Method and apparatus for multicast service support in a time-sensitive network

Abstract

Embodiments of methods and apparatus for multicast service support in a time-sensitive network (TSN) are disclosed. A method may include: determining from a first group of listener user equipment (UE) a second group of listener UEs ready to receive a TSN stream for a multicast group; and triggering establishment of a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS stream for the second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN stream.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments described herein generally relate to methods and apparatus for supporting multicast services in a time-sensitive network (TSN). Background Art

[0002] Certain abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or drawings are defined as follows:

[0003] 5GC 5G Core Network

[0004] 5GS 5G System

[0005] AF Application Function

[0006] AMF Access and Mobility Management Function

[0007] CP Control Plane

[0008] DS-TT Device-side TSN Converter

[0009] FAR Forwarding Action Rules

[0010] gNB Next Generation NodeB

[0011] IIoT Industrial Internet of Things

[0012] MMRP Multi-MAC Registration Protocol

[0013] MSRP Multi-Stream Registration Protocol

[0014] NF Network Function

[0015] NW-TT Network TSN Converter

[0016] PCF Policy Control Function

[0017] PDR Group Detection Rules

[0018] PDU Packet Data Unit

[0019] PSA PDU Session Anchor

[0020] QoS Quality of Service

[0021] SMF session management functions

[0022] TSC Time Sensitive Communications

[0023] TSN Time Sensitive Networking / Networking

[0024] UE User Equipment

[0025] UP User Plane

[0026] UPF User Plane Function

[0027] Time-sensitive networking (TSN) has been used in many application scenarios, including, for example, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), to provide low-latency and high-reliability connections. It is hoped that the 5G system (5GS) will be integrated as a virtual node in the TSN network, such as a bridge, to provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication in a flexible manner. Summary of the invention

[0028] A brief summary of example embodiments is provided below to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various embodiments. It should be noted that this summary is not intended to identify key features of essential elements or define the scope of the embodiments, and its sole purpose is to introduce some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

[0029] In a first aspect, an example embodiment of a method for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The method may include: determining a second group of listener user equipment (UE) from a first group of listener UEs ready to receive a TSN stream for a multicast group; and triggering establishment of a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS stream for the second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN stream.

[0030] In a second aspect, an example embodiment of a method for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The method may include forwarding a speaker advertisement announcement received from a talker to a first group of listener UEs. The speaker advertisement announcement may indicate that the speaker provides a TSN stream for a multicast group identified by a group address. The method may further include forwarding a listener announcement received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs to the speaker. The listener announcement may indicate whether one or more of the first group of listener UEs are ready to receive the TSN stream. In addition, the method may also include applying rules for forwarding service data of the TSN stream received from the talker to a second group of listener UEs that are ready to receive the TSN stream.

[0031] In a third aspect, an example embodiment of a method for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The method may include receiving a multicast registration request from a core network (CN) network function (NF) at a base station (BS). The multicast registration request may include one or more of a time sensitive communication (TSC) session context ID, QoS flow information, a second group of UEs, and a related port number. The method may also include: establishing one or more radio bearers for a time sensitive communication (TSC) multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs in the second group based on the received multicast registration request; and reporting to the CN NF the establishment status of one or more radio bearers for the TSC multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, an example embodiment of a method for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The method may include forwarding, at a listener user equipment (UE), a multicast transmission of a TSN stream received from a talker to the listener over a radio bearer of a time sensitive communication (TSC) multicast QoS flow established for the listener. The TSN stream is provided from the talker to a multicast group identified by a destination address of the TSN stream that the listener UE has joined.

[0033] In a fifth aspect, an example embodiment of a network function in a control plane is provided. The network function may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network function to perform actions. The actions may include: determining from a first group of listener user equipment (UE) a second group of listener UEs ready to receive a time sensitive network (TSN) stream for a multicast group; and triggering establishment of a time sensitive communication (TSC) multicast session and a TSC multicast quality of service (QoS) stream for the second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN stream.

[0034] In a sixth aspect, an example embodiment of a network function in a user plane is provided. The network function may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the network function to perform an action. The action may include forwarding a speaker advertisement announcement received from a speaker to a first group of listener UEs. The speaker advertisement announcement may indicate that the speaker provides a time-sensitive network (TSN) stream for a multicast group identified by a group address. The action may also include forwarding a listener announcement received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs to the speaker. The listener announcement may indicate whether one or more of the first group of listener UEs are ready to receive the TSN stream. The action may also include applying a rule for forwarding service data of the TSN stream received from the speaker to a second group of listener UEs that are ready to receive the TSN stream.

[0035] In a seventh aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The network device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to use the at least one processor to cause the network device to perform an action. The action may include: receiving a multicast registration request from a core network (CN) network function (NF), which includes one or more of a time-sensitive communication (TSC) session context ID, QoS flow information, a second group of UEs, and related port numbers; establishing one or more radio bearers for a time-sensitive communication (TSC) multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs in the second group based on the received multicast registration request, and reporting to the CN NF the establishment status of one or more radio bearers of the TSC multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs.

[0036] In an eighth aspect, an example embodiment of a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to perform an action. The action may include forwarding a multicast transmission of a time-sensitive network (TSN) flow received from a talker to the listener on a radio bearer of a time-sensitive communication (TSC) multicast QoS flow established for the listener. The TSN flow may be provided from the talker to a multicast group identified by a target address of the TSN flow that the listener UE has joined.

[0037] In a ninth aspect, an example embodiment of an apparatus for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The apparatus may include: means for determining from a first group of listener user equipment (UE) a second group of listener UEs ready to receive a TSN stream for a multicast group; and means for triggering establishment of a TSC multicast session and an SC multicast TQoS stream for the second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN stream.

[0038] In a tenth aspect, an example embodiment of an apparatus for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The apparatus may include: a device for forwarding a speaker advertisement announcement received from a speaker to a first group of listener UEs, the speaker advertisement announcement indicating that the speaker provides a TSN stream for a multicast group identified by a group address; a device for forwarding a listener announcement received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs to the speaker, the listener announcement indicating whether the one or more of the first group of listener UEs are ready to receive the TSN stream; and a device for applying a rule for forwarding service data of the TSN stream received from the speaker to a second group of listeners ready to receive the TSN stream.

[0039] In an eleventh aspect, an example embodiment of a device for multicast service support in a time-sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The device may include: a device for receiving a multicast registration request including a time-sensitive communication (TSC) session context ID, QoS flow information, a second group of UEs, and one or more related port numbers from a core network (CN) network function (NF) at a base station (BS); a device for establishing one or more radio bearers of a time-sensitive communication (TSC) multicast QoS flow for one or more of the second group of listener UEs at the BS based on the received multicast registration request; and a device for reporting the establishment status of one or more radio bearers of the TSC multicast QoS flow for the one or more listener UEs to the CN NF.

[0040] In a twelfth aspect, an example embodiment of an apparatus for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN) is provided. The apparatus may include: means for forwarding, at a listener user equipment (UE), a multicast transmission of a TSN stream received from a talker to a listener on a radio bearer established for a time sensitive communication (TSC) multicast QoS stream of the listener. The TSN stream may be provided from the talker to a multicast group identified by a destination address of the TSN stream to which the listener UE has joined.

