193] For example, if the PDU set is completely discarded or all the data packets after a certain data packet in the PDU set are discarded, and the current network is not congested, it can be considered that the network non-congestion packet loss occurs, for example, PDU set integrity packet loss under network non-congestion or packet loss caused by processing the PDU set based on the EC mechanism under network non-congestion. Then, the discarded data packets are counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is not congested, or the difference between the discarded data packets and the number of packet losses W is counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is not congested.

[0194] For another example, if the redundant data packets in the PDU set are discarded or the data packets are discarded according to the discardable ratio of the FEC, and the current network is not congested, it can be considered that the network non-congestion packet loss occurs, for example, PDU set FEC packet loss under network non-congestion. Then, the discarded data packets are counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is not congested, or the difference between the discarded data packets and the number of packet losses W is counted in the number of packet losses in the case that the network is not congested. The discardable ratio of the FEC can be notified to the terminal device by the application server.

[0195] Example 1, assuming that the application server sends 1 PDU set, denoted as PDU set #1. PDU set #1 is composed of PDU packet #1, PDU packet #2, PDU packet #3, PDU packet #4; before arriving at the base station, PDU packet #2 and PDU packet #3 are both discarded (i.e. packet loss occurring on the N3 link and / or N6 link and / or UFP network element), and the base station can discard PDU packet #4. That is, the terminal device only receives PDU packet #1, and the total number of packet loss is 3.

[0196] In a possible implementation, if it is determined according to the ECN bit of PDU packet #1 belonging to PDU set #1 that the network is not congested, and it is determined that packet loss starts from PDU packet #2, then 2 packets after PDU packet #2 can be recorded in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is not congested, or PDU packet #2 and the packets after PDU packet #2, a total of 3 packets can be recorded in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is not congested. If it is determined according to the ECN bit of PDU packet #1 belonging to PDU set #1 that the network is congested, then the 3 lost packets can be recorded in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is congested.

[0197] If it is determined according to the notification message that the network is not congested during the transmission time period of PDU set #1, and it is determined that packet loss starts from PDU packet #2, then 2 packets after PDU packet #2 can be recorded in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is not congested, or PDU packet #2 and the packets after PDU packet #2, a total of 3 packets can be recorded in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is not congested. Or, if it is determined according to the notification message that the network is congested during the transmission time period of PDU set #1, then the 3 lost packets can be recorded in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is congested.

[0198] In another possible implementation, the base station can notify the terminal device that the number of packet loss W is 2. If the terminal device determines that the network is not congested, and determines that the total number of packet loss is 3, and the number of packet loss W is recorded as 2, then the number of packet loss in the case where the network is not congested is 1.

[0199] In addition, in a possible implementation, after receiving the first packet loss information from the terminal device, that is, after step 620, the application server can further determine whether to trigger the code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss information, and if the code rate adjustment is triggered, determine the code rate adjustment value.

[0200] Exemplarily, the application server can determine, according to the first packet loss information, that the ratio of the number of lost packets to the total number of packets (i.e., the non-congestion packet loss rate) in the case where the network does not occur congestion is greater than a first preset threshold, and then not trigger the code rate adjustment; or the application server can determine, according to the first packet loss information, that the ratio of the number of lost packets to the total number of packets (i.e., the congestion packet loss rate) in the case where the network occurs congestion is less than a second preset threshold, and then not trigger the code rate adjustment. For example, if the non-congestion packet loss rate is high, the application server can not adjust the code rate, or set a smaller code rate adjustment value.

[0201] Exemplarily, the application server can determine, according to the first packet loss information, that the number of lost packets in the case where the network does not occur congestion is greater than a third preset threshold, and then not trigger the code rate adjustment; or the application server can determine, according to the first packet loss information, that the number of lost packets in the case where the network occurs congestion is less than a fourth preset threshold, and then not trigger the code rate adjustment.

[0202] By using the above method, the application server can determine whether to trigger the code rate adjustment in combination with the first packet loss information. Since the first packet loss information can reflect the packet loss in the case where the network does not occur congestion and / or the packet loss in the case where the network occurs congestion, that is, compared with only obtaining the total packet loss rate or the total number of lost packets, the application server can obtain the packet loss caused by network congestion and / or the packet loss caused by non-network congestion according to the first packet loss information, and then can more accurately determine whether to perform the code rate adjustment and determine the appropriate code rate adjustment value when the code rate adjustment is needed.

[0203] The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is further described below in combination with FIG. 7. It can be understood that the architecture of the SEALDD service described below is only one possible application scenario of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can also be applied to other scenarios, which will not be described here. The message names in the following examples are only for example and do not limit the present application.

[0204] S701: The VAL server sends a service subscription request message to the SEALDD server.

[0205] Exemplarily, the service subscription request message can also be referred to as a transmission request message.

[0206] The service subscription request message includes VAL application information (also referred to as the fifth information), address information of the VAL server, and protocol description information of the SEALDD-S interface. The VAL application information includes a VAL server identifier and a VAL service identifier. The VAL server identifier and / or the VAL service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the UE is a media service. The service of the UE can also be referred to as the service of an application. The address information of the VAL server includes an IP address and a port number of the VAL server. The SEALDD-S interface is an interface between the VAL server and the SEALDD server. The protocol description information of the SEALDD-S interface can indicate a transmission protocol of the SEALDD-S interface, for example, an RTP transmission protocol. The data transmitted by the SEALDD-S interface is encoded in the H.264 format.

[0207] Optionally, the service subscription request message can further include transmission indication information (also referred to as the fifth information), which is used to request processing in a PDU set granularity.

[0208] S702: The SEALDD server sends a service subscription response message to the VAL server.

[0209] The service subscription response message includes address information of the SEALDD server, which includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD server.

[0210] S703: The VAL client or the SEALDD client performs a SEALDD server discovery and selection process.

[0211] The SEALDD client and the selected SEALDD server are used to transmit data from the VAL client to the VAL server.

[0212] S704: The SEALDD client sends a connection creation request message to the SEALDD server.

[0213] The connection creation request message includes address information of the SEALDD client, which includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD client. The connection creation request message can further include VAL application information (also referred to as the fifth information)

[0214] S705: The SEALDD server sends second information to the 5GC.

[0215] Exemplarily, the second information indicates a request for processing in a PDU set granularity. For example, the second information is used to request one or more of PDU set integrity processing, PDU set processing under FEC encoding, and PDU set processing under an EC mechanism.

