Method and device for obtaining link quality

Abstract

The present application provides a method and apparatus for obtaining link quality, including: a session management network element determining a monitoring link, where the monitoring link is used to detect the service quality of a service path between a first communication device and a second communication device; the session management network element sending a first link quality reporting request to the first device, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report service quality information of the service path if a reporting policy is satisfied, where the first device includes the first communication device and / or the second communication device; and the session management network element receiving a first link quality notification message from the first device, where the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link, so that the first device reports the service quality information of the service path if the reporting policy is satisfied, thereby helping a network side obtain network performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for obtaining link quality. Background Art

[0002] Fifth-generation (5G) communication systems introduce ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services, primarily for applications such as autonomous driving and industrial automation that require low-latency, highly reliable connections. For these low-latency, highly reliable services, the network must obtain quality of service (QoS) in a timely manner. Current technologies use the radio access network (RAN) to report the transmission rate, but this method cannot meet the requirements of URLLC services.

[0003] To improve network performance and service quality, 5G networks have introduced the Link Quality Awareness Protocol (LQAP) for URLLC services. Improving the network's ability to perceive link quality by notifying the network of service quality events from terminals and user-plane network elements has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a method and apparatus for obtaining link quality, so that a first device reports service quality information of a monitoring link when a reporting policy is met, which helps the network side obtain network performance.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for obtaining link quality is provided, including: a session management network element determines a monitoring link, where the monitoring link is used to detect the service quality of a service path between a first communication device and a second communication device, and then sends a first link quality reporting request to the first device, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the service quality information of the monitoring link when a reporting policy is met, the first device includes the first communication device and / or the second communication device, and receives a first link quality notification message from the first device, where the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link, so that the first device reports the service quality information when the reporting policy is met, which helps the network side obtain network performance.

[0006] Optionally, the monitoring link can be replaced by: (quality of service) monitoring link, (quality of service) detection link, (quality of service) monitoring connection, (quality of service) detection connection, (quality of service) detection session, (quality of service) monitoring session, LQAP connection or LQAP session, NCP link, NCP monitoring link, NCP connection, NCP session and other similar expressions that have the function of detecting quality of service.

[0007] Optionally, the word "detection" in the monitoring link used to detect the service quality of the service path between the first communication device and the second communication device can be replaced by other similar expressions such as monitoring, surveillance, measurement, calculation, evaluation or decision-making that have the function of obtaining the service quality of the link.

[0008] Optionally, the link quality reporting request may be replaced by: a link quality subscription message, a link quality subscription notification, a link quality notification request, a link quality event subscription, or other descriptions with similar functions.

[0009] Optionally, the link quality notification message may be replaced by: a link quality response message, a link quality subscription response notification, a link quality notification response, a link quality event subscription response, or other descriptions with similar functions.

[0010] Optionally, the service quality of the service path can be equivalently replaced by: the quality of the service path, the transmission quality or service quality of the service corresponding to the service path, the transmission quality of the service path, the service quality performance of the service transmitted on the service path, the transmission quality of the service transmitted on the service path (such as the service quality performance of the data packet transmitted on the service path where the detection message is actually transmitted), and other similar expressions that can be derived.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the quality of service information includes quality of service parameters of the service path and / or a link status notification message, where the link status notification message is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the service path meet a reporting policy. Specifically, when the first device detects that the quality of service parameters of the service path meet a reporting policy, the first device reports the link status notification message to the session management network element.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the quality of service information is obtained by the first communication device or the second communication device by sending a detection message. The quality of service information corresponds to the actual transmission performance of the detection message. In this way, the quality of service information can be determined by the arrival of the detection message.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; wherein the reporting policy indicates that the first device reports the service quality information based on the link quality reporting period. In this way, the session management network element can obtain the service quality of the service path in real time, implement real-time monitoring of the monitoring link, and facilitate timely adjustments when a fault occurs.

[0014] In another possible implementation, when the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the service path, the first device satisfying the reporting policy indicates that the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

[0015] The delay parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter;

[0016] The packet loss rate of the service path is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate;

[0017] A jitter parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the jitter parameter.

[0018] Therefore, the reported service quality parameters are relatively comprehensive, including packet loss rate, delay, and jitter, which can reflect the service quality of the link from multiple angles.

[0019] Optionally, the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, or the jitter threshold is determined by the first device based on service requirements; or the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, and the jitter threshold. Therefore, the threshold of the quality of service parameter can be determined by the first device itself or sent to the first device by a session management network element.

[0020] Optionally, the latency threshold includes an uplink latency threshold and / or a downlink latency threshold; the packet loss rate threshold includes an uplink packet loss rate threshold and / or a downlink packet loss rate threshold; and the jitter threshold includes an uplink jitter threshold and / or a downlink jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can obtain not only the quality of service parameters reported by the terminal, but also the quality of service parameters reported by the user plane network element, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the link's service quality.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the session management network element determines the monitoring link, including: the session management network element receives a second link quality reporting request from the application network element, the second link quality reporting request includes the identifier of the service corresponding to the service path; and determines the monitoring link based on the identifier of the service. The service corresponding to the service path can be understood as the service transmitted on the service path. In other words, the service is transmitted using the service path. Optionally, the specific form of the identifier of the service can be one or more of the following: IP quintuple, terminal address, application address, application identifier, terminal identifier, service flow identifier, service aggregation flow identifier, packet data unit (PDU) session ID, QoS Flow ID.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the session management network element sending a second link quality notification message to the application network element, where the second link quality notification message includes the service quality information. In this way, the application network element can also promptly learn about the transmission performance of the link, thereby making corresponding adjustments in a timely manner in the event of a failure.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: upon receiving the first link quality notification message, the session management network element determining that the network state is any one of wireless handover, reselection of a user plane function (UPF), or establishment or reestablishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session; and the session management network element determining not to send the second link quality notification message to the application network element. Therefore, the session management network element can determine not to send the second link quality notification message to the application network element based on the network state, eliminating the need to send the second link quality notification message unnecessarily, thereby saving power consumption and communication overhead.

[0024] In one possible implementation, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a latency threshold, a packet loss rate threshold, and a jitter threshold, the method further includes: the session management network element determining that the reporting policy needs to be updated; and the session management network element sending a first update message to the first device, wherein the first update message is used to instruct the first device to update the reporting policy, and the first update message includes one or more of an updated value for the link quality reporting period, an updated value for the latency threshold, an updated value for the packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value for the jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can promptly update the reporting policy to meet the service quality requirements of the service. The first update message carries an identifier of the monitoring link. The purpose of carrying the identifier of the monitoring link in the first update message is to facilitate the first device in searching for a monitoring link for which the reporting policy needs to be updated, or in searching for a local context of the monitoring link corresponding to the identifier of the monitoring link.

[0025] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: the session management network element receiving a second update message from the application network element, where the second update message carries an identifier of the service, and the second update message includes one or more of an updated value of a link quality reporting period, an updated value of a delay threshold, an updated value of a packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value of a jitter threshold;

[0026] The session management network element determining that the reporting policy needs to be updated includes: the session management network element determining the monitoring link based on the service identifier; and the session management network element determining that the reporting policy needs to be updated for the monitoring link. Therefore, the session management network element can determine to update the reporting policy based on an instruction from an application network element, making the updating method more flexible.

[0027] In another possible implementation, the session management network element determines the monitoring link, including: the session management network element determining a service identifier corresponding to the service path based on a service quality requirement; and the session management network element determining the monitoring link based on the service identifier. In this way, the session management network element can independently decide on the monitoring link based on the service quality requirement.

[0028] In another possible implementation, the session management network element determines the monitoring link, including:

[0029] The session management network element receives reporting instruction information from the policy control network element, the reporting instruction information being used to instruct the reporting of the quality of service information; the session management network element determines the identifier of the service corresponding to the service path based on the reporting instruction information; and the session management network element determines the monitoring link based on the identifier of the service. In this way, the session management network element can decide the monitoring link based on the instruction from the policy control network element.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the session management network element determines the monitoring link based on the service identifier, including: determining, by the session management network element, context information corresponding to the service based on the service identifier; and determining, by the session management network element, the monitoring link based on the context information, wherein the context information includes the monitoring link identifier.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the session management network element evaluating the link quality of the monitoring link based on the first link quality notification message; and the session management network element sending a repair instruction to the first device based on the evaluation result, wherein the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize or repair the service path, such as instructing the first device to perform bicast. Therefore, the session management network element can also instruct the first device to optimize the transmission link, thereby helping to improve the reliability of the transmission link.

[0032] According to a second aspect, a communication system is provided, including: a session management network element determines a monitoring link, wherein the monitoring link is used to detect the service quality of a service path between a first device and the first device; the session management network element sends a first link quality reporting request to the first device, wherein the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the service quality information of the service path when a reporting policy is met; and the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, wherein the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link.

[0033] In the communication system of an embodiment of the present application, the session management network element determines a monitoring link, where the monitoring link is used to detect the service quality of the service path between the first device and the first device, and sends a first link quality reporting request to the first device, so that the first device reports the service quality information of the service path when the reporting policy is met, which helps the network side obtain network performance.

[0034] Optionally, the first device is a terminal or a user plane network element (such as UPF).

[0035] In a possible implementation, the quality of service information is obtained by the first device or the peer of the first device by sending a detection message. In this way, the quality of service information can be determined by detecting the arrival of the message.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; wherein the reporting policy indicates that the first device reports the service quality information based on the link quality reporting period. In this way, the session management network element can obtain the service quality of the link in real time, implement real-time monitoring of the monitoring link, and facilitate timely adjustments when a fault occurs.

[0037] In another possible implementation, when the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the service path, the first device satisfying the reporting policy indicates that the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

[0038] The delay parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter;

[0039] The packet loss rate of the service path is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate;

[0040] A jitter parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the jitter parameter.