[0041] In a thirteenth aspect, an example embodiment of a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium may have instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor of a network function in a control plane, the network function may be caused to perform the method of the first aspect described above.

[0042] In a fourteenth aspect, an exemplary embodiment of a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium may have instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor of a network function in a user plane, the network function may be caused to perform the method of the second aspect described above.

[0043] In a fifteenth aspect, an exemplary embodiment of a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium may have instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor of a network device, the network device may execute the method of the third aspect above.

[0044] In a sixteenth aspect, an exemplary embodiment of a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium has instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor of a terminal device, the terminal device can execute the method of the fourth aspect described above.

[0045] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Some example embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Figure 1 is an example block diagram illustrating a fully centralized configuration model for a TSN network.

[0048] Figure 2 is an example block diagram illustrating a fully distributed configuration model for a TSN network.

[0049] Figure 3 is an example block diagram showing a 5GS TSN bridge integrated in a TSN network.

[0050] Figure 4 is an example block diagram showing a TSN talker and a TSN listener attached to a 5GS integrated with a TSN network.

[0051] Figure 5 is an example interaction diagram illustrating operations for supporting multicast services in a TSN network integrated with 5GS according to some embodiments.

[0052] Figure 6is an example interaction diagram illustrating operations for joining a multicast group in accordance with some embodiments.

[0053] Figure 7 is an example diagram showing control information maintained in 5GS according to some embodiments.

[0054] Figure 8 is an example interaction diagram illustrating operations for establishing a Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow in accordance with some embodiments.

[0055] Fig. 9 is an example flow chart illustrating a method for multicast service support in a TSN network according to some embodiments.

[0056] Fig.10 is an example flow chart illustrating a method for multicast service support in a TSN network according to some embodiments.

[0057] Fig.11 is an example flow chart illustrating a method for multicast service support in a TSN network according to some embodiments.

[0058] Fig.12 is an example flow chart illustrating a method for multicast service support in a TSN network according to some embodiments.

[0059] Fig.13 is an example block diagram illustrating a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] Hereinafter, some example embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to provide a thorough understanding of various concepts, the following description includes specific details. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known circuits, techniques, and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obfuscation of the concepts and features described.

[0061] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to any suitable entity or device that can provide a cell or coverage, through which a terminal device can access a network or receive services. Network equipment may generally be referred to as a base station. The term "base station" used herein may represent a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), or a gNB. A base station may be embodied as a macro base station, a relay node, or a low-power node such as a micro base station or a femto base station. A base station may be composed of several distributed network units such as a central unit (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more remote radio heads (RRHs), or remote radio units (RRUs). The number and functionality of these distributed units depends on the selected separation RAN architecture.

[0062] As used herein, the term "network function (NF)" refers to a processing function in a network and defines functional behaviors and interfaces. A network function can be implemented by using dedicated hardware, or can be implemented by running software on dedicated hardware, or can be implemented as a virtual function on a general-purpose hardware platform. From the perspective of implementation, network functions can be divided into physical network functions and virtual network functions. From the perspective of use, network functions can be divided into dedicated network functions and shared network functions.

[0063] As used herein, the term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) refers to any entity or device that can wirelessly communicate with network devices or with each other. Examples of terminal devices may include mobile phones, mobile terminals (MTs), mobile stations (MSs), subscriber stations (SSs), portable subscriber stations (PSSs), access terminals (ATs), computers, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted communication devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, D2D communication devices, V2X communication devices, sensors, etc. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, user terminal, mobile terminal, mobile station, or wireless device.

[0064] The current 3GPP standards support a fully centralized configuration model for TSN networks, an example of which is shown in Figure 1 Reference Figure 1, TSN end stations 103, including, for example, a talker end station (or simply “talker”) 103A and one or more listener end stations (or simply “listeners”) 103B, may transmit TSN flow requirements to a centralized user configuration (CUC) block 101. CUC 101 may forward the TSN flow requirements from the found talkers to a centralized network configuration (CNC) block 102. CNC 102 may also obtain network capability information and active topology information from TSN bridges 104. CNC 102 may then determine an end-to-end communication path from talker 103A to each listener 103B that meets the TSN flow requirements, and provide network configuration information to each TSN bridge 104 in the path. CNC 102 may also provide the status of each flow to CUC 101 so that CUC 101 may notify each end station 103 to start transmission.

[0065] It is expected that a fully distributed configuration model for TSN networks will be supported in future 3GPP standards to expand 5GS support for diverse time-sensitive communication (TSC) services. An example of a fully distributed configuration model for TSN networks is shown in Figure 2 Reference Figure 2 , the fully distributed model does not include CUC 101 or CNC 102, and the TSN end station 103 can transmit TSN flow requirements directly to the TSN network. The TSN bridge on the path from the talker 103A to the listener 103B can propagate TSN user and network configuration information and the active topology of the TSN flow to the adjacent bridges, and the network resources can be managed locally in the TSN bridge.

[0066] Figure 3 The 5GS integration as a TSN bridge in a TSN network is shown. Figure 3 As shown in , 5GS TSN bridges 104A, 104B enable TSN end stations 103A, 103B, 103C to communicate with the TSN system via a wireless network, which greatly facilitates the flexible deployment of TSN end stations. For example, TSN end stations 103 can be deployed far away from the TSN system while they are under the control of the TSN system. Examples of TSN end stations 103 may include robots, controllers, actuators, remote sensors, or any other industrial devices or equipment.

[0067] The granularity of the 5GS TSN network is per UPF, and Figure 3Schematically, two bridges 104A, 104B are shown, which are associated with UPFs 105A, 105B, respectively. For interoperation between 5GS and TSN networks, TSN translator functions are provided in the corresponding 5GS TSN bridge 104, including a device-side TSN translator (DS-TT) 108 and a network-side TSN translator (NW-TT) 106. The TSN end station 103 connected to the UE 107 obtains the DS-TT port number during the PDU session establishment process, and the DS-TT port number is associated with the PDU session 109 that provides a connection to the TSN network. Figure 3 105B in) connected to a PDU session of a TSN network (such as Figure 3 109B, 109C) can be grouped into virtual bridges (such as Figure 3 104B) and by the same TSN AF ( Figure 4 115) in. Different TSN end stations (such as Figure 3 103A, 103B) can be connected via different DS-TT ports ( Figure 3 108A, 108B) / PDU session ( Figure 3 109A, 109B) connected to UE ( Figure 3 107A in ), and for a given UPF, each DS-TT port has one PDU session. During reporting of logical TSN bridge information, the binding relationship between the DS-TT port number and the PDU session may be stored in the TSN AF ( Figure 4 115).

[0068] In industrial control scenarios, one or more speaker stations may need to control a large number of listener stations to perform common tasks. In this case, a multicast data forwarding solution preferably distributes the same service data from one speaker to multiple listeners. If more than one listener is located in a 5GS TSN bridge, a multicast solution is expected to reduce resource consumption. However, in a fully distributed configuration model of a TSN network integrated with 5GS, multicast data forwarding is not yet supported.

