Communication method and device

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and related equipment, including: obtaining congestion control information, the congestion control information is used to indicate the start of discarding based on data importance, the congestion control information includes a target rate, a target channel capacity or a measurement period, determining information about data to be discarded according to the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period in the congestion control information, and discarding target data from the cache according to the information about the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data. This method can determine reasonable information about the data to be discarded by combining the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period provided by the network side, and discarding it can ensure the transmission of important data, thereby ensuring the quality and effect of business operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, electronic equipment, a communication system, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] With the development of mobile communication technology, especially the fifth generation mobile networks (5G) and other new generation mobile communication technologies, the functions of communication systems are constantly being enhanced. Specifically, 5G communication systems can provide enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), with faster connections, higher throughput and greater capacity, as well as ultra-reliable low-latency communications (uRLLC), so that the network can be applied in mission-critical scenarios that require uninterrupted and stable data links, such as extended reality (XR) scenarios or cloud gaming scenarios, meeting the ultra-high reliability and low latency requirements of wireless communication networks in the scenarios.

[0003] The communication system may include network devices such as base stations. Each base station may support communication of multiple terminals, where the terminal may be a user equipment (UE). In many mission scenarios, the UE usually needs to be able to transmit data to the network device, for example, by transmitting a protocol data unit (PDU) set (also called a PDU Set) via an uplink (UL).

[0004] When congestion occurs, the UE can discard several PDU Sets in the cache to relieve the congestion. How to discard several PDU Sets to relieve the congestion and improve communication efficiency has become a key issue in the industry. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and related equipment, the purpose of which is to solve the congestion problem when transmitting data streams in a communication system and improve communication efficiency.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] The first aspect of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be performed by a second device. The second device can be a terminal. Specifically, congestion control information is obtained, the congestion control information is used to indicate the start of discarding based on data importance, the congestion control information includes a target rate, a target channel capacity or a measurement period, according to the target rate, the target channel capacity or the measurement period in the congestion control information, the information of the data to be discarded is determined, and according to the information of the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data, the target data is discarded from the cache.

[0008] This method can determine reasonable information about the data to be discarded by combining the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement cycle provided by the network side, and discard the data accordingly, thereby ensuring the transmission of important data and further ensuring the quality and effectiveness of business operations.

[0009] In some possible implementations, the cached data includes at least one protocol data unit set PDU Set, and the data importance includes the protocol data unit set importance PSI. Among them, PDU Set usually includes a group of multiple PDUs with close connection. PDU refers to the data unit transmitted between peer layers. For example, the PDU of the physical layer can be a data bit (bit), the PDU of the data link layer can be a data frame (frame), the PDU of the network layer can be a data packet (packet), the PDU of the transport layer can be a data segment (segment), and other higher-level PDUs can be data (data). PSI is an indicator that describes the importance of PDU Set. In some examples, PSI can include multiple levels (called PSI levels, PSI grades), wherein the larger the value of the PSI level, the lower the priority; the smaller the value of the PSI level, the higher the priority. Accordingly, the information of the data to be discarded can include the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded.

[0010] The method determines the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded by combining the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period, thereby achieving PSI-based congestion control of the PDU Set, ensuring the transmission of important data, and further ensuring the quality and effect of business operation.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the second device may determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded according to the current rate and the target rate. Alternatively, the second device may determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded according to the current channel capacity and the target channel capacity.

[0012] Among them, the target rate is the adjustment target of the transmission rate, and the target channel capacity is the adjustment target of the channel capacity. The second device can calculate the amount of data to be discarded (the amount of data causing congestion) according to the current rate and the target rate, and determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the proportion of the amount of data to be discarded in the cached data, and the PSI level of the cached data. Similarly, the second device can calculate the amount of data to be discarded (the amount of data causing congestion) according to the current channel capacity and the target channel capacity, and determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the proportion of the amount of data to be discarded in the cached data, and the PSI level of the cached data.

[0013] In this method, the second device can more accurately estimate the amount of data to be discarded by combining the target rate or target channel capacity provided by the network side, thereby more accurately determining the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded, and discarding based on the PSI level can achieve precise congestion control.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the second device may uniformly adjust the transmission rate to the target rate, or the second device may uniformly adjust the channel capacity to the target channel capacity. This method can achieve smooth adjustment and ensure the stability of the service by uniformly adjusting the rate or channel capacity.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the target rate or target channel capacity is determined based on the resource scheduling information on the network side. The resource scheduling information may include one or more of the resource amount of scheduled resources and the resource amount of schedulable resources (also referred to as remaining schedulable resources, remaining resources). The resource amount of scheduled resources can also be used to determine the resource amount of remaining schedulable resources. The first device can establish a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information (such as the resource amount of schedulable resources) and rate, or a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and channel capacity through historical data. Accordingly, the first device can query the mapping relationship based on the currently acquired resource scheduling information to obtain the target rate or target channel capacity.

