A relay communication method and a communication device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a relay communication method and a communication device, relating to the field of communications. The network side can modify the AMBR used by a UE according to the relay service of the UE to meet the actual service requirements of the UE. The method includes: an access network device obtains the aggregated maximum bit rate AMBR of a first session and the UE granularity AMBR provided by a first terminal device for providing relay services to a user equipment UE; the first session is used to transmit data of a second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device of the second terminal device; and the access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular, to a relay communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] In a communication network, a terminal device (referred to as a relay terminal device) connected to a cellular network can provide a larger network coverage for the cellular network through the PC5 interface with other terminal devices. The aggregate maximum bitrate (AMBR) of a terminal device when acting as a normal user equipment (UE) is different from the AMBR when the UE acts as a relay device. For example, the AMBR when acting as a relay device is greater than the AMBR when acting as a normal UE.

[0003] However, when the existing technology allocates AMBR to a UE, it does not consider the "role" that the UE assumes when accessing the network, resulting in the possibility that the allocated AMBR may not meet the actual service requirements of the UE. For example, the allocated AMBR is too small to support only the services of the UE itself and cannot support the relay services of the UE at the same time. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a relay communication method and a communication device. The network side can modify the AMBR used by the UE according to the relay service of the UE to meet the actual service requirements of the UE.

[0005] In a first aspect, a relay communication method is provided, including: The access network device can obtain the AMBR of a first session and the UE granularity AMBR when a first terminal device provides relay services. The first session is used to transmit data of a second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device of the second terminal device. The access network device can also modify the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR when the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0006] When configuring the UE-AMBR and Session-AMBR for a UE to provide relay services in this application, the network side can determine the UE-AMBR corresponding to different roles according to the "role" assumed by the UE, so as to modify the AMBR of the PDU session, in order to perform reasonable bandwidth control on the UE. When a relay UE (for example, a first terminal device) establishes a PDU session for a relay service, or when the relay UE forwards the PDU session of a remote UE (for example, a second terminal device) itself to provide a relay service, the access network device can modify the AMBR of the PDU session (for example, the first session) according to the UE-AMBR when the relay UE provides the relay service, so that the sum of the AMBRs of all current PDU sessions of the relay UE does not exceed the UE-AMBR when the relay UE provides the relay service, supporting both the services of the UE itself and the relay services of the UE.

[0007] In combination with the first aspect, in the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the access network device obtains the AMBR of the first session, including: if the first session is a session of the first terminal device, the access network device receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management network element of the first terminal device through the access mobility management network element of the first terminal device; or, if the first session is a session of the second terminal device, the access network device receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management network element of the second terminal device through the access mobility management network element of the second terminal device.

[0008] This application is applicable to layer 2 relay scenarios and layer 3 relay scenarios. In the layer 3 relay scenario, the session management network element of the relay device (for example, the first terminal device) establishes or updates a PDU session (for example, the first session) to provide a relay service for the relay device, and the access network device can obtain the AMBR of this session from the session management network element of the relay device. In the layer 2 relay scenario, the session management network element of the remote device (for example, the second terminal device) establishes or updates a PDU session (for example, the first session), and the relay device can forward this session to provide a relay service for the relay device, and the access network device can obtain the AMBR of this session from the session management network element of the remote device.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the access network device obtains the UE granularity AMBR when the first terminal device provides a relay service, including: receiving the UE granularity AMBR sent by the access mobility management network element of the first terminal device.

[0010] In this application, the UDM / UDR may pre-configure the UE-AMBR for the UE when it acts as a relay device. When the UE provides relay services, the access mobility management entity of the UE may obtain the UE-AMBR for the UE when it acts as a relay device from the UDM / UDR, and send the UE-AMBR for the UE when it acts as a relay device to the access network device, so that the access network device modifies the AMBR of the session according to the UE-AMBR for the UE when it acts as a relay device, ensuring that the sum of the AMBRs of all sessions when the UE acts as a relay device does not exceed the UE-AMBR for the UE when it acts as a relay device.

[0011] Combined with the first aspect or the first or second possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR, including: if the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the access network device sends a first message to the session management entity of the first terminal device through the access mobility management entity of the first terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the first message is used to request the session management entity of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; receive the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management entity of the first terminal device. The AMBR occupied by the session may be the sum of the AMBRs of the sessions currently provided with relay services by the first terminal device.

[0012] This application supports the layer 3 relay scenario. When the AMBR of the session providing relay services is greater than the currently available AMBR of the relay device (the remaining AMBR of the UE-AMBR providing relay services), the session management entity of the relay device is instructed to modify the AMBR of the session to ensure that the AMBR of the session does not exceed the currently available AMBR of the relay device.

[0013] Combined with the first aspect or the first or second possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR, including:

[0014] If the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the access network device sends a second message to the session management entity of the second terminal device through the access mobility management entity of the second terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the second message is used to request the session management entity of the second terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; receive the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management entity of the second terminal device.

[0015] This application supports Layer 2 relay scenarios. When the AMBR of a session providing relay services is greater than the currently available AMBR of the relay device (the remaining AMBR of the UE-AMBR providing relay services), the session management network element of the remote device is instructed to modify the AMBR of the session to ensure that the AMBR of the session does not exceed the currently available AMBR of the relay device.

[0016] Combined with the third or fourth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: The access network device performs bandwidth control on the first session according to the modified AMBR of the first session.

[0017] Combined with the first aspect or the first to fifth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes: The access network device updates the available AMBR of the first terminal device according to the modified AMBR of the first session.

[0018] Combined with the first aspect or the first to sixth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the access network device may also send the available AMBR of the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0019] In this application, the available AMBR sent by the access network device may be the latest available AMBR of the first terminal device, that is, the remaining amount of the UE-AMBR (UE granularity AMBR providing relay services) after the first terminal device accesses the first session. Among them, the AMBR of the first session may be modified or initially allocated.

[0020] The access network device sends the latest available AMBR to the relay device so that the relay device can notify the remote device of the currently available AMBR of the current relay device during the relay discovery with the remote device. The remote device can judge whether it meets its own service requirements according to the available AMBR.

[0021] In a second aspect, a relay communication method is provided, including: The access mobility management network element obtains the user equipment UE granularity aggregated maximum bit rate AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services; sends the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services to the access network device of the first terminal device.

[0022] In this application, the UE-AMBR (that is, the UE granularity AMBR providing relay services) when the UE acts as a relay device can be pre-configured. When the UE provides relay services, the access mobility management network element of the UE can obtain the UE-AMBR when the UE acts as a relay device, and send the UE-AMBR when the UE acts as a relay device to the access network device of the UE so that the access network device adjusts the AMBR of the session according to the UE-AMBR.

[0023] In combination with the second aspect, in the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: an access mobility management entity receives relay capability information from a first terminal device; the relay capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports relay services.

[0024] In this application, the access mobility management entity may obtain the UE-AMBR of the UE as a relay device in response to the relay capability information sent by the UE.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the access mobility management entity obtains the UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services, including: the access mobility management entity obtains the subscription information of the first terminal device from a user data management network element or a unified data storage network element, and the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services.

[0026] In this application, the UDM / UDR may pre-configure the UE-AMBR when the UE is used as a relay device (that is, the UE granularity AMBR for providing relay services), and the access mobility management entity of the UE may obtain the UE-AMBR when the UE is used as a relay device from the UDM / UDR.

[0027] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be an access network device or a component in an access network device. The communication device includes: a processing unit, configured to obtain the aggregated maximum bit rate AMBR of a first session and the user equipment UE granularity AMBR for a first terminal device to provide relay services; the first session is used to transmit data of a second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device of the second terminal device;

[0028] The processing unit is further configured to modify the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR.

[0029] When configuring the UE-AMBR and Session-AMBR for the UE to provide relay services in this application, the network side can modify the AMBR of the PDU session according to the "role" assumed by the UE, so as to perform reasonable bandwidth control on the UE. When the relay UE (for example, the first terminal device) establishes a PDU session for the relay service, or when the relay UE forwards the PDU session of the remote UE (for example, the second terminal device) itself to provide the relay service, the access network device can modify the AMBR of the PDU session (for example, the first session) according to the UE-AMBR when the relay UE provides the relay service, so that the sum of the AMBRs of all the current PDU sessions of the relay UE does not exceed the UE-AMBR when the relay UE provides the relay service, supporting the services of the UE itself while supporting the relay service of the UE.

[0030] Combined with the third aspect, in the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if the first session is the session of the first terminal device, the processing unit receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management network element of the first terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device; if the first session is the session of the second terminal device, the processing unit receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management network element of the second terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the second terminal device.

[0031] Combined with the third aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the communication device further includes a communication unit, and the communication unit is configured to receive the UE granularity AMBR sent by the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device.

[0032] Combined with the third aspect or the first or second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in the third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the communication device includes a communication unit, and the communication unit is configured to, if the processing unit determines that the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, send a first message to the session management network element of the first terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the first message is used to request the session management network element of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; receive the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management network element of the first terminal device.

