A communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The application relates to the communication technical field, discloses a communication method, device and system, and is used for solving the problem of large network coding resource consumption in the prior art. The method comprises the following steps: a first node performs network coding on a plurality of carried data packets to obtain coded data packets, wherein the target node of the plurality of carried data packets is a second node; and the first node sends the coded data packets to the second node.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Network coding is a data exchange technology that integrates routing and encoding. By encoding data at the encoding end before transmission and decoding data at the decoding end before reception, it can effectively improve the transmission efficiency and accuracy of data between devices (network elements). However, in networks such as integrated access and backhaul (IAB), network coding is performed at the bearer level for both uplink and downlink transmissions. Since nodes in the network may directly or indirectly serve numerous terminal devices, performing network coding on each bearer of each terminal device requires running a large number of network coding processes in parallel, resulting in significant resource overhead. Therefore, a communication scheme is needed to reduce the network coding resource overhead during data transmission in IAB and other network technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, and system to solve the problem of high network coding resource overhead in the prior art.

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising: a first node performing network encoding on multiple carried data packets together to obtain encoded data packets, wherein the target node of the multiple carried data packets is a second node; and the first node sending the encoded data packets to the second node. Optionally, the bearer is a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), a Radio Link Control (RLC) Bearer, or a Backhaul Radio Link Control Channel (BH) RLC (CH), etc.; when the multiple carried data packets are downlink data packets, the first node is a Distributed Unit (DU) of an Access Backhaul Integrated IAB Host or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node is an Access IAB node; when the multiple carried data packets are uplink data packets, the first node is an Access IAB node or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node is a DU of an IAB Host.

[0005] Using the above method, the first node performs network encoding on multiple data packets carried by the same target node together, which can reduce the number of network encoding processes running in parallel by the first node (i.e., the sending node) during data encoding, thereby reducing the network encoding resource overhead during IAB network data transmission.

[0006] In one possible design, the method further includes: the first node receiving configuration information from the host node of the first node; the first node determining the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information.

[0007] In the above design, the host node of the first node can indicate the range of bearers that the first node will participate in network coding with. This allows bearers (or services) with specific requirements such as low latency to be unaffected by latency and other factors caused by joint network coding. Furthermore, network coding of data packets from multiple bearers together can free up buffers for other bearers, improving their data throughput. Additionally, encoding data packets during multipath transmission can also improve transmission reliability and reduce transmission latency.

[0008] In one possible design, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: identification information of the plurality of bearers, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) header identification information, and a latency threshold. Specifically, when the configuration information includes the one or more IP header identification information, the first node determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, including: the first node identifies the plurality of bearers corresponding to the one or more IP header identification information as the plurality of bearers. When the configuration information includes the latency threshold, the first node determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, including: the first node identifies the plurality of bearers with latency requirements greater than or equal to the latency threshold as the plurality of bearers.

[0009] In the above design, the host node of the first node can configure multiple bearers that participate in network coding together through configuration information in various content formats, which is beneficial to meet the configuration requirements of multiple bearers participating in network coding together in different communication scenarios.

[0010] In one possible design, the method further includes: the first node receiving routing configuration information from the host node of the first node, the routing configuration information instructing the first node to send the encoded data packet to the second node through one or more transmission paths; the first node sending the encoded data packet to the second node includes: the first node sending the encoded data packet to the second node through the one or more transmission paths.

[0011] In the above design, the host node of the first node can be configured to send one or more transmission paths of encoded data packets from the first node to the second node, which is beneficial to enable the transmission of encoded data packets on the backhaul link. In addition, when encoded data packets are transmitted on multiple transmission paths, they can also bring the beneficial effects of improving transmission reliability and reducing transmission latency.

[0012] In one possible design, when the routing configuration information instructs the first node to send the encoded data packet to the second node through multiple transmission paths, the routing configuration information also includes the traffic splitting ratio information of the multiple transmission paths.

[0013] In the above design, when the first node sends encoded data packets to the second node through multiple transmission paths, the host node of the first node can also indicate the traffic splitting ratio information of multiple transmission paths through routing configuration information, which is conducive to achieving load balancing, improving the transmission efficiency of encoded data packets, and reducing packet loss rate.

[0014] In one possible design, the first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node by: the first node sending the encoded data packet to the second node through the transmission paths corresponding to the plurality of bearers.

[0015] In the above design, the transmission path corresponding to the multiplexed bearer can reduce the signaling overhead of routing configuration information for the transmission path of the encoded data packet, while enabling the encoded data packet to be transmitted on the backhaul link. In addition, if multiple bearers correspond to multiple transmission paths, the transmission of the encoded data packet on multiple transmission paths corresponding to multiple bearers can also bring the beneficial effects of improving transmission reliability and reducing transmission latency.

[0016] In one possible design, the method further includes: when the multiple bearers correspond to multiple transmission paths, the first node determines the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths based on the proportion of data volume of the multiple bearers in the data packets of the multiple bearers.

[0017] In the above design, the first node can determine the distribution ratio of multiple transmission paths based on the amount of data carried by multiple transmission paths, which is beneficial to achieve load balancing, improve the transmission efficiency of encoded data packets, and reduce packet loss rate.

[0018] In one possible design, the header of the encoded data packet contains the identifier of the first node.

[0019] In the above design, by carrying the identifier of the first node, the second node is enabled to perceive the information of the first node and accurately perform network decoding on the encoded data packets from the first node.

[0020] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, the method comprising: a second node receiving a plurality of encoded data packets, wherein the header of the plurality of encoded data packets includes an identifier of a first node; and the second node performing network decoding on the plurality of encoded data packets together.

[0021] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which includes: a host node of a first node sending configuration information to the first node, the configuration information including at least one of multiple bearer identification information, one or more network protocol IP packet header identification information, and latency threshold, for determining multiple bearers for network coding together.

[0022] In one possible design, the method further includes: the host node sending routing configuration information to the first node, the routing configuration information indicating one or more transmission paths for encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding.

[0023] In one possible design, when the routing configuration information indicates multiple transmission paths for encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding, the routing configuration information also includes the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths.