[0016] In this method, a suitable target rate or target channel capacity can be determined based on resource scheduling information on the network side, and accurate congestion control can be achieved by adjusting the rate or channel capacity to the target rate or target channel capacity.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the second device may also perform measurements according to the measurement cycle to obtain the packet loss rate of at least one measurement cycle, and then determine the number of PDU Sets to be discarded in the second cycle of the at least one measurement cycle based on the packet loss rate of the first cycle in the at least one measurement cycle. The second cycle may be a cycle after the first cycle, for example, the next cycle of the first cycle. When the packet loss rate of the first cycle is greater than the set packet loss rate, the number of PDU Sets to be discarded may be increased in the second cycle.

[0018] The method can realize adaptive congestion control and adapt to changes in business traffic by adjusting the number of PDU Sets expected to be discarded in the second cycle in real time based on the packet loss rate of the first cycle.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the second device may include multiple logical channels or logical channel groups. Each logical channel group may include one or more logical channels. The rate, capacity or policy period of different logical channels or logical channel groups may be different. The congestion control information includes an identifier of at least one logical channel or logical channel group and a target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period of the at least one logical channel or logical channel group. In this way, congestion control at the logical channel or logical channel group level can be implemented, further improving the accuracy of congestion control.

[0020] The second aspect of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be performed by a first device, and the first device can be a network device such as a base station, a wireless access point, etc. Specifically, the first device can perform congestion detection during the transmission of a data stream by a second device, and when congestion is detected, the first device can send congestion control information to the second device. The congestion control information is used to indicate the start of discarding based on data importance, and the congestion control information includes a target rate, a target channel capacity, or a measurement period.

[0021] The method introduces a target rate, a target channel capacity or a measurement period into the congestion control information to determine the information of the data to be discarded (for example, the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded). This can achieve accurate discarding of data from the cache, ensure the transmission of important data, and further ensure the quality and effectiveness of business operations.

[0022] In some possible implementations, the cached data includes at least one protocol data unit set PDU Set, and the data importance includes the protocol data unit set importance PSI. The method determines the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded by combining the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period, thereby achieving PSI-based congestion control for the PDU Set, ensuring the transmission of important data, and further ensuring the quality and effect of business operation.

[0023] In some possible implementations, the first device may also obtain resource scheduling information from the network side, and determine the target rate or target channel capacity based on the resource scheduling information. The resource scheduling information may include one or more of the resource amount of scheduled resources and the resource amount of schedulable resources (also referred to as remaining schedulable resources, remaining resources). The first device may establish a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information (such as the resource amount of schedulable resources) and rate, or a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and channel capacity through historical data. Accordingly, the first device may query the mapping relationship based on the currently acquired resource scheduling information, thereby obtaining the target rate or target channel capacity.

[0024] In this method, a suitable target rate or target channel capacity can be determined based on resource scheduling information on the network side, and accurate congestion control can be achieved by adjusting the rate or channel capacity to the target rate or target channel capacity.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the congestion control information includes an identifier of at least one logical channel or logical channel group and a target rate, target channel capacity, or measurement period of the at least one logical channel or logical channel group. In this way, congestion control at the logical channel or logical channel group level can be implemented, further improving the accuracy of congestion control.

[0026] The third aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, including: a memory and at least one processor. The memory is used to store programs, and the at least one processor is used to run the programs, so that the electronic device implements the communication method provided by the first aspect of the present application.

[0027] The fourth aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, comprising: a memory and at least one processor. The memory is used to store programs, and the at least one processor is used to run the programs, so that the electronic device implements the communication method provided in the second aspect of the present application.

[0028] A fifth aspect of the present application provides a communication system, including a first device and a second device. The first device and the second device are used to execute the communication method provided in the first aspect or the second aspect of the present application.

[0029] The sixth aspect of the present application is a computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, is used to implement the communication method provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect or the fourth aspect of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 This is an example diagram of a scenario of communication between a base station and a terminal disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of discarding a protocol data unit set based on importance disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a rate or channel capacity changing over time disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 6 An interactive flow chart of a communication method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of congestion detection and notification disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 8 An interactive flow chart of another communication method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Fig. 9 This is a structural example diagram of an electronic device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Fig.10 This is a structural example diagram of another electronic device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be used as limitations on the present application. As used in the specification and the appended claims of the present application, the singular expressions "one", "a kind", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "one or more" refers to one, two or more; "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0041] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" etc. described in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear at different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0042] The multiple involved in the embodiments of the present application means greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second", etc. are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying an order.

[0043] The embodiments of the present application are applied to communication systems, which may be second-generation (2G) communication systems, third-generation (3G) communication systems, LTE systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, LTE and 5G hybrid architectures, 5G new wireless (5G New Radio, 5G NR) systems, and new communication systems that may emerge in future communication developments.

