Configuration of small data transfer

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the configuration of small data transmission (SDT) of (multiple) streams. A first device determines a transmission configuration associated with at least one stream from a first device to a second device. The transmission configuration indicates whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for at least one stream. If data associated with a stream in at least one stream is to be transmitted, the first device determines whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on the transmission configuration, and transmits the data associated with the stream to the second device based on the result of the determination. Through this solution, more refined control of SDT can be achieved at the stream level, which can improve the control of the quality of service of individual streams.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for configuration of small data transmissions. Background Art

[0002] In some communication systems, a terminal device may transition between an inactive state and a connected state. In the inactive state, the terminal device may not have established a connection with a network device for communication. In order to avoid unnecessary signaling overhead and power consumption for establishing or reestablishing a connection, it has been agreed to support small data transmission (SDT) for terminal devices in an inactive state without requiring the terminal device to establish a connection with the network device. However, currently, there is no specific solution for data transmission of terminal devices in an inactive state. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for the configuration of small data transmission. Embodiments that do not belong to the scope of the claims, if any, shall be construed as examples that are helpful for understanding the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the first device, together with the at least one processor, to: determine a transmission configuration associated with at least one stream from the first device to a second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream; determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on the transmission configuration according to a determination that data associated with a stream in the at least one stream is to be transmitted; and transmit data associated with the stream to the second device based on the result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the second device, together with the at least one processor, to: transmit configuration information to a first device, the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration related to at least one stream from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream; and receive data associated with a stream in the at least one stream from the first device, the data associated with the stream being received from the first device based on the transmission configuration.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes determining, at a first device, a transmission configuration associated with at least one stream from the first device to a second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream; determining, based on a determination that data associated with a stream in the at least one stream is to be transmitted, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on the transmission configuration; and transmitting data associated with the stream to the second device based on a result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes transmitting configuration information at a second device to a first device, the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration related to at least one stream from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream; and receiving data associated with a stream in the at least one stream from the first device, the data associated with the stream being received from the first device based on the transmission configuration.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes a component for the following operations: determining a transmission configuration related to at least one stream from the first device to a second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream; determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on the transmission configuration according to a determination that data associated with a stream in the at least one stream is to be transmitted; and transmitting data associated with the stream to the second device based on a result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes a component for the following operations: transmitting configuration information to a first device, the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration related to at least one stream from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not for the at least one stream; and receiving data associated with a stream in the at least one stream from the first device, the data associated with the stream being received from the first device based on the transmission configuration.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a computer readable medium is provided, wherein the computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method according to the third aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a computer readable medium is provided, wherein the computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0012] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to determine the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 2 An exemplary flow-based architecture for communication between devices is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 shows a signaling flow for configuring SDT for (multiple) flows according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a network device according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various other ways except for the way described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment" indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, those skilled in the art believe that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0026] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one, more, or all of the following:

[0028] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0029] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0030] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0031] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)), software and memory(s) with software that work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0032] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), which requires software (e.g., firmware)

[0033] The software can be saved when no operation is needed.

[0034] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0035] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-a), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node (such as a femto, a pico), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0037] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop vehicle-mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0038] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block (PRB)", "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, code domain resources, or any other resource that enables communication. In the following, resources in both the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0039] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices including a first device 110 and a second device 120 may communicate with each other.

[0040] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , the first device 110 is shown as a terminal device, and the second device 120 is shown as a network device serving the terminal device. The service area of ​​the second device 120 may be referred to as a cell 102 .

[0041] It should be understood that Figure 1The number of devices shown and their connections are for illustration purposes only, without any limitation. Environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more additional devices may be located in cell 102, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in environment 100. It should be noted that, although shown as a network device, the second device 120 may be a device other than a network device. Although shown as a terminal device, the first device 110 may be a device other than a terminal device.

[0042] In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmission (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a reception (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0043] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), and fifth generation (5G), wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, communications may utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0044] The 3GPP working group has introduced a new feature called an inactive state. A device (e.g., a terminal device) can transition between an inactive state and a connected state. The inactive state may sometimes be referred to as an inactive mode, an RRC_INACTIVE state, or an inactive state in an RRC_CONNECTED mode, and such terms are used interchangeably herein. The connected state may sometimes be referred to as a connected mode or an RRC_CONNECTED state, and such terms are used interchangeably herein.

[0045] In the inactive state, the terminal device does not have any dedicated resources (eg, time and frequency resources) for transmission and / or reception. In the connected state, a connection is established between the terminal device and the network device, and thus the terminal device can perform normal communication with the network device via the connection.

[0046] As described above, there is a certain amount of signaling overhead and power consumption to transition a terminal device from an inactive state to a connected state by establishing or reestablishing a connection between the terminal device and a network device. If connection establishment and subsequent release occurs for every data transmission from an inactive terminal device, no matter how small and how frequent the data packets are, unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead may result. Therefore, if the terminal device has intermittent small data packets to transmit, it makes sense to allow transmission data to and / or from an inactive terminal device. It has been agreed to support small data transmission (SDT) for inactive terminal devices without the need for the terminal device to establish a connection with a network device. As used herein, the term "SDT" refers to a type of transmission in which a small amount of data is triggered, although other terms may also be used.