[0069] Figure 4 is an example block diagram showing a scenario where a TSN talker and a TSN listener are attached to a 5GS integrated with a TSN network. Figure 4In the example embodiment shown, TSN end stations 103A, 103B, and 103C are connected to the TSN network via a 5GS TSN bridge 104A. It should be understood that one or more of the TSN end stations may operate as a talker, while the remaining TSN end stations may operate as listeners. In addition, an end station may operate as a talker in one process, but as a listener in another process. For simplicity and clarity of description, hereinafter, TSN end station 103A will be considered a talker, and TSN end stations 103B, 103C will be considered listeners.

[0070] refer to Figure 4 , the end stations 103A, 103B, 103C may be connected to UEs 107A, 107B, 107C, respectively. UE 107A is connected to a base station such as gNB 110A via an air link, and UEs 107B, 107C are connected to a base station such as gNB 110B. It should be understood that UEs 107A, 107B, 107C may be connected to the same or different gNBs. gNBs 110A, 110B, which may be referred to as "radio access networks (RAN)", may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC) via a backhaul connection, and the 5GC may include control plane (CP) network functions (NFs) such as AMF 111, SMF 112, PCF 113, UDR 114, and TSN AF 115 / and user plane (UP) NFs such as UPF 105. Figure 5 UE 107A and UE 107B, 107C are shown connected to the same PDU Session Anchor (PSA) UPF 105, and it is understood that UE 107 may be connected to a different PSAUPF than the anchor UPF 105 of UE 107B and 107C. 5GC NFs may be implemented in a single physical entity or in separate physical entities. 5GS TSN bridge 104A may be connected to an adjacent bridge, such as TSN bridge 104. It is understood that additional TSN end stations may be connected to TSN bridge 104B.

[0071] For example, when the speaker 103A needs to send the same instruction to the listeners 103B and 103C, Figure 4 As shown by the arrow in the figure, multicast is an effective method. Figure 4 In the example shown, speaker 103A is attached to 5GS. It should be understood that in some embodiments, speaker 103A may be connected to a TSN bridge such as bridge 104B instead of 5GS bridge 104A, and it may also need to send service data to end stations 103B, 103C via multicast. In the following, embodiments of multicast data forwarding solutions for TSN networks integrated with 5GS will be discussed. TSN networks can have a fully distributed configuration model.

[0072] Figure 5 is an example interaction diagram illustrating operations for supporting multicast services in a TSN network integrated with 5GS according to some embodiments. For simplicity and better understanding, only relevant entities for supporting multicast services are shown. Assume that Figure 5 At the beginning of the process shown in , the talker and the listener have registered with the TSN network through the PDU session establishment process, and the PDU session and DS-TT port have been determined for the talker and the listener.

[0073] refer to Figure 5 At operation 210, the listener UEs 107B, 107C may forward the request to join the multicast group sent from the listener end stations 103B, 103C to the network so that the network may determine the first group of listener UEs that intend to join the multicast group. An example of operation 210 is as follows: Figure 6 Reference Figure 6 , at operation 212, the listener end station 103B, 103C may be pre-configured with the group addresses of the plurality of multicast groups, such as Ethernet group MAC addresses. Then, at operation 214, the listener end station 103B, 103C may send a request to join the multicast group to, for example, the UPF 105 via the corresponding listener UE 107B, 107C, and the request may include the group address of the multicast group that the listener end station 103B, 205C wants to join, such as the Ethernet group MAC address. In some embodiments, the request may be sent via a Multi-MAC Registration Protocol (MMRP) message. MMRP is a protocol that allows an end station to dynamically register group membership or individual MAC address information with a bridge, and it may be viewed as a definition of a network entity, such as an end station or a bridge, registering as a member of a multicast group.

[0074] In operation 216, when the UPF 105 receives a request from one or more listener UEs, such as the listener UEs 107B, 107C, it may extract information contained in the request, such as information indicating the group address of the multicast group, and send the extracted information and the corresponding UE ID such as SUPI and DS-TT port number to a control plane (CP) network function (NF), such as the SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115. In some embodiments, alternatively, the UPF 105 may forward the request to the CP NF, and the CP NF will extract the relevant information from the request. Then in operation 218, the SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may collect the group address extracted from the request in order to determine the first group of listener UEs that intend to join the multicast group. In some embodiments, a CP NF such as SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may also maintain (e.g., establish or update) and store group binding information that binds the multicast group with the first group of listener UEs. Figure 7 An example of control information including group binding information maintained in a 5GS according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 7 , the group binding information may include a group address, such as an Ethernet group MAC address, a list of listener UEs in the first group, and a list of DS-TT port numbers. In some embodiments, the group binding information may be stored in a database in UDR 114, so that SMF 112, PCF 113 or TSN AF 115 can query and update the group binding information in the database.

[0075] Return to reference Figure 5 At operation 220, a speaker UE such as speaker UE 107A may forward the speaker advertisement announcement sent from speaker end station 103A to the multicast group. In some embodiments, the speaker advertisement announcement may be sent via a Multicast Stream Registration Protocol (MSRP) message. MSRP is a protocol defined by IEEE for network resource reservation for streams with QoS requirements, which also specifies which network entity listens to a particular stream. The speaker advertisement announcement may include a stream ID of a TSC stream, QoS information such as a service specification for the TSC stream (TSCpec), and a destination address for the TSC.

[0076] When a speaker advertisement announcement is received in operation 220, the 5GS processes the speaker advertisement and extracts relevant information such as a flow ID, QoS information, and a destination address from the speaker advertisement announcement. In some embodiments, a CP NF or a UP NF performs the process. Then, in operation 222, a CP NF such as SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may query the group binding information for a group address that matches the destination address in the speaker advertisement announcement. If a group address that matches the destination address of the speaker advertisement announcement is identified, the SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may determine to route the speaker advertisement announcement to the first group of UEs that have joined the multicast group with the group address. For example, the TSN AF 115 may determine the PDU session and DS-TT port for the first group of listener UEs, and forward such information to the SMF 112 via the PCF 113.

[0077] In some embodiments, operation 210 may be omitted. In such a case, the speaker UE 107A will forward the speaker advertisement announcement from the speaker 103A to a TSN bridge, such as the 5GS TSN bridge 104A to which the speaker UE 107 is connected. Since operation 210 is omitted, and the 5GS TSN bridge 104A does not register the group MAC address on one or more of its ports via MMRP messages, the 5GS TSN bridge 104A will distribute the speaker advertisement announcement to all of its active outbound ports in the spanning tree protocol (STP) domain. That is, the 5GS TSN bridge 104A will distribute the speaker advertisement announcement from the speaker 103A to each UE connected to an active outbound port of the 5GS TSN bridge 104A deployed in the same VLAN as the speaker 103A.

[0078] Then, in operation 230, the 5GS TSN bridge 104A may forward the speaker advertisement announcement received from the talker UE 107A to a first group of listener UEs, such as the listener UEs 107B, 107C, which in turn forward the speaker advertisement announcement to the listener end stations 103B, 103C via corresponding DS-TT ports, respectively. As described above, the first group of listener UEs may include UEs that have joined a multicast group identified by a group address that matches the target address included in the talker advertisement announcement, or UEs connected to an active outbound port of a bridge that received the speaker advertisement announcement from the talker UE 107A and is deployed in the same VLAN as the talker 103A.