[0216] The 5GC can be a NEF network element or a PCF network element.

[0217] The SEALDD server determines to perform S705, S706, and carry the first information and the third information in S707 according to the received VAL application information or transmission indication information.

[0218] The second information further includes address information of the SEALDD-Uu interface, flow description information, etc. The address information of the SEALDD-Uu interface includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD client and / or an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD server. The flow description information, which can also be referred to as transmission protocol information of the SEALDD-Uu interface, can include a transmission protocol type adopted by the SEALDD-Uu interface, such as an RTP transmission protocol carrying an RTP extension header or other custom protocols, etc.

[0219] It should be noted that S705 can be performed after S701 or after S704, and the present application does not limit this.

[0220] S706: The SEALDD server sends fourth information to the 5GC.

[0221] The fourth information is used to request the 5GC to provide network congestion information for the terminal. For example, the fourth information is used to request the 5GC to perform network congestion marking (for example, to start the ECN marking function).

[0222] In addition, the SEALDD server sends sixth information to the 5GC. The sixth information is used to request the 5GC to provide the number of packet losses W.

[0223] The second information, the fourth information, and the sixth information can be carried by the same message or different messages, and the present application does not limit this.

[0224] S706 can be performed after S701 or after S704, and the present application does not limit this.

[0225] S707: The SEALDD server sends a connection creation response message to the SEALDD client.

[0226] The connection creation response message includes address information of the SEALDD server, a transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu, and the first information. Alternatively, the connection creation response message includes address information of the SEALDD server, a transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu, the first information, and the third information.

[0227] The first information indicates that the terminal device identifies the data packets discarded in the case that the network does not occur congestion. The third information indicates that the terminal device feeds back the first packet loss information. The first information and the third information can refer to the related content described above, and will not be described here again.

[0228] The address information of the SEALDD server includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD server, and the transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface indicates a transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface, such as an RTP transmission protocol carrying an RTP extension header or other custom protocols.

[0229] S708: The VAL server sends a downlink data packet to the SEALDD server.

[0230] S709: The SEALDD server encapsulates the received downlink data packet into a PDU set.

[0231] For example, the SEALDD server identifies the PDU set information according to the protocol description information of the SEALDD-S interface (S701), and encapsulates the received downlink data packet into a PDU set according to the determined transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface (S705).

[0232] S710: The SEALDD server sends the PDU set to the SEALDD client through the 5G network.

[0233] S711: The SEALDD client determines the first packet loss information.

[0234] For example, the SEALDD client identifies the PDU set information of the downlink data packet according to the transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface, determines the packet loss condition, and judges whether the network occurs congestion to obtain the first packet loss information. For details, refer to the above step 620, which will not be described here again.

[0235] S712: The SEALDD client sends the first packet loss information to the SEALDD server.

[0236] The specific content included in the first packet loss information can be determined according to the third information or agreed by the protocol, which is not limited in the present application.

[0237] Optionally, the SEALDD server can determine whether to perform rate adjustment according to the received first packet loss information, and if the rate adjustment is performed, the rate adjustment value can be further determined.

[0238] Optionally, the SEALDD server sends feedback information to the VAL server, and the feedback information can include one or more of the first packet loss information, the rate adjustment indication, and the rate adjustment value.

[0239] It can be understood that the SEALDD server or the VAL server can determine whether to adjust the code rate based on the first packet loss information, and if the code rate adjustment is performed, the code rate adjustment value can be further determined, which is not limited in the application.

[0240] As shown in FIG. 8, the application further provides a communication method, which comprises:

[0241] Step 800: The application server sends information X to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the information X from the application server.

[0242] Exemplarily, the application server sends the information X to the access network device, which can be understood as that the application server sends the information X to the access network device through the core network device, for example, the application server sends the information X to the NEF network element or the PCF network element, and then the NEF network element or the PCF network element sends the information X to the access network device through the SMF network element and the AMF network element.

[0243] The information X indicates that the access network device feeds back the first packet loss result, and the first packet loss result comprises the number of packet losses or the packet loss rate in the case that the network does not occur congestion.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the information X can also indicate to identify the packet loss caused by non-network congestion, wherein the non-network congestion can be understood as non-base station congestion, or non-air interface congestion, or non-DRB congestion.

[0245] The information X can also indicate that the access network device identifies the packet loss caused by PDU set integrity processing (i.e., identifies PDU set integrity packet loss), and / or the information X can also indicate that the access network device identifies the packet loss caused by processing the PDU set based on FEC encoding (i.e., identifies PDU set FEC packet loss), and / or the information X can also indicate that the access network device identifies the packet loss caused by processing the PDU set based on the EC mechanism. In this way, the specific reason for the access network device to identify the packet loss can be indicated, and then the access network device can count the number of packet losses or the packet loss rate based on different packet loss reasons. It can be understood that the above content can be carried by the information X, or can be carried by other information, which can be carried by the same message or different messages, which is not limited in the application.

[0246] In a possible implementation, the application server can obtain fifth information before sending the information X to the access network device. The fifth information includes one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information. The server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that the service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate that the request is to be processed in a PDU set granularity. Further, the application server can send the second information to the first core network device according to the fifth information, and send the information X to the access network device according to the fifth information. Alternatively, the application server can send the second information to the first core network device according to the fifth information, and then send the information X to the access network device according to the second information.

[0247] The related content of the second information can refer to the step 600, which will not be described here.

[0248] Optionally, in step 810, the application server sends information Y to the terminal, where the information Y indicates that the terminal feeds back a second packet loss result, and the second packet loss result includes a total packet loss quantity or a total packet loss rate.

[0249] In step 820, the application server sends a data packet to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the data packet from the application server.

[0250] The data packet sent by the application server to the terminal device is sent to the access network device through a UPF network element, and then sent to the terminal by the access network device. The access network device can perform processing in a PDU set granularity, for example, PDU set integrity processing or PDU set processing under FEC coding.

[0251] In step 830, the access network device sends a first packet loss result to the application server. Correspondingly, the application server receives the first packet loss result from the access network device.

[0252] For example, the access network device can send the first packet loss result to the application server through an SMF network element, a PCF network element or a NEF network element, or the access network device can send the first packet loss result to a UPF network element, and then send the first packet loss result to the application server through the UPF network element or through the UPF network element and the NEF network element.

[0253] For example, the access network device can obtain network congestion information. The access network device can also receive PDU set information identified and added by the UPF network element, and determine the packet loss condition according to the PDU set information.