[0041] Therefore, the reported service quality parameters are relatively comprehensive, including packet loss rate, delay, and jitter, which can reflect the service quality of the business path from multiple angles.

[0042] Optionally, the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, or the jitter threshold is determined by the first device based on service requirements; or the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, and the jitter threshold. Therefore, the threshold of the quality of service parameter can be determined by the first device itself or sent to the first device by a session management network element.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the latency threshold includes an uplink latency threshold and / or a downlink latency threshold; the packet loss rate threshold includes an uplink packet loss rate threshold and / or a downlink packet loss rate threshold; and the jitter threshold includes an uplink jitter threshold and / or a downlink jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can obtain not only the QoS information reported by the terminal but also the QoS information reported by the user plane network element, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the link's service quality.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the application network element sends a second link quality reporting request to the session management network element, the second link quality reporting request including an identifier of the service corresponding to the service path; wherein, the session management network element determines the monitoring link, including: the session management network element determines the monitoring link based on the identifier of the service.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the session management network element sending a second link quality notification message to the application network element, where the second link quality notification message includes the service quality information.

[0046] In one possible implementation, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a latency threshold, a packet loss rate threshold, and a jitter threshold, the method further includes: the session management network element determining that the reporting policy needs to be updated; and the session management network element sending a first update message to the first device, wherein the first update message is used to indicate an update to the reporting policy, and the first update message includes one or more of an updated value for the link quality reporting period, an updated value for the latency threshold, an updated value for the packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value for the jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can promptly update the reporting policy to meet the service quality requirements of the service. The first update message carries an identifier of the monitoring link. The purpose of carrying the identifier of the monitoring link in the first update message is to facilitate the first device in searching for the monitoring link that needs to be updated.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the application network element sending a second update message to the session management network element, the second update message carrying the identifier of the service, and the second update message including one or more of an updated value for a link quality reporting period, an updated value for a latency threshold, an updated value for a packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value for a jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can determine to update the reporting policy based on an instruction from the application network element, providing a more flexible update method.

[0048] According to a third aspect, a method for obtaining link quality is provided, including: a first device receives a first link quality reporting request from a session management network element, the first link quality reporting request being used to instruct the first device to report the service quality information of the service path when monitoring that the monitoring link satisfies a reporting policy, the monitoring link being used to detect the service quality of the service path between the first device and the opposite end of the first device; when the reporting policy is met, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, the first link quality notification message including the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link.

[0049] The first device receives a first link quality reporting request sent by a session management network element, and reports the service quality information of the service path if a reporting policy is met. The first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link, which helps the network side obtain network performance.

[0050] Optionally, the quality of service information includes a quality of service parameter of the service path and / or a link status notification message, and the link status notification message is used to indicate that the quality of service parameter of the service path meets a reporting policy.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first device determining the service quality information by sending a detection message to a peer of the first device. In this way, the service quality information can be determined by the arrival of the detection message.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period;

[0053] The first device sending the first link quality notification message to the session management network element when the reporting policy is satisfied includes: the first device sending the first link quality notification message to the session management network element based on the link quality reporting period. In this way, the session management network element can obtain the link quality of service in real time and implement real-time monitoring of the monitoring link, so as to enable timely adjustment when a fault occurs.

[0054] In another possible implementation, the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the service path. When the reporting policy is met, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, including:

[0055] When the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element:

[0056] The delay parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter;

[0057] The packet loss rate of the service path is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate;

[0058] A jitter parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the jitter parameter.

[0059] Therefore, the service quality parameters reported by the first device are relatively comprehensive, including packet loss rate, latency, and jitter, and can reflect the service quality of the service path from multiple perspectives.

[0060] Optionally, the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, or the jitter threshold is determined by the first device based on service requirements; or the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, and the jitter threshold. Therefore, the threshold of the quality of service parameter can be determined by the first device itself or sent to the first device by a session management network element.

[0061] In one possible implementation, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a delay threshold, a packet loss rate threshold, and a jitter threshold, the method further includes: the first device obtains and receives a first update message from the session management network element, the first update message being used to indicate an update to the reporting policy, the first update message including one or more of a link quality reporting period update value, a delay threshold update value, a packet loss rate threshold update value, and a jitter threshold update value.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first device receiving a repair instruction from the session management network element, where the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize the service path; and the first device optimizes the service path.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the first device is a terminal or a user plane function UPF network element.

[0064] In a fourth aspect, a device for obtaining link quality is provided. The device may be a session management network element (SME) or a chip. The device implements the functionality of a SME in any aspect or any possible implementation of any aspect. The functionality may be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the aforementioned functionality.

[0065] In a fifth aspect, a device for obtaining link quality is provided. The device can be a first device or a chip. The device implements the functions of the first device in any aspect or any possible implementation of any aspect. The functions can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0066] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and the transceiver. The memory is configured to store instructions, the processor is configured to execute the instructions, and the transceiver is configured to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the execution causes the device to perform the method for managing a session network element according to any of the aforementioned aspects or any possible implementation of any of the aspects. It should be noted that the memory may be integrated into the processor or independent of the processor.

[0067] In a seventh aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and the transceiver. The memory is configured to store instructions, the processor is configured to execute the instructions, and the transceiver is configured to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the execution causes the device to perform the terminal method described in any of the aforementioned aspects or any possible implementation of any of the aspects. It should be noted that the memory may be integrated into the processor or independent of the processor.

[0068] In an eighth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and the transceiver. The memory is used to store instructions, the processor is used to execute the instructions, and the transceiver is used to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the execution causes the device to execute the method for a user plane network element in any of the above aspects or any possible implementation of any of the aspects. It should be noted that the memory can be integrated into the processor or independent of the processor.

[0069] In a ninth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The processor is connected to the memory and the transceiver. The memory is used to store instructions, the processor is used to execute the instructions, and the transceiver is used to communicate with other network elements under the control of the processor. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the execution causes the device to perform the method for applying a network element in any of the above aspects or any possible implementation of any of the aspects. It should be noted that the memory can be integrated into the processor or independent of the processor.

[0070] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program, wherein the program enables a session management network element to execute the method of the session management network element in any one of the above aspects or any possible implementation of any one of the aspects.

[0071] In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, wherein the program enables a terminal to execute the method of the terminal in any one of the above aspects or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects.

[0072] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program, and the program enables a user-plane network element to execute the method of the user-plane network element in any of the above aspects or any possible implementation of any of the aspects.

[0073] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication chip is provided, in which instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed on a computer device, the communication chip executes the method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0074] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in any of the above aspects or any possible implementation thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a system architecture applying an embodiment of the present application.

[0076] Figure 2 It is a scene diagram of an embodiment of the present application.

[0077] Figure 3 It is a schematic block diagram of a computer device to which an embodiment of the present application is applied.

[0078] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0079] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining link quality according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0080] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0081] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of an example according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0082] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of another example according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0083] Figure 9 This is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for obtaining link quality according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0086] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, future fifth generation (5G) system, other future systems or new radio (NR), vehicle to everything (V2X) vehicle networking system, etc.

[0087] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system architecture using an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the system 100 includes: a session management network element and a first device. Optionally, the first device includes a terminal and / or a user plane network element.

[0088] The above-mentioned system 100 can be used to execute the method for obtaining link quality in the embodiment of the present application.

[0089] In one possible implementation, a session management network element is used to determine a monitoring link, which is used to detect the service quality of the service transmitted between the session management network element and the terminal; the session management network element is further used to: send a first link quality reporting request to the first device, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the service quality information of the service path when a reporting policy is met; the first device is used to send a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, where the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link, so that the first device reports the service quality information of the service path when the reporting policy is met, which helps the network side obtain network performance.

[0090] Optionally, the system 100 further includes an application network element.

[0091] In a possible implementation manner, the application network element is configured to send a second link quality reporting request to the session management network element, where the second link quality reporting request includes an identifier of the service corresponding to the service path.

[0092] Optionally, the session management network element is further configured to send a second link quality notification message to the application network element, wherein the second link quality notification message includes the service quality information. In this way, the application network element can also promptly learn about the transmission performance of the link and make corresponding adjustments in a timely manner in the event of a failure.

[0093] Optionally, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a latency threshold, a packet loss rate threshold, and a jitter threshold, the session management network element is further configured to: determine that the reporting policy needs to be updated; and send a first update message to the first device, the first update message being used to instruct the reporting policy to be updated, the first update message including one or more of an updated value for the link quality reporting period, an updated value for the latency threshold, an updated value for the packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value for the jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can timely update the reporting policy to meet the service quality requirements of the service.

[0094] Optionally, the application network element is further configured to send a second update message to the session management network element, the second update message carrying an identifier of the service, and including one or more of an updated value for a link quality reporting period, an updated value for a latency threshold, an updated value for a packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value for a jitter threshold. Therefore, the session management network element can determine to update the reporting policy based on an instruction from the application network element, providing a more flexible update method.

[0095] It should be noted that Figure 1 The session management network element, first device, and application network element in the present application are merely names, and the names do not limit the devices themselves. In 5G networks and other future networks, the network elements or entities corresponding to the session management network element, first device, and application network element may also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. For example, the session management network element may be replaced by an SMF functional entity, the user plane network element may be replaced by a UPF functional entity, the application network element may be replaced by an application function AF entity, and so on. These are all explained here in a unified manner and will not be repeated below.

[0096] Optionally, the session management network element, user plane network element and application network element in the above-mentioned system 100 can each be a separate network element, or can be implemented by multiple network elements, or can be a functional module within a network element. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0097] It is understandable that the above functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0098] In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal may refer to a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal in V2X communication, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. A terminal may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. A terminal may also include a V2X device, such as a vehicle or an on-board unit (OBU) in a vehicle.