[0079] In operation 240, a first group of listener UEs, such as listener UEs 107B, 107C, may forward MSRP listener announcements sent from corresponding listener end stations 103B, 103C to speaker UE 107A in response to a speaker advertisement announcement received from speaker UE 107A. Examples of listener announcements may include listener ready and listener query failure. If the listener end station is ready to receive the TSN stream specified in the speaker advertisement announcement, and the resources on the path from the speaker to the listener can guarantee the transmission of the TSN stream with the required quality of service (QoS), the listener should send a listener ready announcement. If the listener end station receives a speaker failure announcement due to, for example, a resource reservation problem along the path from listener to listener, and the listener end station is ready to receive the stream, it should send a listener query failure announcement. In some embodiments, a listener announcement may include a stream ID, the direction of the stream, eg, to the listener, and an announcement type indicating whether the listener is ready to receive the TSN stream specified in the talker advertisement announcement.

[0080] In some embodiments, if the listeners are ready to receive TSN streams, they may publish VLAN membership announcements via a Multiple VLAN Registration Protocol (MVRP) message before sending a listener announcement. The MVRP VLAN membership announcement may contain the VLAN ID (VID) included in the DataFrameParameters of the talker advertisement announcement, and VLAN registration will be performed for the listener in the spanning tree protocol (STP) domain. It should be understood that the MSRP and MMRP signaling mentioned in the embodiments may be performed in the context of a VLAN.

[0081] Then, in operation 242, a CP NF such as SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may determine a second group of listener UEs (and associated DS-TT ports) from the first group of listener UEs that sent listener ready declarations for the TSN flows identified in the talker advertisement declaration. Obviously, the second group is a subset of the first group. In some embodiments, SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may maintain (e.g., establish or update) flow binding information to bind the TSN flows to the second group of listener UEs. An example of the flow binding information is shown in FIG. Figure 7In operation 242, it may include a group address for the multicast group, a list of listener UEs in the second group, a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, a flow ID of the TSN flow, a VLAN ID (VID), and flow QoS information (TSpec). In some embodiments, in operation 222, when the CP NF determines to route the speaker advertisement announcement to the first group of listener UEs, the CP NF may establish preliminary flow binding information including a list of UEs in the first group, and then in operation 242, when the second group of listener UEs is determined, the preliminary flow binding information is updated with the list of UEs in the second group and the list of corresponding DS-TT port numbers. In some embodiments, the flow ID, VID, and flow QoS information (TSpec) of the TSN flow are created in operation 222. In some embodiments, as Figure 7 As shown in , a first group of listener UEs may receive and respond to multiple speaker advertisement announcements from one or more speakers that announce multiple TSN streams for a multicast group, and may then maintain multiple stream bundling information for the multicast group. It should be understood that a second group of UEs included in one stream bundling information may be the same as or at least partially different from another second group of UEs included in another stream bundling information.

[0082] When the second group of listener UEs and the associated DS-TT ports are determined in operation 242, the multicast range of the TSN stream from the speaker to the listener is determined. Then in operation 250, a CPNF such as SMF 112, PCF 113 or TSN AF 115 may maintain (e.g., establish or update) the TSC multicast session context and TSC multicast QoS flow information of the second group of listener UEs. The CP NF may maintain the TSC multicast session context for each TSC multicast session, and the TSC multicast session is a collection of TSC multicast QoS flows of the multicast group. That is, the PDUs carrying the user payload of the TSC multicast QoS flow belonging to the TSC multicast session context have the same destination address (i.e., the group address of the multicast group). A QoS flow identifier (QFI) may be assigned to the TSC multicast QoS flow. It should be understood that two or more TSN flows may be mapped to a TSC multicast session established for a second group of UEs, and therefore the number S1 of TSN flows is equal to or greater than the number S2 of TSC multicast sessions. A TSC multicast session may include multiple ( Figure 7 In S3) TSC multicast QoS flow, and one or more TSN flows can be transmitted on a multicast QoS flow. Therefore, the number of TSN flows S1, the number of TSC multicast sessions S2 and the number of TSC multicast QoS flows S3 satisfy the following relationship: S1 ≥ S2,

[0083] refer to Figure 7, the TSC multicast session context may include a session context ID, a group address, an anchor UPFID of the talker UE, a list of listener UEs in the second group, and a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs. The TSC multicast QoS flow information may include a multicast QoS flow ID (QFI), a PDU session ID and / or MAC address of the talker UE, a group address, a list of listener UEs in the second group, a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, a flow ID, a VLAN ID, and a flow QoS requirement (TSpec). It should be understood that the above-mentioned control information including group binding information, flow binding information, TSC multicast session context, and TSC multicast QoS flow information may be stored in a CP NF such as SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115, or in UDR 114. In some embodiments, a CP NF, such as SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115, may further maintain (e.g., establish or update) Figure 7 114 and the TSC multicast session. For example, the CP NF may maintain an association between the TSN flow, the TSC multicast session, and the TSC multicast QoS flow. This is required when the control information is stored in different entities. For example, when the TSC multicast session context is stored in the UDR 114 and the TSC multicast QoS flow information is stored in the SMF 112, the SMF 112 may retrieve the information of one or more QoS flows corresponding to the TSC multicast session from the UDR 114 using the association between the TSC multicast QoS flow and the TSC multicast session.

[0084] When the TSC multicast session context and TSC multicast QoS flow information are determined, a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow may be established for the TSN flow in operation 260. By sending a TSC multicast session context to one or more base stations, such as Figure 4 The gNB 110B in FIG. 110B , indicating the TSC multicast session context ID, the TSC multicast QoS flow ID (QFI), and the second group of listener UEs, may trigger a procedure for establishing a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow at a 5GC-CP such as the SMF 112 , the PCF 113 , or the TSN AF 115 . An example of a procedure for establishing a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow is shown in FIG. Figure 8 middle.

[0085] refer to Figure 8In operation 262, a TSC multicast session and QoS establishment procedure may be triggered at the 5GC-CP, such as the SMF 112, by sending a multicast registration request for the second group of listener UEs 107B, 107C to the gNB 110B. The multicast registration request may include parameters of the multicast session and QoS flow, such as a multicast session context ID, a group MAC address, a multicast QFI, a list of UEs, and a list of DS-TT port numbers. It should be understood that the multicast registration request may be forwarded to the gNB 110B via the AMF 111. For example, the SMF 112 may send a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message including the multicast registration request to the AMF 111, and the AMF 111 may forward the request to the gNB 110B via an N2 message. In some embodiments, the procedure for establishing a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow may be triggered at the PCF 113 or the TSNAF 115. For example, PCF 113 may trigger the process by sending a PCF-initiated SM (Session Management) Policy Association Modification message including the multicast registration parameters to SMF 112, or TSN AF 115 may trigger the process by sending a QoS Mapping Request including the multicast registration parameters to PCF 113 and then to SMF 112.