[0254] Exemplarily, since the PDU set information can include the sequence numbers of the PDU packets within the PDU set, the access network device can determine that one or more packets in a certain PDU set are lost, and then can discard the entire PDU set or the packets after the lost packets in the PDU set, and if the access network device further determines that the network is not congested, the discarded packets are counted in the number of lost packets in the case where the network is not congested.

[0255] For example, it is assumed that the application server sends 3 PDU sets, which are PDU set #1, PDU set #2 and PDU set #3. PDU set #1 is composed of PDU packet #1, PDU packet #2 and PDU packet #3; PDU set #2 is composed of PDU packet #4, PDU packet #5, PDU packet #6 and PDU packet #7; PDU set #3 is composed of PDU packet #8, PDU packet #9 and PDU packet #10; if the PDU sets sent by the application server are sent to the base station through the UPF network element, some packets in the PDU sets are lost (for example, PDU packet #4 is lost) due to unreliable N6 / N3 transmission or overload of the UPF network element, and in combination with the above case 1, the UE receives PDU set #1 and PDU set #3, and all the packets in PDU set #2 are regarded as discarded packets, i.e., the total number of lost packets is 4. If the base station determines that the network is not congested, the discarded PDU packets #5, #6 and #7 can be counted in the number of lost packets in the case where the network is not congested. PDU packet #4 can be counted in the number of lost packets in the case where the network is not congested.

[0256] Step 840: The terminal device sends the second packet loss result to the application server; correspondingly, the application server receives the second packet loss result from the terminal.

[0257] Exemplarily, the terminal device can identify the PDU set information, and determine the second packet loss result according to the PDU set information.

[0258] The present application does not limit the execution order of steps 830 and 840. The feedback period of the first packet loss result is the same as that of the second packet loss result.

[0259] In addition, in a possible implementation, after receiving the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result, the application server can determine whether to trigger the code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result; if the code rate adjustment is triggered, the code rate adjustment value is determined.

[0260] Exemplarily, based on the first packet loss result, i.e., the non-network congestion packet loss result, and the second packet loss result, i.e., the total packet loss result, the application server can calculate a packet loss result caused by network congestion, denoted as a first target packet loss result, i.e., a packet loss result caused by congestion of a transmission path and / or a transmission node from the application server to the application client.

[0261] For example, if the first packet loss result includes a number of packet losses in a case where no network congestion occurs, and the second packet loss result includes a total number of packet losses, the first target packet loss result can be a number of packet losses in a case where network congestion occurs. If the first packet loss result includes a packet loss rate in a case where no network congestion occurs, and the second packet loss result includes a total packet loss rate, the first target packet loss result can be a packet loss rate in a case where network congestion occurs.

[0262] Further, if the first target packet loss result is greater than a threshold 1, a code rate adjustment or a code rate reduction is triggered, and a code rate adjustment value is obtained based on the first target packet loss result. If the first target packet loss result is less than a threshold 2, no code rate adjustment or reduction is triggered. The threshold 1 can be greater than or equal to the threshold 2.

[0263] For another example, the application server determines that the total number of packet losses exceeds a threshold of the number of packet losses, or the total packet loss rate exceeds a threshold of the packet loss rate, and then triggers the execution of the code rate adjustment, otherwise, the execution of the code rate adjustment is not triggered.

[0264] By using the above method, the application server can determine whether to trigger the code rate adjustment in combination with the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result, and thus can more accurately determine whether to execute the code rate adjustment and determine a suitable code rate adjustment value when the code rate adjustment needs to be executed.

[0265] The following further describes the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 in combination with FIG. 9. It can be understood that the architecture of the SEALDD service described below is only one possible application scenario of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 can also be applied to other scenarios, which will not be described here. The message names in the following examples are only for example and do not limit the present application.

[0266] S901 to S904 can refer to S701 to S704 described above.

[0267] S905: The SEALDD server sends second information to the 5GC.

[0268] The second information indicates a request for processing in a PDU set granularity. For example, the second information is used to request one or more of PDU set integrity processing, PDU set processing under FEC encoding, and PDU set processing under EC mechanism.

[0269] The 5GC can be a NEF network element or a PCF network element.

[0270] Exemplarily, the SEALDD server determines to perform S905, S906 and S907 according to the received VAL application information or transmission indication information.

[0271] Exemplarily, the second information further includes address information of the SEALDD-UU interface, and stream description information, etc. The address information of the SEALDD-UU interface includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD client, and / or an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD server. The stream description information, which can also be referred to as transmission protocol information of the SEALDD-UU interface, can include a transmission protocol type adopted by the SEALDD-UU interface, such as an RTP transmission protocol carrying an RTP extension header, or other custom protocols, etc.

[0272] It should be noted that S905 can be performed after S901, or can be performed after S904, and the present application does not limit this.

[0273] S906: The SEALDD server sends information X to the RAN through the 5GC.

[0274] In addition, the SEALDD server can also send, through the 5GC, a feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the first packet loss result, address information of the SEALDD-UU interface to the RAN, wherein the address information of the SEALDD-UU interface includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD client, and / or an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD server.

[0275] In a possible implementation, the SEALDD server requests the 5GC (such as a NEF network element or a PCF network element) to perform non-network congestion packet loss measurement and opening, and corresponding measurement events (such as PDU set integrity packet loss, PDU set FEC packet loss, etc. The 5GC sends information X to the RAN according to the measurement event.

[0276] S907: The SEALDD server sends a connection creation response message to the SEALDD client.

[0277] The connection creation response message includes address information of the SEALDD server, information Y, and a feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the second packet loss result. The address information of the SEALDD server includes an IP address and a port number of the SEALDD server, etc. Information Y indicates that the terminal feeds back the second packet loss result. The feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the first packet loss result is the same as the feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the second packet loss result.

[0278] S908: The VAL server sends a downlink data packet to the SEALDD server.

[0279] S909: The SEALDD server encapsulates the received downlink data packet into a PDU set.

[0280] Illustratively, the SEALDD server encapsulates the received downlink data packet into a PDU set according to the determined transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface (S905) according to the protocol description information of the SEALDD-S interface (S901).

[0281] S910: The SEALDD server sends the PDU set to the SEALDD client through the 5G network.

[0282] Wherein, S909 and S910 are optional steps, the SEALDD server can not encapsulate the PDU set information, and the UPF network element can identify and encapsulate the PDU set information according to the SEALDD-UU transmission protocol and send it to the RAN.

