Rate control configuration and adaptation

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to rate control configuration and adaptation. The first equipment transmits a service request to the second equipment, the service request comprises a group of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged according to a priority order, and each alternative service requirement comprises at least one long-time scale rate control requirement and at least one short-time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description; and receiving a report of a Quality of Service (QoS) notification from the second device, the report being based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements by the fourth device. In this manner, an aligned rate control configuration and adaptation may be implemented between the application and the 5GS that takes into account long time scale and short time scale rate control requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments described herein relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for rate control configuration and adaptation. Background Art

[0002] Time-sensitive communication (TSC) has been introduced as part of ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) in 5G systems (5GS). TSC is developed to support time-sensitive network (TSN) functions in a fully centralized model, for example. In 3GPP Rel-17, native TSC is introduced to allow applications to request deterministic transmission capabilities via an application programming interface (API) and without relying on TSN specific functions.

[0003] TSC Quality of Service (QoS) flows use the Delay Critical Guaranteed Bit Rate (DC-GBR) resource type. Each 5G QoS Identifier (SQI) standardized for the DC-GBR resource type is associated with a default value for the Maximum Data Burst Capacity (MDBV). DC-GBR is characterized by strict rate, latency, and reliability guarantees. This is achieved by defining an MDBV and a Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR) that should meet packet delay budget (PDB) and packet error rate (PER) requirements. Summary of the invention

[0004] In general, the example embodiments described herein provide schemes for rate control configuration and adaptation.

[0005] In a first example embodiment, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: transmit a service request to a second device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in a priority order, the plurality of alternative service requirements including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; and receive a report of a QoS notification from the second device, the report being a QoS profile requested by a fourth device based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements.

[0006] In a second example embodiment, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: receive a service request from a first device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in order of priority, and including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in order of priority and associated with a service data flow corresponding to the flow description, each set of alternative QoS parameters including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; and transmit at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one set of alternative QoS parameters to a third device for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0007] In a third example embodiment, a third device is provided. The third device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third device to at least: receive a set of requested service parameters and at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in priority order from a second device, each set of alternative QoS parameters including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; determine a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow based on the set of requested service parameters; determine at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in priority order based on at least one alternative QoS parameter set, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; and transmit the requested QoS profile and the determined at least one alternative QoS profile to a fourth device for at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

[0008] In a fourth example embodiment, a fourth device is provided. The fourth device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the fourth device to at least: receive a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in priority order from a third device, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; and perform at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0009] In a fifth example embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes: transmitting, at a first device and to a second device, a service request, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in a priority order, the plurality of alternative service requirements including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; and receiving a report of a quality of service (QoS) notification from the second device, the report being generated by a fourth device based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements.

[0010] In a sixth example embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving a service request at a second device and from a first device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in a priority order, each alternative service requirement including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; determining at least one set of service parameters and at least one alternative QoS parameter set arranged in a priority order and associated with a service data flow corresponding to the flow description based on the set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements, each alternative QoS parameter set including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; and transmitting the determined at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one alternative QoS parameter set to a third device for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0011] In a seventh example embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving, at a third device and from a second device, a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of priority-ordered alternative QoS parameter sets, each of which includes a first subset of long-time-scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short-time-scale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; determining, based on the set of requested service parameters, a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow; determining, based on at least one of the priority-ordered alternative QoS profiles, each of which includes a first subset of long-time-scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short-time-scale rate control parameters; transmitting to a fourth device the requested QoS profile and the determined at least one alternative QoS profile for at least one radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

[0012] In an eighth example embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving, at a fourth device and from a third device, a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in a priority order, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; and performing at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0013] In a ninth example embodiment, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for transmitting a service request to a second device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in a priority order, the plurality of alternative service requirements including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; and a component for receiving a report of a QoS notification from the second device, the report being a report by a fourth device based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements.

[0014] In a tenth exemplary embodiment, a second device is provided. The second device includes: a component for receiving a service request from a first device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements, the plurality of alternative service requirements being arranged in order of priority and including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; a component for determining at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in order of priority and associated with a service data flow corresponding to the flow description based on the set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements, each set of alternative QoS parameters including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; a component for transmitting at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one alternative QoS parameter set to a third device, and for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0015] In an eleventh exemplary embodiment, a third device is provided. The third device includes: a component for receiving a set of requested service parameters and at least one alternative QoS parameter set arranged in order of priority from a second device, each alternative QoS parameter set including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; a component for determining a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow based on a set of requested service parameters; a component for determining at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in order of priority based on at least one alternative QoS parameter set, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; and a component for transmitting the requested QoS profile and the determined at least one alternative QoS profile to a fourth device, for at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

[0016] In a twelfth exemplary embodiment, a fourth apparatus is provided. The fourth apparatus includes: a component for receiving a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in a priority order from a third apparatus, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; and a component for performing at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0017] In a thirteenth exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause an apparatus to at least perform the method according to any one of the fifth aspect, the sixth aspect, the seventh aspect, or the eighth aspect.

[0018] It should be understood that the summary of the invention is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments described herein, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an example of a rate control configuration of DC-GBR according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 3shows a signaling diagram for rate control configuration and adaptation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 4 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0024] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0025] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method implemented at a third device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 7 A flowchart of a method implemented at a fourth device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 8 shows a simplified block diagram of a device configured to implement an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0028] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to the embodiments described below, the disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the ways described below.

[0031] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0032] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an example embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0033] It should be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used in the present application to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the functions of various elements.

[0034] The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "said" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprise", "comprising", "having", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used in this application specify the presence of features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0035] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar descriptions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all elements. In addition, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0036] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuits) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software and memory that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions; and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor that requires software (eg, firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0037] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers implementations of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portions of a hardware circuit or processor and their accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit used in a mobile device or similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0038] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to only the aforementioned system.

[0039] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (e NodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (NR NB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a repeater, a low power node (such as a femto, pico, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied. A network device is allowed to be defined as part of a gNB, such as, for example, in a CU / DU split, in which case the network device is defined as a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU.

[0040] The term "terminal device" refers to any device (e.g., a terminal device) capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). The terminal device may be implemented as or include, for example, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback facility), a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless client equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node (also referred to as a relay node). As used herein, the terms “terminal device,” “communication device,” “terminal,” “user equipment,” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0041] As used in this application, alternative QoS profiles and alternative QoS parameter sets may be used interchangeably. The term "alternative QoS profile" may indicate a concept, while the term "alternative QoS parameter set" may indicate an IE transmitted between the RAN and the 5GC in the NG-AP protocol.

[0042] Although the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes in various example embodiments, in other example embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a cellular phone or a tablet computer or a laptop computer or a desktop computer or a mobile IoT device or a fixed IoT device). The user equipment device may, for example, be configured with appropriate corresponding capabilities described in conjunction with fixed and / or wireless network nodes. The user equipment device may be implemented as or included in the user equipment and / or configured as a control device, such as a chipset or a processor, that controls the user equipment when installed in the user equipment. Examples of such functions include boot server functions and / or home subscriber servers, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to execute from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0043] With the development of computer technology and communication technology, mobile media services (e.g., cloud-based augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), cloud gaming, video-based remote control for machines or drones) are expected to increase their contribution to the services of 5G networks in the coming years. Interactive media services independent of the codec used tend to share some common characteristics, such as high throughput, low latency, and high reliability requirements. To support these common characteristics, extended reality (XR) services including AR, VR, MR, etc. can benefit from reusing the current 5GS common TSC and open framework.

[0044] From a traffic volume perspective, mobile media services mainly consist of video streaming. In principle, video services are highly adaptive with respect to the available bit rate. Adaptation can be achieved by reducing at least one of the frame rate, quality, resolution, etc. of the video stream. From a quality of experience (QoE) perspective, which approach is best may vary and depend on the specific application.

