Communication method, device and system

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method, device and system. The method comprises the following steps: a user plane network element receives feature information of a service data flow, wherein the feature information is used for describing features of the service data flow; the user plane network element identifies a data packet group in the service data flow according to the feature information of the service data flow; and the user plane network element sends the data packet group to an access network device. Based on the scheme, the data packet group of the service data stream can be identified based on the pre-obtained feature information of the service data stream, so that the data packet group can be further processed correspondingly, and the transmission efficiency of the service data stream is improved.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202010524001.1, and the original application date is June 10, 2020. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods, devices and systems. Background Art

[0003] At present, in some scenarios such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and tactile networks, the real-time requirements for data transmission are relatively high, that is, a certain amount of data must be sent within a shorter transmission time window.

[0004] When real-time requirements are relatively high, how to implement reasonable control on the data that needs to be sent to improve the efficiency of data transmission is a problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, device and system for improving the efficiency of data transmission.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising: a user plane network element receives characteristic information of a service data flow, wherein the characteristic information is used to describe characteristics of the service data flow; the user plane network element identifies a data packet group in the service data flow based on the characteristic information of the service data flow; and the user plane network element sends the data packet group to an access network device.

[0007] Based on the above embodiments, the data packet groups of the service data stream can be identified based on the pre-acquired characteristic information of the service data stream, so that the data packet groups can be further processed accordingly, which helps to improve the transmission efficiency of the service data stream.

[0008] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes the first packet data characteristics and the last packet characteristics of the data packet group; the user plane network element identifies the data packet group in the service data flow according to the characteristic information of the service data flow, including: the user plane network element identifies the first packet of the data packet group according to the first packet data characteristics; the user plane network element identifies the last packet of the data packet group according to the last packet data characteristics.

[0009] Based on the above solution, each data packet group of the business data stream can be identified according to the characteristic information of the business data stream, so that each data packet group of the business data stream can be processed, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the business data stream.

[0010] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; the user plane network element identifies the data packet group in the service data flow according to the characteristic information of the service data flow, including: the user plane network element identifies the data packet group of the service data flow according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0011] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element adds the same data packet group identifier to each data packet in the data packet group.

[0012] Based on the above scheme, each data packet group can be identified according to the data packet group identifier, so that the receiving side (such as access network equipment) can identify each data packet group of the service data flow, and the receiving side can process each data packet group, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the service data flow.

[0013] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element performs scheduling processing for the array packet group according to the characteristic information.

[0014] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; the user-plane network element performs scheduling processing on the array packet group according to the characteristic information, including: the user-plane network element reduces the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, so that the reduced pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group does not exceed a preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate, and the maximum pulse peak rate is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single service data flow, or the aggregated maximum pulse peak rate of multiple service data flows.

[0015] Based on the above solution, the user-plane network element can perform traffic shaping on the service data flow, reducing the pressure of high-speed services on network transmission, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0016] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element receives the maximum pulse peak rate from a session management network element.

[0017] In a possible implementation method, the feature information comes from an application server; or, the feature information comes from a database, and the feature information in the database comes from the application server; or, the feature information comes from a session management network element, and the feature information in the session management network element comes from the application server.

[0018] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising: an access network device receives characteristic information of a service data flow, wherein the characteristic information is used to describe characteristics of the service data flow; the access network device receives the service data flow from a user plane network element; the access network device identifies a data packet group of the service data flow; and the access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information.

[0019] Based on the above embodiments, the service data stream may be sent based on the pre-acquired characteristic information of the service data stream, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the service data stream.

[0020] In a possible implementation method, the access network device identifies the data packet group of the service data flow, including: the access network device determines that the data packets in the service data flow carrying the same data packet group identifier belong to the same data packet group; or, the characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; the access network device identifies the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0021] Based on the above solution, the access network device can identify each data packet group of the service data flow according to the characteristic information of the service data flow, so as to process each data packet group of the service data flow, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the service data flow.

[0022] In a possible implementation method, the access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information, including: the access network device determines a scheduling policy for the data packet group according to the characteristic information; the access network device sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policy for the data packet group.

[0023] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a sending time window of the data packet group, and the sending time window of the data packet group is used to indicate a maximum sending duration of sending the data packet group; the access network device determines a scheduling policy for the data packet group based on the characteristic information, including: the access network device determines multiple time periods corresponding to the sending time window of the data packet group, and the scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods respectively, wherein the sending rate indicated by the scheduling policy corresponding to the time period later in time is higher than the sending rate indicated by the scheduling policy corresponding to the time period earlier in time; the access network device sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policy of the data packet group, including: the access network device sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods respectively.

[0024] Based on the above scheme, the access network equipment can implement different scheduling strategies for different time periods of the same sending time window to ensure that a data packet group can be sent within a sending time window, thereby ensuring the reliable transmission of the service data flow.

[0025] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; the access network device schedules the transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0026] In a possible implementation method, the access network device schedules transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval, including: the access network device receives channel state information CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval; the access network device determines the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the state information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI; the access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information, including: the access network device sends the data packet group according to the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group.

[0027] Based on the above solution, the access network device can determine the sending timing and subcarriers of the data packet group based on the CSI reported by the terminal device, which can improve data transmission efficiency.

[0028] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information also includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; the access network device determines the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, including: the access network device determines the quality requirements and capacity requirements for the subcarriers for sending the data packet group according to the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval; the access network device determines the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the quality requirements and capacity requirements for the subcarriers for sending the data packet group.

[0029] In a possible implementation method, the access network device receives CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, including: the access network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information includes indication information and the data packet group sending interval, the indication information is used to indicate that the period for reporting CSI by the terminal device is the same as the data packet group sending interval; the access network device receives the CSI from the terminal device.

[0030] In a possible implementation method, the indication information is also used to instruct the terminal device to report CSI within a first period of time before the data packet group arrives.

[0031] In a possible implementation method, the access network device receives CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, including: the access network device determines the arrival time of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval;

[0032] The access network device sends downlink control information DCI to the terminal device in a second time period before the data packet group arrives, so as to instruct the terminal device to report CSI; and the access network device receives the CSI from the terminal device.

[0033] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a sending time window for the data packet group, and the sending time window for the data packet group is used to indicate a maximum sending duration for sending the data packet group; the access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information, including: when the initial transmission of the first data packet of the data packet group fails, the access network device determines the remaining sending time of the data packet group according to the sending time window of the data packet group; when the retransmission time of the first data packet is greater than the remaining sending time of the data packet group, the access network device discards the first data packet.

[0034] In a possible implementation method, the feature information comes from an application server; or, the feature information comes from a database, and the feature information in the database comes from the application server; or, the feature information comes from a session management network element, and the feature information in the session management network element comes from the application server.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a user plane network element, or a chip for a user plane network element. The device has the function of implementing the above-mentioned first aspect, or each possible implementation method of the first aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be an access network device or a chip for an access network device. The device has the function of implementing the above-mentioned second aspect or each possible implementation method of the second aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementation by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions, and when the device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the device performs the methods of the first aspect to the second aspect mentioned above, and any method among the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any method in the methods of the first aspect to the second aspect, and each possible implementation method of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0039] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the methods of the first aspect to the second aspect, and any method in each possible implementation method of the first aspect to the second aspect. The processor includes one or more.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, which is connected to a memory and is used to call a program stored in the memory to execute the method of the first aspect to the second aspect, and any method in each possible implementation method of the first aspect to the second aspect. The memory can be located inside the device or outside the device. And the processor includes one or more.

[0041] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the processor executes the methods of the first aspect to the second aspect above, and any method among the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0042] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is run, the methods of the first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the second aspect are executed.

[0043] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: a processor, used to execute the methods of the first aspect to the second aspect above, and any method among the possible implementation methods of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0044] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication method, including: a user plane network element receives first characteristic information of a service data flow, the first characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; the user plane network element identifies a data packet group in the service data flow based on the first characteristic information of the service data flow; the user plane network element sends the data packet group to an access network device; the access network device receives second characteristic information of the service data flow, the second characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; the access network device receives the service data flow from the user plane network element; the access network device identifies the data packet group of the service data flow; the access network device sends the data packet group based on the second characteristic information.

[0045] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including: a user plane network element and an access network device; the user plane network element is used to receive first characteristic information of a service data flow, the first characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; based on the first characteristic information of the service data flow, identify a data packet group in the service data flow; send the data packet group to the access network device; the access network device is used to receive second characteristic information of the service data flow, the second characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; receive the service data flow from the user plane network element; identify the data packet group of the service data flow; and send the data packet group based on the second characteristic information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 2(a) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture;

[0048] Figure 2(b) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface;

[0049] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the traffic model of burst-type business data flows in CloudVR;

[0050] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the traffic model of the service data flow with average rate;

[0051] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of performing traffic shaping for a single burst type service data flow;

[0053] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of performing traffic shaping on two burst-type service data flows;

[0054] Figure 8 A flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Fig. 9 A flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of a user plane network element provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation method in the method embodiment can also be applied to the device embodiment or the system embodiment. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more.