[0283] S911: The RAN sends the first packet loss result to the SEALDD server.

[0284] Illustratively, the RAN determines the first packet loss result.

[0285] For example, since the PDU set information can include the sequence number of the PDU data packet in the PDU set, the RAN can determine that one or more data packets in a certain PDU set are lost based on the information X, and then can discard the entire PDU set or the data packets after the lost data packets in the PDU set. If the RAN further determines that the network is not congested, the discarded data packets are counted in the number of packet loss in the case where the network is not congested.

[0286] S912: The SEALDD client sends the second packet loss result to the SEALDD server.

[0287] The SEALDD client can determine the second packet loss result. For example, the SEALDD client can determine the second packet loss result according to the sequence number of the SEALDD-UU transmission data packet, such as according to the sequence number of the missing data packet in a period of time and a period, as the lost data packet, counted in the second packet loss result.

[0288] Optionally, the SEALDD server can determine whether to perform rate adjustment according to the received first packet loss result and second packet loss result, and if rate adjustment is performed, the rate adjustment value can be further determined.

[0289] Optionally, the SEALDD server sends feedback information to the VAL server, and the feedback information can include one or more of the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result, the rate adjustment indication, and the rate adjustment value.

[0290] It can be understood that the SEALDD server or the VAL server can determine whether to adjust the code rate based on the first packet loss result and the second packet loss result, and if the code rate adjustment is performed, the code rate adjustment value can be further determined, which is not limited in the application.

[0291] As shown in FIG. 10, the application further provides a communication method, which comprises:

[0292] S1001: The service consumer sends a first request message to the NWDAF.

[0293] The first request message is used to request a first analysis result, wherein the first analysis result can include a statistical result and / or a prediction result; for example, the first analysis result can include a first analysis value and a second analysis value, or a third analysis value, wherein the analysis value can include a statistical value and / or a prediction value.

[0294] The first analysis value is an analysis value of discarded data packets in a case where the network does not occur congestion, and the second analysis value is an analysis value of total discarded data packets. For example, the first analysis value is an analysis value of the number of discarded data packets in a case where the network does not occur congestion or an analysis value of the packet loss rate in a case where the network does not occur congestion. The second analysis value is an analysis value of the total number of discarded data packets or an analysis value of the total packet loss rate.

[0295] The third analysis value is an analysis value of discarded data packets in a case where the network occurs congestion. For example, the third analysis value is an analysis value of the number of discarded data packets in a case where the network occurs congestion or an analysis value of the packet loss rate in a case where the network occurs congestion.

[0296] In addition, the first request message further includes information of an analysis application, information of an analysis terminal device, and first time information. The information of the analysis application includes an identifier of the analysis application or an address (for example, an IP address of an application server, a port number) of an application server, and the information of the analysis terminal device includes an identifier or an address of the analysis terminal device. The analysis terminal device can be one or more. The first time information can indicate a time period, for example, 8:00-9:00 am.

[0297] For example, the first request message includes an analysis event, and the analysis event indicates the requested analysis result, that is, the service consumer needs to obtain the analysis result corresponding to the analysis event, for example, the service consumer needs the analysis result of non-network congestion packet loss, and then the service consumer sends event indication information to the NWDAF, and the event indication information indicates that the NWDAF analyzes the non-network congestion packet loss.

[0298] The specific content of the analysis event includes one or more of the following:

[0299] Non-network congestion packet loss event

[0300] Network congestion packet loss event

[0301] It can be understood that, if the requested analysis result includes the first analysis value and the second analysis value, the analysis event includes the non-network congestion packet loss event. If the requested analysis result includes the third analysis value, the analysis event includes the network congestion packet loss event.

[0302] It can be understood that, if the requested analysis result includes the first analysis value and the second analysis value, the analysis event includes the non-network congestion packet loss event. If the requested analysis result includes the third analysis value, the analysis event includes the network congestion packet loss event.

[0303] S1002: The NWDAF sends a second request message to the 5G network.

[0304] It can be understood that, if the requested analysis result includes the first analysis value and the second analysis value, the analysis event includes the non-network congestion packet loss event. If the requested analysis result includes the third analysis value, the analysis event includes the network congestion packet loss event.

[0305] It can be understood that, if the requested analysis result includes the first analysis value and the second analysis value, the first historical packet loss information includes the historical statistical result of the discarded data packets in the case where the network does not occur congestion and the historical statistical result of the total discarded data packets, such as the historical packet loss number or the historical packet loss rate in the case where the network does not occur congestion, and the historical total packet loss rate and the historical total packet loss number, etc. If the requested analysis result includes the third analysis value, the first historical packet loss information includes the historical statistical result of the discarded data packets in the case where the network occurs congestion, such as the historical packet loss number or the historical packet loss rate in the case where the network occurs congestion, etc.

[0306] Exemplarily, the 5GC here includes one or more of SMF, UPF, AF or OAM. In addition, it can also be other network elements, which are not limited by the present application.

[0307] In addition, the second request message can further include information of the analysis application, information of the analysis terminal device, and first time information. Further, for a scenario that the analysis terminal runs the analysis application in a time period indicated by the first time information, the 5GC obtains a corresponding historical statistic result of discarded data packets in a case that network congestion does not occur, or a corresponding historical statistic result of discarded data packets in a case that network congestion occurs, or a corresponding historical total packet loss rate and a corresponding historical total number of discarded data packets.

[0308] For example, assuming that the analysis application is application A, the analysis terminal is UE1 and UE2, and the time period indicated by the first time information is from 20:00 to 21:00, when UE1 runs application A between 20:00 and 21:00, UE1 or the RAN accessed by UE1 can feed back the number of discarded packets or the packet loss rate in a case that network congestion does not occur between 20:00 and 21:00, and the 5GC obtains the number of discarded packets or the packet loss rate. Similarly, when UE2 runs application A between 20:00 and 21:00, UE2 or the RAN accessed by UE2 can feed back the number of discarded packets or the packet loss rate in a case that network congestion does not occur between 20:00 and 21:00, and the 5GC also obtains the number of discarded packets or the packet loss rate.

[0309] S1003: The 5G network sends first historical packet loss information to the NWDAF.

[0310] The first historical packet loss information is the historical packet loss information indicated in the second request message, and includes a historical statistic result of discarded data packets in a case that network congestion does not occur and a historical statistic result of total discarded data packets, or a historical statistic result of discarded data packets in a case that network congestion occurs.

