Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, and the method comprises the steps: receiving at least one data package of a first service, the at least one data package comprises a first data package, and the first data package is located at a first position in the at least one data package; and sending the at least one data packet and first indication information to first network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the first position. According to the application, the first indication information is sent to the first network equipment, so that the first network equipment can determine the progress information of the currently processed first service according to the first position indicated by the first indication information; therefore, the first network equipment can perform processing related to the first business more accurately and effectively according to the progress information of the first business, business services are better provided for users, and the user experience is improved.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 201980102701.7, and the original application date is December 11, 2019. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] At present, wireless communication systems have been widely used in people's daily lives. Specifically, wireless communication systems can provide users with various services such as telephone, voice, video, data, and sending and receiving, so that users can handle all matters in daily life, work, and study without leaving home, which greatly improves the convenience of users in handling matters and also improves the user experience.

[0004] The wireless communication system includes at least one core network device and at least one base station. The user's terminal device can be connected to the wireless communication system by accessing the base station, so that the user can process the service through the terminal device and the wireless communication system. The wireless communication system's related processing of the service may include, for example: when the user's terminal device processes a certain service, the core network device sends the service data packet to the base station, and the base station sends the received service data packet to the user's terminal device, so that the user's terminal device processes the service according to the service data packet; in the scenario where the wireless communication system includes multiple base stations, when the user's location or communication quality changes, the base station to which the user's terminal device is connected needs to switch from the source base station to the target base station. After the switch is completed, the target base station needs to continue to process the services related to the terminal device.

[0005] However, during the operation of the wireless communication system, since the base station cannot detect the progress information of the services it supports, the base station cannot accurately perform processing related to the services it supports, and thus cannot provide good business services to users, affecting user experience. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and device to solve the problem that a base station cannot accurately perform processing related to the services it supports due to its inability to detect progress information of the services it supports, thereby failing to provide good business services to users and affecting user experience.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising:

[0008] Receive at least one data packet of a first service, wherein the at least one data packet includes a first data packet, and the first data packet is located at a first position in the at least one data packet; send the at least one data packet and first indication information to a first network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the first position.

[0009] The first network device may be a source network device or a target network device.

[0010] By sending first indication information to the first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the first service, the first network device can determine the progress information of the first service currently being processed according to the first position indicated by the first indication information, thereby facilitating the first network device to more accurately and effectively perform processing related to the first service according to the progress information of the first service, thereby better providing service services to users and improving user experience.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a serial number of the first data packet, where the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the Universal Radio Packet Service Tunneling Protocol-User Plane sequence number of the first data packet is determined according to the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is a difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and a sequence number corresponding to the first position.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the sequence number of the first data packet is a universal radio packet service tunneling protocol-user plane sequence number of the first data packet.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet; or, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of a preset data packet.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, sending the first indication information to the first network device includes:

[0017] The first indication information is sent to the first network device at a first moment, where the first moment is one of multiple moments configured periodically, and the duration between two adjacent moments in the multiple moments is a set duration; or, after sending N of the data packets to the first network device, the first indication information is sent to the first network device, where N≥0 and N is an integer.

[0018] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: receiving at least one data packet of a first service from a core network device and first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet, and the at least one data packet contains the first data packet.

[0019] By receiving the first indication information sent by the core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the first service, the first network device can determine the progress information of the first service currently being processed according to the first position indicated by the first indication information, thereby facilitating the first network device to more accurately and effectively perform processing related to the first service according to the progress information of the first service, thereby better providing business services to users and improving user experience.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a serial number of the first data packet, where the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is a difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and a sequence number corresponding to the first position.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, the sequence number of the first data packet is a universal radio packet service tunneling protocol-user plane sequence number of the first data packet.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet; or, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of a preset data packet.

[0024] In one possible implementation, after receiving at least one data packet and first indication information from a core network device, it also includes: sending second indication information to a second network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate a second sequence number, and the second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device; and / or, receiving third indication information sent by the second network device, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate a third sequence number, and the third sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device.

[0025] By sending the second indication information to the second network device, the second network device can determine the current progress of the first service supported by the first network device based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device represented by the second indication information, thereby enabling the second network device to more accurately and effectively perform processing related to the first service supported by the first network device based on the current progress of the first service supported by the first network device.

[0026] By receiving the third indication information sent by the second network device, the first network device can determine the current progress of the first service supported by the second network device based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device represented by the third indication information, thereby enabling the first network device to more accurately and effectively perform processing related to the first service supported by the second network device based on the current progress of the first service supported by the second network device.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first network device serves as a source network device, the second network device serves as a target network device, and the second indication information is further used to indicate information of the first service, where the information of the first service includes at least one of the following:

[0028] The identification information of the first service; the type of the first service; the packet data unit session identification information of the first service; the packet data unit session type of the first service; the data radio bearer identification information of the first service; the third indication information is also used to indicate whether the second network device supports the first service.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the second serial number corresponds to the first service; and / or the third serial number corresponds to the first service.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, after receiving the third indication information sent by the second network device, the method further includes: determining a third data packet according to the third indication information; and sending the third data packet to the second network device.

[0031] In a possible implementation, when the first network device serves as a target network device and the second network device serves as a source network device, after sending the second indication information to the second network device, the method further includes: determining a fourth data packet according to the third indication information; and caching the fourth data packet.

[0032] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a first receiving module, used to receive at least one data packet of a first service, the at least one data packet including a first data packet, and the first data packet is located at a first position in the at least one data packet; a sending module, used to send the at least one data packet and first indication information to a first network device, the first indication information being used to indicate the first position.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a serial number of the first data packet, where the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner, the sending module is further used to: determine a Universal Radio Packet Service Tunneling Protocol-User Plane sequence number of the first data packet according to the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is a difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and a sequence number corresponding to the first position.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner, the sequence number of the first data packet is a universal radio packet service tunneling protocol-user plane sequence number of the first data packet.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet; or, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of a preset data packet.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the sending module includes a sending unit for sending the first indication information to the first network device, wherein: the sending unit is specifically used to send the first indication information to the first network device at a first moment, the first moment is one of multiple moments configured periodically, and the duration between two adjacent moments in the multiple moments is a set duration; or, the sending unit is specifically used to send the first indication information to the first network device after sending N data packets to the first network device, wherein N≥0 and N is an integer.

[0039] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a second receiving module, used to receive at least one data packet of a first service from a core network device and first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate a first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet, and the at least one data packet containing the first data packet.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a serial number of the first data packet, where the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is a difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and a sequence number corresponding to the first position.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner, the sequence number of the first data packet is a universal radio packet service tunneling protocol-user plane sequence number of the first data packet.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet; or, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of a preset data packet.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the second receiving module is further used to send second indication information to the second network device after receiving at least one data packet and first indication information from the core network device, the second indication information being used to indicate a second sequence number, the second sequence number being the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device; and / or, the second receiving module is further used to receive third indication information sent by the second network device after receiving at least one data packet and first indication information from the core network device, the third indication information being used to indicate a third sequence number, the third sequence number being the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the first network device serves as a source network device, the second network device serves as a target network device, and the second indication information is further used to indicate information of the first service, where the information of the first service includes at least one of the following:

[0046] The identification information of the first service; the type of the first service; the packet data unit session identification information of the first service; the packet data unit session type of the first service; the data radio bearer identification information of the first service; the third indication information is also used to indicate whether the second network device supports the first service.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the second serial number corresponds to the first service; and / or the third serial number corresponds to the first service.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the second receiving module is further configured to, after receiving third indication information sent by the second network device, determine a third data packet according to the third indication information, and send the third data packet to the second network device.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the first network device serves as a target network device, the second network device serves as a source network device, and the second receiving module is further used to determine a fourth data packet according to the third indication information and cache the fourth data packet after sending the second indication information to the second network device.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising: at least one core network device, at least one first network device, wherein: the core network device includes the apparatus described in any one of the third aspects above; the first network device includes the apparatus described in any one of the fourth aspects above. Alternatively, the communication system includes at least one first network device and at least one terminal device, and the first network device includes the apparatus described in any one of the fourth aspects above.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0052] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, is used to execute the method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute any one of the methods described in the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0054] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing computer programs and / or data; a transceiver for receiving and sending information; wherein the processor is configured to call the computer program and / or data stored in the memory so that the communication device implements any one of the methods described in the first to second aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application scenario of the communication method provided in this application;

[0056] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application Figure 1 ;

[0057] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a process of switching a network device connected to a terminal device provided by the present application from a first network device to a second network device;

[0058] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device embodiment provided in this application Figure 1 ;

[0059] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device embodiment provided in this application Figure 2 ;

[0060] Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions in this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0062] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification embodiments, claims, and drawings of the present application are only used for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, including a series of steps or units. The method, system, product, or device is not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0063] It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0064] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an application scenario of the communication method provided in this application. Figure 1 It can be seen that the application scenario includes a core network device 10, network devices 20 and 30, and terminal devices 21-26 and 31-33, wherein the terminal devices 21-26 are connected to the network device 20, and the terminal devices 31-33 are connected to the network device 30.

