A method and apparatus for scheduling transmissions

Abstract

The application discloses a scheduling transmission method and device. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring the scheduling priority of a terminal; and performing data packet transmission with the terminal according to the scheduling priority of the terminal, wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of a data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs. The application can be widely applied in the fields of communication technology, artificial intelligence, Internet of Vehicles, and smart home networking.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a scheduling transmission method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, with the continuous advancement and improvement of extended reality (XR) technology, related industries have experienced rapid development. Today, XR technology has entered various fields closely related to people's production and daily life, including education, entertainment, military, healthcare, environmental protection, transportation, and public health. Ensuring high-efficiency transmission of XR services and improving their transmission performance has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a scheduling transmission method and apparatus to improve the transmission efficiency and performance of XR services.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of this application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0005] In a first aspect, a scheduling transmission method is provided. The method can be executed by an access network device or by a chip or functional module in the access network device. The method includes: obtaining the scheduling priority of a terminal; transmitting data packets with the terminal according to the scheduling priority of the terminal; wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs.

[0006] Alternatively, embodiments of this application are not limited to determining the scheduling priority of a terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. They may also determine the scheduling priority of a terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, or based on the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by referring to the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and / or the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs. Terminals with important data units and small data volume are scheduled to transmit data packets first, thereby maximizing the number of video frames correctly transmitted corresponding to the data packets of terminals with important data units and small data volume, meeting the video frame accuracy requirements, improving user experience and system performance.

[0008] In one possible design, the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is determined by one or more of the following: the position of the video frame to which the terminal's data packet belongs in the group of pictures (GoP), the position of the data unit in the video frame to which the data unit belongs, and the user level corresponding to the terminal.

[0009] Based on this possible design, video frames that are earlier in the GoP and / or data units within the field of view (FOV) of the video frame can be prioritized for scheduling, ensuring their correct transmission so that other video frames and / or data units can be fully recovered. Additionally, the user level of the terminal can be considered, prioritizing video frames from terminals with higher user levels to improve user experience.

[0010] In one possible design, the video frames at the first and second positions in the GoP are of equal importance; the first and second positions can be adjacent positions in the GoP, and the image content of the video frame at the first position is strongly related to the image content of the video frame at the second position. The two can refer to / depend on each other to recover the complete video frame. For example, the first position can be the first position in the GoP, and the second position can be the second position in the GoP; or, the first position can be the third position in the GoP, and the second position can be the fourth position in the GoP.

[0011] Based on this possible design, the importance of two or more video frames that are in consecutive positions can be set to the same, saving signaling overhead.

[0012] In one possible design, the terminal's data packets carry first information; wherein the first information is used to indicate the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong; or, the terminal's data packets carry second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the data unit to which the data packets belong, or to indicate the data unit to which the data packets belong and the total number of data packets included in the data unit, so that the core network device or access network device can obtain, based on the second information, the data packets included in the video frame to which the terminal's data packets belong, the total number of data packets included in the data unit to which the data packets belong, and the data size of the data unit to which the data packets belong.

[0013] Based on this possible design, the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be determined effectively and flexibly by the information carried by the data packet, reducing signaling overhead and simplifying system design.

[0014] In one possible design, there is a correspondence between the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and a first ratio; the first ratio = A / B, where A is the size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and B is the average size of the data units successfully transmitted by the terminal, or B is the average size of the data units of the video source corresponding to the terminal's data packet.

[0015] Based on this possible design, the size level of a data unit can be determined effectively and flexibly using either of the two calculation methods, based on the ratio of the size of the data unit to the average size of the data units.

[0016] In one possible design, the scheduling priority of a terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong. This includes: determining the scheduling priority of a terminal by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong, the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong, and a first parameter; the first parameter includes one or more of the following: the proportion of transmitted data packets in the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong, the estimated transmission delay of the remaining data packets in the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong, the instantaneous rate of the terminal, and the historical transmission rate of the terminal.

[0017] Based on this possible design, in addition to determining the terminal's scheduling priority according to the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the scheduling priority of the terminal can also be determined by combining one or more other parameters. This allows for the determination of the terminal's scheduling priority by combining multiple factors, meeting the various needs of the terminal and improving the user experience.

[0018] In one possible design, the scheduling priority of a terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. This includes: when the terminal's data packet is a data packet of the first service, the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs; wherein, the target video frame accuracy of the first service is greater than a threshold.

[0019] Based on this possible design, when scheduling data packets for the terminal's first service, the scheduling priority of the terminal can be determined according to the importance and size level of the data unit to which the data packet for the terminal's first service belongs, thereby improving the transmission efficiency and system performance of the first service.

[0020] In one possible design, the first service is an XR service. Based on this possible design, the method described in the embodiments of this application is applicable to the scheduling and transmission of XR services.

[0021] In one possible design, the method further includes: determining that the terminal's data packet is a data packet of a first service based on the transmission characteristics of the terminal's data packet, wherein the transmission characteristics include transmission period and / or transmission data volume; or, determining that the terminal's data packet is a data packet of the first service based on the radio bearer used to transmit the data packet of the terminal and the correspondence between the radio bearer and the service; or, determining that the terminal's data packet is a data packet of the first service based on the quality of service identifier carried by the terminal's data packet and the correspondence between the quality of service identifier and the service.

[0022] Based on this possible design, the data packets of the terminal can be flexibly and effectively identified as belonging to the first service by means of the inherent transmission characteristics of the data packets and / or transmission resources that match the transmission requirements of the service to which the data packets belong.

[0023] In one possible design, the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by a first network element based on the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs; wherein, the first network element is an access network device or a chip or functional module within the access network device, or it can be a core network device or a chip or functional module within the core network device. Based on this possible design, the applicable scenarios of the embodiments of this application can be deployed effectively and flexibly.

[0024] Secondly, this application provides a communication device, which can be an access network device or a chip or system-on-a-chip within the access network device, and can also be a functional module in the communication device for implementing the methods described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. This communication device can implement the functions performed by the communication device in the above aspects or possible designs, and these functions can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, the communication device may include: a processing unit and a transceiver unit.

[0025] The processing unit is used to determine the scheduling priority of the terminal, wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0026] The processing unit is also used to control the transmission of data packets between the transceiver unit and the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority.

[0027] The importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the relevant descriptions of the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and the determination method can be referred to in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0028] The specific implementation of this communication device can refer to the behavior and functions of the access network device in the scheduling and transmission method provided by the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here. Therefore, the access network device provided by the second aspect achieves the same beneficial effects as the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0029] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, which can be an access network device or a chip or system-on-a-chip within the access network device. This communication device can implement the functions performed by the access network device in the above-described aspects or possible designs, and these functions can be implemented in hardware. In one possible design, the communication device may include a processor and a communication interface. The processor can be used to support the communication device in implementing the functions involved in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. For example, the processor can determine the scheduling priority of a terminal and control the transmission of data packets between the communication unit and the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority, wherein the terminal's scheduling priority is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. In yet another possible design, the communication device may further include a memory for storing necessary computer execution instructions and data. When the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the scheduling transmission method as described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0030] Fourthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which may be a readable non-volatile storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the scheduling and transmission method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the above aspects.

[0031] Fifthly, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the scheduling and transmission method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the above aspects.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be an access network device or a chip or system-on-a-chip in the access network device. The communication device includes one or more processors and one or more memories. The one or more memories are coupled to the one or more processors and are used to store computer program code, the computer program code including computer instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the communication device to perform the scheduling transmission method as described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0033] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects three through six can be found in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0034] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which may include: a terminal and a communication device as described in either the second or sixth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1a This is a schematic diagram of single-stream transmission mode;

[0036] Figure 1b This is a schematic diagram of a multi-stream transmission mode;

[0037] Figure 1c This is a schematic diagram illustrating the video frame transmission process in a GoP.

[0038] Figure 2 A simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figures 3a to 3d A simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 5 A flowchart of a scheduling and transmission method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 6 A flowchart of another scheduling and transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0043] Figure 7a A schematic diagram of a data packet format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 7b A schematic diagram illustrating yet another format of the data packet provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 8 A flowchart of another scheduling and transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0046] Figure 9 A schematic diagram illustrating the composition of a communication device 90 provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0048] Before introducing the embodiments of this application, some terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained:

[0049] XR (extended reality) services are a general term for services related to extended reality. Specifically, XR includes: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). VR services primarily refer to rendering visual and audio scenes to simulate the visual and audio stimuli to the user's senses in the real world as closely as possible. AR services mainly refer to providing additional visual or auditory information or artificially generated content within the user's perceived real-world environment. MR services are an advanced form of AR services; one way to achieve this is by inserting virtual elements into physical scenes, aiming to provide users with an immersive experience where these elements are part of the real-world environment.

[0050] XR services can be transmitted in two modes: single-stream and multi-stream. The following section describes these two modes and the scheduling algorithms for each.

[0051] I. Single-stream transmission mode.