[0045] In view of the above, TSC QoS flows and DC-GBR 5QI can be configured for advanced media services, such as high data rate low latency (HDRLL) services, AR / VR / XR services, and tactile or multimodal communication services. However, the performance guaranteed by DC-GBR comes at the expense of radio resource reservation. For XR services with high data rate and low latency requirements, this resource reservation may be very important. In order to maintain fairness to other users or services and to efficiently utilize cell capacity, it is beneficial to know the application service characteristics and requirements. This enables good alignment with the corresponding QoS flow or data radio bearer (DRB) configuration (e.g., MDBV, GFBR, PDB, etc.), so that the 5GS can provide the desired QoS while minimizing the need for over-configuration to guarantee uncertain services.

[0046] The challenge for interactive and rate-adaptive services (such as XR, cloud gaming video) is to configure appropriate rate control given their variable traffic properties, such as video frame, burst size, inter-arrival time including potential jitter, etc. Rate adaptation is usually performed by the source codec, e.g., changing the video frame rate, periodicity, frame size, etc., based on radio conditions and application-level measurements of quality of experience. This is in contrast to the typical traffic patterns involved in TSC / IIoT scenarios, which are more deterministic and non-adaptive, and therefore easier to match via DC-GBR configuration.

[0047] In particular, it has been observed that for DC-GBR, only the average rate requirement is not sufficient. For rate control in RAN, only GFBR is ambiguous. Assuming a video streaming traffic pattern with a certain frame rate or periodicity and frame size, resulting in a specific GFBR, when the reference GFBR is halved due to adaptation to the halved throughput, the new requirement of 0.5*GFBR can be associated with different possible MDBVs and corresponding peak-to-average throughput (TP) ratios, such as MDBV with TP=2X, 0.5*MDBV with TP=X, 2*MDBV with TP=4X, etc. This may depend on the codec implementation and the rate adaptation algorithm, e.g., the chosen tradeoff between frame rate and frame resolution / quality), which determines different RAC and scheduler requirements. For example, higher peak-to-average TP ratios or burst peak rate requirements tend to be more difficult to achieve with guaranteed radio.

[0048] Therefore, it is expected that the QoS mechanism can be enhanced to align the application service characteristics and requirements with the QoS configuration and processing provided by 5GS.

[0049] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a scheme for rate control configuration and adaptation is provided. As provided herein, rate control configuration and adaptation for alignment between an application and 5GS for a service data stream can be implemented. This can be achieved, for example, by providing a long time scale and short time scale rate control requirement for a service data stream to a 5G core network (5GC) by an application function (AF). The short time scale rate control requirement corresponds to the requested rate control point. Therefore, 5GC is able to derive rate control requirements, including long time scale and short time scale rate control parameters, and communicate this information to 5G-AN for rate control configuration and adaptation. Example Environment

[0050] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication environment 100 may be a communication system that supports rate control configuration and adaptation. Figure 1 As shown, the communication environment 100 includes a first device 110 , a second device 120 , a third device 130 , a fourth device 140 and at least one terminal device 150 .

[0051] The first device 110, the second device 120, the third device 130 and the fourth device 140 can communicate with each other in the 5GS, wherein the first device 110, the second device 120, the third device 130 are network devices in the 5GC 105, and the fourth device 140 is included in the 5G access network (AN). The first device 110 may be an AF, which is referred to as AF 110 hereinafter. The AF may support a TSC function that transmits a service request for a specific service (e.g., a QoS request for an AF session) to the 5GS (e.g., a policy control function (PCF) or a network open function (NEF)). Specifically, the AF may communicate with the PCF via an Npcf service and communicate with the NEF via an Nnef service.

[0052] The QoS request may include a set of requested service parameters, which includes at least one of the following QoS parameters, such as requested priority, maximum burst size, requested 5GS delay, requested maximum bit rate, requested guaranteed bit rate (e.g., GFBR), periodicity, etc.

[0053] In addition, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 may transmit an alternative service requirement via a service request. The alternative service requirement may include one or more requested alternative QoS parameter sets arranged in a prioritized order. Specifically, each alternative service requirement may include, but is not limited to, a requested GFBR, a requested 5GS delay, and a PER. The alternative service requirements may be arranged in a prioritized order, for example, based on a priority, etc.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may also provide a discrete rate control point to the NEF or directly to the second device 120, where the flow description corresponds to a service data flow using a DC-GBR resource type. The discrete rate control point may be indicated by one or more long time scale rate control requirements and short time scale rate control requirements associated with the flow description. Specifically, such a discrete rate control point may be indicated by a parameter of {maximum burst size, transmission interval} or {maximum burst size, periodicity}. In these embodiments, the transmission interval may be set to a frame rate per second (e.g., fps) for a video service. The first device 110 may also subscribe to event notifications from the 5GS regarding QoS Notification Control (QNC) reports.

[0055] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may receive the report from second device 120. The report may include a QoS notification associated with the QoS flow by fourth device 140 based on a requested QoS profile corresponding to the requested individual QoS parameters and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the one or more alternative service requirements.

[0056] The second device 120 may be a PCF, hereinafter referred to as PCF 120. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may communicate directly with the second device 120. Alternatively, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 may communicate with the second device 120 via an NEF of the 5GS. In this case, the NEF may receive a request for an AF session with QoS parameters via, for example, an Nnef_AFSessionWithQoS_Creat request service, and then forward the received QoS parameters of the AF session to the PCF via an Npcf service (e.g., an Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update service).

[0057] The second device 120 may perform 5QI mapping and obtain a PDB and an averaging window (AW) for the requested service data flow (e.g., a DC-GBR service flow). In addition, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may obtain a long time scale rate control parameter and a short time scale rate control parameter associated with the stream description. As an example, the long time scale rate control parameter may be indicated by a pair of parameters {GFBR, AW}. The short time scale rate control parameter may be indicated by a pair of {MDBV, periodicity} or {MDBV, frame rate per second}.

[0058] MDBV and GFBR can be considered as parameters of the DC-GBR resource type. Specifically, MDBV represents the maximum amount of data required by the 5G access network (5G-AN) to serve within the time period of the 5G-AN PDB. This requirement determines the burst peak rate requirement (equal to MDBV divided by 5G-AN PDB) that should be guaranteed via the scheduler and RAC. Therefore, MDBV can be considered as a short time scale rate control parameter. GFBR defines the guaranteed average bit rate measured on the AW. The default AW can be, for example, 2 seconds, so the GFBR can be considered as a longer time scale rate control parameter. GFBR also needs to be guaranteed by the scheduler and RAC.

[0059] The periodicity can be derived from the frames received per second. Using the PDB and the CN PDB that can be obtained from the SMF during the PDU session establishment process, the second device 120 can determine the 5G-AN PDB associated with the PDU session. In addition, the second device 120 can derive the MDBV based on the maximum burst size, PDB and periodicity, which will be discussed in detail later.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine one or more alternative QoS parameter sets based on the individual QoS parameters associated with the service data flow corresponding to the flow description and the one or more requested alternative QoS parameter sets in the same priority order as indicated by the first device 110. Each alternative QoS parameter set may include a first subset of long time scale rate control requirements and a second subset of short time scale rate control requirements. The second device 120 may then transmit the individual QoS parameters and the determined one or more alternative QoS parameter sets to the third device 130. For example, a list of alternative QoS parameter sets may be transmitted in a policy and charging control (PCC) rule. In addition, based on receiving an event notification subscription regarding QNC, the second device 120 may also enable QNC and include an indicator in the PCC rule.