[0061] To solve the problems mentioned in the background technology, Figure 1 As shown, the present application provides a communication system, which includes an access network device and a user plane network element. Optionally, the system also includes a session management network element.

[0062] The user plane network element is used to receive first characteristic information of a service data flow, wherein the first characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; identify a data packet group in the service data flow based on the first characteristic information of the service data flow; and send the data packet group to the access network device; the access network device is used to receive second characteristic information of the service data flow, wherein the second characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; receive the service data flow from the user plane network element; identify the data packet group of the service data flow; and send the data packet group based on the second characteristic information.

[0063] In a possible implementation method, the first characteristic information includes the first packet data characteristics and the last packet data characteristics of the data packet group; the user-side network element is used to identify the data packet group in the service data flow according to the first characteristic information of the service data flow, specifically including: identifying the first packet of the data packet group according to the first packet data characteristics; identifying the last packet of the data packet group according to the last packet data characteristics.

[0064] In a possible implementation method, the first characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; the user-plane network element is used to identify the data packet groups in the service data flow according to the first characteristic information of the service data flow, specifically including: identifying the data packet groups of the service data flow according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0065] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element is further configured to add a same data packet group identifier to each data packet in the data packet group.

[0066] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element performs scheduling processing for the array packet group according to the first characteristic information.

[0067] In a possible implementation method, the first characteristic information includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; the user-side network element performs scheduling processing on the array packet group according to the first characteristic information, specifically including: reducing the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, so that the reduced pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group does not exceed the preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate, and the maximum pulse peak rate is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single service data flow, or the aggregated maximum pulse peak rate of multiple service data flows.

[0068] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element is further configured to receive the maximum pulse peak rate from a session management network element.

[0069] In a possible implementation method, the first feature information comes from an application server; or, the first feature information comes from a database, and the first feature information in the database comes from the application server; or, the first feature information comes from a session management network element, and the first feature information in the session management network element comes from the application server.

[0070] In one possible implementation method, the access network device is used to identify the data packet group of the business data flow, specifically including: being used to determine that the data packets in the business data flow carrying the same data packet group identifier belong to the same data packet group; or, the second characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the business data flow; and being used to identify the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0071] In a possible implementation method, the access network device is used to send the data packet group according to the second characteristic information, specifically including: determining a scheduling policy for the data packet group according to the second characteristic information; and sending the data packet group according to the scheduling policy for the data packet group.

[0072] In one possible implementation method, the second characteristic information includes a sending time window for the data packet group, and the sending time window for the data packet group is used to indicate a maximum sending duration for sending the data packet group; the access network device is used to determine a scheduling policy for the data packet group based on the second characteristic information, specifically including: determining multiple time periods corresponding to the sending time window for the data packet group, and scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods, wherein a sending rate indicated by a scheduling policy corresponding to a time period later in time is higher than a sending rate indicated by a scheduling policy corresponding to an earlier time period; the access network device is used to send the data packet group according to the scheduling policy for the data packet group, specifically including: sending the data packet group according to the scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods.

[0073] In a possible implementation method, the second characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; the access network device is also used to schedule the transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0074] In a possible implementation method, the access network device is used to schedule the transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval, specifically including: receiving channel state information CSI from a terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval; determining the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the state information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI; the access network device is used to send the data packet group according to the second characteristic information, specifically including: sending the data packet group according to the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group.

[0075] In a possible implementation method, the second characteristic information also includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; the access network device is used to determine the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, specifically including: determining the quality requirements and capacity requirements for subcarriers for sending the data packet group according to the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval; determining the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the quality requirements and capacity requirements for subcarriers for sending the data packet group.

[0076] In a possible implementation method, the access network device is used to receive CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, specifically including: sending configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information including indication information and the data packet group sending interval, the indication information being used to indicate that the period for reporting CSI by the terminal device is the same as the data packet group sending interval; and receiving the CSI from the terminal device.

[0077] In a possible implementation method, the indication information is also used to instruct the terminal device to report CSI within a first period of time before the data packet group arrives.

[0078] In a possible implementation method, the access network device is used to receive CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, specifically including: determining the arrival time of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval; sending downlink control information DCI to the terminal device at a second time before the arrival of the data packet group, for instructing the terminal device to report CSI; and receiving the CSI from the terminal device.

[0079] In a possible implementation method, the second characteristic information includes a sending time window of the data packet group, and the sending time window of the data packet group is used to indicate the maximum sending duration of sending the data packet group; the access network device is used to send the data packet group according to the characteristic information, specifically including: when the initial transmission of the first data packet of the data packet group fails, determining the remaining sending time of the data packet group according to the sending time window of the data packet group; when the retransmission time of the first data packet is greater than the remaining sending time of the data packet group, discarding the first data packet.

[0080] In a possible implementation method, the second characteristic information comes from an application server; or, the second characteristic information comes from a database, and the second characteristic information in the database comes from the application server; or, the second characteristic information comes from a session management network element, and the second characteristic information in the session management network element comes from the application server.

[0081] In a possible implementation method, the session management network element is used to receive the first characteristic information from a database or an application server; and send the first characteristic information to the user plane network element.

[0082] In a possible implementation method, the session management network element is used to receive the second characteristic information from a database or an application server; and send the second characteristic information to the user plane network element.

[0083] The specific implementation of the above solution will be described in detail in the subsequent method implementation examples and will not be repeated here.

[0084] Figure 1 The system shown can be used in the fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) network architecture shown in Figure 2 (a) or Figure 2 (b). Of course, it can also be used in future network architectures, such as the sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) network architecture, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0085] For example, assuming Figure 1 The communication system shown is applied to a 5G network architecture, as shown in FIG2( a ), which is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. Figure 1 The network element or entity corresponding to the user plane network element in the example may be a user plane function (UPF) network element in the 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 2( a). Figure 1 The network element or entity corresponding to the access network device in the example may be a radio access network (RAN) device in the 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 2( a). Figure 1 The network element or entity corresponding to the session management network element in the may be the session management function (SMF) network element in the 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 2( a).

[0086] The 5G network architecture shown in Figure 2(a) may include three parts, namely, the terminal equipment part, the data network (DN) and the operator network part. The functions of some of the network elements are briefly introduced below.

[0087] The operator network may include one or more of the following network elements: authentication server function (AUSF) network element, network exposure function (NEF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, unified data management (UDM), unified data repository (UDR), network repository function (NRF) network element, application function (AF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, SMF network element, RAN and UPF network element, etc. In the above operator network, the part other than the radio access network part can be called the core network part.

[0088] In a specific implementation, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for realizing a wireless communication function. The terminal device may be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a terminal agent or a terminal device in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. The terminal may be mobile or fixed.

[0089] The above-mentioned terminal device can establish a connection with the operator network through the interface provided by the operator network (such as N1, etc.), and use the data and / or voice services provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access the DN through the operator network, use the operator services deployed on the DN, and / or services provided by a third party. Among them, the above-mentioned third party may be a service provider other than the operator network and the terminal device, and can provide other data and / or voice services to the terminal device. Among them, the specific form of the above-mentioned third party can be determined according to the actual application scenario, and is not limited here.

[0090] RAN is a subnetwork of the operator network and an implementation system between the service node and the terminal device in the operator network. To access the operator network, the terminal device must first pass through the RAN, and then connect to the service node of the operator network through the RAN. The RAN device in this application is a device that provides wireless communication functions for the terminal device, and the RAN device is also called an access network device. The RAN device in this application includes but is not limited to: the next generation base station (g nodeB, gNB) in 5G, evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB), radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), node B (node ​​B, NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseBand unit, BBU), transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmission point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, etc.

[0091] The AMF network element mainly performs functions such as mobility management, access authentication or authorization, etc. In addition, it is also responsible for transmitting user policies between the UE and the PCF.

[0092] The SMF network element mainly performs functions such as session management, execution of control policies issued by PCF, selection of UPF, and allocation of UE Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

[0093] The UPF network element, as the interface UPF with the data network, completes functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing statistics, and bandwidth limitation.

[0094] UDM network element is mainly responsible for managing contract data, user access authorization and other functions.

[0095] UDR is mainly responsible for the storage and access of contract data, policy data, application data and other types of data.

[0096] NEF network element is mainly used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0097] The AF network element mainly transmits the requirements of the application side to the network side, such as Quality of Service (QoS) requirements or user status event subscriptions. AF can be a third-party functional entity or an application service deployed by an operator, such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service. Among them, the AF network element can also be called an application server.

[0098] The PCF network element is mainly responsible for policy control functions such as billing at the session and service data flow level, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management, and UE policy decision-making.

[0099] NRF network elements can be used to provide network element discovery functions and provide network element information corresponding to the network element type based on requests from other network elements. NRF also provides network element management services, such as network element registration, update, deregistration, and network element status subscription and push.