[0044] The communication system includes a first device and a second device. The first device may be a device on the network side for providing network communication functions, which is also referred to as a network device or a network element in some cases. The network device may generally be a base station (including a functional unit of a base station, or a combination of functional units of a base station) or a core network unit, wherein the core network unit may be a functional unit in the core network, including but not limited to an access and mobility management function (AMF) unit or a session management function (SMF) unit. The second device may be a device for accessing the network, which may generally be a terminal. An example of a communication system is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 The system includes a base station 1 and a terminal 2.

[0045] In the embodiments provided in the present application, the base station may be any device having a wireless transceiver function, including but not limited to: an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in long term evolution (LTE), a base station (gNodeB or gNB) or a transmission receiving point / transmission reception point (TRP) in new radio (NR), a base station of subsequent evolution of 3GPP, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, etc. The base station may be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a micro-micro base station, a small station, a relay station, or a balloon station, etc. The base station may include one or more co-site or non-co-site transmission points (Transmission Reception Point, TRP). The base station may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (CU), and / or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The base station may communicate with the terminal, or communicate with the terminal through a relay station. The terminal can communicate with multiple base stations of different technologies. For example, the terminal can communicate with a base station supporting an LTE network, and can also communicate with a base station supporting a 5G network. The terminal can also establish dual connections with a base station supporting an LTE network and a base station supporting a 5G network.

[0046] In the embodiments provided in the present application, the terminal may be in various forms, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc. The terminal may also be sometimes referred to as a terminal device, a user equipment (UE), an access terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, an industrial control terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent or a UE device, etc. The terminal may also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0047] In the communication system, the terminal can run services, such as services with large data volumes, including but not limited to extended reality (eXtended Reality, XR) scenarios or cloud gaming. The service data generated by the terminal running the service can be transmitted to the service server or to other terminals through network equipment (such as base stations).

[0048] Among them, business data and the like can be organized and transmitted in the form of a set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs). Specifically, a PDU set can also be called a PDU set, denoted as PDU Set, which usually includes a group of multiple PDUs that are closely related. PDU refers to the data unit transmitted between peer levels. For example, the PDU of the physical layer can be a data bit, the PDU of the data link layer can be a data frame, the PDU of the network layer can be a data packet, the PDU of the transport layer can be a data segment, and other higher-level PDUs can be data.

[0049] Considering that the PDUs in a PDU Set are usually closely related, when transmitting a PDU Set, if only part of the PDU is transmitted to the receiving end, the improvement in user experience is limited. Therefore, when transmitting a PDU Set, usually all PDUs in a PDU Set are successfully transmitted, or the entire PDU Set is discarded (that is, no PDU in the PDU Set is transmitted). Taking the XR service as an example, due to the characteristics of video decoding, video stream data can usually be organized and transmitted in the form of PDU Set.

[0050] Since the rate at which data such as video streams are generated and transmitted is variable, when the rate at which data is generated is much greater than the rate at which it is transmitted, congestion may occur during the transmission process. Based on this, a discard-based congestion control mechanism can be introduced to alleviate the congestion level and improve communication efficiency. The discard-based congestion control mechanism can be implemented through the discard control enhancement of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The PDCP layer can discard specific Protocol Data Units (PDUs) to ensure the transmission of important data.

[0051] During the data transmission process of cloud-based 3D reconstruction services (such as XR services), when a network device (such as a base station) detects that the network is congested, the terminal can initiate a PDCP discard operation based on the PDU Set Importance (PSI) to prioritize the transmission of important point clouds or video frames (such as the first frame of the video, contour point clouds, etc.), thereby ensuring the real-time and reconstruction effect of the reconstruction and improving the user experience. Among them, PSI is an indicator that describes the importance of PDU Set. In some examples, PSI may include multiple levels (referred to as PSI levels, PSI grades). For example, PSI may include 16 PSI levels, namely PSI 0, PSI 1, ... PSI 15. Among them, the larger the value of the PSI level, the lower the priority; the smaller the value of the PSI level, the higher the priority.

[0052] The following is an example to illustrate this. Figure 2As shown, the cache of the terminal (such as UE) includes PDU Set 1, PDU Set 2... PDU Set 8, and the PSI levels of the above PDU Sets are PSI 12, PSI 9, PSI 12, PSI 11, PSI 1, PSI 15, PSI 4, and PSI 15, respectively. When the network side indicates that a congestion event has occurred in the UE, the UE can decide the PSI level to be discarded. In this example, the UE can discard PDU Sets with a priority lower than 10. In other words, the UE can discard PDU Sets with a PSI level greater than 10, such as PDU Set 1, PDU Set 3, PDU Set 4, PDU Set 6, and PDU Set 8. Among them, the key to achieving congestion control through the discard mechanism is to determine information such as the discarded PSI level.