[0061] The third device 130 may be a session management function (SMF), which is also referred to as SMF 130 hereinafter. Based on the received individual QoS parameters and one or more alternative QoS parameter sets associated with the service data flow, the third device 130 may determine a requested QoS profile and one or more alternative QoS profiles associated with the QoS flow in the same priority order as indicated by the second device 120. In addition, the third device 130 may add a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters to the alternative QoS profiles. The third device 130 may then transmit them to the fourth device 140 together with the received QNC indicator via SMNAS signaling (e.g., a PDU session resource modification request).

[0062] The fourth device 140 may be a network device at a radio access network (RAN), such as a gNB. Based on receiving the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile, the fourth device 140 may attempt to satisfy the QoS profile. If the requested QoS profile cannot be satisfied, the fourth device 140 may transmit a notification that the QoS profile is not satisfied to the third device 130. The fourth device 140 may check whether any one of the at least one alternative QoS profiles arranged in the indicated priority order can be satisfied.

[0063] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an example of a rate control configuration of DC-GBR according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 The left side of shows a video streaming traffic pattern with a specific frame rate (or periodicity) and frame size, resulting in a specific GFBR. Figure 2 The right side of shows various rate control configurations (a) to (c) corresponding to different alternative QoS profiles, where the reference GFBR is halved (ie, 0.5*GFBR) to accommodate the halved throughput.

[0064] Specifically, according to rate control configuration (a), MDBV is reduced to While the TP ratio and the number of bursts remain unchanged, they can be determined as follows: TP ratio = X(2)

[0065] According to the rate control configuration (b), the MDBV remains unchanged, while the TP ratio is increased to twice the TP in the current video streaming service mode, i.e., 2X, and the number of bursts is halved, which can be determined as follows: TP ratio = 2X(4)

[0066] According to the rate control configuration (c), the MDBV is increased to 2×MDBV, the TP ratio is increased to 4X, and the number of bursts is reduced to one-fourth of that in the current video streaming traffic mode, which can be determined as follows: TP ratio = 4X (6)

[0067] As can be seen on the right, the new 0.5*GFBR requirement can be associated with different possible MDBV and TP ratios, depending on the codec implementation and rate adaptation algorithm, e.g., the chosen tradeoff between frame rate and frame resolution / quality. Figure 2 Based on the peak-to-average throughput ratio derived from MDBV, PDB and GFBR in the RAN, the RAC function in the RAN can estimate that meeting the needs of a specific QoS profile requires excessive or infeasible resource reservation, while the resource requirements of an alternative QoS profile (e.g., with a lower peak-to-average throughput ratio) may be acceptable.

[0068] If there is a match, the fourth device 140 may indicate a reference to the matching alternative QoS profile with the highest priority and notify that the requested QoS profile is not met. In some example embodiments, the fourth device 140 may perform a more accurate RAC decision and an estimate of feasible alternative QoS that can be met (e.g., upgrading QoS profile, downgrading QoS profile, etc.) based on the alternative long time scale rate or short time scale control requirements requested or provided by the 5GC.

[0069] During the life of the QoS flow, the fourth device 140 can perform QoS satisfaction, such as accurately estimating the QoS to be satisfied based on the received rate control points (i.e., long time scale and short time scale rate control parameters). The fourth device 140 can always try to satisfy the QoS profile, and if this is not possible, try to satisfy any alternative QoS profile with a higher priority. It should be noted that after a period of time, it is also possible to upgrade or downgrade to another QoS profile or a previous QoS profile.

[0070] Return to reference Figure 1 , the fourth device 140 can serve at least one terminal device 150 (e.g., UE). The link from the fourth device 140 to the terminal device 150 is called a downlink (DL). In addition, the link from the terminal device 150 to the fourth device 140 is called an uplink (UL). It should be understood that the service data flow can be a UL service or a DL service. For DL ​​services, the first device 110 can also notify the application server (AS) to trigger the adaptation of the DL service. For UL services, the first device 110 can use an application layer protocol to notify the application layer client in the terminal device 150, which triggers the adaptation of the UL service.

[0071] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices and their connections shown in the figure is for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation. The communication network 100 may include any number of devices configured to implement the example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more additional devices and connections may be deployed in the communication network 100.

[0072] The communication in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future. How it works and example signaling used for communication

[0073] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a scheme for rate control configuration and adaptation is provided. As provided herein, AF is allowed to provide discrete rate control points to RAN via 5GC for service data flows. The rate control points are indicated by both long time scale rate control requirements and short time scale rate control requirements. 5GC then obtains long time scale rate control parameters and short time scale rate control parameters for the QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow based on the discrete rate control points, and provides such information to RAN. Therefore, RAN can perform more accurate RAC decisions and estimates of feasible alternative QoS based on the requested long / short time scale rate control parameters and the alternative long / short time scale rate control parameters provided by 5GC. In this way, rate control configuration and adaptation can be aligned between applications and 5GS for specific services.

[0074] Reference now Figure 3 , which shows a signaling diagram for rate control configuration and adaptation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, process 300 involves first device 110, second device 120, third device 130, and fourth device 140. For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1 The signaling process 300 is described.

[0075] During the PDU session establishment process, the third device 130 may provide the CN PDB to the second device 120 associated with the PDU session. The CN PDB may be used to obtain the 5G-AN PDB associated with the PDU session.

[0076] In process 300, the first device 110 transmits (305) to the second device 120 a service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements.

[0077] The service request may be, for example, a request for an AF session with requested QoS parameters, including but not limited to at least one of a first requested GFBR, a first requested 5GS delay, a first PER, a first maximum burst size, a first periodicity associated with a flow description, and the like.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the plurality of alternative service requirements may be arranged, for example, in order of priority.The alternative service requirements may include one or more requested alternative QoS parameter sets.

[0079] Each of the plurality of alternative service requirements may include at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the stream description. Specifically, the at least one long time scale rate control requirement may include a second requested GFBR. The at least one short time scale rate control requirement may include at least one of: a second maximum burst size, a second periodicity, or an FPS associated with the stream description.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may indicate a discrete rate control point with new parameters of {maximum burst size, transmission interval} to the second device 120. Alternatively, the transmission interval may be set to a frame rate per second for the video service.

[0081] Additionally, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 may also subscribe to event notifications regarding QNC reports from the 5GS.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the service request may be transmitted via one of the Nnef service or the Npcf service. For example, the NEF may forward the received QoS parameters of the AF session to the second device 120 via an Npcf service, such as the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update service.

[0083] Based on receiving the service request, the second device 120 determines (310) at least one alternative QoS parameter set based on a set of service parameters associated with the service data flow corresponding to the flow description and the plurality of alternative service requirements. For example, the at least one alternative QoS parameter set can be arranged in a priority order indicated by the first device 110 (e.g., in the same order).

[0084] Each alternative QoS parameter set may include a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters. As an example, in the case where the NEF receives both a single QoS parameter GFBR and an alternative service requirement with {transmission interval, maximum burst size}, the second device 120 may obtain both the long time scale and short time scale rate control requirements for the requested DC-GBR service data flow.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters may include a pair of candidate GFBRs and corresponding AWs associated with the service data flow, for example, a pair of {GFBR, AW}. Specifically, the second device 120 may perform 5QI mapping and obtain the PDB and AW.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the short subset of short time scale rate control parameters may include at least one of the maximum data burst size, MDBV, periodicity, or FPS associated with the service data flow, for example, a pair of {MDBV, periodicity}. Specifically, the periodicity may be derived from the received FPS. Using both the PDB and the CN PDB obtained from the third device 130, the second device may determine the packet delay budget of the radio access network (5G-AN PDB) associated with the PDU session. In addition, the second device 120 may derive the MDBV based on the maximum burst size and the 5G-AN PDB as follows: MDBV = maximum burst size * ceil (5G-AN PDB / periodicity) (7)

[0087] The second device 120 then transmits (315) the set of requested service parameters and the at least one alternative QoS parameter set to the third device 130 for use in determining the requested QoS profile and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0088] Specifically, the second device 120 may transmit rate control points, such as long time scale and short time scale rate control requirements, to the third device 130. For example, the second device 120 may add a new parameter {MDBV, periodicity} to the list of candidate QoS parameter sets and provide them to the third device 130 within the PCC rule in the order indicated by the first device 110 (e.g., the same priority order). As described herein, the long time scale rate control requirement may be indicated by a {GFBR, AW} pair, and the short time scale rate control requirement may be indicated by an {MDBV, periodicity} pair and a 5G-AN PDB derived at the RAN.