[0033] Combined with the third aspect or the first or second possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in the fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the communication device includes a communication unit. If the processing unit determines that the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the communication unit sends second information to the session management network element of the second terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the second terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the second information is used to request the session management network element of the second terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; receive the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management network element of the second terminal device.

[0034] Combined with the third or fourth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in the fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processing unit is further configured to perform bandwidth control on the first session according to the modified AMBR of the first session.

[0035] Combined with the fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in the sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processing unit is configured to update the available AMBR of the first terminal device according to the modified AMBR of the first session;

[0036] The communication unit is configured to send the updated available AMBR of the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, a communication device may be an access and mobility management network element or a component in an access and mobility management network element. The communication device includes: a processing unit, which obtains the UE granularity aggregated maximum bit rate (AMBR) of a user equipment (UE) that provides relay services for a first terminal device; a communication unit, which sends the UE granularity AMBR of the first terminal device that provides relay services to an access network device of the first terminal device.

[0038] In this application, the UE-AMBR (i.e., the UE granularity AMBR that provides relay services) of the UE when it is used as a relay device may be pre-configured. When the UE provides relay services, the access and mobility management network element of the UE may obtain the UE-AMBR of the UE when it is used as a relay device, and send the UE-AMBR of the UE when it is used as a relay device to the access network device of the UE, so that the access network device adjusts the AMBR of the session according to the UE-AMBR.

[0039] Combined with the fourth aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the communication unit is further configured to receive relay capability information from the first terminal device; the relay capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports relay services.

[0040] Combined with the fourth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain the subscription information of the first terminal device from a user data network element or a unified data storage network element, and the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, including at least one processor and a memory, the at least one processor being coupled to the memory; the memory is used for storing a computer program;

[0042] The at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the device executes the method as described in the first aspect and any implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0043] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including at least one processor and a memory, the at least one processor being coupled to the memory; the memory is used for storing a computer program;

[0044] The at least one processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the device executes the method as described in the second aspect and any implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, including: instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium; when the computer-readable storage medium runs on the communication device as described in the third aspect and any implementation manner of the third aspect, the communication device is caused to execute the communication method as described in the first aspect and any implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0046] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, including: instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium; when the computer-readable storage medium runs on the communication device as described in the fourth aspect and any implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the communication device is caused to execute the communication method as described in the second aspect and any implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0047] In a ninth aspect, a wireless communication device is provided, the communication device includes a processor, for example, applied in the communication device to implement the method as described in the first aspect and any implementation manner of the first aspect, and the communication device may be, for example, a chip system. In a feasible implementation manner, the chip system further includes a memory, and the memory is used for storing the program instructions and data necessary for implementing the functions of the method as described in the first aspect.

[0048] In a tenth aspect, a wireless communication device is provided. The communication device includes a processor, for example, which is applied to the communication device to implement the functions or methods involved in the above-mentioned second aspect and any implementation manner of the second aspect. The communication device may be, for example, a chip system. In a feasible implementation manner, the chip system further includes a memory, and the memory is used to store the program instructions and data necessary for implementing the functions of the method described in the above-mentioned second aspect.

[0049] The chip system in the above aspect may be a system on chip (SOC), or a baseband chip, etc. The baseband chip may include a processor, a channel encoder, a digital signal processor, a modem, and an interface module, etc.

[0050] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a first terminal device, a second terminal device, and the communication devices described in the above-mentioned third aspect, any possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the above-mentioned fourth aspect, and any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect.

[0051] In a possible implementation manner, the communication system further includes a session management network element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 It is an architecture diagram of the communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the protocol stack provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 3 It is a relay schematic diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the layer 2 relay protocol layer provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the layer 2 relay session provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the layer 3 relay protocol layer provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the layer 3 relay session provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 8a It is a structural block diagram of the communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 8b It is another structural block diagram of the communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 9 It is a schematic flowchart of the relay communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 10 It is another schematic flowchart of the relay communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 11 It is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figures 12 to 15 It is another structural block diagram of the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0065] Referring to Figure 1 , it is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of a communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application. The network architecture includes an access network device 10, terminal devices (only terminal device 21 and terminal device 22 are shown in the figure), an access management network element 30, a session management network element 40, a user plane network element 50, a policy control network element 60, a network slice selection network element 70, a network storage function network element 80, a unified data management network element 90, a unified data storage network element 100, an authentication service function network element 110, an application function network element 120, a network data analysis network element 130, a network capability open network element 140, and a data network (DN) 150 connecting to the operator network. The terminal device can send service data to the data network through the access network device and the user plane network element, and receive service data from the data network.

[0066] Among them, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver functions, which can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal device can communicate with the core network via a radio access network (RAN) and exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, and so on. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios. The terminal device can sometimes also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a remote station, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies, device forms, and names adopted by the terminal device.

[0067] An access network device is a device in a network used to connect a terminal device to a wireless network. The access network device can be a node in a radio access network, also known as a base station, or also known as a radio access network (RAN) node (or device). The network device can include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in a long term evolution (LTE) system or an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), such as a traditional macro eNB and a micro eNB in a heterogeneous network scenario, or can also include a next generation node B (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) new radio (NR) system, or can also include a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission reception point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a BBU pool, or a WiFi access point (AP), etc., or can also include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CloudRAN) system. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In a split deployment scenario where the access network device includes a CU and a DU, the CU supports protocols such as radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU mainly supports the radio link control layer (RLC), the media access control layer (MAC), and the physical layer protocol.

[0068] The access management network element (which may also be referred to as the access and mobility management network element in the embodiments of this application) is mainly used for the attachment, mobility management, and tracking area update process of terminals in a mobile network. The access management network element terminates non-access stratum (NAS) messages, completes registration management, connection management, reachability management, allocates a track area list (TA list), and performs mobility management, etc., and transparently routes session management (SM) messages to the session management network element. In the 5th generation (5G) communication system, the access management network element may be an access and mobility management function (AMF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the mobility management network element may still be an AMF network element, or it may also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0069] The session management network element is mainly used for session management in a mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the terminal, selecting a user plane network element that provides packet forwarding functions, etc. In the 5G communication system, the session management network element may be a session management function (SMF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the session management network element may still be an SMF network element, or it may also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0070] The user plane network element is mainly used for processing user packets, such as forwarding, charging, and lawful interception. The user plane network element may also be referred to as a protocol data unit (PDU) session anchor (PSA). In the 5G communication system, the user plane network element may be a user plane function (UPF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the user plane network element may still be a UPF network element, or it may also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0071] The policy control network element includes functions such as user subscription data management, policy control, charging policy control, and quality of service (QoS) control. In a 5G communication system, the policy control network element can be a policy control function (PCF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the policy control network element can still be a PCF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0072] The network slice selection function network element is mainly used to select a suitable network slice for the services of the terminal device. In a 5G communication system, the network slice selection network element can be a network slice selection function (NSSF) network element. In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the network slice selection network element can still be an NSSF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0073] The network storage function network element is mainly used to provide registration and discovery functions for network elements or services provided by network elements. In a 5G communication system, the network storage function network element can be a network repository function (NRF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the network storage function network element can still be an NRF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0074] The network data analysis network element can collect data from various network functions (NFs), such as policy control network elements, session management network elements, user plane network elements, access management network elements, and application function network elements (through network capability open function network elements), and perform analysis and prediction. In a 5G communication system, the network data analysis network element can be a network data analytics function (NWDAF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the network data analysis network element can still be an NWDAF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0075] The unified data management network element is mainly used to manage the subscription information of terminal devices. In a 5G communication system, the unified data management network element can be a unified data management (UDM). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the unified data management network element can still be a UDM network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0076] The unified data storage network element is mainly used for storing structured data information, including subscription information, policy information, and network data or service data defined in a standard format. In a 5G communication system, the unified data storage network element can be a unified data repository (UDR). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the unified data storage network element can still be a UDR network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0077] The authentication service function network element is mainly used for performing security authentication on terminal devices. In a 5G communication system, the authentication service function network element can be an authentication server function (AUSF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the authentication service function network element can still be an AUSF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0078] The network capability open network element can controllably expose some functions of the network to applications. In a 5G communication system, the network capability open network element can be a network exposure function (NEF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the network capability open network element can still be a NEF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0079] The application function network element can provide service data of various applications to the control plane network elements of the operator's communication network, or obtain network data information and control information from the control plane network elements of the communication network. In a 5G communication system, the application function network element can be an application function (AF). In future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems), the application function network element can still be an AF network element, or it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0080] The data network is mainly used for providing data transmission services for terminal devices. The data network can be a private network, such as a local area network, or a public data network (PDN) network, such as the Internet, or a proprietary network jointly deployed by operators, such as the configured IP multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) service.

[0081] It should be understood that the above network element or function can be either a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above network element or function can be implemented by one device, jointly implemented by multiple devices, or be a functional module within a device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0082] For ease of description, in the following of this application, the access management network element is taken as the AMF network element, and the network slice selection function network element is taken as the NSSF network element for illustration. Further, the AMF network element is abbreviated as AMF, and the NSSF network element is abbreviated as NSSF. That is, the AMF described later in this application can be replaced with the access management network element, and the NSSFF can be replaced with the network slice selection function network element.