[0065] In addition, the terminal devices 24 - 26 can form a communication system. Based on this, the network device 20 can send downlink data to the terminal devices 21 - 23 and the terminal device 24 , and the terminal device 24 can send downlink data to the terminal devices 25 and 26 .

[0066] The terminal devices 31 - 33 can send uplink data to the network device 30 , and the network device 30 can send downlink data to the terminal devices 31 - 33 .

[0067] The core network device 10 receives data packets of services sent by the data server or data network of the services. Specifically, for various services, firstly, links or session connections (represented by links in the following description) are established between the core network device 10 and the data servers or data networks of various services, and then the data server or data network of each service sends data packets to the core network device 10 through the corresponding links; the core network device 10 receives data packets of the corresponding services from the corresponding links.

[0068] The core network device 10 sends a data packet of a service to the network device. Specifically, for at least one service and one network device, a link is first established between the core network device 10 and the network device for each service in the at least one service, and then the core network device 10 sends a data packet of the corresponding service to the network device through the link of each service. It should be noted that since the principle of the core network device 10 sending a data packet of at least one service to each network device is the same, the case of at least one service and multiple network devices will not be described here.

[0069] like Figure 1 As shown in , if a data packet of a service is sent to network devices 20 and 30, a first link of the service needs to be established between the core network device 10 and the network device 20, and a second link of the service needs to be established between the core network device 10 and the network device 30. Then, the core network device 10 sends the data packet of the service to the network device 20 through the first link and sends the data packet of the service to the network device 30 through the second link. If both the data packet of the first service and the data packet of the second service are sent to the network device 20, a link of the first service is established between the core network device 10 and the network device 20, and a link of the second service is established between the core network device 10 and the network device 20. Then, the core network device 10 sends the data packet of the first service to the network device 20 through the link of the first service and sends the data packet of the second service to the network device 20 through the link of the second service; if the data packet of the first service is sent to the network device 20 and the data packet of the second service is sent to the network device 30, a link for the first service is established between the core network device 10 and the network device 20, and a link for the second service is established between the core network device 10 and the network device 30, and then, the core network device 10 sends the data packet of the first service to the network device 20 through the link of the first service and sends the data packet of the second service to the network device 30 through the link of the second service.

[0070] The network device can send downlink data to the terminal device, wherein the downlink data includes service data packets. There are two ways for the network device to send downlink data to the terminal device: first, the network device can send downlink data to the terminal device in a unicast manner; second, the network device can send downlink data to the terminal device in a multicast (or groupcast) manner.

[0071] Specifically, if downlink data is sent to a terminal device in unicast mode, when a network device sends a data packet of a certain service to multiple terminal devices, a dedicated bearer or dedicated connection needs to be established between each terminal device and the network device based on the service, so that each terminal device receives the data packet of the service from the network device through the dedicated bearer corresponding to it. If the network device sends data packets of multiple services to the same terminal device, one or more dedicated bearers may need to be established between the terminal device and the network device based on each service.

[0072] If downlink data is sent to terminal devices in a multicast manner, when the network device sends a data packet of a certain service (i.e., downlink data) to at least one terminal device, there is no need to establish a dedicated bearer or connection for each terminal device. At least one terminal device can receive the data packet of the service from the network device through a unified bearer or configuration information.

[0073] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the network device 20 can send downlink data to the terminal devices 21-23 in a unicast manner, the network device 20 can send downlink data to the terminal devices 24 and the terminal device 26 in a unicast manner, the terminal device 24 can send data to the terminal devices 25-26 in a multicast manner or a device to device (Device to Device, D2D) communication manner, and the network device 30 can send downlink data to the terminal devices 31-33 in a multicast manner.

[0074] In addition, terminal devices 21 - 26 can send uplink data to network device 20 , and terminal devices 31 - 33 can send uplink data to network device 30 .

[0075] The services supported by a network device can be determined based on the services being performed by a terminal device connected to the network device. The services supported by a core network device can be determined based on the services supported by the network device connected to the core network device.

[0076] The above-mentioned network equipment may be, for example, a base station or other entity with a transceiver function, which is not specifically limited here. The above-mentioned terminal equipment may be, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, an e-reader, a printer, an intelligent kitchen appliance, an audio system, a vehicle with a transceiver function, etc., which is not specifically limited in this application. The above-mentioned core network equipment may be, for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF), a service management function (SMF), a user port function (UPF), etc., which is not specifically limited here.

[0077] The above services may be multicast services (MBMS) or broadcast services or unicast services, and this application does not specifically limit this. Multicast services or broadcast services are one-to-many communication services. For example, multicast services may be live broadcast services, on-demand services, etc. They may also be services that require one-to-many communication in industrial scenarios, public safety scenarios, or Internet of Vehicles scenarios, such as batch delivery of instructions or batch software updates or one-to-many communications. Unicast services are one-to-one communication services.

[0078] Between network equipment and terminal equipment, MBMS services can be sent to terminal equipment in the form of unicast by establishing a bearer dedicated to the terminal equipment. Specifically, when multiple terminal equipment need to receive a certain MBMS service, if it is sent in the form of unicast, dedicated bearers need to be established for a large number of terminal equipment. Between network equipment and terminal equipment, it can also be sent to terminal equipment in the form of broadcast by establishing a bearer dedicated to MBMS. Specifically, if it is sent to terminal equipment in the form of multicast, it is only necessary to establish a dedicated bearer for MBMS, and all terminal equipment processing the MBMS service can receive the MBMS through the dedicated bearer for MBMS.

[0079] It should be noted that the above-mentioned scenarios and descriptions of the scenarios are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the present application. That is, the present application can also be applied to scenarios where there are more than two network devices and multiple core network devices, as well as to scenarios where multiple network devices collaborate and communicate data with multiple terminal devices.

[0080] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application Figure 1 ,like Figure 2 As shown, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0081] Step 201: A core network device receives at least one data packet of a first service, where the at least one data packet includes a first data packet located at a first position in the at least one data packet.

[0082] In an embodiment of the present application, a data server or data network of the first service sends at least one data packet of the first service to a core network device through a link between the data server or data network of the first service and a core network device, and the core network device receives at least one data packet of the first service. The at least one data packet of the first service includes a first data packet, and the first data packet is located at a first position in at least one data packet of the first service. The number of the first data packets may be one or more, and the position of each first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service is the first position of the corresponding first data packet.

[0083] Specifically, the position of each data packet (including the first data packet) in at least one data packet (including the first data packet) of the first service can be understood as: each data packet in the at least one data packet of the first service is sorted in the order of transmission, and the sorting position of each data packet is the position of the corresponding data packet in at least one data packet of the first service. The first service is any one of the services described above. Since the services have been described in detail above, the first service will not be described here.

[0084] Specifically, the process of a data server or data network of a first service sending at least one data packet of the first service to a core network device may include: selecting a first data packet from at least one data packet of the first service, wherein the number of first data packets may be at least one; sending each data packet (including the selected first data packet) in at least one data packet of the first service to the core network device, or sending each data packet (including the selected first data packet) in at least one data packet of the first service and first information corresponding to each selected first data packet to the core network device, wherein the first information corresponding to the first data packet indicates the order, position or serial number of the first data packet in at least one data packet.