[0089] Based on receiving the event notification subscription regarding QNC, the second device 120 may also enable QNC and include an indicator in the PCC rules transmitted to the third device 130 .

[0090] Therefore, the third device 130 determines (320) a requested QoS profile based on the set of requested service parameters.

[0091] In addition, the third device 130 determines (325) at least one alternative QoS profile based on at least one alternative QoS parameter set associated with the QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow. Specifically, the third device 130 can add the parameters {MDBV, periodicity} to the list of alternative QoS parameter sets in the order received from the second device 120 (e.g., the same priority order). Each alternative QoS profile can include a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters.

[0092] The third device 130 then transmits 330 the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile to the fourth device 140. Specifically, the third device 130 may transmit the alternative QoS parameter set together with the received QNC to the fourth device 140 via SMNAS signaling (eg, PDU Session Resource Modification Request).

[0093] In this way, the RAN is aware of the discrete rate control points and is able to configure and reserve corresponding resources for QoS flows such as DC-GBR (eg, minimum rate for acceptable QoS, QoE, etc.).

[0094] Based on receiving the requested QoS profile and the at least one alternative QoS profile, the fourth device 140 performs (335) radio admission control on the QoS flow based on the network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0095] In some example embodiments, based on receiving alternative QoS profiles with different short time scale rate control parameters {MDBV, periodicity}, the fourth device 140 may pre-establish multiple configuration grants (CGs) or semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configurations.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the fourth device 140 may determine whether the requested QoS profile is satisfied based on the network conditions. If the requested QoS profile cannot be satisfied, the fourth device 140 may also determine whether any of the alternative QoS profiles can be satisfied based on the network conditions.

[0097] For example, based on the short-term to long-term rate ratio ( Figure 2 Based on the peak-to-average throughput ratio derived from MDBV, PDB and GFBR in the RAN, the RAC function in the RAN can estimate that meeting the needs of a specific QoS profile requires excessive or infeasible resource reservation, while the resource requirements of an alternative QoS profile (e.g., with a lower peak-to-average throughput ratio) may be acceptable.

[0098] If there is a match, that is, at least one alternative QoS profile can be satisfied, the fourth device 140 can transmit a reference (e.g., index) of the first generation QoS profile that can be satisfied and has the highest priority, and a notification (e.g., via a notification cause) that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied to the third device 130. The reference and notification can be transmitted via SM NAS signaling (e.g., PSU session resource modification response). In addition, the fourth device 140 can perform RAC based on a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters.

[0099] In some example embodiments, in addition to the notification and reference to the first alternative QoS profile, at 340, the fourth device 140 may also transmit a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to the second alternative QoS profile that cannot be satisfied. Specifically, the first alternative QoS profile is associated with a first priority and the second alternative QoS profile is associated with a second priority, wherein the second priority is higher than and arranged after the first priority in the priority order. In this way, the RAN can transmit a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters that cannot be satisfied, resulting in the alternative QoS profile with a relatively high priority no longer being satisfied. In other words, the RAN is able to indicate that the long time scale rate control parameter or the short time scale rate control parameter cannot be guaranteed at the RAN, and / or which one or more of {GFBR, AW} and {MDBV, periodicity} cannot be guaranteed. Such a notification can then be provided to the first device 110 via the third device 130 and the second device 120.

[0100] In this case, the third device 130 can transmit (345) a notification and a reference to the first alternative QoS profile to the second device 120, and selectively notify at least a portion of a first subset of the first alternative QoS profile and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to the second alternative QoS profile.

[0101] Based on at least receiving the notification and the reference, the second device 120 can transmit (350) a report of the QoS notification to the first device 110 to perform rate adaptation. Specifically, the report can include a notification that the requested service parameter set is no longer satisfied and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set corresponding to the first alternative QoS profile. The requested service parameter set corresponds to the requested QoS profile.

[0102] Otherwise, there is no match, in other words, if none of the at least one alternative QoS profile can be satisfied, i.e., the alternative QoS profile with the lowest priority in the priority order cannot be satisfied, then the fourth device 140 can transmit a QNC with a notification of the requested QoS profile that is no longer satisfied to the third device 130 (e.g., a notification cause "unsatisfied" transmitted in the SM NAS signaling). Additionally or alternatively, the fourth device 140 can separately transmit a notification that at least a portion of the first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and the second subset of short time scale rate control parameters cannot be satisfied, i.e., which one or more of the long time scale rate control parameters or the short time scale rate control parameters, and / or {GFBR, AW} and {MDBV, periodicity} cannot be guaranteed. Such a notification can then be provided to the first device 110 via the third device 130 and the second device 120.

[0103] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 may cause at least a portion of the requested set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements to be adjusted based on the report.

[0104] During the lifetime of the QoS flow, the fourth device 140 may perform (355) QoS satisfaction, for example, based on the received rate control points (e.g., long and short time scale rate control parameters) to achieve a more accurate estimate of feasible QoS to satisfy. The fourth device 140 may attempt (e.g., always attempt) to satisfy the QoS profile.

[0105] If the requested QoS profile cannot be satisfied, the fourth device 140 may determine whether it is satisfied by any of the alternative QoS profiles arranged in order of priority. If there is a match (i.e., at least one alternative QoS profile is satisfied), similar to step 340, the fourth device 140 may transmit (360) to the third device 130 a reference (e.g., index) to a third alternative QoS profile that can be satisfied and has the best priority among the at least one alternative QoS profile, and simultaneously notify that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied.

[0106] In some example embodiments, in addition to the notification and reference to the first alternative QoS profile, at 360, the fourth device 140 may also transmit a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to a fourth QoS profile that cannot be satisfied. Specifically, the third alternative QoS profile is associated with a third priority, and the fourth alternative QoS profile is associated with a fourth priority, wherein the fourth priority is higher than the third priority and is arranged after the third priority in the priority order.

[0107] Similar to step 345, third device 130 may transmit (365) to second device 120 a notification and a reference to a third alternative QoS profile and selectively a notification of at least a portion of the first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and the second subset of short timescale rate control parameters.

[0108] Based on at least receiving the notification and the reference, the second device 120 may transmit (370) a report of the QoS notification to the first device 110 to perform rate adaptation. Specifically, the report may include a notification that the requested service parameter set is no longer satisfied and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set corresponding to the first alternative QoS profile. The requested service parameter set corresponds to the requested QoS profile. The set of requested service parameters corresponds to the requested QoS profile. It should be noted that after a period of time, another or previous QoS profile may also be upgraded or downgraded.

[0109] In addition, in some example embodiments, additional information may be collected during the service lifecycle, such as cell load, resource consumption, packet delay statistics, achieved rates, etc. In the case where multiple MDBV or GFBR combinations are available for selection, the fourth device 140 may estimate feasible alternative QoS profiles in a more accurate manner. Specifically, selecting an alternative QoS profile with a larger MDBV means that the packet scheduler is committed to handling larger amounts of burst data with delay-critical priorities and PDB guarantees. In one embodiment, if the fourth device 140 selects any one of the alternative QoS profiles, the fourth device 140 may activate or deactivate some of the established CG or SPF configurations to match the newly selected {MDBV, periodicity}.