[0047] There are various applications involving the exchange of relatively small amounts of data. For example, in some applications on mobile devices, SDT may include services from instant messaging (IM) services, heartbeat or keep-alive services from IM or email clients and other services, push notifications in various applications, services from wearable devices (including, for example, periodic location information), etc. In some applications on non-mobile devices, SDT may include sensor data (e.g., temperature, pressure readings transmitted periodically or in an event-triggered manner in an IoT network), metering and alarm information sent from smart meters, etc.

[0048] Signaling overhead for small data packets from inactive terminal devices is a common problem, not only for network performance and efficiency, but also for UE battery performance. In general, any device that is active with intermittent small data packets will benefit from enabling SDT. In some example embodiments, SDT may be enabled using a message sent in a random access channel (RACH) procedure and / or may be enabled using a configured grant.

[0049] In a communication system, communication between different devices may be supported based on flows (e.g., Quality of Service (QoS) flows). QoS refers to a technology used to smoothly transmit various types of services (email, data transmission, voice, or image) to users according to their characteristics. The most basic QoS parameters are bandwidth, cell transmission delay (CTD), cell delay variation (CDV), or cell loss rate (CLR). In some example embodiments, QoS flows may include QoS flows that require guaranteed flow bit rates (referred to as GBR QoS flows) and QoS flows that do not require guaranteed flow bit rates (referred to as non-GBR QoS flows).

[0050] Figure 2 shows a method for connecting devices (e.g., Figure 1 An exemplary flow-based architecture 200 for communication between a first device 110 and a second device 120 in FIG. 10A and FIG. 11B is an exemplary flow-based architecture 200 for communication between a first device 110 and a second device 120 in FIG. 10B . For the first device 110, one or more sessions for communication may be established. Figure 2 In the example architecture 200 of FIG. 1 , a session 210 is shown between the first device 110 and the second device 120, although it should be understood that one or more other sessions may also be established. The session 210 may be a packet data unit (PDU) session.

[0051] Together with the session 210, at least one data radio bearer (DRB) is established to transmit data packets from the first device 110 to the second device 120. Figure 2 In the example of FIG. 2 , DRB 220 - 1 and DRB 220 - 2 are shown to be established for session 210. For ease of discussion, DRB 220 - 1 and DRB 220 - 2 are collectively or individually referred to as DRB 220. Although Figure 2 Two DRBs are explicitly described in FIG. 1 , but in other examples, there may be one or more than two DRBs.

[0052] In a session, one or more flows are established for data packet transmission. Data packets with different characteristics can be identified as belonging to different flows. Therefore, a flow is the finest granularity of QoS differentiation in a session. Flows in a session are identified by an identifier (ID). For example, a QoS flow is identified by a QoS flow ID (QFI). Therefore, in a session, different flows can have unique identifiers.

[0053] To ensure quality of service, such as reliability and latency, data can be mapped to appropriate flows and DRBs. Therefore, there is a two-step mapping from data packets to flows and from flows to DRBs. Figure 2As shown in the example of FIG. 2 , flows 230-1 and 230-2 are mapped to DRB 220-1, and flows 230-3 and 230-4 are mapped to DRB 220-2. For ease of discussion, flows 230-1, 230-2, 230-3, and 230-4 are collectively or individually referred to as flows 230. In the case of using QoS to distinguish flows, flow 230 may also be referred to as a QoS flow. It is understood that although Figure 2 A specific number of flows is explicitly described in , but in other examples, a different number of flows may be mapped to corresponding DRBs.

[0054] A DRB 220 may define data packet processing over a radio interface (Uu). A DRB 220 serves packets with the same packet forwarding processing. In some example embodiments, flow-to-DRB mapping by the NG-RAN may be based on the identity of the flow and the associated QoS profile (i.e., QoS parameters and QoS characteristics). In some example embodiments, separate DRBs 220 may be established for flows 230 that require different packet forwarding processing, or several flows 230 belonging to the same session may be multiplexed in the same DRB 220.

[0055] In some example embodiments, the flow-to-DRB mapping may be configured by explicit signaling from the second device 120 to the first device 110, or implicitly configured via reflective mapping (also referred to as reflective QoS (RQoS)). Using reflective mapping, the first device 110 may derive a flow-to-DRB mapping for communications from the first device 110 to the second device 120 based on information available in communications in the reverse direction. For example, for DRB 220, the first device 110 monitors the (multiple) identifiers of the (multiple) flows indicated in packets received from the second device 120. The first device 110 may then apply the same mapping to flows from the first device 110 to the second device 120. That is, for DRB 220, the first device 110 maps flows corresponding to the identifiers and sessions observed in received packets for that DRB. For example, if a packet of DRB 220-1 received from second device 120 indicates an identity of a flow from second device 120, flow 230-1 of first device 110 identified by the same identity may be mapped to DRB 220-1 according to the reflection mapping.

[0056] In some example embodiments, a default DRB may be configured for session 210. If a flow matches neither an explicit configuration nor a reflected mapping, the flow may be mapped to a default DRB, and data associated with the flow may be transmitted via the default DRB.

[0057] Since the number of flows to be processed is usually very high, it is rarely possible to explicitly configure the flow-to-DRB mapping rules in advance. With reflective mapping, the allocation of DRBs between flows can still be controlled by the network, but the explicit control signaling used to configure the mapping is limited. Control plane latency can also be reduced. In addition, by allowing unconfigured flows to be mapped to default DRBs, the network allows the following operating modes: where 1) a default DRB with a radio protocol configured to provide default QoS is used to carry a large amount of traffic; and 2) only flows with specific requirements are dynamically (re)mapped to dedicated DRBs when they appear, without involving control signaling. This greatly reduces the amount of signaling required and reduces control plane latency.