[0085] The method of selecting the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service may include: selecting each data packet in at least one data packet of the first service as the first data packet; or, selecting the Mth data packet in at least one data packet of the first service as the first data packet, and selecting a first data packet every preset number of data packets after the Mth data packet, where M is an integer and greater than or equal to 1; or, selecting the data packets in odd positions in at least one data packet of the first service as the first data packet. It should be noted that the above method of selecting the first data packet is only exemplary and is not used to limit the present invention, that is, the first data packet may also be selected according to other methods.

[0086] The timing of sending the first information corresponding to each first data packet may include: sending the first information corresponding to the first data packet while sending the first data packet; or sending the first information corresponding to the first data packet after each first data packet is sent, etc. This application does not make any special limitation on this.

[0087] The method of sending the first information corresponding to the first data packet may include: sending the first information corresponding to the first data packet as a separate information; or carrying the first information corresponding to the first data packet in the first data packet (for example, the header, payload, etc. of the first data packet) for sending, etc., and the present application does not make any special limitation on this.

[0088] The process in which the data server or data network of the first service sends each data packet (including the selected first data packet) in at least one data packet of the first service to the core network device may include: sending each data packet in at least one data packet of the first service to the core network device in sequence, that is, after one data packet is sent, the next data packet is sent; or, sending a preset number of data packets in at least one data packet of the first service to the core network device at the same time, and after the preset number of data packets are sent, the next preset number of data packets are sent, that is, sending multiple data packets to the core network device at the same time to improve the sending efficiency, wherein the preset number can be set by the standard, and can also be set by the data server or data network of the first service, and the setting method of the preset number is not limited here. It should be noted that the above-mentioned method of sending at least one data packet of the first service to the core network device is only exemplary and is not used to limit the present invention, that is, the data packet of the first service can also be sent to the core network device in other ways.

[0089] It should be noted that the core network device can simultaneously receive at least one data packet of each service in at least one service, that is, the data server or data network of each service in at least one service (it should be noted that different services can also be the same data server or data network) can respectively send at least one data packet of the corresponding service to the core network device; the core network device receives at least one data packet of the corresponding service sent by the data server or data network of each service. Among them, the above-mentioned first service is any one of the at least one service. Since the principle of the data server or data network of each service sending at least one data packet of the corresponding service to the core network device is the same, and the principle of the data server or data network of the first service sending at least one data packet of the first service to the core network device has been described above, therefore, the principle of the data server or data network of other services sending at least one data packet of the corresponding service to the core network device will not be repeated here.

[0090] It should be noted that the above step 201 is an optional step.

[0091] Step 202: The core network device sends the at least one data packet and first indication information to the first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the above-mentioned first position.

[0092] In an embodiment of the present application, the manner in which the core network device sends at least one data packet of the first service to the first network device may include: after the core network device receives at least one data packet of the first service (i.e., after receiving all data packets of the first service), the core network device sends at least one data packet of the first service to the first network device; or after the core network device receives one data packet of at least one data packet of the first service, the core network device sends the received data packet of the first service to the first network device, i.e., the core network device sends the received data packet of the first service to the first network device during the process of receiving the data packet of the first service. It should be noted that the above process is only exemplary and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0093] The method of sending the above-mentioned first indication information to the first network device can be: sending the first indication information to the first network device at a first moment, the first moment is one of multiple moments configured periodically, and the duration between two adjacent moments in the multiple moments is a set duration, and the set duration can be set by the core network device, and can also be set by the data server or data network of the first service. There is no special limitation here. For example, the set duration is 20 milliseconds or 30 milliseconds. In this method, multiple periods with set durations are divided by two adjacent moments among multiple moments configured in a period, and each moment among the multiple moments is used as the starting moment or the ending moment of the corresponding period. Based on this, the first indication information corresponding to the corresponding period can be sent at the starting moment or the ending moment of each period, wherein the first indication information corresponding to each period is used to indicate the first position of any first data packet in the data packets of the first service sent to the first network device in the corresponding period; or, after sending N data packets among at least one data packet of the first service to the first network device, the first indication information is sent to the first network device (which data packet is the first of the N data packets), wherein N≥0, and N is an integer, that is, after sending each N data packets of the first service, the first indication information corresponding to each N data packets of the first service is sent once. Specifically, the first indication information corresponding to each N data packets of the first service is used to indicate the first position or order or sequence number of any first data packet in each N data packets of the first service. If N=1, each time a data packet of the first service is sent to the first network device, the first indication information corresponding to the data packet of the first service that has been sent is sent to the first network device, and the first indication information corresponding to the data packet of the first service that has been sent is used to indicate the first position of the data packet (i.e., the first data packet) that has been sent, that is, each data packet of the first service is used as the first data packet, and then, each time a first data packet is sent to the first network device, the first indication information is sent once, and the first indication information is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet that has been sent; if N=5, each time five data packets of the first service are sent to the first network device, the first indication information corresponding to the five data packets of the first service that have been sent is sent once to the first network device, and the first indication information corresponding to the five data packets of the first service that have been sent is used to indicate the first position of any one of the five data packets of the first service that have been sent. It should be noted that the above method is only exemplary and is not used to limit the present invention, that is, the first indication information can also be sent in other ways.

[0094] In addition, when sending the first data packet of the first service to the first network device, the first indication information corresponding to the first data packet can be sent once, that is, the first data packet of the first service is determined as the first data packet. The first indication information is used to indicate the position of the first data packet of the first service, so as to inform the first network device of the starting position of the first data packet of the first service received. Subsequently, the first indication information can be sent to the first network device according to the above two methods.

[0095] The first indication information may include the following two methods:

[0096] The first indication information includes a serial number of a first data packet, and the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service. That is, each data packet in at least one data packet of the first service can be sorted according to the order of transmission to obtain the serial number of each data packet in at least one data packet of the first service, wherein the serial number of each data packet is used to indicate the position of each data packet in at least one data packet of the first service. Since the first data packet is a data packet in at least one data packet of the first service, and the position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service is the first position, the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service.

[0097] The sequence number of the first data packet may be a sequence number that is independent of any original sequence number in the first data packet. The sequence number of the first data packet may also be any original sequence number in the first data packet. The original sequence number in the first data packet may be, for example, a General Packet Radio Service Tunnel Protocol-User plane (GTP-U) sequence number of the first data packet, etc., which is not specifically limited here. If the sequence number of the first data packet is the GTP-U sequence number of the first data packet, then after the core network device receives at least one data packet of the first service, the GTP-U sequence number of the first data packet is determined according to the first position or order of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service, that is, the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service is indicated by the GTP-U sequence number of the first data packet.

[0098] The second type, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is the difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and the sequence number corresponding to the first position of the first data packet. The sequence number of the first data packet here may be one of the original sequence numbers in the first data packet or a preset sequence number. Among them, the original sequence number in the first data packet may include the GTP-U sequence number of the first data packet, etc., which is not specifically limited here. The preset sequence number may be a known sequence number sent by the core network device to the first network device. It should be noted that the sequence number of the first data packet here is not used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service. The sequence number corresponding to the first position of the first data packet here can be understood as the sequence number of the first data packet in the first method above, that is, the sequence number corresponding to the first position of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service. Since the sequence number of the first data packet is described in the first method, the sequence number corresponding to the first position of the first data packet is no longer described here. Based on this, after the first network device receives the first indication information, it can determine the serial number corresponding to the first position of the first data packet according to the first offset in the first indication information and the serial number of the first data packet, and then determine the position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service according to the serial number corresponding to the first position of the first data packet.

[0099] It should be noted that the specific representation of the above-mentioned first indication information is only exemplary and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0100] The first indication information may be sent in the following three ways:

[0101] First, the first indication information may be sent as information independent of the first data packet, for example, via control information or control signaling.