[0099] The terminal in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the radio access network (RAN) device in a wireless manner, and the radio access network device is connected to the core network device in a wireless or wired manner ( Figure 1 (not shown). The core network device and the radio access network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device can be integrated into the same physical device, or a physical device can integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the radio access network device. The terminal can be fixed or mobile.

[0100] The wireless access network device is an access device that the terminal uses to access the mobile communication system wirelessly. It can be a base station NodeB, an evolved base station eNodeB, a base station (gNodeB, gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. It can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the access network device can be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in a future 5G network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the wireless access network device.

[0101] The core network equipment includes, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BMSC), etc., or may also include corresponding functional entities in the 5G system, such as the core network control plane (CP) or user plane (UP) network functions, such as the session management network function (SMF), the access and mobility management function (AMF), etc. The core network control plane can also be understood as the core network control plane function (CPF) entity.

[0102] V2X communication refers to the ability of vehicles to obtain timely road condition information or receive information through various methods, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-roadside infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), and vehicle-to-network (V2N). Taking the most common V2V and V2I communication as examples, a vehicle can broadcast information such as its speed, direction, location, and whether it has applied the emergency brake to surrounding vehicles through V2V communication. This information allows drivers to better understand traffic conditions, making proactive decisions about dangerous situations and making timely evasive maneuvers. Alternatively, for V2I communication, in addition to the aforementioned exchange of safety information, roadside infrastructure can also provide vehicles with various service information and access to data networks. This enables features such as toll collection and in-car entertainment, significantly enhancing the intelligence of transportation. The network used for V2X communication is generally referred to as the Internet of Vehicles.

[0103] Wireless access network equipment and terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water; and can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of wireless access network equipment and terminals.

[0104] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to downlink signal transmission, uplink signal transmission, and device-to-device (D2D) signal transmission. For downlink signal transmission, the transmitting device is a wireless access network device, and the corresponding receiving device is a terminal. For uplink signal transmission, the transmitting device is a terminal, and the corresponding receiving device is a wireless access network device. For D2D signal transmission, the transmitting device is a terminal, and the corresponding receiving device is also a terminal. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the direction of signal transmission.

[0105] The wireless access network device and the terminal, as well as the terminal and the terminal, can communicate through the licensed spectrum (licensed spectrum), can also communicate through the unlicensed spectrum (unlicensed spectrum), or can also communicate through the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum at the same time. The wireless access network device and the terminal, as well as the terminal and the terminal, can communicate through the spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), can also communicate through the spectrum above 6 GHz, and can also communicate using the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used between the wireless access network device and the terminal.

[0106] Optionally, Figure 1 The system 100 shown can be applied to 5G networks and other possible networks in the future, and the embodiments of the present application are not specifically limited to this.

[0107] in, Figure 1 The system 100 shown is applied to a 5G network. Figure 2 As shown, for example, the session management network element may be the SMF 102 in 5G, the user plane network element may be the UPF 108 in 5G, the terminal may be the UE in 5G, and the application network element may be the AF 210 in 5G.

[0108] Figure 2 A scene diagram of an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2As shown, the system 200 includes: AMF 201, session management function (SMF) 202, radio access network (RAN) 203, authentication server function (AUSF) 204, unified data management (UDM) 205, policy control function (PCF) 206, data network (DN) 207, user plane function (UPF) 208, user equipment (UE) 209, and application function (AF) 210. Among them, UE 209 is connected to AMF 201 through the N1 interface, and UE 209 is connected to RAN 203 through the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol; RAN 203 is connected to AMF 201 through the N2 interface, and RAN 203 is connected to UPF 208 through the N3 interface; multiple UPFs 208 are connected through the N9 interface, UPF208 is connected to DN 207 through the N6 interface, and at the same time, UPF 208 is connected to SMF 202 through the N4 interface; SMF 202 is connected to PCF 206 through the N7 interface, SMF 202 is connected to UDM 205 through the N20 interface, and at the same time, SMF 202 is connected to AMF201 through the N11 interface; multiple AMFs 201 are connected through the N14 interface, AMF 201 is connected to UDM 205 through the N8 interface, and AMF 201 is connected to AUSF through the N12 interface. 204. Meanwhile, AMF 201 is connected to PCF 206 via the N15 interface; AUSF 204 is connected to UDM 205 via the N13 interface. AMF 201 and SMF 202 obtain user subscription data from UDM 205 via the N8 and N20 interfaces, respectively, and obtain policy data from PCF 206 via the N15 and N7 interfaces. AF 210 is connected to PCF 206 via the N5 interface. SMF 202 controls UPF 208 via the N4 interface.

[0109] It should be noted that Figure 2The naming of each network element included in the (such as SMF 202, AF210, UPF208, etc.) is only a name, and the name does not limit the function of the network element itself. In 5G networks and other future networks, the above-mentioned network elements may also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above-mentioned network elements may continue to use the terminology in 5G, or may have other names, etc., which are uniformly explained here and will not be repeated below.

[0110] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The specific working process and beneficial effects of the network elements in the system can be found in the description of the method embodiment below.

[0111] Figure 3 Schematic block diagram of a computer device 300 (or a device for obtaining link quality) according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 1 The session management network element, the first device (including the terminal and / or the user plane network element) or the application network element in the Figure 3 or, Figure 2 The SMF 202, UPF 208, AF 210 or UE 209 can be Figure 3 This can be achieved by means of computer equipment in the computer.

[0112] like Figure 3 As shown, the computer device includes: a processor 301 , a memory 302 and a transceiver 303 .

[0113] The processor 301 , the memory 302 and the transceiver 303 communicate with each other through internal connection paths to transmit control and / or data signals.

[0114] It is understood that, although not shown, the computer device 300 may further include other devices, such as input devices, output devices, batteries, etc.

[0115] Optionally, in some embodiments, the memory 302 may store execution instructions for executing the method of the embodiment of the present application. The processor 301 may execute the instructions stored in the memory 302 in conjunction with other hardware (e.g., the transceiver 303) to complete the steps of the method shown below. The specific working process and beneficial effects can be found in the description of the method embodiment below.

[0116] The methods disclosed in the above embodiments of the present application can be applied to a processor or implemented by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented as a hardware decoding processor, or can be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the instructions in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0117] The computer device 300 can be a general-purpose computer device or a dedicated computer device. In a specific implementation, the computer device 300 can be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, a communication device, an embedded device or a computer with a computer. Figure 3 The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the computer device 300.

[0118] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a method 400 for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the method 400 includes:

[0119] S410: A session management network element determines a monitoring link, where the monitoring link is used to detect the quality of service of a service path between a first communication device and a second communication device.

[0120] Optionally, the monitoring link can be replaced by: (quality of service) monitoring link, (quality of service) detection link, (quality of service) monitoring connection, (quality of service) detection connection, (quality of service) detection session, (quality of service) monitoring session, LQAP connection or LQAP session, Network Control Protocol (NCP) link, NCP monitoring link, NCP connection, NCP session and other similar expressions that have the function of detecting quality of service, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0121] Optionally, the service path can be equivalently replaced by: Qos Flow, Packet Data Unit (PDU) session or service flow; or, other similar expressions that can be derived, such as the (end-to-end) transmission path or transmission resources corresponding to or used by the Qos Flow, PDU session or service flow, etc., which are not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0122] Optionally, the service quality of the service path can be equivalently replaced by: the quality of the service path, the transmission quality or service quality of the service corresponding to the service path, the transmission quality of the service path, the service quality performance of the service transmitted on the service path, the transmission quality of the service transmitted on the service path (such as the service quality performance of the data packet transmitted on the service path where the detection message is actually transmitted), and other similar expressions that can be derived. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0123] Optionally, the word "detection" in the monitoring link used to detect the service quality of the service path between the first communication device and the second communication device can be replaced by other similar expressions such as monitoring, supervision, surveillance, measurement, calculation or decision-making that have the function of obtaining the service quality of the link. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0124] Optionally, the session management network element may be the above Figure 2 The SMF 202 in, or the device or functional entity with session management function is not limited to this.

[0125] Optionally, the first communication device and the second communication device are each other's uplink and downlink devices. For example, the first communication device can be understood as a terminal; the second communication device can be understood as a user plane network element (e.g., UPF). Alternatively, the first communication device can be understood as a user plane network element; the first communication device can be understood as a terminal.

[0126] Optionally, the function of the monitoring link is to detect the service quality of the service path between the first communication device and the second communication device. It should be noted that the monitoring link can be understood as a logical detection link established between the first communication device and the second communication device on the transmission link of the service or service flow (such as URLLC service), and the logical detection link uses the same end-to-end transmission and processing resources as the service, including processing resources within the base station, processing resources within the UPF, the transmission path between the UE and the base station, and the transmission path between the base station and the UPF. Optionally, the establishment of the logical detection link can be that the network side control plane instructs the first communication device and the second communication device to establish it, or it can be that the first communication device and the second communication device spontaneously establish it, and there is no limitation on this.

[0127] It should be noted that the monitoring link can be used specifically for quality of service (QoS) monitoring; alternatively, the monitoring link can be understood as a general transmission path that can perform other functions in addition to QoS monitoring. For example, the path corresponding to the Network Control Protocol (NCP) can be used for functions such as bicast in addition to QoS monitoring. This is not limited in the present embodiments.

[0128] The monitoring link may also be the service transmission path itself, and in this case the identifier of the monitoring link is the service identifier itself, so the detection message and the service message can use the same end-to-end transmission and processing resources.

[0129] Optionally, the first and second communications devices can detect service quality information by exchanging detection messages. Specifically, on the monitoring link, the first and second communications devices exchange detection messages and, by detecting the arrival of these messages, determine the service quality of the monitoring link and the transmission quality of the pipeline within which the monitoring link resides. This pipeline corresponds to the end-to-end transmission and processing resources mentioned above. In other words, the service quality of the monitoring link, as determined by the detection messages, can reflect the service quality of the service.