[0024] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device that has the function of implementing the first aspect or any possible design method of the first aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units (modules) corresponding to the above functions, such as a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

[0025] In one possible design, the device can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0026] In one possible design, the device includes at least one processor and interface circuitry, the at least one processor being coupled to the interface circuitry for implementing the functions described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. It is understood that the interface circuitry can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The device may also include a memory storing a computer program executable by the at least one processor for implementing the functions described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0027] In one possible design, the device could be the first node.

[0028] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device that performs the functions described in the second aspect above. These functions can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units (modules) corresponding to the aforementioned functions, such as a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

[0029] In one possible design, the device can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0030] In one possible design, the device includes at least one processor and interface circuitry, the at least one processor being coupled to the interface circuitry for implementing the functions described in the second aspect above. It is understood that the interface circuitry can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The device may also include a memory storing a computer program executable by the at least one processor for implementing the functions described in the second aspect above.

[0031] In one possible design, the device could be a second node.

[0032] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device that has the function of implementing the methods described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect. The function can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units (modules) corresponding to the above functions, such as a transceiver unit and a processing unit.

[0033] In one possible design, the device can be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0034] In one possible design, the device includes at least one processor and interface circuitry, the at least one processor being coupled to the interface circuitry for implementing the functions described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect. It is understood that the interface circuitry can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The device may also include a memory storing a computer program executable by the at least one processor for implementing the functions described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0035] In one possible design, the device could be the host node of the first node.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or to perform the method described in the second aspect, or to perform the method described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0037] Eighthly, embodiments of this application also provide a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, can implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or implement the method described in the second aspect, or implement the method described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0038] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a chip, the chip being used to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or to implement the method described in the second aspect, or to implement the method described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0039] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication system, the system comprising a first node, a second node, and a host node of the first node, wherein the first node is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect; the second node is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect; and the host node of the first node is configured to execute the method described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect.

[0040] The technical effects that can be achieved by the second to tenth aspects mentioned above are the same as those that can be achieved by the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0041] Figure 1 This is one of the schematic diagrams of a communication system architecture provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a second schematic diagram of the communication system architecture provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0043] Figure 3 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the protocol stack structure provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0044] Figure 4 This is the second schematic diagram of the protocol stack structure provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0045] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the bearer transmission path mapping provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0046] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the RLNC encoding principle provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0047] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 8 This is one of the data transmission diagrams provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0049] Figure 9 This is the second schematic diagram of data transmission provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0050] Figure 10 This is one of the schematic diagrams of a communication device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0051] Figure 11 This is one of the schematic diagrams of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0052] Compared to fourth-generation mobile communication (4G) or Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, fifth-generation (5G) or New Radio (NR) systems impose more stringent requirements on all aspects of network performance. For example, they demand a 1000-fold increase in capacity, wider coverage, and ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency. On the one hand, given the abundance of high-frequency carrier resources, the use of high-frequency small cell networks is becoming increasingly popular in hotspot areas to meet the ultra-high capacity demands of 5G. However, high-frequency carriers have poor propagation characteristics, suffer severe attenuation due to obstruction, and have limited coverage, thus requiring a large-scale, dense deployment of small cells. Consequently, providing fiber optic backhaul for these densely deployed small cells is costly and difficult to implement, necessitating an economical and convenient backhaul solution. On the other hand, from the perspective of wide coverage requirements, providing network coverage in remote areas presents significant challenges and costs associated with fiber optic deployment, necessitating the design of flexible and convenient access and backhaul solutions. Wireless backhaul devices offer a solution to the two problems mentioned above: both their access link (AL) and backhaul link (BL) utilize wireless transmission schemes, reducing fiber optic deployment. The wireless backhaul device can be a relay node (RN), an IAB node, or any other device providing wireless backhaul functionality; this application is not limited to these. Taking an IAB node as an example, in an IAB network, the IAB node acts as a wireless backhaul device, providing wireless access services to terminal devices. The terminal devices' service data is transmitted from the IAB node to the IAB host, or rather, the host base station, via the wireless backhaul link. Using IAB nodes allows for shared antennas for access and backhaul, reducing the number of antennas required by the base station.

[0053] The embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which features or contents marked with dashed lines can be understood as optional operations or optional structures of the embodiments of this application.

[0054] Figure 1 A possible communication system architecture diagram provided for an embodiment of this application includes: an IAB host (IABdonor), an IAB node, and at least one terminal device (such as...). Figure 1The communication system may include terminal devices 1 and 2, and may also include core network devices. The IAB host, IAB nodes, terminal devices, and core network devices in the communication system can be one or more, and this is not limited in this embodiment. Terminal devices can connect wirelessly to IAB nodes and can connect to the IAB host through one or more IAB nodes (of course, terminal devices can also directly connect to the IAB host wirelessly). The IAB host can connect to the core network devices wirelessly or via wired connection. Furthermore, it is understood that the core network devices and the IAB host can be independent physical devices, or the functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the IAB host can be integrated on the same physical device, or a single physical device can integrate some of the functions of the core network devices and some of the functions of the IAB host. The wireless links between the above-mentioned devices (network elements) can communicate using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. Wireless links between devices (network elements) can communicate using spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or simultaneously using both spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used by the wireless links.

[0055] In this embodiment, an IAB node can also be referred to as a relay node (RN) or a wireless backhaul node / device. An IAB node may include at least one mobile terminal (MT) unit and at least one distributed unit (DU). Figure 1This description uses an IAB node comprising one MT unit and one DU as an example. The MT unit in the IAB node enables the IAB to communicate with its parent node and the IAB host node as a terminal device, possessing the functions of user equipment (UE). The DU in the IAB node provides access services to its attached terminal devices or other IAB nodes. The MT unit in the IAB node can also be referred to as the MT functional entity in the IAB node, and the DU in the IAB node can also be referred to as the DU functional entity in the IAB node. For ease of description, in this embodiment, the MT unit (MT functional entity) in the IAB node is simply referred to as "the MT of the IAB node," and the DU (DU functional entity) in the IAB node is simply referred to as "the DU of the IAB node." The IAB node can provide wireless access services to terminal devices, whose service data or control information is transmitted by the IAB node to the IAB host or network device via a wireless backhaul link.