[0083] Although Figure 1 not shown, the core network devices of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 can be different. For example, different AMFs are respectively used for access and mobility management of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22, or different SMFs are respectively used for session control of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22.

[0084] First, the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained:

[0085] (1) Quality of service (QoS) parameters

[0086] QoS parameters can be used to modify network QoS and provide better services for network communication. For example, network latency and congestion problems can be solved by modifying QoS parameters to ensure the efficient operation of the network.

[0087] The UE can establish PDU sessions for different services, and the QoS parameters required for different services are different. For example, video services require high bandwidth, while voice communication requires reliable low latency. When the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session update request, the SMF can establish different QoS flows (QoS Flow) for different services according to the service requirements of the UE, and the QoS flow can be identified by QFI (QoS Flow Identifier). The QoS requirements corresponding to the same QoS flow are the same, and these requirements can be quantified by QoS parameters. For example, QoS parameters can be latency, bandwidth, packet loss rate, etc. 5QI (5G QoS Identifier) can also be used to identify these QoS parameters.

[0088] According to the requirements of the service, the QoS parameter may also include the aggregate maximum bitrate (AMBR). AMBR includes UE-AMBR and Session-AMBR. Among them, UE-AMBR refers to the maximum bandwidth that all PDU Sessions corresponding to the UE can reach, and Session-AMBR refers to the maximum bandwidth that all non-guaranteed bit rate QoS Flows (Non-GBR QoS Flows) corresponding to the PDU session can reach.

[0089] (2) Protocol stack

[0090] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the protocol stack provided by the embodiments of this application. Different devices can interact through the Figure 2 protocol layers shown. Referring to Figure 2 , the protocol stack includes the application layer, the protocol data unit (PDU) layer, the internet protocol (IP) layer, the new radio-service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer.

[0091] (3) Relay

[0092] In the embodiments of this application, a relay can be understood as a terminal device accessing the network through another terminal device and establishing an indirect connection with the network. Among them, the terminal device providing the relay service can be called a relay UE, and the terminal device accessing the network through the relay can be called a remote UE.

[0093] Figure 3 This is a relay architecture diagram provided by the embodiments of this application. Referring to Figure 3 , the remote device (remote UE) can communicate with the access network device through the relay device (relay UE), so as to establish an indirect connection with the core network. Figure 1In the network architecture shown, the terminal device 21 can act as a relay UE, and the terminal device 22 can act as a remote UE. Specifically, the terminal device 21 communicates with the access network device 10 through the uu link, and the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 communicate with each other through a direct link. The terminal device 21 can also provide relay services for the terminal device 22. For example, the terminal device 21 receives the data sent by the terminal device 22 through the PC5 interface and forwards the data of the terminal device 22 to the access network device 10; or, the terminal device 21 receives the data sent by the access network device to the terminal device 22 through the uu link and can also forward the received data to the terminal device 22 through the PC5 interface.

[0094] (4) Layer 2 Relay (L2 relay)

[0095] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the protocol stack for layer 2 relay. Refer to Figure 4 , in the layer 2 relay scenario, when the relay UE forwards data packets for the remote UE, it only processes up to below the PDCP layer (without processing the data packets at the PDCP layer) and then forwards them to the access network device for processing, which can ensure the data security between the remote UE and the access network device and avoid excessive exposure of the remote UE's data at the relay UE.

[0096] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the connection for layer 2 relay. Refer to Figure 5 , a relay UE can connect to multiple remote UEs and provide layer 2 relay forwarding for these remote UEs. The remote UE 1 establishes a PDU session 1 through the relay UE. The relay UE can provide relay services for the remote UE 1 through the PDU session 1 of the remote UE 1, and the relay UE can forward the service data of the PDU session 1 of the RemoteUE 1. The remote UE 2 establishes a PDU session 2 through the relay UE. The relay UE can use the PDU session 2 of the remote UE 2 to provide relay services for the remote UE 2. It can be seen that in the layer 2 relay scenario, the SMF of the remote UE manages the sessions used for relay.

[0097] (5) Layer 3 Relay (L3 relay)

[0098] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the protocol stack for layer 3 relay. Refer to Figure 4, in the layer 3 relay scenario, when the relay UE forwards data packets for the remote UE, it only processes up to below the IP layer (without processing the data packet content at the IP layer) and then forwards them to the access network device for processing. The access network device is not aware of whether the relay UE has forwarded the data of the remote UE.

[0099] Figure 7 is the connection schematic diagram of layer 3 relay. Refer to Figure 7 , a relay UE can connect to multiple remote UEs and provide layer 3 relay forwarding for these remote UEs. Different from layer 2 relay, in the layer 3 relay scenario, the relay UE uses its own PDU session to forward data for the remote UE. It can be seen that in the layer 3 relay scenario, the SMF of the relay UE performs session management on the session used for relay.

[0100] When the existing technology allocates the AMBR for the UE, it does not consider the "role" that the UE undertakes when accessing the network, resulting in the AMBR allocated for the UE may not meet the actual service requirements of the UE. For example, the AMBR allocated for the UE is too small and can only support the services of the UE itself and cannot support the relay service of the UE at the same time. In the layer 2 relay or layer 3 relay scenario, in order to support the relay service of the UE while ensuring the UE's own services, the UE granularity AMBR (UE-AMBR) when the UE provides relay services should be greater than the UE-AMBR of the UE as an ordinary UE (i.e., not providing relay services). When the remote UE multiplexes the PDU session of the relay UE, the Session-AMBR of the relay UE should also be higher than its Session-AMBR as an ordinary UE.

[0101] In addition, there may be another possibility: the UE-AMBR of the relay UE only controls the sum of its own PDU session AMBR, and when the remote UE connects to the network through the relay UE, there may be another UE-AMBR of the relay UE specifically used to limit the upper limit of the sum of the PDU session AMBR of the remote UE.

[0102] The embodiments of the present application provide a relay communication method. When configuring the UE-AMBR and Session-AMBR for the UE when providing relay services, the network side can modify the AMBR of the PDU session according to the "role" assumed by the UE, so as to perform reasonable bandwidth control on the UE. When the relay UE establishes a PDU session for the relay service or the relay UE forwards the PDU session of the remote UE itself to provide the relay service, the access network device can modify the AMBR of the PDU session according to the UE-AMBR when the relay UE provides the relay service, so that the sum of the AMBRs of all the current PDU sessions of the relay UE does not exceed the UE-AMBR when the relay UE provides the relay service, supporting the services of the UE itself while supporting the relay service of the UE.

[0103] In addition, after introducing the relay service, the operator can perform differentiated service control and billing according to the "role" assumed by the UE. For example, when the UE provides relay services for other UEs, the UE-AMBR for the relay service of the relay UE can be controlled separately, so as to limit the upper limit of the bandwidth that the UE can use to provide relay services for other UEs, without affecting the bandwidth authorized when the UE normally uses its own services.

[0104] The terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by Figure 8a the communication device 810 therein. Figure 8a The figure shows a schematic hardware structure diagram of the communication device 810 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 810 includes a processor 8101 and at least one communication interface ( Figure 8a only the communication interface 8103 is taken as an example for illustration). Optionally, it further includes a memory 8102. Among them, the processor 8101, the memory 8102, and the communication interface 8103 are interconnected with each other.

[0105] The processor 8101 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the solution of the present application.

[0106] The communication interface 8103 uses any device such as a transceiver for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc.

[0107] The memory 8102 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory can exist independently or be connected to the processor. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0108] Among them, the memory 8102 is used to store computer execution instructions for executing the solution of this application, and is controlled by the processor 8101 for execution. The processor 8101 is used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 8102, so as to implement the intent processing method provided by the following embodiments of this application.

[0109] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application can also be referred to as application program code, and the embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0110] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 8101 can include one or more CPUs, such as Figure 8a CPU0 and CPU1 in

[0111] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 810 can include multiple processors, such as Figure 8a the processor 8101 and the processor 8106 in

[0112] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 810 may further include an output device 8104 and an input device 8105. The output device 8104 communicates with the processor 8101 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 8104 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 8105 communicates with the processor 8101 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 8105 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensing device, etc.

[0113] The above-mentioned communication device 810 may be a general device or a dedicated device. In a specific implementation, the communication device 810 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, or a device with a similar structure. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 810. Figure 8a In the above.

[0114] It should be noted that the communication device 810 may be a complete terminal, or a functional component or module implemented on the terminal, or a communication chip, such as a baseband chip, etc. When the communication device 810 is a complete terminal, the communication interface may be a radio frequency module. When the communication device 810 is a communication chip, the communication interface 8103 may be the input / output interface circuit of the chip, and the input / output interface circuit is used to read in and output baseband signals.

[0115] Figure 8b FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device. The communication device 820 may be the access network device described in the embodiments of the present application.