[0102] The second type is that the first indication information is included in a header, a payload or data of the first data packet, that is, the first indication information is carried in a header, a payload or data of the first data packet and sent.

[0103] The third type is that the first indication information is included in the header, payload or data of the preset data packet, that is, a preset data packet is set according to the first indication information, and the first indication information is carried in the header, payload or data of the preset data packet, so as to send the first indication information by sending the preset data packet to the first network device. The type, size and other specifications of the preset data packet can be preset according to actual needs and are not specifically limited here.

[0104] The method for generating the first indication information includes: if the core network device receives the first information corresponding to the first data packet, then generating the first indication information corresponding to the first data packet according to the first information corresponding to the first data packet; if the core network device does not receive the first information corresponding to the first data packet, then the core network device generates the first indication information according to the first position of the first data packet.

[0105] It should be noted that the core network device needs to send the received data packet to the first network device, but before the core network device sends the received data packet to the first network device, it needs to add some relevant protocol layer processing information of the core network device in the header of the data packet, but the load or data of the data packet remains unchanged. Therefore, it can be understood that the same data packet received by the core network device and sent to the first network device is different, that is, the load or data of the data packet is the same, but the header of the data packet is different. For the convenience of description, the same name is set for the data packet with the same load or data received by the core network device and sent to the first network device (that is, the same data packet). In other words, the data packets with the same name received in step 201 and sent in step 202 have the same load or data, but different headers.

[0106] It should be noted that the core network device can simultaneously send at least one data packet and first indication information of each service in at least one service to the first network device. Among them, the above-mentioned first service is any one of the at least one service. Since the principle of the core network device sending at least one data packet and first indication information of each service to the first network device is the same, and the principle of the core network device sending at least one data packet and first indication information of the first service to the first network device has been described above, the principle of the core network device sending at least one data packet and first indication information of various other services to the first network device will not be repeated here.

[0107] And, the core network device can simultaneously send at least one data packet and first indication information of the first service to each network device in at least one network device, wherein the above-mentioned first network device is any one of the at least one network device. Since the principle of the core network device sending at least one data packet and first indication information of the first service to each network device is the same, and the principle of the core network device sending at least one data packet and first indication information of the first service to the first network device has been described above, the principle of the core network device sending at least one data packet and first indication information of the first service to each other network device will not be repeated here. In addition, the types of services supported by different network devices can be exactly the same, completely different, or not exactly the same.

[0108] Step 203: The first network device receives at least one data packet of a first service from a core network device and first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a first position or order or serial number of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the first service, and the at least one data packet includes the first data packet.

[0109] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device receives the first indication information sent by the core network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the first service. In this way, the first network device can determine the progress information of the first service currently being processed, thereby facilitating more accurate and effective processing related to the first service according to the progress information of the first service, providing users with better service and improving user experience.

[0110] After the first network device successfully receives the data packet and / or the first indication information from the core network device, it can send a reception success message to the core network device to inform the core network device that the first network device has successfully received the data packet and / or the first indication information sent by it. If the core network device does not receive the reception success message sent by the first network device, the core network device confirms that the first network device has not successfully received the data packet and / or the first indication information sent by it, and the core network device needs to resend the unsuccessfully received data packet and / or the first indication information to the first network device.

[0111] The first network device receives at least one data packet and first indication information of the first service, and performs further processing based on the at least one data packet and the first indication information of the first service. The communication process of the first network device will be described in the following three ways, wherein:

[0112] In the first method, the first network device sends a second indication message to the second network device, the second indication message is used to indicate a second sequence number, the second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device, and the second sequence number has a corresponding relationship with the first service. For example, the second sequence number can be marked in the second indication message by the information of the first service to indicate the corresponding relationship between the second sequence number and the first service. By indicating the corresponding relationship between the second sequence number and the first service in the second indication message, the second network device can determine which first service the maximum sequence number of the second sequence number is based on the corresponding relationship. In a scenario where multiple different first services are being carried out at the same time, the first network device can determine the second sequence number corresponding to each first service based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of each first service received from the core network device, and generate the second indication message based on the second sequence number corresponding to each first service, wherein the second sequence number corresponding to the first service can be marked in the second indication message by the information of each first service to indicate the corresponding relationship between each second sequence number in the second indication message and the corresponding first service. By indicating the correspondence between each second sequence number and the first service in the second indication information, the second network device can determine, according to the correspondence, which first service each second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of.

[0113] Further optionally, the correspondence between the sequence number and the service may be preconfigured or predefined. For example, there is a correspondence between the maximum sequence number of a data packet of a service and the service, and another example, there is a correspondence between the minimum sequence number of a data packet of a service and the service. Specifically, there is a correspondence between at least one service and the sequence number of the data packet of the at least one service.

[0114] In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device connected to the second network device may be the same as or different from the core network device connected to the first network device, and this is not particularly limited herein. The number of second network devices is at least one. The types of services supported by the first network device and the second network device may be completely the same, completely different, or not completely the same.

[0115] The purpose of the first network device sending the second indication information to the second network device is to enable the second network device to determine the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the first network device according to the second indication information, and then determine the current progress of the first service supported by the first network device according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the first network device, so that the second network device can better perform the processing related to the first service supported by the first network device according to the current progress of the first service supported by the first network device. For example, in the process of switching the terminal device from the first network device to the second network device, the second network device knows the progress of the service of the terminal device in the first network device through the second indication information. After the terminal device switches over, the second network device can determine whether it is necessary to buffer the service data or determine whether it is necessary to send the data packet to the terminal device through unicast or multicast transmission according to the progress of the service of the terminal device in the first network device. Based on this, the process of sending the second indication information to the second network device may include: first determining the maximum sequence number (i.e., the second sequence number) of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the first network device, then generating the second indication information according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the first network device, and finally sending the second indication information to the second network device.

[0116] Specifically, the principle of determining the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that the first network device has received is as follows: the first network device will receive at least one first indication information of the first service sent by the core network device, and each first indication information in the at least one first indication information respectively indicates the first position of the corresponding first data packet. Based on this, according to the first position of the first data packet indicated by each first indication information in the at least one first indication information, the indication information with the largest first position is determined as the target indication information, and the sequence number of the first data packet corresponding to the target indication information is determined according to the first position indicated by the target indication information, and the maximum sequence number of the received data packet of the first service is further determined according to the sequence number of the determined first data packet. For example, the sequence number of the first data packet corresponding to the target indication information is 10, and 2 data packets are received after the first data packet corresponding to the target indication information, then the current maximum sequence number is 12.

[0117] The timing of sending the second indication information to the second network device may include: sending the second indication information at a predetermined time, for example, during the switching process or at the beginning of the switching, carrying the second indication information in the switching request; or periodically (at each fixed time) sending the second indication information to the second network device; or, sending the second indication information to the second network device in response to a preset instruction (for example, a progress sending instruction or a switching confirmation instruction, etc.), etc., and the present application does not make any special limitations on this.

[0118] Furthermore, the second indication information is also used to indicate information of the first service, and the information of the first service may include at least one of: identification information of the first service, type of the first service, Packet Data Unit session (PDU session) identification information of the first service, PDU session type of the first service, Data Radio Bearer (DRB) identification information of the first service, etc. Among them, the type of the first service is used to indicate what kind of service the first service belongs to, for example, it can be a unicast service or a multicast service; the PDU session type of the first service is used to indicate the type of session or bearer or connection established for the first service, and specifically, the type of service can be determined by the PDUsession type.

[0119] It should be noted that the second indication information sent by the first network device to the second network device may involve multiple first services. Specifically, if the second indication information involves multiple first services, the second indication information will indicate the second serial number corresponding to the first service for each first service, or the second indication information will indicate the second serial number corresponding to the first service and the information corresponding to the first service for each first service, wherein the second serial number of each first service is the maximum serial number of the data packet of the corresponding first service received by the first network device from the core network device.