[0056] An IAB donor, also known as a radio access network (RAB) device, is a device that provides wireless communication capabilities to terminal devices. RAB devices include, but are not limited to: next-generation base stations (gnodeB, gNB) in 5G, evolved node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved nodeBs or home node Bs, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs), transmitting and receiving points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems. It can be an access network element with complete base station functionality, or it can be an access network element with a separate centralized unit (CU) and a dedicated access unit (DU). The IAB host can connect to core network elements that serve terminal devices (e.g., 5G core network, 5GC) and provide wireless backhaul functionality for IAB nodes. For ease of description, in this embodiment, the CU (CU functional entity) in the IAB host is simply referred to as the CU of the IAB host (also known as IAB-donor-CU), and the DU (DU functional entity) in the IAB host is simply referred to as the IAB host DU (also known as IAB-donor-DU). The CU of the IAB host may also have a separate control plane (CP) and user plane (UP). For example, an IAB host CU consists of one CU-CP (also known as IAB-donor-CU-CP) and multiple CU-UPs (also known as IAB-donor-CU-UPs). This embodiment does not limit this.

[0057] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, also known as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT). Terminal devices can include mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, and so on.

[0058] IAB hosts, IAB nodes, and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the application scenarios for IAB hosts, IAB nodes, and terminal devices.

[0059] Furthermore, in the current 5G standard, considering the limited coverage of high-frequency bands, multi-hop networking may be used in IAB networks to ensure network coverage performance. To address the reliability requirements of service transmission, IAB nodes can support dual connectivity (DC) or multi-connectivity to handle potential anomalies in the backhaul link, such as link failures, blockages, and load fluctuations, thereby improving transmission reliability.

[0060] IAB networks support multi-hop and multi-connection networking, therefore multiple transmission paths may exist between the terminal device and the IAB host. A single transmission path contains multiple nodes, such as the terminal device, one or more IAB nodes, and the IAB host (if the IAB donor has a separate CU and DU configuration, it also includes the IAB-donor-DU and IAB-donor-CU components). Each IAB node considers the adjacent nodes providing backhaul services to it as its parent nodes; correspondingly, each IAB node can be considered a child node of its parent node.

[0061] For example, in Figure 2 In this network, IAB node 1's parent node is the IAB host, which in turn is the parent node of IAB nodes 2 and 3. IAB nodes 2 and 3 are both parent nodes of IAB node 4, and IAB node 5's parent node is IAB node 2. Uplink data packets from the terminal device can be transmitted to the IAB host via one or more IAB nodes, and then sent by the IAB host to the mobile gateway device (e.g., the User Plane Functional Unit (UPF) in the 5G core network). Downlink data packets are received by the IAB host from the mobile gateway device and then sent to the terminal device via one or more IAB nodes. There are two available paths for data transmission between terminal device 1 and the IAB host: Path 1: Terminal device 1 ←→ IAB node 4 ←→ IAB node 3 ←→ IAB node 1 ←→ IAB host; Path 2: Terminal device 1 ←→ IAB node 4 ←→ IAB node 2 ←→ IAB node 1 ←→ IAB host. It is important to note that in the IAB network, regardless of which path is chosen for data transmission between Terminal Device 1 and the IAB host, the target node for uplink data between Terminal Device 1 and the IAB host is always the IAB host, and the target node for downlink data between Terminal Device 1 and the IAB host is always the access IAB node, i.e., IAB node 4.

[0062] There are three available paths for data transmission between Terminal Device 2 and the IAB host: Path 1: Terminal Device 2 ←→ IAB Node 4 ←→ IAB Node 3 ←→ IAB Node 1 ←→ IAB Host; Path 2: Terminal Device 2 ←→ IAB Node 4 ←→ IAB Node 2 ←→ IAB Node 1 ←→ IAB Host; Path 3: Terminal Device 2 ←→ IAB Node 5 ←→ IAB Node 2 ←→ IAB Node 1 ←→ IAB Host. Similarly, in the IAB network, regardless of which path is chosen for data transmission between Terminal Device 2 and the IAB host, the destination node for uplink data between Terminal Device 2 and the IAB host is always the IAB host, and the destination node for downlink data between Terminal Device 1 and the IAB host is always the access IAB node, i.e., IAB Node 4 or IAB Node 5.

[0063] In this application, in the IAB network, the target node of the downlink data packet sent to the terminal device generally refers to the access IAB node to which the terminal device is connected, and the target node of the uplink data packet sent by the terminal device to the IAB host generally refers to the IAB host node of the access IAB node of the terminal device.

[0064] It is necessary to understand that Figure 2The IAB networking scenario shown is merely an example. In IAB networks that combine multi-hop and multi-connection, there are many other possibilities, such as IAB nodes under one IAB host (IAB DgNB1) and another IAB host (IABDgNB2) forming a dual connection to serve terminal devices, etc., which will not be listed one by one.

[0065] In the current discussion on IAB networks, it was determined that a new protocol layer—the backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) layer—would be introduced into the wireless backhaul link. This protocol layer is located above the radio link control (RLC) layer and can be used to implement functions such as packet routing and bearer mapping in the wireless backhaul link.

[0066] An F1 interface (also known as an F1* interface; in this application, it is uniformly referred to as the F1 interface, but the name is not limited) needs to be established between the IAB node (or the IAB's DU) and the IAB host (or the IAB host's CU). This interface supports user plane protocols (F1-U / F1*-U) and control plane protocols (F1-C / F1*-C). For example... Figure 3 As shown, the user plane protocol includes one or more of the following protocol layers: the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) layer, the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layer, and the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, etc. Figure 4 As shown, the control plane protocol of this interface includes one or more of the following: F1 application protocol (F1AP) layer, stream control transport protocol (SCTP) layer, and IP layer, etc.

[0067] Through the control plane of the F1 / F1* interface, IAB nodes and the IAB host can perform interface management, manage IAB-DUs, and perform terminal device context-related configurations. Through the user plane of the F1 / F1* interface, IAB nodes and the IAB host can perform user plane data transmission and downlink transmission status feedback.

[0068] It is understood that the network architecture and business 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. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of other business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems. For example, an IAB node can also be a relay node (or wireless backhaul device) and a wireless access network device (or base station) in an LTE system.