[0058] Since SDT may suffer from data loss (e.g., upon cell reselection following an SDT transmission), it is undesirable to use SDT for all communications in a stream-based architecture. Currently, there is no specific solution for configuring SDT for a stream-based architecture between devices. The inventors have found that since the number of streams to be processed is typically very high, the SDT of the streams needs to be carefully controlled. Therefore, a solution is needed to improve the handling of small data transmissions in a stream-based architecture.

[0059] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for configuring SDT on a per-flow basis is provided. According to the solution, a first device (e.g., a terminal device) can determine a transmission configuration associated with one or more corresponding flows from the first device to a second device (e.g., a network device). The transmission configuration is used to configure SDT on a per-flow basis to indicate whether the SDT mode is allowed or not for one or more corresponding flows. Depending on the transmission configuration, the first device is able to determine whether data associated with the flow is allowed to be transmitted to the second device in SDT mode. The second device can control the SDT of the flow transmitted from the first device by sending a transmission configuration to the first device or sending other information to the first device to configure the SDT and the transmission configuration determined by the first device itself. Through this solution, more refined control of SDT can be achieved at the flow level, which can improve the control of the QoS of individual flows.

[0060] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] Reference now Figure 3 , Figure 3 A signaling flow 300 for configuring SDT for a flow (or flows) according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 The communication environment 100 and Figure 2The signaling flow 300 is described based on the flow-based architecture 200 in FIG. The signaling flow 300 involves the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0062] In operation, the first device 110 determines 305 a transmission configuration associated with one or more flows 230 from the first device 110 to the second device 120. For example, the flow 230 may include a QoS flow. The transmission configuration may indicate whether the SDT mode is allowed or not allowed for the one or more flows 230. Such a transmission configuration may also be referred to as a transmission configuration of the SDT or an SDT configuration for configuring the SDT on a per-flow basis.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration of the SDT used by the first device 110 may be transmitted in part or in whole from the second device 120. In such example embodiments, the second device 120 transmits 310 to the first device 110 configuration information indicating at least a portion of the transmission configuration, such as Figure 3 As shown. When the first device 110 is in a connected state and has a connection established with the second device 120, the configuration information may be transmitted. The second device 120 may control the small data transmission of the first device 110 by providing the configuration information. The configuration information may be transmitted from the second device 120 via dedicated signaling (e.g., via radio resource control (RRC) signaling). The configuration information may also be transmitted via other types of signaling (such as broadcast signaling) (e.g., through (multiple) system information blocks (SIBs)).

[0064] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration of the SDT used by first device 110 may be partially or fully specified in first device 110. In this case, first device 110 may determine how to configure the SDT for one or more flows without increasing signaling from second device 120.

[0065] Through the transmission configuration, the first device 110 is able to make decisions about SDT at the flow level. In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 is in an inactive state, the transmission configuration can be used to make decisions about SDT. Specifically, the first device 110 determines whether data associated with any flow 230 is to be transmitted, for example, whether the data is buffered in the data buffer of the flow. If it is found that the data associated with the flow 230 is to be transmitted, the first device 110 determines 315 whether the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230 based on the transmission configuration. For any flow 230 from the first device 110 to the second device 120, the first device 110 can make similar decisions at the flow level.

[0066] For the flow 230 for which the SDT mode is allowed, the data associated with the flow 230 can be transmitted from the first device 110 in the SDT mode, for example, when the first device 110 is in an inactive state, or at least the flow 230 can trigger the SDT mode transmission process from the first device 110. For the flow 230 for which the SDT mode is not allowed, the data associated with the flow can be transmitted without using the SDT mode but using a conventional connection mode. In this case, if the first device 110 is in an inactive state, it can switch to a connection state by resuming the connection with the second device 120 and transmit data via the connection.

[0067] In some example embodiments, any suitable layer in the first device, such as a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), or even a higher (e.g., a Non-Access Stratum (NAS)) layer, may be used to trigger the SDT or normal connection mode. In some example embodiments, when data associated with the flow arrives at a buffer for the flow, the RRC layer may be indicated, for example, via PDCP or SDAP, whether the SDT mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow 230, or whether the RRC layer should trigger the SDT procedure or the connection recovery procedure.

[0068] The transmission configuration may be defined in various ways to control the SDT of the respective flow(s) from the first device 110 to the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration may indicate one or more IDs or one or more ID ranges (also referred to as identification spaces) of flows that are allowed or not allowed for the SDT mode.

[0069] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may receive configuration information from second device 120, the configuration information including one or more IDs of flows marked as allowed for SDT mode, one or more IDs of flows marked as not allowed for SDT mode, one or more ID ranges of flows marked as allowed for SDT mode, and / or one or more ID ranges of flows marked as not allowed for SDT mode. Second device 120 may control the transmission configuration of SDT by explicitly indicating the IDs of flows allowed or not allowed for SDT mode via the configuration information.