[0100] AUSF network element: Mainly responsible for authenticating users to determine whether users or devices are allowed to access the network.

[0101] DN is a network outside the operator network. The operator network can access multiple DNs. Multiple services can be deployed on DN, which can provide data and / or voice services to terminal devices. For example, DN is the private network of a smart factory. The sensors installed in the workshop of the smart factory can be terminal devices. The control server of the sensors is deployed in DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensors. The sensors can communicate with the control server, obtain instructions from the control server, and transmit the collected sensor data to the control server according to the instructions. For another example, DN is the internal office network of a company. The mobile phones or computers of the company's employees can be terminal devices. The employees' mobile phones or computers can access information and data resources on the company's internal office network.

[0102] In Figure 2 (a), Nausf, Nnef, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers. The meanings of these interface serial numbers can be found in the meanings defined in the 3GPP standard protocol and are not limited here.

[0103] For example, assuming Figure 1 The communication system shown is applied to a 5G network architecture, as shown in FIG2( b ), which is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface. Figure 1 The network element or entity corresponding to the user plane network element in the example may be the UPF network element in the 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 2( b). Figure 1 The network element or entity corresponding to the access network device in the example may be the RAN device in the 5G network architecture shown in FIG2( b). Figure 1 The network element or entity corresponding to the session management network element in the example may be the SMF network element in the 5G network architecture shown in FIG2( b).

[0104] The introduction of the functions of the network elements in Figure 2(b) can refer to the introduction of the functions of the corresponding network elements in Figure 2(a), and will not be repeated here. The main difference between Figure 2(b) and Figure 2(a) is that the interfaces between the network elements in Figure 2(b) are point-to-point interfaces, not service-oriented interfaces.

[0105] In the architecture shown in Figure 2(b), the interface names and functions between the network elements are as follows:

[0106] 1) N7: The interface between PCF and SMF, used to send protocol data unit (PDU) session granularity and service data flow granularity control strategy.

[0107] 2) N15: The interface between PCF and AMF, used to issue UE policies and access control related policies.

[0108] 3) N5: The interface between AF and PCF, used for issuing application service requests and reporting network events.

[0109] 4) N4: The interface between SMF and UPF is used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including the control of the forwarding rules, QoS control rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane and the reporting of information on the user plane.

[0110] 5) N11: The interface between SMF and AMF, used to transfer PDU session tunnel information between RAN and UPF, transfer control messages sent to UE, transfer radio resource control information sent to RAN, etc.

[0111] 6) N2: The interface between AMF and RAN, used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the RAN.

[0112] 7) N1: The interface between AMF and UE, access-independent, used to deliver QoS control rules to UE.

[0113] 8) N8: The interface between AMF and UDM is used for AMF to obtain access and mobility management related subscription data and authentication data from UDM, and AMF to register UE's current mobility management related information with UDM.

[0114] 9) N10: The interface between SMF and UDM, used by SMF to obtain session management related contract data from UDM, and SMF to register UE current session related information with UDM.

[0115] 10) N35: Interface between UDM and UDR, used by UDM to obtain user contract data information from UDR.

[0116] 11) N36: Interface between PCF and UDR, used by PCF to obtain policy-related contract data and application data-related information from UDR.

[0117] 12) N12: Interface between AMF and AUSF, used by AMF to initiate an authentication process to AUSF, which can carry SUCI as a contract identifier;

[0118] 13) N13: Interface between UDM and AUSF, used by AUSF to obtain the user authentication vector from UDM to execute the authentication process.

[0119] It is understandable that the above network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above network element or function can be implemented by one device, or by multiple devices, or a functional module in one device, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0120] The session management network element, policy control network element, user plane network element, and access network equipment in this application can be the SMF, PCF, UPF, and RAN in Figure 2 (a) or Figure 2 (b), respectively, or can be network elements with the functions of the above SMF, PCF, UPF, and RAN in future communications such as 6G networks, and this application is not limited to this. For the convenience of explanation, this application takes the session management network element, policy control network element, user plane network element, and access network equipment as the above SMF, PCF, UPF, and RAN as an example for explanation.

[0121] In the existing QoS model, when UPF receives a downlink data packet, UPF will encapsulate the data packets with the same reliability requirements into the same QoS flow according to the Packet Detection Rule (PDR) filter configured in advance by SMF. Multiple QoS flows may exist in the same PDU session, but each QoS flow has an independent and unique QoS flow identifier (QFI), and each QoS flow is associated with a QoS profile. The network side will use the same QoS guarantee for data packets belonging to the same QoS flow based on the parameters in the QoS profile, such as latency, forwarding priority, packet loss rate, etc.

[0122] When RAN receives the downlink QoS flow from UPF, RAN will encapsulate several QoS flows into the same data radio bearer (DRB) according to certain mapping rules (the standard currently does not define detailed rules). The same DRB will enjoy the same air interface side reliability guarantee.

[0123] At present, in some scenarios such as AR, VR, and tactile networks, the real-time requirements for data transmission are relatively high, that is, a certain amount of data must be sent within a short transmission time window. In the case of high real-time requirements, how to implement reasonable control of the data to be sent to improve the efficiency of data transmission is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0124] Among them, the issues regarding data transmission efficiency mainly include:

[0125] Problem 1) Within the sending time window of a data packet group, different data packets in the data packet group can be sent with different scheduling delays. The scheduling space of the front data packets in the data packet group is larger than the scheduling space of the back data packets in the data packet group, which leads to a higher probability of packet loss for the back data packets in the data packet group.

[0126] For example, when the first packet in a packet group fails to be sent, the data can be retransmitted. However, when the last packet in a packet group fails to be sent, the data may not be retransmitted because the sending time window of the packet group is almost over and there is less remaining transmission time. In addition, since the first packet in a packet group may occupy more time in a sending cycle, the sending time of the last packet in a packet group is compressed, causing more data packet loss problems.

[0127] Question 2) Within the sending time window of a data packet group, a data packet retransmission within the data packet group will occupy additional delay overhead, which will cause the transmission of subsequent data packets in the data packet group to exceed the sending time window. At this time, there is currently no corresponding solution for how to handle these data packets that exceed the sending time window.

[0128] Problem 3) In some cases, the instantaneous peak rate of the transmission of the business data stream may increase, exceeding the predetermined maximum peak rate, thereby causing data packet loss.

[0129] Question 4) Currently, data packets are transmitted according to QoS Flow. Data packets within the same QoS Flow may come from multiple business data flows or from different data packet groups of the same business data flow, resulting in the receiving side being unable to distinguish the association between different data packets within a QoS Flow, thereby affecting the receiving efficiency of the receiving side.

[0130] The above four problems affecting data transmission efficiency will be solved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0131] In an embodiment of the present application, the business data flow information includes one or more of an application identifier (Application ID, App ID), identification information of the business data flow, QoS requirements of the business data flow, and characteristic information (Traffic model) of the business data flow.

[0132] The application identifier is used to identify a specific service, for example, it can be a set character.

[0133] The identification information of the service data flow includes but is not limited to one or more of the following information: IP triplet, Uniform Resource Locator (URL), wherein the IP triplet refers to the IP address, port number and protocol number of the application server (AF).

[0134] The QoS requirements of the service data flow include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following information: bitrate, packet loss rate (Packet Error Rate, PER), and delay.

[0135] The characteristic information of the service data flow is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow.

[0136] For a burst type of service data flow, the characteristic information of the service data flow includes but is not limited to one or more of the following information:

[0137] 1) Data characteristics of the first packet of the data packet group.

[0138] For example, the first packet data feature may be a set first packet size, so that the receiving side can identify a data packet as the first packet of a data packet group based on the set first packet size, that is, identify the starting position of a data packet group. As an example, the first packet data feature is: the first packet size is x, then when the receiving side receives a data packet of size x, it determines that the data packet is the first packet of a data packet group.

[0139] 2) Data characteristics of the tail packet of the data packet group.

[0140] For example, the tail packet data feature may be a set tail packet size, so that the receiving side can identify a data packet as the tail packet of a data packet group based on the set tail packet size, that is, identify the end position of a data packet group. As an example, the tail packet data feature is: the tail packet size is y, then when the receiving side receives a data packet of size y, it is determined that the data packet is the tail packet of a data packet group.

[0141] For another example, the tail packet data feature can also be the size of two consecutive data packets that are set, so that after the receiving side receives two data packets of the set size in succession, it determines that the second data packet of the two consecutive data packets is the tail packet of the data packet group, that is, identifies the end position of a data packet group. As an example, the tail packet data feature is that the size of two consecutive data packets is z, then when the receiving side receives two data packets of size z in succession, it determines that the second data packet of the two consecutive data packets is the tail packet of a data packet group.

[0142] 3) The sending time window of the data packet group.