[0053] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method. The method obtains congestion control information, which is used to indicate the start of discarding based on data importance (for example, for PDU Set, data importance can be PSI), wherein the congestion control information includes a target rate, a target channel capacity or a measurement period, and according to the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period in the congestion control information, information of the data to be discarded (for example, the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded) can be determined, and then according to the information of the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data, the target data is discarded from the cache.

[0054] This method can determine reasonable information about the data to be discarded by combining the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement cycle provided by the network side, and discard the data accordingly, thereby ensuring the transmission of important data and further ensuring the quality and effectiveness of business operations.

[0055] In order to make the technical solution of the present application clearer and easier to understand, the communication method of the present application is introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0056] See also Figure 3 The flowchart of a communication method shown in FIG. 1 may be performed by a second device, and the second device may be a terminal, such as a UE. The method includes the following steps:

[0057] S302: The second device obtains congestion control information.

[0058] The congestion control information is used to indicate the start of discarding based on data importance. The cached data may include at least one protocol data unit set PDU Set, and the data importance may be a protocol data unit set importance PSI. The congestion control information includes a target rate, a target channel capacity, or a measurement period.

[0059] In order to alleviate the congestion (or even eliminate it), the transmission rate or the channel capacity can be adjusted, for example, the transmission rate is adjusted to the target rate, or the channel capacity is adjusted to the target channel capacity. In other words, the target rate is the adjustment target of the transmission rate, and the target channel capacity is the adjustment target of the channel capacity. Similarly, the packet loss rate can be measured according to the measurement period, and the data to be discarded (such as the PDU Set to be discarded) can be decided based on the measurement results to alleviate the congestion.

[0060] Specifically, the second device can obtain congestion control information from the first device (such as a network device such as a base station). The first device can receive a data stream (such as a media stream such as a video stream) uploaded by the second device, and the first device performs congestion detection based on the received information of the data stream. When congestion is detected, the congestion control information can be sent to the second device. The target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period in the congestion control information can be recommended or provided by the first device.

[0061] It should be noted that the second device may include multiple logical channels or logical channel groups. Each logical channel group may include one or more logical channels. The rate, capacity or policy period of different logical channels or logical channel groups may be different. Based on this, the congestion control information may include the identifier of at least one logical channel or logical channel group (Logical Channel Group, LCG) and the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period of at least one logical channel or logical channel group. In this way, congestion control at the logical channel or logical channel group level can be achieved.

[0062] S304: The second device determines information about data to be discarded according to the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period in the congestion control information.

[0063] The information of the data to be discarded may be attribute information of the data to be discarded. Taking the example that the cached data includes at least one PDU Set, the data to be discarded may be a PDU Set to be discarded, and the information of the data to be discarded includes the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded.

[0064] In some possible implementations, the second device may obtain a current rate, wherein the current rate may be a rate when the second device receives congestion control information (e.g., a rate when the second device learns that congestion occurs), and the second device may determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the current rate and the target rate. Similarly, the second device may also obtain a current channel capacity, wherein the current channel capacity may be a channel capacity when the second device receives congestion control information (e.g., a channel capacity when the second device learns that congestion occurs), and the second device may determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the current channel capacity and the target channel capacity.

[0065] When congestion control is started, the second device may adjust the rate (e.g., reduce the rate) to achieve congestion control. In this case, the target rate may be less than the current rate. Figure 4 As shown, the network is congested from the moment corresponding to point G (or point F), and the receiver performs congestion detection based on the information of the received data stream, and detects the occurrence of congestion after the receiver detects the delay (receiver_detection_delay). The rate at this time is the current rate, recorded as prev_rate, and the channel capacity at this time is the current channel capacity, recorded as previous channel capacity. Then the receiver, such as the network device, notifies the UE of the congestion, and the UE receives the congestion control information sent by the network device at the moment corresponding to point A (or point B). The congestion control information may include a target rate or a target channel capacity, where the target rate is also called a new rate (recorded as new_rate), and the target channel capacity is also called a new channel capacity (recorded as new channel capacity).

[0066] Among them, the rate can be adjusted step by step. For example, the rate can be adjusted every 0.5 seconds (second, s). When adjusting the rate, uniform adjustment can also be supported, for example, uniformly reducing the prev_rate to the prev_rate. Based on the prev_rate, new_rate and rate adjustment interval, the adjustment time can be obtained. The adjustment time is the theoretical adjustment time, denoted as adapt_time_wc. During actual operation, in addition to the data itself, for example, in addition to the PDU Set, the header data (header) is usually required to be transmitted, resulting in the actual adjustment time (denoted as measurement_window) being usually longer than the theoretical adjustment time.

[0067] The second device may determine the amount of data to be discarded based on prev_rate, prev_rate and measurement_window, and determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the proportion of the amount of data to be discarded in the cached data and the PSI level of the cached data.