[0311] S1004: The NWDAF determines a first analysis result according to the first historical packet loss information.

[0312] Exemplarily, the first analysis result herein includes a first analysis value and a second analysis value, or a third analysis value.

[0313] The first analysis value is an analysis value of discarded data packets in a case that network congestion does not occur, the second analysis value is an analysis value of total discarded data packets, and the third analysis value is an analysis value of discarded data packets in a case that network congestion occurs.

[0314] S1005: The NWDAF sends the first analysis result to a service consumer.

[0315] S1006: The service consumer determines whether to perform code rate adjustment and a code rate adjustment value according to the first analysis result.

[0316] For example, if the analysis value of the number of lost packets or the packet loss rate in the case of network congestion exceeds the corresponding preset threshold, the code rate adjustment is triggered, and the corresponding code rate adjustment value is determined, otherwise the code rate adjustment is not triggered.

[0317] For example, according to the analysis value of the number of lost packets in the case of network congestion and the analysis value of the total number of lost packets, the number of lost packets in the case of network congestion is determined, the analysis value of the number of lost packets in the case of network congestion exceeds the corresponding preset threshold, the code rate adjustment is triggered, and the corresponding code rate adjustment value is determined. Otherwise, the code rate adjustment is not triggered.

[0318] For example, according to the analysis value of the packet loss rate in the case of network congestion and the analysis value of the total packet loss rate, the packet loss rate in the case of network congestion is determined, the analysis value of the packet loss rate in the case of network congestion exceeds the corresponding preset threshold, the code rate adjustment is triggered, and the corresponding code rate adjustment value is determined. Otherwise, the code rate adjustment is not triggered.

[0319] As shown in FIG. 11, the present application also provides a communication method, which comprises:

[0320] S1101: The service consumer sends a first request message to the NWDAF.

[0321] The first request message is used to request a second analysis result; the second analysis result comprises a fourth analysis value, wherein the fourth analysis value is an analysis value of a code rate adjustment threshold.

[0322] In addition, the first request message further comprises an initial code rate adjustment threshold or a current code rate adjustment threshold, information of an analysis application, information of an analysis terminal device, and first time information. The information of the analysis application comprises an identifier of the analysis application or an address (for example, an IP address of an application server, a port number) of an application server, and the information of the analysis terminal device comprises an identifier or an address of the analysis terminal device. The analysis terminal device can be one or more. The first time information can indicate a time period, for example, 8:00-9:00 am.

[0323] Exemplarily, the first request message comprises an analysis event, and the requested analysis result is indicated by the analysis event.

[0324] The specific content of the analysis event comprises one or more of the following:

[0325] Non-network congestion packet loss event

[0326] Network congestion packet loss event

[0327] Code rate adjustment threshold event

[0328] The non-network congestion packet loss event and the network congestion packet loss event can refer to the related content of FIG. 10. The code rate adjustment threshold event is used to indicate the analysis result of the threshold for triggering the code rate adjustment provided by the NWDAF.

[0329] S1102: The NWDAF sends a second request message to the 5G network.

[0330] The second request message is used to request the 5GC to collect the second historical packet loss information. The second historical packet loss information includes one or more of the historical statistics of the discarded data packets in the case where the network does not occur congestion, the historical statistics of the total discarded data packets, the historical statistics of the discarded data packets in the case where the network occurs congestion, and the historical code rate adjustment value, the historical code rate adjustment threshold, the number of network congestion packet losses in the case where the code rate is adjusted, the network congestion packet loss rate in the case where the code rate is adjusted, the number of non-network congestion packet losses in the case where the code rate is adjusted, and the non-network congestion packet loss rate in the case where the code rate is adjusted.

[0331] Exemplarily, the 5GC herein includes one or more of the SMF, the UPF, the AF, or the OAM. In addition, other network elements are also possible, which are not limited in the present application.

[0332] In addition, the second request message can further include the information of the analysis application, the information of the terminal device, and the first time information.

[0333] S1103: The 5G network sends the second historical packet loss information to the NWDAF.

[0334] The second historical packet loss information is the historical packet loss information indicated in the second request message, and includes one or more of the historical statistics of the discarded data packets in the case where the network does not occur congestion, the historical statistics of the total discarded data packets, the historical statistics of the discarded data packets in the case where the network occurs congestion, and the corresponding historical code rate adjustment value and the historical code rate adjustment threshold.

[0335] S1104: The NWDAF determines a second analysis result according to the second historical packet loss information.

[0336] The second analysis result includes a fourth analysis value, and the fourth analysis value is the analysis value of the code rate adjustment threshold.

[0337] Exemplarily, the NWDAF can first obtain a first analysis value. For example, the first analysis value is the analysis value of the number (or the packet loss rate) of the discarded data packets in the case where the network does not occur congestion. If the number (or the packet loss rate) of the discarded data packets is increased compared with the historical non-network congestion packet loss number (or the packet loss rate), the code rate adjustment threshold can be increased, that is, the analysis value of the code rate adjustment threshold is greater than the historical code rate adjustment threshold.

[0338] For example, the historical non-network congestion packet loss number is 0, such as no request for the network to start PDU set integrity processing, the base station does not occur packet loss under non-network congestion, and the corresponding historical code rate adjustment threshold is 0.1.

[0339] After requesting the network to start PDU set integrity processing, the base station can occur packet loss under non-network congestion. If the NWDAF predicts that the analysis value of the number of discarded packets under the condition that the network does not occur congestion is 20 and the analysis value of the total number of packets is 40 in a time period (such as the next five minutes), the packet loss rate of the discarded packets under the condition that the network does not occur congestion is 0.5. The NWDAF can set the fourth analysis value as 0.6 as the analysis value of the code rate adjustment threshold, or the current recommended code rate adjustment threshold. Therefore, although the total packet loss number perceived by the application server increases due to non-congestion packet loss of the network, the fourth analysis value (such as 0.6) recommended by the NWDAF is used, and thus the adverse effects of triggering code rate adjustment due to non-congestion packet loss of the network can be avoided or reduced.

[0340] S1105: The NWDAF sends the second analysis result to the service consumer.

[0341] S1106: The service consumer determines whether to perform code rate adjustment and the code rate adjustment value according to the second analysis result.

[0342] The NWDAF in the embodiments shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 can also be replaced by an application data analytics enabler server (ADAES).