[0143] The sending time window of a data packet group specifies the maximum time length for sending data packets in a data packet group. In other words, data packets in a data packet group need to be sent within a sending time window. If the sending time window is exceeded, the data packets in the data packet group cannot be sent, that is, the data packets need to be discarded.

[0144] 4) Data packet group sending interval.

[0145] The data packet group sending interval refers to the sending interval between two data packet groups. That is, the time interval between the first packet of one data packet group and the first packet of the next data packet group. Alternatively, the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of a service data stream.

[0146] 5) The number of pulses corresponding to the data packet group.

[0147] When the amount of data transmitted by a data packet group is large, the data packet group can be sent multiple times, that is, sent through multiple pulses. The number of pulses corresponding to the data packet group is the number of times a data packet group is sent, or the number of pulses used to send the data packet group.

[0148] 6) The pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group.

[0149] For example, in order to send a data packet group faster in the shortest time, the 4x transmission control protocol (TCP) sending rate can be used for sending, and the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group = sending rate * 4 / 1000ms. For example, when the sending rate is set to 120Mb / s, the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group is 0.48Mb / ms.

[0150] 7) Pulse interval.

[0151] When the amount of data in a data packet group is large, a data packet can be sent in multiple times, that is, through multiple pulses, and there needs to be a certain time interval between two pulses, that is, the pulse interval. That is, the pulse interval is the time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group.

[0152] In an embodiment of the present application, a data packet group of a service data stream may be a group of data packets corresponding to a video frame of a media service, or may be a group of data packets generated by a tactile and motion sensing operation, etc.

[0153] The following is a specific example to illustrate the burst type of business data flow. For example, in the cloud VR scenario, the cloud server renders and encodes the corresponding VR video based on the user's head movement and user perspective, and then sends the encoded video to the VR terminal through the 5G network. Figure 3 The figure shows a traffic model diagram of a burst-type service data flow in CloudVR. In this example, one "video frame" corresponds to one "data packet group".

[0154] The characteristics of video streaming in CloudVR mainly include:

[0155] 1) The video stream sent by the cloud server to the VR terminal is sent in the form of pulses. Each pulse wave is a video frame, and each video frame has about 150 data packets. The frame rate is 60 frames per second (FPS), and the video frame sending interval = 1000 milliseconds (ms) / 60FPS = 16.7ms.

[0156] 2) To ensure the continuity of user viewing, all data packets in a video frame need to be transmitted to the VR terminal within 8.3ms, so that the VR terminal can decode the received data packets and present the video. The 8.3ms here is the transmission time window of the video frame.

[0157] 3) In order to send a video frame faster in the shortest time, you can use the 4x transmission control protocol TCP sending rate (SendSpeed) to send it. The pulse peak rate corresponding to the video frame = sending rate * 4 / 1000ms. For example, when the sending rate is set to 120Mb / s, the pulse peak rate corresponding to the video frame is 0.48Mb / ms.

[0158] 4) When the amount of data transmitted by a video frame is large, the video frame can be divided into multiple pulses for transmission. For example, the pulse interval between two pulses is 4ms.

[0159] 5) The number of pulses corresponding to the video frame = ROUNDUP(bitrate / FPS / (SendSpeed*4 / 1000)). Where bitrate is the bit rate, FPS is the frame rate, and SendSpeed ​​is the sending rate. The ROUNDUP(x) function means rounding x up to an integer. For example, when the Bitrate is 50Mb / s, FPS=60, and SendSpeed ​​is 120Mb / s, the number of pulses corresponding to the video frame is 2.

[0160] For a service data flow with an average rate, the characteristic information of the service data flow includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information:

[0161] 1) to 4) are the same as 1) to 4) in the characteristic information of the aforementioned burst type service data flow.

[0162] 5) Business data flow rate.

[0163] The service data flow rate is an average sending rate.

[0164] The following is a specific example to illustrate the burst type of service data flow. Figure 4 The figure shows a flow model diagram of a service data flow of average rate, wherein the video frame transmission interval = 16.7 ms, the video frame transmission time window = 8.3 ms, and the service data flow rate = 0.3 Mb / ms.

[0165] In order to implement reasonable control over the data to be sent to improve the efficiency of data transmission, based on the architecture shown in FIG2(a) or FIG2(b), an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Figure 5 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0166] Step 501: UPF receives first characteristic information of a service data flow, where the first characteristic information is used to describe characteristics of the service data flow.

[0167] For example, UPF may receive the first characteristic information of the service data flow from SMF, and the first characteristic information in SMF may come from a database (such as UDR), NEF or application server, etc. For another example, UPF may receive the first characteristic information of the service data flow from a database (such as UDR), and the first characteristic information in the database may come from an application server, etc. For another example, UPF may receive the first characteristic information of the service data flow from an application server.

[0168] When the service data flow is a burst type service data flow, the first characteristic information includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: data characteristics of the first packet of the data packet group, data characteristics of the last packet of the data packet group, the sending time window of the data packet group, the sending interval of the data packet group, the number of pulses corresponding to the data packet group, the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval.

[0169] When the business data flow is a rate-averaged business data flow, the first characteristic information includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: data characteristics of the first packet of the data packet group, data characteristics of the last packet of the data packet group, sending time window of the data packet group, sending interval of the data packet group, and business data flow rate.

[0170] Step 502: RAN receives second characteristic information of the service data flow, where the second characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow.

[0171] For example, RAN may receive the second characteristic information of the service data flow from SMF, and the second characteristic information in SMF may come from a database (such as UDR), NEF or application server, etc. For another example, RAN may receive the second characteristic information of the service data flow from a database (such as UDR), and the second characteristic information in the database may come from an application server, etc. For another example, RAN may receive the second characteristic information of the service data flow from an application server.

[0172] When the service data flow is a burst type service data flow, the second characteristic information includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: data characteristics of the first packet of the data packet group, data characteristics of the last packet of the data packet group, the sending time window of the data packet group, the sending interval of the data packet group, the number of pulses corresponding to the data packet group, the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval.

[0173] When the business data flow is a rate-averaged business data flow, the second characteristic information includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: data characteristics of the first packet of the data packet group, data characteristics of the last packet of the data packet group, sending time window of the data packet group, sending interval of the data packet group, and business data flow rate.

[0174] Step 503: UPF identifies the data packet group in the service data flow according to the first characteristic information of the service data flow.

[0175] That is, the business data flow is sent to the UPF in the form of data packet groups.

[0176] Among them, UPF can identify each data packet group in the service data flow according to the following method:

[0177] Method 1: UPF identifies the first packet of the data packet group according to the data characteristics of the first packet, and identifies the last packet of the data packet group according to the data characteristics of the last packet.

[0178] For example, when the first characteristic information received by UPF includes the first packet data characteristics and the last packet data characteristics of the business data flow, UPF can identify the first packet and the last packet of each data packet group based on the first packet data characteristics and the last packet data characteristics of the business data flow, wherein the first packet, the last packet, and the data packets between the first packet and the last packet belong to the same data packet group, and thus UPF can identify each data packet group.

[0179] Method 2: UPF identifies the data packet group of the business data flow based on the data packet group sending interval.

[0180] For example, when the first characteristic information received by UPF includes the data packet group sending interval, UPF can identify the first data packet group of the service data flow according to the above method one, and for the data packet groups after the first data packet group, the above method one can be used for identification, or method two can be used for identification.

[0181] As an implementation method, after identifying each data packet group of the service data flow, UPF can add the same data packet group identifier to each data packet in the same data packet group. For example, add the data packet group identifier K to the packet header of each data packet in the Nth data packet group, add the data packet group identifier K+1 to the packet header of each data packet in the N+1th data packet group, add the data packet group identifier K+2 to the packet header of each data packet in the N+2th data packet group, and so on. After marking the data packets belonging to the same data packet group with the same data packet group identifier, the RAN can identify the data packet group based on the data packet group identifier. Based on this implementation method, the above-mentioned problem 4) can be solved, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0182] As an implementation method, before or after the UPF adds the same data packet group identifier to the data packets of the data packet group, the UPF can also perform scheduling processing of the data packet group according to the first characteristic information according to actual needs, such as traffic shaping of the received business data stream. For example, when the first characteristic information received by the UPF includes the number of pulses corresponding to the data packet group, the pulse peak rate and pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, the UPF can reduce the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the number of pulses corresponding to the data packet group, the pulse peak rate and pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, so that the pulse peak rate corresponding to the reduced data packet group does not exceed the pre-configured maximum pulse peak rate, and the maximum pulse peak rate is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single business data stream, or the converged maximum pulse peak rate of multiple business data streams. For another example, when the first characteristic information received by the UPF includes the pulse peak rate and pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, the UPF can reduce the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the pulse peak rate and pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, so that the pulse peak rate corresponding to the reduced data packet group does not exceed the pre-configured maximum pulse peak rate, and the maximum pulse peak rate is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single business data stream, or the converged maximum pulse peak rate of multiple business data streams. Optionally, the maximum pulse peak rate may be received by the UPF from the session management network element. Based on this implementation method, the above-mentioned problem 3) can be solved, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0183] like Figure 6 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of traffic shaping for a single burst type of business data flow. Among them, the method of traffic shaping is mainly to reduce the transmission rate by increasing the transmission delay, so that the pulse of the data packet group is lower than the preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate. It can be seen that before traffic shaping, the pulse peak rate of the two pulses of a data packet group exceeds the preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate, which is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single business data flow. After traffic shaping, the pulse peak rate of the two pulses of a data packet group is lower than the preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate.