[0052] Single-stream transmission mode refers to transmitting the data packets corresponding to video frames in an XR service through a single bitstream. For example, Figure 1a This illustrates the process of sending video frames for an XR service to a terminal using a single-stream transmission mode, such as... Figure 1a As shown, the application server can divide a video frame of an XR service into dozens of data packets (such as Internet Protocol (IP) packets) and send these dozens of data packets to the fixed network / core network. The fixed network / core network then sends these dozens of data packets to the access network device, which in turn sends them to the terminal sequentially through a single bitstream.

[0053] In single-stream transmission mode, scheduling algorithms can include RR (Round-Robin) and PF (Power-Forward) algorithms. The RR algorithm, when allocating air interface resources, arranges multiple terminals to be scheduled into a queue, and polls for scheduling starting from the terminal at the head of the queue, moving the scheduled terminal to the end. The RR algorithm guarantees that multiple terminals have an equal chance of being scheduled, and can be considered a fair scheduling algorithm.

[0054] The PF algorithm determines the scheduling priority of a terminal based on its instantaneous rate and weighted average throughput, selects the terminal to be scheduled based on the determined scheduling priority, and considers both the maximum throughput of the system and the fairness of the terminals. In this application, the scheduling priority calculated using the PF algorithm is referred to as PF. The scheduling priority PF of a terminal satisfies the following formula (1):

[0055]

[0056] Wherein, R in formula (1) instant It is the instantaneous rate of the terminal, R instant R can be calculated based on the terminal's current channel state parameters (such as channel state information (CSI) and rank indication (RI)). history R represents the terminal's historical transmission rate. history This represents the average rate at which the terminal receives data packets over a period of time prior to the current moment.

[0057] As can be seen from formula (1), if there are multiple terminals waiting to be scheduled in the same cell, when the access network device continuously schedules a terminal with better channel quality, the historical transmission rate of that terminal will gradually increase, causing the scheduling priority of that terminal to gradually decrease. As a result, the access network device will schedule other terminals with higher priority. If a terminal has poor channel quality and is not scheduled by the access network device for a long time, the historical transmission rate of that terminal will decrease, and the scheduling priority of the terminal calculated by formula (1) will increase, giving that terminal the opportunity to be scheduled.

[0058] II. Multi-stream transmission mode.

[0059] Multi-stream transmission mode refers to the partitioning of transmission resources in the time, space, and frequency domains, resulting in a base layer (BL) and an enhancement layer (EL). The BL layer transmits data packets corresponding to video frames in XR services. These data packets (BL packets) ensure the decoder can decode the basic video content correctly, guaranteeing a basic user experience. The data size of the data packets transmitted on the BL layer is relatively small. The EL layer transmits detailed information corresponding to these data packets. This detailed information can be used to enhance the image quality corresponding to the data packet. The detailed information corresponding to the data packets transmitted on the EL layer (EL packets) is relatively large.

[0060] For example, Figure 1b This illustrates the process of sending video frames for XR services to a terminal via a multi-stream transmission mode, such as... Figure 1b As shown, the application server can encode the data packets corresponding to the video frames of the XR service to obtain BL data packets and EL data packets. The BL data packets and EL data packets are then sent to the UPF, which forwards them to the access network device, and the access network device sends them to the terminal.

[0061] In multi-stream transmission mode, the scheduling priority of the terminal can be calculated using the PF algorithm shown in formula (1) for both BL and EL data packets. Since BL data packets carry basic video content while EL data packets carry detailed information corresponding to that content, their quality of service (QoS) requirements differ. For example, the QoS requirement for BL data packets is greater than that for EL data packets. To ensure the QoS requirements of the data packets for the same terminal, the scheduling priority of BL data packets can be configured to be higher than that of EL data packets. For example, the scheduling priorities BL_PF and EL_PF of BL data packets satisfy the following formulas:

[0062]

[0063]

[0064] Among them, R instant R history The relevant descriptions are as described above and will not be repeated here. Δ is a preset offset value greater than zero, which ensures that the scheduling priority of BL packets is higher than that of EL packets.

[0065] As can be seen from the above, the scheduling algorithms under the single-stream transmission mode and the multi-stream transmission mode can guarantee the scheduling fairness among multiple scheduled terminals in a cell.

[0066] However, due to the influence of video encoding methods and resolution, the size of video frames in XR services on different terminals fluctuates, which leads to a decrease in network air interface transmission performance. For example, XR videos are played at a fixed frame rate, such as 30 frames per second (FPS), 60 FPS, or 120 FPS. With fixed air interface transmission resources, if the data volume of a video frame from a certain terminal is large, it will result in lower transmission efficiency for that video frame, increase transmission latency, and thus affect the transmission of video frames from other terminals with smaller data volumes, or even prevent transmission, thereby reducing network air interface transmission performance.

[0067] Furthermore, there are reference relationships between video frames within a GoP during encoding and decoding. If a video frame at a certain position in a GoP is faulty, other video frames that reference that frame for image reconstruction will also be faulty, reducing the video quality of the GoP, such as lowering the Video Multi-Method Assessment Fusion (VMAM) score corresponding to that GoP. Figure 1c The diagram illustrates the transmission of video frames in GoP, as shown below. Figure 1c As shown, a GoP consists of one I-frame and four P-frames. The restoration of the P-frame depends on the first I-frame, and there is a strong correlation between the P-frames and the I-frames. Among the four P-frames, the later P-frames depend on the earlier P-frames. Figure 1c As shown in Scenario 1, if the I-frame transmission fails, all video frames in the GoP cannot be recovered, resulting in a low VMAM score of 30. In Scenario 2, the I-frame transmission is correct, but the first P-frame fails. Since the subsequent three P-frames require reference to this P-frame during decoding, all four P-frames in the GoP cannot be decoded correctly, resulting in a VMAF score of 50. In Scenario 3, the I-frame and the second P-frame are transmitted correctly, but the third P-frame fails. Since the subsequent two P-frames require reference to this P-frame during decoding, all three P-frames in the GoP cannot be decoded correctly, resulting in a VMAF score of 60. In Scenario 4, the I-frame, the first P-frame, the second P-frame, and the third P-frame are transmitted correctly. However, since the subsequent P-frame requires reference to the preceding video frames during decoding, one P-frame in the GoP cannot be decoded correctly, resulting in a VMAF score of 80.

[0068] As can be seen from the above, the fluctuations in video frame size and the varying importance of video frames in XR services have a significant impact on system performance. However, the scheduling algorithms described above for single-stream and multi-stream transmission modes only consider the scheduling fairness among multiple scheduled terminals within a single cell, without taking into account the fluctuations in video frame size and the varying importance of video frames.

[0069] To address the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of this application provide a scheduling transmission method. This method may include: obtaining the scheduling priority of a terminal; transmitting data packets with the terminal according to the scheduling priority; wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance and size level of the data unit to which the data packet belongs. For example, terminals with important and smaller data units have higher scheduling priorities, thus prioritizing the transmission of data packets from terminals with important and smaller data units. This maximizes the number of correctly transmitted video frames and improves the data packet transmission efficiency of the terminal, ensuring the correct transmission of highly important video frames and further recovering other video frames associated with the video frame, thereby improving user experience and system performance.

[0070] The following explains the data unit to which a terminal's data packet belongs, the importance of the data unit to which a terminal's data packet belongs, the size level of the data unit to which a data packet belongs, and the scheduling priority of the terminal:

[0071] In this embodiment, the terminal's data packet can carry part or all of the image content corresponding to the data unit. The data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be a video frame, or a part of a video frame, such as a slice or a tile of a video frame, or other data units of granularity, without limitation. A slice can be a strip cut from the image frame corresponding to the video frame in a horizontal / vertical direction. A tile can be a (rectangular) area divided from the image frame corresponding to the video frame in both horizontal and vertical directions.

[0072] In this embodiment, the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be used to characterize the influence of that data unit on image quality during image restoration. This application does not limit the naming of the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs; the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can also be named the importance coefficient of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs or other names, without limitation.

[0073] When the data unit is a video frame, its importance can be determined based on its position within the GoP (Goal of Process). Because there are reference relationships between video frames within a GoP during encoding and decoding—for example, a video frame references other video frames that precede it within the same GoP—if an error occurs in one of those earlier frames, other video frames referencing it for image reconstruction will also malfunction. Therefore, when a video frame references other earlier video frames within the same GoP for encoding and decoding, the earlier the frame, the greater its importance, and vice versa.

[0074] In one possible design, video frames at a given location within the same GoP are assigned an importance score, with different importance scores for video frames at different locations. In other words, the importance of a video frame corresponds one-to-one with its position within the GoP. In another possible design, to conserve data, the importance of two or more consecutive (or adjacent) positions within the same GoP can be set to be equal. For example, video frames at the first and second positions within the same GoP could have the same importance, and these positions could be adjacent.

[0075] Taking the example of two video frames having the same importance, Table 1 below shows the correspondence between video frames at different positions and the importance of video frames. As shown in Table 1, GoP includes 8 video frames: the video frame at position 0 to the video frame at position 7. The video frames at positions 0 and 1 have the same importance and are set to 00. The video frames at positions 2 and 3 have the same importance and are set to 01. The video frames at positions 4 and 5 have the same importance and are set to 10. The video frames at positions 6 and 7 have the same importance and are set to 11.