[0130] The 5G network introduces the Link Quality Awareness Protocol (LQAP) for URLLC services. Optionally, the monitoring link can be an LQAP logical monitoring link established between the first communication device and the second communication device, and the monitoring link is identified by an LQAP identification (ID).

[0131] For ease of understanding, the following describes the process of sending a detection message using the above behavior as an example. For example, the first communication device is a terminal, and the second communication device is a UPF. After the terminal establishes an LQAP connection with the UPF, the terminal can obtain the context of the LQAP connection, which includes the LQAP ID, the rules for sending detection data packets (such as periodic sending), the detection data packet construction method, etc. Correspondingly, the UPF can obtain the LQAP ID and the expected acceptance rules for the detection data packets. Then, the terminal sends an LQAP detection message to the UPF based on the context of the LQAP connection, and the LQAP detection message carries the LQAP ID. After receiving the LQAP detection message, the UPF locates the LQAP context through the LQAP ID and obtains the expected acceptance rules from the context. Subsequently, the UPF can determine the service quality of the LQAP connection by comparing the actual arrival of the LQAP detection message with the expected acceptance rules.

[0132] S420: The session management network element sends a first link quality reporting request to a first device. The first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the service quality information of the service path if a reporting policy is satisfied. The first device includes the first communication device and / or the second communication device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first link quality reporting request.

[0133] Optionally, the quality of service information includes the quality of service parameters and / or a link status notification message, wherein the link status notification message is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the service path meet a reporting policy. The link status notification message may specifically indicate that the quality of service parameters detected by the first device meet a corresponding threshold. In other words, the first device may not only report specific quality of service parameters to the session management network element, but may also report to the session management network element an indication that the monitored quality of service parameters meet a corresponding threshold, without limitation.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, the link quality reporting request (for example, the first link quality reporting request) can be replaced by: link quality event reporting message, link quality subscription message, link quality subscription notification, link quality notification request or link quality event subscription and other descriptions with similar functions, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0135] It should be noted that the quality of service parameters refer to parameters that reflect the quality of service (QoS) of the service path and are used to characterize the real-time transmission performance of the service path. For example, the quality of service parameters may include one or more of packet loss rate, jitter parameter, latency parameter, jitter level, and bandwidth requirement.

[0136] Optionally, the quality of service of the service path may refer to the transmission performance of the detection message. Optionally, the quality of service information is obtained by the first communication device or the second communication device by sending a detection message. For example, the first communication device and the second communication device send detection messages to each other. Here, the process of sending the detection message can refer to the detailed description above. It should be noted that the underlying transmission resources or transmission pipelines used by the detection message are the same as the transmission resources or transmission pipelines used by the service message. Therefore, the quality of service of the service path can reflect the quality of service of the service.

[0137] Optionally, the reporting policy may be sent by the application network element to the session management network element, which is not limited to this.

[0138] Specifically, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; wherein the reporting strategy indicates that the first device reports the service quality information based on the link quality reporting period.

[0139] That is, the session management network element can send the link quality reporting period (for example, T represents the link quality reporting period) to the first device, so that the first device reports based on the link quality reporting period. In this way, compared with the existing technology, the session management network element in the embodiment of the present application can obtain network performance in real time.

[0140] It should be understood that the description herein uses periodic reporting as the most likely implementation method, but other possibilities are not excluded. For example, the reporting interval may be gradually increasing or decreasing, or may have a certain gradual change pattern, which is not limited in the present embodiment. For example, the reporting interval may be 1 millisecond, 2 ms, 3 ms, 4 ms, etc.

[0141] It should be noted that, in the case where the first device reports the service quality information based on two factors (including: a link quality reporting period and a threshold corresponding to a service quality parameter), when reporting based on the link quality reporting period, the first device may also report a notification message to the session management network element indicating whether the service quality parameter of the service path meets the threshold corresponding to the service quality parameter. Specifically, when the link quality reporting period arrives, if the first device detects that the service quality parameter of the service path at this time meets the threshold corresponding to the service quality parameter, the service quality information includes a link status notification message, which is used to indicate that the service quality parameter of the service path meets the threshold corresponding to the service quality parameter; or, if the first device detects that the service quality parameter of the service path at this time does not meet the threshold corresponding to the service quality parameter, the service quality information includes a link status notification message, which is used to indicate that the service quality parameter of the service path does not meet the threshold corresponding to the service quality parameter, so that the session management network element can obtain the service quality information of the service path in real time.

[0142] Specifically, when the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the service path, the first device meeting the reporting policy means that the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

[0143] The delay parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter;

[0144] The packet loss rate of the service path is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate;

[0145] A jitter parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the jitter parameter.

[0146] That is to say, the session management network element can send the threshold of the service quality parameter to the first device, so that the first device reports according to the threshold of the service quality parameter, which helps the session management network element to obtain the service quality parameters of the service path (one or more of the jitter parameter, packet loss rate, and delay parameter).

[0147] It should be understood that the above two reporting methods (including period-based reporting and threshold-based reporting) can exist at the same time, or only one of them can exist, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present application, the first device may determine the threshold value of the quality of service parameter according to the actual requirements of different services. Alternatively, the session management network element may send the threshold value of the quality of service parameter to the first device.

[0149] For example, in an embodiment of the present application, the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, or the jitter threshold may be determined by the first device itself based on service requirements, or may be issued to the first device by a session management network element. Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the latency threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, and the jitter threshold.

[0150] The following describes possible specific situations in which the first device reports the service quality information:

[0151] (1) If the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter, then: when a period of a link quality reporting period is reached, the first device reports the quality of service parameter based on the link quality reporting period. (2) If the quality of service information includes the quality of service parameter and a link status notification message, then: when a period of the link quality reporting period is reached, the first device reports the quality of service parameter based on a threshold corresponding to the quality of service parameter, and may also report a link status notification message, where the link status notification message is used to indicate whether the quality of service parameter exceeds the threshold corresponding to the quality of service parameter. (3) If the service quality information includes a service quality parameter and a link status notification message, and the threshold value of the service quality parameter is sent by the session management network element to the first device, then correspondingly, when the link quality reporting period arrives, the first device reports a link status notification message to the session management network element, and the link status notification message is used to indicate whether the service quality parameter meets the service quality parameter threshold value; (4) If the service quality information includes a service quality parameter and a link status notification message, and the threshold value of the service quality parameter is sent by the session management network element to the first device, then correspondingly, when the first device detects that the service quality parameter exceeds the service quality parameter threshold value, it reports a link status notification message to the session management network element, and the link status notification message is used to indicate that the service quality parameter exceeds the service quality parameter threshold value. (5) If the service quality information is a link status notification message, and the threshold value of the service quality parameter is determined by the first device based on service requirements, then when the service quality parameter exceeds the service quality parameter threshold value, the first device sends a link status notification message to the session management network element, and the link status notification message is used to indicate that the service quality parameter exceeds the service quality parameter threshold value. (6) If the service quality information includes a service quality parameter and a link status notification message, and the threshold value of the service quality parameter is determined by the first device based on the service requirements, then when the service quality parameter exceeds the threshold value of the service quality parameter, the first device reports the service quality parameter and the link status notification message to the session management network element, where the link status notification message is used to indicate that the service quality parameter exceeds the threshold value of the service quality parameter. (7) If the service quality information includes a service quality parameter and a link status notification message, then after monitoring the service quality parameter, the first device can directly determine whether the service quality parameter meets the service requirements, and then report the indication of whether the service quality parameter meets the service requirements and the service quality parameter to the session management network element.

[0152] It should be understood that the above-mentioned service quality parameters can be one or more of the delay parameters, packet loss rate, and jitter parameters; accordingly, the threshold of the service quality parameter is one or more of the delay threshold, packet loss rate threshold, and jitter threshold.

[0153] It should also be understood that the above only lists 7 possible situations and does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can transform or derive various related implementation methods based on the above situations, and these various implementation methods also fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

[0154] Optionally, the delay threshold may include an uplink delay threshold and / or a downlink delay threshold, wherein the uplink delay threshold is sent down to the user plane network element, and the downlink delay threshold is sent down to the terminal. In this way, if the user plane network element receives the uplink delay threshold, it can report based on the uplink delay threshold and the uplink delay threshold; if the terminal receives the downlink delay threshold, it can report in combination with the detection message and the downlink delay threshold. Optionally, the uplink delay threshold and the downlink delay threshold can be the same or different. If the uplink delay threshold is the same as the downlink delay threshold, it can be understood that there is only one delay threshold.

[0155] Optionally, the packet loss rate threshold may include an uplink packet loss rate threshold and / or a downlink packet loss rate threshold, wherein the uplink packet loss rate threshold is sent to the user plane network element, and the downlink packet loss rate threshold is sent to the terminal. In this way, if the user plane network element receives the uplink packet loss rate threshold, it can report based on the uplink packet loss rate threshold and the uplink packet loss rate threshold; if the terminal receives the downlink packet loss rate threshold, it can report in combination with the detection message and the downlink packet loss rate threshold. Optionally, the uplink packet loss rate threshold and the downlink packet loss rate threshold may be the same or different. If the uplink packet loss rate threshold is the same as the downlink packet loss rate threshold, it can be understood that there is only one packet loss rate threshold.

[0156] Optionally, the jitter parameter threshold may include an uplink jitter parameter threshold and / or a downlink jitter parameter threshold, wherein the uplink jitter parameter threshold is sent down to the user plane network element, and the downlink jitter parameter threshold is sent down to the terminal. In this way, if the user plane network element receives the uplink jitter parameter threshold, it can report it based on the uplink jitter parameter threshold and the uplink jitter parameter threshold; if the terminal receives the downlink jitter parameter threshold, it can report it in combination with the detection message and the downlink jitter parameter threshold. Optionally, the uplink jitter parameter threshold and the downlink jitter parameter threshold may be the same or different. If the uplink jitter parameter threshold is the same as the downlink jitter parameter threshold, it can be understood that there is only one jitter parameter threshold.