[0110] Otherwise, for QoS satisfaction, if none of the at least one alternative QoS profile can be satisfied, i.e., the alternative QoS profile with the lowest priority in the priority order cannot be satisfied, then the fourth device 140 may transmit a QNC with a notification of the requested QoS profile that is no longer satisfied (e.g., a notification cause of "unsatisfied" transmitted in SM NAS signaling) to the third device 130. Additionally or alternatively, the fourth device 140 may transmit a notification that at least a portion of the first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and the second subset of short time scale rate control parameters cannot be satisfied, i.e., neither the long time scale rate control parameters nor the short time scale rate control parameters, and / or one or more of {GFBR, AW} and {MDBV, periodicity} cannot be guaranteed. The notification may then be provided to the first device 110 via the third device 130 and the second device 120.

[0111] Based on receiving the QNC from the RAN, the 5GC may indicate to the AF that the current QoS is satisfied. For example, in the above case, the third device 130 may transmit 365 at least a notification and / or a reference to the second device 120. The second device 120 may then forward 370 the notification and / or reference to the first device 110.

[0112] In this way, rate control and adaptation between the application and the 5GS can be synchronized. The AF is then expected to adapt the rate according to the burst size FPS provided earlier for the corresponding alternative QoS parameter set.

[0113] It should be understood that process 300 is applicable to both DL services and UL services. For DL ​​services, the AF can also notify the AS to trigger the adaptation of the DL services. For UL services, the AF can use the application layer protocol to notify the application layer client in the UE, and the application layer protocol triggers the adaptation of the UL services.

[0114] According to an example embodiment, an aligned rate control configuration and adaptation scheme between an application and a 5GS is provided. With this scheme, additional service characteristics including the maximum burst size and transmission interval required for each alternative service can be provided from the AF to the 5GC. The 5GC is able to communicate long-time scale and short-time scale rate control requirements to the RAN. As a result, based on the requested or alternative long-time scale and short-time scale rate control requirements provided by the 5GC, more accurate RAC decisions and estimates of feasible alternative QoS can be performed at the RAN. The evaluation of short-time scale rate control requirements can also affect the QoS notifications transmitted from the RAN to the 5GC. In addition, the AF can also benefit from notifications from the 5GS on the RAN and determine feasible discrete rate control points, for example, by matching service characteristics with alternative QoS profiles notified by the RAN via a rate adaptation algorithm. Example Method

[0115] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the first device may include a first network device for implementing AF. For the purpose of discussion, Figure 1 The method 400 is described from the perspective of the first device 110.

[0116] At box 410, the first device 110 transmits a service request to the second device 120, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in priority order, each alternative service requirement including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description.

[0117] In some example embodiments, a set of requested service parameters includes at least one of the following individual QoS parameters: a first requested guaranteed flow bit rate GFBR associated with the flow description, a first requested 5G system latency, a first requested packet error rate PER, a first maximum burst size, or a first periodicity, at least one long time scale rate control requirement includes a second requested GFBR, and at least one short time scale rate control requirement includes at least one of the following: a second maximum burst size associated with the flow description, a second periodicity, or a frame rate per second FPS.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the service request is transmitted via one of the Nnef service or the Npcf service.

[0119] At block 420 , the first device 110 receives a report of a quality of service QoS notification from the second device 120 , the report being based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements by the fourth device 140 .

[0120] In some example embodiments, the report includes at least one of: a notification that a set of requested service parameters are no longer satisfied, and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set associated with a first priority in the priority order and corresponding to one of a plurality of alternative service requirements that can be satisfied at the radio access network. The first device 110 may also determine, based on the reference, at least one short time scale rate control requirement corresponding to the requested alternative QoS parameter set. The first device 110 may then perform rate adaptation based on the at least one short time scale rate control requirement.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the report also includes at least one of a long time-scale rate control requirement and a short time-scale rate control requirement corresponding to a second alternative QoS parameter set that cannot be met at the radio access network, the second alternative QoS parameter set being associated with a second priority, the second priority being followed by the first priority in the priority order and corresponding to another alternative service requirement among the multiple alternative service requirements, the second priority being higher than the first priority.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further caused to cause at least a portion of a set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements to be adjusted based on the report.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may include a first network device for implementing AF, the second device 120 may include a second network device for implementing PCF or NEF, and the fourth device 140 may include a fourth network device at the RAN.

[0124] Figure 51 shows a flow chart of an example method 500 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the second device may include a second network device for implementing PCF. For the purpose of discussion, Figure 1 The method 500 is described from the perspective of the second device 120 in FIG.

[0125] At 510, the second device 120 receives a service request from the first device 110, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in a priority order, the plurality of alternative service requirements including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the set of requested service parameters may include at least one of the following individual QoS parameters: a first requested GFBR associated with the flow description, a first requested 5GS delay, a first requested PER, a first maximum burst size, or a first periodicity. At least one long time scale rate control requirement includes a second requested GFBR. At least one short time scale rate control requirement includes at least one of the following: a second maximum burst size associated with the flow description, a second periodicity, or an FPS.

[0127] In some example embodiments, a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters may include a pair of alternative GFBRs and corresponding AWs associated with the service data flow. A short subset of short time scale rate control parameters may include at least one of an MDBV, a periodicity, or an FPS associated with a resource type, and the MDBV is determined based on at least one set of short time scale rate control parameters and a packet delay budget of the radio access network.

[0128] In some example embodiments, at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one set of alternative QoS parameters may be communicated via Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules.

[0129] At 520, the second device 120 determines, based on a set of service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements, at least one alternative QoS parameter set arranged in priority order and associated with a service data flow corresponding to the flow description, each alternative QoS parameter set comprising a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters.

[0130] At 530, the second device 120 transmits at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one candidate QoS parameter set to the third device 130 for determining the requested QoS profile and the at least one candidate QoS profile.

[0131] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive at least one of the following from the third device 130: a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied, and a reference to an alternative QoS profile corresponding to a first alternative QoS parameter set associated with a first priority in the priority order. The second device 120 may then transmit a report to the first device, the report including at least one of the following: a notification that a set of requested service parameters is no longer satisfied, and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set corresponding to one of the at least one alternative QoS profiles for performing rate adaptation, the set of requested service parameters corresponding to the requested QoS profile.

[0132] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive a notification from the third device 130 of a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters and at least a portion of a second subset of short time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to another alternative QoS profile that is no longer satisfied in at least one alternative QoS profile, in which case the report may also include at least one of the following: for the second alternative QoS parameter set, at least one of the long time-scale rate control requirements and the short time-scale rate control requirements corresponding to the first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters and at least a portion of the second subset of short time-scale rate control parameters, the second alternative QoS parameter set may be associated with a second priority, the first priority being after the second priority in the priority order, and the second priority corresponds to another alternative service requirement among multiple alternative service requirements, and the second priority is higher than the first priority.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may include a first network device for implementing AF, the second device 120 may include a second network device for implementing PCF or NEF, and the third device 130 may include a third network device for implementing SMF.

[0134] Figure 6 FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example method 700 implemented at a third device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the third device may include an LMF. For the purpose of discussion, Figure 1 The method 700 is described from the perspective of the third device 130 in FIG.

[0135] At box 610, the third device 130 receives a set of requested service parameters and at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in priority order from the second device 120, each alternative QoS parameter set including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to the service data flow and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters.

[0136] In some example embodiments, a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters may include a pair of alternative GFBRs and corresponding AWs associated with the service data flow, and a short subset of short time-scale rate control parameters may include at least one of: MDBV, periodicity, or FPS associated with the service data flow.

[0137] In some example embodiments, a set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one set of alternative QoS parameters may be received via PCC rules.

[0138] At block 620, the third device 130 determines a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow based on a set of requested service parameters.