[0086] In operation 262, the 5GC-CP NF such as SMF 112 may further provide user plane configuration information to the anchor UPF 105 of the talker 103A and the RAN such as gNB 110B to which the second group of listener UEs are connected, for forwarding flow services of one or more TSC multicast QoS flows from the anchor UPF to the RAN.

[0087] When gNB 110B receives the multicast registration parameters, gNB 110B may reserve resources and set up links for the multicast session and QoS flows. In operation 264, gNB 110B may establish one or more radio bearers, such as data radio bearers (DRBs), for the TSC multicast QoS flows of one or more listener UEs in the second group. In some embodiments, gNB 110B may establish a shared radio bearer for the second group of listener UEs, or it may establish multiple unicast radio bearers for each listener UE. In addition, the user plane configuration information received in operation 262 may be applied between the anchor UPF of talker 103A and the RAN connecting the second group of listener UEs.

[0088] In operation 266, gNB 110B may further report the establishment status of one or more radio bearers for the TSC multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs. For example, if the radio bearer is successfully established, in operation 266a, gNB 110B may send a multicast registration response to SMF 112 via AMF 111. The multicast registration response may include a multicast QoS flow ID (QFI). Alternatively, if gNB 110B fails to establish one or more radio bearers for the multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs in the second group, in operation 266b, gNB110B may report to 5GC-CP the failure to establish one or more radio bearers for the TSC multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs. For example, gNB 110B may transmit a multicast registration failure message to SMF 112 via AMF111, which may include the multicast QFI, at least one listener UE identifier for which the radio bearer was not successfully established, and the DS-TT port number of the at least one listener UE. Then, SMF 112 (or PCF 113, TSN AF 115) may update the parameters of the multicast control information in the local memory or stored in UDR 114. For example, SMF 112 may remove the UE and the related DS-TT port number from the flow binding information, TSC multicast session context, and TSC multicast QoS flow information.

[0089] Return to reference Figure 5 In operation 270, a 5G-CP such as SMF 112, PCF 113, or TSN AF 115 may configure resources for an uplink (UL) TSC QoS flow of talker 103A. In some embodiments, resource configuration of the UL TSC QoS flow may be achieved through a PDU session modification procedure.

[0090] When resource configuration is successfully performed, the listener announcement may be forwarded to the talker 103A in operation 280. In some embodiments, the listener announcement may be processed in the control plane or the user plane, and then the processing result may be sent to the talker 103A.

[0091] In operation 290, the 5GC-CP such as SMF 112, PCF 113 or TSN AF 115 may further configure rules in the anchor UPF 105 of the talker 103A for forwarding TSN flows with specific source MAC addresses and / or destination MAC addresses from the anchor UPF 105 of the talker 103A to the second group of listener UEs 107B, 107C, and ultimately to 103B, 103C via the established TSC multicast QoS flow. For example, the rules may include data forwarding rules such as packet detection rules (PDRs) and forwarding action rules (FARs). Using such rules, in operation 292, UPF 105 will detect and receive TSN stream service data received from speaker 103A having a specific source MAC address and / or destination MAC address, and in operation 294, forward the detected TSN stream data to a second group of listener UEs 107B, 107C via the assigned one or more TSC multicast QoS flows and ultimately to listeners 103B, 103C.

[0092] It should be understood that the UEs in the first and / or second groups may change dynamically. For example, a new listener may request to join an existing TSN stream, or a listener connected to a UE in the first and / or second groups of UEs may request to exit receiving an existing TSN stream. For another example, the speaker may decide to provide a new TSN stream or stop an existing TSN stream. Therefore, in addition to establishing control information when establishing the first and / or second groups of listener UEs, the above-mentioned operation of maintaining the control information of the multicast group may also include updating the control information in response to changes in the TSN stream and the first and / or second groups of listener UEs, for example, when a new listener UE joins the first and / or second groups of listener UEs and / or advertises a new TSN stream, adding parameters to the control information; when the listener UE exits the first and / or second groups of listener UEs, and / or when the existing TSN stream stops, removing parameters from the control information. For example, when a new UE requests to join a multicast group, the 5GC-CP may add the new UE to the first group by adding the parameters of the new UE to the group binding information. The speaker may periodically send a speaker advertisement statement to the first group of listener UEs. When the new UE responds to the speaker advertisement statement with a listener ready statement, the 5GC-CP may add the new listener UE to the second group by adding the parameters of the new listener UE to the stream binding information, the TSC multicast session context, and the TSC multicast QoS flow information. The new listener UE may then be mapped to a new or existing TSC multicast session and QoS flow, and receive the TSN flow from the speaker on the QoS flow. When a listener UE in the second group exits the second group, the 5GC-CP may remove the parameters of the listener UE from the stream binding information, the TSC multicast session context, and the TSC multicast QoS flow information. At this point in time, the listener UE may still be in the first group. If the listener UE exits the first group, the 5GC-CP may also remove the parameters of the listener UE from the group binding information. In this way, the first group of listener UEs and the second group of listener UEs may change dynamically.

[0093] Now refer to Figure 9-1 6 discusses in more detail the operations at the various network devices, network functions, and terminal devices. It should be understood that the above may have referred to Figure 4 The network shown and Figure 5 The illustrated process discusses some details of the operation at each device / function, and therefore will be briefly described below. For a better understanding, reference may be made to the above Figure 3-8 Description to read the description below.

[0094] Fig. 9An example method 300 is shown for multicast service support in a TSN network integrated with a 5GS as one or more bridges. The TSN network may have a fully distributed configuration model. The method 300 may be performed by a 5GC-CP network function, including but not limited to an SMF, a PCF, or a TSN AF, such as Figure 4 The SMF 112, PCF 113 or TSNAF 115 shown. For example, the steps of method 300 may be performed by a device, module or element of a device implemented at a 5GC-CP network function.

[0095] refer to Fig. 9 The method 300 may optionally include step 310 of determining a first group of listener UEs to join the multicast group identified by the group address. As described above, for example, the 5GC-CP NF may determine the first group of listener UEs based on a request to join the multicast group received from the first group of listener UEs via a UPF such as UPF 105.

[0096] In step 320, the 5GC-CP NF may determine a second group of listener UEs from the first group of listener UEs that are ready to receive the TSN stream for the multicast group. For example, the 5GC-CP NF may determine the second group of listener UEs based on listener announcements received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs. The first group of listener UEs may send a listener announcement in response to a speaker advertisement announcement received from a speaker, which announces that the speaker provides TSN streams for the multicast group. Examples of listener announcements may include, but are not limited to, listener ready and listener query failure. The 5GC-CP may determine that the UE connected to the listener that responds with listener ready belongs to the second group.

[0097] In case step 310 is omitted, the TSN bridges receiving the speaker advertisement announcement from the speaker will distribute the speaker advertisement on the active outbound ports of the TSN bridges in the spanning tree protocol (STP) domain (e.g., in the VLAN domain of the speaker). Then, the UEs connected to the active outbound ports of the TSN bridges in the STP domain (e.g., deployed in the same VLAN as the speaker) can be considered as the first group of listener UEs. Based on the listener ready announcement sent from such UEs in response to the speaker advertisement announcement, the 5GC-CP NF can determine the second group of listener UEs that are ready to receive the TSN stream provided by the speaker for the multicast group.