[0116] The communication device includes at least one processor 8201, at least one transceiver 8203, at least one network interface 8204, and one or more antennas 8205. Optionally, it further includes at least one memory 8202. The processor 8201, the memory 8202, the transceiver 8203, and the network interface 8204 are connected, for example, through a bus. The antenna 8205 is connected to the transceiver 8203. The network interface 8204 is used for the communication device to be connected to other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the communication device is connected to a core network element through an S1 interface. In the embodiments of the present application, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0117] The processor in the embodiments of the present application, such as processor 8201, may include at least one of the following types: general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), microcontroller unit (MCU), field programmable gate array (FPGA), or integrated circuit for implementing logical operations. For example, processor 8201 may be a single-CPU processor or a multi-CPU processor. At least one processor 8201 may be integrated in one chip or located on multiple different chips.

[0118] The memory in the embodiments of the present application, such as memory 8202, may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0119] Memory 8202 may exist independently and be connected to processor 8201. Optionally, memory 8202 may also be integrated with processor 8201, for example, integrated within one chip. Among them, memory 8202 can store the program code for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and be controlled by processor 8201 to execute. The various computer program codes executed can also be regarded as the driver programs of processor 8201. For example, processor 8201 is used to execute the computer program code stored in memory 8202, thereby implementing the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] The transceiver 8203 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between a communication device and a terminal device, and the transceiver 8203 can be connected to the antenna 8205. Specifically, one or more antennas 8205 can receive radio frequency signals, and the transceiver 8203 can be used to receive the radio frequency signals from the antenna, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 8201 so that the processor 8201 can further process the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transceiver 8203 can be used to receive the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 8201, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and transmit the radio frequency signals through one or more antennas 8205. Specifically, the transceiver 8203 can selectively perform one-stage or multi-stage down-conversion processing and analog-to-digital conversion processing on the radio frequency signals to obtain digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and the order of the down-conversion processing and the analog-to-digital conversion processing can be adjusted. The transceiver 8203 can selectively perform one-stage or multi-stage up-conversion processing and digital-to-analog conversion processing on the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to obtain radio frequency signals, and the order of the up-conversion processing and the digital-to-analog conversion processing can be adjusted. Digital baseband signals and digital intermediate frequency signals can be collectively referred to as digital signals. The transceiver can be referred to as a transceiver circuit, a transceiver unit, a transceiver device, a transmitting circuit, a transmitting unit, or a transmitting device, etc.

[0121] It should be noted that the communication device 820 can be a whole communication device, or a component or assembly that implements the functions of the communication device, or a communication chip. When the communication device 820 is a communication chip, the transceiver 8203 can be an interface circuit of the chip, and the interface circuit is used to read in and output baseband signals.

[0122] An embodiment of the present application provides a relay communication method, as Figure 9 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0123] 901. The access network device obtains the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0124] Among them, the first terminal device can communicate with the network side through the access network device, and the first terminal device can also provide relay services for other terminal devices. For example, the first terminal device is a relay device for the second terminal device, and the second terminal device can send data to the access network device through the first terminal device, and the second terminal device can receive data sent by the access network device through the first terminal device.

[0125] The UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services can be the UE-AMBR when the first terminal device acts as a relay (denoted as relay UE-AMBR), which is the upper limit of the AMBR when the first terminal device provides relay services. When the first terminal device acts as a relay device, the sum of the session-AMBRs of the current session cannot exceed the UE-AMBR of the first terminal device as a relay device (i.e., the UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services). Among them, the current session can be the session in which the first terminal device provides relay services or the session of other services of the first terminal device. The sessions in which the first terminal device provides relay services include the session in which the first terminal device provides relay services for the second terminal device and the session in which the first terminal device provides relay services for other remote devices (remote UEs). The session in which the first terminal device provides relay services for the second terminal device can be a PDU session established by the first terminal device or a PDU session established by the second terminal device.

[0126] In a specific implementation, the access network device can obtain the UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services from the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device (for example, AMF). Different from the layer 2 relay scenario and the layer 3 relay scenario, the access network device can obtain the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device through the following two methods:

[0127] First, in the layer 3 relay scenario, the access network device can obtain the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device from the AMF of the first terminal device during the registration process, service request process, base station handover process, session establishment process, or session update process.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the first terminal device provides its own relay capability information during the registration process, and the AMF of the first terminal device can obtain the UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services from the UDM (or UDR). The UE granularity AMBR for the first terminal device to provide relay services can be the UE granularity AMBR when the first terminal device acts as a relay device.

[0129] Specifically, the first terminal device sends a registration request to the AMF. The registration request includes the relay capability information of the terminal device, and the relay capability information is used to indicate that the first terminal device supports relay services, that is, the first terminal device can act as a relay to provide relay services for other terminals. The relay capability information can be the communication capability information of the first terminal device at the PC5 interface, indicating that the first terminal device can establish a direct connection with other terminal devices to provide relay services for other terminal devices.

[0130] In addition, after receiving the registration request of the first terminal device, the AMF of the first terminal device can obtain the subscription information of the first terminal device from the UDM (or UDR). Among them, the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, that is, the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services. Optionally, the subscription information of the first terminal device may further include the session granularity AMBR (denoted as relay session-AMBR) for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0131] The AMF of the first terminal device may also send the subscription information of the first terminal device to the access network device through an N2 message.

[0132] In another possible implementation, the first terminal device sends a session establishment request or a session update request to the AMF of the first terminal device, requesting to establish a new PDU session for the relay service of the first terminal device, or to update the current PDU session of the first terminal device for the relay service of the first terminal device. After receiving the session establishment request or the session update request, the AMF of the first terminal device sends a session establishment request or a session update request to the session management network element (e.g., SMF) of the first terminal device. After receiving the session establishment request or the session update request, the session management network element of the first terminal device obtains the subscription information of the first terminal device from the UDM. The session management network element of the first terminal device may also send a session establishment response or a session update response to the AMF of the first terminal device, and the session establishment response or the session update response includes the subscription information of the first terminal device. The AMF of the first terminal device may send the subscription information of the first terminal device to the access network device of the first terminal device through the session establishment response or the session update response.

[0133] Among them, the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, that is, the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services. Optionally, the subscription information of the first terminal device may further include the session granularity AMBR (denoted as relay session-AMBR) for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0134] In the second, layer 2 relay scenario, the access network device may obtain the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device from the AMF of the first terminal device during the registration process, the service request process, or the base station handover process, or the access network device obtains the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device through a configuration update method.

[0135] Exemplarily, in the registration process of the first terminal device, the AMF of the first terminal device can obtain the subscription information of the first terminal device from the UDM and send the subscription information of the first terminal device to the access network device via an N2 message. Among them, the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, that is, the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0136] Alternatively, if the access network device determines that the first terminal device will provide relay services, the access network device does not locally store the subscription information related to the relay services of the first terminal device, or the current UE-AMBR of the first terminal device cannot meet the requirements of the relay services, the access network device sends a configuration update request to the AMF of the first terminal device. The AMF of the first terminal device can obtain the subscription information of the first terminal device from the UDM, and the first subscription information includes the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device. The AMF of the first terminal device can also send a configuration update response to the access network device, and the configuration update response includes the subscription information of the first terminal device.

[0137] 902. When the first terminal device provides relay services for the second terminal device through a first session, the session management network element obtains the AMBR of the first session.

[0138] Among them, the first session is used to carry the relay services of the first terminal device. The first terminal device can forward data from the second terminal device to the access network device through the first session, or the first terminal device can forward data from the access network device to the second terminal device through the first session. The first session is a session of the first terminal device.

[0139] Specifically, in the layer 3 relay scenario, the first terminal device can create a new PDU session for the relay service or update the current PDU session. The first session is the new PDU session created by the first terminal device or the current PDU session of the first terminal device.

[0140] In the layer 2 relay scenario, the second terminal device establishes a PDU session, and the first terminal device can reuse the PDU session of the second terminal device to provide relay services for the second terminal device. The first session is a session of the second terminal device.

[0141] Different from layer 3 relay and layer 2 relay, there are also the following two different implementations for the session management network element to obtain the AMBR of the first session:

[0142] First, in the layer 3 relay scenario, the session management network element of the first terminal device obtains the relay session-AMBR of the first terminal device and uses the relay session-AMBR as the AMBR of the first session.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the session management network element of the first terminal device obtains the relay session-AMBR of the first terminal device by obtaining the subscription information of the first terminal device.

[0144] Specifically, the session management network element of the first terminal device receives a session establishment request or a session update request sent by the first terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device; the session establishment request is used to request the session management network element to establish the first session, and the session update request is used to request the session management network element to update the first session.

[0145] In response to the session establishment request or the session update request, the session management network element obtains the subscription information of the first terminal device from a user data management network element (for example, UDM), and the subscription information includes the relay session-AMBR and relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device.

[0146] The session management network element may use the session granularity AMBR as the AMBR of the first session.

[0147] In another possible implementation, the session management network element of the first terminal device obtains the relay session-AMBR of the first terminal device by updating the session association policy information, or by updating the policy and charging control rule (PCC rule).

[0148] Specifically, the session management network element of the first terminal device receives a session establishment request or a session update request sent by the first terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device; the session establishment request is used to request the session management network element to establish the first session, and the session update request is used to request the session management network element to update the first session.