[0139] At block 630 , the third device 130 determines at least one prioritized alternative QoS profile based on at least one set of alternative QoS parameters, each alternative QoS profile comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters.

[0140] At block 640 , the third device 130 transmits the requested QoS profile and the determined at least one candidate QoS profile to the fourth device 140 for at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

[0141] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, third device 130 may receive a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied and a reference to an alternative QoS profile at the radio access network from fourth device 140. Third device 130 may then transmit at least one of the notification and the reference to the alternative QoS profile to second device 120.

[0142] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, third device 130 may receive a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to the alternative QoS profile that failed to be satisfied from fourth device 140. Third device 130 may then transmit the notification to second device 120.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may include a second network device for implementing a PCF or a NEF, the third device 130 may include a third network device for implementing an SMF, and the fourth device 140 may include a fourth network device at the RAN.

[0144] Figure 7700 is a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a fourth device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the fourth device may include a fourth network device at the RAN, such as a gNB. For the purpose of discussion, Figure 1 Method 700 is described from the perspective of the fourth device 140 in FIG.

[0145] At box 710, the fourth device 140 receives a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in priority order from the third device 130, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters.

[0146] At block 720 , the fourth device 140 performs at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction on the QoS flow based on the network condition, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0147] In some example embodiments, during the life cycle of a QoS flow, QoS satisfaction may be performed based on network conditions, a requested QoS profile, and at least one alternative QoS profile. This may be a periodic behavior of the fourth device 140 after the RAN has received the requested QoS profile and the alternative QoS profile.

[0148] In some example embodiments, performing at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction may include: determining whether a requested QoS profile can be satisfied based on network conditions; based on determining that the requested QoS profile is not satisfied, determining whether an alternative QoS profile is satisfied in priority order based on network conditions; based on determining that the alternative QoS profile is satisfied, transmitting to a third device a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied and a reference to the alternative QoS profile that is satisfied at the radio access network.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the alternative QoS profile is associated with a first priority in the priority order. The fourth device 140 may transmit to the third device 130 a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to another alternative QoS profile of at least one alternative QoS profile that is no longer satisfied, the other alternative QoS profile being associated with a second priority, the second priority being after the first priority in the priority order.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the fourth device 140 may also be caused to perform at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction by: based on determining that at least one alternative QoS profile is not satisfied, transmitting to the third device 130 a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied, a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to an alternative QoS profile associated with a lowest priority in the priority order among the at least one alternative QoS profile, and at least a portion of a second subset of short time-scale rate control parameters.

[0151] Additionally or alternatively, in some example embodiments, the fourth device 140 may select one of the plurality of alternative QoS profiles to be satisfied. The fourth device 140 may then activate or deactivate at least a portion of the established configuration authorization or semi-persistent scheduling configuration for matching a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to the selected alternative QoS profile.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the third device 130 may include a third network device for implementing the SMF, and the fourth device 140 may include a fourth network device at the RAN. Example devices, equipment, and media

[0153] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 400 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1 The first device 110 in the first apparatus 110 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0154] In some example embodiments, a first device includes: a component for transmitting a service request to a second device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements arranged in order of priority, the plurality of alternative service requirements including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; and a component for receiving a report of a QoS notification from the second device, the report being received by a fourth device based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the set of requested service parameters includes at least one of the following individual QoS parameters: a first requested guaranteed flow bit rate GFBR associated with the flow description, a first requested 5G system latency, a first requested packet error rate PER, a first maximum burst size, or a first periodicity, at least one long time scale rate control requirement includes a second requested GFBR, and at least one short time scale rate control requirement includes at least one of the following: a second maximum burst size associated with the flow description, a second periodicity, or a frame rate per second FPS.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the service request is transmitted via one of the Nnef service or the Npcf service.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the report includes at least one of: a notification that a set of requested service parameters are no longer met, and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set associated with a first priority in a priority order and corresponding to one of a plurality of alternative service requirements that can be met at a radio access network, and wherein the first device is further caused to: a component for determining, based on the reference, at least one short time scale rate control requirement corresponding to the requested alternative QoS parameter set; and a component for performing rate adaptation based on the at least one short time scale rate control requirement.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the report also includes at least one of a long time-scale rate control requirement and a short time-scale rate control requirement corresponding to a second alternative QoS parameter set that cannot be met at the radio access network, the second alternative QoS parameter set being associated with a second priority, the second priority being followed by the first priority in the priority order and corresponding to another alternative service requirement among the multiple alternative service requirements, the second priority being higher than the first priority.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for causing a set of requested service parameters and at least a portion of the plurality of alternative service requirements to be adjusted based on the report.

[0160] In some exemplary embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a first network device for implementing AF, the second apparatus comprises a second network device for implementing PCF or NEF, and the fourth apparatus comprises a fourth network device at the radio access network.

[0161] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 500 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1 The second device 120 in the second apparatus 120 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in Figure 1In the second device 120 in.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for receiving a service request from the first device, the service request including a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of alternative service requirements, the plurality of alternative service requirements being arranged in order of priority and including at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description; a component for determining at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in order of priority and associated with a service data flow corresponding to the flow description based on the set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements, each alternative QoS parameter set including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; and a component for transmitting at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one alternative QoS parameter set, and for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile to a third device.

[0163] In some example embodiments, a set of requested service parameters includes at least one of the following individual QoS parameters: a first requested GFBR associated with a flow description, a first requested 5GS delay, a first requested PER, a first maximum burst size, or a first periodicity, at least one long time scale rate control requirement includes a second requested GFBR, and at least one short time scale rate control requirement includes at least one of the following: a second maximum burst size associated with the flow description, a second periodicity, or FPS.

[0164] In some example embodiments, a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters includes a pair of alternative GFBRs and corresponding averaging windows AW associated with a service data flow, a short subset of short time-scale rate control parameters includes at least one of a maximum data burst size MDBV, a periodicity, or FPS associated with the service data flow, and the MDBV is determined based on at least one set of short time-scale rate control parameters and a packet delay budget of the radio access network.

[0165] In some example embodiments, at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one set of alternative QoS parameters are communicated via Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the second device may also include: a component for receiving at least one of the following from the third device: a notification that a requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied, and a reference to an alternative QoS profile corresponding to a first alternative QoS parameter set associated with a first priority in the priority order; and a component for transmitting a report to the first device, the report including at least one of the following: a notification that a set of requested service parameters is no longer satisfied, and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set corresponding to one of at least one alternative QoS profile, for performing rate adaptation, the set of requested service parameters corresponding to the requested QoS profile.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the second device may also include: a component for notifying a third device of a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and at least a portion of a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to another alternative QoS profile that is no longer satisfied from at least one alternative QoS profile. The report also includes at least one of the following: for the second alternative QoS parameter set, at least one of the long time scale rate control requirements and the short time scale rate control requirements corresponding to the first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and at least a portion of the second subset of short time scale rate control parameters, the second alternative QoS parameter set is associated with a second priority, the second priority is followed by the first priority in the priority order, and the second priority corresponds to another alternative service requirement among the multiple alternative service requirements, and the second priority is higher than the first priority.

[0168] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a first network device for implementing an application function, the second device includes a second network device for implementing a policy control function or a network open function, and the third device includes a third network device for implementing a session management function.

[0169] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 600 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1 The third device of the third device 130 in the second embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the third device 130.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the third device includes: a component for receiving a set of requested service parameters and at least one alternative QoS parameter set arranged in order of priority from the second device, each alternative QoS parameter set including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; a component for determining a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow based on the set of requested service parameters; a component for determining at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in order of priority based on at least one alternative QoS parameter set, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters; and a component for transmitting the requested QoS profile and the determined at least one alternative QoS profile to a fourth device for at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

[0171] In some example embodiments, a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters comprises a pair of alternative GFBRs and corresponding AWs associated with the service data flow, and a short subset of short timescale rate control parameters comprises at least one of: MDBV, periodicity, or FPS associated with the service data flow.