[0120] For example, if the second indication information sent by the first network device to the second network device involves three first services, the process of sending the second indication information to the second network device includes: first determining the maximum sequence number of each first service data packet received by the first network device (i.e., the second sequence number corresponding to each first service), then generating the second indication information according to the maximum sequence number of each first service data packet received by the first network device, and finally sending the second indication information to the second network device. The maximum sequence number of the data packet corresponding to the first service can be marked by the information of each first service, so that the second network device can determine which service each second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of according to the marking of the maximum sequence number of the data packet of each first service (i.e., the second sequence number corresponding to each first service).

[0121] By sending the second indication information to the second network device, the second network device can determine the current progress of the first service supported by the first network device based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device represented by the second indication information, thereby enabling the second network device to more accurately and effectively perform processing related to the first service in the first network device based on the current progress of the first service supported by the first network device.

[0122] In the second case, the first network device receives the third indication information sent by the second network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate the third sequence number, which is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device, and the third sequence number has a corresponding relationship with the first service. For example, the third sequence number can be marked in the third indication information by the information of the first service to indicate the corresponding relationship between the third sequence number and the first service. By indicating the corresponding relationship between the third sequence number and the first service in the third indication information, the first network device can determine which first service the maximum sequence number of the third sequence number is based on the corresponding relationship. In a scenario where multiple different first services are carried out at the same time, the second network device can determine the third sequence number corresponding to each first service based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of each first service received from the core network device, and generate the third indication information based on the third sequence number corresponding to each first service, wherein the third sequence number corresponding to the first service can be marked in the third indication information by the information of each first service to indicate the corresponding relationship between each third sequence number in the third indication information and the corresponding first service. By indicating the correspondence between each third sequence number and the first service in the third indication information, the first network device can determine, according to the correspondence, for which first service each third sequence number is the maximum sequence number.

[0123] In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device connected to the second network device may be the same as or different from the core network device connected to the first network device, and this is not particularly limited herein. The number of second network devices is at least one. The types of services supported by the first network device and the second network device may be completely the same, completely different, or not completely the same.

[0124] The purpose of the second network device sending the third indication information to the first network device is to enable the first network device to determine the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the second network device according to the third indication information, and then determine the current progress of the first service supported by the second network device according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the second network device, so that the first network device can better perform the processing related to the first service supported by the second network device according to the current progress of the first service supported by the second network device. For example, in the process of switching the terminal device from the second network device to the first network device, the first network device knows the progress of the service of the terminal device in the second network device through the third indication information. After the terminal device switches over, the first network device can determine whether it is necessary to buffer the service data or determine whether it is necessary to send the data packet to the terminal device through unicast or multicast transmission according to the progress of the service of the terminal device in the second network device. Based on this, the process of sending the third indication information to the first network device may include: first determining the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the second network device, then generating the third indication information according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received, and finally sending the third indication information to the first network device.

[0125] Specifically, the principle of determining the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service that has been received by the second network device is as follows: since the second network device will receive at least one first indication information of the first service sent by the core network device, each first indication information in the at least one first indication information respectively indicates the first position of the corresponding first data packet. Based on this, according to the first position of the first data packet indicated by each first indication information in the at least one first indication information, the indication information with the largest first position is determined as the target indication information, and the sequence number of the first data packet corresponding to the target indication information is determined according to the first position indicated by the target indication information, and the maximum sequence number of the received data packet of the first service is further determined according to the sequence number of the determined first data packet. For example, the sequence number of the first data packet indicated by the target indication information is 10, and 2 data packets are received after the first data packet, then the current maximum sequence number is 12.

[0126] The timing of sending the third indication information to the first network device may include: sending the third indication information at a predetermined time, for example, during the switching process or at the beginning of the switching, carrying the third indication information in the switching request; or periodically (at each fixed time) sending the third indication information to the first network device; or, in response to a preset instruction (such as a progress sending instruction or a switching confirmation instruction), sending the third indication information to the first network device, etc., and the present application does not make any special limitations on this.

[0127] Furthermore, the third indication information is also used to indicate information of the first service, and the information of the first service may include at least one of: identification information of the first service, type of the first service, PDU session identification information of the first service, PDU session type of the first service, DRB identification information of the first service, etc. Among them, the type of the first service is used to indicate what kind of service the first service belongs to, for example, it can be a unicast service or a multicast service; the PDU session type of the first service is used to indicate the type of session, bearer or connection established for the first service, and specifically, the type of service can be determined by the PDUsession type.

[0128] It should be noted that the third indication information sent by the second network device to the first network device may involve multiple first services. Specifically, if the third indication information involves multiple first services, the third indication information will indicate the third serial number corresponding to the first service for each first service, or the third indication information will indicate the third serial number corresponding to the first service and the information corresponding to the first service for each first service, wherein the third serial number of each first service is the maximum serial number of the data packet corresponding to the first service received by the second network device from the core network device.

[0129] For example, if the third indication information sent by the second network device to the first network device involves four first services, the process of sending the third indication information to the first network device includes: first, determining the maximum sequence number of each first service data packet received by the second network device (i.e., the third sequence number corresponding to each first service), then generating the third indication information based on the maximum sequence number of each first service data packet received by the second network device, and finally, sending the third indication information to the first network device. The maximum sequence number of the data packet corresponding to each first service can be marked by the information of each first service, so that the first network device can determine which service the third sequence number corresponding to each first service is the maximum sequence number of based on the mark of the maximum sequence number of each first service data packet (i.e., the third sequence number corresponding to each first service).

[0130] By sending the third indication information to the first network device, the first network device can determine the current progress of the first service supported by the second network device based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device represented by the third indication information, thereby enabling the first network device to more accurately and effectively perform processing related to the first service in the second network device based on the current progress of the first service supported by the second network device.

[0131] Furthermore, if the first network device is used as a source network device and the second network device is used as a target network device, after receiving the third indication information sent by the second network device, the first network device can also determine the third data packet according to the third indication information, and send the third data packet to the second network device. Specifically, the first network device determines the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device, and names the maximum sequence number as the first maximum sequence number; the first network device determines the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the same first service received by the second network device from the core network device according to the third indication information, and names the maximum sequence number as the second maximum sequence number; and determines whether the first maximum sequence number is greater than the second maximum sequence number.

[0132] If the first maximum sequence number is less than the second maximum sequence number, the first network device can determine a specific data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the first maximum sequence number as a third data packet, and send the third data packet to the second network device, and the first network device can also send second indication information to the second network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the second sequence number, and the second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device, and after the second network device determines that the first maximum sequence number is less than the second maximum sequence number, the second network device caches the data packets corresponding to all sequence numbers after the first maximum sequence number in the first service.

[0133] The above-mentioned specific data packet can be determined based on the first maximum sequence number and a specific application scenario. For example, if the application scenario is that the network device connected to the terminal device switches from the first network device to the second network device, that is, the first network device is the source network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is the target network device of the terminal device, wherein the service being processed by the terminal device is the first service, then the specific data packet is determined as follows: the specific data packet is determined based on the interaction information between the first network device and the terminal device based on the first service and the first maximum sequence number, wherein the interaction information of the first service is used to indicate the sequence number of the data packet of the first service that the first network device has sent to the terminal device and has received the confirmation message of correct reception sent by the terminal device. Based on this, the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the first maximum sequence number and has not been sent to the terminal device and the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the first maximum sequence number and has been sent to the terminal device but has not received the confirmation message of correct reception sent by the terminal device are determined as specific data packets. In summary, the third data packet finally determined is the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the first maximum sequence number and has not been sent to the terminal device, and the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the first maximum sequence number and has been sent to the terminal device but has not received a confirmation message of correct reception sent by the terminal device.

[0134] For example, if the first maximum sequence number is 10, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device is 10, the second maximum sequence number is 20, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device is 20, and the first network device has sent the data packets with sequence numbers 1 to 5 in the first service to the terminal device and has received the correct reception feedback from the terminal device, based on this, the first network device determines the data packet with a sequence number greater than or equal to 6 and less than or equal to 10 in the first service as the third data packet, and sends the data packet with a sequence number greater than or equal to 6 and less than or equal to 10 in the first service to the second network device, and the second network device caches all data packets with a sequence number of 11 and a sequence number greater than 11 in the first service, and after the terminal device switches from the first network device to the second network device, the second network device sends the data packet with a sequence number greater than or equal to 6 in the first service to the terminal device, and optionally, the second network device receives a status report sent by the terminal device before sending, and further determines which data packets to send to the terminal device according to the status report. Wherein, the status report sent by the terminal device may include the sequence number of the data packet of the first service that the terminal device has successfully received. By receiving the status report sent by the terminal device, the second network device can re-check the data packet of the first service sent to the terminal device according to the status report to further ensure the accuracy of the data packet sent to the terminal device.