[0068] Similarly, the channel capacity may be adjusted gradually. For example, the channel capacity may be adjusted every 1 second. When adjusting the channel capacity, uniform adjustment may be supported, such as uniformly reducing the previous channel capacity to the new channel capacity. The second device may determine the amount of data to be discarded based on the previous channel capacity and the new channel capacity, and may determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the proportion of the amount of data to be discarded in the cached data and the PSI level of the cached data.

[0069] In some other possible implementations, the second device may perform measurements according to the measurement cycle to obtain the packet loss rate of at least one measurement cycle, and then determine the number of PDU Sets to be discarded in the second cycle of at least one measurement cycle based on the packet loss rate of the first cycle in the at least one measurement cycle. The second cycle may be a cycle after the first cycle, for example, the next cycle of the first cycle. When the packet loss rate of the first cycle is greater than the set packet loss rate, the number of PDU Sets to be discarded may be increased in the second cycle.

[0070] In some possible implementations, when congestion is relieved or eliminated, the second device may also turn off congestion control and readjust the rate or channel capacity. For example, the second device may increase the rate or increase the channel capacity to meet the data transmission requirements.

[0071] S306: The second device discards the target data from the cache according to the information of the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data.

[0072] Specifically, the second device may determine the target data from the cache data according to the information of the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cache data, and the information of the target data matches the information of the data to be discarded. Then the second device may discard the target data from the cache.

[0073] Taking the example that the cached data includes at least one PDU Set, the second device can determine the PDU Set to be discarded based on the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded and the PSI level of at least one PDU Set in the cached data, and then discard the PDU Set to be discarded from the cache. Similarly, the second device can determine the PDU Set to be discarded based on the number of PDU Sets to be discarded and the PSI level of at least one PDU Set in the cache, and then discard the PDU Set to be discarded from the cache. The second device can sort the PDU Sets according to the PSI level, for example, sort them in descending order of the PSI level, and then select several PDU Sets with the highest sorting from the sorted PDU Sets according to the number of PDU Sets to be discarded for discarding.

[0074] Based on the above description, it can be known that the communication method provided by the present application obtains congestion control information, and the congestion control information introduces a target rate, a target channel capacity or a measurement period. According to the target rate, the target channel capacity or the measurement period in the congestion control information, the information of the data to be discarded (for example, the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded) can be determined, and then according to the information of the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data, the target data can be accurately discarded from the cache. In this way, the transmission of important data can be guaranteed, and then the quality and effect of business operation can be guaranteed.

[0075] Next, the communication method of the present application is introduced from the perspective of the first device.

[0076] See also Figure 5 The flowchart of a communication method shown in FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a communication method, which can be executed by a first device. The first device may include but is not limited to network devices such as a base station and a wireless access node. The method includes the following steps:

[0077] S502: The first device performs congestion detection during the process of transmitting the data stream of the second device. When congestion is detected, S504 is executed.

[0078] Specifically, the second device (such as a terminal) can transmit a data stream to the first device (such as a network device such as a base station) to complete the corresponding business, such as cloud-based 3D reconstruction business, including but not limited to XR business and cloud game business. Considering that the first device such as a base station can usually provide services for multiple second devices, in some cases, such as during peak hours, there are a large number of second devices accessing the base station, and the available resources of the first device are insufficient to provide services for all the second devices, which may cause congestion.

[0079] The first device may perform congestion detection by detecting the packet loss rate of the data stream transmitted by the second device, or may perform congestion detection based on the sequence number of the data packet in the received data stream. For example, when the packet loss rate is greater than a set threshold, the first device may determine that congestion has occurred. For another example, when the sequence number of the received data packet is missing, the first device may determine that congestion has occurred.

[0080] In order to avoid congestion causing loss of important data during transmission, S504 may be executed to perform congestion control.

[0081] S502: The first device sends congestion control information to the second device.

[0082] Specifically, the congestion control information is used to indicate the start of discarding based on data importance. The cached data may include at least one protocol data unit set PDU Set, and the data importance may be a protocol data unit set importance PSI. The congestion control information includes a target rate, a target channel capacity, or a measurement period.

[0083] In some possible implementations, the first device may also obtain resource scheduling information on the network side. The resource scheduling information on the network side may include one or more of the resource amount of scheduled resources and the resource amount of schedulable resources (also referred to as remaining schedulable resources, remaining resources). Among them, the resource amount of scheduled resources can also be used to determine the resource amount of remaining schedulable resources. The first device can determine the target rate or target channel capacity based on the resource scheduling information. For example, the first device can establish a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information (such as the resource amount of schedulable resources) and the rate, or a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and channel capacity through historical data. Accordingly, the first device can query the mapping relationship based on the currently acquired resource scheduling information to obtain the target rate or target channel capacity.