[0070] The first device 110 may maintain a list of IDs and / or ID ranges of flows that are allowed or not allowed for SDT. If a flow 230 is found to have data to be transmitted while the first device 110 is in an inactive state, the first device 110 may determine whether the ID of the flow 230 matches the maintained ID or ID range to determine whether the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230. In some example embodiments, if the ID of the flow 230 matches the ID of a flow marked as allowed for SDT mode, or if the ID of the flow 230 falls within the ID range of flows marked as allowed for SDT mode, the first device 110 determines that the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230. In some example embodiments, if the ID of flow 230 does not match any specific ID of a flow marked as allowed or any range of IDs of flows, or if the ID of flow 230 matches an ID of a flow marked as not allowed for SDT mode or falls within a range of IDs of flows marked as not allowed for SDT mode, then first device 110 determines that SDT mode is not allowed for flow 230.

[0071] In some example embodiments, one or more IDs and / or ID ranges of a flow may identify a flow 230 that is mapped to the same DRB 220 or the same session 210. Due to the flexible per-flow configuration, multiple flows 230 mapped to the same DRB 220 or the same session 210 may each be configured to be allowed or not allowed for SDT mode. Figure 2 In some examples, it is also possible to configure the difference in SDT mode for the same DRB or the same session at the granularity of the ID range of the flow.

[0072] In some example embodiments, if (multiple) flows 230 are mapped to the same session 210 or the same DRB 220 that are not explicitly configured by the second device 120 as allowed for SDT mode, they may be considered not allowed for SDT mode; vice versa, one or more flows 230 may be explicitly configured as not allowed for SDT mode, and thus all other flows 230 may be determined to be allowed for SDT mode.

[0073] In some cases, a session 210 or a DRB 220 established between the first device 110 and the second device 120 may be configured to be allowed or not allowed for SDT. In this case, the per-stream configuration proposed in the present disclosure may still allow for finer control of SDT. In particular, if the session 210 or the DRB 220 is configured to be allowed for SDT mode, data associated with (multiple) disallowed streams may not be transmitted using the SDT mode. In this way, even if the first device 110 has only one DRB for a session with the second device 120, the transmission configuration of different streams may be flexibly controlled in terms of small data transmission.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration may indicate whether the SDT mode is allowed or not allowed for a new flow mapped to a default DRB established between the first device 110 and the second device 120. The transmission configuration may be indicated by the second device 120 through configuration information, or may be specified in the first device 110.

[0075] Based on the transmission configuration associated with the new flow, when determining whether the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230 having associated data to be transmitted, the first device 110 can determine whether there is a stored flow-to-DRB mapping rule for the flow 230. The flow-to-DRB mapping rule for a particular flow stored at the first device 110 can indicate that the particular flow was previously mapped to a DRB (e.g., before the first device 100 switched to an inactive state). The mapping of a particular flow to a DRB can be performed according to an explicit configuration, a reflected mapping from the second device 120, or according to a default rule that requires any flow that does not match the explicit configuration and the reflected mapping to be mapped to a default DRB.

[0076] If no mapping rule of a stream to a DRB is stored for a stream 230 that currently has associated data to be transmitted, it indicates that the stream 230 is a new stream and the data associated with the new stream may not have been previously transmitted to the second device 120. In this case, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is not allowed for the new stream 230 according to the transmission configuration associated with the new stream. Alternatively, in this case, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is allowed for the stream 230 according to the transmission configuration associated with the new stream. In some example embodiments, if no mapping rule of a stream to a DRB is stored for a stream 230 that currently has associated data to be transmitted, the first device 110 may switch to a connected state by resuming the connection with the second device 120 and transmit the data associated with the stream 230 via the connection.

[0077] In some example embodiments, if the default DRB is configured as a DRB allowed for SDT (referred to as an SDT-DRB), the transmission configuration associated with the new stream may be activated for use. Compared to the traditional solution of allowing any new stream mapped to the default SDT-DRB to utilize the SDT mode, the transmission configuration proposed in the present disclosure can control the transmission of small data for new streams that do not have a valid mapping when the first device 110 is switched to an inactive state. By preventing new streams from being mapped to the SDT-DRB, streams that are unknown to the second device 120 may not be allowed to use the SDT mode. In this way, it is possible to avoid a critical data session from being exposed to the uncertainty of data loss that may be introduced by SDT. It should be understood that in other example embodiments, regardless of whether the default DRB is configured as an SDT-DRB, the transmission configuration associated with the new stream may be applicable for use.

[0078] In some example embodiments, additionally or alternatively, the transmission configuration may indicate the allowance or disallowance of the SDT mode on a per-session basis, for example, on a per-PDU session basis. Specifically, the transmission configuration may indicate whether SDT is allowed or not allowed for a session 210 (e.g., a PDU session) established between the first device 110 and the second device 120. In an example embodiment, such a transmission configuration may be indicated by the second device 120 through configuration information.

[0079] In an example embodiment, if the transmission configuration indicates that SDT is allowed for a certain session 210, all flows mapped to the session 210 are allowed to be transmitted using the SDT mode. Therefore, for any flow 230 that currently has associated data to be transmitted, if it is determined that the flow 230 belongs to an allowed session 210, the first device 110 can determine that the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230.

[0080] In an example embodiment, if the transmission configuration indicates that SDT is not allowed for a certain session 210, all flows mapped to the session 210 are not allowed to be transmitted using the SDT mode. In this case, if it is determined that the flow 230 belongs to the not allowed session 210, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is not allowed for the flow 230.

[0081] In some example embodiments, additionally or alternatively, the transmission configuration may indicate a restriction criterion for the allowance of the SDT mode in the remapping of the stream 230 between the DRBs 220. The restriction criterion may be indicated by the second device 120 through configuration information, or may be specified in the first device 110.