[0135] If the first sequence number is greater than or equal to the second maximum sequence number, the first network device can determine a specific data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the second maximum sequence number as a third data packet, and send the third data packet to the second network device, and the first network device can also send second indication information to the second network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate the second sequence number, and the second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device, and after the second network device determines that the first maximum sequence number is greater than or equal to the second maximum sequence number, the second network device caches the data packets corresponding to all sequence numbers after the second maximum sequence number in the first service.

[0136] The above-mentioned specific data packet can be determined based on the second maximum sequence number and a specific application scenario. For example, if the application scenario is that the network device connected to the terminal device switches from the first network device to the second network device, that is, the first network device is the source network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is the target network device of the terminal device, wherein the service supported by the terminal device is the first service, then the specific data packet is determined as follows: the specific data packet is determined based on the interaction information between the first network device and the terminal device based on the first service and the second maximum sequence number, wherein the interaction information of the first service is used to indicate the sequence number of the data packet of the first service that the first network device has sent to the terminal device and has received the confirmation message of correct reception sent by the terminal device. Based on this, the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the second maximum sequence number and has not been sent to the terminal device and the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the second maximum sequence number and has been sent to the terminal device but has not received the positive acknowledgment (Acknowledge, ACK) of correct reception sent by the terminal device are determined as specific data packets. In summary, the third data packet finally determined is the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the second maximum sequence number and has not been sent to the terminal device, and the data packet in the first service whose sequence number is less than or equal to the second maximum sequence number and has been sent to the terminal device but has not received a positive response of correct reception sent by the terminal device.

[0137] For example, if the first maximum sequence number is 20, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device is 20, the second maximum sequence number is 15, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device is 15, and the first network device has sent the data packets with sequence numbers 1 to 6 in the first service to the terminal device and has received the correct reception feedback from the terminal device, based on this, the first network device determines the data packet with sequence numbers greater than or equal to 7 and less than or equal to 15 in the first service as the third data packet. And send the data packet with sequence numbers greater than or equal to 7 and less than or equal to 15 in the first service to the second network device, and the second network device caches the data packets with sequence numbers 16 and greater than 16 in the first service, and after the terminal device switches from the first network device to the second network device, the second network device sends the data packet with sequence numbers greater than or equal to 7 in the first service to the terminal device, and optionally, the second network device receives the status report sent by the terminal device before sending, and further determines which data packets to send to the terminal device according to the status report. Among them, the status report sent by the terminal device may include the sequence number of the data packet of the first service that the terminal device has successfully received. By receiving the status report sent by the terminal device, the second network device can re-check the data packet of the first service sent to the terminal device according to the status report to further ensure the accuracy of the data packet sent to the terminal device.

[0138] The third type is that the first network device sends second indication information to the second network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate a second sequence number, and the second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device; the first network device receives third indication information sent by the second network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate a third sequence number, and the third sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device.

[0139] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device and the second network device may interact in the following three ways. Among them:

[0140] Method 1: The first network device generates second indication information according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received from the core network device, and sends the second indication information to the second network device; the second network device generates third indication information according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received from the core network device, and sends the third indication information to the first network device, and the first network device receives the third indication information sent by the second network device. The execution order of the first network device sending the second indication information to the second network device and the first network device receiving the third indication information sent by the second network device is not limited here.

[0141] Method 2: The first network device sends information about a first service supported by the first network device to the second network device (the first service is of at least one type); the second network device determines the first service commonly supported by the first network device and the second network device based on the information about the first service supported by the first network device; the second network device determines the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the commonly supported first service received from the core network device, generates third indication information based on the determined maximum sequence number of the data packet of the commonly supported first service, and sends the third indication information to the first network device; the first network device receives the third indication information, determines the commonly supported first service based on the third indication information, and generates second indication information based on the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the commonly supported first service received from the core network device; the first network device sends the second indication information to the second network device.

[0142] Method three, the first network device generates second indication information according to the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received from the core network device, and sends the second indication information to the second network device; the second network device determines the first service supported by the first network device according to the second indication information, and determines the first service commonly supported by the first network device and the second network device according to the first service supported by the first network device; the second network device determines the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the commonly supported first service received from the core network device, and generates third indication information according to the determined maximum sequence number of the data packet of the commonly supported first service, and sends the third indication information to the first network device; the first network device receives the third indication information.

[0143] Since the principle of determining the maximum sequence number of the first service has been explained above, it will not be repeated here.

[0144] Furthermore, the third indication information is also used to indicate whether the second network device supports the first service. Specifically, after the first network device sends the second indication information to the second network device, the second network device can determine whether the second network device supports the first service corresponding to the second indication information sent by the first network device (i.e., determine the first service supported by both the second network device and the first network device) based on the information of the first service in the second indication information, and send the determination result to the first network device in the third indication information.

[0145] It should be noted that the first service supported by the first network device and the first service supported by the second network device may be the same as, or different from, or not completely the same, and no special limitation is made here.

[0146] From the above, it can be seen that by sending the second indication information to the first network device and receiving the third indication information sent by the second network device, the first network device and the second network device can send the progress of the services supported by themselves to each other, and the second network device can return the services of the first network device supported by it to the first network device, thereby realizing the mutual communication of service progress information between the first network device and the second network device, so that the first network device and the second network device can accurately and efficiently process related services.

[0147] Furthermore, if the first network device is used as the source network device and the second network device is used as the target network device, after receiving the third indication information sent by the second network device, the first network device can also determine the third data packet according to the third indication information and send the third data packet to the second network device. Since this step has been described above, it will not be repeated here.

[0148] In addition, when the first network device acts as the target network device and the second network device acts as the source network device, after sending the second indication information to the second network device, it may also include: the first network device determines the fourth data packet according to the third indication information, and caches the fourth data packet. The third indication information is used to indicate a third sequence number, which is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device. Specifically, the first network device determines the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device, and names the maximum sequence number as the first maximum sequence number; the first network device determines the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the same first service received by the second network device from the core network device according to the third indication information, and names the maximum sequence number as the second maximum sequence number; and determines whether the first maximum sequence number is greater than the second maximum sequence number.

[0149] If the first maximum sequence number is smaller than the second maximum sequence number, all data packets having sequence numbers greater than the first maximum sequence number are determined as fourth data packets, and the fourth data packets are cached.

[0150] For example, if the first maximum sequence number is 10, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device is 10, and the second maximum sequence number is 20, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device is 20, then the first network device caches the data packets with sequence number 11 and all data packets with sequence numbers greater than 11.

[0151] If the first maximum sequence number is greater than or equal to the second maximum sequence number, all data packets with sequence numbers greater than the second maximum sequence number are determined as fourth data packets, and the fourth data packets are cached.

[0152] For example, if the first maximum sequence number is 20, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device is 20, and the second maximum sequence number is 11, that is, the maximum sequence number of the data packets of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device is 11, then the first network device caches the data packets with sequence number 12 and all data packets with sequence numbers greater than 12.

[0153] It should be noted that the above three methods are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0154] In summary, when the terminal device switches from the first network device to the second network device, progress information is exchanged between the first network device and the second network device, so that the first network device and the second network device decide which data packets need to be forwarded and which data packets need to be cached according to the exchanged progress information. This avoids interruption or loss of data packets received by the terminal device after the terminal device switches from the first network device to the second network device, thereby avoiding service interruption, and avoiding the terminal device receiving redundant data packets, thereby avoiding a waste of resources.

[0155] The following is a detailed description of a process in which a network device connected to a terminal device is switched from a first network device to a second network device by taking an example.