[0076] Table 1

[0077] Location of video frames in GOP The importance of video frames 0，1 00 2，3 01 4，5 10 6，7 11

[0078] It should be noted that Table 1 is an exemplary table. Table 1 is used to more clearly illustrate the correspondence between the position of a video frame in GOP and the importance of the video frame, and does not constitute a limitation on the value of the video frame's importance. For example, the number of bits corresponding to the importance of a video frame is not limited; two bits "00" can be used to represent the importance of frames 0 and 1, or three bits "000" can be used to represent the importance of frames 0 and 1. Furthermore, the importance value in Table 1 is negatively correlated with the importance of the video frame; the smaller the importance value, the higher the importance, and vice versa. It should be understood that the relationship between the importance value and the importance of video frames in Table 1 is merely exemplary, and the importance value can also be set to be positively correlated with the importance of the video frame, without restriction.

[0079] Since image content within the FOV of a video frame is more important and has a greater impact on the image quality of that frame, while image content outside the FOV (such as at the edge of the corresponding image frame) has a smaller impact on the image quality, the importance of a data unit can be determined by one or more of the following factors: the position of the data unit to which it belongs in the GoP and the position of the data unit within the video frame.

[0080] For example: In one possible design, the importance of a data unit is determined by its position within the GoP (Go Frame). For instance, the importance of the video frame to which the data unit belongs is used as the data unit's importance, while the importance of the video frame is determined by its position within the GoP. Alternatively, in another possible design, the importance of a data unit is determined by its position within the GoP. For example, data units within the FOV (Field of View) of a video frame are more important, while those outside the FOV are less important. Yet another possible design can determine the importance of a data unit by both its position within the GoP and its position within the video frame (e.g., whether it is within the FOV). For example, data units within the FOV and located earlier in the GoP are more important, while those outside the FOV and located later in the GoP are less important.

[0081] For example, taking the determination of slice importance based on slice position in video frame as an example, Table 2 below shows the correspondence between slice position in video frame and slice importance. As shown in Table 2, the importance of slice within FOV is set to "00", and the importance of slice outside FOV is set to "01".

[0082] Table 2

[0083] The position of a slice in a video frame The importance of slices Within FOV 00 FOV outside 01

[0084] It should be noted that Table 2 is an exemplary table. Table 2 is used to more clearly illustrate the correspondence between the position of a slice in a video frame and the importance of that slice, and does not constitute a limitation on the value of slice importance. For example, the number of bits corresponding to slice importance is not limited; two bits "00" can be used to represent the importance of a slice within the FOV, or three bits "000" can be used to represent the importance of a slice within the FOV. Furthermore, the value of slice importance in Table 2 is negatively correlated with slice importance; the smaller the value, the higher the importance, and vice versa. It should be understood that the relationship between the value of slice importance and slice importance in Table 2 is merely exemplary, and the value of slice importance can also be set to be positively correlated with slice importance without restriction.

[0085] For example, taking a data unit as a slice, the importance of a slice can be determined by its position within the GoP and its position within the video frame (e.g., whether it is within the FOV). The importance of a data unit depends not only on its position within the video frame but also on the position of the video frame within the GoP. Table 3 below shows the correspondence between the position of a slice within a video frame, the position of the video frame within the GoP, and the importance of the slice. As shown in Table 3, for the same video frame 1, slice 1 is within the FOV of video frame 1, while other slices in video frame 1 are outside the FOV. Their importance differs; the importance of slice 1 in video frame 1 is set to "00", while the importance of slice 2 in video frame 1 is set to "01". For slice1 in video frame 1 and slice1 in video frame 2, although both are located within the FOV, their importance differs because the video frames they belong to are located at position 1 in the GoP, while video frame 2 is located at position 4 in the GoP. Position 1 is earlier than position 4. For example, the importance of slice1 in video frame 1 within the FOV is set to "00", while the importance of slice1 in video frame 2 within the FOV is set to "10".

[0086] Table 3

[0087] slice The position of a slice in a video frame Location of video frames in GOP The importance of slices slice1 in video frame 1 Within FOV 1 00 slice2 in video frame 1 FOV outside 1 01 slice1 in video frame 2 Within FOV 4 10 slice2 in video frame 2 FOV outside 4 11

[0088] It should be noted that Table 3 is an exemplary table. Table 3 is intended to more clearly illustrate the correspondence between the slice's position in a video frame and whether a slice is within the FOV, and the slice's importance. It does not constitute a limitation on the value of slice importance. For example, the number of bits corresponding to slice importance is not limited; two bits "00" can represent the importance of a slice within the FOV and at position 1, and three bits "000" can also represent the importance of a slice within the FOV and at position 1. Furthermore, the value of slice importance in Table 3 is negatively correlated with slice importance; the smaller the value, the higher the importance, and vice versa. It should be understood that the relationship between the value of slice importance and slice importance in Table 3 is merely exemplary, and the value of slice importance can also be set to be positively correlated with slice importance without restriction.

[0089] Further optional, embodiments of this application also consider the impact of the terminal's user level on the importance of the data unit. For example, the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be determined based on one or more of the following: the position of the video frame corresponding to the data unit in the GoP, the position of the data unit in the video frame, and the terminal's user level. Taking the determination of the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the position of the video frame in the GoP and the user level as an example, for video frames at the same position, if a user is a very important person (VIP) user, the importance of the video frame requested by that user is set higher so that the user's data packet can be scheduled first. For ordinary users, the importance of the video frame requested by that user is set lower so that the user's data packet can be scheduled later.

[0090] For example, as shown in Table 4, GoP includes 8 video frames: the video frames at positions 0 to 7. The importance of the video frames at positions 0 and 1 for ordinary users is set to 000, and the importance of the video frames at positions 0 and 1 for customized users is set to 001; the importance of the video frames at positions 2 and 3 for ordinary users is set to 001, and the importance of the video frames at positions 2 and 3 for customized users is set to 010; the importance of the video frames at positions 4 and 5 for ordinary users is set to 010, and the importance of the video frames at positions 4 and 5 for customized users is set to 011; the importance of the video frames at positions 6 and 7 for ordinary users is set to 011, and the importance of the video frames at positions 6 and 7 for customized users is set to 100.

[0091] Table 4

[0092] Location of video frames in GOP The importance of video frames for ordinary users The Importance of Customizing User Video Frames 0，1 000 001 2，3 001 010 4，5 010 011 6，7 011 100

[0093] It should be noted that Table 4 is an exemplary table. Table 4 is intended to more clearly illustrate the correspondence between the terminal's user level, the position of the video frame in the GoP, and the importance of the video frame. It does not constitute a limitation on the value of the video frame's importance. For example, the number of bits corresponding to the video frame's importance is not limited; three bits "001" can be used to represent the importance of the 0th and 1st frames for a customized user, or four bits "0001" can be used to represent the importance of the 0th and 1st frames for a customized user. Furthermore, the value of the video frame's importance in Table 4 is negatively correlated with the video frame's importance; the smaller the value, the higher the importance, and vice versa. It should be understood that the relationship between the value of the video frame's importance and the video frame's importance in Table 4 is merely exemplary, and the value of the video frame's importance can also be set to be positively correlated with the video frame's importance without restriction.

[0094] Table 4 illustrates the correspondence between the terminal's user level, the video frame's position in the GoP, and the video frame's importance using Table 4 as an example. It should be understood that, referring to Table 4, if the importance of a data unit is determined based on the position of the video frame corresponding to the data unit of the terminal's data packet within the GoP, the position of the data unit within the video frame, and the terminal's user level, then not only the position of the video frame within the GoP should be considered, but also whether the data unit is within the FOV of the video frame and the terminal's user level should be taken into account. Similarly, if the importance of a data unit is determined by the position of the data unit within the video frame and the terminal's user level, then not only should the position of the data unit within the FOV be considered, but also the terminal's user level should be taken into account.

[0095] In this embodiment, the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be used to characterize the size of the data unit. There is a correspondence between the size level of the data unit and a first ratio. This correspondence can be in list form, array form, or other implementation form. The size level of the data unit can be determined based on this correspondence and the first ratio.

[0096] Taking this correspondence as a table example, Table 5 below shows the correspondence between the size level of a data unit and the first ratio. As shown in Table 5, after calculating the first ratio, the size level of the data unit can be obtained by looking up Table 5 using the first ratio as an index. For example, assuming the calculated first ratio is 0.5, the size level of the data unit can be determined as "00" by looking up Table 5.

[0097] Table 5

[0098] The range of the first ratio Data unit size levels 0-1 00 1-1.5 01 1.5-2 10 >2 11

[0099] It should be noted that Table 5 is an exemplary table. Table 5 is intended to more clearly illustrate the correspondence between the first ratio and the size level of the data unit, and does not constitute a limitation on the value of the data unit size level. For example, the number of bits corresponding to the data unit size level is not limited; two bits "00" can be used to represent the data unit size level corresponding to the first ratio [0, 1], or three bits "000" can be used to represent the data unit size level corresponding to the first ratio [0, 1]. Furthermore, the size level value of the data unit in Table 5 is negatively correlated with the data volume of the data unit; the smaller the size level value, the larger the data volume of the data unit, and vice versa. It should be understood that the relationship between the size level value and the data volume of the data unit in Table 5 is only exemplary, and the size level value can also be set to be positively correlated with the data volume of the data unit without restriction.