[0082] The second device 120 can configure the SDT by controlling the remapping of the flow 230 via the reflection mapping, which can save signaling overhead. For example, using the reflection mapping, the second device 120 can transmit information to the first device 110 indicating that a specific ID of the flow from the second device 120 is mapped to the second DRB 220. If the flow 230 identified by the specific ID indicated from the second device 120 is mapped to a different first DRB 220, the first device 110 can determine that the flow 230 needs to be remapped to the second DRB 220.

[0083] After remapping of flow 230 from the first DRB to the second DRB, the restriction criteria indicated by the transport configuration may be used to determine whether the SDT mode is still allowed or not allowed for flow 230 after the remapping. In some example embodiments, the restriction criteria may indicate that the allowing or not allowing of the SDT mode is limited to flows, DRBs, or both flows and DRBs.

[0084] Specifically, the permission of the SDT mode is limited only to the flow, which means that the permission of the SDT mode remains valid at the flow level. In other words, in the case where the flow 230 is remapped from the first DRB to the second DRB, if the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230 when the flow 230 is mapped to the first DRB, then after the flow 230 is remapped to the second DRB, the SDT mode is still allowed for the flow 230, regardless of whether the second DRB is configured to not allow SDT. In other examples, if the SDT mode is not allowed for the flow 230 when the flow 230 is mapped to the first DRB, then after the flow 230 is remapped to the second DRB, the SDT mode is also not allowed.

[0085] Similarly, if the permission of the SDT mode is restricted to DRBs, whether the SDT mode is allowed for flow 230 after remapping depends on whether the SDT mode is allowed for the second DRB to which flow 230 is remapped. For example, if the SDT mode is allowed for transmission through the second DRB (which means that the second DRB is an SDT-DRB), flow 230 may also be allowed to transmit using the SDT mode after being remapped to the second DRB. In another example, if flow 230 is remapped from an SDT-DRB to a non-SDT-DRB (for which the SDT mode is not allowed), flow 230 also becomes not allowed for the SDT mode. In this case, the remapping can automatically update the list of allowed flows for the SDT.

[0086] In other examples, if the permission of the SDT mode is restricted to both flows and DRBs, if flow 230 is allowed to use the SDT mode during its mapping to the first DRB, and the SDT mode is also allowed for the second DRB, then after remapping, the SDT mode is allowed for flow 230. If flow 230 is not allowed to use the SDT mode or the second DRB is configured not to be allowed to use the SDT mode, then after remapping, the SDT mode is also not allowed for the flow.

[0087] In operation, in order to determine whether the SDT mode is allowed for flow 230 after flow 230 is remapped to the second DRB, the first device 110 can determine based on the restriction criteria: whether the SDT mode is allowed for flow 230 when the flow is mapped to the first DRB, and / or whether the SDT mode is allowed for transmission through the second DRB.

[0088] In some example embodiments, additionally or alternatively, the transmission configuration may indicate one or more corresponding trigger conditions for triggering the SDT mode for one or more flows 230 from the first device 110 to the second device 120. In some examples, the trigger condition may be configured on a per-flow basis or on a per-DRB basis. The corresponding trigger condition may be specific to one flow 230 or specific to one or more flows mapped to a particular DRB 220. The first device 110 may utilize the trigger condition specific to the flow 230 to determine whether the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230. If the trigger condition is satisfied for the flow 230, the SDT mode is determined to be allowed for the flow 230.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the trigger condition may include a data volume threshold. The data volume threshold may be used to control the corresponding data size of the stream 230 that can be transmitted in the SDT mode. When determining whether the SDT mode is allowed for the stream 230 having associated data to be transmitted, the first device 110 may determine whether the amount of the associated data is below a data volume threshold specific to the stream 230. If the amount of data associated with the stream is below the data volume threshold, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is allowed for the stream 230. Otherwise, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is not allowed for the stream 230.

[0090] Alternatively or additionally, the trigger condition may include a channel quality threshold. The channel quality threshold may be measured as a threshold of reference signal received power (RSRP), a threshold of reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and / or other factors reflecting the channel quality between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0091] The channel quality threshold may be used to control the corresponding acceptable channel quality for transmission of the stream 230 in the SDT mode. When determining whether the SDT mode is allowed for the stream 230 having associated data to be transmitted, the first device 110 may determine whether the channel quality between the first device 110 and the second device exceeds a channel quality threshold specific to the stream 230. If the channel quality exceeds the channel quality threshold, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is allowed for the stream 230. Otherwise, the first device 110 may determine that the SDT mode is not allowed for the stream 230 because the current channel quality is not satisfactory.

[0092] In the above example embodiments, the trigger conditions (such as the data volume threshold and the channel quality threshold of the corresponding flow) can be configured by the second device 120. By configuring the trigger conditions, the second device 120 can control the SDT configured for the flow, thereby protecting a certain critical data session from being exposed to data loss when transmitting using the SDT mode.

[0093] Some example embodiments related to transmission configuration have been discussed above. The transmission configurations discussed in different example embodiments may be used in combination. For example, the transmission configuration used by the first device 110 may indicate the corresponding ID or ID range of the allowed or not allowed stream of the SDT mode, and may also indicate that the SDT mode is not allowed for the new stream mapped to the default DRB.