[0098] When the talker providing the TSN stream and the second group of listener UEs receiving the TSN stream are identified, the multicast scope is determined accordingly. The 5G-CP NF may also maintain control information of the multicast group, including, for example, group binding information for binding the multicast group with the first group of listener UEs, stream binding information for binding the multicast group with the second group of listener UEs, a TSC multicast session context indicating a TSC multicast session for the TSN stream, TSC multicast QoS stream information indicating a TSC multicast QoS stream for the TSN stream, and an association between the above information for the first and / or second group of UEs. Reference has been made above to Figure 7 Example parameters of the control information are described in detail, and a repeated description thereof is omitted here.

[0099] The control information may be maintained in separate operations. For example, group binding information may be established when a first group of listener UEs is determined, stream binding information may be established when a second group of listener UEs is determined, and TSC multicast session context and TSC multicast QoS stream information may be established after the stream binding information is established. The control information may be further updated in response to changes in the multicast group. For example, when a new listener UE joins the first group and / or the second group, parameters of the new listener UE may be added to the control information. When a listener UE exits the first and / or the second group, the parameters of the listener UE may be removed from the control information.

[0100] The method 300 may also include step 340, which triggers a process of establishing a TSC multicast session and a TSC QoS flow for the TSN flow based on the TSC multicast session context and the TSC multicast QoS flow information. In some embodiments, the 5GC-CP NF may trigger the establishment process by indicating the second group of listener UEs, the TSC multicast session context ID, and the TSC multicast QoS flow ID (QFI) to the radio access network serving the second group of listener UEs. For example, the TSN AF may trigger the establishment process by sending a QoS mapping request to the PCF, or the PCF may trigger the establishment process by sending a session management policy association modification message to the SMF, or the SMF may trigger the establishment process via the AMF by transmitting a multicast registration request to one or more base stations providing network access for the second group of listener UEs. It should be understood that the TSC multicast session may include multiple TSC multicast QoS flows, and one or more TSN flows may be transmitted on the QoS flow. In some embodiments, the 5GC-CP NF may further provide user plane configuration information to the anchor UPF of the talker and the RAN connected to the second group of listener UEs for forwarding the flow traffic of one or more TSC multicast QoS flows from the anchor UPF to the RAN. Figure 8 The details of the establishment process are discussed and a repeated description thereof is omitted here.

[0101] If the TSC multicast session and TSC multicast QoS flow are successfully established for the TSN flow, in step 350, the 5G-CP may configure rules in the anchor UPF of the talker UE for forwarding the TSN flow from the talker UE to the second group of listener UEs via the established TSC multicast QoS flow. For example, the configured rules may include packet detection rules (PDRs) and / or forwarding action rules (FARs). Therefore, when the anchor UPF receives the service data of the TSN flow from the talker, it forwards the TSN flow service data to the RAN connected to the second group of listener UEs, and finally forwards it to the listeners.

[0102] In some embodiments, if the establishment of the TSC multicast QoS flow fails, for example, when the base station and / or the listener UE do not have available resources that meet the QoS flow requirements, the 5G-CP NF may further update the parameters in the control information of the multicast group. For example, the 5G-CP NF may remove the UE and its DS-TT port number that failed to establish the QoS flow from the second group of listener UEs, or may also remove it from the first group of listener UEs included in the control information.

[0103] Fig.10 4 is an example flow chart showing a method 400 for multicast service support in a TSN network integrated with a 5GS as one or more bridges. The TSN network may have a fully distributed configuration model. The method 400 may be implemented by a 5GC-UP network function, such as Figure 4 The steps of method 400 may be performed by a device, module or element of a device implemented at a 5GC-UP network function, such as UPF 105 shown.

[0104] refer to Fig.10 , method 400 may optionally include step 410, namely receiving a request from a first group of listener UEs to join a multicast group identified by a group address. Figure 6 As described above, UPF 105 may receive the request carried in the MMRP message. In some embodiments, step 410 may be omitted.

[0105] Method 400 may also include step 420, forwarding a speaker advertisement announcement received from the speaker to a first group of listener UEs. The speaker advertisement announcement may indicate that the speaker provides a TSN stream for the multicast group and has a target address that matches the group address of the multicast group. The first group of listener UEs may be determined as UEs that have joined the multicast group. For example, the first group of listener UEs may be determined by querying group binding information that binds the group address to the first group of listener UEs. In some embodiments where step 410 is omitted and no listener UE issues a request to join the multicast group, the speaker advertisement announcement received from the speaker may be forwarded in step 420 to the first group of listener UEs that are connected to an active outbound port of a bridge to which the speaker is connected in the STP domain.

[0106] In step 430, the UPF may forward the listener announcement received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs to the speaker. One or more of the first group of listener UEs may send a listener announcement to the speaker in response to the speaker advertisement announcement received from the speaker. The listener announcement may indicate whether the listener UE is ready to receive the TSN stream provided from the speaker.

[0107] The method 400 may also include step 440, which applies rules for forwarding the TSN stream from the talker to the RAN connected to the second group of listener UEs ready to receive the TSN stream. The second group is a subset of the first group, and the second group may be determined based on listener declarations received from one or more of the first group of UEs. The rules for forwarding the TSN stream may include, for example, packet detection rules (PDRs) and forwarding action rules (FARs). Then, when the UPF 105 receives the service data of the TSN stream from the talker, it may detect the service data in the TSN stream based on the PDR and FAR rules and forward it to the RAN connected to the second group of listener UEs.

[0108] Fig.11 5 is an example flow chart showing a method 500 for multicast service support in a TSN network integrated with a 5GS as one or more bridges. The TSN network may have a fully distributed configuration model. The method 500 may be performed by a network device, such as Figure 4 The steps of method 500 may be performed by a base station such as gNB 110B shown. For example, the steps of method 500 may be performed by a device, module or element of a device implemented at a network device.

[0109] refer to Fig.11 The method 500 may include step 510 of receiving a multicast registration request from a core network, such as from an SMF. The multicast registration request may include, for example, a TSC session context ID, QoS flow information, a list of listener UEs in the second group, and a related DS-TT port number.

[0110] The method 500 may also include step 520 of establishing one or more radio bearers, such as data radio bearers (DRBs), for the TSC multicast QoS flow of one or more listener UEs in the second group based on the received multicast registration request. In some embodiments, the base station may establish a shared radio bearer for the one or more listener UEs, or the base station may establish a unicast radio bearer for each listener UE.

[0111] The method 500 may also include step 530 of reporting the establishment status of one or more radio bearers to the core network. For example, when one or more radio bearers are successfully established, gNB 110B may send a multicast registration response, or when gNB110B fails to establish one or more radio bearers for the multicast QoS flow for one or more listener UEs in the second group, gNB110B may send a multicast registration failure message. Based on the failure report, the core network learns that one or more listener UEs cannot receive the TSN flow and may remove the one or more listener UEs from the second group.