[0100] Wherein, the first ratio = A / B. A can be the size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. B can be the average size of the data units successfully transmitted by the terminal or the average size of the data units of the video source corresponding to the terminal's data packet. The method for determining the first ratio is described below:

[0101] In one example, a first ratio can be calculated based on the ratio between the size of a data unit and the average size of data units successfully transmitted by the terminal, such that the first ratio satisfies the following formula:

[0102]

[0103] For example, the number of data units successfully transmitted by the terminal can be counted, and the average size of the successfully transmitted data units can be obtained by calculating the ratio between the total data size of the successfully transmitted data units and the total number of successfully transmitted data units. The first ratio can be obtained by substituting the size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the calculated average size of the successfully transmitted data units into the above formula.

[0104] In another example, the ratio can be calculated based on the size of the data unit to the average size of the data units in the video source corresponding to the data packets of the terminal. For example, the first ratio can satisfy the following formula:

[0105]

[0106] The average data unit size of the video source corresponding to the terminal's data packet can be defined as the ratio between the total data size of all data units in that type of video source and the total number of data units in that video source. This average data unit size can be predetermined. For example, in the case of multiple types of video sources, for each video source, the average data unit size is pre-calculated based on one or more information such as the video source's bitrate control method, resolution, and GoP, and the correspondence between the video source and its average data unit size is stored locally. Subsequently, after determining the type of video source corresponding to the terminal's data packet, the average data unit size of the video source corresponding to the terminal's data packet is obtained based on the locally stored correspondence between the video source and its average data unit size. The size of the data unit in the terminal's data packet and the average data unit size of the video source corresponding to the terminal's data packet are then substituted into the above formula to calculate the first ratio.

[0107] In this embodiment, the scheduling priority of a terminal can be used to characterize the order / time in which a terminal is scheduled among multiple terminals that occupy the same transmission resources and are to be scheduled by the access network device. There is a positive correlation between the scheduling priority of a terminal and the order / time in which it is scheduled; the higher the scheduling priority, the earlier the terminal is scheduled, and the lower the scheduling priority, the later the terminal is scheduled. For example, if there are two terminals, terminal 1 and terminal 2, to be scheduled by base station 1, and if the scheduling priority of terminal 1 is greater than that of terminal 2, then terminal 1 will be scheduled at time 1, while terminal 2 will be scheduled at time 2, with time 1 being earlier than time 2.

[0108] The scheduling and transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, with the evolution of communication systems and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems. Furthermore, it should be understood that the communication systems and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0109] The scheduling and transmission method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to... Figure 2 The communication system shown, such as Figure 2As shown, the communication system may include one or more terminals and access network devices. Further, it may also include application servers (AS), core network devices / fixed networks, etc. The application server or other terminals can transmit data with the terminals through the access network devices / fixed networks. One or more terminals are located in a cell covered by the access network devices, and one or more terminals may be terminals to be scheduled by the access network devices. It should be noted that the scheduling described in this application embodiment may include uplink scheduling or downlink scheduling. Uplink scheduling may refer to the access network devices scheduling the terminals to send uplink data to the application servers / others, and downlink scheduling may refer to the access network devices scheduling downlink data sent by the application servers / other terminals to the terminals.

[0110] The following is about Figure 2 The following describes the various network elements in the communication system shown:

[0111] Access network equipment is primarily used to implement functions such as terminal resource scheduling, radio resource management, and radio access control. For example, access network equipment can determine the scheduling priority of a terminal based on its instantaneous rate and the type of its primary service, and then transmit the primary service with the terminal according to the scheduling priority. Specifically, access network equipment can be any node among small base stations, radio access points, transmission receive points (TRPs), transmission points (TPs), and other access nodes. Access network equipment can be any device with radio transceiver capabilities. Access network equipment can include, but is not limited to: evolved access network equipment (evolved Node B, NodeB, eNB, or e-NodeB) in Long Term Evolution (LTE), access network equipment (gNodeB or gNB) or transceiver points in New Radio (NR), access network equipment evolved after the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), wireless-fidelity (WiFi) access points, wireless relay nodes, and wireless backhaul nodes in WiFi systems.

[0112] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and it can be deployed in the air (e.g., on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, VR device, AR device, XR glasses, television, smart screen / electronic tablet, wireless terminal in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminal equipment, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, wearable terminal devices, etc. The embodiments in this application do not limit the application scenarios. A terminal may also be referred to as terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile device, UE equipment, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent, or UE device, etc. A terminal can be fixed or mobile.

[0113] Application servers are primarily used to provide business services to terminals, such as XR services. The term "application server" can also be replaced with "application function" (AF) or other names without restriction.

[0114] Core network equipment: This equipment is used to perform functions such as registration, connection, and session management. Core network equipment may include user plane functions (UPF), session management network elements (such as session management function (SMF)), mobility management network elements (such as access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

[0115] Fixed-line networks can be used to establish connections and enable data transmission. Fixed-line networks can be WiFi networks or Ethernet networks, among others.

[0116] It should be noted that, Figure 2 This is just an example architecture diagram, except... Figure 2In addition to the functional units shown, the system may also include other functional network elements, such as operation and management (O&M) network elements, etc., which are not limited in this application embodiment. Furthermore, Figure 2 The names of the various devices in the text are not restricted, except... Figure 2 In addition to the names shown, each device can be named with other names, such as replacing them with network element names that have the same or similar functions, without restriction.

[0117] in, Figure 2 The communication system shown can be a 3GPP communication system, such as a 4th generation (4G) communication system, an LTE system, a 5th generation (5G) communication system, an NR system, a new radio-vehicle-to-everything (NR-V2X) system, an Internet of Things (IoT) system, or other next-generation communication systems. It can also be a non-3GPP communication system, such as a WiFi system, or a hybrid network system of WiFi and the above-mentioned network systems, etc., without restriction.

[0118] by Figure 2 The communication system shown is an example of a 5G communication system. Figure 3a As shown, Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the application server can be a server in a 5G communication system. Figure 2 The core network equipment in the 5G communication system can correspond to network exposure function (NEF), policy control function (PCF), UPF, SMF, etc. Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the access network equipment in the 5G communication system can be the gNB, and the network element or entity corresponding to the terminal can be the UE in the 5G communication system. In the 5G communication system, network elements can be connected to each other through the next generation (NG) interface (or simply N interface). The server can send downlink data to the gNB through the N6 transmission tunnel between itself and the UPF, and the N3 transmission tunnel between the UPF and the gNB. The gNB sends downlink data to the UE through the NR air interface.

[0119] In one possible design, the gNB can directly send downlink data to the UE via the NR air interface. In another possible design, the gNB can send downlink data to the UE via a relay link. For example, Figure 3b Another schematic diagram of a 5G communication system is shown, such as Figure 3b As shown, this 5G communication system and Figure 3a The difference between the communication systems shown is that there is one or more relay nodes between the gNB and the UE. Figure 3b (Taking a relay node as an example), data can be transmitted between the two through one or more relay nodes. A relay node can be a small station similar to an NR base station (gNodeB), such as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) base station, or an end user, such as a terminal device like an XR headset.

[0120] by Figure 2 The communication system shown is an example of a WiFi system. Figure 3c This is a diagram of a WiFi system, such as... Figure 3c As shown, the WiFi system may include: UE1, UE2, and a WiFi access point. Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the access network device in the above can be a WiFi access point in a WiFi system. Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the terminal in the diagram can be a UE in a WiFi system. For example... Figure 3c As shown, UE1 and UE2 can transmit data to each other through this WiFi access point. The WiFi access point can be a WiFi router or a set-top box. Taking UE1 as a mobile phone and UE2 as a TV or smart screen / tablet as an example, the mobile phone can project images onto the TV or smart screen / tablet through the WiFi router or set-top box.

[0121] by Figure 2 The communication system shown is an example of a hybrid networking system. Figure 3d This is a schematic diagram of a hybrid networking system, such as... Figure 3d As shown, the system may include: a server, an operational network, a WiFi access point, and one or more UEs. Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the application server in the system can be the Server. Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the access network device in the diagram can be the WiFi access point in that diagram. Figure 2 The network element or entity corresponding to the terminal in the system can be the UE in the system. The server can send XR service data to the WiFi access point through the operator's network, and the WiFi access point can transmit it to UE1 (such as an XR device) and project it to UE2 (such as a TV, smart screen, electronic tablet, etc.).

[0122] In practical implementation, Figure 2 The network elements shown, such as terminals and access network equipment, can be adopted. Figure 4 The shown composition or includes Figure 4 The components shown. Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 400 provided in an embodiment of this application. When the communication device 400 has the function of the access network device described in the embodiment of this application, the communication device 400 can be an access network device or a chip or system-on-a-chip in the access network device.

[0123] like Figure 4 As shown, the communication device 400 may include a processor 401, a communication line 402, and a communication interface 403. Furthermore, the communication device 400 may also include a memory 404. The processor 401, memory 404, and communication interface 403 can be connected via the communication line 402.

[0124] The processor 401 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. The processor 401 can also be other devices with processing capabilities, such as circuits, devices, or software modules.

[0125] Communication line 402 is used to transmit information between the components included in communication device 400.