[0094] Still reference Figure 3 , based on the result of the determination of whether the SDT mode is allowed for the flow 230, the first device 110 transmits 320 data associated with the flow 230, and the second device 120 receives 325 the data transmitted from the first device 110. Specifically, if the flow 230 having data to be transmitted to the second device 120 is allowed to be transmitted in the SDT mode, the first device 110 can transmit the data associated with the flow 230 through SDT. For example, the first device 110 can transmit the data associated with the flow 230 without transitioning from the inactive state to the connected state. The process associated with the small data transmission can be performed between the first device 110 and the second device 120 to complete the transmission of the data.

[0095] In some cases, if the stream 230 having data to be transmitted to the second device 120 is not allowed to be transmitted in the SDT mode, the first device 110 may not perform the small data transmission. Instead, the first device 110 may restore the connection with the second device 120 to transmit the data.

[0096] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example method 400 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The method 400 is described from the perspective of the first device 110 .

[0097] In box 410, the first device 110 determines a transmission configuration associated with at least one stream from the first device to the second device. The transmission configuration indicates whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for at least one stream. In box 420, the first device 110 determines whether the data associated with the stream in at least one stream is to be transmitted. If the first device 110 determines that the data associated with the stream is to be transmitted, then in box 430, the first device 110 determines whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on the transmission configuration. If it is determined that the data associated with the stream in at least one stream is to be transmitted, the first device 110 can continue to monitor the arrival of data of at least one stream. In box 440, the first device 110 transmits the data associated with the stream to the second device based on the result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration is specified in the first device or indicated in configuration information received from the second device.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates at least one of: a first identifier of a first flow allowed for a small data transmission mode, a second identifier of a second flow not allowed for the small data transmission mode, a first identifier range of flows allowed for the small data transmission mode, and a second identifier range of flows not allowed for the small data transmission mode.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the first flow and the second flow identified by the first identification and the second identification are mapped to the same first data radio bearer, and / or wherein the flows identified by the first identification range and the second identification range are mapped to the same second data radio bearer.

[0101] In some example embodiments, determining whether a small data transmission mode is allowed for a flow includes: determining whether an identifier of the flow matches at least one of a first identifier, a second identifier, a first identifier range, and a second identifier range, and determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow based on a matching result between the identifier and at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the first identifier range, and the second identifier range.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the transport configuration indicates that the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the new flow mapped to the default data radio bearer. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises: determining whether there is a stored flow-to-data radio bearer mapping rule for the flow, and determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow based on the transport configuration in accordance with the determination that there is no stored flow-to-data radio bearer mapping rule for the flow.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the transport configuration indicates whether the small data transfer mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between the first device and the second device. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transfer mode is allowed for the flow includes: determining whether the small data transfer mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow based on the transport configuration in accordance with a determination that the flow belongs to the session.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates restriction criteria for allowance of the small data transmission mode in remapping of at least one flow between data radio bearers. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises: receiving information from a second device indicating that the flow is to be remapped from a first data radio bearer to a second data radio bearer for transmission, and determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer based on the restriction criteria.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the restriction criteria require that the allowance of the small data transmission mode be restricted to at least one of a flow and a data radio bearer. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises: determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer according to the restriction criteria by determining at least one of: whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow when the flow is mapped to the first data radio bearer, and whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for transmissions over the second data radio bearer.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates at least one trigger condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for at least one stream, each respective trigger condition of the at least one trigger condition being specific to one of the at least one stream. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream comprises: determining that the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on a determination that a trigger condition specific to the stream in the at least one trigger condition is satisfied.

[0107] In some example embodiments, at least one trigger condition includes at least one data volume threshold specific to at least one flow. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transfer mode is allowed for the flow includes: determining whether the volume of data associated with the flow is below a data volume threshold specific to the flow in the at least one data volume threshold, and determining that the small data transfer mode is allowed for the flow based on a determination that the volume of data associated with the flow is below the data volume threshold.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the at least one trigger condition includes at least one channel quality threshold specific to at least one flow. In some example embodiments, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow includes: determining whether a channel quality between the first device and the second device exceeds a channel quality threshold specific to the flow in the at least one channel quality threshold, and determining that the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow based on a determination that the channel quality exceeds the channel quality threshold.

[0109] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The method 500 is described from the perspective of the second device 120 .

[0110] At block 510, the second device 120 transmits configuration information to the first device 110, the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration associated with at least one stream from the first device to the second device. The transmission configuration indicates whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream. At block 520, the second device 120 receives data associated with a stream in the at least one stream from the first device. The data associated with the stream is received from the first device based on the transmission configuration.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates at least one of: a first identifier of a first stream allowed for a small data transmission mode, a second identifier of a second stream for which the small data transmission mode is not allowed, a first identifier range of streams allowed for the small data transmission mode, a second identifier range for streams not allowed for the small data transmission mode, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for a new stream mapped to a default data radio bearer, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between a first device and a second device, restriction criteria for the allowance of the small data transmission mode in remapping, and at least one trigger condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for at least one stream, each respective trigger condition of the at least one trigger condition being specific to one stream of the at least one stream.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the at least one trigger condition comprises at least one of: at least one data volume threshold specific to the at least one stream, and at least one channel quality threshold specific to the at least one stream.