[0084] Similarly, the first device can also establish a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and measurement period based on historical data. Based on this, when congestion control is enabled, the first device can recommend a measurement period based on current resource scheduling information and the mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and measurement period, and provide the measurement period to the second device.

[0085] It should be noted that the second device may include multiple logical channels or logical channel groups, and each logical channel group may include one or more logical channels. The rates, channel capacities or measurement periods of different logical channels or logical channel groups may be different. The second device may determine the target rate, target channel capacity, and measurement period for each logical channel or logical channel group. Accordingly, the congestion control information may include the identifier of at least one logical channel or logical channel group and the target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period of at least one logical channel or logical channel group.

[0086] Furthermore, the first device may continue to perform congestion detection during the process of the second device transmitting the data stream. When it is detected that the congestion is eliminated or relieved, the first device may also send a congestion control shutdown notification. Accordingly, the second device may stop discarding data based on importance in response to the congestion control shutdown notification, thereby shutting down congestion control.

[0087] Based on the above description, it can be known that the communication method provided in the present application can perform congestion detection during the process of transmitting data streams by the second device. When congestion is detected, congestion control information is sent to the second device to indicate the start of data importance-based discarding. The congestion control information introduces a target rate, a target channel capacity or a measurement period, which is used to determine the information of the data to be discarded (for example, the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded or the number of PDU Sets to be discarded). In this way, data can be accurately discarded from the cache, thereby ensuring the transmission of important data and further ensuring the quality and effect of business operations.

[0088] In order to make the technical solution of the present application clearer and easier to understand, the communication method of the present application is explained below by respectively combining the discarding of the target rate and the discarding of the measurement period.

[0089] First, see Figure 6 The interactive flow chart of a communication method shown in FIG. 1 includes the following steps:

[0090] S602: UE transmits data stream to the base station.

[0091] S604: The base station performs congestion detection according to the information of the received data stream. When congestion is detected, S606 is executed.

[0092] The data stream may be a data stream of service data generated by the UE running a service. Figure 7 As shown, the data flow may include several uplink data packets. The base station (eg, gNodeB, gNb for short) may perform congestion detection based on information of received data packets, such as the sequence number of the data packet or the packet loss rate.

[0093] When congestion is sensed, the base station can send an explicit congestion notification (ECN) to the user plane network elements such as the user plane function (UPF). ECN is an extension to the Internet Protocol and the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and is defined in RFC 3168 (2001). ECN allows end-to-end notification of congestion control to avoid packet loss. ECN is an optional feature that can be used by two ECN-enabled endpoints if the underlying network infrastructure supports it.

[0094] UPF can realize the routing and forwarding of user data packets, data interaction with external data networks, quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane, and implementation of flow control rules. UPF can send ECN to application layer network elements such as application functions (AF). Among them, AF includes various services of the application layer, which can be applications within the operator such as Volte AF, or third-party AF (such as video servers, game servers).

[0095] Typically, TCP / IP networks indicate channel congestion by dropping packets. In the case of successful ECN negotiation, ECN-aware routers can set a flag in the IP header instead of dropping packets to indicate that congestion is imminent. The receiver of the packet responds to the sender's indication by reducing its transmission rate.

[0096] S606: The base station obtains resource scheduling information, and determines a target rate according to the resource scheduling information.

[0097] S608. The base station sends congestion control information to the UE, where the congestion control information includes a target rate.

[0098] Normally, TCP / IP networks indicate channel congestion by dropping packets. In the case of successful ECN negotiation, ECN-aware routers can set a flag in the IP header instead of dropping packets to indicate that congestion is imminent. The receiver of the packet (such as a base station) can respond to the sender's indication by reducing its transmission rate.

[0099] The base station may obtain resource scheduling information and determine a target rate according to the resource scheduling information. The base station may add a target rate to the congestion control information, thereby reducing the transmission rate of the sender to the target rate to perform congestion control.

[0100] S610: The UE determines the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded according to the target rate and the current rate.

[0101] Specifically, the UE may determine the amount of data to be discarded based on the current rate prev_rate and the target rate prev_rate, and determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded based on the proportion of the amount of data to be discarded in the cached data and the PSI level of the cached data.

[0102] S612: The UE discards target data from the buffer according to the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded.

[0103] In specific implementation, the UE may determine the PDU Set to be discarded according to the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded and the PSI level of at least one PDU Set in the cache data, and then discard the PDU Set to be discarded from the cache.

[0104] In this method, when the base station notifies the UE to start PSI-based discarding to achieve congestion control, it also introduces the target rate in the congestion control information and notifies the UE of the target rate, so that the UE can determine the PSI level of the PDU Set to be discarded in combination with the target rate, thereby providing a reference for deciding the PDU Set to be discarded. This ensures the transmission of important data and further ensures the quality and effect of business operation.

[0105] Next, see Figure 8 The interactive flow chart of a communication method shown in FIG. 1 includes the following steps:

[0106] S802: UE transmits data stream to the base station.

