Synchronization method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to a synchronization method and device, a computer readable storage medium, a computer program product and a computer program. The method comprises: a first network device receiving first information, the first information being used for performing synchronization-related processing on at least one of a plurality of target service groups, the plurality of target service groups being service groups requiring inter-group synchronization in a plurality of service groups.

Description

Synchronization method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a synchronization method, a device, a computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, and a computer program. Background Art

[0002] In related technologies, AF (Application Function) can associate specific service data streams with an identifier to indicate that they belong to the same multimodal service, thereby solving the problem of synchronizing multimodal service streams when providing an application service to a single user. However, in more scenarios, the same user may use multiple application services simultaneously and / or multiple users may interact with each other. This may require the division of multiple service groups, each of which may contain one or more service streams. In this case, how to ensure the synchronous transmission of service streams of at least some of the multiple service groups becomes a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a synchronization method, device, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program.

[0005] This embodiment of the present application provides a synchronization method, including:

[0006] The first network device receives first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0007] This embodiment of the present application provides a synchronization method, including:

[0008] The second network device receives first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0009] This embodiment of the present application provides a synchronization method, including:

[0010] The third network device sends first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the multiple target service groups, where the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization among the multiple service groups.

[0011] An embodiment of the present application provides a first network device, including:

[0012] The first communication unit is configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups requiring inter-group synchronization.

[0013] An embodiment of the present application provides a second network device, including:

[0014] The second communication unit is configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0015] This embodiment of the present application provides a third network device, including:

[0016] The third communication unit is used to send first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target business group among multiple target business groups, where the multiple target business groups are business groups that require inter-group synchronization among the multiple business groups.

[0017] An embodiment of the present application provides a first network device, comprising a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. 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, so that the first network device performs the above method.

[0018] An embodiment of the present application provides a second network device, comprising a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. 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, so that the second network device executes the above method.

[0019] An embodiment of the present application provides a third network device, comprising a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. 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, so that the third network device executes the above method.

[0020] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip for implementing the above method.

[0021] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor, which is used to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0022] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which enables a device to perform the above method when the computer program is executed by the device.

[0023] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above method.

[0024] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method.

[0025] By adopting the solution provided in this embodiment, a network device can obtain first information, use this first information to determine multiple target service groups among multiple service groups that require inter-group synchronization, and then perform synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target service groups. In this way, synchronization control can be performed at the service group granularity, thereby resolving the problem of unable to guarantee transmission synchronization between multiple service groups. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a scenario based on multimodal input and output.

[0028] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a scenario based on multimodal interaction.

[0029] FIG4 is a schematic flowchart of a synchronization method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG5 is a schematic flowchart of a synchronization method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0031] FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of a synchronization method according to yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0032] 7 to 10 are schematic diagrams of various exemplary processes of a synchronization method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] FIG11 is a schematic block diagram of a first network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG12 is a schematic block diagram of a first network device according to yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG13 is a schematic block diagram of a second network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG14 is a schematic block diagram of a second network device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0037] FIG15 is a schematic block diagram of a third network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a third network device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0039] FIG17 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0040] FIG18 is a schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] FIG19 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0043] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wireless Fidelity) system. Fidelity, WiFi), fifth-generation communication (5th-Generation, 5G) system or other communication systems, etc.

[0044] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, where the authorized spectrum can also be considered as an unshared spectrum.

[0047] The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices, wherein the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc.

[0048] The terminal device can be a station (STAION, ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc.

[0049] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0050] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0051] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device. The network device may be an access point (AP) in WLAN, a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network or a network device in an NTN network, etc.

[0053] As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0055] FIG1 exemplarily illustrates a communication system 100. The communication system includes a network device 110 and two terminal devices 120. In one possible implementation, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices 110, and each network device 110 may include a different number of terminal devices 120 within its coverage area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0057] Among them, the network equipment may include access network equipment and core network equipment. That is, the wireless communication system also includes multiple core networks for communicating with the access network equipment. The access network equipment can be an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, abbreviated as eNB or e-NodeB) macro base station, micro base station (also called "small base station"), pico base station, access point (AP), transmission point (TP) or new generation base station (new generation Node B, gNodeB), etc. in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a next-generation (mobile communication system) (next radio, NR) system or an authorized auxiliary access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system.

[0058] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, a device having a communication function in a network / system may be referred to as a communication device. Taking the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example, the communication device may include a network device and a terminal device having a communication function. The network device and the terminal device may be specific devices in the embodiments of the present application and will not be described in detail here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0059] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly describes the basic processes and basic concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the basic processes and basic concepts introduced below do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] Multimodal output is generated based on input from multiple sources. In a multimodal interaction system, modality is a type or representation of information within a specific interactive system. Multimodal interaction is the process of exchanging multimodal information. Modality types include actions, emotions, gestures, and more. Modal expressions include video, audio, and tactics (vibration or other movements that provide tactile or haptic sensations). As shown in Figure 2, in a multimodal interaction system, multimodal input consists of two types of information: information from the user, such as an ambiguous perception / instructor, and information from the surrounding environment. Information from the user can include voice biometrics, words from speech, emotions in voice, facial biometrics, facial expressions, lip movements, emotions from wearable devices, gestures, and tactile information from wearable devices. Information from the surrounding environment can include relative positioning and information about the surrounding environment. The multimodal input composed of the above-mentioned user information and information from the surrounding environment can be processed by services to obtain multimodal outputs. The services here may include: Service 1: biometric recognition processing based on voice and facial biometrics; Service 2: intent perception analysis based on the output of Service 1 as well as words from speech, emotions in the sound, facial expressions, lip movements, emotions from wearable devices, posture, relative positioning, and tactile information from wearable devices. This intent perception analysis includes multimodal NLP (Natural Language Processing), multimodal sentiment analysis, multimodal tactile analysis, etc.; Service 3: service status processing based on relative position, surrounding environment information, and the output of Service 2. For example, it may include audio / video services, IoT control, etc. The resulting multimodal output, as shown in Figure 2, may include tactile feedback, brightness, sensitive temperature, video, and audio.

[0061] Some advanced XR (Extended Reality) or media services may include multiple types of streams, such as video / audio streams and tactile or sensor data, for a more immersive experience. Application clients for different types of data within an application may reside on the same device or on multiple different types of devices, such as VR goggles, gloves, and other devices that support tactile and / or motion modes.

[0062] In order to better support the synchronization of multimodal services on one or multiple terminals, that is, to send audio, video, and tactile data related to a specific time to the user at a similar time, 5GS (5G system) has made the following enhancements: Whether in the case of a single terminal or multiple terminals, AF (Application Function) can indicate that specific service data flows belong to the same multimodal service by associating them with a common ID (Identity). In addition, AF can simultaneously provide a set of QoS (Quality of Service) monitoring requirements for flows to NEF (Network Exposure Function) / PCF (Policy Control Function), and then PCF can support the simultaneous generation of QoS monitoring policies for these multimodal service flows. The existing technology only solves the multimodal service flow synchronization solution when providing one application service for a single user. However, in scenarios such as XR and cloud gaming, it often involves the same user using multiple application services at the same time, as well as interactions between multiple users. As shown in Figure 3, multiple users can use avatar technology to chat and play poker in the same virtual world. For example, the left side of Figure 3 illustrates five users playing poker in the same virtual world. The five users are User 31, User 32, User 33, User 34, and User 35. Users can also engage in video chats with others in the real world. For example, the right side of Figure 3 illustrates user 31 engaging in a video chat with another user via video communication interface 36, while also displaying User 32 and User 34 playing poker together in the virtual world. The existing technology has yet to address the issues of synchronization between multiple users during a multiplayer poker game in a virtual world, the synchronization between the same user's poker game and the virtual world image, and the resource scheduling and allocation between video calling services, multiplayer gaming services, and virtual world image services.

[0063] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is simply a description of an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0064] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association between A and B.

[0065] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0066] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0067] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a synchronization method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0068] S410: A first network device receives first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0069] Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart of a synchronization method according to another embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0070] S510: A second network device receives first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0071] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a synchronization method according to another embodiment of the present application. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0072] S610: The third network device sends first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups, where the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0073] The aforementioned multiple business groups may refer to: multiple business groups obtained by dividing all business flows of the user in the virtual reality (or metaverse). A certain business group among the multiple business groups may include one or more business flows; wherein, one or more business flows contained in a certain business group may also be referred to as multimodal business flows. If any business group among the multiple business groups contains multiple business flows, the multiple business flows in the business group need to be transmitted synchronously to the terminal device.

[0074] The aforementioned multiple target business groups are specifically business groups that require inter-group synchronization among the multiple business groups. The number of the multiple target business groups is at least 2, and can certainly be more, which is not limited here.

[0075] For example, the multiple service groups obtained by dividing all multimodal service flows of the current user (for example, user C) in the virtual reality (or metaverse) may include the following five service groups:

[0076] Service Group 1: Multimodal service flows such as audio, video, and touch of Avatar A.

[0077] Service Group 2: Avatar B's multimodal service flows, including audio, video, and tactile.

[0078] Service Group 3: Multimodal service flows such as audio, video, and tactile that make up user C's virtual reality background world.

[0079] Service Group 4: Multimodal service flows such as audio, video, and tactile for virtual reality games;

[0080] Service group 5: Service flow for the current user to make a video call with friends in the real world.

[0081] Among them, Avatar A can be the virtual image of user A in virtual reality, and Avatar B can be the virtual image of user B in virtual reality. In order to prevent the user's audio, video and touch from being out of sync, in the above-mentioned 5 business groups, the multimodal business streams in each business group need to be transmitted synchronously to the user terminal. When user C interacts with Avatar A, business group 1 and business group 3 need to be synchronized. In this case, business group 1 and business group 3 are the aforementioned multiple target business groups. When the user plays games with Avatar A and Avatar B, business groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 need to be synchronized. In this case, business groups 1 to 4 are the aforementioned multiple target business groups. Business group 5 does not need to be synchronized with other business groups, it only needs to maintain the synchronization of multimodal business streams within the group.

[0082] In some possible implementations, the third network device sending the first information specifically includes: the third network device sending the first information to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receiving the first information specifically includes: the first network device receiving the first information sent by the third network device.

[0083] The third network device sending the first information to the first network device may specifically include: the third network device sending the first information to the first network device via the fifth network device. The first network device receiving the first information sent by the third network device may specifically include: the first network device receiving the first information sent by the third network device via the fifth network device.

[0084] Here, the first network device may be a Policy Control Function (PCF). The third network device may be an application server, specifically, the application server may be an Application Function (AF). The fifth network device may be a Network Exposure Function (NEF).

[0085] In some possible implementations, after the first network device receives the first information, the method further includes: the first network device triggering a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups to obtain a monitoring result; and when the first network device determines that the multiple target business groups are not synchronized based on the monitoring result and the first information, performing synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target business groups.

[0086] The QoS monitoring mechanism may be specifically expressed as QoS Monitoring.

[0087] First, at least part of the information that may be included in the first information is described:

[0088] The first information is used to synchronize the multiple target service groups. Specifically, the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the multiple target service groups; further, the first information can be used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least two target service groups among the multiple target service groups.