[0069] In this application's embodiments, the access IAB node refers to the IAB node to which the terminal device accesses, and the intermediate IAB node refers to the IAB node that provides wireless backhaul services to the terminal device or the IAB node. For example, see [link to example]. Figure 2 In the path "Terminal Device 1 - IAB Node 4 - IAB Node 3 - IAB Node 1 - IAB Host", IAB Node 4 is the access IAB node, while IAB Node 3 and IAB Node 1 are intermediate IAB nodes. It's important to note that an IAB node is an access IAB node for the terminal device connected to that IAB node. However, for terminal devices connected to other IAB nodes, it is an intermediate IAB node. Therefore, whether an IAB node is a specific access IAB node or an intermediate IAB node is not fixed and needs to be determined based on the specific application scenario.

[0070] In the IAB scenario, packet routing and bearer mapping rules are uniformly configured by the IAB host's CU. Specifically, for uplink packets, the IAB host's CU configures the uplink user plane packet routing and bearer mapping rules for the IAB nodes accessed by the terminal device based on the packet's uplink destination IP address and tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID). The TEID information includes terminal device and data radio bearer (DRB) information; therefore, it can be considered that routing and bearer mapping rules are configured separately for each terminal device's DRB granularity. Figure 5 As shown, the routing and bearer mapping rules for uplink user plane data packets configured by the CU of the IAB host for IAB node 3 determine the transmission path of each terminal device DRB on the backhaul link. The transmission paths from top to bottom correspond to terminal device 1DRB1, terminal device 1DRB2, terminal device 2DRB1, and terminal device 2DRB2, respectively.

[0071] In addition, for uplink non-user plane data packets, the CU of the IAB host configures routing and bearer mapping rules for each service type of uplink data packet according to the service type of the uplink data packet, such as F1AP messages associated with terminal devices, F1AP messages associated with non-terminal devices, non-F1 messages, BAP control protocol data units (PDUs), etc.

[0072] For downlink packets, whether user plane or non-user plane, the CU of the IAB host can uniformly configure routing and bearer mapping rules for downlink packets carrying different destination IP addresses and / or differentiated services code points (DSCPs) and / or flow labels. The DU of the IAB host can then perform routing and bearer mapping on downlink packets carrying different destination IP addresses and / or DSCPs and / or flow labels based on these routing and bearer mapping rules. For example, the DU of the IAB host can determine the address of the target node corresponding to a downlink packet carrying a specific destination IP address and / or DSCP and / or flow label based on these routing and bearer mapping rules.

[0073] However, adopt Figure 5 The communication scheme shown, which performs network coding on each bearer of each terminal device, requires a large number of network coding processes to run in parallel, resulting in significant resource overhead. This application aims to adopt a node-level network coding communication scheme to reduce the resource overhead caused by network coding, while also reducing the signaling overhead caused by configuring routing and bearer mapping rules separately for multiple bearers. The following detailed implementation of this application's embodiments is provided in conjunction with specific examples.

[0074] It should be understood that, for ease of describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, " / " can indicate that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" can be used to describe three relationships between the associated objects. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. For ease of describing the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" can be used to distinguish technical features with the same or similar functions. The terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and "first" and "second" are not necessarily different. In the embodiments of this application, "multiple" refers to two or more, and words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Embodiments or designs described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. The use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner for ease of understanding.

[0075] The concept of network coding will be introduced and explained below.

[0076] Network coding, such as random linear network coding (RLNC) and fountain codes, works on roughly the same principle: the sending end performs network coding on one or more original data packets to obtain a series of encoded data packets, and then sends the obtained encoded data packets to the receiving end. After accumulating enough encoded data packets, the receiving end can decode (or decode) and recover the original one or more data packets. The following uses RLNC network coding as an example to introduce network coding:

[0077] The basic principles of RLNC-based network coding are as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the sending end divides the raw data packets to be sent into multiple RLNC coded blocks. Each RLNC coded block contains N raw data packets, labeled X1, X2, ..., X... N This means that the formula can be used for these N raw data packets. A linear combination is performed to generate K (K>=N) encoded data packets, where the K encoded data packets are represented by Y1, Y2, ..., Y... K It means that Y k X represents the k-th encoded data packet. n G represents the nth raw data packet. k,n Let g represent the random coefficient of the nth original data packet in the kth encoded data packet, and g k,nIt is randomly selected from a finite field or a Galois field (GF). A GF field is a field containing a finite number of elements. GF(q) can represent a GF field containing q elements. Each encoded data packet Y i The header of each packet carries the encoding coefficient vector [g] used to generate the encoded data packet. k,1 ,g k,2 ,...,g k,N The dimension of the coding coefficient vector is the same as the number of original data packets N in each coding block. The sender sends K (K>=N) coded data packets to the receiver for each RLNC coding block. If the receiver receives at least N coded data packets, and the rank of the matrix formed by the coding coefficient vectors carried in the header of the coded data packets is N (i.e., the number of original data packets), meaning the receiver receives N linearly independent coded data packets, the receiver can construct a system of linear equations based on the coding coefficients. In this system of linear equations, X... n n∈{1,2,...N} represents N unknowns to be solved. Using the theory of linear equations, N original data packets can be decoded.

[0078] Suppose that for all K encoded data packets Y1, Y2, ..., Y... K The receiving end received all data correctly, including each received encoded data packet Y. k The header of each character contains an indicator that indicates a long (N) encoded coefficient vector [g] k,1 ,g k,2 ,...,g k,N The receiving end combines the received K encoded coefficient vectors together to form a vector representing the unknowns X1, X2, ..., X. N The system of N linear equations has a coefficient matrix G as shown below, and the rank of the coefficient matrix is ​​N. The receiving end can decode N original data packets by using the corresponding coefficient matrix based on the received correctly encoded data packets.

[0079]

[0080] In a wireless channel environment, due to factors such as channel noise, fading caused by mobility, or interference from other users, some coded data packets received by the receiver may be incorrect. However, if the number L of correctly received coded data packets for a given coded block is not less than the number N of the original data packets, and the rank of the matrix formed by the coding coefficient vectors carried in the headers of these L coded data packets is equal to the number N of the original data packets, the receiver can still decode N original data packets. Therefore, for RLNC technology, the transmitter does not need to wait for feedback requests from the receiver before retransmitting. RLNC can pre-transmit several coded data packets to counteract the effects of the wireless channel, saving latency and avoiding the need to consume exponentially more resources to blindly retransmit each transport block (TB), thus reducing the waste of spectrum resources.