[0126] Communication interface 403 is used for communication with other devices or other communication networks. These other communication networks can be Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc. Communication interface 403 can be a radio frequency module, transceiver, or any device capable of communication. This embodiment uses a radio frequency module as an example to illustrate communication interface 403. The radio frequency module can include an antenna, radio frequency circuitry, etc., and the radio frequency circuitry can include a radio frequency integrated chip, a power amplifier, etc.

[0127] Memory 404 is used to store instructions. These instructions can be computer programs.

[0128] The memory 404 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions; it can also be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions; it can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices. Optical disc storage includes compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.

[0129] It should be noted that the memory 404 can exist independently of the processor 401, or it can be integrated with the processor 401. The memory 404 can be used to store instructions, program code, or some data, etc. The memory 404 can be located inside or outside the communication device 400, without limitation. The processor 401 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 404 to implement the scheduling and transmission method provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0130] In one example, processor 401 may include one or more CPUs, for example Figure 4 CPU0 and CPU1 in the CPU.

[0131] As an optional implementation, the communication device 400 includes multiple processors, for example, besides Figure 4 In addition to processor 401, it may also include processor 407.

[0132] As an optional implementation, the communication device 400 also includes an output device 405 and an input device 406. The input device 406 is a keyboard, mouse, microphone, or joystick, and the output device 405 is a display screen, speaker, etc.

[0133] It should be noted that the communication device 400 can be a desktop computer, laptop computer, network server, mobile phone, tablet computer, wireless terminal, embedded device, chip system, or something else. Figure 4 Equipment with a similar structure. Furthermore... Figure 4 The structural composition shown does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, except... Figure 4 In addition to the components shown, the communication device may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0134] In this embodiment of the application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0135] The following is combined with Figure 2 The communication system shown illustrates the scheduling and transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application. The devices in the following embodiments may have... Figure 4 The components shown, and the actions, terms, etc. involved in the various embodiments can be referenced to each other. The message names or parameter names in the messages between devices in the various embodiments are just examples. Other names can also be used in the specific implementation, without limitation.

[0136] Figure 5 A scheduling transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 5 As shown, the method may include:

[0137] Step 501: The access network device determines the scheduling priority of the terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0138] Among them, access network equipment can Figure 2 In the access network equipment, the terminal can be Figure 2 Any terminal connected to the access network device in the communication system shown.

[0139] In this embodiment, from the perspective of data packet transmission direction, the terminal's data packet can be a downlink data packet sent from the application server / other terminal to the terminal via the access network device, or it can be an uplink data packet sent from the terminal to (or to be sent to) the application server / other terminal via the access network device. From the perspective of data packet service type, the terminal's data packet can be a data packet for a service where the target video frame accuracy is greater than a threshold. This service can be an XR service or other services, without limitation. Taking the terminal's data packet as a downlink data packet for an XR service as an example, the application server can divide the image frame (or screen frame) of the XR service into multiple data units, and distribute the image content corresponding to each data unit into multiple data packets and send them to the access network device, which then sends them to the terminal.

[0140] The descriptions of the importance (or importance coefficient) and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be found above and will not be repeated here. When the terminal's data packet is an uplink data packet sent by the terminal to (or to be sent to) an application server / other terminal via the access network device, before step 501, the terminal can indicate the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs to the access network device via a signaling message. This signaling message can be radio resource control (RRC) signaling or media access control element (MAC CE) signaling. When the terminal's data packet is a downlink data packet sent by an application server / other terminal to the terminal via the access network device, the access network device can obtain the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs through either method one or method two:

[0141] Method 1: The importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be calculated by the application server in the above manner and indicated to the access network device.

[0142] For example, when an application server sends a data packet to a terminal, it can include first information indicating the importance of the data unit to which the data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs in the terminal's data packet. After receiving the data packet from the terminal, the access network device determines the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the first information in the terminal's data packet.

[0143] Specifically, this method can be referred to Figure 6 As described in the corresponding embodiments.

[0144] Method 2: The access network device can calculate the importance of the data unit to which the data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the integrity transmission of the data unit.

[0145] For example, when the data unit is a video frame, the application server can include second information indicating the video frame to which the terminal's data packet belongs in the data packet and send it to the access network device. The access network device, assuming complete video frame transmission, can then determine the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the second information. Specifically, this method can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 8 As described in the corresponding embodiments.

[0146] For example, when the data unit is a slice or tile, the application server can carry third-party information in the terminal's data packet. After the access network device receives the terminal's data packet, it can determine the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the third-party information carried in the terminal's data packet.

[0147] The third piece of information can be used to indicate which data unit a terminal's data packet belongs to and the total number of data packets included in that data unit. Furthermore, depending on the different reference factors used to determine the importance of the data unit to which a terminal's data packet belongs, the third piece of information can also indicate other information, such as:

[0148] When the importance of a data unit to which a terminal's data packet belongs is determined by its position within a video frame, the third information can also be used to indicate whether the data unit belongs to the terminal's data packet is within the field of view (FOV) of the video frame. When the importance of a data unit to which a terminal's data packet belongs is determined by both its position within the video frame and the position of the video frame within the GoP (Go of Position), the third information can also be used to indicate which video frame within the GoP to which the data unit belongs and whether the data unit belongs to the terminal's data packet is within the FOV of the video frame. When the importance of a data unit to which a terminal's data packet belongs is determined by the position of the corresponding video frame within the GoP, the third information can also be used to indicate which video frame within the GoP to which the data unit belongs.

[0149] It should be understood that in methods one and two above, if the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is also determined by referring to the terminal's user level, the access network device can also obtain the terminal's user level before step 501. For example, the terminal's user level can be indicated to the access network device by the application server, indicated to the access network device by the terminal, or obtained by the access network device from the terminal's locally stored context information.

[0150] For example, the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and the scheduling priority of the terminal can satisfy the following formula (2):

[0151] Terminal scheduling priority = f(importance of data unit, size level of data unit) Formula (2)

[0152] In this application, the implementation of function f in formula (2) is not limited to any specific form. Any function that can achieve the following correspondence is acceptable: the higher the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the smaller the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the higher the scheduling priority of the terminal; the lower the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the larger the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the lower the scheduling priority of the terminal; and when the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is low and the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is small, or when the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is high and the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is large, a medium scheduling priority is configured for the terminal.

[0153] In one example, formula (2) can be in the form of formula (3) as follows:

[0154] Terminal scheduling priority = f(importance of data unit, size level of data unit)

[0155] =f1(importance of data unit)*f2(size level of data unit) Formula (3)

[0156] In formula (3), the symbol "*" indicates multiplication. The higher the values ​​of functions f1 and f2, the higher the scheduling priority of the terminal; conversely, the lower the values ​​of functions f1 and f2, the lower the scheduling priority of the terminal.

[0157] The embodiments of this application are not limited to the implementation of function f1. Any function that can achieve the following correspondence is acceptable: there is a positive correlation between the value of function f1 and the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs; the higher the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the larger the value of function f1. For example, function f1 can be a monotonically increasing univariate linear function, an exponential function, or other functions, such as f1(x) = 2x, where x is the input parameter of function f1, such as the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0158] The embodiments of this application are not limited to the implementation of function f2; any function that can achieve the following correspondence is acceptable: there is a negative correlation between the value of function f2 and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs; the larger the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the smaller the value of function f2, and vice versa. For example, function f2 can be a monotonically decreasing linear function or other functions, such as... x is the input parameter of function f2, such as x being the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0159] In addition to determining the terminal's scheduling priority based on the importance and size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, other parameters, such as a first parameter, can also be used to determine the terminal's scheduling priority. The first parameter may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the proportion of transmitted data in the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the estimated transmission delay of the remaining data packets in the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the terminal's instantaneous rate, and the terminal's historical transmission rate.

[0160] The proportion of transmitted data in the data unit to which the data packet belongs can refer to the ratio between the number of transmitted data packets in the data unit to which the data packet belongs and the total number of data packets included in the data unit, or it can refer to the ratio between the amount of transmitted data in the data unit to which the data packet belongs and the total amount of data in the data unit.

[0161] The estimated transmission delay of the remaining data packets in the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can refer to the time required to transmit the remaining data packets of the data unit. For example, the estimated transmission delay can be obtained by dividing the amount of data in the remaining data packets of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs by the user's historical transmission rate. The historical transmission rate can be the ratio of transmitted bits to time over a historical period.

[0162] The first parameter includes the proportion of transmitted data packets belonging to the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong. The estimated transmission delay of the remaining data packets in the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and the terminal's instantaneous rate R. instant The terminal's historical transmission rate R history For example, the importance coefficient of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the first parameter, and the scheduling priority of the terminal can satisfy the following formula (4):

[0163]

[0164] In this application, the implementation of function f in formula (4) is not limited to any specific form. Any function capable of achieving the following correspondence is acceptable: There is a positive correlation between the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the terminal's scheduling priority; the higher the importance of the data unit, the higher the terminal's scheduling priority. There is also a negative correlation between the size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the terminal's scheduling priority; the smaller the data unit, the higher the terminal's scheduling priority. The proportion of transmitted data... There is a positive correlation between the terminal's scheduling priority and the estimated transmission delay; the higher the estimated transmission delay, the higher the terminal's scheduling priority. The ratio of the terminal's instantaneous rate to its historical transmission rate is also positively correlated. There is a positive correlation between the scheduling priority of the terminal and the terminal. The larger the value, the higher the scheduling priority of the terminal.