[0113] In some example embodiments, a first device (e.g., first device 110) capable of performing any of method 400 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The first device may be implemented as first device 110 or included in first device 110.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the first device includes a component for: determining a transmission configuration associated with at least one stream from the first device to a second device (e.g., implemented as a second device 120 or included in the second device 120), the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one stream; determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream based on the transmission configuration according to a determination that data associated with a stream in the at least one stream is to be transmitted; and transmitting the data associated with the stream to the second device based on a result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the stream.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration is specified in the first device or indicated in configuration information received from the second device.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates at least one of: a first identifier of a first flow allowed for a small data transmission mode, a second identifier of a second flow not allowed for the small data transmission mode, a first identifier range of flows allowed for the small data transmission mode, and a second identifier range of flows not allowed for the small data transmission mode.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the first flow and the second flow identified by the first identification and the second identification are mapped to the same first data radio bearer, and / or wherein the flows identified by the first identification range and the second identification range are mapped to the same second data radio bearer.

[0118] In some example embodiments, a component for determining whether a small data transmission mode is allowed for a flow includes a component for: determining whether an identifier of the flow matches at least one of a first identifier, a second identifier, a first identifier range, and a second identifier range, and determining whether a small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow based on a matching result between the identifier and at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the first identifier range, and the second identifier range.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the transport configuration indicates that the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the new flow mapped to the default data radio bearer. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises means for determining whether there is a stored flow-to-data radio bearer mapping rule for the flow, and determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow based on the transport configuration in accordance with the determination that there is no stored flow-to-data radio bearer mapping rule for the flow.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the transport configuration indicates whether the small data transfer mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between the first device and the second device. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transfer mode is allowed for a flow includes means for: determining whether the small data transfer mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow based on the transport configuration in accordance with a determination that the flow belongs to the session.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates restriction criteria for allowance of the small data transmission mode in remapping of at least one flow between data radio bearers. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises means for receiving information from a second device indicating that the flow is to be remapped from a first data radio bearer to a second data radio bearer for transmission, and determining, based on the restriction criteria, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the restriction criteria require that the allowance of the small data transmission mode be restricted to at least one of a flow and a data radio bearer. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer according to the restriction criteria by determining at least one of: whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow when the flow is mapped to the first data radio bearer, and whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for transmissions over the second data radio bearer.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates at least one trigger condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for at least one flow, each respective trigger condition of the at least one trigger condition being specific to one of the at least one flow. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises means for determining that the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow based on a determination that a flow-specific trigger condition of the at least one trigger condition is satisfied.

[0124] In some example embodiments, at least one trigger condition includes at least one data volume threshold specific to at least one flow. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transfer mode is allowed for the flow includes means for determining whether the volume of data associated with the flow is below a data volume threshold specific to the flow in the at least one data volume threshold, and determining that the small data transfer mode is allowed for the flow based on a determination that the volume of data associated with the flow is below the data volume threshold.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the at least one trigger condition comprises at least one channel quality threshold specific to at least one flow. In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow comprises means for determining whether a channel quality between the first apparatus and the second apparatus exceeds a flow-specific channel quality threshold of the at least one channel quality threshold, and determining that the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow based on a determination that the channel quality exceeds the channel quality threshold.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 400. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the operations of the first apparatus with the at least one processor.

[0127] In some example embodiments, a second device (e.g., second device 120) capable of performing any of method 500 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The second device may be implemented as second device 120 or included in second device 120.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the second device includes a component for: transmitting configuration information to a first device (implemented as a first device 110 or included in the first device 110), the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration related to at least one stream from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not for the at least one stream; and receiving data associated with a stream in the at least one stream from the first device, the data associated with the stream being received from the first device based on the transmission configuration.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the transmission configuration indicates at least one of: a first identifier of a first flow allowed for a small data transmission mode, a second identifier of a second flow for which the small data transmission mode is not allowed, a first identifier range of flows allowed for the small data transmission mode, a second identifier range of flows not allowed for the small data transmission mode, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for a new flow mapped to a default data radio bearer, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between a first device and a second device, restriction criteria for the allowance of the small data transmission mode in remapping, and at least one trigger condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for at least one flow, each respective trigger condition of the at least one trigger condition being specific to one flow among the at least one flow.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the at least one trigger condition comprises at least one of: at least one data volume threshold specific to the at least one stream, and at least one channel quality threshold specific to the at least one stream.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 500. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the operations of the second apparatus with the at least one processor.

[0132] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 The first device 110 or the second device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0133] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0134] Processor 610 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0135] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0136] Computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 610. Program 630 may be stored in a memory (e.g., ROM 624). Processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 630 into RAM 622.

[0137] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 630 so that the device 600 may execute a program according to the present disclosure. Figures 3 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0139] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0140] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a physical or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figures 3 to 6 Any method described herein. Typically, a program module includes a routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, etc. that performs a specific task or implements a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0141] The program code for executing the disclosed method can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code causes the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0142] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0143] The computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a computer readable storage medium will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0144] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0145] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: determining a transmission configuration associated with at least one flow from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one flow; in response to determining that data associated with a flow of the at least one flow is to be transmitted, determining based on the transmission configuration whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow; as well as transmitting the data associated with the flow to the second device based on a result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow; wherein the transmission configuration indicates: a restriction criterion for allowing the small data transmission mode in remapping of the at least one flow between data radio bearers; wherein said restriction criteria requires said allowing of said small data transmission mode to be restricted to at least one of a stream and a data radio bearer; as well as The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: determining, according to the restriction criteria, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer by determining at least one of: when the flow is mapped to the first data radio bearer, whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow, and The small data transmission mode determines whether transmission through the second data radio bearer is allowed. 2 . The first device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission configuration is specified in the first device or indicated in configuration information received from the second device.

3. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the transmission configuration indicates at least one of the following: a first identifier of a first flow allowed for the small data transmission mode, a second identifier of a second flow that is not allowed for the small data transmission mode, a first range of identifiers of flows allowed for the small data transfer mode, and A second identification range of flows that are not allowed for the small data transmission mode.

4. The first device according to claim 3, wherein the first stream and the second stream identified by the first identifier and the second identifier are mapped to the same first data radio bearer, and / or The flows identified by the first identification range and the second identification range are mapped to the same second data radio bearer.

5. The first device of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transfer mode is allowed for the flow by: determining whether the identifier of the flow matches at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the first identifier range, and the second identifier range, and Based on a matching result between the identifier and at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, the first identifier range, and the second identifier range, it is determined whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow.

6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration indicates whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for a new flow mapped to a default data radio bearer; and The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: determining whether there is a stored flow to data radio bearer mapping rule for the flow, and Based on determining that there is no stored flow-to-data radio bearer mapping rule for the flow, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow based on the transmission configuration.

7. The first device of claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration indicates whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between the first device and the second device; and The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: In accordance with determining that the flow belongs to the session, determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the flow based on the transmission configuration.

8. The first device according to claim 1, The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: receiving information from the second device indicating that the flow is to be remapped from the first data radio bearer to the second data radio bearer for transmission, and Based on the restriction criteria, it is determined whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer.

9. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the transmission configuration indicates at least one trigger condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for the at least one stream, each respective one of the at least one trigger condition being specific to one of the at least one stream; and The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: Based on determining that a trigger condition specific to the flow among the at least one trigger condition is satisfied, determining that the small data transmission mode is enabled for the flow.

10. The first device of claim 9, wherein the at least one trigger condition comprises at least one data volume threshold specific to the at least one flow; and The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: determining whether the amount of the data associated with the flow is below a data amount threshold of the at least one data amount threshold that is specific to the flow, and Based on determining that the amount of the data associated with the flow is below the data amount threshold, determining that the small data transfer mode is enabled for the flow.

11. The first device of claim 9, wherein the at least one triggering condition comprises at least one channel quality threshold specific to the at least one stream; and The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow by: determining whether a channel quality between the first device and the second device exceeds a channel quality threshold of the at least one channel quality threshold that is specific to the flow, and Based on determining that the channel quality exceeds the channel quality threshold, determining that the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow.

12. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device, and Wherein the at least one flow comprises at least one quality of service flow.

13. A second device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: Transmitting configuration information to a first device, the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration related to at least one flow from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one flow; as well as receiving, from the first device, data associated with a flow of the at least one flow, the data associated with the flow being received from the first device based on the transmission configuration; The transmission configuration indicates at least one of the following: a first identifier of a first flow allowed for the small data transmission mode, a second flag for a second stream not allowing the small data transmission mode, a first identification range of flows allowed for the small data transfer mode, a second identification range of flows that are not allowed for the small data transmission mode, The small data transmission mode is not allowed for new flows mapped to the default data radio bearer, whether the small data transfer mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between the first device and the second device, limiting criteria for allowing the small data transfer mode in remapping, and At least one triggering condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for the at least one flow, each respective one of the at least one triggering condition being specific to one of the at least one flow.

14. The second device according to claim 13, wherein when the transmission configuration indicates the at least one trigger condition, the at least one trigger condition comprises at least one of the following: at least one data volume threshold specific to the at least one flow, and At least one channel quality threshold specific to the at least one stream.

15. A first apparatus for communication, comprising means for: determining a transmission configuration associated with at least one flow from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one flow; in response to determining that data associated with a flow of the at least one flow is to be transmitted, determining based on the transmission configuration whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow; as well as transmitting the data associated with the flow to the second device based on a result of the determination of whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow; wherein the transmission configuration indicates: a restriction criterion for allowing the small data transmission mode in remapping of the at least one flow between data radio bearers; wherein said restriction criteria requires said allowing of said small data transmission mode to be restricted to at least one of a stream and a data radio bearer; The means for determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow includes means for the following operations: determining whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow after the flow is remapped to the second data radio bearer according to a restriction criterion by determining at least one of the following: whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for the flow when the flow is mapped to the first data radio bearer, and whether the small data transmission mode is allowed for transmission through the second data radio bearer.

16. A second apparatus for communication, comprising means for: transmitting configuration information to a first device, the configuration information indicating a transmission configuration related to at least one flow from the first device to the second device, the transmission configuration indicating whether a small data transmission mode is allowed or not allowed for the at least one flow; and receiving, from the first device, data associated with a stream of the at least one stream, the data associated with the stream being received from the first device based on the transmission configuration; The transmission configuration indicates at least one of the following: a first identifier of a first flow allowed for the small data transmission mode, a second flag for a second stream not allowing the small data transmission mode, a first identification range of flows allowed for the small data transfer mode, a second identification range of flows that are not allowed for the small data transmission mode, The small data transmission mode is not allowed for new flows mapped to the default data radio bearer, whether the small data transfer mode is allowed or not allowed for a session established between the first device and the second device, limiting criteria for allowing the small data transfer mode in remapping, and At least one triggering condition for triggering the small data transmission mode for the at least one flow, each respective one of the at least one triggering condition being specific to one of the at least one flow.

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