[0081] In an IAB scenario, there may be multiple routing paths between the packet sending node and the target node (i.e., the receiving node), for example... Figure 2 In this scenario, there are two routing paths between the IAB host and IAB node 4. Taking a downstream data packet as an example, when the IAB host performs network coding on the data packet, the network-coded data packet can be transmitted to IAB node 4 through both routing paths. Even if one path fails or becomes congested, IAB node 4 can recover the original data packet as long as it receives enough encoded data packets from the other path, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission and reducing data transmission latency. Therefore, introducing network coding in the IAB scenario has significant benefits. Furthermore, to maximize the multi-routing path characteristics of the IAB scenario, network coding is generally considered to be performed at the BAP layer or a higher protocol layer than BAP.

[0082] like Figure 7 The diagram shown is a schematic of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of this application. The process includes:

[0083] S701: The first node performs network encoding on at least one carried data packet together to obtain the encoded data packet.

[0084] The at least one bearer may be a DRB, an RLC bearer, or a backhaul RLC channel (BH RLC CH), and the data packets of the at least one bearer have the same destination node.

[0085] In this embodiment of the application, for downlink transmission, that is, when the at least one carried data packet is a downlink data packet, the first node can be the DU of the IAB host or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node can be an access IAB node. Figure 2Taking the communication system architecture shown as an example, IAB node 4 and IAB node 5 are access IAB nodes, and IAB node 1, IAB node 2 and IAB node 3 are intermediate IAB nodes. The first node can be the DU of the IAB host or IAB node 1 or IAB node 2 or IAB node 3, and the second node can be IAB node 4 or IAB node 5.

[0086] For uplink transmission, that is, when the at least one carried data packet is an uplink data packet, the first node can be an access IAB node or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node can be a DU of the IAB host. Still using... Figure 2 Taking the communication system architecture shown as an example, the first node can be any one of IAB nodes among IAB node 1, IAB node 2, IAB node 3, IAB node 4 and IAB node 5, and the second node can be the DU of the IAB host.

[0087] In one possible implementation, the first node may, by default, perform network encoding on at least one data packet carried by the same target node, thereby obtaining an encoded data packet. (See reference...) Figure 8 As shown, taking the DU with the IAB host as the first node and the IAB node 3 as the target node as the target node, since the target node of the downlink data packets that need to be mapped to terminal devices 1DRB1, 1DRB2, 2DRB1 and 2DRB2 is IAB node 3, the DU with the IAB host can perform network encoding on the downlink data packets that need to be mapped to terminal devices 1DRB1, 1DRB2 and 2DRB1 and 2DRB2 together to obtain encoded data packets.

[0088] Furthermore, network encoding at least one bearer with the same target node introduces latency. When multiple bearers participate in network encoding, their latency requirements may differ. Therefore, for bearers with urgent latency requirements, to reduce the problem of packet transmission latency not meeting latency requirements caused by network encoding them together with other bearers, network encoding of bearers with urgent latency requirements can be omitted. Additionally, considering that packet transmission from multiple bearers with the same target node may also have different transmission requirements, such as packet loss rate and quality of service requirements, the host node of the first node can send configuration information to the first node. This configuration information can be used to determine the at least one bearer. The target node of the packets from the at least one bearer can be the second node. The host node of the first node can specifically be the CU of the IAB host of the first node. The configuration information may include one or more of the following: bearer identification information, IP header identification information, latency threshold, etc. The first node can determine the at least one bearer based on this configuration information. The specific implementation method will be described below.

[0089] (1) The configuration information includes a latency threshold.

[0090] In one possible implementation, for downlink or uplink transmissions, the host node of the first node can configure a latency threshold for the first node. For at least one bearer with the same target node for mapped data packets, when the latency requirement of a certain bearer is greater than or equal to the latency threshold, it is determined that the data packets to be mapped to that bearer should be included in network coding together. As an example: the bearers with the same target node as "IAB Node 3" for mapped data packets include DRB1, DRB2, and DRB3, where the latency requirement of DRB1 is 60ms, the latency requirement of DRB2 is 40ms, and the latency requirement of DRB3 is 70ms, and the latency threshold is 50ms. The first node determines that the data packets to be mapped to DRB1 and DRB3 should be included in network coding together.

[0091] (2) The configuration information includes one or more IP packet header identification information.

[0092] In one possible implementation, for downlink or uplink transmission, the host node of the first node can configure one or more IP header identification information for the first node. For at least one bearer with the same destination node for mapped data packets, when the IP header identification information of a data packet on a certain bearer matches any one of the one or more IP header identification information, it is determined that the data packets to be mapped to that bearer will participate in network coding together. Specifically, for downlink transmission, the IP header identification information configured by the host node for the first node can be one or more of the following IP header identification information: destination IP address, DSCP, flow label, etc.; for uplink transmission, the IP header identification information configured by the host node for the first node can be one or more of the following IP header identification information: destination IP address, TEID, etc. (See reference...) Figure 8 As shown, assuming the first node is the DU of the IAB host (at this time, the host node of the first node can be considered as the CU of the IAB host) and the target node is IAB node 3, the target node of the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 1DRB1, terminal device 1DRB2, terminal device 2DRB1 and terminal device 2DRB2 is the same, which is IAB node 3. Specifically, the IP header identification information of the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 1DRB1 includes the IP address of terminal device 1 (destination IP address); the IP header identification information of the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 1DRB2 includes the IP address of terminal device 1 (destination IP address); the IP header identification information of the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 2DRB1 includes the IP address of terminal device 2 (destination IP address); and the IP header identification information of the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 2DRB2 includes the IP address of terminal device 2 (destination IP address). If the IP header identification information configured by the CU of the IAB host for the DU of the IAB host only includes the IP address of terminal device 1 (destination IP address), then the DU of the IAB host determines to perform network encoding on the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 1DRB1 and terminal device 1DRB2 together.

[0093] (3) The configuration information includes one or more bearer identifiers.