[0343] As shown in FIG. 12, the present application also provides a communication method, which comprises:

[0344] S1201 to S1203 refer to S701 to S703 described above,

[0345] S1204: The SEALDD client sends a connection creation request message to the SEALDD server.

[0346] Exemplarily, the SEALDD client can determine that the connection creation request message carries information 2, information 3 and information 4 according to the VAL application information or the transmission indication information.

[0347] The VAL application information and the transmission indication information can be provided by the VAL client to the SEALDD client, or can be provided by the VAL server to the VAL client through a signaling surface, and further provided by the VAL client to the SEALDD client, which is not limited in the present application.

[0348] Information 2 is used to request the SEALDD server to identify the data packets discarded in the case of no network congestion.

[0349] Information 3 is used to request the network congestion information provided to the application server.

[0350] Information 4 is used to request the SEALDD server to feedback the second packet loss information. Exemplarily, information 4 includes a feedback period of the second packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the second packet loss information. The feedback period can be replaced by a feedback frequency.

[0351] Exemplarily, the parameters required to be included in the second packet loss information include one or more of the total packet loss number, the packet loss number in the case of no network congestion, the ratio of the packet loss number in the case of no network congestion to the total packet number, the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case of no network congestion, and the ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case of no network congestion to the total packet number. It can be understood that the above listed parameters are only examples and are not limited by the present application. The difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case of no network congestion can also be referred to as the packet loss number caused by network congestion, or the network congestion packet loss number. The ratio of the difference between the total packet loss number and the packet loss number in the case of no network congestion to the total packet number can also be referred to as the ratio of the network congestion packet loss number to the total packet number, or the network congestion packet loss rate.

[0352] Optionally, the connection creation request message can further include information 5, which is used to instruct the chip in the UE to process in PDU set granularity.

[0353] In a possible implementation, the SEALDD client requests the chip in the UE to perform uplink PDU set processing.

[0354] In another possible implementation, the SEALDD server sends information 1 to the 5GC, where information 1 is used to request the chip in the UE to perform uplink PDU set processing. Further, the 5GC sends information 1 to the base station, and the base station sends information 1 to the chip in the UE to instruct the chip in the UE to perform uplink PDU set processing.

[0355] In addition, the connection creation request message can further include address information of the SEALDD client (for example, IP address and port number of the SEALDD client), and a transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-UU (for example, RTP extension header, or other custom protocol, etc.).

[0356] Optionally, S1205: the SEALDD server sends information 1 to the 5GC (for example, NEF or PCF).

[0357] S1206: The SEALDD server can send fourth information to the core network device (NEF or PCF) according to the information 3, wherein the fourth information is used to request to perform network congestion marking (such as starting the ECN marking function).

[0358] S1207: The SEALDD server sends a connection creation response to the SEALDD client.

[0359] The connection creation response includes address information of the SEALDD server (such as IP address and port number of the SEALDD server, etc.).

[0360] Optionally, the connection creation response can also include SEALDD-C interface protocol description (such as H.264, etc.). The SEALDD-C interface protocol description can be provided by the SEALDD server to the SEALDD client, or provided by the VAL server to the SEALDD server and then to the SEALDD client, or provided by the VAL client to the SEALDD client, which is not limited in the present application.

[0361] S1208: The VAL client sends an uplink data packet to the SEALDD client.

[0362] S1209: The SEALDD client encapsulates the received uplink data packet into a PDU set

[0363] Exemplarily, the SEALDD client identifies the PDU set information according to the SEALDD-C interface protocol description information, and encapsulates the PDU set according to the SEALDD-Uu transmission protocol type.

[0364] S1210: The SEALDD client sends the PDU set to the SEALDD server through the 5G network.

[0365] S1211: The SEALDD server determines second packet loss information.

[0366] Exemplarily, the SEALDD server identifies the PDU set information according to the transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface, determines the packet loss condition, and judges whether the network is congested, for example, judges whether the network is sent congested according to the ECN bit, to obtain the second packet loss information.

[0367] For example, the SEALDD client sends a data packet PDU set #1, which consists of PDU packet #1, PDU packet #2, PDU packet #3, and PDU packet #4. Due to network non-congestion reasons (such as unreasonable PDCP timer threshold setting), the chip in the UE discards the transmission of PDU packet #2 to the base station, and the chip in the UE discards PDU #3 and PDU #4 in consideration of the PDU set integrity processing requirement, and the SEALDD server only receives PDU packet #1, with a total packet loss number of 3.

[0368] Based on network congestion information, such as the fact that the data packet ECN bit corresponding to PDU packet #1 is not 11, or the fact that no network congestion occurs in the transmission time period corresponding to PDU packet #2, PDU packet #3, PDU packet #4, or PDU set #1, the SEALDD server can count PDU packet #2, PDU packet #3, and PDU packet #4 as non-network congestion packet loss, i.e., the non-network congestion packet loss number is 3.

[0369] S1212: The SEALDD server sends second packet loss information to the SEALDD client.

[0370] Optionally, the SEALDD client can determine whether to perform uplink code rate adjustment and the corresponding uplink code rate adjustment value based on the second packet loss information fed back by the SEALDD server.

[0371] Optionally, the SEALDD client sends feedback information to the VAL client, and the feedback information can include one or more of the second packet loss information, the code rate adjustment indication, and the code rate adjustment value.

[0372] It can be understood that the SEALDD client or the VAL client can determine whether to adjust the code rate based on the second packet loss information, and if the code rate adjustment is performed, the code rate adjustment value can be further determined, which is not limited in the present application.

[0373] As shown in FIG. 13, the present application also provides a communication method, which comprises:

[0374] S1301 to S1303 refer to S701 to S703 described above,

[0375] S1304: The SEALDD client sends information A and information B to the chip on the UE, wherein the information A indicates to identify the data packet discarded under the condition that no network congestion is sent. The information B indicates to feed back the third packet loss result, and the third packet loss result includes the packet loss number or the packet loss rate under the condition that no network congestion is sent.

[0376] Further, the SEALDD client also sends the address information of the SEALDD-Uu (e.g., the IP address and port number of the SEALDD client, and / or the IP address and port number of the SEALDD server) to the chip on the UE, and the feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the third packet loss result.

[0377] In a possible implementation, the SEALDD client requests the chip in the UE to perform the uplink PDU set processing.