[0089] The first information includes at least one of the following: a business group identifier, which includes: identification information of at least one business group among the multiple business groups; a synchronization identifier, which is used to determine multiple target business groups that require inter-group synchronization; and business flow description information corresponding to each business flow in one or more business flows contained in each business group in the at least one business group.

[0090] Specifically, the identification information of the service group may be represented as an ID (Identity) of each service group.

[0091] The service flow description information corresponding to each service flow may include an IP (Internet Protocol) quintuple for each service flow, which can be used to filter out service flows included in each service group. The IP quintuple may include: source IP address, source port, destination IP address, destination port, and transport layer protocol.

[0092] The synchronization identifier may also be called an inter-service group synchronization identifier; or the synchronization identifier may also be called synchronization indication information. This embodiment does not enumerate all possible names of the synchronization identifier.

[0093] In a possible example, the aforementioned service group identifier may include identification information of each service group in the multiple service groups.

[0094] The business flow description information corresponding to each of the one or more business flows contained in each business group in the aforementioned at least one business group is specifically the business flow description information corresponding to each of the one or more business flows contained in each business group in the multiple business groups.

[0095] The synchronization identifier may include: the identifiers of one or more synchronization sets, and the identifier of each target business group in the multiple target business groups that require inter-group synchronization and are contained in each synchronization set in the one or more synchronization sets. For example, multiple business groups contain a synchronization set, and the content contained in the synchronization identifier is: the identifier of the synchronization set is 01, and the synchronization set 01 contains the identifier of business group 1 and the identifier of business group 2, that is, business group 1 and business group 2 are two target business groups that require inter-group synchronization. Alternatively, multiple target business groups may not be divided into synchronization sets. In this case, the synchronization identifier may include the identifier of each target business group that requires inter-group synchronization.

[0096] In another possible example, the aforementioned business group identifier may include identification information of the business group to which the current business flow belongs in multiple business groups. The business flow description information corresponding to each business flow in one or more business flows contained in each business group in the aforementioned at least one business group is specifically the business flow description information corresponding to the current business flow. The synchronization identifier can be empty or the identifier of the target synchronization set; when the synchronization identifier is empty, it can be determined that the business group to which the current business flow belongs is a business group that does not require inter-group synchronization; when the synchronization identifier contains the identifier of the target synchronization set, it can be determined that the business group to which the current business flow belongs is one of multiple target business groups that require inter-group synchronization, and the target synchronization set to which the target business group to which the current business flow belongs is located can be determined. In this example, the first information is related to the current business flow.

[0097] The first information may further include: a delay difference threshold, where the delay difference threshold is used to determine a threshold of a delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups.

[0098] Optionally, the delay difference threshold may specifically include: one or more delay difference thresholds.

[0099] In one case, among the one or more delay difference thresholds, different delay difference thresholds correspond to different synchronization sets.

[0100] For example, if multiple target service groups belong to the same synchronization set, the aforementioned delay difference threshold may include only one delay difference threshold. That is, among multiple target service groups in a synchronization set, the delay difference threshold between two target service groups is equal to the aforementioned delay difference threshold. The aforementioned two target service groups may refer to any two target service groups among the multiple target service groups in the synchronization set.

[0101] For another example, if multiple target service groups are divided into two or more synchronization sets, the aforementioned delay difference threshold may include two or more delay difference thresholds, with different delay difference thresholds corresponding to different synchronization sets. For example, the delay difference threshold includes delay difference threshold A and delay difference threshold B; delay difference threshold A corresponds to synchronization set 1, and delay difference threshold B corresponds to synchronization set 2.

[0102] In another case, the one or more delay difference thresholds may include: one or more delay difference thresholds corresponding to each synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets; wherein, among the one or more delay difference thresholds corresponding to each synchronization set, different delay difference thresholds correspond to two different target service groups in the synchronization set.

[0103] For example, multiple target business groups belong to the same synchronization set, and one synchronization set contains three target business groups, namely target business group 1, target business group 2 and target business group 3; then the delay difference threshold may include: the threshold of the delay difference between target business group 1 and target business group 2 in the synchronization set, the threshold of the delay difference between target business group 2 and target business group 3, and the threshold of the delay difference between target business group 1 and target business group 3.

[0104] For another example, if multiple target service groups are divided into two or more synchronization sets, the aforementioned delay difference threshold may include one or more delay difference thresholds corresponding to each synchronization set in the two or more synchronization sets, and among the one or more delay difference thresholds corresponding to each synchronization set, different delay difference thresholds correspond to two different target service groups. For example, assuming that synchronization set 1 contains 3 target service groups and synchronization set 2 contains 2 target service groups; then the delay difference threshold includes delay difference threshold A, delay difference threshold B, and delay difference threshold C corresponding to synchronization set 1, and delay difference threshold D corresponding to synchronization set 2; wherein, the delay difference threshold between target service group 1 and target service group 2 in synchronization set 1 is the aforementioned threshold A, the delay difference threshold between target service group 2 and target service group 3 in synchronization set 1 is the aforementioned threshold B, the delay difference threshold between target service group 1 and target service group 3 in synchronization set 1 is the aforementioned threshold C; and the delay difference threshold between target service group 4 and target service group 5 in synchronization set 2 is the aforementioned threshold D.

[0105] In another case, the synchronization set may not be divided. In this case, the one or more delay difference thresholds include: a delay difference threshold for every two target service groups in the multiple target service groups.

[0106] Optionally, the delay difference threshold may specifically include a delay difference threshold. This is particularly applicable to the case where multiple target service groups are not divided into synchronization sets. Of course, in the case of dividing synchronization sets, all synchronization sets may also use the same delay difference threshold.

[0107] Based on the aforementioned first information, the following describes the processing that can be performed by the first network device:

[0108] The first network device triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups. Before obtaining the monitoring results, the method also includes: the first network device determines the multiple target business groups that require inter-group synchronization and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers.

[0109] The first network device determines the multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization and the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the service group identifier in the first information, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifier. This may refer to: the first network device determines the one or more service flows contained in each service group based on the identifier information of each service group and the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in the first information; the first network device determines the multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization and the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the synchronization identifier in the first information. The multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization contained in the multiple service groups may include: multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization contained in each synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets contained in the multiple service groups.

[0110] Alternatively, the first network device determines the multiple target service groups requiring inter-group synchronization and the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the service group identifier in the first information, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifier. This may mean that, when the first network device determines, based on the synchronization identifier in the first information, that the service group to which the current service flow belongs is one of the multiple target service groups requiring inter-group synchronization, the first network device determines the current service flow and the target service group to which it belongs based on the service flow description information corresponding to the current service flow and the identification information of the service group to which the current service flow belongs in the first information. Furthermore, this may also include: when the first network device determines, based on the synchronization identifier in the first information, that the service group to which the current service flow belongs is not one of the multiple target service groups requiring inter-group synchronization, the first network device determines the current service flow and the service group to which it belongs based on the service flow description information corresponding to the current service flow and the identification information of the service group to which the current service flow belongs in the first information. It should be understood that in this case, the first network device performs the same processing as the aforementioned current service flow for each service flow, and thus the first network device can determine the multiple target service groups requiring inter-group synchronization and each target service flow of each of the multiple target service groups.

[0111] The monitoring results may include at least one of the following: the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0112] Furthermore, when the first network device determines that the multiple target business groups are out of synchronization based on the monitoring results and the first information, the first network device performs synchronization-related processing on the multiple target business groups, including: when the first network device determines that the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information based on the monitoring results, the first network device determines that the multiple target business groups are out of synchronization; the first network device sends second information, and the second information is used to synchronize one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0113] Since the contents of the aforementioned monitoring results may include different situations, when the first network device determines that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized based on the monitoring results and the first information, the synchronization-related processing performed on the multiple target service groups may also exist in different situations. The following are exemplary explanations respectively:

[0114] In a possible example, the aforementioned monitoring result may only include the delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in each target service group in the multiple target service groups.

[0115] In this example, the first network device triggers the QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups to obtain a monitoring result, which may include: the first network device triggers the QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups to obtain the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group; and uses the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows in each target business group in the multiple target business groups as the monitoring result.

[0116] Specifically, the first network device triggers a QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows contained in each of the multiple target service groups to obtain the latency of each of the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group. This can mean that the first network device triggers a QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows contained in each of the multiple target service groups, receives latency measurement results of the QoS flows corresponding to each target service flow reported by one or more other devices, and obtains the latency of each of the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the latency measurement results of the QoS flows corresponding to each target service flow. Accordingly, within a time window, any one of the one or more other devices determines the latency measurement results of the QoS flows corresponding to each of the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the packet headers and timestamps of the data packets in the QoS flows corresponding to each target service flow; and reports the latency measurement results of the QoS flows corresponding to each target service flow to the first network device. The length of the time window can be set according to actual conditions and is not limited here. A QoS flow may include one or more target service flows. This embodiment does not limit the correspondence between QoS flows and target service flows. The one or more other devices may include at least one of the following: a UPF (User Plane Function), an SMF (Session Management Function), an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), a Radio Access Network (RAN), a UE, etc., and these are not exhaustive.

[0117] Among them, the delay of each target service flow may include at least one of the following: the delay of the data packets transmitted in the target service flow in the 5GS (5G system); the delay of the data packets transmitted by the target service flow from the sending end to the receiving end; the delay of the data packets transmitted by the target service flow in the 5GC (5G core network); the delay of the data packets transmitted by the target service flow in the air interface transmission.

[0118] In this example, when the synchronization set is not divided or all target service groups belong to the same synchronization set, the aforementioned first network device determines based on the monitoring result that the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, and determines that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized, which may include: the first network device extracts the delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in each target service group in the multiple target service groups included in the monitoring result, calculates the delay difference between the two current target service groups, and determines whether the delay difference between the two current target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information. If it is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold, it is determined that the two current target service groups are not synchronized; and so on, until the judgment result of whether each pair of target service groups in all target service groups is synchronized is completed. Among them, the extracting of each target business flow from one or more target business flows in the current two target business groups and calculating the delay difference between the current two target business groups can be: extracting any one target business flow in each of the current two target business groups and calculating the delay difference between the current two target business groups; or extracting a specified type of target business flow in each of the current two target business groups and calculating the delay difference between the current two target business groups. The specified type here can be set according to actual conditions, such as any one of video, audio, and touch.

[0119] Alternatively, in the case of dividing multiple synchronization sets, the aforementioned first network device determines, based on the monitoring results, that the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized, which may include: the first network device determines the delay difference between the current two target service groups contained in the i-th synchronization set based on the delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in the i-th synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets; the first network device determines that the current two target service groups in the i-th synchronization set are not synchronized when the delay difference between the current two target service groups in the i-th synchronization set is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information; and so on, until all target service groups in all synchronization sets are synchronized. Wherein, i is a positive integer, the i-th synchronization set is any one of the one or more synchronization sets, and since the same processing as the i-th synchronization set is performed for each synchronization set, they are not described one by one, and the i-th synchronization set is used as an example for explanation below.