[0149] In response to the session establishment request or the session update request, the session management network element sends a session management policy association request (SM policy association establishment) or a session management policy change request (SM Policy Association Establishment or Modification) to the policy and charging control network element;

[0150] The session management network element receives session policy information from the policy charging control network element; the session policy information includes the session granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0151] The session management network element may use the session granularity AMBR as the AMBR of the first session.

[0152] It should be noted that the session update request or session establishment request may carry the identifier of the first session. The UDM may determine that the first session is for relay services based on the identifier of the first session. The UDM may also determine the service type of the first terminal device based on the identifier of the first session, and determine the relay session-AMBR in the subscription information of the first terminal device that matches the service type.

[0153] Alternatively, the session update request or session establishment request carries a data network name (DNN). The UDM may determine that the first session is for relay services based on the DNN. The UDM may also determine the service type of the first terminal device based on the DNN, and determine the relay session-AMBR in the subscription information of the first terminal device that matches the service type.

[0154] Optionally, the session establishment request or the session update request includes a relay service indication. The UDM may determine that the first session is for relay services based on the identifier of the first session, and determine the relay session-AMBR for the first session in the subscription information of the first terminal device.

[0155] Second, in the Layer 2 relay scenario, the session management network element of the second terminal device obtains the session-AMBR of the second terminal device, and uses the session-AMBR of the second terminal device as the AMBR of the first session.

[0156] In a possible implementation, the session management network element of the second terminal device obtains the session-AMBR of the second terminal device by obtaining the subscription information of the second terminal device.

[0157] The session management network element of the second terminal device receives the session establishment request or session update request sent by the second terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the second terminal device; the session establishment request is used to request the session management network element to establish the first session, and the session update request is used to request the session management network element to update the first session.

[0158] The session management network element of the second terminal device obtains the subscription information of the second terminal device from the user data management network element in response to the session establishment request or the session update request. The subscription information includes the session granularity AMBR of the second terminal device (i.e., the session-AMBR of the second terminal device).

[0159] The session management network element of the second terminal device uses the session granularity AMBR as the AMBR of the first session.

[0160] In another possible implementation, the session management network element of the second terminal device obtains the relay session-AMBR of the first terminal device by updating session-related policies or PCC rules.

[0161] Specifically, the session management network element of the second terminal device receives the session establishment request or the session update request sent by the second terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the second terminal device;

[0162] The session management network element of the second terminal device sends a session management policy association request or a session management policy change request to the policy and charging control network element in response to the session establishment request or the session update request;

[0163] The session management network element of the second terminal device receives session policy information from the policy and charging control network element; the session policy information includes the session granularity AMBR of the second terminal device;

[0164] The session management network element of the second terminal device uses the session granularity AMBR as the AMBR of the first session.

[0165] It should be noted that the session update request or the session establishment request may carry the identifier of the first session. The UDM can determine the service type of the second terminal device according to the identifier of the first session, and determine the session-AMBR in the subscription information of the second terminal device that matches the service type.

[0166] Alternatively, the session update request or the session establishment request carries a data network name (DNN). The UDM can determine the service type of the second terminal device according to the DNN, and determine the session-AMBR in the subscription information of the second terminal device that matches the service type.

[0167] 903. The session management network element sends the AMBR of the first session to the access network device through the access and mobility management network element.

[0168] In the Layer 3 relay scenario, the session management network element of the first terminal device sends the AMBR of the first session to the access network device through the access mobility management network element of the first terminal device.

[0169] In the Layer 2 relay scenario, the session management network element of the second terminal device sends the AMBR of the first session to the access network device through the access mobility management network element of the second terminal device.

[0170] 904. The access network device obtains the AMBR of the first session and modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

[0171] Specifically, the access network device determines whether the UE-AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services can support the current first session. If not, the AMBR of the first session needs to be modified.

[0172] Different from Layer 3 relay and Layer 2 relay, there are also the following two different implementations for the access network device to modify the AMBR of the first session:

[0173] First, in the Layer 3 relay scenario, the access network device instructs the session management network element of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session.

[0174] Exemplarily, the access network device can record the sum of the session-AMBR of the current session when the first terminal device is a relay device, and can also modify the AMBR of the newly established current session with reference to the relay UE-AMBR and the sum of the session-AMBR of the current session. If the access network device determines that the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the access network device sends a first message to the session management network element of the first terminal device through the access mobility management network element of the first terminal device, requesting the session management network element of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session.

[0175] Among them, the available AMBR of the first terminal device is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services and the AMBR occupied by sessions. Among them, the AMBR occupied by sessions can be the sum of the session-AMBR of all current sessions recorded by the first terminal device.

[0176] For example, the relay UE-AMBR is 10 Mbps, the relay session-AMBR allocated by the UDM for the first session is 3 Mbps, and the AMBR occupied by all sessions other than the first session of the first terminal device currently is 8 Mbps. (10 Mbps - 8 Mbps) < 3 Mbps, that is, the available AMBR of the first terminal device cannot support the first session, and the access network device requests the session management network element of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session. For example, modify the AMBR of the first session to 2 Mbps.

[0177] In specific implementation, the access network device may also send third information to the session management network element of the first terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the first terminal device, where the third information is used to indicate the available AMBR of the first terminal device, so that the session management network element of the first terminal device can modify the AMBR of the first session according to the available AMBR of the first terminal device. For example, the modified AMBR of the first session is less than or equal to the available AMBR of the first terminal device.

[0178] Second, in the layer 2 relay scenario, the access network device instructs the session management network element of the second terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session.

[0179] For example, if the access network device determines that the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the access network device sends second information to the session management network element of the second terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the second terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the second information is used to request the session management network element of the second terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session.

[0180] In specific implementation, the access network device may also send fourth information to the session management network element of the second terminal device through the access and mobility management network element of the second terminal device, where the fourth information is used to indicate the available AMBR of the first terminal device, so that the session management network element of the second terminal device can modify the AMBR of the first session according to the available AMBR of the first terminal device. For example, the modified AMBR of the first session is less than or equal to the available AMBR of the first terminal device.

[0181] For example, the relay UE-AMBR is 10 Mbps, the relay session-AMBR allocated by the UDM for the first session is 3 Mbps, and the AMBR occupied by all current sessions other than the first session of the first terminal device is 8 Mbps. (10 Mbps - 8 Mbps) < 3 Mbps, that is, the available AMBR of the first terminal device cannot support the first session, and the access network device requests the session management network element of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session. For example, modify the AMBR of the first session to 2 Mbps.

[0182] In another possible implementation, the access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session. The access network device can also send the modified AMBR to the session management network element. The session management network element receives the modified AMBR sent by the access network device and can send response information to the access network device. The response information can indicate that the session management network element allows the currently modified AMBR of the first access network device. Among them, in the layer 2 relay scenario, the session management network element is the session management network element of the second terminal device, and in the layer 3 relay scenario, the session management network element is the session management network element of the first terminal device.

[0183] 905. The access network device performs bandwidth control on the first session according to the modified AMBR.

[0184] In a specific implementation, the access network device receives the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management network element of the first terminal device or the session management network element of the second terminal device;

[0185] The access network device can also perform bandwidth control on the first session according to the modified AMBR.

[0186] Optionally, Figure 9 The method shown further includes: the access network device sends the available AMBR to the first terminal device.

[0187] The available AMBR sent by the access network device can be the latest available AMBR of the first terminal device, that is, the remaining amount of the UE-AMBR (UE granularity AMBR providing relay services) after the first terminal device accesses the first session. Among them, the AMBR of the first session can be modified or initially allocated.

[0188] For example, the relay UE-AMBR of the first terminal device (i.e., the UE granularity AMBR when the first terminal device provides relay services) is 10 Mbps, and the remaining available UE-AMBR before the first terminal device accesses the first session is 3 Mbps. Assume that the session-AMBR of the first session is 2 Mbps. Then, the remaining available UE-AMBR after the first terminal device accesses the first session is 1 Mbps. The access network device sends a message to the first terminal device, indicating that the remaining amount of the UE-AMBR for the first terminal device to provide terminal services is 1 Mbps.

[0189] Assume that the session-AMBR of the first session is 4 Mbps, exceeding the current remaining available UE-AMBR (3 Mbps). Then, the session-AMBR of the first session can be modified. For example, if the session-AMBR of the first session is modified to 1 Mbps, the remaining available UE-AMBR after the first terminal device accesses the first session is 2 Mbps. The access network device sends a message to the first terminal device, indicating that the remaining amount of the UE-AMBR for the first terminal device to provide terminal services is 2 Mbps.

[0190] After receiving the remaining available AMBR, the first terminal device can inform other terminals of the maximum bandwidth that it can currently support during the relay discovery process with other terminal devices.

[0191] Reference Figure 10 , the embodiment of the present application further provides a relay communication method. Different from the Figure 9 method shown, Figure 10 the provided relay communication method is only applicable to the layer 3 relay scenario. Among them, taking the first terminal device as the relay UE and the second terminal device as the remote UE as an example. The remote UE can access the network through the relay UE and establish a non-direct connection with the network. The relay UE can establish or update a PDU session to provide relay services for the remote UE. The RAN can modify the AMBR of the session according to the role of the UE. As Figure 10 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0192] 1001. The UDM / UDR configures the subscription information of the UE.