[0184] like Figure 7As shown, it is a schematic diagram of traffic shaping for two burst-type business data flows. Among them, the method of traffic shaping is mainly to reduce the transmission rate of a single business data flow by increasing the transmission delay of a single business data flow, and / or, to stagger the pulses of the two business data flows, so that the pulse peak rate of the aggregated traffic of the two business data flows is lower than the pre-configured maximum pulse peak rate, which is the converged maximum pulse peak rate of multiple business data flows. It can be seen that before traffic shaping, the pulses of the two data packets are superimposed on the peak value, and the pulse peak rate of the aggregated traffic of the data packet groups of the two business data flows is higher than the pre-configured maximum pulse peak rate. After traffic shaping, the pulses of the two data packets are staggered on the peak value, and the pulse peak rate of the aggregated traffic of the data packet groups of the two business data flows is lower than the pre-configured maximum pulse peak rate. It should be noted that the traffic shaping method for three or more burst-type business data flows is similar to the traffic shaping method for the two burst-type business data flows, and will not be repeated.

[0185] It should be noted that the above is an explanation of the traffic shaping method for burst-type service data flows. For rate-average service data flows, the traffic shaping method may be: when the first characteristic information received by the UPF includes the service data flow rate, the UPF may reduce the service data flow rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the service data flow rate, so that the service data flow rate corresponding to the reduced data packet group does not exceed the pre-configured maximum service data flow rate, which is the maximum service data flow rate of a single service data flow, or the aggregated maximum service data flow rate of multiple service data flows. Optionally, the maximum service data flow rate may be received by the UPF from the session management network element.

[0186] Through the above method, the UPF can label the data packet group (ie, add a data packet group identifier) ​​and / or perform traffic shaping, and send the labeled and / or traffic-shaped data packet group to the RAN.

[0187] Step 504: UPF sends the data packet group to RAN. Accordingly, RAN can receive the data packet group.

[0188] Step 505: RAN identifies a data packet group of the service data flow.

[0189] When the UPF sends the service data flow to the RAN in the form of data packet groups, the RAN also needs to identify the data packet groups of the service data flow.

[0190] The RAN can identify each data packet group in the service data flow according to the following method:

[0191] Method 1: RAN identifies each data packet group according to the data packet group identifier.

[0192] For example, when the UPF adds the same data packet group identifier to each data packet belonging to the same data packet group, and the data packet group identifiers of different data packet groups are different, the RAN can identify each data packet group according to the data packet group identifier.

[0193] Method 2: RAN identifies the data packet group of the service data flow according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0194] For example, when the second characteristic information received by the RAN includes the data packet group sending interval, the RAN can identify the first data packet group of the service data flow according to the above method one, and for the data packet groups after the first data packet group, the above method one can be used for identification, or the method two can be used for identification.

[0195] Step 506: RAN sends a data packet group according to the second characteristic information.

[0196] As an implementation method, when the RAN sends a data packet group to the terminal device, the RAN can determine the scheduling policy of the data packet group according to the second characteristic information, and then send the data packet group according to the scheduling policy of the data packet group. For example, when the second characteristic information received by the RAN includes the sending time window of the data packet group, the RAN determines the scheduling policy of the data packet group according to the second characteristic information, including: the RAN determines multiple time periods corresponding to the sending time window of the data packet group, and the scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods, wherein the sending rate indicated by the scheduling policy corresponding to the time period later in time is higher than the sending rate indicated by the scheduling policy corresponding to the time period earlier in time, and the RAN sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policy of the data packet group, including: the RAN sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods. Based on this method, the sending rate of the data packets at the later time position of the sending time window of the data packet group can be accelerated, so that a data packet group can be sent within a time window, which helps to avoid the packet loss problem. For example, the transmission time window of the data packet group is divided into two time periods, wherein the modulation and coding scheme (MCS)-16 is used in the earlier time period, and MSC-24 is used in the later time period. Based on this implementation method, the above-mentioned problem 1) can be solved, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0197] As an implementation method, when the RAN sends a data packet group to the terminal device, when the second characteristic information received by the RAN includes the transmission time window of the data packet group, when the initial transmission of the first data packet of the data packet group fails, the RAN determines the remaining transmission time of the data packet group according to the transmission time window of the data packet group, and when the retransmission time of the first data packet is greater than the remaining transmission time of the data packet group, the RAN discards the first data packet. Based on this implementation method, the above-mentioned problem 2) can be solved, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0198] As an implementation method, when the RAN sends a data packet group to the terminal device, it can also schedule the transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval. For example, the RAN can predetermine the sending time and subcarrier of the data packet group, and then send the data packet group to the terminal device according to the sending time of the data packet group and the subcarrier used to send the data packet group. For example, the RAN can receive channel state information (CSI) from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, and then determine the sending time of the data packet group and the subcarrier used to send the data packet group according to the state information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI. For example, the second characteristic information received by the RAN includes the pulse peak rate and pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, then the RAN can determine the quality requirements and capacity requirements of the subcarrier for sending the data packet group according to the state information, pulse peak rate and pulse interval of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, and then determine the sending time of the data packet group and the subcarrier used to send the data packet group according to the quality requirements and capacity requirements of the subcarrier for sending the data packet group.

[0199] Among them, the method by which the RAN can receive the CSI from the terminal device according to the packet group sending interval includes but is not limited to the following methods 1 to 3.

[0200] Method 1: RAN sends configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information includes indication information and data packet group sending interval, the indication information is used to indicate that the period of reporting CSI by the terminal device is the same as the data packet group sending interval; RAN receives CSI from the terminal device.

[0201] That is, the RAN instructs the terminal device to periodically report CSI to the RAN, and the period of reporting CSI is equal to the data packet group sending interval.

[0202] Method 2: RAN sends configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information includes indication information and data packet group sending interval, the indication information is used to indicate that the period of the terminal device reporting CSI is the same as the data packet group sending interval and to indicate that the terminal device reports CSI in the first period before the data packet group arrives; RAN receives CSI from the terminal device.

[0203] That is, the RAN instructs the terminal device to periodically report CSI to the RAN, and the period of reporting CSI is equal to the interval of sending data packet groups. And each time the terminal device reports CSI, it is in advance of the first time length before receiving the data packet group from the RAN. Therefore, the RAN can determine the sending timing and subcarrier occupied by the next data packet group to be sent based on the received CSI.

[0204] Method three: RAN determines the arrival time of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval; RAN sends downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device in the second time before the arrival of the data packet group, which is used to instruct the terminal device to report CSI; RAN receives CSI from the terminal device.

[0205] That is, at the second time duration before receiving a data packet group from the UPF, the RAN sends a DCI to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to report the CSI, so that the RAN can determine the sending timing and subcarriers occupied by the next data packet group to be sent based on the received CSI.

[0206] Based on the above embodiments, the data packet group of the service data flow can be identified based on the characteristic information of the service data flow obtained in advance, or the service data flow can be sent according to the characteristic information of the service data flow, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the service data flow. Furthermore, UPF can also add the same data packet group identifier in the data packets of the same data packet group, and can also implement traffic shaping, reducing the pressure of high-speed services on network transmission, thereby further achieving data transmission efficiency. Furthermore, RAN can implement different scheduling strategies for different time periods of the same sending time window to ensure that a data packet group can be sent within a sending time window, ensuring the reliable transmission of the service data flow.

[0207] As an example, the above Figure 5 The illustrated embodiment is described.

[0208] like Figure 8 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the application. The method provides a configuration process of service data flow information. Specifically, the AF provides the service data flow information to the network through the NEF. The service data flow information includes at least one of the identification of the application, the identification information of the service data flow, the QoS requirement of the service data flow, or the characteristic information of the service data flow. For specific instructions, refer to the above description.

[0209] The method comprises the following steps:

[0210] Step 801: AF sends a first request to NEF. Accordingly, NEF may receive the first request.

[0211] The first request carries newly added service data flow information or updated service data flow information.

[0212] In one implementation method, when the AF prepares to add new service data flow information, the AF sends a first request to the NEF. The first request may be a service data flow creation request, such as a PFDManagement_CreateRequest. The service data flow creation request carries the newly added service data flow information.

[0213] In another implementation method, when the AF prepares to update the existing service data flow information, the AF sends a first request to the NEF. The first request may be a service data flow update request, such as a PFDManagement_UpdateRequest. The service data flow update request carries the updated service data flow information.