[0120] There are many possibilities for the delay difference threshold in the aforementioned first information. In actual processing, the content of the specific delay difference threshold currently used can be determined based on the division granularity of the delay difference threshold, as well as the two target business groups and / or synchronization sets currently being processed, etc. For example, if the delay difference threshold only includes one delay difference threshold, the same delay difference threshold can be used when judging the delay difference regardless of which two target business groups are being targeted; for example, if the delay difference threshold includes delay difference thresholds corresponding to different synchronization sets, then which delay difference threshold to use can be determined based on which synchronization set of two target business groups is currently being processed; for another example, if the delay difference threshold includes a delay difference threshold for two target business groups, then which delay difference threshold to use is determined based on which two target business groups are currently being processed. We will not go into details here.

[0121] The first network device determines the delay difference between the current two target service groups contained in the i-th synchronization set based on the delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in the i-th synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets. Specifically, it can be: the first network device calculates the delay difference between the first target service flow and the second target service flow based on the delay of the first target service flow in the first target service group of the current two target service groups in the multiple target service groups contained in the i-th synchronization set, and the delay of the second target service flow in the second target service group, and uses the delay difference between the first target service flow and the second target service flow as the delay difference between the current two target service groups contained in the i-th synchronization set.

[0122] In one case, the i-th synchronization set contains only two target business groups. The current two target business groups in the i-th synchronization set can be the two target business groups contained in the i-th synchronization set; wherein, the two target business groups can be the aforementioned first target business group and the second target business group respectively; the first target business flow in the aforementioned first target business group can be any target business flow in the first target business group, and the second target business flow in the aforementioned second target business group can be any target business flow in the second target business group; the types of the first target business flow and the second target business flow can be the same or different. In another case, the i-th synchronization set contains three or more target business groups. The current two target business groups in the i-th synchronization set can be any two target business groups obtained by combining any two of the three or more target business groups in the i-th synchronization set. For example, if the i-th synchronization set contains three target business groups, namely target business group 1, target business group 2, and target business group 3, then the two current target business groups in the i-th synchronization set may include one of the following: target business group 1 and target business group 2, target business group 2 and target business group 3, or target business group 1 and target business group 3. The two current target business groups in the i-th synchronization set may be the first target business group and the second target business group, respectively; the first target business flow in the aforementioned first target business group may be any target business flow in the first target business group, and the second target business flow in the aforementioned second target business group may be any target business flow in the second target business group; the types of the first target business flow and the second target business flow may be the same or different.

[0123] In another possible example, the aforementioned monitoring results may include the latency differences between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups. It should be noted that, in this example, the monitoring results may also simultaneously include: the latency of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in each target service group in the multiple target service groups.

[0124] In this example, the first network device triggers the QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups to obtain a monitoring result, which may include: the first network device triggers the QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups to obtain the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group, and based on the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group, calculates the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups; and uses the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows in each of the multiple target business groups and the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups as the monitoring result. Among them, the specific processing method for obtaining the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group is the same as the above example and will not be repeated.

[0125] The delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups may be: the delay difference between two target service groups in the multiple target service groups. More specifically, the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups may be: the delay difference between every two target service groups obtained by combining any two of the multiple target service groups; wherein at least one of the two different target service groups is a different target service group.

[0126] Alternatively, the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups may specifically be: the delay difference between every two target business groups in the multiple target business groups contained in each synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets. An example is given to illustrate the delay difference between every two target business groups in the multiple target business groups in any synchronization set: for example, a synchronization set includes three target business groups, namely target business group 1, target business group 2 and target business group 3, then the delay difference between every two target business groups in the multiple target business groups in the synchronization set may include: the delay difference between target business group 1 and target business group 2, the delay difference between target business group 2 and target business group 3, and the delay difference between target business group 1 and target business group 3.

[0127] Furthermore, in the delay difference between each two target service groups obtained by combining two of the multiple target service groups, the delay difference between any two target service groups can refer to: the delay difference between the delay of any target service flow in one target service group and the delay of any target service flow in the other target service group in the two target service groups. Among them, the types of target service flows of different target service groups in the two target service groups can be the same or different. This is because one or more target service flows in the same target service group need to be transmitted synchronously to the terminal device, that is, different target service flows in the same target service group are in a synchronous state. Therefore, any target service flows of the same type or different types in the two target service groups can be used to determine the delay difference between the two target service groups. For example, a synchronization set includes two target service groups, namely target service group 1 and target service group 2. Then the delay difference between the two target service groups can refer to: the delay difference between the delay of target service flow a in target service group 1 and the delay of target service flow b in target service group 2; wherein, target service flow a and target service flow b can be of the same type or different types.

[0128] In this example, when the synchronization set is not divided or all target business groups belong to the same synchronization set, the aforementioned first network device determines based on the monitoring result that the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, and determines that the multiple target business groups are not synchronized. It can include: the first network device extracts the delay difference between the current two target business groups from the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups included in the monitoring result, and determines whether the delay difference between the current two target business groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information. If it is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold, it is determined that the current two target business groups are not synchronized; and so on, until the judgment result of whether all target business groups are synchronized is completed. Alternatively, in the case of dividing multiple synchronization sets, the aforementioned first network device determines based on the monitoring results that the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, and determines that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized, which may include: the first network device obtains the delay difference between the current two target service groups contained in the i-th synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets contained in the monitoring results; the first network device determines that the current two target service groups in the i-th synchronization set are not synchronized when the delay difference between the current two target service groups in the i-th synchronization set is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information; and so on, until it is determined whether all target service groups in all synchronization sets are synchronized with each other. Wherein, i is a positive integer, and the i-th synchronization set is any one of the one or more synchronization sets. Since the same processing as the i-th synchronization set will be performed for each synchronization set, they will not be described one by one.

[0129] In another possible example, the aforementioned monitoring results may include the latency differences between target service flows of the same type in different target service groups within the multiple target service groups. It should be noted that, in this example, the monitoring results may also simultaneously include the latency of each target service flow in one or more target service flows within each target service group within the multiple target service groups.

[0130] In this example, the first network device triggers a QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups to obtain a monitoring result, which may include: the first network device triggers a QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups to obtain the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group, and based on the delay of the same type of target business flows in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group, calculates the delay difference between the same type of target business flows in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups; and uses the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows in each of the multiple target business groups and the delay difference between the same type of target business flows in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups as the monitoring result. Wherein, the specific processing method for obtaining the delay of each target business flow in the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group is the same as the above example and will not be repeated.

[0131] The time delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups may refer to: the time delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups. More specifically, the time delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups may include: the time delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in each two target business groups obtained by combining the multiple target business groups in pairs; wherein, there is at least one different target business group in the two different target business groups.

[0132] Alternatively, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups may refer to: in one or more synchronization sets, among the multiple target business groups contained in each synchronization set, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in two target business groups. More specifically, in the multiple target business groups contained in each synchronization set, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in two target business groups may refer to: in the multiple target business groups contained in each synchronization set, among each two target business groups obtained by combining them, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups; wherein, there is at least one different target business group in the two different target business groups.

[0133] Specifically for any two target business groups, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the two target business groups may refer to: the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the two target business groups; or the delay difference between any target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the two target business groups. Among them, the type of each target business flow in one or more target business flows contained in any target business group may be one of the following: video, audio, and tactile. For example, there are three target business groups (which may be three target business groups in the same synchronization set when the synchronization set is divided; or all three target business groups contained in all business groups when the synchronization set is not divided), namely, target business group 1, target business group 2, and target business group 3, and target business group 1, target business group 2, and target business group 3 all contain target business flows of the video type, target business flows of the audio type, and target business flows of the tactile type. Accordingly, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in two target business groups may include: the delay difference between target business flows of the video type in target business group 1 and target business group 2, the delay difference between target business flows of the video type in target business group 2 and target business group 3, and the delay difference between target business flows of the video type in target business group 1 and target business group 3. Alternatively, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in two target business groups may include: the delay difference between target business flows of the video type in target business group 1 and target business group 2, the delay difference between target business flows of the audio type in target business group 2 and target business group 3, and the delay difference between target business flows of the tactile type in target business group 1 and target business group 3. The above is only an exemplary description, and other methods can also be used in actual processing, but they are not exhaustive here.

[0134] In this example, when the synchronization set is not divided or all target business groups belong to the same synchronization set, the aforementioned first network device determines based on the monitoring result that the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, and determines that the multiple target business groups are not synchronized, which can include: the first network device uses the delay difference between the same type of target business flows in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups contained in the monitoring result as the delay difference between the same type of target business flows in the current two target business groups as the delay difference between the current two target business groups; determines whether the delay difference between the current two target business groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information; if it is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold, determines that the current two target business groups are not synchronized; and so on, until the judgment result of whether the target business groups in all target business groups are synchronized is completed. Alternatively, in the case of dividing multiple synchronization sets, the aforementioned first network device determines that the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information based on the monitoring results, and determines that the multiple target service groups are out of synchronization. This may include: the first network device uses the delay difference between the target service flows of the same type in the current two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets included in the monitoring results as the delay difference between the current two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set; when the first network device determines that the delay difference between the current two target service groups in the i-th synchronization set is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, it determines that the current two target service groups in the i-th synchronization set are out of synchronization; and so on, until it is determined whether all target service groups in all synchronization sets are synchronized. Wherein, i is a positive integer, and the i-th synchronization set is any one of the one or more synchronization sets. Since the same processing as the i-th synchronization set is performed for each synchronization set, they are not described in detail.

[0135] In some possible implementations, before the first network device sends the second information, the method further includes: when the delay difference between two target service groups among the multiple target service groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows of at least one target service group among the two target service groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow.

[0136] Without dividing the synchronization set, when the delay difference between two target business groups among the multiple target business groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group among the two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow. This may mean that when the delay difference between any two target business groups among the multiple target business groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group among the any two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow.

[0137] In the case of dividing the synchronization set, when the delay difference between two target business groups in the multiple target business groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group in the two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow. This may mean that in one or more synchronization sets, when the delay difference between any two target business groups in the multiple target business groups of any synchronization set is greater than the delay difference threshold, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group in the any two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow.

[0138] It should be understood that, in the absence of partitioning synchronization sets, there may be only two target service groups in the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; or, there may be two or more pairs of target service groups in the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold. In the case of partitioning synchronization sets, there may be only one or more synchronization sets in each synchronization set where the delay difference between two target service groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, or there may be two or more pairs of target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold. In either case, as long as the delay difference between two target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, the first network device will adjust the QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows of at least one of the two target service groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow. In other words, the first network device will adjust the QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows of at least one of the two target service groups where the delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow.

[0139] In a possible example, the first network device only adjusts the QoS parameters of the target service flow in the target service group with a larger delay among the two target service groups.

[0140] The first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows of at least one target service group of the two target service groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow, specifically: the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of all target service flows of the target service group with the larger latency in the two target service groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow in all target service flows of the target service group with the larger latency. The adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow can be included in a Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rule.

[0141] The adjusted QoS parameters for each target service flow may include: an increased bit rate for each target service flow, and / or a reduced packet delay budget for each target service flow. In other words, for a target service group with a higher latency, the packet delay budgets of all target service flows within the target service group may be reduced to the same extent, and / or the bit rates of all target service flows within the target service group may be increased to the same extent.