[0165] In one example, the specific implementation of formula (4) can be shown in formula (5) below:

[0166]

[0167] In formula (5), the symbol "*" indicates multiplication. The higher the value of functions M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5, the higher the scheduling priority of the terminal; conversely, the lower the value of functions M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5, the lower the scheduling priority of the terminal.

[0168] Specifically, function M1 can be a monotonically increasing linear function or an exponential function, for example, M1(x) = 2x, where x represents the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. The higher the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the larger the value of function M1(x). Function M2 can be a monotonically decreasing linear function, for example... x represents the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. The smaller the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, the larger the value of function M2(x). Function M3 can be a monotonically increasing linear function or an exponential function, for example, M3(x) = 2x, where x is the proportion of data already transmitted. Percentage of data transmitted The higher the value of M3, the larger the value of function M4(x). Function M4 can be a monotonically increasing linear function or an exponential function, for example, M4(x) = 2x, where x is the estimated transmission delay. The longer the estimated transmission delay, the larger the value of function M4(x). Function M5 can be a monotonically increasing linear function or an exponential function, for example, M5(x) = 2x, where x is the ratio of the terminal's instantaneous rate to the terminal's historical transmission rate. The ratio of the terminal's instantaneous rate to the terminal's historical transmission rate The higher the value, the larger the value of the function M5(x).

[0169] It should be understood that the specific implementation of formula (4) is not limited to the above formula (5). Alternatively, the proportion of transmitted data packets to the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be used. The estimated transmission delay of the remaining data packets in the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and the terminal's instantaneous rate R. instant The terminal's historical transmission rate R history The importance coefficient of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, are all or some of the parameters divided into a first part of parameters and a second part of parameters. The scheduling priority of the terminal can be the product of a function with the first part of parameters as input parameters and a function with the second part of parameters as input parameters. The parameters included in the first part of parameters and the second part of parameters are different.

[0170] Step 502: The access network device transmits data packets with the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority.

[0171] For example, if the data packet is a downlink data packet sent from an application server / other terminal to the terminal, the transmission of data packets between the access network device and the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority may include: the access network device sending downlink scheduling information and data packets to the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority, wherein the downlink scheduling information is used to schedule the data packets sent to the terminal.

[0172] If the data packet is an uplink data packet sent by the terminal to an application server or other terminals, the transmission of data packets between the access network device and the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority may include: the access network device sending uplink scheduling information to the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority; the access network device receiving data packets from the terminal according to the uplink scheduling information; and sending data packets to the application server / other terminals; wherein, the uplink scheduling information is used to schedule the data packets sent by the terminal.

[0173] Replaceable, Figure 5 In the method described, when the terminal's data packets are downlink data packets sent from the application server / other terminal to the terminal, the core network device (such as UPF) can determine the terminal's scheduling priority based on the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong, and then indicate the determined scheduling priority to the access network device. For example, step 501 above can be replaced by: the core network device determining the terminal's scheduling priority based on the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong, and sending indication information indicating the terminal's scheduling priority in the data packets to the access network device. After receiving the data packets, the access network device retrieves the indication information from the data packets, determines the terminal's scheduling priority based on the indication information, and executes the process shown in step 502 according to the terminal's scheduling priority.

[0174] The process by which the core network equipment obtains the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, and determines the terminal's scheduling priority based on the obtained importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, is the same as the execution process of the access network equipment in step 501, and will not be described in detail here.

[0175] based on Figure 5 The method shown can determine the scheduling priority of a terminal by referring to the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. Terminals with important data units and smaller data units are scheduled to transmit data packets first, maximizing the number of video frames correctly transmitted by the terminal, ensuring the correct transmission of the terminal's important data units, recovering the complete video image, improving user experience and system performance.

[0176] The following is combined with Figure 6 Assuming the access network device is a base station, the data packet belongs to the XR service, the data unit is a video frame, the core network device is a UPF, and the application server sends downlink data packets to the terminal through the core network device and the access network device, taking the example of the application server indicating the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs to, and the access network device determining the terminal's scheduling priority, the following steps are taken. Figure 5 The scheduling and transmission method shown is described. It should be understood that... Figure 6 This description uses XR services as an example. For other services where the target video frame accuracy is greater than the threshold, please refer to [the relevant documentation]. Figure 6 The method shown is used for scheduling and transmission.

[0177] Figure 6 Another scheduling transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 6 As shown, the method may include:

[0178] Step 601: The application server sends the data packets of the terminal's XR service to the UPF.

[0179] Among them, the application server can be Figure 3a In the Server, UPF can be Figure 3a The UPF in the document can support the transmission of XR services.

[0180] For example, the application layer of the application server can generate video images for XR services, divide the image content corresponding to each video frame into multiple parts, and pass (or send) the multiple parts of image content corresponding to the video frame, the size level of the video frame, and the importance of the video frame down to the transfer control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP) layer of the application server. The TCP / IP layer of the application server encapsulates the image content and the first information together to generate XR service data packets (or terminal data packets), and sends the XR service data packets to the UPF through the transport layer of the application server.

[0181] The first information can be used to indicate the importance and size level of a video frame. For example, the first information may include the importance and size level of the video frame. Each data packet can carry the first information, or the first data packet of a data unit can carry the first information while other data packets do not, in order to reduce data overhead.

[0182] For example, Figure 7a This is a diagram illustrating a data packet, such as... Figure 7a As shown, the size and importance of video frames can be included as primary information in the packet header. For example, this primary information can be placed between the User Plane Function (UDP) field and the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) field in the header. Encapsulating image content within the payload results in a data packet. It should be noted that... Figure 7a The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only, except... Figure 7a In addition to the fields shown, other fields may be included, such as the IP field, without restriction.

[0183] The application server can determine the importance and size level of video frames using the methods described above. For example, it can determine the importance of a video frame based on its position in the GoP and / or the user level corresponding to the terminal, as well as using Table 1 or Table 4. The size level of a video frame can be determined based on the ratio between its size and the average size of successfully transmitted video frames from the terminal, as shown in Table 5. The specific determination process is as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0184] Step 602: The UPF receives data packets from the application server and sends the received data packets to the base station.

[0185] For example, if the UPF and the base station support the general packet radioservice tunneling protocol (GTP), the UPF will encapsulate the header of the data packets received from the application server into a GTP header and send it to the base station.

[0186] Step 603: The base station receives the data packet from the UPF, identifies the service type of the data packet, and if the service to which the data packet belongs is XR service, that is, the data packet is an XR service data packet, then proceed to steps 604 to 606; otherwise, proceed according to the existing process, such as directly transmitting the data packet from the terminal to the terminal.

[0187] For example, a base station may identify the service type of a data packet using any of the following three methods:

[0188] Method (1.1): The base station determines the service to which the data packet belongs as an XR service based on the transmission characteristics of the received data packet. The transmission characteristics include the transmission period and / or the amount of data transmitted. That is, the base station determines the service type of the data packet based on the inherent transmission characteristics of the data packet itself.

[0189] Method (1.2): The base station determines the service to which the data packet belongs as an XR service based on the radio bearer used to transmit the data packet and the correspondence between the radio bearer and the service.

[0190] The radio bearer can include a data radio barrier (DRB), and the correspondence between radio bearers and services can be pre-configured. For example, DRB1 can be configured to correspond to service 1, DRB2 to service 2, and DRB3 to XR service. If the base station determines that the radio bearer of the data packet used to transmit the service to which the data packet belongs is DRB3, then the base station can determine that the service to which the data packet belongs is XR service.

[0191] Method (1.3): The base station determines the service to which the data packet belongs as an XR service based on the service quality identifier carried in the data packet and the correspondence between the service quality identifier and the service.

[0192] The Quality of Service (QoS) identifier can be either 5QI or a Quality of Service Flow Identifier (QFI). The mapping between QoS identifiers and services can be pre-configured. For example, taking QFI as the QoS identifier, QFI1 can be configured to correspond to service 1, QFI2 to service 2, and QFI3 to XR service. If the data packet carries QFI3, the base station can determine that the data packet belongs to the XR service based on QFI3.

[0193] Step 604: The base station determines the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, based on the first information carried in the terminal's data packet.

[0194] For example, the base station can decapsulate the received data packet, obtain first information from the packet header, and determine the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the first information.

[0195] Step 605: The base station determines the scheduling priority of the terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0196] The descriptions of the size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be referred to above. The execution process of step 605 can be referred to in step 501, and will not be repeated here.

[0197] Step 606: The base station transmits data packets with the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority.

[0198] The execution process of step 606 is the same as the scheduling method of downlink data packets in step 502, and will not be described in detail.