[0214] Step 802: The NEF updates the service data flow information stored on the NEF.

[0215] For example, NEF first determines whether to allow the first request, and if so, updates the service data flow information stored on NEF. For example, if the first request carries newly added service data flow information, NEF updates the service data flow information stored on NEF according to the newly added service data flow information. For another example, if the first request carries updated service data flow information, NEF updates the service data flow information stored on NEF according to the updated service data flow information.

[0216] Step 803: NEF sends a first response to AF. Accordingly, AF can receive the first response.

[0217] The first response is used to notify AF that the request processing is successful.

[0218] Of course, if in the above step 802, the NEF determines that the first request is not allowed, or the NEF fails to update the service data flow information, the first response is used to notify the AF of the request processing failure.

[0219] The first response may specifically be a service data flow creation response or a service data flow update response.

[0220] Step 804: NEF sends a second request to UDR. Accordingly, UDR may receive the second request.

[0221] The second request carries newly added business data flow information or updated business data flow information.

[0222] In one implementation method, when the NEF is preparing to add new service data flow information, the NEF sends a second request to the UDR. The second request may be a data management create request (DM_Create Request), and the data management create request carries the newly added service data flow information.

[0223] In another implementation method, when the NEF is preparing to update the existing service data flow information, the NEF sends a second request to the UDR. The second request may be a data management update request (DM_Update Request), and the data management update request carries the updated service data flow information.

[0224] Step 805: The UDR updates the service data flow information stored on the UDR.

[0225] For example, if the second request carries newly added business data flow information, the UDR updates the business data flow information stored on the UDR according to the newly added business data flow information. For another example, if the second request carries updated business data flow information, the UDR updates the business data flow information stored on the UDR according to the updated business data flow information.

[0226] Step 806: The UDR sends a second response to the NEF. Accordingly, the NEF may receive the second response.

[0227] The second response is used to notify the NEF that the request processing is successful.

[0228] Of course, if the UDR fails to update the service data flow information in the above step 805, the second response is used to notify the NEF that the request processing fails.

[0229] The second response may specifically be a data management create response (DM_Create Response) or a data management update response (DM_Update Response).

[0230] Step 807: SMF determines that it needs to obtain service data flow information.

[0231] For example, a timer is set on the SMF, and the SMF is triggered to obtain business data flow information every time the set duration is reached.

[0232] Among them, the SMF determines that the business data flow information needs to be obtained, which may be determining that newly added business data flow information needs to be obtained, or determining that updated business data flow information needs to be obtained.

[0233] Step 808: SMF sends a third request to NEF. Accordingly, NEF may receive the third request.

[0234] The third request is used to request to obtain service data flow information.

[0235] For example, the third request may be a PFDManagement_Fetch Request.

[0236] Step 809: NEF sends a third response to SMF. Accordingly, SMF can receive the third response.

[0237] The third response carries newly added business data flow information or updated business data flow information.

[0238] For example, the third response may be a PFDManagement_Fetch Response.

[0239] After receiving the newly added business data flow information or the updated business data flow information, the SMF saves the newly added business data flow information or the updated business data flow information on the SMF.

[0240] The above steps 807 to 809 are for the SMF to actively request the NEF to obtain the service data flow information. As another implementation method, the NEF may actively report the newly added service data flow information or the updated service data flow information to the SMF after receiving the newly added service data flow information or the updated service data flow information. Alternatively, as another implementation method, the SMF may actively request the UDR to obtain the service data flow information.

[0241] Step 810: SMF sends a fourth request to UPF. Accordingly, UPF may receive the fourth request.

[0242] The fourth request carries identification information of a newly added service data flow or identification information of an updated service data flow.

[0243] For example, the fourth request may be a PFDManagement Request.

[0244] UPF can perform data flow detection according to the identification information of the newly added business data flow or the identification information of the updated business data flow to identify the new business data flow.

[0245] In the above embodiment, the AF provides newly added service data flow information or updated service data flow information and updates it to the NEF, UDR and SMF in the network. In a specific implementation, it may be updated only to one or more network elements in the NEF, UDR, SMF in the network, or it may also be updated to other network elements in the network, such as AMF, PCF, etc.

[0246] Furthermore, the identification information of the business data flow in the business data flow information is updated to the UPF, so that the UPF can start detecting new business data flows.

[0247] Based on the above embodiments, the network can obtain and configure the specified service data flow information, so that the corresponding service data flow can be detected, and the data flow can be subsequently transmitted based on the service data flow information. However, the prior art does not support providing the service data flow information to the network.

[0248] like Fig. 9 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the application. The method provides a configuration process of characteristic information of a service data flow.

[0249] The method comprises the following steps:

[0250] Step 901: The application in the terminal device establishes a service data flow connection with the AF.

[0251] The IP triplet or URL of the service data flow is consistent with the IP triplet or URL in the service data flow information pre-provided by the AF to the network. Figure 8 The method of the embodiment provides the network with service data flow information, then the IP triplet or URL of the service data flow of step 901 is Figure 8 The IP triplet or URL in the service data flow information of the embodiment remains consistent.

[0252] Step 902, UPF performs packet detection according to the configured packet detection rules. When a service data flow corresponding to a specified service is detected, an event report is sent to PCF. The event report carries a detected packet flow description (Packet Flow Description, PFD) identifier.

[0253] For example, if the service data flow information corresponding to the service is pre-configured on the UPF (for example, through Figure 8 (configured in step 810 of the embodiment), the UPF can use the IP triplet or URL in the business data flow information as a parameter of the packet detection rule to perform packet detection.

[0254] Step 903: PCF sends Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules to SMF. Accordingly, SMF can receive the PCC rules.

[0255] PCF can first obtain service data flow information from network elements such as UDR or SMF, and then generate PCC rules based on the service data flow information. When the service adopts multi-data stream transmission, PCF provides a PCC rule for each service data flow, and then PCF sends the PCC rule to SMF. Each PCC rule includes the application identification, the identification information of the service data flow, the characteristic information of the service data flow and the shaping strategy of the service data flow, wherein the shaping strategy includes the maximum pulse peak rate or the maximum service data flow rate.

[0256] As an implementation method, in this step, the PCF may send an SMF initiated SM_PolicyAssociation Modefication Request to the SMF, which carries the PCC rules.

[0257] Step 904: SMF sends configuration information of at least one service data flow to UPF. Accordingly, UPF can receive configuration information of at least one service data flow.

[0258] Each service data flow corresponds to a configuration information, which includes the identification of the application, the identification information of the service data flow, the characteristic information of the service data flow, and the shaping strategy of the service data flow. It should be noted that the characteristic information of the service data flow can also be referred to as the first characteristic information of the service data flow. The content contained in the first characteristic information of the service data flow can be referred to as Figure 5 The relevant description of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0259] SMF can send the configuration information of multiple data flows to UPF through N4 messages (such as N4 PDU Establishment Modification Request or N4 PDU Session Modification Request).

[0260] Among them, the specific implementation method of UPF identifying the service data flow or shaping the service data flow according to the first characteristic information of the service data flow can be referred to Figure 5 The relevant description of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0261] Step 905: SMF sends configuration information of at least one service data flow to RAN via AMF. Accordingly, RAN can receive configuration information of at least one service data flow.

[0262] Each service data flow corresponds to a configuration information, and the configuration information includes the identification of the application, the identification information of the service data flow, and the characteristic information of the service data flow. It should be noted that the characteristic information of the service data flow can also be referred to as the second characteristic information of the service data flow. The content contained in the second characteristic information of the service data flow can be referred to as Figure 5 The relevant description of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0263] The specific implementation method of RAN identifying or sending the service data flow according to the second characteristic information of the service data flow can be referred to Figure 5 The relevant description of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0264] Based on the above embodiments, after the application in the terminal device establishes a service data flow connection with the AF, the configuration information of the service data flow can be sent to the RAN and UPF, and the RAN and UPF schedule and control the transmission of the service data flow according to the configuration information, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the service data flow.

[0265] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the present application from the perspective of the interaction between various network elements. It can be understood that in order to realize the above functions, the above-mentioned network elements include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of various functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this document, the present invention can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present invention.

[0266] It can be understood that, in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the steps or operations implemented by the access network device can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) configured in the access network device, and the steps or operations implemented by the user plane network element can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) configured in the user plane network element.

[0267] refer to Fig.10 , is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device is used to implement the above Figure 5 , Figure 8 ,or Fig. 9 The steps performed by the corresponding user plane network element in the embodiment are as follows: Fig.10 As shown, the device 1000 includes a sending unit 1010, a receiving unit 1020 and an identification unit 1030. Optionally, the device 1000 also includes an adding unit 1040 and a shaping unit 1050.

[0268] The receiving unit 1020 is used to receive characteristic information of a business data stream, wherein the characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the business data stream; the identifying unit 1030 is used to identify a data packet group in the business data stream based on the characteristic information of the business data stream; and the sending unit 1010 is used to send the data packet group to an access network device.