[0142] In yet another possible example, the first network device only adjusts the QoS parameters of the target service flow in the target service group with the smaller delay among the two target service groups.

[0143] The first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group in the two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow. Specifically, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of all target business flows of the target business group with smaller delay in the two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow in all target business flows of the target business group with smaller delay.

[0144] The adjusted QoS parameters for each target service flow may include: a reduced bit rate for each target service flow and / or an increased packet delay budget for each target service flow. In other words, for a target service group with lower latency, the packet delay budgets of all target service flows within that target service group may be increased to the same extent, and / or the bit rates of all target service flows within that target service group may be reduced to the same extent.

[0145] In another possible example, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group in the two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow. Specifically, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of the target business flow in each target business group in the two target business groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow in all target business flows of each target business group.

[0146] In this example, the specific adjustment methods for the QoS parameters of the target service flows of the target service group with a larger delay and the target service group with a smaller delay in the two target service groups are the same as those in the above examples, so they will not be repeated. That is to say, for the target service group with a smaller delay, the adjustment strategy of this example can increase the packet delay budget of all target service flows in the above target service group to the same extent, and / or reduce the bit rate of all target service flows in the above target service group to the same extent; and for the target service group with a larger delay, the adjustment strategy of this example can reduce the packet delay budget of all target service flows in the above target service group to the same extent, and / or increase the bit rate of all target service flows in the above target service group to the same extent.

[0147] The aforementioned second information may include: the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow. Specifically, in the case that the delay difference between two target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, the aforementioned second information includes: the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in at least one target service group in the two target service groups. It should be understood that if there are only two target service groups in the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold, the second information only includes the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in at least one target service group in the two target service groups; if there are two or more pairs of two target service groups in the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold, the second information includes the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in at least one target service group in the two or more pairs of two target service groups.

[0148] The first network device sending the second information includes at least one of the following: the first network device sending the second information to the second network device; or the first network device sending the second information to the terminal device. The second network device may be an access network device. The processing performed by the second network device may include: receiving the second information sent by the first network device; and sending data packets for each target service flow to the terminal device based on the adjusted QoS parameters for each target service flow included in the second information.

[0149] 7 , taking the first network device as PCF, the second network device as RAN, the third network device as AF, the fifth network device as NEF, and the terminal device as UE as an example, the synchronization method provided in the aforementioned embodiment is exemplarily described:

[0150] S701. The AF sends first information to the PCF through the NEF. The first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups. The multiple target service groups are service groups among multiple service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0151] The content that may be included in the first information has been described in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that, in addition to the content included in the aforementioned embodiments, the first information may also include service flow QoS requirements, which may include at least one of: the packet delay budget for each service flow in each service group and the bit rate for each service flow in each service group. Other information related to service flows that may be included in the first information is not exhaustive in this example.

[0152] S702: The PCF triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows included in each of the multiple target service groups, and obtains a monitoring result.

[0153] Specifically, the PCF determines the multiple target business groups that need inter-group synchronization contained in the multiple business groups, and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers; then the PCF triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups to obtain a monitoring result.

[0154] An exemplary explanation of this step is provided in conjunction with Figure 7: PCF triggers the QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows contained in each target service group in the multiple target service groups to obtain a monitoring result. The PCF may trigger the QoS monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows contained in each target service group in the multiple target service groups, and then receive the delay measurement result of the QoS flow corresponding to each target service flow reported by at least one of UPF, SMF, AMF, RAN to UE, and obtain the delay of each target service flow in the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the delay measurement result of the QoS flow corresponding to each target service flow; and use the delay of each target service flow in the one or more target service flows in each target service group in the multiple target service groups as the monitoring result.

[0155] S703: If the PCF determines based on the monitoring result that the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, the PCF determines that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized.

[0156] S704: The PCF sends second information to the RAN, where the second information includes adjusted QoS parameters for each target service flow. Specifically, if the latency difference between two target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than the latency difference threshold, the second information includes adjusted QoS parameters for each target service flow in one or more target service flows in at least one of the two target service groups. The detailed description of this second information is the same as in the previous embodiment and is not repeated here.

[0157] The specific processing of S703 to S704 is the same as that of the above embodiment and will not be described in detail. It should be noted that S704 is only an exemplary description, and in actual processing, S704 may also include the PCF sending the second information to the UE, but this exemplary display is not made in FIG7 .

[0158] In some possible embodiments, the second information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of each target business group in two target business groups among the multiple target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; a delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups among the multiple target business groups; business flow description information corresponding to each target business flow in one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in two target business groups among the multiple target business groups; and a delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each target business group among the multiple target business groups.

[0159] Here, the identifier of each target service group in the two target service groups whose delay difference among the multiple target service groups is greater than the delay difference threshold may include: the identifier of each target service group in every two target service groups whose delay difference among the multiple target service groups is greater than the delay difference threshold. More specifically, if there are only two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold, then the identifier of each target service group in the two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold only includes the identifier of each target service group in these two target service groups; if there are two or more pairs of two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold, then the identifier of each target service group in the two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold includes the identifier of each target service group in these two or more pairs of two target service groups.

[0160] For any two target business groups, in the case where the synchronization set is not divided, the identifier of each target business group in the two target business groups can be expressed in the form of a group. For example, the identifier of target business group 1 and the identifier of target business group 2 are taken as a group to indicate that target business group 1 and target business group 2 are not synchronized, that is, the delay difference between the two target business groups is greater than the delay difference threshold. Alternatively, in the case of dividing the synchronization set, the identifier of each target business group in the two target business groups can include: the identifier of each target business group in the two target business groups, and the identifier of the same synchronization set to which the two target business groups belong.

[0161] The delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups among multiple target business groups may refer to: the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in every two target business groups among the multiple target business groups. If there are two target business groups among the multiple target business groups, then the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups among the multiple target business groups only includes the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in the two target business groups; if there are two or more pairs of target business groups among the multiple target business groups, then the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups among the multiple target business groups includes the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in every two target business groups among the two or more pairs of target business groups.

[0162] Specifically, in the case of not dividing the synchronization set, the delay difference between the target business flows of the same type in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups may refer to: the delay difference between any target business flows of the same type in every two target business groups in the multiple target business groups, or the delay difference between target business flows of the specified same type in every two target business groups in the multiple target business groups. Among them, any same type can be selected according to actual conditions; the specified same type can be specified by the management personnel. Alternatively, in the case of dividing the synchronization set, the delay difference between the target business flows of the same type in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups may refer to: the delay difference between the target business flows of the same type in every two target business groups in the multiple target business groups contained in each synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets.

[0163] Among them, the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in any two target business groups can be directly included in the aforementioned monitoring results, or can be determined based on the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each of the multiple target business groups included in the monitoring results. The specific processing method for determining the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups based on the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each of the multiple target business groups included in the monitoring results has been explained in the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0164] The delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in each target service group in the multiple target service groups may be included in the aforementioned monitoring results, and the method for obtaining the delay is not repeated in this embodiment.

[0165] The first network device sending the second information includes: the first network device sending the second information to a third network device. Accordingly, after the third network device sends the first information to the first network device, the method further includes: the third network device receiving the second information sent by the first network device, where the second information is used to synchronize one or more target service flows included in each of the multiple target service groups.

[0166] The first network device sending the second information to the third network device may be accomplished by the first network device sending the second information to the third network device via a fifth network device. The third network device receiving the second information sent by the first network device may be accomplished by the third network device receiving the second information sent by the first network device via a fifth network device. The fifth network device may specifically be an NEF.

[0167] After the third network device receives the second information sent by the first network device, the method also includes: the third network device determines, based on the second information, each target business group of two target business groups among the multiple target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; the third network device adjusts the data transmission rate of one or more target business flows in at least one target business group among the two target business groups to synchronize the one or more target business flows in the two target business groups.

[0168] The third network device determines, based on the second information, each of two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold, which may refer to: the third network device determines, based on the second information, each of every two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold. For example, the third network device may determine, based on the second information, that only two target service groups among the multiple target service groups have a delay difference greater than the delay difference threshold; or, the third network device may determine, based on the second information, that two or more pairs of target service groups among the multiple target service groups have a delay difference greater than the delay difference threshold.

[0169] The third network device adjusts the data transmission rate of one or more target business flows in at least one of the two target business groups to synchronize the one or more target business flows in the two target business groups. Specifically, it may mean that the third network device adjusts the data transmission rate of one or more target business flows in at least one of any two target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold to synchronize the one or more target business flows in the two target business groups; until the adjustment of the data transmission rate of every two target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold is completed.

[0170] The specific processing of the third network device adjusting the data transmission rate of one or more target business flows in at least one target business group of any two target business groups may include at least one of the following: the third network device increases the data transmission rate of each target business flow in the target business group with the larger delay in any two target business groups; the third network device reduces the data transmission rate of each target business flow in the target business group with the larger delay in any two target business groups. In other words, the third network device can reduce the data transmission rate of all target business flows in the target business group with the smaller delay (i.e., the larger data transmission rate) to the same extent, and / or, the third network device can increase the data transmission rate of all target business flows in the target business group with the larger delay (i.e., the smaller data transmission rate) to the same extent, thereby synchronizing each target business flow of the two target business groups that were originally out of sync.

[0171] 8 , taking the first network device as PCF, the second network device as RAN, the third network device as AF, the fifth network device as NEF, and the terminal device as UE as an example, the synchronization method provided in the aforementioned embodiment is exemplarily described:

[0172] S801. The AF sends first information to the PCF through the NEF. The first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups. The multiple target service groups are service groups among multiple service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0173] S802: The PCF triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows included in each of the multiple target service groups, and obtains a monitoring result.

[0174] S803. When the PCF determines based on the monitoring result that the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information, it determines that the multiple target service groups are out of synchronization.

[0175] The specific descriptions of the aforementioned S801 to S803 are the same as those of the aforementioned S701 to S703 and are not repeated here.

[0176] S804. PCF sends second information to AF, and the second information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of each target business group in two target business groups whose delay difference in the multiple target business groups is greater than the delay difference threshold; the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the business flow description information corresponding to each target business flow in one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0177] That is, through the above example, AF can provide the first information to PCF, thereby assisting PCF in formulating a QoS monitoring strategy. Then PCF can obtain the second information based on the monitoring results and feed the second information back to AF, so that AF can directly adjust the data transmission rate of the target service flow from the sending end to achieve synchronization between multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0178] In some possible implementations, after the first network device receives the first information, the method further includes: the first network device sending the first information to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receiving the first information includes: the second network device receiving the first information sent by the first network device.

[0179] It should be noted that in this embodiment, after the aforementioned first network device receives the first information, it may only perform the process of sending the first information to the second network device. Alternatively, after the aforementioned first network device receives the first information, in addition to performing the process of sending the first information to the second network device, it may also perform the following process: the first network device triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows contained in each of the multiple target service groups to obtain a monitoring result; and when the first network device determines that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized based on the monitoring result and the first information, the first network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target service groups. The description of the first network device triggering a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows contained in each of the multiple target service groups to obtain a monitoring result; and when the first network device determines that the multiple target service groups are not synchronized based on the monitoring result and the first information, the first network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target service groups is the same as the aforementioned embodiment, and therefore will not be repeated.