[0107] S804: The base station performs congestion detection according to the information of the received data stream. When congestion is detected, S806 is executed.

[0108] For the specific implementation of S802 and S804, please refer to Figure 6 The description of the related contents of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0109] S806. The base station obtains resource scheduling information, and determines a measurement period according to the resource scheduling information.

[0110] Similar to determining the target rate, the base station can establish a mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and measurement period based on historical data. Based on this, when congestion control is enabled, the base station can recommend a measurement period based on the current resource scheduling information and the mapping relationship between resource scheduling information and measurement period.

[0111] S808. The base station sends congestion control information to the UE, where the congestion control information includes a measurement period.

[0112] In this embodiment, the congestion control information is used to indicate the start of PSI-based discarding, for example, notifying the UE of PSI-based discarding to achieve congestion control. The base station can add a measurement period to the congestion control information so that the UE can measure the packet loss rate according to the measurement period, and then decide the number of discarded PDU Sets according to the policy result to achieve congestion control.

[0113] S810. The UE performs measurement according to a measurement period to obtain a packet loss rate of a first period.

[0114] S812: The UE determines the number of PDU Sets to be discarded in the second cycle according to the packet loss rate in the first cycle.

[0115] S814. The UE discards a corresponding number of PDU Sets in the second period according to the number of PDU Sets expected to be discarded in the second cycle.

[0116] The second cycle may be a cycle after the first cycle, for example, a cycle next to the first cycle. When the packet loss rate of the first cycle is greater than the set packet loss rate, the number of PDU Sets to be discarded may be increased in the second cycle. In this embodiment, the UE may discard several PDU Sets within multiple cycles, and when the base station detects that congestion is eliminated, it may send a congestion control shutdown notification to notify the UE to stop PSI-based discarding and shut down congestion control.

[0117] For example, the measurement period may be n milliseconds. Assuming that the UE discards M1 PDU Sets within the first n milliseconds, the UE may determine that the number of PDU Sets to be discarded within the second n milliseconds is M2 based on the packet loss rate within the first n milliseconds, and then the UE may discard M2 PDU Sets within the second n milliseconds. Similarly, the UE may determine that the number of PDU Sets to be discarded within the third n milliseconds is M3 based on the packet loss rate within the second n milliseconds, until the number of packet losses is 0.

[0118] Based on the aforementioned communication method, the present application also provides an electronic device for implementing the aforementioned communication method. The electronic device provided by the present application is described below by way of example from the perspective of hardware entity.

[0119] Fig. 9 An example of the composition of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device may be a first device, including but not limited to a base station and a core network unit. Fig. 9A simplified schematic diagram of the base station structure is shown. The base station includes part 910, part 920 and part 930. Part 910 is mainly used for baseband processing, controlling the base station, etc.; part 910 is usually the control center of the base station, which can usually be called a processor, and is used to control the base station to perform the processing operation on the first device side in the above method embodiment. Part 920 is mainly used to store computer program code and data. Part 930 is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals to baseband signals; part 930 can usually be called a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver. The transceiver module of part 930 can also be called a transceiver or a transceiver, etc., which includes an antenna 933 and a radio frequency circuit (not shown in the figure), wherein the radio frequency circuit is mainly used for radio frequency processing. Optionally, the device used to implement the receiving function in part 930 can be regarded as a receiver, and the device used to implement the sending function can be regarded as a transmitter, that is, part 930 includes a receiver 932 and a transmitter 931. A receiver may also be called a receiving module, a receiver, or a receiving circuit, etc., and a transmitter may be called a transmitting module, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0120] Part 910 and part 920 may include one or more single boards, and each single board may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processor is used to read and execute the program in the memory to realize the baseband processing function and the control of the base station. If there are multiple single boards, each single board can be interconnected to enhance the processing capability. As an optional implementation, multiple single boards may share one or more processors, or multiple single boards may share one or more memories, or multiple single boards may share one or more processors at the same time.

[0121] For example, in one implementation, the transceiver module of part 930 is used to execute the transceiver-related process executed by the base station (first device) in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processor of part 910 is used to execute the processing-related process executed by the base station in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0122] It should be understood that Fig. 9 This is only an example and not a limitation. The network device including the processor, memory and transceiver may not rely on Fig. 9 The structure shown.

[0123] Fig.10 Another example of the composition of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device may be a second device, and the second device may be a terminal, including but not limited to mobile phones, smart wearable devices (such as smart watches) and other electronic devices. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the electronic device may include a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display screen 330, a camera 340, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360, etc.

[0124] It is to be understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device. In other embodiments, the electronic device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0125] The processor 310 may include one or more processing units, for example, the processor 310 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processor (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU), etc. Different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0126] It is understandable that the interface connection relationship between the modules illustrated in this embodiment is only a schematic illustration and does not constitute a structural limitation of the electronic device. In other embodiments of the present application, the electronic device may also adopt different interface connection methods in the above embodiments, or a combination of multiple interface connection methods.