[0193] Among them, the subscription information of the UE includes the QoS parameters of the UE as a common UE and the QoS parameters of the UE as a Relay UE. For example, the UE-AMBR and / or Session-AMBR of the UE as a common UE; the relay UE-AMBR and / or relay Session-AMBR of the UE as a relay UE. It should be noted that the UE as a common UE can be understood as the UE not providing relay services.

[0194] The subscription information of the UE can be configured and stored by the UDM, or the UDM can store the subscription information of the UE in a unified data repository (UDR) network element. When other network elements request the subscription information of the UE from the UMD, the UDM directly sends the subscription information to that network element, or the UDM obtains the subscription information of the UE from the UDR and then sends the subscription information of the UE to that network element. When the subscription information of the user changes, the UDM can also notify the network elements subscribed to the UE subscription information of the changed UE subscription information. In a possible implementation, the UDM and the UDR can be deployed together.

[0195] 1002. The relay UE reports relay capability information to the AMF.

[0196] It should be noted that step 1002 is an optional step. The AMF is the AMF of the relay UE and provides services for the relay UE. The relay UE can send relay capability information to the AMF when registering to the network, or requesting network services, or during cell handover. The relay capability information indicates that the relay UE supports relay services and has the ability to provide relay services.

[0197] For example, the relay UE sends a registration request to the AMF, and the registration request includes the relay capability information of the relay UE.

[0198] 1003. The AMF obtains the subscription information of the relay UE from the UDM / UDR.

[0199] Among them, the subscription information of the relay UE includes the relay UE-AMBR. The relay UE-AMBR is the UE granularity AMBR when the relay UE provides relay services or when the relay UE is a relay device. Optionally, the subscription information obtained by the AMF from the UDM / UDR also includes the relay session-AMBR, that is, the session granularity AMBR when the UE is a relay device (or provides relay services).

[0200] 1004. The AMF sends the relay UE-AMBR in the relay UE subscription information to the RAN.

[0201] Specifically, the AMF can use the relay UE-AMBR as part of the relay UE context and send it to the base station (such as the RAN) serving the relay UE along with the N2 message when the relay UE executes a service request process, a registration process, or a base station handover process.

[0202] 1005. The remote UE discovers the relay UE.

[0203] For example, when the remote UE establishes a connection with the RAN and the communication quality of the Uu interface between the remote UE and the RAN cannot meet the communication requirements, or the remote UE is outside the network coverage area or in the connection management - idle (CM - IDLE) state, the remote UE can initiate a relay connection to the relay UE based on the relay discovery information pre - configured by the network side or the locally pre - configured relay discovery information to complete the relay discovery. Among them, the relay discovery information is used to establish a relay connection (for example, the direct connection between the remote UE and the relay UE can be a PC5 connection), including the authorization information for using the relay to connect to the network, the policy information for discovering the relay node, the spectrum information for relay communication, etc. The remote UE can obtain the identifier of the relay UE during the relay discovery process.

[0204] Optionally, the signaling exchanged between the remote UE and the relay UE during the relay discovery process can include the relay service traffic information or QoS requirements that need to be carried out, specifically as follows:

[0205] (1) The relay service traffic information can be the specific services that require the relay UE to access the cellular network for the remote UE, such as VR video forwarding service, Internet access service, Service ID or Application ID, etc. The relay service traffic information can also be the relay service code (RSC) pre - configured by the network side, or the DNN information.

[0206] (2) The QoS requirements can be the QoS parameters corresponding to the QoS requirements of the services that the remote UE needs to request. For example, PC5 QoS parameters and / or Uu QoS parameters. The PC5 QoS parameters are used to characterize the service quality requirements of the PC5 interface, and the Uu QoS parameters are used to characterize the service quality requirements of the Uu interface.

[0207] 1006. The relay UE initiates a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session change request.

[0208] In the layer 3 relay communication scenario, the remote UE needs to use the PDU session of the relay UE, so the relay UE establishes or changes the PDU session here. The session requested by the relay UE to establish or update can be referred to as the first session below.

[0209] Optionally, the PDU session establishment request or PDU session change request carries a relay service indication. The relay service indication is used to characterize that the relay UE will provide relay services for the remote UE. Based on the relay service indication, the role of the relay UE can be determined as a relay device. Among them, the relay service indication can be an explicit indication information, or a combination of a specific DNN and / or slice information (this combination is used to provide relay connection services).

[0210] The PDU session establishment request or PDU session change request may also include:

[0211] (1) A relay service code, which is used to indicate the UE-to-Network relay service. The relay service code can also indicate the specific relay service business content, such as the Service ID or Application ID or DNN or slice information of the relay service;

[0212] (2) PC5 QoS parameters. The PC5 QoS parameters can be the QoS parameters obtained during the relay discovery process between the remote UE and the relay UE.

[0213] 1007. The AMF forwards the PDU session establishment request or PDU session change request to the SMF.

[0214] 1008. The SMF obtains the subscription information of the relay UE from the UDM / UDR, including the relay session-AMBR of the relay UE.

[0215] Among them, the relay session-AMBR is the session granularity AMBR used when the relay UE provides relay services. The SMF can use the relay session-AMBR as the AMBR of the first session.

[0216] It should be noted that step 1008 is an optional step. The SMF can also obtain the relay session-AMBR through step 1009 and step 1010.

[0217] 1009. The SMF performs PCC rule update or session association policy information update through the PCF to obtain the relay session-AMBR.

[0218] In a specific implementation, the SMF instructs the PCF to perform PCC rule update or session association policy information update. In response to the instruction from the SMF, the PCF obtains user- or session-related subscription information from the UDM / UDR to generate or update the PCC rule or session association policy information. The PCF may also send the generated or updated PCC rule or session association policy information to the SMF, and the PCC rule or session association policy information includes relay session-AMBR. The SMF may use the relay session-AMBR therein as the AMBR of the first session.

[0219] It can be understood that the SMF either executes step 1008 to directly obtain the relay session-AMBR from the UDM / UDR, or executes step 1009 to obtain the relay session-AMBR through the PCF. If the SMF executes step 1009 after executing step 1008 and obtains the Relay Session-AMBR from the PCF, the SMF uses the Relay Session-AMBR obtained from the PCF as the AMBR value of the current session.

[0220] 1010. Modify the Session-AMBR according to the relay UE-AMBR.

[0221] Specifically, the RAN determines whether the currently available UE-AMBR meets the relay service requirements of the relay UE.

[0222] Optionally, the SMF sends third information to the RAN, and the third information is used to indicate that the first session is for transmitting data of the second terminal device, that is, to indicate that the first session is for relay service.

[0223] Exemplarily, the third information may be added to the N2 message sent by the SMF to the RAN to indicate that the PDU session is for relay service. After receiving the N2 message, the RAN may determine, according to the third information, that the AMBR of the PDU session is included in the overhead of the relay UE-AMBR. That is to say, the session-AMBR of the PDU session may be modified according to the relay UE-AMBR. When the remaining amount of the relay UE-AMBR does not meet the session-AMBR of the PDU session, the session-AMBR of the PDU session is modified.

[0224] For example, the RAN determines the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device based on the sum of the relay UE-AMBR and the session-AMBR of the current session of the first terminal device. In a layer 3 relay scenario, the current session can be the session for which the relay UE provides relay services, or the session for other services of the relay UE. The sessions for which the relay UE provides relay services include the session for which the relay UE provides relay services for the current remote UE, and the session for which the relay UE provides relay services for other remote devices. The session for which the relay UE provides relay services for the current remote UE is the PDU session established by the relay UE.

[0225] If the session-AMBR of the first session does not exceed the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, it is determined that the relay service requirement of the relay UE is met, and the session-AMBR of the first session is not modified; if the session-AMBR of the first session exceeds the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, it is determined that the relay service requirement of the relay UE is not met, and the session-AMBR of the first session needs to be modified. The RAN can modify the session-AMBR of the first session, or instruct the SMF of the relay UE to modify the session-AMBR of the first session. Optionally, the RAN can also send the currently available UE-AMBR of the relay UE (the remaining available AMBR of the UE-AMBR when acting as a relay device) to the SMF of the relay UE, so that the SMF of the relay UE can modify the session-AMBR of the first session according to the currently available UE-AMBR of the relay UE.

[0226] For example, the relay UE-AMBR is 10 Mbps, the sum of the session-AMBR of the current session of the first terminal device is 7 Mbps, and the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device is 3 (i.e., 10 - 7) Mbps. Assume that the session-AMBR of the first session obtained in step 1008 or 1009 is 4 Mbps, which is greater than the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, then the SMF of the relay UE is instructed to modify the session-AMBR of the first session.

[0227] 1011. After completing the PDU session establishment or update, the SMF sends a feedback message to the AMF.

[0228] The feedback message is used to indicate that the PDU session of the relay UE has been established or changed. Optionally, if the RAN instructs the SMF to modify the session-AMBR of the first session, the feedback message may include the session-AMBR after the SMF modification.