[0180] The first network device sending the first information to the second network device may specifically include: the first network device sending the first information to the second network device via one or more core network devices. Correspondingly, the second network device receiving the first information sent from the first network device may specifically include: the second network device receiving the first information sent from the first network device via the one or more core network devices. The one or more core network devices may include at least one of the following: SMF and AMF.

[0181] In this embodiment, the first information includes at least one of the following: a service group identifier, the service group identifier including: identification information of at least one service group among the multiple service groups; a synchronization identifier, the synchronization identifier is used to determine multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in one or more service flows contained in each service group in the at least one service group; a delay difference threshold, the delay difference threshold including a threshold value of the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups. The above content included in the first information has been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0182] After the second network device receives the first information, the method further includes: the second network device performing synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the multiple target service groups based on the first information.

[0183] Among them, the second network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one target business group among the multiple target business groups based on the first information, including: the second network device determines the multiple target business groups that need inter-group synchronization, and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers; the second network device allocates multiple wireless resources based on the delay difference threshold contained in the first information; wherein the multiple wireless resources are used to transmit one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups within the delay difference threshold, and different wireless resources are used to transmit different target business flows.

[0184] Among them, the manner in which the second network device determines the multiple target business groups that need to be synchronized between groups and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers is the same as the specific processing manner in which the aforementioned first network device determines the multiple target business groups that need to be synchronized between groups and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers, and no repeated explanation is given.

[0185] In the case of dividing the synchronization set, the second network device allocates multiple radio resources based on the delay difference threshold included in the first information, which may specifically include one of the following:

[0186] In a case where the delay difference threshold includes one or more delay difference thresholds, and different delay difference thresholds correspond to different synchronization sets, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group of the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set based on the delay difference threshold corresponding to the i-th synchronization set, so as to transmit each target service flow included in each target service group of the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set within the delay difference threshold range corresponding to the i-th synchronization set;

[0187] In a case where the delay difference threshold includes one or more delay difference thresholds corresponding to each synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group in the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set based on the delay difference threshold corresponding to the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set, so as to transmit each target service flow included in each target service group in the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set within the delay difference threshold range corresponding to the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set;

[0188] In the case where the delay difference threshold includes a delay difference threshold, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group of the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set based on the delay difference threshold, so as to transmit each target service flow included in each target service group of the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set within the delay difference threshold.

[0189] The aforementioned i-th synchronization set is any one of one or more synchronization sets. Since each synchronization set is processed in the same manner as the i-th synchronization set, they are not described in detail. The two target business groups included in the i-th synchronization set may refer to any two target business groups included in the i-th synchronization set. Since the processing for each two target business groups included in the i-th synchronization set is the same, they are not described in detail.

[0190] Without dividing the synchronization set, the second network device allocates multiple wireless resources based on the delay difference threshold contained in the first information, which may specifically include one of the following: when the delay difference threshold includes a delay difference threshold, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target business flow in the two target business groups based on the delay difference threshold, so as to transmit each target business flow contained in each target business group in the two target business groups within the delay difference threshold range; when the delay difference threshold includes a delay difference threshold for two target business groups, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target business flow in the two target business groups based on the delay difference threshold for the two target business groups, so as to transmit each target business flow contained in each target business group in the two target business groups within the delay difference threshold range.

[0191] In this embodiment, the first information may further include: a service group priority, where the service group priority is used to indicate the priority of each service group in the multiple service groups.

[0192] Correspondingly, the second network device allocates multiple wireless resources based on the delay difference threshold contained in the first information, including: the second network device determines the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups based on the business group priority contained in the first information; the second network device allocates the multiple wireless resources based on the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups and the delay difference threshold contained in the first information.

[0193] In the case of not dividing the synchronization set, the second network device determines the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups based on the business group priority included in the first information, which may mean that the second network device determines the priority of each target business group in the multiple target business groups based on the business group priority included in the first information, and sorts the priorities of each target business group from high to low to obtain the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups. The priority of the aforementioned business group can be represented by a numerical value. In this case, the order of the numerical value from small to large is the order of the priority of the business group from high to low; or, the order of the numerical value from large to small is the order of the priority of the business group from high to low.

[0194] In the case of dividing the synchronization set, the second network device determines the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups based on the business group priority included in the first information, which may mean: the second network device determines the priority of each target business group in the multiple target business groups based on the business group priority included in the first information; the second network device sorts the priorities of each target business group from high to low, and determines the resource allocation order of each target business group in the one or more target business groups included in each synchronization set in one or more synchronization sets. For example, if multiple synchronization sets are included, the first network device sorts the priorities of each target business group from high to low, and determines the resource allocation order of each target business group in the one or more target business groups included in each synchronization set in the multiple synchronization sets. For example, synchronization set 1 includes target business group 1 and target business group 2, and synchronization set 2 includes target business group 3, target business group 4, and target business group 5; if the priority of each target business group is ranked from high to low as: target business group 1, target business group 3, target business group 2, target business group 4, target business group 5, then the resource allocation order of each target business group in one or more target business groups contained in each synchronization set in multiple synchronization sets is: target business group 1 in synchronization set 1, target business group 3 in synchronization set 2, target business group 2 in synchronization set 1, target business group 4 in synchronization set 2, and target business group 5 in synchronization set 2.

[0195] The second network device allocating the multiple wireless resources based on the resource allocation order of the multiple target service groups and the delay difference threshold included in the first information may include one of the following:

[0196] In the case where there is only one synchronization set or the synchronization set is not divided, the second network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group based on the delay difference threshold, so as to transmit each target service flow included in each target service group included in the synchronization set within the delay difference threshold;

[0197] In a case where there are multiple synchronization sets, and the delay difference threshold includes one or more delay difference thresholds, and different delay difference thresholds correspond to different synchronization sets, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group based on the delay difference threshold corresponding to each synchronization set and the resource allocation order of each target service group in one or more target service groups included in each synchronization set in the multiple synchronization sets, so as to transmit each target service flow included in each target service group included in the synchronization set within the delay difference threshold range corresponding to each synchronization set;

[0198] In a case where there are multiple synchronization sets and the delay difference threshold includes one or more delay difference thresholds corresponding to each synchronization set in the one or more synchronization sets, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group included in each synchronization set based on the delay difference thresholds corresponding to the two target service groups included in the i-th synchronization set and the resource allocation order of each target service group in the one or more target service groups included in each synchronization set in the multiple synchronization sets, so as to transmit each target service flow within the delay difference threshold range corresponding to the two target service groups included in each synchronization set;

[0199] In the case where there are multiple synchronization sets and the delay difference threshold includes a delay difference threshold, the first network device allocates wireless resources to each target service flow in each target service group included in each synchronization set based on the delay difference threshold and the resource allocation order of each target service group in one or more target service groups included in each synchronization set in the multiple synchronization sets, so as to transmit each target service flow included in each target service group included in each synchronization set within the delay difference threshold.

[0200] It should be noted that the aforementioned wireless resources may refer to air interface wireless resources between the access network device and the terminal device, and the wireless resources may include time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources. In addition, the terminal devices corresponding to different wireless resources in the aforementioned multiple wireless resources may be the same or different. In other words, the second network device divides the wireless resources based on the target service flow in the target service group. Ultimately, the data packets in the target service flow can be sent to the same terminal device or different terminal devices via different wireless resources.

[0201] There may also be a situation where, among multiple service groups, there may be a service group that does not require synchronization. In this case, if the priority of the service group that does not require synchronization is the lowest, wireless resources can be allocated to the service group that does not require synchronization last. There may also be another situation where the priority of the service group that does not require synchronization is not the lowest. In this case, all service groups are sorted according to their priorities to obtain a resource allocation order for each service group. Based on the resource allocation order of each service group, wireless resources are allocated to each service flow within each service group. It should be understood that in the case of limited resources, the solution provided in this embodiment can allocate wireless resources first to service flows of service groups with higher priorities. For example, in a scenario where wireless resources are allocated to each business flow of each business group according to the resource allocation order of each business group, after wireless resources are allocated to each business flow in a business group with a higher priority, some business groups with a lower priority may have no wireless resources. At this time, wireless resources may not be allocated to these business groups with a lower priority, that is, all business flows in these business groups with a lower priority may be discarded; wherein, these business groups with a lower priority may include one or more of the aforementioned target business groups that require inter-group synchronization, or may only include business groups that do not require synchronization. In either case, it is within the scope of protection of this embodiment.

[0202] 9 , taking the first network device as PCF, the second network device as RAN, the third network device as AF, the fifth network device as NEF, and the terminal device as UE as an example, the synchronization method provided in the aforementioned embodiment is exemplarily described:

[0203] S901. The AF sends first information to the PCF through the NEF. The first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups. The multiple target service groups are service groups among multiple service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0204] The first information may include at least one of the following: a service group identifier, the service group identifier including: identification information of each service group in the multiple service groups; a synchronization identifier, the synchronization identifier is used to determine multiple target service groups in the multiple service groups that require inter-group synchronization; service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in the multiple service flows contained in each service group in the multiple service groups; a delay difference threshold, the delay difference threshold is used to determine the threshold of the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups; a service group priority, the service group priority is used to indicate the priority of each service group in the multiple service groups. The above content contained in the first information has been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here. It should be pointed out here that, in addition to the content contained in the aforementioned embodiment, the first information may also include service flow QoS requirements. The detailed description of the service flow QoS requirements is the same as the aforementioned example and will not be repeated here.

[0205] S902. PCF forwards the first information to SMF.

[0206] It should be noted that, in addition to executing S902, after receiving the first information, the PCF may also execute the aforementioned processing of S702 to S704, and / or the PCF may also execute the aforementioned processing of S802 to S804. S702 to S704 and S802 to S804 are not described in detail in this example.

[0207] S903. SMF forwards the first information to AMF.

[0208] Regarding the aforementioned S902 to S903, it should be noted that, in another example, the PCF can send the first information directly to the AMF without forwarding it through the SMF.

[0209] S904. AMF forwards the first information to the RAN.

[0210] S905. RAN determines the multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization and the one or more target service flows contained in each target service group based on the service group identifier in the first information, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers; allocates multiple wireless resources based on the delay difference threshold contained in the first information; wherein the multiple wireless resources are used to transmit one or more target service flows contained in each target service group in the multiple target service groups within the delay difference threshold, and different wireless resources are used to transmit different target service flows.

[0211] It should be noted that the terminal devices corresponding to different wireless resources in the aforementioned multiple wireless resources can be the same or different. That is to say, the RAN divides the wireless resources based on the target service flow in the target service group, and ultimately can send data packets in the target service flow to the same terminal device or different terminal devices through different wireless resources.

[0212] In Figure 9, the aforementioned S905 also covers the UE. This is because the multiple wireless resources allocated by the RAN are specifically air interface wireless resources between the RAN and the UE, and the RAN transmits each service flow in multiple service groups to the UE through the multiple wireless resources. Therefore, for the sake of illustration, the processing of S905 covers the RAN and the UE.