[0157] S430: If the reporting policy is met, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, where the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first link quality notification message from the first device.

[0158] Optionally, the identifier of the monitoring link may be an LQAP ID, but the possibility that the identifier of the monitoring link is a service identifier is not excluded.

[0159] Optionally, the link quality notification message (eg, the first link quality notification message) may be replaced by: a link quality response message, a link quality subscription response notification, a link quality notification response, a link quality event subscription response, or other descriptions with similar functions.

[0160] In an embodiment of the present application, the session management network element determines a monitoring link, which is used to detect the service quality of the service path between the first communication device and the second communication device, and sends a first link quality reporting request to the first device, so that the first device reports the service quality information of the service path when the reporting policy is met, which helps the network side obtain network performance.

[0161] Optionally, in a first possible implementation manner, S410 includes: the session management network element determining an identifier of a service corresponding to the service path according to a quality of service requirement of the service; and the session management network element determining the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service.

[0162] In the embodiments of the present application, the service corresponding to the service path can be understood as the service transmitted on the service path. In other words, the service is transmitted using the service path. It should be understood that the service may not be all services transmitted on the service path, but may be one of the services, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0163] That is, the session management network element can obtain the service identifier based on the service quality requirement of the current service, and then search for context information corresponding to the service based on the service identifier. The session management network element determines the monitoring link identifier (e.g., LQAP ID) based on the context information, and determines the monitoring link based on the monitoring link identifier.

[0164] Optionally, in a second possible implementation, S410 includes: the session management network element receives reporting indication information from the policy control network element, the reporting indication information is used to indicate reporting the service quality information; the session management network element determines the identifier of the service corresponding to the service path according to the reporting indication information; the session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service. Optionally, the reporting indication information carries the identifier of the service. Here, the policy control network element may be Figure 2 PCF 206 in.

[0165] That is, the session management network element can obtain the service identifier based on the instruction of the policy control network element, and then search for context information corresponding to the service based on the service identifier. The session management network element determines the monitoring link identifier (e.g., LQAP ID) based on the context information, and determines the monitoring link based on the monitoring link identifier.

[0166] Alternatively, in a third possible implementation, as Figure 5 As shown, the method 400 further includes:

[0167] S411, the session management network element receives a second link quality reporting request from the application network element, where the second link quality reporting request includes an identifier of the service corresponding to the service path; wherein S410 includes: the session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service.

[0168] Here, the service refers to the service transmitted between the first communication device and the second communication device. The service identifier may include authentication quintuple information, QoS flow identifier and other information.

[0169] Specifically, the session management network element obtains the service identifier based on the second link quality reporting request of the application network element, and determines the monitoring link based on the service identifier. In other words, the session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the instruction of the application network element.

[0170] Here, the application network element may send the second link quality reporting request to the session management network element according to the service requirements and its own status. For example, the service corresponding to the above application network element involves scenarios such as remote robot control. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6As shown, remote robot control scenarios can be divided into States 1, 2, and 3. State 1 can be understood as the initial startup state. Specifically, during the startup process, the robot intermittently interacts with the network to perform functions such as authentication, with low latency requirements. State 2 can be understood as the robot being in a non-operating state or an operating state with low latency and other transmission performance requirements. In this operating state, the robot periodically interacts with the network to inform the remote controller that the robot is in a non-operating state. The non-operating state has low latency requirements, and the purpose of periodic interactions is to inform the server that the robot is available. State 3 can be understood as the operating state, where the robot receives remote commands and performs corresponding operations (such as remote surgery). In this operating state, network transmission requirements are extremely high. Once the remote controller transmits a command to the robot, the command must be transmitted to the robot within a specified time; otherwise, an accident is likely to occur. Therefore, once the application network element enters State 3, it indicates that the link quality requirements are extremely high. Before entering state 3 or when the application has entered state 3, it can subscribe to link quality events from the network side, specifically sending the second link quality reporting request to the session management network element in the hope of obtaining the real-time service quality parameters of the robot. Optionally, other states (state 1 or state 2) that do not have high requirements for link quality can determine whether to subscribe to service quality parameters as needed, without limitation. It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to scenarios where real-time link quality acquisition is required, such as telemedicine, industrial control, robot control, intelligent control, automated communication or control, and other scenarios where real-time link quality or link events need to be known, without limitation.

[0171] In the above three possible implementations, the session management network element determines the context information corresponding to the service according to the identifier of the service; and the session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the context information.

[0172] Specifically, the session management network element can locate the local context corresponding to the service based on the service identifier, and then obtain the monitoring link identifier, such as the LQAP ID, from the local context information. Optionally, if the monitoring link does not exist, the session management network element needs to establish a monitoring link. For example, if the local context does not contain an LQAP ID, the session management network element assigns an LQAP ID to the first communication device and the second communication device, and initiates LQAP link establishment, thereby establishing an LQAP link between the first communication device and the second communication device. In this way, the first communication device and the second communication device can feedback quality of service parameters based on the LQAP link.

[0173] Optionally, the second link quality reporting request may be sent to the user plane network element during the establishment of the monitoring link, or may be sent after the establishment of the monitoring link, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0174] Optionally, the specific form of the identification of the service may be one or more of the following: IP quintuple, terminal address, application address, application identification, terminal identification, service flow identification, service aggregation flow identification, packet data unit (PDU) session ID, QoS Flow ID.

[0175] Optionally, the session management network element may send the service quality information reported by the first device to the application network element so that the application network element can learn the performance of the link. Figure 5 As shown, the method 400 further includes:

[0176] S440: The session management network element sends a second link quality notification message to the application network element, where the second link quality notification message includes the service quality information. Correspondingly, the application network element receives the second link quality notification message. That is, after receiving the service quality information reported by the first device (included in the first link quality notification message), the session management network element can send the service quality information reported by the first device to the application network element, thereby enabling the application network element to perceive link quality events in real time and enabling high-level coordination between the application network element and the 5G network.

[0177] Optionally, after receiving the above-mentioned service quality information, the application network element may also take corresponding adjustment measures. For example, if the application network element finds that a link fails or is congested, it may perform one or more of the following adjustment measures: (1) Adjusting the sending rate: For example, reducing the sending rate to reduce the impact on the bandwidth can effectively avoid the failure. For specific operations, please refer to the congestion control technology in the existing Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) technology; (2) Adjusting the encoding and decoding rate: For example, reducing the encoding and decoding rate. Reducing the encoding and decoding rate can reduce the bandwidth demand of the service and reduce the impact on the network by sacrificing part of the service quality. For specific operations, please refer to the adaptive video picture quality adjustment technology in video calls (such as WeChat video calls); (3) Adjusting non-critical services: For example, shutting down non-critical services to reduce bandwidth occupancy. It should be understood that the above three methods are only exemplary descriptions of some adjustments that the application network element may perform, and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0178] Furthermore, upon receiving the first link quality notification message, the session management network element can learn the network state of the first device. For example, the network state can be any of wireless handover (or over-the-air handover), reselection of a user plane function (UPF), or establishment or reestablishment of a packet data unit (PDU) session. Based on the network state, the session management network element determines not to send the second link quality notification message to the application network element. Specifically, based on the network state, the session management network element determines whether the change in the quality of service parameter is a stable error or a normal condition (for example, a wireless handover condition may cause a certain delay but will return to normal after a period of time), and then determines not to report the second link quality notification message to the application network element. Of course, if the session management network element determines, based on the network state, that the change in the quality of service parameter exceeds the normal range, it is necessary to report the second link quality notification message to the application network element. In this case, the session management network element can carry network state indication information in the second link quality notification message, feeding back the current network state to the application network element, allowing the application network element to decide whether to adjust the reporting policy (such as the adjustment period or threshold) based on the network state.

[0179] In the foregoing, upon receiving the first link quality notification message from the first device, the session management network element can directly learn the network status of the first device. Alternatively, the first device may include network status indication information in the first link quality notification message, where the network status indication information indicates the network status of the first device, so that the session management network element learns the status of the first device based on the network status indication information. This is not limited to this.

[0180] In the embodiment of the present application, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the link quality reporting period, delay threshold, packet loss rate threshold and jitter threshold, the session management network element may also decide whether to update or adjust the reporting strategy. Figure 5 As shown, specifically including:

[0181] S450, the session management network element determines that the reporting policy needs to be updated;

[0182] S460: The session management network element sends a first update message to the first device. The first update message is used to indicate an update to the reporting policy. The first update message includes one or more of an updated value for a link quality reporting period, an updated value for a latency threshold, an updated value for a packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value for a jitter threshold. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first update message. The first update message carries an identifier of a monitoring link. The purpose of carrying the identifier of a monitoring link in the first update message is to facilitate the first device in searching for a monitoring link for which a reporting policy update is required, or in searching for a local context of the monitoring link corresponding to the identifier of the monitoring link.