[0229] Alternatively, if the RAN modifies the session-AMBR of the first session, the feedback message may include response information indicating that the SMF supports (or agrees or permits) the session-AMBR modified by the RAN.

[0230] 1012. After receiving the feedback message from the SMF, the AMF forwards the feedback message to the RAN.

[0231] 1013. The RAN allocates radio resources for the relay UE through a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message.

[0232] In addition, the RRC configuration message may also include the UE-AMBR currently available to the relay UE.

[0233] Optionally, the RRC message may also include configuring an IP address for the remote UE and QoS parameters for PC5 communication, etc.

[0234] 1014. The relay UE sends remote UE report information to the SMF.

[0235] Specifically, the remote UE report information includes the user identifier (remote UE ID) of the remote UE and the allocated IP address and is sent to the SMF. In one possible implementation, the relay UE may send the remote UE report information to the SMF network element through the user plane UPF, or send the remote UE report information to the SMF through the AMF network element.

[0236] 1015. After receiving the remote UE report information, the SMF configures the IP address of the remote UE for the UPF network element.

[0237] In addition, the SMF sends the modified Session-AMBR of the first session to the UPF through an N4 configuration message.

[0238] 1016. The remote UE establishes a data communication connection with the application server through the relay UE.

[0239] Figure 10The method shown implements the layer 3 relay function. When the relay UE needs to perform relay service, the network side modifies the AMBR of the PDU session of the relay UE according to the relay UE-AMBR.

[0240] refer to Figure 11 The present application also provides a relay communication method. Figure 9 , Figure 10 The difference between the methods shown is that Figure 11 The method shown is only applicable to the layer 2 relay scenario. In this example, the first terminal device is a relay UE and the second terminal device is a remote UE. The remote UE can access the network through the relay UE and establish a non-direct connection with the network. The remote UE can establish or update a PDU session, and the relay UE provides relay services for the remote UE through the PDU session. The RAN can modify the AMBR of the session according to the role of the UE. Figure 11 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0241] Step 1101 to step 1105 are the same as above Figure 10 Steps 1001 to 1005 of the illustrated embodiment are not described in detail here.

[0242] 1106. The remote UE initiates a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session change request.

[0243] Specifically, after the remote UE establishes a PC5 connection with the relay UE, the remote UE sends a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session change request to the AMF of the remote UE through the relay UE and the RAN.

[0244] In addition, the remote UE can also send a relay service request to the AMF of the remote UE through a non-access stratum (NAS) message, requesting to establish a connection with the network through the relay.

[0245] In a possible implementation, the RAN can obtain the binding relationship between the remote UE and the relay UE. Specifically, the remote UE sends an RRC message to the RAN through the relay. After receiving the RRC message forwarded by the relay UE, the RAN forwards the NAS message in the RRC message to the AMF of the remote UE. At the same time, the RAN can obtain the identifier of the relay UE from the RRC message, thereby obtaining the binding relationship between the relay UE and the remote UE.

[0246] 1107. The AMF of the remote UE sends a PDU session establishment or PDU session change request to the SMF of the remote UE, and the SMF establishes or changes the PDU session for the remote UE according to this request.

[0247] It should be noted that the PDU session established or changed by the SMF for the remote UE according to this request is hereinafter referred to as the first session. The SMF of the remote UE can also obtain the session-AMBR of the remote UE from the UDM / UDR and use the session-AMBR of the remote UE as the session-AMBR of the first session.

[0248] The SMF of the remote UE can also send the session-AMBR of the first session to the AMF of the remote UE.

[0249] 1108. The AMF of the remote UE sends the session-AMBR of the first session to the RAN.

[0250] 1109. Optionally, the relay UE can initiate a QoS parameter change process to the RAN according to the PC5 service information or QoS parameters obtained during the relay discovery process to obtain the relay UE-AMBR of the relay UE.

[0251] The relay UE initiates a QoS parameter change process through a QoS parameter change request message. The QoS parameter change request message can carry a relay service indication, and the relay service indication is used to indicate that the relay UE will provide relay services. The RAN can obtain the subscription information of the UE as a relay device from the AMF of the relay UE according to the relay service indication, including the UE-AMBR of the UE as a relay device, that is, the relay UE-AMBR described in the embodiments of the present application. At the same time, the QoS parameter change request message can also carry relay service information or PC5 QoS requirements.

[0252] 1110. The RAN obtains the relay UE-AMBR of the relay UE from the AMF of the relay UE.

[0253] In a specific implementation, the RAN first determines whether the local configuration information includes the UE-AMBR of the relay UE for relay services. If it is not stored locally, the RAN requests the relay UE-AMBR from the AMF of the relay UE.

[0254] It should be noted that if the RAN does not obtain the relay UE-AMBR of the relay UE by executing step 1104, it will execute 1109 and 1110 to obtain the relay UE-AMBR of the relay UE.

[0255] 1111. The RAN determines whether the currently available UE-AMBR of the relay UE meets the relay service requirements of the remote UE.

[0256] Specifically, the RAN determines the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device based on the sum of the relay UE-AMBR and the session-AMBR of the current session of the first terminal device. In the layer 2 relay scenario, the current session can be the session for which the relay UE provides relay services. The sessions for which the relay UE provides relay services include the session for which the relay UE provides relay services for the current remote UE, and the sessions for which the relay UE provides relay services for other remote devices. The session for which the relay UE provides relay services for the current remote UE is the PDU session established by the remote UE.

[0257] If the session-AMBR of the first session does not exceed the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, it is determined that the relay service requirements of the remote UE are met, and the session-AMBR of the first session is not modified; if the session-AMBR of the first session exceeds the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, it is determined that the relay service requirements of the remote UE are not met, and the session-AMBR of the first session needs to be modified.

[0258] For example, the relay UE-AMBR is 10 Mbps, the sum of the session-AMBR of the current session of the first terminal device is 7 Mbps, and the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device is 3 (i.e., 10 - 7) Mbps. Assume that the session-AMBR of the first session obtained in step 1008 or 1009 is 4 Mbps, which is greater than the currently available UE-AMBR of the first terminal device, then the SMF of the remote UE is instructed to modify the session-AMBR of the first session. The RAN can also receive the modified session-AMBR from the SMF of the remote UE.

[0259] In a possible implementation, if the session-AMBR of the first session exceeds the UE-AMBR currently available to the first terminal device, the RAN sends radio resource feedback information to the SMF of the remote UE through the AMF of the remote UE. The radio resource feedback information is used to indicate the PDU sessions or QoS flows not supported by the RAN and the reasons (Cause) for non-support. Optionally, it may also include the session-AMBR currently supported by the relay UE, and the SMF of the remote UE can modify the session-AMBR of the first session based on the session-AMBR currently supported by the relay UE.

[0260] Among them, the radio resource feedback information may include the PDU session ID or QFI (QoS Flow Identifier), which is used to identify the PDU session or specific QoS flow that is not supported.

[0261] 1112. The RAN sends the modified session-AMBR of the first session to the relay UE.

[0262] 1113. The RAN sends the updated available UE-AMBR to the relay UE.

[0263] Step 1113 is an optional step. Specifically, after the SMF of the relay UE modifies the session-AMBR of the first session, the RAN can also update the UE-AMBR currently available to the first terminal device. For example, the relay UE-AMBR is 10 Mbps, the sum of the session-AMBRs of the current sessions of the first terminal device is 7 Mbps, and the UE-AMBR currently available to the first terminal device is 3 (i.e., 10 - 7) Mbps. The modified session-AMBR by the SMF is 2 Mbps. Then the UE-AMBR currently available to the first terminal device is updated to 1 Mbps (i.e., 3 - 2).

[0264] The RAN can also notify the relay UE of the currently available UE-AMBR through the RRC configuration message. When other remote UEs need to establish a UE-to-Network relay service with the relay UE, in the PC5 interaction signaling, the remote UE can send the relay service bandwidth requirement information to the relay UE, and the relay UE can determine whether it can meet the relay service requirements of the remote UE based on the currently available UE-AMBR.

[0265] 1114. The remote UE establishes a data communication connection with the application server through the relay UE.

[0266] Figure 11 The method shown implements the Layer 2 relay function. When the relay UE needs to perform the relay service, the network side modifies the AMBR of the PDU session of the remote UE according to the relay UE-AMBR.

[0267] In the case of dividing each function into corresponding function modules, Figure 12 A possible structural schematic diagram of the communication device involved in the above embodiment is shown. Figure 12 The communication device shown may be the access network device described in the embodiments of the present application, or a component in the access network device that implements the above method, or may also be a chip applied to the access network device. The chip may be a System-On-a-Chip (SOC) or a baseband chip with communication functions, etc. As Figure 12 shown, the communication device includes a processing unit 1201 and a communication unit 1202. The processing unit may be one or more processors, and the communication unit may be a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0268] The processing unit 1201 can be used to support the communication device to perform the processing actions in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it can execute Figures 9 to 11 the processing actions performed by the access network device in. For example, it can be used to support the access network device to execute step 901, step 904, and step 905, or step 1010, step 1111, and / or other processes of the technology described herein.