[0213] That is, RAN allocates wireless resources to each target service flow of each target service group in multiple target service groups with inter-group synchronization requirements to ensure that the delay difference between each target service flow in each target service group in multiple target service groups with inter-group synchronization requirements is less than the delay difference threshold given by AF.

[0214] In some possible implementations, the third network device sending the first information includes: the third network device sending a first data packet to the second network device via a fourth network device; the first data packet's header carries the first information. Correspondingly, the second network device receiving the first information includes: the second network device receiving the first data packet sent from the third network device via the fourth network device; the first data packet's header carries the first information. The fourth network device may be a UPF.

[0215] The third network device sending the first data packet to the second network device via the fourth network device may include: the third network device adding the first information to a header of the first original data packet and sending the first original data packet to the fourth network device via the user interface; the fourth network device encapsulating the first information in the header of the first original data packet into a GTP-U header to obtain the first data packet, and then sending the first data packet to the second network device. Accordingly, the fourth network device may process the first data packet by receiving the first original data packet sent by the third network device, reading the first information from the header of the first original data packet, encapsulating the first information into a GTP-U (User Plane part of GTP) header, generating the first data packet based on the content outside the header of the first original data packet and the GTP-U header; and sending the first data packet to the second network device via the user interface. GTP stands for GPRS Tunnel Protocol, and GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service.

[0216] After the second network device receives the first data packet sent by the third network device through the fourth network device, it may include: the second network device obtains the first information from the header of the first data packet; the header of the first data packet may be the aforementioned GTP-U header.

[0217] In this embodiment, the first information includes an expected arrival time of a first data packet. The expected arrival time of the first data packet and each of one or more second data packets is the same; different second data packets in the one or more second data packets belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows; and each second data packet belongs to a different target service group and / or different target service flow than the first data packet.

[0218] That is to say, the third network device can determine in advance multiple target business groups with inter-group synchronization requirements; the third network device can determine an expected arrival time when there are multiple data packets to be sent that need to be sent synchronously; the same expected arrival time is added to the packet header of each of the multiple data packets to be sent that need to be sent synchronously to obtain multiple original data packets; then the third network device sends each original data packet to the fourth network device through the user. The aforementioned first original data packet can be any one of the multiple original data packets. Among the aforementioned multiple data packets to be sent that need to be sent synchronously, different data packets to be sent belong to different target business groups and / or different target business flows.

[0219] The aforementioned first data packet may be a data packet of any target service flow in any target service group. Assuming that the first data packet is a data packet of the first target service flow of the first target service group among multiple target service groups, then any of the aforementioned second data packets may be a data packet of any other target service flow in the first target service group other than the first target service flow; alternatively, any of the aforementioned second data packets may be a data packet of any target service flow in any other target service group other than the first target service group.

[0220] The second network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one target business group among the multiple target business groups based on the first information, including: the second network device allocates a first wireless resource based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet contained in the first information; wherein the first wireless resource is used to transmit the first data packet to the terminal device at the expected arrival time of the first data packet; the first wireless resource is one of multiple wireless resources, and the multiple wireless resources include one or more second wireless resources in addition to the first wireless resource; wherein each second wireless resource in the one or more second wireless resources is used to transmit each second data packet, and different second wireless resources are used to transmit different second data packets; the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each second data packet; different second data packets belong to different target business groups and / or different target business flows; each second data packet belongs to a different target business group and / or a different target business flow from the first data packet.

[0221] Here, the second network device allocates the first wireless resource based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet contained in the first information. This may be: the second network device determines, based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet contained in the first information, a first wireless resource that meets the expected arrival time. The first wireless resource that meets the expected arrival time may include a first time domain resource and / or a first frequency domain resource. The start time of the first time domain resource may be the aforementioned expected arrival time. This embodiment does not limit the first frequency domain resource.

[0222] It should be understood that the second network device may receive a first data packet and one or more second data packets sent by the third network device through a fourth network device. The second network device may then parse the first information contained in the header of the first data packet, namely the expected arrival time of the first data packet, and the expected arrival time of the second data packet contained in the header of each second data packet. If the expected arrival time of the first data packet and the expected arrival time of each second data packet are the same, the second network device may allocate a first wireless resource to the first data packet and a corresponding second wireless resource to each second data packet based on the expected arrival time. The first data packet and each second data packet may then be transmitted using the first wireless resource and each second wireless resource. Because the second network device allocates the first wireless resource and each second wireless resource based on the same expected arrival time, it can ensure that the data packets of each target service flow in each target service group within multiple target service groups with inter-group synchronization requirements arrive synchronously at the terminal device. It should be noted that the terminal devices corresponding to the first data packet and each second data packet may be the same or different. In other words, the first data packet and the second data packet may be sent to the same terminal device or different terminal devices, all within the scope of protection of this embodiment.

[0223] Furthermore, in addition to the expected arrival time of the first data packet, the aforementioned first information may also include at least one of the following: an identifier of the target business group to which the first data packet belongs, and an identifier of each of one or more other target business groups that the target business group to which the first data packet belongs requires inter-group synchronization. For example, the identifier of the target business group to which the first data packet belongs may be 01; and the identifier of one of the other target business groups that the target business group to which the first data packet belongs requires inter-group synchronization may be 02. Through this first information, the second network device can know that the first data packet needs to be transmitted synchronously with the second data packet of the target business group 02 to the terminal device. Then, when the second data packet is received, if the second data packet does not carry the expected arrival time, the expected arrival time corresponding to the first data packet can be directly used as the expected arrival time of the second data packet, thereby allocating the first wireless resource to the first data packet and the second wireless resource to the second data packet.

[0224] In addition, the first information may also include the priority of the target business group to which the first data packet belongs. In this case, if the second network device currently receives the first data packet and one or more second data packets, the resource allocation order of the first data packet and each second data packet can be determined according to the priority of the target business group corresponding to the first data packet and each second data packet respectively; based on the resource allocation order of the first data packet and each second data packet, the first wireless resource is allocated to the first data packet, the corresponding second wireless resource is allocated to each second data packet, and the first data packet and each second data packet are sent. It should be understood that after completing the allocation of wireless resources for data packets with higher priority, there may be a situation where resources are limited. At this time, if there are still some data packets (such as at least part of the first data packet and one or more second data packets) that have no allocable wireless resources, these data packets can be directly discarded.

[0225] 10 , taking the first network device as PCF, the second network device as RAN, the third network device as AF, the fifth network device as NEF, and the terminal device as UE as an example, the synchronization method provided in the aforementioned embodiment is exemplarily described:

[0226] S1001. AF adds the first information to the header of the first original data packet and sends it to UPF through the user plane.

[0227] The content of the first information has been described in the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0228] S1002. The UPF reads the first information from the header of the first original data packet, encapsulates the first information in a GTP-U header to obtain a first data packet, and forwards the first data packet to the RAN through the user plane.

[0229] S1003. The RAN reads first information from the GTP-U header of the first data packet.

[0230] S1004. The RAN allocates a first radio resource based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet included in the first information; wherein the first radio resource is used to transmit the first data packet to the UE at the expected arrival time of the first data packet.

[0231] The above solution provided in this embodiment is a solution for realizing synchronization between service groups based on 5GS, which mainly includes: AF needs to provide the first information to the device in 5GS, so that the device in 5GS determines whether synchronization between service groups is required, and determines at least one of the information such as multiple target service groups that need synchronization between groups, the priorities of different service groups, and the expected arrival time of data packets, so as to realize synchronous transmission and resource scheduling between service groups. Based on the first information, in 5GC (such as PCF), the delay difference between target service flows of different target service groups can also be obtained through the QoS monitoring mechanism, and the measured delay can be sent to AF for it to adjust the data transmission rate of different service flows, or PCF itself can adjust the QoS parameters; RAN can also perform wireless resource scheduling processing according to the first information, and finally realize synchronization between service groups.

[0232] As can be seen, by adopting the above solution, a network device can obtain first information, use this first information to determine multiple target service groups among multiple service groups that require inter-group synchronization, and then perform synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target service groups. In this way, synchronization control can be performed at the granularity of service groups, thereby resolving the problem of being unable to ensure synchronization between multiple service groups.

[0233] Furthermore, compared with the multi-modal service flow synchronization solution when providing one application service to a single user, the present solution does not need to map service flows of the same modality to one QoS flow through the division of service groups. Instead, service flows of the same modality with different QoS requirements can be divided into QoS flows of different service groups, so that 5GS can support more fine-grained multi-service flow synchronous transmission, thereby solving the problem of synchronous transmission between multiple service groups when using multiple application services and multi-user interaction, filling the gap in the existing technology.

[0234] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a first network device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0235] The first communication unit 1101 is configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups, where the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0236] Based on FIG11 , as shown in FIG12 , the first network device further includes:

[0237] The first processing unit 1102 is used to trigger a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target business flows contained in each of the multiple target business groups to obtain a monitoring result; and when it is determined that the multiple target business groups are not synchronized based on the monitoring result and the first information, perform synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target business groups.

[0238] The first information includes at least one of the following: a business group identifier, which includes: identification information of at least one business group among the multiple business groups; a synchronization identifier, which is used to determine multiple target business groups that require inter-group synchronization; and business flow description information corresponding to each business flow in one or more business flows contained in each business group in the at least one business group.

[0239] The first processing unit is used to determine the multiple target business groups that require inter-group synchronization and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers.

[0240] The monitoring results include at least one of the following: the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in different target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0241] The first information further includes: a delay difference threshold, where the delay difference threshold is used to determine a threshold of a delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups.

[0242] The first processing unit is used to determine, based on the monitoring results, that the multiple target business groups are out of synchronization when the delay difference between different target business groups in the multiple target business groups is greater than or equal to the delay difference threshold in the first information; the first communication unit is used to send second information, and the second information is used to synchronize one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0243] The first processing unit is used to adjust the QoS parameters of each target business flow in one or more target business flows of at least one target business group among the multiple target business groups when the delay difference between two target business groups is greater than the delay difference threshold, so as to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target business flow.

[0244] The second information includes: the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow.

[0245] The first communication unit is used to perform at least one of the following: sending the second information to the second network device; sending the second information to the terminal device.

[0246] The second information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of each target business group in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups; business flow description information corresponding to each target business flow in one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0247] The first communication unit is configured to send the second information to a third network device.

[0248] The first communication unit is used to receive the first information sent by the third network device.

[0249] The first communication unit is configured to send the first information to the second network device.

[0250] The first network device is a policy control function (PCF), the second network device is an access network device, and the third network device is an application server.

[0251] The first network device of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the first network device in the aforementioned information verification method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the first network device can be found in the corresponding descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, which will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described in the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the first network device of the application embodiment can be implemented by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0252] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second network device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0253] The second communication unit 1301 is configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups, where the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0254] Based on FIG13 , as shown in FIG14 , the second network device further includes:

[0255] The second processing unit 1302 is configured to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the multiple target service groups based on the first information.

[0256] The first information includes at least one of the following: a service group identifier, which includes: identification information of at least one service group among the multiple service groups; a synchronization identifier, which is used to determine multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in one or more service flows contained in each service group in the at least one service group; and a delay difference threshold, which includes a threshold for the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups.