[0183] It should be understood that which update value is specifically included in the first update message may directly depend on the specific content included in the first link quality reporting request. Of course, this does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application, and which update value is specifically included in the first update message may also be only for part of the content included in the first link quality reporting request. For example, if the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period, a delay threshold, a packet loss rate threshold, and a jitter threshold, the first update message may include a link quality reporting period update value, a delay threshold update value, a packet loss rate threshold update value, and a jitter threshold update value, or may only include a delay threshold update value, a packet loss rate threshold update value, and a jitter threshold update value. Here, which thresholds need to be updated may depend on the actual situation of the quality of service information reported by the first device or the actual needs of the business, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0184] The above-mentioned "update" includes one or more items of addition, modification, and deletion. For example, the thresholds corresponding to the service quality parameters that need to be reported are added: the thresholds corresponding to the reporting strategy before the update include the jitter threshold and the delay threshold; the thresholds corresponding to the reporting strategy after the update include the jitter threshold, the delay threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, and the link quality reporting period. For another example, the reporting strategy can be modified. For another example, the thresholds corresponding to the service quality parameters that need to be reported are deleted: the thresholds corresponding to the reporting strategy before the update include the jitter threshold, the delay threshold, the packet loss rate threshold, and the link quality reporting period; the thresholds corresponding to the reporting strategy after the update include the delay threshold and the link quality reporting period. It should be understood that the examples here are only for the convenience of understanding of those skilled in the art, and do not constitute a limitation to the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can transform different schemes based on the above examples, and the transformed schemes all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0185] Specifically, if the session management network element determines that a reporting policy needs to be updated, it sends a first update message to the first device. Based on the first update message, the first device modifies the specific content corresponding to the reporting policy, including updating one or more of the following: updating the link quality reporting period according to the link quality reporting period update value; updating the delay parameter according to the delay threshold update value; updating the packet loss rate threshold according to the packet loss rate threshold update value; and updating the jitter threshold according to the jitter threshold update value. For example, if the link quality reporting period before the update is 2 milliseconds (ms), and the session management network element changes the reporting period from every 2 ms to every 5 ms based on QoS requirements, the updated link quality reporting period is 5 ms. For another example, the session management network element may modify specific thresholds based on changes in QoS requirements, including modifying one or more of the delay threshold, packet loss rate threshold, and jitter threshold. In this way, the first device can report service quality information for the service path based on the updated reporting policy. It should be understood that the specific content updated by the first device may depend on the content carried in the first update message.

[0186] Furthermore, if Figure 5 As shown, the method 400 further includes:

[0187] S451: The session management network element receives a second update message from the application network element, where the second update message carries an identifier of the service and includes one or more of an updated value of a link quality reporting period, an updated value of a delay threshold, an updated value of a packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value of a jitter threshold.

[0188] The session management network element determines that the reporting policy needs to be updated, including: the session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service; the session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service.

[0189] Specifically, the session management network element can decide to update the reporting policy based on the instructions of the application network element. Here, in order to locate the monitoring link for which the reporting policy needs to be updated, the application network element needs to include the service identifier in the second update message. In this way, the session management network element can locate the local context corresponding to the service based on the service identifier, and then obtain the monitoring link identifier, such as the LQAP ID, from the local context information to determine the monitoring link and the reporting policy for the monitoring link that needs to be updated.

[0190] Optionally, the method 400 further includes: the session management network element evaluating the link quality of the monitoring link based on the first link quality notification message; and the session management network element sending a repair instruction to the first device based on the evaluation result, wherein the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize or repair the service path, such as instructing the first device to perform bicast. In other words, the service path that needs to be optimized or repaired can be understood as the transmission link or bearer corresponding to the service.

[0191] Specifically, the session management network element may evaluate the service quality of the monitored link based on the service quality information reported by the first device and the corresponding service quality requirements. For example, when the service quality information is a link status notification message, if the link notification message indicates that the service quality parameters meet a corresponding threshold, the session management network element performs link repair. If the link notification message indicates that the service quality parameters do not meet the corresponding threshold, the session management network element may determine that the service quality parameters of the service path are normal and may decide whether to perform link repair based on the actual service requirements. For another example, when the service quality information is a service quality parameter, if the reported service quality parameter exceeds the corresponding threshold, the session management network element performs link repair. If the reported service quality parameter does not exceed the corresponding threshold but is approaching or nearing the threshold, the session management network element makes a comprehensive decision based on the network status. If the service quality parameter is determined to be normal, link repair is not performed. If the reported service quality parameter does not exceed the corresponding threshold but is approaching or nearing the threshold, and the network status is normal at this time and no handover has been performed, the session management network element determines that the service quality parameter is abnormal and may subsequently cause a link failure, and therefore initiates link repair.

[0192] The session management network element initiates link repair, which means that the session management network element sends a repair instruction to the first device, and the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize or repair the service path. For example, if the service already has multiple connections, but the backup connection is not enabled, the session management network element notifies the first device to enable the backup connection and perform dual broadcast; if the service is currently a single connection, the session management network element establishes a new transmission path for the service, so that the first device uses the current path and the new transmission path to jointly transmit the data of the service, such as a dual connection scenario. Alternatively, the session management network element performs other effective repair measures, which shall not affect the normal transmission of the service, and this embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0193] The following describes the case where the service quality information of the service path is the service quality parameter of the service path with reference to specific examples. It should be understood that the examples here are only for the convenience of those skilled in the art to understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. In the following examples, the session management network element takes SMF as an example, the first device includes a terminal and UPF, the application network element takes AF as an example, and the policy control network element takes PCF as an example, which are all described here in a unified manner. Figure 7 Shown, including:

[0194] 701. The AF sends a second link quality reporting request to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the second link quality reporting request. The second link quality reporting request includes an identifier of the service corresponding to the service path. Optionally, the second link quality reporting request may include a reporting policy, including threshold-based reporting and / or periodic reporting. A description of the reporting policy can be found above.

[0195] 702. SMF determines the monitoring link.

[0196] The SMF may determine the monitoring link based on the service identifier in step 701 or based on the service quality requirement of the service, which is not limited to this. The process of determining the monitoring link can be referred to the description in the previous embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0197] 703. The SMF sends a first link quality reporting request to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first link quality reporting request from the SMF. The first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the UPF to report the service quality parameters of the service path when the reporting policy is met. Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period. Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, an uplink delay threshold, an uplink packet loss rate threshold, and an uplink jitter parameter.

[0198] 704. The SMF sends a first link quality reporting request to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first link quality reporting request from the SMF. The first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the terminal to report the service quality parameters of the service path when the reporting policy is met. Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period. Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a downlink delay threshold, a downlink packet loss rate threshold, and a downlink jitter parameter threshold.

[0199] It should be understood that the message format of the first link quality reporting request in step 703 and the first link quality reporting request in step 704 may be the same, and the content carried may not be exactly the same. For example, the uplink threshold is sent to the UPF, and the downlink threshold is sent to the terminal, but both carry the ID of the monitoring link, such as the LQAP ID.

[0200] It should also be understood that the above is only an explanation of the example in which the uplink threshold is sent to the UPF and the downlink threshold is sent to the terminal. It is also possible to send both the uplink and downlink thresholds to the UPF or the terminal, and this is not limited.

[0201] 705, the terminal and UPF perform link quality detection.

[0202] Here, the terminal and UPF perform link quality detection, including: exchanging detection messages and determining link quality based on the arrival of the detection messages. Specifically, taking the terminal as the transmitting end and the UPF as the receiving end as an example: when the monitoring link is established between the terminal and the UPF, the terminal sends a detection message to the UPF; the UPF receives the detection message sent by the terminal according to the expected acceptance rules; and the UPF determines the quality of the monitoring link by comparing the arrival of the detection message with the expected acceptance rules. It should be understood that the transmitting and receiving ends can be interchangeable, that is, the terminal and the UPF can both detect the quality of the monitoring link, and this is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0203] At step 706, the terminal sends a first link quality notification message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first link quality notification message from the terminal. The first link quality notification message includes one or more of a downlink latency parameter, a downlink packet loss rate, and a downlink jitter parameter. Optionally, the specific content reported by the terminal to the SMF may correspond to the threshold received in step 704. Optionally, the terminal periodically reports the link quality according to the aforementioned link quality reporting period.

[0204] 707. The UPF sends a first link quality notification message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first link quality notification message from the UPF.

[0205] The first link quality notification message includes one or more of an uplink delay parameter, an uplink packet loss rate, and an uplink jitter parameter. Optionally, the specific content reported by the UPF to the SMF may correspond to the threshold received in step 704. Optionally, the UPF periodically reports according to the above-mentioned link quality reporting period.

[0206] 708. The SMF sends a second link quality notification message to the AF. Correspondingly, the AF receives the second link quality notification message.

[0207] The SMF may send the content received in step 706 and / or step 707 to the AF, so that the AF learns the quality of service parameters.

[0208] 709, SMF determines that the reporting strategy needs to be updated.

[0209] The SMF may determine that the reporting policy needs to be updated based on the service quality requirements of the service. Alternatively, the SMF may determine that the reporting policy needs to be updated based on an instruction from the AF. Optionally, before step 709, the SMF receives a second update message sent by the AF, and then determines that the reporting policy needs to be updated based on the second update message.

[0210] 710. The AF sends a second update message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the second update message. The second update message carries a service identifier. The second update message includes one or more of an updated reporting period value, an updated uplink latency threshold value, an updated uplink packet loss rate threshold value, and an updated uplink jitter threshold value.

[0211] 711. The SMF sends a first update message to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first update message.

[0212] The first update message is used to instruct the UPF to update the reporting strategy. Optionally, the first update message includes one or more of a link quality reporting period update value, an uplink delay threshold update value, an uplink packet loss rate threshold update value, and an uplink jitter threshold update value.

[0213] 712. The SMF sends a first update message to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first update message.

[0214] The first update message is used to instruct the terminal to update the reporting policy. Optionally, the first update message includes one or more of a link quality reporting period update value, a downlink delay threshold update value, a downlink packet loss rate threshold update value, and a downlink jitter threshold update value.

[0215] It should be understood that the message format of the first update message in step 711 and the first update message in step 712 may be the same, and the content carried may not be exactly the same. For example, the uplink threshold is sent to the UPF, and the downlink threshold is sent to the terminal, but both carry the ID of the monitoring link, such as the LQAP ID.

[0216] It should be noted that the SMF may determine the monitoring link based on the instruction of the AF (the above step 701), or the SMF may also determine the monitoring link based on the instruction of the PCF. For example, before step 702, step 713 is executed, and the PCF sends the reporting instruction information to the SMF.