[0199] Replaceable, Figure 6 In the method described, the core network equipment, such as the UPF, can determine the scheduling priority of the terminal and indicate the determined scheduling priority to the base station. For example, steps 602 to 605 above can be replaced as follows: After receiving the data packet, the UPF decapsulates the received data packet, obtains the first information from the data packet, determines the scheduling priority of the terminal based on the importance and size level of the data unit to which the data packet belongs, as indicated by the first information, and carries the indication information for indicating the terminal's scheduling priority in the packet header. For example, the first information carried in the data packet is replaced with this indication information, and the data packet is encapsulated with a GTP header and sent to the base station. After receiving the data packet, the base station executes the identification process described in step 603. After identifying the XR service as an XR service, it obtains the indication information for indicating the terminal's scheduling priority from the packet header. Then, the data packet is transmitted according to the obtained scheduling priority.

[0200] The method by which the core network equipment determines the scheduling priority of the terminal is the same as the method by which the access network equipment determines the scheduling priority of the terminal in step 501, and will not be described in detail here.

[0201] based on Figure 6The method shown, for XR services, can calculate the scheduling priority of a terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. Terminals with important data units and smaller data units are prioritized for data packet transmission, maximizing the number of video frames correctly transmitted by the terminal, ensuring the correct transmission of the terminal's important data units, recovering the complete video image, improving user experience and system performance.

[0202] The following is combined with Figure 8 Assuming the access network device is a base station, the data packet belongs to the XR service, the data unit is a video frame, the core network device is a UPF, and the application server sends downlink data packets to the terminal through the core network device and the access network device, taking the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs as determined by the access network device based on the integrity transmission of the video frame, and determining the terminal's scheduling priority based on the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs, as an example, the following steps are taken. Figure 5 The scheduling and transmission method shown is described. It should be understood that... Figure 8 This description uses XR services as an example. For other services where the target video frame accuracy is greater than the threshold, please refer to [the relevant documentation]. Figure 8 The method shown is used for scheduling and transmission.

[0203] Figure 8 Another scheduling transmission method provided in the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 8 As shown, the method may include:

[0204] Step 801: The application server sends the data packets of the terminal's XR service to the UPF.

[0205] Among them, the application server can be Figure 3a In the Server, UPF can be Figure 3a The UPF in the document can support the transmission of XR services.

[0206] For example, the application layer of the application server can generate video images for XR services, divide the image content corresponding to each video frame into multiple parts, and pass (or send) the multiple parts of image content corresponding to the video frame and the second information down to the TCP / IP layer of the application server. The TCP / IP layer of the application server encapsulates the image content and the second information together to generate data packets for XR services (or data packets for the terminal), for example, carrying the second information in the header of the data packet and carrying the image content in the payload of the data packet.

[0207] The second information can be used to indicate the video frame to which the data packet belongs. Each data packet included in the video frame can carry the second information. Furthermore, if the base station does not receive all the data packets included in the video frame when step 804 is executed, the second information can also be used to indicate the total number of data packets included in the video frame.

[0208] Taking step 804, where the base station receives all data packets included in the video frame (i.e., all data packets in the video frame are completely transmitted to the base station), as an example, in one example, the second information may include the frame identifier of the video frame (such as FrameID). The frame identifier of the video frame can be used to identify the video frame, and the frame identifier of the video frame can be pre-assigned. Thus, based on the frame identifier of the video frame carried by the data packet, it can be determined which video frame the data packet belongs to. In another example, the first information is unrelated to the frame identifier of the video frame. For example, the data packets of the first service (such as the data packets corresponding to all or part of the video frames of the first service) can be divided into multiple groups. Optionally, the data packets corresponding to a video frame can be divided into one group, and each group can be configured with a group identifier (such as group ID). The first information carried by the data packets in each group can be the group ID corresponding to that group. Thus, based on the group ID carried by the data packet, it can be determined which group the data packet belongs to, and further, based on the correspondence between the group and the video frame, it can be determined which video frame the data packet belongs to.

[0209] For example, Figure 7b This is a diagram illustrating a data packet, such as... Figure 7b As shown, the second information can be carried in the packet header, such as between the UDP and RTP fields in the header. Encapsulating an image content within the payload yields a data packet. It should be noted that... Figure 7b The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only, except... Figure 7b In addition to the fields shown, other fields may be included, such as the IP field, without restriction.

[0210] Step 802: The UPF receives data packets from the application server and sends the received data packets to the base station.

[0211] For example, if GTP is supported between the UPF and the base station, the UPF will encapsulate the header of the data packets received from the application server into a GTP header and send it to the base station.

[0212] Step 803: The base station receives the data packet from the UPF, identifies the service type of the data packet, and if the service to which the data packet belongs is an XR service, then proceed to steps 804 to 806; otherwise, proceed according to the existing process, such as directly transmitting the data packet from the terminal to the terminal.

[0213] For example, the method by which the base station identifies the service type in step 803 can be referred to in step 603, and will not be repeated here.

[0214] Step 804: The base station determines the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the second information carried by the terminal's data packet.

[0215] For example, the base station can decapsulate the received data packet, obtain the second information from the packet header, and determine the importance of the video frame to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the video frame to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the second information.

[0216] For example, the base station identifies the video frame to which the data packet belongs based on the second information carried by the data packet, determines the data size of the video frame based on the total number of data packets belonging to the video frame and the size of each data packet, calculates the ratio between the data size of the video frame and the average size of the video frames successfully transmitted by the terminal, and determines the size level of the video frame based on the calculated ratio and the correspondence shown in Table 5.

[0217] The size of each data packet can be preset or specified by the protocol and is not limited.

[0218] For example, a base station can identify the video frame to which a data packet belongs based on the second information carried by the data packet, and determine the data size of the video frame based on the number of data packets belonging to that video frame and the size of each data packet. Since the data size of an I-frame is much larger than that of a P-frame, the base station can obtain the location of the I-frame by sensing the data size of each frame. The I-frame is the starting frame of the GoP, thus knowing the relative position of each video frame in the GoP, and then obtaining the importance of each video frame according to the correspondence shown in Table 1.

[0219] Step 805: The base station determines the scheduling priority of the terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs.

[0220] The descriptions of the size of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs can be referred to above. The execution process of step 805 can be referred to in step 501, and will not be repeated here.

[0221] Step 806: The base station transmits data packets with the terminal according to the terminal's scheduling priority.

[0222] The execution process of step 806 is the same as the scheduling method of downlink data packets in step 502, and will not be described in detail.

[0223] Replaceable, Figure 8 In the method described, the core network equipment, such as the UPF, can determine the scheduling priority of the terminal and indicate the determined scheduling priority to the base station. For example, steps 802 to 805 above can be replaced as follows: After receiving the data packet, the UPF decapsulates the received data packet, obtains the second information from the data packet, determines the importance and size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs based on the second information, determines the terminal's scheduling priority, and carries the indication information for indicating the terminal's scheduling priority in the packet header. For example, this indication information replaces the second information carried in the data packet, and the data packet is encapsulated with a GTP packet header and sent to the base station. After receiving the data packet, the base station executes the identification process described in step 803, identifies the service to which the data packet belongs as an XR service, and obtains the indication information for indicating the terminal's scheduling priority from the packet header. Then, the data packet is transmitted according to the obtained scheduling priority.

[0224] The method by which the core network equipment determines the scheduling priority of the terminal is the same as the method by which the access network equipment determines the scheduling priority of the terminal in step 501, and will not be described in detail here.

[0225] based on Figure 8 The method shown, for XR services, can calculate the scheduling priority of a terminal based on the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. Terminals with important data units and smaller data units are prioritized for data packet transmission, maximizing the number of video frames correctly transmitted by the terminal, ensuring the correct transmission of the terminal's important data units, recovering the complete video image, improving user experience and system performance.

[0226] It should be understood that when the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs is a slice or tile, and the terminal's data packet is a downlink data packet, the base station can refer to... Figure 8 The method described above determines the importance and size level of the slice or tile to which the terminal's data packets belong. Then, based on the importance and size level of the slice or tile, the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined, and the data packets of the slice or tile are transmitted according to the scheduling priority. The following assumes that the data unit to which the terminal's data packets belong is a slice, and the importance of the slice is determined by its position in the video frame. The process will be described as follows: The process may include steps (a) to (c):

[0227] Step (a): After the application layer of the application server generates the image content corresponding to the slice, it packages the image content into multiple data packets and sends these data packets to the base station through the core network equipment. Each data packet carries third information, which indicates which slice the data packet belongs to and whether the slice is within the FOV of the video frame. It should be noted that if the base station determines the terminal's scheduling priority based on the importance of the slice to which the terminal's data packets belong and the size level of the slice to which the terminal's data packets belong, and the data packets included in the slice are not transmitted to the base station at once / simultaneously, the third information can also be used to indicate the total number of data packets included in the slice.

[0228] Step (b): After receiving multiple data packets, the base station decapsulates the received data packets, obtains the third information from the packet header, identifies the slice to which the data packet belongs based on the third information, determines the data size of the slice based on the total number of data packets belonging to the slice and the size of each data packet, calculates the ratio between the slice's data size and the average size of successfully transmitted slices from the terminal, and determines the slice's size level based on the calculated ratio and the correspondence shown in Table 5. Simultaneously, the base station identifies whether the slice to which the data packet belongs is located within the FOV of the video frame based on the third information carried by the data packet, and then determines the slice's importance based on the correspondence shown in Table 2.