[0378] In another possible implementation, the SEALDD server sends information 1 to the 5GC, where the information 1 is used to request the chip in the UE to perform the uplink PDU set processing. Further, the 5GC sends the information 1 to the base station, and the base station sends the information 1 to the chip in the UE, so as to instruct the chip in the UE to perform the uplink PDU set processing.

[0379] S1305: The SEALDD client sends a connection creation request to the SEALDD server, where the connection creation request includes the address information on the SEALDD client side (e.g., including the IP address and port number of the SEALDD client), information C, and information D. The information C is used to request the feedback of the fourth packet loss result, and the feedback frequency (or feedback frequency) of the fourth packet loss result. The feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the third packet loss result is the same as the feedback period (or feedback frequency) of the fourth packet loss result. The fourth packet loss result includes the total number of packet loss or the total packet loss rate. The information D is used to request the notification of the network congestion information.

[0380] S1306: The SEALDD server sends a connection creation response message to the SEALDD client, where the response message includes the address (e.g., the IP address, the port number) of the SEALDD server.

[0381] S1307: The SEALDD server sends the fourth information to the core network device (NEF or PCF) according to the information D, where the fourth information is used to request the execution of the network congestion marking (e.g., the start of the ECN marking function).

[0382] S1308: The VAL client sends the uplink data packet to the SEALDD client.

[0383] S1309: The SEALDD client encapsulates the received uplink data packet into a PDU set.

[0384] For example, the SEALDD client identifies the PDU set information according to the SEALDD-C interface protocol description information, and encapsulates the PDU set according to the SEALDD-Uu transmission protocol type.

[0385] S1310: The SEALDD client sends the PDU set to the SEALDD server through the 5G network.

[0386] Illustratively, the SEALDD client first transmits the PDU set to the chip on the UE. The chip on the UE sends the received PDU set to the SEALDD server through the 5G network.

[0387] S1311: The chip on the UE determines a third packet loss result.

[0388] Illustratively, the chip on the UE identifies the PDU set information according to the transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface, determines the packet loss situation, and receives network congestion information from the SEALDD server or the core network, judges whether the network is congested according to the network congestion information, and obtains the third packet loss result.

[0389] For example, the data packet sent by the SEALDD client is PDU set #1, which is composed of PDU packet #1, PDU packet #2, PDU packet #3, and PDU packet #4. Due to non-congestion reasons of the network (such as unreasonable PDCP timer threshold setting), the chip in the UE discards the transmission of PDU packet #2 to the base station, and the chip in the UE discards PDU #3 and PDU #4 considering the PDU set integrity processing requirement. The chip in the UE can count PDU #2, PDU #3, and PDU #4 as non-network congestion packet loss, i.e., the number of non-network congestion packet loss is 3.

[0390] S1312: The chip on the UE sends the third packet loss result to the SEALDD client.

[0391] S1313: The SEALDD server sends a fourth packet loss result to the SEALDD client.

[0392] Illustratively, the SEALDD server identifies the PDU set information according to the transmission protocol type of the SEALDD-Uu interface, determines the packet loss situation, and obtains the fourth packet loss result.

[0393] Optionally, the SEALDD client can determine whether to perform uplink code rate adjustment and the corresponding uplink code rate adjustment value according to the third packet loss result and the fourth packet loss result.

[0394] Optionally, the SEALDD client sends feedback information to the VAL client, and the feedback information can include one or more of the third packet loss result and the fourth packet loss result, the code rate adjustment indication, and the code rate adjustment value.

[0395] It can be understood that the SEALDD client or the VAL client can determine whether to adjust the code rate based on the third packet loss result and the fourth packet loss result, and if the code rate adjustment is performed, the code rate adjustment value can be further determined, which is not limited in the present application.

[0396] It can be understood that, in order to realize the functions in the above embodiments, the application server and the terminal device include hardware structures and / or software modules for performing respective functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is realized in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0397] FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are structural schematic diagrams of possible communication apparatuses provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatuses can be used to realize the functions of the terminal device or the application server in the method embodiments. As shown in FIG. 14, the communication apparatus 1400 includes a processing unit 1410 and a transceiver unit 1420.

[0398] When the communication apparatus 1400 is used to perform the functions of the application server, the processing unit 1410 invokes the transceiver unit 1420 to perform the following steps.

[0399] sending first information to the terminal device, the first information indicating the terminal device to identify data packets discarded in a case where the network is not congested; sending data packets to the terminal device; and receiving first packet loss information from the terminal device, wherein the first packet loss information includes packet loss information in a case where the network is not congested and / or packet loss information in a case where the network is congested.

[0400] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1420 is configured to send second information to the first core network device, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in a case where the network is not congested.

[0401] In a possible implementation, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in a case where the network is not congested means that the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets in a protocol data unit (PDU) set are allowed to be discarded in a case where the network is not congested.

[0402] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1420 is configured to send third information to the terminal device, the third information indicating the terminal device to feed back the first packet loss information.

[0403] In a possible implementation, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information; the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information are one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0404] In a possible implementation, the first packet loss information includes one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0405] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1420 is configured to send, to a second core network device, fourth information, where the fourth information is used to request that network congestion information be provided for the terminal device.

[0406] In a possible implementation, the fourth information is used to request that an Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) bit in a data packet be marked.

[0407] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1420 is configured to, before sending the second information to the first core network device, acquire fifth information, where the fifth information includes one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information; the server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that a service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate that processing is requested to be performed in a PDU set as a granularity.

[0408] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1420 is configured to send, to a third core network device, sixth information, where the sixth information is used to request that a network provide a number of packet losses W, and the number of packet losses W includes a number of packet losses that occur in at least one of the following: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element.

[0409] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1410 is configured to, after receiving the first packet loss information from the terminal device, determine whether to trigger a code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss information, and determine a code rate adjustment value if the code rate adjustment is triggered.

[0410] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1420 is configured to determine, according to the first packet loss information, that a ratio of the number of packet losses to the total number of data packets in the case where the network is not congested is greater than a first preset threshold, and not trigger the code rate adjustment; or determine, according to the first packet loss information, that a ratio of the number of packet losses to the total number of data packets in the case where the network is congested is less than a second preset threshold, and not trigger the code rate adjustment.

[0411] When the communication apparatus 1400 is configured to perform the function of the application server, the processing unit 1410 invokes the transceiver 1420 to perform the following operations:

[0412] receive first information from the application server, the first information indicating that the terminal device identifies data packets discarded in the case where the network is not congested; receive data packets from the application server; and send first packet loss information to the application server, the first packet loss information being packet loss information in the case where the network is not congested and / or packet loss information in the case where the network is congested.