[0217] The reporting indication information is used to indicate reporting of the service quality parameter. The reporting indication information includes an identifier of the service corresponding to the service path. Optionally, the SMF can determine the monitoring link based on the reporting indication information sent by the PCF.

[0218] In this embodiment of the present application, the SMF determines the monitoring link and notifies the UE and UPF to report the service quality parameters of the monitoring link when the reporting policy is met, thereby being able to obtain real-time network performance. Furthermore, the SMF can also update the reporting policy. The SMF can report the service quality parameters reported by the UE and UPF to the AF, so that the AF can also obtain the service quality parameters in real time, which helps improve the AF's ability to perceive network performance and achieve a high degree of coordination between the AF and the 5G network.

[0219] Figure 8 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of another example according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, steps 701-707, 713 and Figure 7 The actions performed by the steps in are the same and are not described here for brevity. The difference is that the above example can also include the following steps:

[0220] 714, SMF evaluates link quality.

[0221] The SMF may evaluate the link quality of the monitored link based on the service quality parameters reported by the terminal and / or UPF.

[0222] 715. The SMF sends a repair instruction to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the repair instruction from the SMF. The repair instruction is used to instruct the UPF to optimize or repair the service path.

[0223] 716, the SMF sends a repair instruction to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the repair instruction from the SMF. The repair instruction is used to instruct the terminal to optimize or repair the service path. The specific repair process can be found in the above description.

[0224] It should be understood that Figures 7 and 8 The examples are only for the convenience of those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to the specific scenarios illustrated. Figures 7 and 8 It is obvious that various equivalent modifications or changes can be made, and such modifications or changes also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0225] In an embodiment of the present application, the SMF evaluates the link quality of the monitoring link, thereby optimizing the transmission link or bearer between the UE and the UPF, which helps to ensure the normal transmission of the service.

[0226] It should be understood that the various schemes of the embodiments of the present application can be used in combination, and the explanations or descriptions of the various terms appearing in the embodiments can be referenced or explained with each other in the various embodiments, without limitation to this.

[0227] The above describes a method for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application. The following describes an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0228] Figure 9 A schematic block diagram of an apparatus 900 for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Optionally, the specific form of the apparatus 900 can be a general-purpose computer device or a chip in a general-purpose computer device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 900 is a session management network element, and the apparatus 900 includes:

[0229] A determination module 910 is configured to determine a monitoring link, wherein the monitoring link is configured to detect the quality of service of a service path between a first communication device and a second communication device;

[0230] The transceiver module 920 is configured to send a first link quality reporting request to a first device, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the service quality information of the service path if a reporting policy is met, where the first device includes the first communication device and / or the second communication device;

[0231] The transceiver module 920 is further configured to receive a first link quality notification message from the first device, where the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link.

[0232] Optionally, the quality of service information includes a quality of service parameter of the service path and / or a link status notification message, and the link status notification message is used to indicate that the quality of service parameter of the service path meets a reporting policy.

[0233] Optionally, the quality of service information is obtained by the first communication device or the second communication device by sending a detection message.

[0234] Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; wherein the reporting strategy indicates that the first device reports the service quality information based on the link quality reporting period.

[0235] Optionally, when the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the service path, the first device satisfying the reporting policy indicates that the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

[0236] The delay parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter;

[0237] The packet loss rate of the service path is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate;

[0238] A jitter parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the jitter parameter.

[0239] Optionally, the delay threshold, the packet loss rate threshold or the jitter threshold is determined by the first device according to business requirements; or, the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the delay threshold, the packet loss rate threshold and the jitter threshold.

[0240] Optionally, the delay threshold includes an uplink delay threshold and / or a downlink delay threshold; the packet loss rate threshold includes an uplink packet loss rate threshold and / or a downlink packet loss rate threshold; the jitter threshold includes an uplink jitter threshold and / or a downlink jitter threshold.

[0241] Optionally, the transceiver module 920 is further configured to: receive a second link quality reporting request from an application network element, where the second link quality reporting request includes an identifier of a service corresponding to the service path;

[0242] Correspondingly, the determining module is used to determine the monitoring link specifically including: determining the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service.

[0243] Optionally, the transceiver module 920 is further configured to: send a second link quality notification message to the application network element, where the second link quality notification message includes the service quality information.

[0244] Optionally, the determining module 910 is further configured to:

[0245] When the first link quality notification message is received, it is determined that the network status is any one of wireless switching, reselecting the user plane function UPF, and establishing or reestablishing the packet data unit PDU session; and it is determined not to send the second link quality notification message to the application network element.

[0246] Optionally, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a delay threshold, a packet loss rate threshold, and a jitter threshold, the determining module 910 is further configured to: determine whether the reporting strategy needs to be updated;

[0247] Correspondingly, the transceiver module 920 is also used to: send a first update message to the first device, the first update message is used to indicate an update to the reporting strategy, and the first update message includes one or more of a link quality reporting period update value, a delay threshold update value, a packet loss rate threshold update value, and a jitter threshold update value.

[0248] Optionally, the transceiver module 920 is further configured to: receive a second update message from the application network element, where the second update message carries an identifier of the service, and the second update message includes one or more of an updated value of a link quality reporting period, an updated value of a delay threshold, an updated value of a packet loss rate threshold, and an updated value of a jitter threshold;

[0249] Accordingly, the determining module 910 is configured to determine that the reporting strategy needs to be updated, specifically including:

[0250] The monitoring link is determined according to the identifier of the service; and a reporting strategy for the monitoring link that needs to be updated is determined.

[0251] Optionally, the determining module 910 is configured to determine the monitoring link, specifically comprising: determining an identifier of a service corresponding to the service path according to a quality of service requirement of the service; and determining the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service.

[0252] Optionally, the transceiver module 920 is further configured to: receive reporting instruction information from a policy control network element, where the reporting instruction information is used to instruct reporting of the quality of service information;

[0253] Accordingly, the determining module is configured to determine the monitoring link specifically including: determining an identifier of the service corresponding to the service path according to the reporting indication information;

[0254] The session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service.

[0255] Optionally, the determining module is configured to determine the monitoring link according to the identifier of the service, specifically including:

[0256] Determining context information corresponding to the service according to the identifier of the service;

[0257] The monitoring link is determined according to the context information.

[0258] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes:

[0259] an evaluation module, configured to evaluate the link quality of the monitoring link according to the first link quality notification message;

[0260] Correspondingly, the transceiver module 920 is configured to send a repair instruction to the first device according to the evaluation result, where the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize the service path.

[0261] It should be understood that the device 900 for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application may correspond to the method for session management network elements in the aforementioned method embodiment, and the above-mentioned and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the device 900 are respectively for implementing the corresponding steps of the method for session management network elements in the aforementioned method embodiment, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiment. For the sake of brevity, they are not elaborated here.

[0262] It should also be understood that in this embodiment, the device 900 is presented in the form of a functional module. The "module" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the device 900 can be used Figure 3 The determination module 910 can be Figure 3 The transceiver module 920 can be implemented by the processor 301 and the memory 302 shown in FIG. Figure 3 Specifically, the processor is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the memory. Optionally, when the device 900 is a chip, the function and / or implementation process of the transceiver module 920 can also be implemented by pins or circuits. Optionally, the memory is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. The storage unit can also be a storage unit in the computer device located outside the chip, such as a memory device. Figure 3 The memory 302. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0263] Figure 10 A schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Optionally, the specific form of the apparatus 1000 can be a general-purpose computer device or a chip in a general-purpose computer device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 1000 is a first device, and the apparatus 1000 includes:

[0264] The transceiver module 1010 is configured to receive a first link quality reporting request from a session management network element, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report service quality information of a service path when a monitoring link is detected to meet a reporting policy. The monitoring link is used to detect service quality of a service path between the first device and a peer end of the first device.

[0265] The transceiver module 1010 is further configured to, when the reporting policy is satisfied, send a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, where the first link quality notification message includes the service quality information and an identifier of the monitoring link.

[0266] Optionally, the quality of service information includes a quality of service parameter of the service path and / or a link status notification message, and the link status notification message is used to indicate that the quality of service parameter of the service path meets a reporting policy.

[0267] Optionally, the apparatus 1000 further includes: a determination module 1020 configured to determine the quality of service information by sending a detection message to an opposite end of the first device.

[0268] Optionally, the first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period;

[0269] The transceiver module 1010 sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element when the reporting policy is met, specifically including: sending the first link quality notification message to the session management network element based on the link quality reporting period.

[0270] Optionally, the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the service path. When the reporting policy is met, the transceiver module 1010 sends, by the first device, a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, specifically including:

[0271] When the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element:

[0272] The delay parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter;

[0273] The packet loss rate of the service path is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate;

[0274] A jitter parameter of the service path is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the jitter parameter.

[0275] Optionally, the delay threshold, the packet loss rate threshold or the jitter threshold is determined by the first device according to business requirements; or, the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of the delay threshold, the packet loss rate threshold and the jitter threshold.

[0276] Optionally, the delay threshold includes an uplink delay threshold and / or a downlink delay threshold; the packet loss rate threshold includes an uplink packet loss rate threshold and / or a downlink packet loss rate threshold; the jitter threshold includes an uplink jitter threshold and / or a downlink jitter threshold.

[0277] Optionally, when the first link quality reporting request includes one or more of a link quality reporting period, a delay threshold, a packet loss rate threshold and a jitter threshold, the transceiver module 1010 is also used to: receive a first update message from the session management network element, the first update message being used to indicate an update to the reporting policy, the first update message including one or more of a link quality reporting period update value, a delay threshold update value, a packet loss rate threshold update value and a jitter threshold update value.

[0278] Optionally, the transceiver module 1010 is further configured to: receive a repair instruction from the session management network element, where the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize the service path;

[0279] The device further includes: an optimization module, configured to optimize the service path.