[0229] Step (c): The base station determines the scheduling priority of the terminal based on the importance and size level of the slice, and transmits the data packets of the slice with the terminal according to the scheduling priority of the terminal.

[0230] The above primarily describes the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between various nodes. It is understood that each node, such as access network equipment or a terminal, includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules to perform the aforementioned functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the methods of the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or software-driven manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0231] This application embodiment can divide the access network device and terminal into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0232] Figure 9 A structural diagram of a communication device 90 is shown. This communication device 90 can be an access network device, a chip within the access network device, a system-on-a-chip, or other device capable of implementing the functions of the access network device in the above-described method. This communication device 90 can be used to perform the functions of the access network device involved in the above-described method embodiments. As one possible implementation, Figure 9 The communication device 90 shown includes: a processing unit 901 and a transceiver unit 902.

[0233] Processing unit 901 is used to obtain the scheduling priority of the terminal. The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the terminal's data packet belongs. For example, processing unit 901 can be used to support communication device 90 in executing steps 501, 605, and 805.

[0234] The processing unit 901 is also configured to control the transceiver unit 902 to transmit data packets with the access network device according to the scheduling priority of the access network device. For example, the processing unit 901 is also configured to support the communication device 90 in executing steps 502, 606 and 806.

[0235] Specifically, the above Figures 5-8 All relevant content regarding each step in the illustrated method embodiment can be found in the functional descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, and will not be repeated here. The communication device 90 is used to execute... Figures 5-8 The method shown in the diagram utilizes the functionality of the access network device in the scheduling and transmission method, thus achieving the same effect as the aforementioned scheduling and transmission method.

[0236] As another feasible approach Figure 9 The communication device 90 shown includes a processing module and a communication module. The processing module controls and manages the operation of the communication device 90. For example, the processing module can integrate the functions of the processing unit 901 and can support the communication device 90 in executing steps 501, 605, 805, 502, 606, and 806. The communication module can integrate the functions of the transceiver unit 902 for communication with other network entities, such as... Figures 2-3dCommunication between functional modules or network entities shown in any of the communication systems. Furthermore, the communication device 90 may also include a storage module for storing instructions and / or data. When the instruction is executed by the processing module, it causes the processing module to implement the method described above on the access network device side.

[0237] The processing module can be a processor, controller, module, or circuit. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks described in conjunction with the embodiments of this application. The communication module can be a transceiver circuit, pins, interface circuits, bus interface, or communication interface, etc. The storage module can be a memory. When the processing module is a processor, the communication module is a communication interface, and the storage module is a memory, the communication device 90 involved in the embodiments of this application can be... Figure 4 The communication device shown.

[0238] In the embodiments of this application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components, capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0239] In the embodiments of this application, the memory can be non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or it can be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM). Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of this application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions, used to store instructions and / or data.

[0240] Figure 10 A structural diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 10 As shown, the communication system may include: terminal 100 and access network equipment 101. It should be noted that... Figure 10 The accompanying drawings are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments described in this application. Figure 10 The communication system shown includes network elements and the number of network elements.

[0241] Among them, terminal 100 has the above-mentioned Figures 5-8The terminal functions in one or more of the methods shown. Access network device 101 has the functions described above. Figures 5-8 The functions of the access network device in one or more methods shown.

[0242] In this application embodiment, " / " can indicate that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" can be used to describe three relationships between related objects. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. To facilitate the description of the technical solutions in this application embodiment, the terms "first" and "second" can be used to distinguish technical features with the same or similar functions. These terms do not limit the quantity or execution order, and they are not necessarily different. In this application embodiment, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. The use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner for ease of understanding.

[0243] In the embodiments of this application, for a technical feature, the technical features in the technical feature are distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D", and there is no order of precedence or size among the technical features described by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D".

[0244] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A. For example, B can be determined based on A. It should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information. Furthermore, the term "connection" in the embodiments of this application refers to various connection methods, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of this application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0245] Unless otherwise specified, the term "transmission" in the embodiments of this application refers to bidirectional transmission, encompassing the actions of sending and / or receiving. Specifically, "transmission" in the embodiments of this application includes sending data, receiving data, or both sending and receiving data. In other words, data transmission here includes uplink and / or downlink data transmission. Data may include channels and / or signals; uplink data transmission refers to uplink channel and / or uplink signal transmission, and downlink data transmission refers to downlink channel and / or downlink signal transmission. The terms "network" and "system" in the embodiments of this application refer to the same concept; a communication system is a communication network.

[0246] The module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in each embodiment of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0247] The technical solutions provided in this application can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, they can be implemented in whole or in part as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a wireless control device, an access network device, a terminal, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media, etc.

[0248] In the embodiments of this application, provided there is no logical contradiction, the embodiments may reference each other. For example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, and the functions and / or terms between device embodiments and method embodiments may reference each other.

[0249] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the embodiments of this application, but the protection scope of the embodiments of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of this application should be covered within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of this application should be determined by the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of scheduling transmissions, characterized by, The method comprises: obtaining a scheduling priority of the terminal; wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by importance of a data unit to which a data packet of the terminal belongs and size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs; the data packet of the terminal carries first information, and the first information is used to indicate the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs; there is a corresponding relationship between the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and a first ratio, and the first ratio is A / B, A is a size of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, and B is an average value of sizes of successfully transmitted data units of the terminal, or B is a data unit size average value of a video source corresponding to the data packet of the terminal; performing transmission of the data packet to the terminal according to the scheduling priority of the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs is determined by one or more of a position of a video frame to which the data packet of the terminal belongs in a group of pictures (GoP), a position of the data unit in the video frame to which the data unit belongs, and a user level corresponding to the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, comprising: The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, and a first parameter. The first parameter comprises one or more of a proportion of transmitted data packets of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, an estimated transmission delay of remaining data packets of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, an instantaneous rate of the terminal, and a historical transmission rate of the terminal.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, comprising: In a case where the data packet of the terminal is a data packet of a first service, the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs; wherein a target video frame correct rate of the first service is greater than a threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises: determining that the data packet of the terminal is a data packet of the first service according to a transmission characteristic of the data packet of the terminal, wherein the transmission characteristic comprises a transmission period and / or a transmission data amount size; or determining that the data packet of the terminal is a data packet of the first service according to a radio bearer used for transmitting the data packet of the terminal and a corresponding relationship between the radio bearer and the service; or determining that the data packet of the terminal is a data packet of the first service according to a quality of service identifier carried by the data packet of the terminal and a corresponding relationship between the quality of service identifier and the service.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first service is an extended reality (XR) service.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 5 or 6, wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by a first network element according to importance of a data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs. The first network element is an access network device or a chip or a functional module in the access network device; or the first network element is a core network device or a chip or a functional module in the core network device. The communication device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit.

8. A communication device, characterized by The processing unit is configured to obtain a scheduling priority of a terminal, wherein the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by importance of a data unit to which a data packet of the terminal belongs and size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs; the data packet of the terminal carries first information, the first information is used to indicate the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs; there is a corresponding relationship between the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and a first ratio, the first ratio is A / B, A is a size of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, and B is an average value of sizes of successfully transmitted data units of the terminal, or B is a data unit size average value of a video source corresponding to the data packet of the terminal. The processing unit is further configured to control the transceiver unit to perform transmission of the data packet with the terminal according to the scheduling priority of the terminal.

9. The communication device of claim 8, wherein the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs is determined by one or more of a position of a video frame to which the data packet of the terminal belongs in a group of pictures (GoP), a position of the data unit in the video frame to which the data unit belongs, and a user level corresponding to the terminal. The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, comprising: The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, and a first parameter.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein, The first parameter comprises one or more of a proportion of transmitted data packets of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, an estimated transmission delay of remaining data packets of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, an instantaneous rate of the terminal, and a historical transmission rate of the terminal. The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs, comprising: In a case where the data packet of the terminal is a data packet of a first service, the scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by the importance of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and the size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs; wherein a target video frame correct rate of the first service is greater than a threshold value.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein The processing unit is further configured to: ​ 12. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein ​ According to a transmission characteristic of the data packet of the terminal, the data packet of the terminal is determined as the data packet of the first service, wherein the transmission characteristic includes a transmission period and / or a transmission data amount size; or According to a radio bearer used for transmitting the data packet of the terminal and a corresponding relationship between the radio bearer and the service, the data packet of the terminal is determined as the data packet of the first service; or According to a quality of service identifier carried by the data packet of the terminal and a corresponding relationship between the quality of service identifier and the service, the data packet of the terminal is determined as the data packet of the first service.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein The first service is an extended reality (XR) service.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 8 or 9 or 12 or 13, wherein The scheduling priority of the terminal is determined by a first network element according to importance of a data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs and a size level of the data unit to which the data packet of the terminal belongs. The first network element is an access network device or a chip or a functional module in the access network device; or the first network element is a core network device or a chip or a functional module in the core network device.

15. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises: A processor coupled with a memory, the memory being configured to store programs or instructions, when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the apparatus is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-7.

16. A computer readable storage medium characterized by: The computer readable storage medium comprises computer instructions, when the computer instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the scheduling transmission method according to any one of claims 1-7.

17. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer instructions, when the computer instructions are run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the scheduling transmission method according to any one of claims 1-7.

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