[0112] Fig.12 is an example flow chart showing a method 600 for multicast service support in a TSN network integrated with 5GS as one or more bridges. The TSN network may have a fully distributed configuration model. The method 600 may be performed by, for example Figure 4 The method 600 may be performed by a terminal device such as the listener UE 107B or 107C shown in FIG. 600 . For example, the steps of the method 600 may be performed by a device, a module or an element of a device implemented at a network device.

[0113] refer to Fig.12 , method 600 may optionally include step 610 of forwarding a request to join a multicast group identified by a group address received from a listener connected to the listener UE to the network. For example, the listener may be pre-configured with multiple group addresses, and the request sent from the listener may include the group address of the multicast group that the listener intends to join. In some embodiments, the listener may send the request via an MMRP message.

[0114] The listener UE may forward the speaker advertisement announcement received from the speaker to the listener in step 620. The speaker advertisement announcement indicates that the speaker provides a TSN stream for the multicast group, and it may include a destination address that matches the group address of the multicast group.

[0115] In response to the talker advertisement announcement, the listener may send a listener ready announcement to the talker, indicating that the listener is ready to receive the TSN stream from the talker. In step 630, the listener UE may forward the listener announcement to the talker.

[0116] In order for the listener to receive the TSN stream from the talker, a TSC multicast QoS flow and associated radio bearers are established for the TSN stream of the listener UE. The listener UE may then forward the multicast transmission of the TSN stream received from the talker to the listener on the radio bearer established for the TSC multicast QoS stream of the listener in step 640. The TSN stream is provided from the talker to the multicast group identified by the destination address of the TSN stream to which the listener has joined.

[0117] Fig.13 is a block diagram of an example communication system 700 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 4 As shown, the communication system 700 can be integrated into one or more virtual bridges in the TSN network. The communication system 700 may include a user equipment (UE) 710, a network function 730, and a network device 720, which communicates with the UE 710 via an air link and communicates with the network function 730 via a backhaul connection 728. The UE 710 can be implemented as the above-mentioned UE 107A, 107B, or 107C, the network device 720 can be implemented as the base station 110A or 110B discussed above, and the network function 730 can be implemented as one or more of the 5GC-UP and 5GC-CP network functions discussed above.

[0118] UE 710 may include one or more processors 711, one or more memories 712, one or more transceivers 713, and one or more communication interfaces 717 interconnected by one or more buses 714. One or more buses 714 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber, optical or other optical communication devices, etc. Each of the one or more transceivers 713 may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to one or more antennas 716. UE 710 may wirelessly communicate with network device 720 via one or more antennas 716. One or more communication interfaces 717 may provide wired or wireless communication links, and UE 710 may communicate with other devices, entities, elements, or functions via these communication links. For example, UE 710 may communicate with one or more TSN end stations or adjacent TSN bridges via one or more communication interfaces 717. One or more memories 712 may include computer program code 715. The one or more memories 712 and the computer program code 715 may be configured to, when executed by the one or more processors 711 , cause the UE 710 to perform the processes and steps described above in relation to the UE 107 .

[0119] The network device 720 may include one or more processors 721, one or more memories 722, one or more transceivers 723, and one or more communication interfaces 727 interconnected by one or more buses 724. The one or more buses 724 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber, optical or other optical communication devices, etc. Each of the one or more transceivers 723 may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to one or more antennas 726. The network device 720 may operate as a BS for the UE 710 and communicate wirelessly with the UE 710 through one or more antennas 726. The one or more communication interfaces 727 may provide a wired or wireless communication link, and the network device 720 may communicate with other network devices, entities, elements, or functions through a wired or wireless communication link. The one or more memories 722 may include computer program code 725. The network device 720 may communicate with the network function 730 via a backhaul connection 728. The one or more memories 722 and the computer program code 725 may be configured to, when executed by the one or more processors 721 , cause the network device 720 to perform processes and steps associated with the BS 110 as described above.

[0120] The network function 730 may include one or more processors 731, one or more memories 732, and one or more communication interfaces 737 interconnected by one or more buses 734. The one or more buses 734 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber, optical or other optical communication devices, etc. The network function 730 may operate as a core network function in a control plane or a user plane, and communicate with the BS 720 by wire or wireless communication through one or more links. One or more communication interfaces 737 may provide wired or wireless communication links, and the network function 730 may communicate with other devices, entities, elements, or functions through these communication links. One or more memories 732 may include computer program code 735. The one or more memories 732 and the computer program code 735 may be configured to, when executed by one or more processors 731, cause the network function 730 to perform the processes and steps related to one or more of the 5GC-CP and 5GC-UP network functions as described above.

[0121] The one or more processors 711, 721, and 731 may be of any appropriate type suitable for a local technical network, and may include a general-purpose processor, a dedicated processor, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), one or more processors in a processor-based multi-core processor architecture, and a dedicated processor such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) developed. One or more processors 1011, 1021, and 1031 may be configured to control other elements of the UE / network device / network element, and cooperate with them to implement the above process.

[0122] One or more memories 712, 722, and 732 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, random access memory (RAM) or cache. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, for example, read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc. In addition, one or more memories 712, 722, and 732 may include, but are not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices or devices, or any combination thereof.

[0123] It should be understood that the blocks in the drawings can be implemented in various ways including software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, software and / or firmware such as machine executable instructions stored in a storage medium can be used to implement one or more blocks. In addition to or in place of machine executable instructions, some or all of the blocks in the drawings may be implemented at least in part by one or more hardware logic components. For example, but not limited to, exemplary types of hardware logic components that can be used include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific standard products (ASSPs), systems on chips (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc.

[0124] Some exemplary embodiments also provide computer program codes or instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, can cause the device or apparatus to perform the above-described processes. The computer program code for performing the processes of the exemplary embodiments can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The computer program code can be provided to one or more processors or controllers of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, so that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote computer or server.

[0125] Some exemplary embodiments further provide a computer program product or a computer readable medium having computer program code or instructions stored therein. A computer readable medium may be any tangible medium that may contain or store a program used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. A machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of machine readable storage media would 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.

[0126] In addition, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or requiring that all of the operations shown be performed to achieve 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 details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as 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.