[0127] The external memory interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the storage capacity of the electronic device. The external memory card communicates with the processor 310 through the external memory interface 320 to implement a data storage function. For example, files such as music and videos can be stored in the external memory card.

[0128] The internal memory 321 can be used to store computer executable program codes, and the executable program codes include instructions. The processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321. The internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. Among them, the program storage area may store an operating system, an application required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created during the use of the electronic device (such as audio data, a phone book, etc.), etc. In addition, the internal memory 321 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, a universal flash storage (UFS), etc. The processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321, and / or the instructions stored in the memory provided in the processor.

[0129] The wireless communication function of the electronic device can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor and baseband processor.

[0130] Antenna 1 and antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the electronic device can be used to cover a single or multiple communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be reused to improve the utilization of the antennas. For example, antenna 1 can be reused as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antenna can be used in combination with a tuning switch.

[0131] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G applied in electronic devices. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 1, and filter, amplify, and process the received electromagnetic waves, and transmit them to the modulation and demodulation processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modulation and demodulation processor, and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation through the antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 can be set in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 can be set in the same device as at least some of the modules of the processor 310.

[0132] In some embodiments, the electronic device initiates or receives a call request through the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1 .

[0133] In addition, an operating system is running on the above components. For example, an iOS operating system, an Android operating system, a Windows operating system, etc. Applications can be installed and run on the operating system. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, the explanation and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the electronic devices provided above can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0134] The present application also provides a communication system, which may include: Fig. 9 The first device (eg, a network device such as a base station) and Fig.10 The second device shown (eg, a terminal such as a mobile phone).

[0135] In this application, a terminal or network device may include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. Among them, the hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and a memory (also called main memory). The operating system of the operating system layer may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux operating system, Unix operating system, Android operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows operating system. The application layer may include applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

[0136] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and modules described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0137] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the modules is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple modules or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0138] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0139] In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing module, or each module can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0140] If the integrated module is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part that essentially contributes to the technical solution of the present application or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the process of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0141] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments can still be modified, or some of the technical features therein can be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire congestion control information, where the congestion control information is used to indicate starting discarding based on data importance, where the congestion control information includes an identifier of at least one logical channel or a logical channel group provided by a network side, a target rate of the at least one logical channel or a logical channel group, a target channel capacity, or a measurement period; Determine information about the data to be discarded according to an identifier, a target rate, a target channel capacity, or a measurement period in the congestion control information; Discarding target data from the cache according to the information of the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data; The determining information of the data to be discarded according to the identifier, target rate, target channel capacity or measurement period in the congestion control information includes: Perform measurement according to the measurement period to obtain a packet loss rate of at least one measurement period; According to the packet loss rate of a first period in the at least one measurement period, the number of protocol data unit sets (PDU Sets) expected to be discarded in a second period in the at least one measurement period is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The buffered data includes at least one protocol data unit set (PDU Set), the data importance includes a protocol data unit set importance (PSI), and the information of the to-be-discarded data includes a PSI level of the to-be-discarded PDU Set or the number of the to-be-discarded PDU Sets.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: uniformly adjusting the transmission rate to the target rate; or, The channel capacity is uniformly adjusted to the target channel capacity.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The target rate or target channel capacity is determined according to resource scheduling information on the network side.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Performing congestion detection during the transmission of the data stream by the second device; When congestion is detected, congestion control information is sent to the second device, where the congestion control information is used to instruct to start discarding based on data importance, and the congestion control information includes an identifier of at least one logical channel or logical channel group provided by the network side, a target rate, a target channel capacity, or a measurement period of the at least one logical channel or logical channel group, and the congestion control information is used to instruct the second device to determine information about data to be discarded, and discard target data from the cache according to the information about the data to be discarded and the data importance of the cached data; The second device determines information about the data to be discarded, including: The second device performs measurement according to the measurement period to obtain a packet loss rate of at least one measurement period; The second device determines the number of protocol data unit sets (PDU Sets) expected to be discarded in a second cycle in the at least one measurement cycle according to the packet loss rate in a first cycle in the at least one measurement cycle.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The cached data includes at least one protocol data unit set (PDU Set), and the data importance includes a protocol data unit set importance (PSI).

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Obtain resource scheduling information on the network side; The target rate or the target channel capacity is determined according to the resource scheduling information.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises: Memory for storing computer programs or computer instructions; A processor, configured to execute a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory, so that the electronic device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises: Memory for storing computer programs or computer instructions; A processor, configured to execute a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory, so that the electronic device executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7.

10. A communication system, characterized in that: The system comprises a first device and a second device, wherein the second device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and the first device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

11. A computer storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed, the computer program is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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