[0257] The second processing unit is used to determine the multiple target business groups that need inter-group synchronization and the one or more target business flows contained in each target business group based on the business group identifier in the first information, the business flow description information corresponding to each business flow, and at least one of the synchronization identifiers; and allocate multiple wireless resources based on the delay difference threshold contained in the first information; wherein the multiple wireless resources are used to transmit one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in the multiple target business groups within the delay difference threshold, and different wireless resources are used to transmit different target business flows.

[0258] The first information further includes a service group priority, where the service group priority is used to indicate the priority of each service group in the multiple service groups.

[0259] The second processing unit is used to determine the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups based on the business group priority contained in the first information; and allocate the multiple wireless resources based on the resource allocation order of the multiple target business groups and the delay difference threshold contained in the first information.

[0260] The second communication unit is used to receive the first information sent by the first network device.

[0261] The first information includes an expected arrival time of the first data packet.

[0262] The second processing unit is used to allocate a first wireless resource based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet contained in the first information; wherein, the first wireless resource is used to transmit the first data packet to the terminal device at the expected arrival time of the first data packet; the first wireless resource is one of multiple wireless resources, and the multiple wireless resources include one or more second wireless resources in addition to the first wireless resource; wherein, each second wireless resource in the one or more second wireless resources is used to transmit each second data packet, and different second wireless resources are used to transmit different second data packets; the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each second data packet; different second data packets belong to different target business groups and / or different target business flows; each second data packet belongs to a different target business group and / or a different target business flow from the first data packet.

[0263] The second communication unit is configured to receive the first data packet sent from the third network device through the fourth network device; the header of the first data packet carries the first information.

[0264] The fourth network device is a user plane function (UPF); the third network device is an application server; the first network device is a PCF; and the second network device is an access network device.

[0265] The second network device of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the second network device in the aforementioned information verification method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the second network device can be found in the corresponding descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described in the various modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the second network device of the application embodiment can be implemented by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.), or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0266] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a third network device according to an embodiment of the present application, including:

[0267] The third communication unit 1501 is configured to send first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups, where the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization.

[0268] The first information includes at least one of the following: a service group identifier, the service group identifier including: identification information of at least one service group among the multiple service groups; a synchronization identifier, the synchronization identifier is used to determine multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in one or more service flows contained in each service group in the at least one service group; a delay difference threshold, the delay difference threshold including a threshold for the delay difference between different target service groups in the multiple target service groups; a service group priority, the service group priority is used to indicate the priority of each service group in the multiple service groups.

[0269] The third communication unit is used to send the first information to the first network device.

[0270] The third communication unit is configured to receive second information sent by the first network device, where the second information is used to synchronize one or more target service flows included in each target service group in the multiple target service groups.

[0271] The second information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of each target business group in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; the delay difference between target business flows of the same type in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups; business flow description information corresponding to each target business flow in one or more target business flows contained in each target business group in two target business groups in the multiple target business groups; the delay of each target business flow in one or more target business flows in each target business group in the multiple target business groups.

[0272] Based on FIG15 , as shown in FIG16 , the third network device further includes:

[0273] The third processing unit 1502 is used to determine, based on the second information, each target business group of two target business groups among the multiple target business groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; and adjust the data transmission rate of one or more target business flows in at least one of the two target business groups to synchronize one or more target business flows in the two target business groups.

[0274] The first information includes the expected arrival time of the first data packet; wherein, the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each second data packet in one or more second data packets; different second data packets in the one or more second data packets belong to different target business groups and / or different target business flows; each second data packet belongs to a different target business group and / or a different target business flow than the first data packet.

[0275] The third communication unit is used to send a first data packet to the second network device through the fourth network device; the header of the first data packet carries the first information.

[0276] The first network device is a PCF, the fourth network device is a user plane function (UPF), the second network device is an access network device, and the third network device is an application server.

[0277] The third network device of the embodiment of the present application can implement the corresponding functions of the second network device in the aforementioned information verification method embodiment. The processes, functions, implementation methods and beneficial effects corresponding to each module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the third network device can be found in the corresponding description in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described in the various modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) in the third network device of the application embodiment can be implemented by different modules (sub-module, unit or component, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0278] Figure 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1700 includes a processor 1710, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to enable the communication device 1700 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0279] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may further include a memory 1720. The processor 1710 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1720 to enable the communication device 1700 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0280] The memory 1720 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1710 , or may be integrated into the processor 1710 .

[0281] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may further include a transceiver 1730 , and the processor 1710 may control the transceiver 1730 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0282] The transceiver 1730 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1730 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0283] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may be the first network device of the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1700 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, no further details are given here. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may be the second network device of the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1700 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the second network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, no further details are given here. In one possible implementation, the communication device 1700 may be the third network device of the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1700 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the third network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, no further details are given here.

[0284] 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 1800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1800 includes a processor 1810, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0285] In one possible implementation, the chip 1800 may further include a memory 1820. The processor 1810 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1820 to implement the method performed by the access network device or the first core network device in the embodiment of the present application. The memory 1820 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1810 or integrated into the processor 1810.

[0286] In one possible implementation, the chip 1800 may further include an input interface 1830. The processor 1810 may control the input interface 1830 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips. In one possible implementation, the chip 1800 may further include an output interface 1840. The processor 1810 may control the output interface 1840 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0287] In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the first network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the first network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here. In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the second network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the second network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here. In one possible implementation, the chip can be applied to the third network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the third network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here. The chips applied to the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device can be the same chip or different chips.

[0288] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0289] The processor mentioned above may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor mentioned above may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0290] The memory mentioned above may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. 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).

[0291] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0292] Figure 19 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1900 according to an embodiment of the present application. Communication system 1900 includes a first network device 1910, a second network device 1920, and a third network device 1930. First network device 1910 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the first network device in the above-described method. Second network device 1920 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the second network device in the above-described method. Third network device 1930 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the third network device in the above-described method. For the sake of brevity, these details are not further described here.

[0293] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function in accordance with the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0294] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0295] Those skilled in the art will 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.

[0296] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A synchronization method, comprising: A first network device receives first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, and the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization among a plurality of service groups.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, After the first network device receives the first information, the method further includes: The first network device triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups, and obtains a monitoring result; When the first network device determines that the plurality of target service groups are out of sync based on the monitoring result and the first information, the first network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the plurality of target service groups.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first information includes at least one of the following: A service group identifier, where the service group identifier includes: identifier information of at least one service group among the plurality of service groups; A synchronization identifier, where the synchronization identifier is used to determine a plurality of target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; Service flow description information corresponding to each service flow among one or more service flows included in each service group among the at least one service group.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, Before the first network device triggers a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups and obtains a monitoring result, the method further includes: The first network device determines, based on at least one of the service group identifier, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and the synchronization identifier in the first information, the plurality of target service groups that require inter-group synchronization, and the one or more target service flows included in each target service group.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, wherein The monitoring result includes at least one of the following: A time delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups; A time delay difference between the same type of target service flows in different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups; The time delay of each target service flow among one or more target service flows in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The first information further includes: a time delay difference threshold, where the time delay difference threshold is used to determine a threshold for the time delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, When the first network device performs synchronization-related processing on the plurality of target service groups when determining that the plurality of target service groups are out of sync based on the monitoring result and the first information, it includes: When the first network device determines, based on the monitoring result, that there is a time delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups that is greater than or equal to the time delay difference threshold in the first information, it determines that the plurality of target service groups are out of sync; The first network device sends second information, where the second information is used to synchronize one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein Before the first network device sends the second information, the method further includes: When the time delay difference between two target service groups among the multiple target service groups of the first network device is greater than the time delay difference threshold, the first network device adjusts the QoS parameters of each target service flow in one or more target service flows of at least one of the two target service groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The second information includes: the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7-9, wherein, The first network device sending the second information includes at least one of the following: The first network device sends the second information to a second network device; The first network device sends the second information to a terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The second information includes at least one of the following: The identifier of each of the two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose time delay difference is greater than the time delay difference threshold; The time delay difference between the target service flows of the same type in two target service groups among the multiple target service groups; The service flow description information corresponding to each target service flow in one or more target service flows included in each of the two target service groups among the multiple target service groups; The time delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in each target service group among the multiple target service groups.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The first network device sending the second information includes: The first network device sends the second information to a third network device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein, The first network device receiving the first information includes: The first network device receives the first information sent by the third network device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein, After the first network device receives the first information, the method further includes: The first network device sends the first information to the second network device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein, The first network device is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

16. The method according to claim 10 or 14, wherein The second network device is an access network device.

17. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein, The third network device is an application server.

18. A synchronization method, including: A second network device receives first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups, and the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization among multiple service groups.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, After the second network device receives the first information, the method further includes: The second network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the multiple target service groups based on the first information.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, The first information includes at least one of the following: A service group identifier, where the service group identifier includes: the identifier information of at least one service group among the multiple service groups; A synchronization identifier, where the synchronization identifier is used to determine multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; The service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in one or more service flows included in each of the at least one service group; A time delay difference threshold, where the time delay difference threshold includes the threshold of the time delay difference between different target service groups among the multiple target service groups.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, The second network device performing synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the multiple target service groups based on the first information includes: The second network device determines the multiple target service groups that need to be synchronized among groups, and the one or more target service flows included in each target service group, based on at least one of the service group identifier, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and the synchronization identifier in the first information; The second network device allocates multiple radio resources based on the delay difference threshold included in the first information; wherein the multiple radio resources are used to transmit the one or more target service flows included in each target service group within the range of the delay difference threshold, and different radio resources are used to transmit different target service flows.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The first information further includes: a service group priority, which is used to indicate the priority of each service group among the multiple service groups.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein The second network device allocating multiple radio resources based on the delay difference threshold included in the first information includes: The second network device determines the resource allocation order of the multiple target service groups based on the service group priority included in the first information; The second network device allocates the multiple radio resources based on the resource allocation order of the multiple target service groups and the delay difference threshold included in the first information.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 - 23, wherein, The second network device receiving the first information includes: The second network device receives the first information sent by the first network device.

25. The method according to claim 19, wherein The first information includes the expected arrival time of the first data packet.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein, The second network device performs synchronization-related processing on at least one of the multiple target service groups based on the first information, including: The second network device allocates a first radio resource based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet included in the first information; wherein the first radio resource is used to transmit the first data packet to the terminal device at the expected arrival time of the first data packet; The first radio resource is one of the multiple radio resources, and the multiple radio resources further include one or more second radio resources in addition to the first radio resource; wherein each second radio resource among the one or more second radio resources is used to transmit each second data packet, and different second radio resources are used to transmit different second data packets; the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each second data packet; different second data packets belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows; each second data packet and the first data packet belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows.

27. The method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein The second network device receiving the first information includes: The second network device receives the first data packet sent by the third network device through the fourth network device; the first information is carried in the header of the first data packet.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein The fourth network device is a User Plane Function (UPF); the third network device is an application server.