[0127] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method for multicast service support in a time sensitive network (TSN), comprising: determining from the first group of listener user equipment UEs a second group of listener UEs ready to receive the TSN stream for the multicast group; as well as triggering establishment of a time sensitive communication (TSC) multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow for the second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN flow; The TSC multicast session includes a plurality of the TSC multicast QoS flows, which are used to forward service data of one or more TSN flows from one or more talker UEs to the second group of listener UEs.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, before determining the second group of listener UEs: The first group of listener UEs is determined based on a request to join a multicast group identified by a group address received from the first group of listener UEs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first group of listener UEs includes UEs connected to an active port of a bridge in the TSN network that receives a talker advertisement announcement from a talker indicating that the talker provides the TSN stream for the multicast group and is deployed with the talker in a virtual local area network (VLAN).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: The second group of listeners is determined based on a listener declaration received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs indicating whether the one or more of the first group of listener UEs are ready to receive the TSN stream.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: The listener announcement is sent from one or more of the first group of listener UEs in response to a speaker advertisement announcement from a speaker indicating that the speaker is providing the TSN stream for the multicast group.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising maintaining control information of the multicast group, wherein the control information comprises one or more of the following information: Group binding information, used to bind the multicast group with the first group of listener UEs; Stream binding information, used to bind the TSN stream with the second group of listener UEs; a TSC multicast session context indicating a TSC multicast session for one or more TSN flows for the second group of listener UEs; TSC multicast QoS flow information indicating a TSC multicast QoS flow for forwarding service data of one or more TSN flows to the second group of listener UEs; as well as An association between the above information for the first and / or second group of UEs.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein: The group binding information includes one or more of a group address, a list of listener UEs in the first group, and a list of device-side TSN translator (DS-TT) port numbers associated with the first group of listener UEs, The flow binding information includes one or more of the group address, a list of listener UEs in the second group, a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, a flow ID, a VLAN ID, and flow QoS information, The TSC multicast session context includes one or more of a session context ID, the group address, an anchor UPF ID for a talker, a list of listener UEs in the second group, and a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, and The TSC multicast QoS flow information includes one or more of a multicast QoS flow ID (QFI), a PDU session ID and / or MAC address of the talker, the group address, a list of listener UEs in the second group, a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, a flow ID, the VLAN ID, and the flow QoS information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: Triggering establishment of a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow for the second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN flow includes: indicating to one or more radio access networks (RANs) to which the second set of UEs are connected at least one of: the second set of UEs, the associated port numbers, the session context ID, and the QoS flow information; and Configuration information is provided to the anchor UPF and the RAN for forwarding flow data of one or more of the TSC multicast QoS flows from the anchor UPF to the RAN.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein: Maintaining control information for the multicast group includes: When the first group of listener UEs and / or the second group of listener UEs are determined, establishing control information for the multicast group; adding a parameter to the control information when a new listener UE joins the first group of UEs and / or the second group of UEs and / or a new TSN stream is advertised; and / or When the listener UE exits from the second group of UEs and / or the first group of UEs and / or the TSN flow stops, the parameter is removed from the control information.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein: The TSC multicast session includes a plurality of TSC multicast QoS flows for forwarding a plurality of TSN flows from one or more talker UEs to the second group of listener UEs via an anchor UPF indicated by the anchor UPF ID.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising: In case establishment of the TSC multicast QoS flow for the TSC flow fails, parameters of the group binding information, the flow binding information, the TSC multicast session context and / or the TSC multicast QoS flow information are updated.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Rules are configured in the anchor UPF of the talker UE for forwarding the TSN flow from the talker UE to a second group of listener UEs via the established TSC multicast QoS flow.

13. An apparatus in a control plane, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determining, from the first set of listener user equipment (UEs), a second set of listener UEs ready to receive a time sensitive network (TSN) stream for the multicast group; as well as triggering establishment of a time sensitive communication (TSC) multicast session and a TSC multicast quality of service (QoS) flow for a second group of listener UEs to receive the TSN flow; The TSC multicast session includes a plurality of the TSC multicast QoS flows, which are used to forward service data of one or more TSN flows from one or more talker UEs to the second group of listener UEs.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: Prior to determining the second group of listener UEs, the first group of listener UEs is determined based on a request to join the multicast group identified by the group address received from the first group of listener UEs.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein: The first group of listener UEs includes UEs connected to an active port of a bridge in the TSN network that receives a talker advertisement announcement from a talker indicating that the talker provides the TSN stream for the multicast group and is deployed with the talker in a virtual local area network (VLAN).

16. The device of claim 13, wherein: The second group of listener UEs is determined based on a listener declaration received from one or more of the first group of listener UEs indicating whether the one or more of the first group of listener UEs are ready to receive the TSN stream.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein: The listener announcement is sent from one or more of the first group of listener UEs in response to a speaker advertisement announcement from a speaker indicating that the speaker is providing the TSN stream for the multicast group.

18. The device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to maintain control information for the multicast group, the control information comprising one or more of the following information: Group binding information, used to bind the multicast group with the first group of listener UEs; Stream binding information, used to bind the TSN stream with the second group of listener UEs; a TSC multicast session context indicating a TSC multicast session for one or more TSN flows for the second group of listener UEs; TSC multicast QoS flow information indicating a TSC multicast QoS flow for forwarding service data of one or more TSN flows to a second group of listener UEs; as well as An association between the above information for the first and / or second group of UEs.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein: The group binding information includes one or more of a group address, a list of listener UEs in the first group, and a list of device-side TSN translator (DS-TT) port numbers associated with the first group of listener UEs, The flow binding information includes one or more of the group address, a list of listener UEs in the second group, a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, a flow ID, a VLAN ID, and flow QoS information, The TSC multicast session context includes one or more of a session context ID, the group address, an anchor UPF ID for a talker, a list of listener UEs in the second group, and a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, and The TSC multicast QoS flow information includes one or more of a multicast QoS flow ID (QFI), a PDU session ID and / or MAC address of the talker, the group address, a list of listener UEs in the second group, a list of DS-TT port numbers associated with the second group of listener UEs, a flow ID, the VLAN ID, and the flow QoS information.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to trigger establishment of a TSC multicast session and a TSC multicast QoS flow in the following manner: indicating at least one of the second group of UEs, the associated port number, the session context ID, and the QoS flow information to one or more radio access networks (RANs) to which the second group of UEs are connected; and Configuration information is provided to the anchor UPF and the RAN for forwarding flow data of one or more of the TSC multicast QoS flows from the anchor UPF to the RAN.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to maintain control information for the multicast group by: When the first group of listener UEs and / or the second group of listener UEs are determined, establishing control information for the multicast group; When a new listener UE joins the first group of UEs and / or the second group of UEs and / or a new TSN stream is advertised, adding a parameter to the control information; and / or When the listener UE exits from the second group of UEs and / or the first group of UEs and / or the TSN flow stops, the parameter is removed from the control information.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the TSC multicast session comprises a plurality of TSC multicast QoS flows for forwarding a plurality of TSN flows from one or more talker UEs to the second group of listener UEs via an anchor UPF represented by the anchor UPF ID.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: In case establishment of the TSC multicast QoS flow for the TSC flow fails, parameters of the group binding information, the flow binding information, the TSC multicast session context and / or the TSC multicast QoS flow information are updated.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: A rule is configured in the anchor UPF of the talker UE for forwarding the TSN flow from the talker UE to the second group of listener UEs via the established TSC multicast QoS flow.

25. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: forwarding a multicast transmission of a Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) flow received from a talker to a listener user equipment UE over a radio bearer established for a Time Sensitive Communication (TSC) multicast QoS flow for the listener UE, the TSN flow being provided from the talker to a multicast group identified by a destination address of the TSN flow to which the listener UE has joined; The TSC multicast session includes a plurality of the TSC multicast QoS flows, which are used to forward service data of one or more TSN flows from one or more speakers to the listener UE.

26. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor of a network function in a control plane, cause the network function to perform the method of any one of claims 1-12.

Images