[0280] Optionally, the device 1000 is a terminal or a user plane function UPF network element.

[0281] It should be understood that the device 1000 for obtaining link quality according to an embodiment of the present application may correspond to the method of the first device in the aforementioned method embodiment, and the above-mentioned and other management operations and / or functions of each module in the device 1000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding steps of the method of the first device in the aforementioned method embodiment, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects in the aforementioned method embodiment. For the sake of brevity, they are not elaborated here.

[0282] It should also be understood that in this embodiment, the device 1000 is presented in the form of a functional module. The "module" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art can imagine that the device 1000 can be used Figure 3 The determination module 1020 can be Figure 3 The transceiver module 1010 can be implemented by the processor 301 and the memory 302 shown in FIG. Figure 3 Specifically, the processor is implemented by executing a computer program stored in the memory. Optionally, when the device 1000 is a chip, the function and / or implementation process of the transceiver module 1020 can also be implemented by pins or circuits. Optionally, the memory is a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. The storage unit can also be a storage unit in the computer device located outside the chip, such as a memory device. Figure 3 The memory 302. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0283] In this application, expressions similar to “the item includes at least one of the following: A, B, and C” generally mean, unless otherwise specified, that the item can be any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C; A and A; A, A and A; A, A and B; A, A and C, A, B and B; A, C and C; B and B, B, B and B, B, B and C, C and C; C, C and C, and other combinations of A, B and C. The above examples use A, B, and C as an example to illustrate the optional items of the item. When the expression is “the item includes at least one of the following: A, B, …, and X”, that is, when the expression contains more elements, the items applicable to the item can also be obtained according to the above rules.

[0284] It should also be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0285] It should also be understood that the numbers "first" and "second" appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only for distinguishing different objects, for example, distinguishing different "link quality requests" or distinguishing different "communication devices", and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0286] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0287] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0288] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0289] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0290] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0291] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0292] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that Applied to a session management network element, the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute: Determine a monitoring link, where the monitoring link is used to detect the quality of service of a quality of service flow between a user plane functional network element and a terminal; Sending a first link quality reporting request to the first device, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the quality of service information of the quality of service flow if a reporting policy is met; The first device includes the user plane function network element and / or the terminal; A first link quality notification message is received from the first device, where the first link quality notification message includes the quality of service information and an identifier of the quality of service flow.

2. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein The quality of service information includes quality of service parameters of the quality of service flow.

3. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The service quality information is obtained by the first device by sending a detection message.

4. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; wherein the reporting strategy indicates that the first device reports the service quality information based on the link quality reporting period.

5. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 2, wherein In a case where the quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the quality of service flow, that the first device satisfies the reporting policy means that the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies: The delay parameter of the quality of service flow is greater than a delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter.

6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein: The first link quality reporting request includes the delay threshold.

7. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The delay threshold includes an uplink delay threshold and / or a downlink delay threshold.

8. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 1-2, 5-6, wherein: When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute: receiving a second link quality reporting request from an application network element, where the second link quality reporting request includes an identifier of a service corresponding to the quality of service flow; The monitoring link is determined according to the identifier of the service.

9. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 1-2, 5-6, wherein: When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute: receiving reporting instruction information from a policy control network element, wherein the reporting instruction information is used to instruct reporting of the quality of service information; Determining, according to the reporting indication information, an identifier of the service corresponding to the quality of service flow; The monitoring link is determined according to the identifier of the service.

10. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 1-2, 5-6, wherein the monitoring link is the quality of service flow.

11. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 1-2, 5-6, wherein: The session management network element receives a first link quality notification message from the first device; evaluating the link quality of the monitored link according to the first link quality notification message; The session management network element sends a repair instruction to the first device according to the evaluation result, where the repair instruction is used to instruct the first device to optimize the quality of service flow.

12. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 1-2, 5-6, wherein: The session management network element determines the context information corresponding to the service according to the service identifier; The session management network element determines the monitoring link according to the context information.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that Applied to a first device, the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to: receive a first link quality reporting request from a session management network element, the first link quality reporting request being used to instruct the first device to report quality of service information of a quality of service flow when monitoring a monitoring link that satisfies a reporting policy, the monitoring link being used to detect the quality of service of a service path between the first device and a peer end of the first device; the first device including a user plane function network element and / or a terminal; In a case where the reporting policy is met, a first link quality notification message is sent to the session management network element, where the first link quality notification message includes the quality of service information and an identifier of the quality of service flow.

14. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein: The quality of service information includes quality of service parameters of the quality of service flow.

15. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to further execute: The quality of service information is determined by sending a detection message to the opposite end of the first device.

16. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: The first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; When the instruction is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute: sending the first link quality notification message to the session management network element based on the link quality reporting period.

17. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: The quality of service information is a quality of service parameter of the quality of service flow. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute: When it is detected that the quality of service parameter satisfies the following conditions, a first link quality notification message is sent to the session management network element: The delay parameter of the quality of service flow is greater than a delay threshold.

18. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 17, wherein: The first link quality reporting request includes the delay threshold.

19. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 13 to 14 and 18, wherein the monitoring link is the quality of service flow.

20. A method for obtaining link quality, characterized in that: include: The session management network element determines the service quality flow between the user plane functional network element and the terminal to be monitored for service quality; The session management network element sends a first link quality reporting request to a first device, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the quality of service information of the quality of service flow if a reporting policy is met, and the first device includes the user plane function network element and / or the terminal; The session management network element receives a first link quality notification message from the first device, where the first link quality notification message includes the quality of service information and an identifier of the quality of service flow.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The quality of service information includes quality of service parameters of the quality of service flow.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The service quality information is obtained by the first device by sending a detection message.

23. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; wherein the reporting strategy indicates that the first device reports the service quality information based on the link quality reporting period.

24. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The quality of service parameters of the quality of service flow include a delay parameter of the quality of service flow, and the first device meeting the reporting policy indicates that the first device detects that the quality of service parameters meet: The delay parameter of the quality of service flow is greater than a delay threshold.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The first link quality reporting request includes the delay threshold.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that The delay threshold includes an uplink delay threshold and / or a downlink delay threshold.

27. The method according to any one of claims 20-21 and 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: The session management network element receives a second link quality reporting request from the application network element, where the second link quality reporting request includes an identifier of a service corresponding to the quality of service flow; The session management network element determines the quality of service flow according to the identifier of the service.

28. The method according to any one of claims 20-21 and 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: The session management network element determines an identifier of the service corresponding to the quality of service flow according to the quality of service requirement of the service; The session management network element determines the quality of service flow according to the identifier of the service.

29. The method according to any one of claims 20-21 and 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: The session management network element receives reporting instruction information from the policy control network element, where the reporting instruction information is used to instruct reporting of the quality of service information; The session management network element determines, according to the reporting indication information, an identifier of the service corresponding to the quality of service flow; The session management network element determines the quality of service flow according to the identifier of the service.

30. A method for obtaining link quality, characterized in that: include: The first device receives a first link quality reporting request from the session management network element, where the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report quality of service information of a quality of service flow between the user plane function network element and the terminal if a reporting policy is met; The first device includes the user plane function network element and / or the terminal; When the reporting policy is met, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, where the first link quality notification message includes the quality of service information and an identifier of the quality of service flow.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The quality of service information includes quality of service parameters of the quality of service flow.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device determines the quality of service information by sending a detection message to the opposite end of the first device.

33. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that The first link quality reporting request includes a link quality reporting period; The first device sending a first link quality notification message to the session management network element includes: The first device sends the first link quality notification message to the session management network element based on the link quality reporting period.

34. The method according to claim 31, wherein The quality of service parameters of the quality of service flow include a delay parameter of the quality of service flow, and the method further includes: When the delay parameter of the quality of service flow is greater than a delay threshold, the first device determines that the reporting policy is satisfied.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein The first link quality reporting request includes the delay threshold.

36. A session management network element, characterized in that: include: A determination module, configured to determine a quality of service flow between a user plane functional network element and a terminal for which quality of service is to be monitored; a transceiver module, configured to send a first link quality reporting request to a first device, wherein the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report the quality of service information of the quality of service flow if a reporting policy is met; The first device includes the user plane function network element and / or the terminal; The transceiver module is further configured to receive a first link quality notification message from the first device, where the first link quality notification message includes the quality of service information and an identifier of the quality of service flow.

37. A first device, characterized in that The first device includes: a transceiver module, configured to receive a first link quality reporting request from a session management network element, wherein the first link quality reporting request is used to instruct the first device to report quality of service information of a quality of service flow between the first device and a peer end of the first device when a reporting policy is satisfied; the first device includes a user plane function network element and / or a terminal; The transceiver module is further configured to, when the reporting policy is satisfied, send a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, where the first link quality notification message includes the quality of service information and an identifier of the quality of service flow.

38. The first device according to claim 37, characterized in that The first device further includes: The determination module is configured to determine the quality of service information by sending a detection message to the opposite end of the first device.

39. The first device according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that The transceiver module is further configured to, when the reporting policy is satisfied, send a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, including: Based on a link quality reporting period, the first link quality notification message is sent to the session management network element.

40. The first device according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that The transceiver module is further configured to, when the reporting policy is satisfied, send a first link quality notification message to the session management network element, including: When the first device detects that the quality of service parameter satisfies one or more of the following conditions, the first device sends a first link quality notification message to the session management network element: The delay parameter of the quality of service flow is greater than or equal to the delay threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the delay parameter; The packet loss rate of the quality of service flow is greater than or equal to a packet loss rate threshold, wherein the quality of service parameter includes the packet loss rate; A jitter parameter of the quality of service flow is greater than or equal to a jitter threshold, wherein the quality of service parameters include the jitter parameter.

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