[0269] The communication unit 1202 is used to support the communication between the access network device and other communication devices. Specifically, it can execute Figures 9 to 11 the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the access network device in. For example, it supports the access network device to execute one or more of step 903, step 1004, and step 1012, and / or other processes of the technology described herein.

[0270] It should be noted that all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be cited in the function descriptions of the corresponding function modules, and will not be repeated here.

[0271] As Figure 13 shown, the communication device may further include a storage unit 1203, and the storage unit 1203 is used to store the program code and / or data of the communication device.

[0272] The processing unit 1201 may include at least one processor, the communication unit 1202 may be a transceiver or a communication interface, and the storage unit 1203 may include a memory.

[0273] In the case of dividing each function into corresponding function modules,Figure 14 A possible schematic structural diagram of the communication device involved in the above embodiments is shown. Figure 14 The shown communication device may be the access and mobility management network element described in the embodiments of the present application, or a component in the access and mobility management network element that implements the above method, or a chip applied to the access and mobility management network element. The chip may be a system-on-a-chip (SOC) or a baseband chip with communication functions, etc. As Figure 14 shown, the communication device includes a processing unit 1401 and a communication unit 1402. The processing unit 1401 may be one or more processors, and the communication unit 1402 may be a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0274] The processing unit 1401 can be used to support the communication device to execute the processing actions in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it can execute Figures 9 to 11 the processing actions performed by the access and mobility management network element. For example, it is used to support the access and mobility management network element to obtain the subscription information of the UE as a relay device, including the UE-AMBR of the UE as a relay device, and / or other processes for the technologies described herein.

[0275] The communication unit 1402 is used to support the communication between the access and mobility management network element and other communication devices. Specifically, it can execute Figures 9 to 11 the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the access and mobility management network element. For example, it supports the access and mobility management network element to execute step 1007, step 1010, and / or other processes for the technologies described herein.

[0276] It should be noted that all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be cited in the function descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, and will not be elaborated here.

[0277] As Figure 15 shown, the communication device may further include a storage unit 1403, and the storage unit 1403 is used to store the program code and data of the communication device.

[0278] The processing unit 1401 may include at least one processor, the communication unit 1402 may be a transceiver or a communication interface, and the storage unit 1403 may include at least one memory.

[0279] It should be noted that in the above embodiments of each communication device, each unit may also be correspondingly referred to as a module, a component, a circuit, etc.

[0280] The embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium, and instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium; the instructions are used to execute as Figure 9 or Figure 10 orFigure 11 The method shown

[0281] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when running on a communication device, causes the communication device to execute as Figure 9 or Figure 10 or Figure 11 The method shown

[0282] An embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication device, including: instructions are stored in the wireless communication device; when the wireless communication device runs on the communication device as shown in Figure 8a , Figure 8b , Figures 12 to 15 , it causes the communication device to execute as Figure 9 or Figure 10 or Figure 11 The method shown. The wireless communication device may be a chip.

[0283] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and conciseness of description, only the above division of each functional module is used as an example. In practical applications, the above functions can be allocated to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the communication device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0284] The processor in the embodiment of the present application may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., various computing devices that run software, and each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing. The processor may be a single semiconductor chip or may be integrated with other circuits into a semiconductor chip. For example, it may form a system on chip (SoC) with other circuits (such as codec circuits, hardware acceleration circuits, or various bus and interface circuits), or may also be integrated as an internal processor of an ASIC in the ASIC. The ASIC integrated with the processor may be separately packaged or may also be packaged together with other circuits. In addition to the cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing, the processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a logic circuit for implementing dedicated logical operations.

[0285] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or it may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0286] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more. "Multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or multiple items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. Additionally, for the convenience of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit to being different.

[0287] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed database access device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the database access device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection to each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection of the database access device or unit can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0288] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed to multiple different places. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0289] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, the functional units can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0290] If the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of this technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks or optical discs that can store program codes.

[0291] As described above, the above are only the specific implementation manners of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A relay communication method, characterized in that, it includes: The access network device obtains the aggregated maximum bit rate AMBR of the first session and the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services from the access mobility management entity; the first session is used to transmit data of the second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device of the second terminal device; The access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The access network device obtains the AMBR of the first session from the access mobility management entity, including: If the first session is a session of the first terminal device, the access network device receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management entity of the first terminal device through the access mobility management entity of the first terminal device; or, If the first session is a session of the second terminal device, the access network device receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management entity of the second terminal device through the access mobility management entity of the second terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The access network device obtains the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services from the access mobility management entity, including: Receiving the UE granularity AMBR sent by the access mobility management entity of the first terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR, including: If the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the access network device sends a first message to the session management entity of the first terminal device through the access mobility management entity of the first terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the first message is used to request the session management entity of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; Receiving the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management entity of the first terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The access network device modifies the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR, including: If the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, the access network device sends a second message to the session management entity of the second terminal device through the access mobility management entity of the second terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the second message is used to request the session management entity of the second terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; Receiving the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management entity of the second terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: The access network device performs bandwidth control on the first session according to the AMBR after modification of the first session.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, the method further includes: The access network device updates the available AMBR of the first terminal device according to the AMBR after modification of the first session.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the method further includes: Sending the available AMBR of the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the method further includes: Receiving third information from a session management network element, where the third information is used to indicate that the first session is for transmitting data of a second terminal device.

10. A relay communication method, wherein, it includes: An access mobile management network element obtains the user equipment (UE) granularity aggregated maximum bit rate (AMBR) for which the first terminal device provides relay service; The access mobile management network element sends the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay service to the access network device of the first terminal device; the UE granularity AMBR is used to modify the AMBR of the first session, and the first session is for transmitting data of a second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device for the second terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the method further includes: The access mobile management network element receives relay capability information from the first terminal device; the relay capability information is used to characterize that the first terminal device supports relay service.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, the access mobile management network element obtaining the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay service includes: The access mobile management network element obtains the subscription information of the first terminal device from a user data management network element or a unified data storage network element, and the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay service.

13. A communication device, wherein, it includes: A processing unit, configured to obtain the aggregated maximum bit rate (AMBR) of the first session and the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay service; the first session is for transmitting data of a second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device for the second terminal device; The processing unit is further configured to modify the AMBR of the first session according to the UE granularity AMBR.

14. The communication device according to claim 13, wherein, If the first session is a session of the first terminal device, the processing unit receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management network element of the first terminal device through the access mobile management network element of the first terminal device; If the first session is a session of the second terminal device, the processing unit receives the AMBR of the first session sent by the session management network element of the second terminal device through the access mobile management network element of the second terminal device.

15. The communication device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, the communication device further comprises a communication unit, wherein the communication unit is configured to receive the UE granularity AMBR sent by the access and mobility management entity of the first terminal device.

16. The communication device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, the communication device comprises a communication unit, wherein the communication unit is configured to, if the processing unit determines that the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, send a first message to the session management entity of the first terminal device through the access and mobility management entity of the first terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the first message is used to request the session management entity of the first terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; receive the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management entity of the first terminal device.

17. The communication device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, the communication device comprises a communication unit, if the processing unit determines that the AMBR of the first session is greater than the available AMBR of the first terminal device, send a second message to the session management entity of the second terminal device through the access and mobility management entity of the second terminal device; the available AMBR is the difference between the UE granularity AMBR and the AMBR occupied by the session, and the second message is used to request the session management entity of the second terminal device to modify the AMBR of the first session; receive the modified AMBR of the first session from the session management entity of the second terminal device.

18. The communication device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, the processing unit is further configured to perform bandwidth control on the first session according to the modified AMBR of the first session.

19. The communication device according to claim 18, characterized in that, the processing unit is configured to update the available AMBR of the first terminal device according to the modified AMBR of the first session; the communication device further comprises a communication unit, and the communication unit is configured to send the updated available AMBR of the first terminal device to the first terminal device.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, comprising: a processing unit, which obtains the UE granularity aggregated maximum bit rate (AMBR) of the user equipment (UE) for which the first terminal device provides relay service; a communication unit, which sends the UE granularity AMBR of the first terminal device providing relay service to the access network device of the first terminal device; the UE granularity AMBR is used to modify the AMBR of the first session, the first session is used to transmit data of the second terminal device, and the first terminal device is a relay device of the second terminal device.

21. The communication device according to claim 20, characterized in that, the communication unit is further configured to receive relay capability information from the first terminal device; the relay capability information is used to characterize that the first terminal device supports relay service.

22. The communication device according to claim 20 or 21, wherein, the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain the subscription information of the first terminal device from a user data network element or a unified data storage network element, and the subscription information of the first terminal device includes the UE granularity AMBR for which the first terminal device provides relay services.

23. A communication device, wherein, it includes a processor, and the processor is coupled to a memory; a memory for storing a computer program; a processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory, so that the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, it includes a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is run by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is executed.

25. A computer program product, wherein, the computer program product includes an instruction, and when the instruction is run, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is executed.

26. A chip, wherein, the chip includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction, so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is executed.

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