[0172] In some example embodiments, a set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one set of alternative QoS parameters are received via PCC rules.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the third device may also include: a component for transmitting a notification that the QoS profile requested from the fourth device is no longer satisfied and a reference to an alternative QoS profile at the radio access network; and a component for transmitting at least one of the notification and the reference to the alternative QoS profile to the second device.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the third device may also include: a component for receiving a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to an alternative QoS profile that failed to be met from a fourth device; and a component for transmitting the notification to the second device.

[0175] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device includes a second network device for implementing a policy control function or a network open function, the third device includes a third network device for implementing a session management function, and the fourth device includes a fourth network device at the wireless access network.

[0176] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 700 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1The fourth device of the fourth device 140 in the method 700 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The fourth device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the fourth device 140.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the fourth apparatus includes: a component for receiving a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile arranged in priority order from a third device, each alternative QoS profile including a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; and a component for performing at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the fourth apparatus further comprises means for performing QoS satisfaction based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile during a lifecycle of the QoS flow.

[0179] In some example embodiments, a component for performing at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction may include: a component for determining whether a requested QoS profile can be satisfied based on network conditions; a component for determining whether an alternative QoS profile is satisfied in a priority order based on network conditions based on a determination that the requested QoS profile is not satisfied; and a component for transmitting to a third device a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied and a reference to an alternative QoS profile that is satisfied at the radio access network based on a determination that the alternative QoS profile is satisfied.

[0180] In some example embodiments, the alternative QoS profile is associated with a first priority in the priority order. The fourth device also includes: means for transmitting to the third device a notification of at least a portion of a first subset of long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to another alternative QoS profile of at least one alternative QoS profile that is no longer satisfied, the other alternative QoS profile being associated with a second priority, the second priority being subsequent to the first priority in the priority order.

[0181] In an example embodiment, components for performing at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction include: components for transmitting to a third device a notification that a requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied based on a determination that at least one alternative QoS profile is not satisfied, a first subset of long time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to an alternative QoS profile associated with a lowest priority in a priority order among the at least one alternative QoS profile, and at least a portion of a second subset of short time-scale rate control parameters.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the fourth device may also include: a component for selecting one of a plurality of alternative QoS profiles to be satisfied; and a component for activating or deactivating at least a portion of the established configuration authorization or semi-persistent scheduling configuration, for matching a second subset of short time scale rate control parameters corresponding to the selected alternative QoS profile.

[0183] In some exemplary embodiments, the third device includes a third network device for implementing a session management function, and the fourth device includes a fourth network device at a wireless access network.

[0184] Figure 8 800 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 configured to implement an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement an electronic device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110, the second device 120, the third device 130 or the fourth device 140 shown. As shown in the figure, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

[0185] The communication module 840 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 840 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface can represent any interface for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 840 may include at least one antenna.

[0186] As non-limiting examples, processor 810 may be of any type configured as a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 800 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes a master processor.

[0187] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 824, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that do not persist for the duration of a power outage.

[0188] The program 830 includes executable instructions executed by the associated processor 810. The instructions of the program 830 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 830 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 824. The processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

[0189] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 830, so that the device 800 may execute the following steps: Figures 3 to 7 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0190] In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or other storage device accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (e.g., tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0191] Figure 8 An example of a computer readable medium 800 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has a program 830 stored thereon.

[0192] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof in non-limiting examples.

[0193] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes executable instructions, such as those included in a program module, executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any method as described herein. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0194] The program code for performing the method of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, implements the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0195] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier wave to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carrier waves include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0196] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0197] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or performing all of the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0198] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described herein are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: transmitting a service request to a second device, the service request comprising a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements arranged in a priority order, each candidate service requirement comprising at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description; as well as A report of a quality of service (QoS) notification is received from the second device, the report being based on a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements by a fourth device.

2. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the set of requested service parameters comprises at least one of the following individual QoS parameters: a first requested guaranteed stream bit rate GFBR associated with the stream description, a first requested 5G system delay, a first requested packet error rate PER, a first maximum burst size, or a first periodicity, The at least one long time scale rate control requirement comprises a second requested GFBR, and The at least one short time-scale rate control requirement comprises at least one of: a second maximum burst size, a second periodicity, or a frames per second (FPS) associated with the stream description. 3 . The first device of claim 1 , wherein the service request is transmitted via one of an Nnef service or an Npcf service.

4. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the report comprises at least one of: a notification that the set of requested service parameters is no longer satisfied, and a reference to a first alternative QoS parameter set associated with a first priority in the priority order and corresponding to one of the plurality of alternative service requirements that can be satisfied at the radio access network, and wherein the first device is further caused to: determining, based on the reference, at least one short timescale rate control requirement corresponding to the requested candidate QoS parameter set; and Rate adaptation is performed based on the at least one short time scale rate control requirement.

5. A first device according to claim 4, wherein the report also includes at least one of the long time scale rate control requirement and the short time scale rate control requirement corresponding to a second alternative QoS parameter set that cannot be met at the radio access network, the second alternative QoS parameter set being associated with a second priority, the second priority being followed by the first priority in the priority order and corresponding to another alternative service requirement among the multiple alternative service requirements, the second priority being higher than the first priority.

6. A first device according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the first device is further caused to: Based on the report, the set of requested service parameters and at least a portion of the plurality of alternative service requirements are caused to be adjusted.

7. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a first network device for implementing an application function, the second device comprises a second network device for implementing a policy control function or a network open function, and the fourth device comprises a fourth network device at a radio access network.

8. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: receiving a service request from a first device, the service request comprising a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements arranged in a priority order, each candidate service requirement comprising at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; determining, based on the set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements, at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in the priority order and associated with the service data flow corresponding to the flow description, each set of alternative QoS parameters comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters; as well as The at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one candidate QoS parameter set are transmitted to a third device for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one candidate QoS profile.

9. The second device of claim 8, wherein the set of requested service parameters comprises at least one of the following individual QoS parameters: a first requested GFBR, a first requested 5GS delay, a first requested PER, a first maximum burst size, or a first periodicity associated with the flow description, The at least one long time scale rate control requirement comprises a second requested GFBR, and The at least one short timescale rate control requirement comprises at least one of: a second maximum burst size, a second periodicity, or a FPS associated with the flow description.

10. A second device according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the first subset of the long time scale rate control parameters includes a pair of alternative GFBRs and corresponding averaging windows AW associated with the service data flow, the short subset of the short time scale rate control parameters includes at least one of a maximum data burst volume MDBV, periodicity, or FPS associated with the service data flow, and the MDBV is determined based on the at least one set of short time scale rate control parameters and a packet delay budget of a radio access network.

11. The second device of claim 8, wherein the at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one candidate QoS parameter set are transmitted via Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules.

12. The second device of claim 8, wherein the second device is further caused to: receiving from the third device at least one of: a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied, and a reference to the alternative QoS profile corresponding to a first alternative QoS parameter set associated with a first priority in the priority order; and Transmitting a report to the first device, the report comprising at least one of the following: a notification that the set of requested service parameters is no longer satisfied, and a reference to a first set of alternative QoS parameters corresponding to one of the at least one alternative QoS profiles for performing rate adaptation, the set of requested service parameters corresponding to the requested QoS profile.