[0269] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes the first packet data characteristics and the last packet data characteristics of the data packet group; the identification unit 1030 is specifically used to identify the first packet of the data packet group according to the first packet data characteristics; and identify the last packet of the data packet group according to the last packet data characteristics.

[0270] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the business data flow; the identification unit 1030 is specifically used to identify the data packet group of the business data flow according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0271] In a possible implementation method, the adding unit 1040 is configured to add the same data packet group identifier to each data packet in the data packet group.

[0272] In a possible implementation method, the shaping unit 1050 is used to perform scheduling processing on the array packet group according to the characteristic information.

[0273] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, wherein the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; the shaping unit 1050 is specifically used to reduce the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, so that the reduced pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group does not exceed a preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate, wherein the maximum pulse peak rate is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single business data stream, or the aggregated maximum pulse peak rate of multiple business data streams.

[0274] In a possible implementation method, the receiving unit 1020 is further configured to receive the maximum pulse peak rate from a session management network element.

[0275] In a possible implementation method, the feature information comes from an application server; or, the feature information comes from a database, and the feature information in the database comes from the application server; or, the feature information comes from a session management network element, and the feature information in the session management network element comes from the application server.

[0276] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a storage unit for storing data or instructions (also referred to as code or program), and each of the above units may interact or couple with the storage unit to implement the corresponding method or function. For example, the identification unit 1030, the adding unit 1040, and the shaping unit 1050 may read the data or instructions in the storage unit so that the communication device implements the method in the above embodiment.

[0277] It should be understood that the division of the units in the above device is only a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. And the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; they can also be all implemented in the form of hardware; some units can also be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated in a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, and called and executed by a certain processing element of the device. The function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through a processing element.

[0278] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), or one or more digital singnal processors (DSP), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0279] The above sending unit 1010 is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit 1010 is an interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices. The above receiving unit 1020 is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit 1020 is an interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices.

[0280] refer to Fig.11 , is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device is used to implement the above Figure 5 , Figure 8 or Fig. 9 The steps performed by the corresponding access network device in the embodiment are as follows: Fig.11 As shown, the apparatus 1100 includes a sending unit 1110, a receiving unit 1120 and an identifying unit 1130. Optionally, the apparatus 1100 further includes a determining unit 1140.

[0281] The receiving unit 1120 is used to receive characteristic information of a service data flow, wherein the characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; and to receive the service data flow from a user-plane network element; the identifying unit 1130 is used to identify a data packet group of the service data flow; and the sending unit 1110 is used to send the data packet group according to the characteristic information.

[0282] In a possible implementation method, the identification unit 1130 is specifically used to: determine that the data packets carrying the same data packet group identifier in the business data flow belong to the same data packet group; or, the characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups in the business data flow; identify the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0283] In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 1110 is configured to determine a scheduling policy for the data packet group according to the characteristic information; and send the data packet group according to the scheduling policy for the data packet group.

[0284] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a sending time window of the data packet group, and the sending time window of the data packet group is used to indicate the maximum sending duration of sending the data packet group; the sending unit 1110 is specifically used to determine multiple time periods corresponding to the sending time window of the data packet group, and the scheduling strategies corresponding to the multiple time periods, wherein the sending rate indicated by the scheduling strategy corresponding to the time period later in time is higher than the sending rate indicated by the scheduling strategy corresponding to the time period earlier in time; and the data packet group is sent according to the scheduling strategies corresponding to the multiple time periods.

[0285] In a possible implementation method, the determination unit 1140 is configured to schedule transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

[0286] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data stream; the receiving unit 1120 is also used to receive channel state information CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval; the determination unit 1140 is used to schedule the transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval, specifically including: determining the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group according to the state information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI; the sending unit 1110 is used to send the data packet group according to the characteristic information, specifically including: sending the data packet group according to the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group.

[0287] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information also includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; the determination unit 1140 is specifically used to determine the quality requirements and capacity requirements for subcarriers for sending the data packet group based on the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval; and determine the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarriers used to send the data packet group based on the quality requirements and capacity requirements for subcarriers for sending the data packet group.

[0288] In a possible implementation method, the sending unit 1110 is also used to send configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information includes indication information and the data packet group sending interval, the indication information is used to indicate that the period of reporting CSI by the terminal device is the same as the data packet group sending interval; the receiving unit 1120 is used to receive the CSI from the terminal device.

[0289] In a possible implementation method, the indication information is also used to instruct the terminal device to report CSI within a first period of time before the data packet group arrives.

[0290] In a possible implementation method, the determination unit 1140 is further used to determine the arrival time of the data packet group based on the data packet group sending interval; the sending unit 1110 is further used to send downlink control information DCI to the terminal device at a second time before the arrival of the data packet group, so as to instruct the terminal device to report CSI; the receiving unit 1120 is used to receive the CSI from the terminal device.

[0291] In a possible implementation method, the characteristic information includes a sending time window of the data packet group, and the sending time window of the data packet group is used to indicate the maximum sending duration of sending the data packet group; a sending unit 1110 is used to send the data packet group according to the characteristic information, and is specifically used to: when the initial transmission of the first data packet of the data packet group fails, determine the remaining sending time of the data packet group according to the sending time window of the data packet group; when the retransmission time of the first data packet is greater than the remaining sending time of the data packet group, discard the first data packet.

[0292] In a possible implementation method, the feature information comes from an application server; or, the feature information comes from a database, and the feature information in the database comes from the application server; or, the feature information comes from a session management network element, and the feature information in the session management network element comes from the application server.

[0293] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a storage unit for storing data or instructions (also referred to as codes or programs), and the above-mentioned units may interact or couple with the storage unit to implement corresponding methods or functions.

[0294] It should be understood that the division of the units in the above device is only a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. And the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; they can also be all implemented in the form of hardware; some units can also be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated in a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, and called and executed by a certain processing element of the device. The function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through a processing element.

[0295] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system on a chip (SOC).

[0296] The above sending unit 1110 is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit 1110 is an interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices. The above receiving unit 1120 is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit 1120 is an interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices.

[0297] refer to Fig.12 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The access network device is used to implement the operation of the access network device in the above embodiment. Fig.12As shown, the access network device includes: an antenna 1210, a radio frequency device 1220, and a baseband device 1230. The antenna 1210 is connected to the radio frequency device 1220. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 1220 receives information sent by the terminal device through the antenna 1210, and sends the information sent by the terminal device to the baseband device 1230 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 1230 processes the information of the terminal device and sends it to the radio frequency device 1220, and the radio frequency device 1220 processes the information of the terminal device and sends it to the terminal device through the antenna 1210.

[0298] The baseband device 1230 may include one or more processing elements 1231, for example, including a main control CPU and other integrated circuits, and also includes an interface 1233. In addition, the baseband device 1230 may also include a storage element 1232, which is used to store programs and data; the interface 1233 is used to interact with the radio frequency device 1220. The interface is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI). The above device for access network equipment can be located in the baseband device 1230. For example, the above device for access network equipment can be a chip on the baseband device 1230, and the chip includes at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein the processing element is used to execute each step of any method executed by the above access network device, and the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit for implementing each step in the above method by the access network device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduling program. For example, the device for access network equipment includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls the program stored in the storage element to execute the method executed by the access network device in the above method embodiment. The storage element may be a storage element on the same chip as the processing element, ie, an on-chip storage element, or may be a storage element on a different chip from the processing element, ie, an off-chip storage element.

[0299] In another implementation, the unit of the access network device implementing each step in the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, which are arranged on the baseband device. The processing elements here may be integrated circuits, such as one or more ASICs, or one or more DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0300] The units of the access network device implementing the various steps in the above method can be integrated together and implemented in the form of SOC. For example, the baseband device includes the SOC chip to implement the above method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls the stored program of the storage element to implement the method executed by the above access network device; or, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the method executed by the above access network device; or, the above implementation methods can be combined, and the functions of some units can be implemented in the form of a processing element calling a program, and the functions of some units can be implemented in the form of an integrated circuit.

[0301] It can be seen that the above apparatus for access network equipment may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein at least one processing element is used to execute any one of the methods performed by the access network equipment provided in the above method embodiments. The processing element may execute part or all of the steps performed by the access network equipment in a first manner: that is, by calling a program stored in a storage element; or in a second manner: that is, by combining an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element with instructions to execute part or all of the steps performed by the access network equipment; of course, the first manner and the second manner may also be combined to execute part or all of the steps performed by the above access network equipment.

[0302] The processing element here is the same as described above, and can be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. The storage element can be a memory, or a general term for multiple storage elements.

[0303] refer to Fig.13 , is a schematic diagram of a user plane network element provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is used to implement the operation of the user plane network element in the above embodiment. Fig.13 As shown, the user plane network element includes: a processor 1310 and an interface 1330. Optionally, the user plane network element also includes a memory 1320. The interface 1330 is used to implement communication with other devices.