[0094] If the first node can identify the bearer identifier, for downlink or uplink transmissions, the host node of the first node can include one or more bearer identifiers in the configuration information to allow the first node to determine one or more bearers to participate in network coding together. The first node will then perform network coding on the data packets that need to be mapped to one or more bearers. The bearer identifier can be a bearer ID, such as a UE DRB ID. As an example, suppose the first node is the DU of the IAB host, the target node is IAB node 5, and the bearers of the target node of the mapped data packets for IAB node 5 include: terminal device 1DRB1 (bearer identifier UE DRB 11), terminal device 2DRB2 (bearer identifier UE DRB 22), and terminal device 3DRB1 (bearer identifier UE DRB 31). If the configuration information includes bearer identifiers UE DRB 11 and UEDRB 22, then the DU of the IAB host will determine to perform network coding on the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal device 1DRB1 and terminal device 2DRB2 together.

[0095] Additionally, the host node of the first node can also indicate whether the bearer should participate in network coding when configuring the bearer for the first node. As an example, when configuring terminal device 1DRB1 for the first node, the host node instructs terminal device 1DRB1 to participate in network coding. When configuring terminal device 1DRB2 for the first node, it instructs terminal device 1DRB2 to participate in network coding. When configuring terminal device 2DRB1 for the first node, it instructs terminal device 2DRB1 not to participate in network coding. When configuring terminal device 3DRB1 for the first node, it instructs terminal device 3 not to participate in network coding. The target node for the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal devices 1DRB1, 1DRB2, and 2DRB1 is the same: IAB node 3. Therefore, the first node determines that for data packets with IAB node 3 as the target node, the data packets mapped to terminal devices 1DRB1 and 1DRB2 need to be network coded together.

[0096] As an example, when the first node performs network coding on at least one data packet carried by the same target node, the network coding method used can be RLNC, fountain coding, or convolutional network coding, etc., and this application does not limit it. Alternatively, the first node can establish a separate network coding entity for each target node, with each network coding entity running a network coding process to perform network coding on at least one data packet carried by the same target node; the first node can also have only one network coding entity, which includes multiple network coding processes corresponding one-to-one with multiple target nodes. It should be understood that the above-mentioned network coding entity can also simultaneously have decoding capabilities, used to receive and decode network-coded data from the corresponding target node, and can also be called a network codec entity.

[0097] Furthermore, there may be situations where encoded data packets from multiple nodes are sent to the same target node. To enable the target node to identify the source of the encoded data packets and facilitate network decoding of packets from the same node, the header of the encoded data packet sent by the first node can also include the identifier of the first node. As an example, the encoded data packet can use an IP header, GTP-U header, etc., and the identifier of the first node, such as its device ID or IP address, can be carried in the optional or padding fields of the IP header, GTP-U header, etc. As another example, if a network coding protocol sublayer exists, the identifier of the first node can be carried in the header of the network coding sublayer packet. As yet another example, the identifier of the first node can be carried in the BAP layer header.

[0098] S702: The first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node.

[0099] After the first node performs network encoding on at least one carrier data packet together, the resulting encoded data packet no longer needs to use the transmission paths configured separately by the first node's host node for the at least one carrier.

[0100] In one possible implementation, the host node of the first node can send routing configuration information at the target node granularity to the first node. This routing configuration information can be used only for encoding data packets, indicating one or more transmission paths for the first node to send encoded data packets to each target node. Specifically, the routing configuration information includes one or more sets of backhaul links for the first node to send encoded data packets to each target node, where each set of backhaul links corresponds to a transmission path. As an example, the route of each set of backhaul links includes the BAP routing ID corresponding to the encoded data packet and / or the BAP address of the next-hop node and / or the egress BH RLC channel (CH) identifier, where the BAP routing ID is used to identify the target node BAP address and the transmission path on the backhaul link for the encoded data packet.

[0101] Since it is routing configuration information at the target node level, the host node of the first node can send the routing configuration information to the first node through non-UE associated F1AP messages, such as DU messages sent to the first node.

[0102] In addition, when the first node sends encoded data packets to a target node through multiple transmission paths, the routing configuration information may also include the traffic splitting ratio information of the multiple transmission paths.

[0103] Reference Figure 8 As shown, taking the first node as the IAB host DU and the second node (target node) as IAB node 3 as an example, the routing configuration information configures transmission paths 1 and 2 for the IAB host DU to send encoded data packets to IAB node 3, and configures the traffic splitting ratio of transmission path 1 (transmitted through IAB node 1 to IAB node 3) and transmission path 2 (transmitted through IAB node 2 to IAB node 3) as 2:3. The IAB host DU performs network encoding on the data packets that need to be mapped to terminal devices 1DRB1, 1DRB2, 2DRB1, and 2DRB2 together. After obtaining the encoded data packets, 40% of the obtained encoded data packets are transmitted through transmission path 1 and 60% of the encoded data packets are transmitted through transmission path 2.

[0104] S703: The second node performs network decoding on the encoded data packets from the first node.

[0105] The second node receives encoded data packets from different transmission paths, performs network decoding on data packets from the same sending node to recover the original data packets, and continues to send them to the next hop node.

[0106] As an example, refer to Figure 8As shown, after IAB node 3 receives multiple encoded data packets from the IAB host using RLNC, it can use RLNC to perform network decoding on the multiple encoded data packets to recover the original data packets. Based on the IP address or TEID information carried in the IP header of the original data packets, it can determine the terminal device corresponding to the original data packets and forward the original data packets to the corresponding terminal device.

[0107] The above description is based on the example of the host node of the first node configuring the transmission path of the encoded data packet sent from the first node to the second node through routing configuration information. In one possible implementation, in order to further reduce signaling overhead, the transmission path of the first node sending the encoded data packet to the second node can also reuse the transmission path corresponding to at least one bearer that participates in network coding together, and transmit the encoded data packet through the transmission path corresponding to at least one bearer that participates in network coding together.

[0108] Taking DU, whose first node is the IAB host, and IAB node 3, as an example, refer to... Figure 9 As shown in (A), for data packets from terminal devices DRB1 and DRB2 originating from the CU of the IAB host, the CU of the IAB host configures the DU of the IAB host to transmit data packets from terminal device DRB1 via transmission path 1 (through IAB node 1) and data packets from terminal device DRB2 via transmission path 2 (through IAB node 2). When the DU of the IAB host receives data packets from the CU of the IAB host, it forwards the data packets from terminal devices DRB1 and DRB2 to IAB node 3 via transmission path 1 and transmission path 2, respectively. (Refer to...) Figure 9 As shown in (B), after the DU of the IAB host performs network encoding on the data packets of terminal device DRB1 and terminal device DRB2 together, the encoded data packets can still be sent to IAB node 3 through transmission path 1 and transmission path 2.