29. The method according to claim 24, wherein The first network device is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

30. The method according to any one of claims 18 - 29, wherein, The second network device is an access network device.

31. A synchronization method, including: The third network device sends first information, which is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one of multiple target service groups, and the multiple target service groups are service groups that need inter-group synchronization among multiple service groups. The first information includes at least one of the following:

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein A service group identifier, which includes: identification information of at least one service group among the multiple service groups; A synchronization identifier, which is used to determine multiple target service groups that need inter-group synchronization; Service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in one or more service flows included in each of the at least one service group; A delay difference threshold, which includes a threshold of the delay difference between different target service groups among the multiple target service groups; A service group priority, which is used to indicate the priority of each service group among the multiple service groups. The third network device sending the first information includes:

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein, The third network device sends the first information to the first network device. After the third network device sends the first information to the first network device, the method further includes:

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein, The third network device receives second information sent by the first network device, and the second information is used to synchronize one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the multiple target service groups. The second information includes at least one of the following:

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein, Identifiers of each of two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; The delay difference between the same type of target service flows in two target service groups among the multiple target service groups; Service flow description information corresponding to each target service flow in one or more target service flows included in each of two target service groups among the multiple target service groups; The delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the multiple target service groups. After the third network device receives the second information sent by the first network device, the method further includes:

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein, The third network device determines each of two target service groups among the multiple target service groups whose delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold based on the second information; The third network device adjusts the data transmission rate of one or more target service flows in at least one of the two target service groups to synchronize the one or more target service flows in the two target service groups. The first information includes the expected arrival time of the first data packet; 37. The method according to claim 31, wherein, Wherein, the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each of one or more second data packets; different second data packets among the one or more second data packets belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows; each second data packet belongs to a different target service group and / or different target service flow from the first data packet. The third network device sending the first information includes:

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein The third network device sends the first data packet to the second network device through the fourth network device; the first information is carried in the header of the first data packet. The first network device is a PCF.

39. The method according to any one of claims 33 - 35, wherein, ​ 40. The method according to claim 38, wherein, The fourth network device is a User Plane Function (UPF); the second network device is an access network device.

41. The method according to any one of claims 31 - 40, wherein The third network device is an application server.

42. A first network device, comprising: A first communication unit, configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among a plurality of target service groups, and the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization among a plurality of service groups.

43. The first network device according to claim 42, wherein, The first network device further comprises: A first processing unit, configured to trigger a Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring mechanism for one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups to obtain a monitoring result; and perform synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among the plurality of target service groups when it is determined based on the monitoring result and the first information that the plurality of target service groups are out of synchronization.

44. The first network device according to claim 43, wherein, The first information includes at least one of the following: a service group identifier, where the service group identifier includes identifier information of at least one service group among the plurality of service groups; a synchronization identifier, where the synchronization identifier is used to determine a plurality of target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; and service flow description information corresponding to each service flow among one or more service flows included in each service group among the at least one service group.

45. The first network device according to claim 44, wherein, The first processing unit is configured to determine, based on at least one of the service group identifier, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and the synchronization identifier in the first information, the plurality of target service groups that require inter-group synchronization, and the one or more target service flows included in each target service group.

46. The first network device according to any one of claims 43-45, wherein, The monitoring result includes at least one of the following: a time delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups; a time delay difference between target service flows of the same type in different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups; and the time delay of each target service flow among one or more target service flows in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups.

47. The first network device according to claim 46, wherein, The first information further includes: a time delay difference threshold, where the time delay difference threshold is used to determine a threshold for the time delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups.

48. The first network device according to claim 47, wherein The first processing unit is configured to determine that the plurality of target service groups are out of synchronization when it is determined based on the monitoring result that there is a time delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups that is greater than or equal to the time delay difference threshold in the first information; The first communication unit is configured to send second information, where the second information is used to synchronize one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the plurality of target service groups.

49. The first network device according to claim 48, wherein, The first processing unit is configured to, when the time delay difference between two target service groups among the plurality of target service groups is greater than the time delay difference threshold, adjust the QoS parameters of each target service flow among one or more target service flows in at least one of the two target service groups to obtain the adjusted QoS parameters of each target service flow.

50. The first network device according to claim 49, wherein, The second information includes: the adjusted QoS parameters of each of the target service flows.

51. The first network device according to any one of claims 48 - 50, wherein, The first communication unit is configured to perform at least one of the following: send the second information to a second network device; send the second information to a terminal device.

52. The first network device according to claim 48, wherein, The second information includes at least one of the following: identifiers of each of the two target service groups in the multiple target service groups where the delay difference is greater than the delay difference threshold; the delay difference between the same type of target service flows in two target service groups among the multiple target service groups; service flow description information corresponding to each of the one or more target service flows included in each of the two target service groups in the multiple target service groups; the delay of each of the one or more target service flows in each of the multiple target service groups.

53. The first network device according to claim 52, wherein, The first communication unit is configured to send the second information to a third network device.

54. The first network device according to any one of claims 42-53, wherein, The first communication unit is configured to receive the first information sent by the third network device.

55. The first network device according to any one of claims 42-54, wherein, The first communication unit is configured to send the first information to the second network device.

56. The first network device according to any one of claims 42-55, wherein, The first network device is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

57. The first network device according to claim 51 or 55, wherein, The second network device is an access network device.

58. The first network device according to claim 53 or 54, wherein, The third network device is an application server.

59. A second network device, comprising: A second communication unit, configured to receive first information for performing synchronization-related processing on at least one of a plurality of target service groups, where the plurality of target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization among a plurality of service groups.

60. The second network device according to claim 59, wherein, The second network device further comprises: A second processing unit, configured to perform synchronization-related processing on at least one of the plurality of target service groups based on the first information.

61. The second network device according to claim 60, wherein, The first information includes at least one of the following: a service group identifier, where the service group identifier includes identifier information of at least one of the plurality of service groups; a synchronization identifier for determining a plurality of target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; service flow description information corresponding to each of the one or more service flows included in each of the at least one service group; a delay difference threshold, where the delay difference threshold includes a threshold of the delay difference between different target service groups among the plurality of target service groups.

62. The second network device according to claim 61, wherein, The second processing unit is configured to determine, based on at least one of the service group identifier, the service flow description information corresponding to each service flow, and the synchronization identifier in the first information, the plurality of target service groups that require inter-group synchronization, and the one or more target service flows included in each of the target service groups; allocate a plurality of radio resources based on the delay difference threshold included in the first information; where the plurality of radio resources are used to transmit the one or more target service flows included in each of the plurality of target service groups within the range of the delay difference threshold, and different radio resources are used to transmit different target service flows.

63. The second network device according to claim 62, wherein, The first information further includes: a service group priority for indicating the priority of each of the plurality of service groups.

64. The second network device according to claim 63, wherein The second processing unit is configured to determine the resource allocation order of the multiple target service groups based on the service group priorities included in the first information; Based on the resource allocation order of the multiple target service groups and the delay difference threshold included in the first information, allocate the multiple radio resources.

65. The second network device according to any one of claims 59-64, wherein, The second communication unit is configured to receive the first information sent by the first network device.

66. The second network device according to claim 60, wherein, The first information includes the expected arrival time of the first data packet.

67. The second network device according to claim 66, wherein, The second processing unit is configured to allocate first radio resources based on the expected arrival time of the first data packet included in the first information; wherein the first radio resources are used to transmit the first data packet to the terminal device at the expected arrival time of the first data packet; The first radio resources are one of the multiple radio resources, and the multiple radio resources further include one or more second radio resources in addition to the first radio resources; wherein each of the one or more second radio resources is used to transmit each second data packet, and different second radio resources are used to transmit different second data packets; the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each second data packet; different second data packets belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows; each second data packet and the first data packet belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows.

68. The second network device according to claim 66 or 67, wherein, The second communication unit is configured to receive the first data packet sent by the third network device through the fourth network device; the first information is carried in the header of the first data packet.

69. The second network device according to claim 68, wherein, The fourth network device is a User Plane Function (UPF); the third network device is an application server.

70. The second network device according to claim 65, wherein, The first network device is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

71. The second network device according to any one of claims 59-70, wherein, The second network device is an access network device.

72. A third network device, comprising: A third communication unit, configured to send first information for performing synchronization-related processing on at least one target service group among multiple target service groups, where the multiple target service groups are service groups that require inter-group synchronization among multiple service groups.

73. The third network device according to claim 72, wherein, The first information includes at least one of the following: a service group identifier, where the service group identifier includes the identifier information of at least one service group among the multiple service groups; a synchronization identifier for determining multiple target service groups that require inter-group synchronization; service flow description information corresponding to each service flow in one or more service flows included in each service group among the at least one service group; a delay difference threshold, where the delay difference threshold includes the threshold of the delay difference between different target service groups among the multiple target service groups; a service group priority for indicating the priority of each service group among the multiple service groups.

74. The third network device according to claim 73, wherein, The third communication unit is configured to send the first information to the first network device.

75. The third network device according to claim 74, wherein, The third communication unit is configured to receive second information sent by the first network device for synchronizing one or more target service flows included in each target service group among the multiple target service groups.

76. The third network device according to claim 75, wherein, The second information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of each of two target service groups in the multiple target service groups, where the time delay difference between the two target service groups is greater than the time delay difference threshold; the time delay difference between the same type of target service flows in two target service groups in the multiple target service groups; service flow description information corresponding to each target service flow in one or more target service flows included in each of two target service groups in the multiple target service groups; the time delay of each target service flow in one or more target service flows in each target service group in the multiple target service groups.

77. The third network device according to claim 76, wherein, The third network device further includes: A third processing unit, configured to determine, based on the second information, each of two target service groups in the multiple target service groups, where the time delay difference between the two target service groups is greater than the time delay difference threshold; and adjust the data transmission rate of one or more target service flows in at least one of the two target service groups to synchronize the one or more target service flows in the two target service groups.

78. The third network device according to claim 72, wherein, The first information includes the expected arrival time of a first data packet; where the expected arrival time of the first data packet is the same as that of each of one or more second data packets; different second data packets in the one or more second data packets belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows; and each second data packet and the first data packet belong to different target service groups and / or different target service flows.

79. The third network device according to claim 78, wherein, The third communication unit is configured to send the first data packet to the second network device through the fourth network device; and the first information is carried in the packet header of the first data packet.

80. The third network device according to any one of claims 74-76, wherein, The first network device is a PCF.

81. The third network device according to claim 79, wherein, The fourth network device is a user plane function UPF; and the second network device is an access network device.

82. The third network device according to any one of claims 72-81, wherein, The third network device is an application server.

83. A first network device, comprising: A transceiver, a processor, and a memory, where 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, so that the first network device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

84. A second network device, comprising: A transceiver, a processor, and a memory, where 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, so that the second network device executes the method according to any one of claims 18 to 30.

85. A third network device, comprising: A transceiver, a processor, and a memory, where 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, so that the third network device executes the method according to any one of claims 31 to 41.

86. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device installed with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, or claims 18 to 30, or claims 31 to 41.

87. A computer-readable storage medium, used to store a computer program, where when the computer program is run by a device, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, or claims 18 to 30, or claims 31 to 41.

88. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions that cause a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, or claims 18 to 30, or claims 31 to 41.

89. A computer program that causes a computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, or claims 18 to 30, or claims 31 to 41.

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