[0156] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a process of switching a network device connected to a terminal device provided by the present application from a first network device to a second network device; Figure 3 As shown, the switching process of the terminal device may include the following steps:

[0157] 301. The core network device sends at least one data packet and indication information of a service to the first network device, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the above-mentioned service, and the at least one data packet of the above-mentioned service includes a first data packet, and the number of the first data packet is at least one. When there are multiple first data packets, there are also multiple indication information, and each indication information is used to indicate the first position of a first data packet. The service here is a service supported by the first network device, and the type of service supported by the first network device can be at least one, that is, the core network device sends at least one data packet and indication information for each service supported by the first network device to the first network device. The indication information of each service is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the corresponding service.

[0158] 302. The core network device sends at least one data packet and indication information of a service to the second network device, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the first position of a first data packet in at least one data packet of the above service, and the at least one data packet of the above service includes a first data packet, and the number of first data packets is at least one. When there are multiple first data packets, there are also multiple indication information, and each indication information is used to indicate the first position of a first data packet. The service here is a service supported by the second network device, and the type of service supported by the second network device can be at least one, that is, the core network device sends at least one data packet and indication information for each service supported by the second network device to the second network device. The indication information of each service is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in at least one data packet of the corresponding service.

[0159] It should be noted that there is no order of execution between step 301 and step 302. The services supported by the first network device and the services supported by the second network device may be completely the same, completely different, or not completely the same.

[0160] 303. The terminal device sends a measurement report to the first network device. Specifically, the terminal device triggers measurement reporting according to the measurement information configured by the network device when a reporting condition is met, and sends the measurement report to the first network device.

[0161] 304. When the first network device determines that the terminal device meets the switching condition according to the measurement report and the Radio-Resource Management (RRM) algorithm, the first network device sends a switching request to the second network device. Specifically, when it is determined that the terminal device meets the switching condition, the second network device is determined for the terminal device (i.e., the target network device is determined), and the switching request is sent to the second network device.

[0162] In a first implementation, the handover request carries information about the first service, wherein the first service is a service supported by the terminal device and the first service belongs to a service supported by the first network device, and the type of the first service is at least one. It should be noted that when there are multiple first services, the handover request carries information about each first service. In addition, the handover request may also carry context information about the terminal device. By carrying the information about the first service, the second network device may be informed of information about the services supported by the terminal device.

[0163] In a second implementation, information about the first service and second indication information about the first service may be carried in a switching request, the second indication information being used to indicate a second sequence number, the second sequence number being the maximum sequence number of a data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device, wherein the first service is a service supported by the terminal device and the first service belongs to a service supported by the first network device, and the first service is of at least one type. It should be noted that when there are multiple types of first services, the switching request carries information about each type of the first service and second indication information about each type of the first service. By carrying information about the first service and the second indication information about the first service, the second network device can be informed of information and progress information about each type of service supported by the terminal device.

[0164] 305. The second network device returns a confirmation message of the switching request to the first network device.

[0165] The second network device receives the switching request, and generates a confirmation message of the switching request in response to the switching request. Specifically, the second network device matches the information of the first service carried in the switching request with the information of each service supported by the second network device, so as to confirm whether the second network device supports the first service and which first services are supported according to the matching result. Specifically, if the information of the first service matches the information of any service supported by the second network device, it is determined that the second network device supports the first service; if the information of the first service does not match the information of any service supported by the second network device, it is determined that the second network device does not support the first service. It should be noted that since the number of first services is at least one, when the number of first services is multiple, it is necessary to determine in turn whether the second network device supports each first service.

[0166] If the second network device does not support each of at least one first service, that is, the second network device does not support all services supported by the terminal device, a confirmation message of the switching request is generated, and the confirmation message carries information that the second network device does not support each of at least one first service.

[0167] If the second network device supports at least one first service, that is, the second network device supports all services or part of the services supported by the terminal device, a confirmation message of the switching request is generated, and the confirmation message carries information of each first service supported by the second network device, and third indication information of each supported first service, where the third indication information of the first service is used to indicate a third sequence number, which is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device.

[0168] Through the above process, the second network device can inform the first network device whether it supports the first service, and if it supports the first service, which first services it specifically supports, and progress information of the supported first services.

[0169] In addition, after the second network device confirms that it supports at least one first service, a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) and other parameters are allocated to the terminal device, and preparations are made for the switching of the terminal device. Based on this, the confirmation message of the switching request may also carry the C-RNTI and other parameters allocated to the terminal device.

[0170] 306. The first network device sends a switching instruction to the terminal device.

[0171] In an embodiment of the present application, after the first network device receives confirmation information of the switching request, if the confirmation information of the switching request indicates that the second terminal device supports at least one first service supported by the terminal device, the first network device sends a switching instruction to the terminal device, instructing the terminal device to switch from the first network device to the second network device. In addition, the switching instruction may also include a new C-RNTI (i.e., the C-RNTI allocated by the second network device to the terminal device), a system information block (System Information Block, SIB) of the second network device, and configuration information of the terminal device (such as the configuration of the Medium Access Control layer (Medium Access Control, MAC), the Radio Link Control (Radio Link Control, RLC), and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer, etc.).

[0172] In addition, after the first network device receives the confirmation message of the switching request, based on the first implementation in step 304, the first network device also needs to send second indication information of the first service supported by the second network device to the second network device according to the information of the first service supported by the second network device carried in the confirmation message, and the second indication information is used to indicate a second sequence number, which is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device. By sending the second indication information of the first service supported by the second network device to the second network device, the progress information of the first service supported by the second network device in the first network device can be informed.

[0173] 307. The first network device confirms the forwarded data packet, that is, the first network device confirms the forwarded data packet of each first service supported by the second network device. Since the principle of confirming the forwarded data packet of the first service supported by the second network device is the same as the principle of confirming the third data packet above, it will not be repeated here.

[0174] After the first network device confirms the forwarded data packet of each first service supported by the second network device, the first network device sends the forwarded data packet of the first service supported by the second network device to the second network device.

[0175] 308. The second network device confirms the data packets that need to be cached, that is, the second network device confirms the data packets of each first service supported by the second network device that need to be cached. Since the principle of confirming the data packets of each first service supported by the second network device that need to be cached by the second network device has been described above, it will not be repeated here.

[0176] 309. The terminal device is disconnected from the first network device and starts a synchronization process with the second network device. After receiving the switching instruction, the terminal device stops uplink or downlink data transmission with the first network device and synchronizes with the second network device.

[0177] 310. The terminal device initiates a random access process (a process of randomly accessing the second network device) to obtain uplink timing and uplink resource allocation. The second network device sends a timing advance (TA) to the terminal device and indicates the resources allocated to it to the terminal device. This information will be used by the terminal device to send a radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration completion message to the second network device to indicate that the handover is complete.

[0178] 311. The terminal device sends a confirmation message to the second network device, indicating that the switching is completed.

[0179] 312. The second network device sends a switching completion message to the first network device so that the first network device releases the context information of the terminal device.

[0180] 313. The second network device sends an instruction to the core network device to update the network device to which the terminal device is connected, so that the core network device can send the data packet of the terminal device to the second network device.

[0181] It should be noted that there is no limitation on the execution order of the above steps 307 to 309.

[0182] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device embodiment provided in this application Figure 1 , the communication device can be Figure 2 The core network device in the communication device may be a chip system or an integrated circuit, and the chip system and the integrated circuit may be located in the core network device. Figure 4 As shown, the communication device 400 may include: a first receiving module 401 and a sending module 402, wherein:

[0183] The first receiving module 401 is used to receive at least one data packet of a first service, wherein the at least one data packet includes a first data packet, and the first data packet is located at a first position in the at least one data packet; the sending module 402 is used to send the at least one data packet and first indication information to a first network device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the first position.

[0184] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a serial number of the first data packet, where the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0185] In a possible implementation manner, the sending module 402 is further configured to determine a GPRS-User Plane sequence number of the first data packet according to the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is a difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and a sequence number corresponding to the first position.

[0187] In a possible implementation manner, the sequence number of the first data packet is a universal radio packet service tunneling protocol-user plane sequence number of the first data packet.