[0109] In one possible implementation, when there are multiple transmission paths corresponding to at least one bearer that is network-coded together and reused by the first node, the first node can also determine the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths according to the proportion of data volume of each bearer in the data packet of the at least one bearer.

[0110] Still with Figure 9 For example, if the data volume of terminal device DRB1 participating in network coding is 80K and the data volume of terminal device DRB2 is 20K, then the DU of the IAB host determines that the transmission path 1 corresponding to terminal device DRB1 transmits 80% of the encoded data packets and the transmission path 2 corresponding to terminal device DRB2 transmits 20% of the encoded data packets. The splitting ratio of transmission path 1 and transmission path 2 is 4:1.

[0111] In this scenario, the host of the first node configures a corresponding transmission path for each bearer, which can be achieved by configuring routing and bearer mapping rules separately for each bearer. For details, please refer to the description above regarding the IAB scenario where packet routing and bearer mapping rules are uniformly configured by the IAB host's CU; further elaboration is omitted here.

[0112] In addition, it should be understood that this application is not limited to the IAB network. The first node and the second node can also be relay nodes, terminal devices, etc. in other networks, and the host node of the first node can also be a base station node, etc.

[0113] In this embodiment, the CU of the IAB host can be referred to as the host node of the DU of the IAB host, which does not affect the understanding of the scheme of this application. In this embodiment, the data packet carried can refer to the data packet that needs to be mapped to the carrier, and at least one carrier participating in network coding can refer to the first node performing network coding on the data packets that need to be mapped to the at least one carrier together.

[0114] The above mainly describes the solution provided in this application from the perspective of the interaction between the first node, the second node, and the host node. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, each network element includes the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module (or unit) for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware 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 this application.

[0115] Figure 10 and Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first node, second node, or host node in the above method embodiments, and thus also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device may be... Figure 7 The first node in can also be Figure 7 The second node or host node in the process can also be a module (such as a chip) applied to the first node, second node, or host node.

[0116] like Figure 10As shown. The communication device 1000 may include a processing unit 1002 and a transceiver unit 1003, and may also include a storage unit 1001. The communication device 1000 is used to implement the above. Figure 7 The method embodiments shown depict the functions of the first node, the second node, or the host node.

[0117] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is used to implement corresponding processing functions. The transceiver unit 1003 is used to support communication between the communication device 1000 and other network entities. The storage unit 1001 is used to store the program code and / or data of the communication device 1000. Optionally, the transceiver unit 1003 may include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, respectively used to perform receiving and sending operations.

[0118] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of the first node in the method embodiment: the processing unit 1002 is used to perform network encoding on multiple carried data packets together to obtain encoded data packets, wherein the target node of the multiple carried data packets is the second node; the transceiver unit 1003 is used to send the encoded data packets to the second node.

[0119] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1003 is further configured to receive configuration information from the host node of the communication device; the processing unit 1002 is further configured to determine the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information.

[0120] In one possible design, the configuration information includes at least one of the following: identification information of the plurality of bearers, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) header identification information, and latency threshold.

[0121] In one possible design, when the processing unit 1002 determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, it is specifically used to determine the plurality of bearers corresponding to the one or more IP header identification information as the plurality of bearers when the configuration information includes the one or more IP header identification information.

[0122] In one possible design, when the processing unit 1002 determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, it is specifically used to determine the plurality of bearers whose latency requirements are greater than or equal to the latency threshold as the plurality of bearers when the configuration information includes the latency threshold.

[0123] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1003 is further configured to receive routing configuration information from the host node of the communication device, the routing configuration information instructing the communication device to send the encoded data packet to the second node through one or more transmission paths; when the transceiver unit 1003 sends the encoded data packet to the second node, it is specifically configured to send the encoded data packet to the second node through the one or more transmission paths.

[0124] In one possible design, when the routing configuration information instructs the communication device to send the encoded data packet to the second node through multiple transmission paths, the routing configuration information also includes the splitting ratio information of the multiple transmission paths.

[0125] In one possible design, when the transceiver unit 1003 sends the encoded data packet to the second node, it is specifically used to send the encoded data packet to the second node through the transmission paths corresponding to the plurality of bearers.

[0126] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is further configured to determine the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths based on the proportion of data volume of the multiple bearers in the data packets of the multiple bearers when the multiple bearers correspond to multiple transmission paths.

[0127] In one possible design, the header of the encoded data packet contains an identifier of the communication device.

[0128] In one possible design, when the multiple data packets carried are downlink data packets, the communication device is a distributed unit (DU) or an intermediate IAB node that accesses the integrated IAB host for backhaul, and the second node is an access IAB node.

[0129] In one possible design, when the multiple data packets carried are uplink data packets, the communication device is a DU that accesses an IAB node or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node is an IAB host.

[0130] In one possible design, the bearer is a Data Radio Bearer (DRB), a Radio Link Control (RLC) Bearer, or a Backhaul BH RLC Channel.

[0131] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of the second node in the method embodiment: the transceiver unit 1003 is used to receive multiple encoded data packets, wherein the header of the multiple encoded data packets includes the identifier of the first node; the processing unit 1002 is used to perform network decoding on the multiple encoded data packets together.

[0132] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of the host node in the method embodiment: the processing unit 1002 is used to determine the configuration information to be sent to the first node, the configuration information including at least one of the following: identification information of multiple bearers, one or more network protocol IP packet header identification information, and latency threshold, for determining multiple bearers for network coding together; the transceiver unit 1003 is used to send the configuration information to the first node.

[0133] In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1003 is further configured to send routing configuration information to the first node, the routing configuration information indicating one or more transmission paths of the encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding.

[0134] In one possible design, when the routing configuration information indicates multiple transmission paths for encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding, the routing configuration information also includes the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths.

[0135] like Figure 11 As shown, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. The processor 1110 and the interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1120 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may also include a memory 1130 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1110, or storing input data required by the processor 1110 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1110 executes instructions.

[0136] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement Figure 7 In the method shown, processor 1110 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1002, and interface circuit 1120 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1003.

[0137] As another embodiment of this invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which instructions are stored. When executed by a communication device, these instructions can perform the communication methods applicable to the first node, the second node, or the host node as described in the above method embodiments.