13. The second device according to claim 8 or 12, wherein the second device is further caused to: receiving from the third device a notification of at least a portion of the first subset of the long timescale rate control parameters and the second subset of short timescale rate control parameters corresponding to another of the at least one candidate QoS profile that is no longer satisfied; and The report also includes at least one of the following: at least one of the long time scale rate control requirements and the short time scale rate control requirements corresponding to the first subset of the long time scale rate control parameters and the at least a part of the second subset of short time scale rate control parameters for a second alternative QoS parameter set, the second alternative QoS parameter set is associated with a second priority, the second priority is followed by the first priority in the priority order, and the second priority corresponds to another alternative service requirement among the multiple alternative service requirements, and the second priority is higher than the first priority.

14. The second device according to claim 8, wherein the first device includes a first network device for implementing an application function, the second device includes a second network device for implementing a policy control function or a network open function, and the third device includes a third network device for implementing a session management function.

15. A third device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third device to at least: receiving from a second device a set of requested service parameters and at least one set of candidate QoS parameters arranged in a prioritized order, each set of candidate QoS parameters comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; determining, based on the set of requested service parameters, a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow; determining, based on the at least one candidate QoS parameter set, at least one candidate QoS profile arranged in the priority order, each candidate QoS profile comprising a first subset of the long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of the short time scale rate control parameters; as well as The requested QoS profile and the determined at least one candidate QoS profile are transmitted to a fourth device for at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

16. A third device according to claim 15, wherein the first subset of the long time scale rate control parameters includes a pair of alternative GFBRs and corresponding AWs associated with the service data flow, and the short subset of the short time scale rate control parameters includes at least one of the following: MDBV, periodicity or FPS associated with the service data flow.

17. The third device of claim 15, wherein the set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one candidate QoS parameter set are received via PCC rules.

18. The third device according to claim 15, wherein the third device is further caused to: receiving from the fourth device a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied and a reference to an alternative QoS profile at a radio access network; and At least one of the notification and the reference to the alternative QoS profile is transmitted to the second device.

19. The third device according to claim 15 or 18, wherein the third device is further caused to: receiving, from the fourth device, notification of at least a portion of the first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and the second subset of short timescale rate control parameters corresponding to the alternative QoS profile that failed to be satisfied; and The notification is transmitted to the second device.

20. The third device according to claim 15, wherein the second device comprises a second network device for implementing a policy control function or a network open function, the third device comprises a third network device for implementing a session management function, and the fourth device comprises a fourth network device at a radio access network.

21. A fourth device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the fourth device to at least: receiving from a third device a requested QoS profile and at least one prioritized candidate QoS profile, each candidate QoS profile comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; as well as At least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction is performed on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

22. The fourth device according to claim 21, wherein the fourth device is further caused to: During a lifecycle of the QoS flow, QoS satisfaction is performed based on the network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

23. The fourth device according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the fourth device is caused to perform at least one of the radio admission control and the QoS satisfaction by: determining whether the requested QoS profile can be satisfied based on the network condition; Based on determining that the requested QoS profile is not satisfied, determining whether alternative QoS profiles are satisfied in the priority order based on the network condition; Based on determining that the alternative QoS profile is satisfied, A notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer satisfied and a reference to the alternative QoS profile that is satisfied at a radio access network is transmitted to the third device.

24. The fourth device of claim 23, wherein the alternative QoS profile is associated with a first priority in the priority order, and the fourth device is further caused to: Transmitting to the third device a notification of at least a portion of the first subset of the long time-scale rate control parameters and the second subset of the short time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to another alternative QoS profile of the at least one alternative QoS profile that is no longer satisfied, wherein the other alternative QoS profile is associated with a second priority, and the second priority is followed by the first priority in the priority order.

25. The fourth device according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the fourth device is further caused to perform at least one of the radio admission control and the QoS satisfaction by: Based on determining that none of the at least one alternative QoS profile is satisfied, Transmitting to the third device a notification that the requested QoS profile is no longer met, a first subset of the long time-scale rate control parameters corresponding to one of the at least one alternative QoS profiles associated with a lowest priority in the priority order, and at least a portion of the second subset of the short time-scale rate control parameters.

26. The fourth device of claim 23, wherein the fourth device is further caused to: selecting one of a plurality of candidate QoS profiles to be satisfied; and Activating or deactivating at least a portion of the established configuration grant or semi-persistent scheduling configuration for matching the second subset of the short timescale rate control parameters corresponding to the selected alternative QoS profile.

27. The fourth device of claim 23, wherein the third device comprises a third network device for implementing a session management function, and the fourth device comprises a fourth network device at a radio access network.

28. A method comprising: transmitting, at the first device and to the second device, a service request comprising a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements arranged in a priority order, each candidate service requirement comprising at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description; as well as A report of a quality of service (QoS) notification is received from the second device, the report being based on a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements by a fourth device.

29. A method comprising: receiving, at the second device and from the first device, a service request comprising a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements arranged in a priority order, each candidate service requirement comprising at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with the flow description; determining, based on the set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements, at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in the priority order and associated with the service data flow corresponding to the flow description, each set of alternative QoS parameters comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters; as well as The at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one candidate QoS parameter set are transmitted to a third device for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one candidate QoS profile.

30. A method comprising: receiving, at a third device and from the second device, a set of requested service parameters and at least one set of candidate QoS parameters arranged in a prioritized order, each set of candidate QoS parameters comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; determining, based on the set of requested service parameters, a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow; determining, based on the at least one candidate QoS parameter set, at least one candidate QoS profile arranged in the priority order, each candidate QoS profile comprising a first subset of the long time scale rate control parameters and a second subset of the short time scale rate control parameters; as well as The requested QoS profile and the determined at least one candidate QoS profile are transmitted to a fourth device for at least one radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

31. A method comprising: receiving, at a fourth device and from the third device, the requested QoS profile and at least one prioritized alternative QoS profile, each alternative QoS profile comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; as well as At least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction is performed on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile, and the at least one alternative QoS profile.

32. A first device, comprising: means for transmitting a service request to a second device, the service request comprising a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements arranged in a prioritized order, each candidate service requirement comprising at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; as well as Means for receiving a report of QoS notification from the second device, the report being based on the requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile corresponding to the set of requested service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements by a fourth device.

33. A second device, comprising: means for receiving a service request from a first device, the service request comprising a set of requested service parameters and a plurality of candidate service requirements arranged in a priority order, each candidate service requirement comprising at least one long time scale rate control requirement and at least one short time scale rate control requirement associated with a flow description; means for determining, based on the set of service parameters and the plurality of alternative service requirements, at least one set of alternative QoS parameters arranged in the priority order and associated with the service data flow corresponding to the flow description, each set of alternative QoS parameters comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters; as well as Means for transmitting the at least one set of requested service parameters and the determined at least one alternative QoS parameter set to a third device, and means for determining a requested QoS profile and at least one alternative QoS profile.

34. A third device, comprising: means for receiving from a second device a set of requested service parameters and at least one prioritized set of candidate QoS parameters, each candidate QoS parameter set comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters associated with a flow description corresponding to a service data flow; means for determining, based on the set of requested service parameters, a requested QoS profile associated with a QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow; means for determining, based on the at least one candidate QoS parameter set, at least one candidate QoS profile arranged in the priority order, each candidate QoS profile comprising a first subset of the long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of the short timescale rate control parameters; as well as Means for transmitting the requested QoS profile and the determined at least one candidate QoS profile to a fourth device for at least one of radio admission control and QoS satisfaction.

35. A fourth device, comprising: means for receiving from a third device a requested QoS profile and at least one prioritized candidate QoS profile, each candidate QoS profile comprising a first subset of long timescale rate control parameters and a second subset of short timescale rate control parameters associated with the QoS flow; as well as for performing radio admission control and QoS on the QoS flow based on network conditions, the requested QoS profile and the at least one alternative QoS profile. o S satisfies at least one of the components.

36. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause an apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 28, the method of claim 29, the method of claim 30, or the method of claim 31.

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