[0413] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1420 is configured to receive third information from the application server, the third information indicating that the terminal device feeds back the first packet loss information.

[0414] In a possible implementation, the third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information; and the parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information include one or more of the total number of packet losses, the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0415] In a possible implementation, the first packet loss information includes one or more of the total number of packet losses, the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

[0416] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1420 is configured to acquire network congestion information; and the processing unit 1410 is configured to determine the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information.

[0417] In a possible implementation, the network congestion information is carried in an ECN bit in the received data packets.

[0418] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive the number of lost packets W, wherein the number of lost packets W comprises the number of lost packets in at least one of the following cases: the N3 link, the N6 link, and the user plane network element; and the processing unit is configured to determine the first packet loss information according to the first information, the network congestion information, and the number of lost packets W when determining the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information.

[0419] More detailed description of the processing unit 1410 and the transceiver unit 1420 can be directly obtained by referring to the related description in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0420] As shown in FIG. 15, the communication apparatus 1500 includes a processor 1510 and an interface circuit 1520. The processor 1510 and the interface circuit 1520 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1520 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1500 can further include a memory 1530 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1510 or storing input data required by the processor 1510 to run instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1510 runs instructions.

[0421] When the communication apparatus 1500 is configured to implement the method shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, the processor 1510 is configured to implement the functions of the processing unit 1410, and the interface circuit 1520 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1420.

[0422] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0423] Another example of the apparatus is also provided in the present application, the notification apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory for storing instructions which when executed by the at least one processor cause the communication apparatus to perform the method in the above embodiments. Taking the communication apparatus comprising one processor and one memory as an example, as shown in FIG. 15, the communication apparatus 1500 comprises one processor 1510 and one memory 1530. The processor 1510 and the memory 1530 are coupled, and the memory 1530 stores instructions, when the instructions stored in the memory 1530 are executed by the processor 1510, the communication apparatus 1500 performs the method executed by the application server or the terminal device in the above embodiments.

[0424] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in the application server or the terminal device. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the application server or the terminal device.

[0425] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, an application server, user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; or an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0426] In various embodiments of the present application, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0427] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The "and / or" describes the association relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the literal description of the present application, the character " / ", generally represents that the front and rear associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", represents that the front and rear associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0428] It can be understood that various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only distinguished for convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to an application server or a chip in the application server, and comprises the following steps: sending first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating the terminal device to identify a data packet discarded in a case where network congestion does not occur; sending a data packet to the terminal device; receiving first packet loss information from the terminal device, wherein the first packet loss information comprises packet loss information in a case where network congestion does not occur and / or packet loss information in a case where network congestion occurs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Further comprising: sending second information to a first core network device, the second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in a case where network congestion does not occur.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The second information indicating that part or all of the data packets are allowed to be discarded in a case where network congestion does not occur means that the second information indicates that part or all of the data packets in a protocol data unit (PDU) set are allowed to be discarded in a case where network congestion does not occur. The method further comprises the following steps: sending one or more PDU sets to the terminal device, each PDU set comprising one or more data packets.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Further comprising: sending third information to the terminal device, the third information indicating the terminal device to feed back the first packet loss information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information. The parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information are one or more of a total number of packet losses, a number of packet losses in a case where network congestion does not occur, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur to a total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur to the total number of data packets.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, The first packet loss information comprises one or more of the total number of packet losses, the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur, the ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur to the total number of data packets, the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur, and the ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where network congestion does not occur to the total number of data packets.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein Further comprising: sending fourth information to a second core network device, the fourth information being used to request the network congestion information to be provided for the terminal device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The fourth information is used to request an explicit congestion notification (ECN) bit in a data packet to be marked.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein, Before the second information is sent to the first core network device, the method further comprises the following steps: obtaining fifth information, the fifth information comprising one or more of a server identifier, a service identifier, and transmission indication information; wherein the server identifier and / or the service identifier are used to indicate that a service of the terminal device is a media service, and the transmission indication information is used to indicate that a request is made to process in a PDU set granularity.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein, Further comprising: sending sixth information to a third core network device, the sixth information being used to request the network to provide a number of packet losses W, the number of packet losses W comprising a number of packet losses occurring in at least one of the following cases: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, After the first packet loss information is received from the terminal device, the method further comprises the following steps: determining whether to trigger a code rate adjustment according to the first packet loss information; if the code rate adjustment is triggered, determining a code rate adjustment value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, Further comprising: if a ratio of the number of packet losses to the total number of data packets in the case where the network is not congested is greater than a first preset threshold according to the first packet loss information, the code rate adjustment is not triggered; or, if a ratio of the number of packet losses to the total number of data packets in the case where the network is congested is less than a second preset threshold according to the first packet loss information, the code rate adjustment is not triggered.

13. A method of communication, comprising: The method is applied to a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device, and the method comprises: receiving first information from an application server, the first information indicating the terminal device to identify data packets discarded in the case where the network is not congested; receiving data packets from the application server; sending first packet loss information to the application server, the first packet loss information being packet loss information in the case where the network is not congested and / or packet loss information in the case where the network is congested.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, Further comprising: receiving third information from the application server, the third information indicating the terminal device to feed back the first packet loss information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The third information indicates a feedback period of the first packet loss information and / or parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information. The parameters required to be included in the first packet loss information are one or more of the total number of packet losses, the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein, The first packet loss information comprises one or more of the total number of packet losses, the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, a ratio of the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets, a difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested, and a ratio of the difference between the total number of packet losses and the number of packet losses in the case where the network is not congested to the total number of data packets.

17. The method of any one of claims 13-16, wherein, Further comprising: obtaining network congestion information; determining the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein, The network congestion information is carried by an ECN bit in the received data packets.

19. The method of claim 17 or 18, wherein, Further comprising: receiving a number of packet losses W, the number of packet losses W comprising the number of packet losses occurring in at least one of the following cases: an N3 link, an N6 link, and a user plane network element; determining the first packet loss information according to the first information and the network congestion information, comprising: determining the first packet loss information according to the first information, the network congestion information, and the number of packet losses W.

20. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises at least one processor; the at least one processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. A communications device, characterized by The computer readable storage medium comprises a program, when the program is executed on the device, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, ​ 23. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a program or instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

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