[0138] As another form of this embodiment, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when executed by a communication device, can perform the communication method applicable to the first node, the second node, or the host node in the above method embodiments.

[0139] As another embodiment of this invention, a chip is provided that, when running, can execute the communication methods applicable to the first node, the second node, or the host node in the above method embodiments.

[0140] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0141] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, nodes (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing node to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing node, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0142] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing node to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0143] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing node, causing a series of operational steps to be executed on the computer or other programmable node to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable node for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0144] Although preferred embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of this application.

[0145] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application. Therefore, if these modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The first node performs network encoding on multiple data packets together to obtain encoded data packets, wherein the target node of the multiple data packets is the second node; The first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node; The bearer is a data radio bearer (DRB), a radio link control (RLC) bearer, or a backhaul radio link control channel (BH RLC CH). The method further includes: The first node receives configuration information from the host node, the configuration information including at least one of the following: the identification information of the plurality of bearers, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) header identification information, and latency threshold. The first node determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, When the configuration information includes one or more IP header identification information, the first node determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, including: The first node identifies the multiple bearers corresponding to the one or more IP header identification information as the multiple bearers.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, When the configuration information includes the latency threshold, the first node determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, including: The first node identifies multiple bearers whose latency requirements are greater than or equal to the latency threshold as the multiple bearers.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first node receives routing configuration information from the host node of the first node, the routing configuration information instructing the first node to send the encoded data packet to the second node through one or more transmission paths; The first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node, including: The first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node through one or more transmission paths.

5. The method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, When the routing configuration information instructs the first node to send the encoded data packet to the second node through multiple transmission paths, the routing configuration information also includes the traffic splitting ratio information of the multiple transmission paths.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node, including: The first node sends the encoded data packet to the second node through the transmission paths corresponding to the multiple bearers.

7. The method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the multiple bearers correspond to multiple transmission paths, the first node determines the traffic splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths based on the proportion of data volume of the multiple bearers in the data packets of the multiple bearers.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The header of the encoded data packet contains the identifier of the first node.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, When the multiple data packets carried are downlink data packets, the first node is a distributed unit (DU) or intermediate IAB node of the integrated IAB host for access backhaul, and the second node is an access IAB node.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, When the multiple data packets carried are uplink data packets, the first node is an access IAB node or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node is a DU of the IAB host.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The host node of the first node sends configuration information to the first node. The configuration information includes at least one of the following: identification information of multiple bearers, identification information of one or more network protocol IP packet headers, and latency threshold, which is used to determine multiple bearers that are network encoded together. The bearer is a data radio bearer (DRB), a radio link control (RLC) bearer, or a backhaul radio link control channel (BH RLC CH).

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: The host node sends routing configuration information to the first node, the routing configuration information indicating one or more transmission paths for the encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding.

13. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, When the routing configuration information indicates multiple transmission paths for encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding, the routing configuration information also includes the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Processing unit and transceiver unit; The processing unit is used to perform network encoding on multiple carried data packets together to obtain encoded data packets, wherein the target node of the multiple carried data packets is a second node; The transceiver unit is used to send the encoded data packet to the second node; The bearer is a data radio bearer (DRB), a radio link control (RLC) bearer, or a backhaul radio link control channel (BH RLC CH). The transceiver unit is further configured to receive configuration information from the host node of the communication device, the configuration information including at least one of the identification information of the plurality of bearers, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) header identification information, and latency threshold; the processing unit is further configured to determine the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that, When the processing unit determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, it is specifically used to determine the plurality of bearers corresponding to the one or more IP header identification information as the plurality of bearers when the configuration information includes the one or more IP header identification information.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that, When the processing unit determines the plurality of bearers based on the configuration information, specifically when the configuration information includes the latency threshold, it determines the plurality of bearers whose latency requirements are greater than or equal to the latency threshold as the plurality of bearers.

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14-16, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to receive routing configuration information from the host node of the communication device, the routing configuration information instructing the communication device to send the encoded data packet to the second node through one or more transmission paths; When the transceiver unit sends the encoded data packet to the second node, it is specifically used to send the encoded data packet to the second node through one or more transmission paths.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that, When the routing configuration information instructs the communication device to send the encoded data packet to the second node through multiple transmission paths, the routing configuration information also includes the traffic splitting ratio information of the multiple transmission paths.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14-16, characterized in that, When the transceiver unit sends the encoded data packet to the second node, it is specifically used to send the encoded data packet to the second node through the transmission paths corresponding to the plurality of bearers.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, characterized in that, The processing unit is further configured to determine the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths based on the proportion of data volume of the multiple bearers in the data packets of the multiple bearers when the multiple bearers correspond to multiple transmission paths.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14-20, characterized in that, The header of the encoded data packet contains an identifier of the communication device.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14-21, characterized in that, When the multiple data packets carried are downlink data packets, the communication device is a distributed unit (DU) or intermediate IAB node of the integrated IAB host for access backhaul, and the second node is an access IAB node.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 14-21, characterized in that, When the multiple data packets carried are uplink data packets, the communication device is a DU that accesses an IAB node or an intermediate IAB node, and the second node is an IAB host.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Processing unit and transceiver unit; The processing unit is used to determine the configuration information to be sent to the first node. The configuration information includes at least one of the following: identification information of multiple bearers, identification information of one or more network protocol IP packet headers, and latency threshold. This information is used to determine the multiple bearers to be network encoded together. The transceiver unit is used to send the configuration information to the first node; The bearer is a data radio bearer (DRB), a radio link control (RLC) bearer, or a backhaul radio link control channel (BH RLC CH).

25. The apparatus as claimed in claim 24, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to send routing configuration information to the first node, wherein the routing configuration information indicates one or more transmission paths of the encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding.

26. The apparatus as claimed in claim 25, characterized in that, When the routing configuration information indicates multiple transmission paths for encoded data packets obtained through the network encoding, the routing configuration information also includes the splitting ratio of the multiple transmission paths.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11-13.

28. A communication system, characterized in that, The system includes a first node for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, and a host node for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11-13.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor and interface circuitry, wherein the computer program involved executes in the at least one processor to cause the communication device to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, or to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 11-13.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes relevant program instructions, which, when executed, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11-13.

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