[0188] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet; or, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of a preset data packet.

[0189] In one possible implementation, the sending module 402 includes a sending unit for sending the first indication information to the first network device, wherein: the sending unit is specifically used to send the first indication information to the first network device at a first moment, the first moment is one of multiple moments configured periodically, and the duration between two adjacent moments in the multiple moments is a set duration; or, the sending unit is specifically used to send the first indication information to the first network device after sending N data packets to the first network device, wherein N≥0 and N is an integer.

[0190] The above-mentioned device of the present application can be used to perform Figure 2 The technical solution of the method embodiment shown has similar implementation principles and technical effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0191] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device embodiment provided in this application Figure 2 , the communication device can be Figure 2 The first network device in the communication device may be a chip system or an integrated circuit, and the chip system and the integrated circuit may be located in the first network device. Figure 5 As shown, the communication device 500 may include: a second receiving module 501, wherein:

[0192] The second receiving module 501 is used to receive at least one data packet of a first service from a core network device and first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet, and the at least one data packet includes the first data packet.

[0193] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a serial number of the first data packet, where the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate the first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0194] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first offset and a sequence number of the first data packet, and the first offset is a difference between the sequence number of the first data packet and a sequence number corresponding to the first position.

[0195] In a possible implementation manner, the sequence number of the first data packet is a universal radio packet service tunneling protocol-user plane sequence number of the first data packet.

[0196] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet; or, the first indication information is included in a header, a payload, or data of a preset data packet.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the second receiving module 501 is further used to send second indication information to the second network device after receiving at least one data packet and first indication information from the core network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate a second sequence number, and the second sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the first network device from the core network device; and / or, the second receiving module 501 is further used to receive third indication information sent by the second network device after receiving at least one data packet and first indication information from the core network device, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate a third sequence number, and the third sequence number is the maximum sequence number of the data packet of the first service received by the second network device from the core network device.

[0198] In a possible implementation, the first network device serves as a source network device, the second network device serves as a target network device, and the second indication information is further used to indicate information of the first service, where the information of the first service includes at least one of the following:

[0199] The identification information of the first service; the type of the first service; the packet data unit session identification information of the first service; the packet data unit session type of the first service; the data radio bearer identification information of the first service; the third indication information is also used to indicate whether the second network device supports the first service.

[0200] In a possible implementation manner, the second serial number corresponds to the first service; and / or the third serial number corresponds to the first service.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the second receiving module 501 is further configured to, after receiving third indication information sent by the second network device, determine a third data packet according to the third indication information, and send the third data packet to the second network device.

[0202] In a possible implementation, when the first network device serves as the target network device and the second network device serves as the source network device, the second receiving module 501 is further used to determine a fourth data packet according to the third indication information and cache the fourth data packet after sending the second indication information to the second network device.

[0203] The above-mentioned device of the present application can be used to perform Figure 2 The technical solution of the method embodiment shown has similar implementation principles and technical effects, which will not be repeated here.

[0204] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer executes the steps and / or processing in any of the above method embodiments.

[0205] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program code. When the computer program code is executed on a computer, the computer executes the steps and / or processing in any of the above method embodiments.

[0206] The present application also provides a chip, the chip comprising a processor. A memory for storing a computer program is provided independently of the chip, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the steps and / or processing in any of the above method embodiments.

[0207] Furthermore, the chip may also include a memory and a communication interface. The communication interface may be an input / output interface, a pin or an input / output circuit.

[0208] Figure 6 The communication device 600 may be a schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided in this application. Figure 2 The first network device or core network device in the Figure 6 As shown, the communication device 600 includes an antenna 601, a radio frequency device 602, and a baseband device 603. The antenna 601 is connected to the radio frequency device 602. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 602 receives a signal from the terminal device or the first network device through the antenna 601, and sends the received signal to the baseband device 603 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 603 generates a signal to be sent to the terminal device or the first network device, and sends the generated signal to the radio frequency device 602. The radio frequency device 602 transmits the signal through the antenna 601. Optionally, the antenna 601 is a type of transceiver.

[0209] The baseband device 603 may include one or more processing units 6031. The processing unit 6031 may specifically be a processor.

[0210] In addition, the baseband device 603 may further include one or more storage units 6032 and one or more communication interfaces 6033. The storage unit 6032 is used to store computer programs and / or data, and the storage unit 6032 may specifically be a memory. The communication interface 6033 is used to exchange information with the radio frequency device 602. The storage unit 6032 may specifically be a memory, and the communication interface 6033 may be an input / output interface or a transceiver circuit.

[0211] Optionally, the storage unit 6032 may be a storage unit on the same chip as the processing unit 6031, ie, an on-chip storage unit, or may be a storage unit on a different chip from the processing unit 6031, ie, an off-chip storage unit. This application does not limit this.

[0212] The processor may be configured to call the computer program and / or data stored in the memory to implement the method described in any of the above method embodiments.

[0213] In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or an instruction in the form of software. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware coding processor to be executed, or the hardware and software modules in the coding processor are combined to be executed. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the field such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0214] The memory mentioned in the above embodiments may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0215] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software 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 be beyond the scope of this application.

[0216] 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.

[0217] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0218] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0219] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0220] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0221] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the second network device, comprising: Receive at least one data packet of a first service, wherein the at least one data packet includes a first data packet, the first data packet includes a serial number of the first data packet, and the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate a first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet, wherein the first service is a multicast service, and the serial number of the first data packet is included in a header, a payload, or data of the first data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first data packet also includes a General Packet Service Tunneling Protocol-User Plane GTP-U sequence number, and the sequence number of the first data packet is different from the GTP-U sequence number.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: After receiving at least one data packet of the first service from the core network device, the method further includes: Receiving second indication information from the first network device; Determine the progress of the first network device sending the first service to the terminal device according to the second indication information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that After receiving at least one data packet of the first service from the core network device, the method further includes: Sending third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to determine the progress of the first service supported by the second network device.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second indication information is further used to indicate information of the first service, where the information of the first service includes at least one of the following: identification information of the first service; the type of the first service; Packet data unit session identification information of the first service; A packet data unit session type of the first service; Data radio bearer identification information of the first service.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The third indication information is also used to indicate whether the second network device supports the first service.

7. The method according to claim 3 or 5, characterized in that: The second indication information is carried in the switching request.

8. The method according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that: The third indication information is carried in a confirmation message of the switching request.

9. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The first network device is a source network device, and the second network device is a target network device.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A third receiving module is used to receive at least one data packet of a first service from a core network device, wherein the at least one data packet includes a first data packet, and the first data packet includes a serial number of the first data packet, and the serial number of the first data packet is used to indicate a first position of the first data packet in the at least one data packet, wherein the first service is a multicast service, and the serial number of the first data packet is included in a header, a payload or data of the first data packet.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that The first data packet also includes a General Packet Service Tunneling Protocol-User Plane GTP-U sequence number, and the sequence number of the first data packet is different from the GTP-U sequence number.

12. The device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The third receiving module is further used to receive second indication information from the first network device; and determine the progress of the first network device sending the first service to the terminal device according to the second indication information.

13. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that Also includes: The third sending module is used to send third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to determine the progress of the first service supported by the second network device.

14. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The second indication information is further used to indicate information of the first service, where the information of the first service includes at least one of the following: identification information of the first service; The type of the first service; Packet data unit session identification information of the first service; A packet data unit session type of the first service; Data radio bearer identification information of the first service.

15. The device according to claim 13, characterized in that The third indication information is also used to indicate whether the second network device supports the first service.

16. The device according to claim 12 or 14, characterized in that The second indication information is carried in the switching request.

17. The device according to claim 13 or 15, characterized in that The third indication information is carried in a confirmation message of the switching request.

18. The device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The first network device is a source network device, and the second network device is a target network device.

19. A communication system, characterized in that: include: At least one first network device and at least one second network device, wherein: The second network device comprises the communication apparatus according to any one of claims 10-18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

21. A computer program, when executed by a computer, for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

22. A chip comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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