[0304] The method executed by the user plane network element in the above embodiment can be implemented by the processor 1310 calling a program stored in a memory (which can be the memory 1320 in the user plane network element or an external memory). That is, the user plane network element may include a processor 1310, and the processor 1310 executes the method executed by the user plane network element in the above method embodiment by calling the program in the memory. The processor here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capability, such as a CPU. The user plane network element can be implemented by configuring one or more integrated circuits to implement the above method. For example: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the above implementation method can be combined.

[0305] Specifically, Fig.10 The functions / implementation processes of the sending unit 1010, the receiving unit 1020, the identifying unit 1030, the adding unit 1040 and the shaping unit 1050 can be realized by Fig.13 The processor 1310 in the user plane network element 1300 shown calls the computer executable instructions stored in the memory 1320 to implement. Or, Fig.10 The functions / implementation processes of the identification unit 1030, the adding unit 1040 and the shaping unit 1050 can be realized by Fig.13 The processor 1310 in the user plane network element 1300 shown calls the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1320 to implement, Fig.10 The functions / implementation processes of the sending unit 1010 and the receiving unit 1020 in the embodiment can be realized by Fig.13 It is implemented by the interface 1330 in the user plane network element 1300 shown in FIG.

[0306] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various digital numbers such as the first and second involved in this application are only for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application, and also represent the order of precedence. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one" refers to one or more. At least two refers to two or more. "At least one", "any one" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items (individuals) or plural items (individuals). For example, at least one item (individuals, kinds) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. "Multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0307] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0308] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0309] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0310] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or operated by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or the design of any combination of the above functions. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, and optionally, the general-purpose processor can also be any traditional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration to implement.

[0311] The steps of the method or algorithm described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in the software unit executed by the hardware, processor or the combination of the two. The software unit can be stored in a random access memory (RandomAccess Memory, RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, register, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM or other storage media of any form in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and can write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be arranged in an ASIC.

[0312] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0313] In one or more exemplary designs, the above functions described in this application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of the three. If implemented in software, these functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or transmitted in the form of one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media that facilitate the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by any general or special computer. For example, such computer-readable media can include but are not limited to RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and other forms that can be read by general or special computers, or general or special processors. In addition, any connection can be appropriately defined as a computer-readable medium, for example, if the software is transmitted from a website site, server or other remote resource through a coaxial cable, fiber optic computer, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wirelessly, such as infrared, wireless and microwave, it is also included in the defined computer-readable medium. The disk and disc include compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blue-ray disc. Disks usually copy data magnetically, while discs usually copy data optically with lasers. The above combinations can also be included in computer readable media.

[0314] Those skilled in the art should be aware that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in this application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any media that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that a general or special-purpose computer can access.

[0315] The specific implementation methods described above further describe the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application in detail. It should be understood that the above description is only the specific implementation methods of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. The above description of the specification of the present application can make any technical field in the art use or implement the content of the present application. Any modification based on the disclosed content should be considered obvious in the art. The basic principles described in the present application can be applied to other variations without departing from the inventive essence and scope of the present application. Therefore, the content disclosed in the present application is not limited to the described embodiments and designs, but can also be extended to the maximum scope consistent with the principles of the present application and the disclosed new features.

[0316] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to have covered any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, a person skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The user plane network element receives characteristic information of the service data flow, where the characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; The user plane network element identifies a data packet group in the service data flow according to the characteristic information of the service data flow; The user plane network element sends the data packet group to the access network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The characteristic information includes the first packet data characteristic and the last packet data characteristic of the data packet group; The user plane network element identifies a data packet group in the service data flow according to the characteristic information of the service data flow, including: The user plane network element identifies the first packet of the data packet group according to the data feature of the first packet; The user plane network element identifies the tail packet of the data packet group according to the tail packet data feature.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; The user plane network element identifies a data packet group in the service data flow according to the characteristic information of the service data flow, including: The user plane network element identifies the data packet group of the service data flow according to the data packet group sending interval.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Also includes: The user plane network element adds the same data packet group identifier to each data packet in the data packet group.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Also includes: The user plane network element performs scheduling processing on the array packet group according to the characteristic information.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The characteristic information includes the pulse peak rate and pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, and the pulse interval is the sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; The user plane network element performs scheduling processing of the array packet group according to the characteristic information, including: The user-side network element reduces the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group according to the pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group and the pulse interval, so that the reduced pulse peak rate corresponding to the data packet group does not exceed the preconfigured maximum pulse peak rate, and the maximum pulse peak rate is the maximum pulse peak rate of a single service data flow, or the aggregated maximum pulse peak rate of multiple service data flows.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that Also includes: The user plane network element receives the maximum pulse peak rate from a session management network element.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The characteristic information comes from the application server; or, The feature information comes from a database, and the feature information in the database comes from an application server; or, The characteristic information comes from a session management network element, and the characteristic information in the session management network element comes from an application server.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The access network device receives characteristic information of the service data flow, where the characteristic information is used to describe the characteristics of the service data flow; The access network device receives the service data flow from the user plane network element; The access network device identifies a data packet group of the service data flow; The access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The access network device identifies the data packet group of the service data flow, including: The access network device determines that the data packets in the service data flow carrying the same data packet group identifier belong to the same data packet group; or, The characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; the access network device identifies the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information, including: The access network device determines, according to the characteristic information, a scheduling strategy for the data packet group; The access network device sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policy of the data packet group.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The characteristic information includes a sending time window of the data packet group, and the sending time window of the data packet group is used to indicate a maximum sending duration of sending the data packet group; The access network device determines, according to the characteristic information, a scheduling strategy for the data packet group, including: The access network device determines a plurality of time periods corresponding to a sending time window of the data packet group, and the scheduling policies respectively corresponding to the plurality of time periods, wherein a sending rate indicated by a scheduling policy corresponding to a time period later in time is higher than a sending rate indicated by a scheduling policy corresponding to a time period earlier in time; The access network device sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policy of the data packet group, including: The access network device sends the data packet group according to the scheduling policies corresponding to the multiple time periods respectively.

13. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The characteristic information includes a data packet group sending interval, and the data packet group sending interval is used to indicate the sending time interval between two adjacent data packet groups of the service data flow; The method further comprises: The access network device schedules transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The access network device schedules transmission resources of the data packet group according to the data packet group sending interval, including: The access network device receives channel state information CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval; The access network device determines, according to the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, a sending timing of the data packet group and a subcarrier used to send the data packet group; The access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information, including: The access network device sends the data packet group according to the sending timing of the data packet group and the subcarrier used to send the data packet group.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The characteristic information also includes a pulse peak rate and a pulse interval corresponding to the data packet group, wherein the pulse interval is a sending time interval between two adjacent pulses corresponding to the data packet group; The access network device determines, according to the state information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, a sending timing of the data packet group and a subcarrier used to send the data packet group, including: The access network device determines, according to the status information of one or more subcarriers indicated by the CSI, the pulse peak rate and the pulse interval, the quality requirement and capacity requirement of the subcarrier for sending the data packet group; The access network device determines the sending time of the data packet group and the subcarrier used to send the data packet group according to the quality requirement and capacity requirement of the subcarrier for sending the data packet group.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The access network device receives CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, including: The access network device sends configuration information to the terminal device, where the configuration information includes indication information and the data packet group sending interval, where the indication information is used to indicate that a period for the terminal device to report CSI is the same as the data packet group sending interval; The access network device receives the CSI from the terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The indication information is also used to instruct the terminal device to report CSI within a first period of time before the data packet group arrives.

18. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The access network device receives CSI from the terminal device according to the data packet group sending interval, including: The access network device determines the arrival time of the data packet group according to the sending interval of the data packet group; The access network device sends downlink control information DCI to the terminal device during a second time period before the data packet group arrives, for instructing the terminal device to report CSI; The access network device receives the CSI from the terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The characteristic information includes a sending time window of the data packet group, and the sending time window of the data packet group is used to indicate a maximum sending duration of sending the data packet group; The access network device sends the data packet group according to the characteristic information, including: When the initial transmission of the first data packet of the data packet group fails, the access network device determines the remaining transmission time of the data packet group according to the transmission time window of the data packet group; When the retransmission time of the first data packet is greater than the remaining sending time of the data packet group, the access network device discards the first data packet.

20. A user plane network element, characterized in that: include: Processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer-executable instructions. When the user-plane network element is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory so that the user-plane network element executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

21. An access network device, characterized in that: include: Processor and memory; The memory is used to store computer execution instructions. When the access network device is running, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory so that the access network device executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 9-19.

22. A processing device, characterized in that: include: Memory for storing computer programs; A processor, configured to call and run the computer program from the memory to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

23. A chip system, characterized in that: include: Memory for storing computer programs; A processor, used to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that a device equipped with the chip system executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 19.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The invention comprises a computer program which, when being executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a user plane network element for executing the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-8, and an access network device for executing the communication method as described in any one of claims 9-19.

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