Communication method and related device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device, which are applied to the technical field of communication. In the technical scheme provided by the invention, a first network device receives a first shunting strategy from a first core network element, and the first shunting strategy indicates a QoS flow shunted to the first network device in a first PDU session and / or a data volume shunted to the first network device in the QoS flow in the first PDU session; and determining a first capability according to the first offload policy, wherein the first capability is a capability capable of enabling the first network device to guarantee the first offload policy in the capabilities of the first UE. In the application, under a core network shunting mechanism, the data transmission rate of the UE is effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods and related devices. Background Art

[0002] When there is no interface between base stations to support dual connectivity of UE or the base station capability does not support dual connectivity of UE, in order to improve the data transmission rate of UE, a core network offload mechanism is proposed in the communication field. The core network offload mechanism means that UE can transmit data to the core network through two base stations respectively, and UE can establish control plane connections with the core network through these two base stations respectively. Among them, the core network can be one or two.

[0003] However, the communications field has not yet provided a technical solution that each network element or device in the communications system needs to implement under the core network diversion mechanism. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method, a communication device and a communication system, which can implement a core network offload mechanism, thereby improving the data transmission rate of the UE.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network device. The method includes: receiving a first indication message from an SMF entity, the first indication message indicating at least one of the following information: the first QoS flow in the first PDU session stops transmitting, the second QoS flow is added to transmit in the first PDU session, or the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session are updated, and the first PDU session is a PDU session that transmits the service data of the first terminal through the first network device; determining a first capability according to the first indication message, the first capability is the capability of the first terminal required by the first network device, and the first capability is a subset of the total capability of the first terminal.

[0006] In this implementation, the first PDU session may be a PDU session that has been established by the network device and transmits relevant business data of the first terminal through the first network device, and the first indication information indicates the updated information of the first PDU session, wherein the reason for updating the information of the first PDU session may be to divert the business data of the first terminal, for example, to divert the business data of the first terminal, that is, part of the business data of the first terminal is transmitted through the first network device, and another part of the data of the first terminal is transmitted through the second network device.

[0007] In this method, the first network device can receive the first indication information sent by the SMF entity, so that it can obtain the updated information of the first PDU session associated with the first network device and used by the business data of the first terminal after the core network side is diverted, so that the first network device can determine the terminal capabilities required for the first network device to transmit part of the business data of the first terminal, so that the implementation of the diversion strategy on the core network side can be technically supported on the access network side.

[0008] In some possible implementations, the first network device sends first capability information to the first terminal, where the first capability information indicates the first capability. In this implementation, after determining the first capability, the first network device informs the first terminal so that the first terminal can receive or send its own service data based on the first capability, in order to achieve the diversion strategy on the core network side and obtain technical support on the terminal side.

[0009] In some possible implementations, the first network device receives second capability information from the first terminal, where the second capability information is used to indicate a capability determined by the first terminal for communicating with the first network device.

[0010] In this implementation, the first network device can not only indicate the first capability recommended by the first network device to the first terminal, but also receive from the first terminal an indication of the capability that the first network device can use recommended by the first terminal, so that the first terminal capability used by the first network device is more in line with the transmission capability of the first terminal and the demand capability of the business data of the first terminal.

[0011] In some possible implementations, information of a second network device is received, and a communication connection exists between the second network device and the first terminal; wherein determining the first capability based on the first indication information includes: determining the first capability based on the first indication information and information of the second network device.

[0012] In this implementation, when the first network device determines the capabilities of the first terminal required for diversion, it can also determine the capabilities of the first terminal required by the first network device based on the capabilities of the second network device involved in the diversion, fully considering the transmission capabilities of the second network device, which helps the first capabilities determined by the first network device to better meet the diversion strategy of the core network.

[0013] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a session management function SMF entity. The method includes: the SMF entity determines a first indication information, which indicates at least one of the following information: stopping the transmission of a first QoS flow in a first PDU session, adding a transmission QoS flow in the first PDU session, or, the QoS parameters updated by the third QoS flow in the first PDU session, the first PDU session is a PDU session that transmits the service data of the first terminal through a first network device and a first UPF entity; sending the first indication information to at least one of the first network device, the first terminal, the first mobility management AMF entity and the first UPF entity, wherein the first AMF entity is the AMF entity associated with the first PDU session.

[0014] In this method, the SMF entity sends the first indication information to the first AMF entity, so that the first AMF entity can notify one or more of the first network device, the first terminal and the first UPF entity of the first indication information.

[0015] In this method, the SMF entity sends a first indication message to one or more of the first network device, the first terminal and the first UPF entity, so that these devices can cooperate with the core network to realize the diversion of the service data of the first terminal based on the first indication information.

[0016] In some possible implementations, second indication information is sent to at least one of the second network device, the first terminal, the second AMF entity and the second UPF entity, and the second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding transmission of the fourth QoS flow in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, the second PDU session is a PDU session that transmits service data of the first terminal through the second network device and the second UPF entity, and the second AMF entity is the AMF entity associated with the second PDU session.

[0017] In this method, the SMF entity sends the first indication information to the second AMF entity, so that the second AMF entity can notify one or more of the second network device, the first terminal and the second UPF entity of the second indication information.

[0018] In this method, the SMF entity sends a second indication message to one or more of the second network device, the first terminal and the second UPF entity, so that these devices can cooperate with the core network to realize the diversion of the service data of the first terminal based on the second indication information.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the first AMF entity and the second AMF entity may be the same AMF entity.

[0020] Optionally, the first AMF entity and the second AMF entity are not the same AMF entity. For example, the first AMF entity and the second AMF entity belong to different core networks.

[0021] Optionally, there is a communication connection between the first UPF and the second UPF, for example, the first UPF entity and the second UPF entity belong to different core networks; or the first UPF and the second UPF entity are the same UPF entity.

[0022] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first terminal. The method includes: receiving a first indication message from an SMF entity, the first indication message indicating at least one of the following information: stopping transmission of a first QoS flow in a first PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or, QoS parameters updated by a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, the first PDU session being a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through a first network device; determining a first capability according to the first indication message, the first capability being a capability of the first terminal required by the first network device, and the first capability being a subset of the total capability of the first terminal; sending a first capability information to the first network device, the first capability information indicating the first capability.

[0023] In this method, the first terminal can receive the first indication information sent by the SMF entity, so that it can obtain the updated information of the first PDU session used by the business data of the first terminal and associated with the first network device after the diversion on the core network side, so that the first terminal can determine the terminal capabilities required by the first network device to transmit part of the business data of the first terminal and indicate the terminal capabilities to the first network device, so that the implementation of the diversion strategy on the core network side can be technically supported on the access network side.

[0024] In some possible implementations, the first terminal receives data in a seventh QoS flow transmitted through the first network device, where the seventh QoS flow is a QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0025] In some possible implementations, second indication information is received from the SMF entity, where the second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding a fourth QoS flow for transmission in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, where the fourth QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the first QoS flow, and the second QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the fifth QoS flow. The QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, and the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the second network device; determining a second capability according to the second indication information, where the second capability is the capability of the first terminal required by the second network device, and the second capability is a subset of the total capability of the second terminal; and sending second capability information to the second network device, where the second capability information indicates the second capability.

[0026] In this method, the first terminal can receive the second indication information sent by the SMF entity, so that it can obtain information about the QoS flow used by the service data of the first terminal and associated with the second network device after the diversion on the core network side. This allows the first terminal to determine the terminal capabilities required for the first network device to transmit part of the service data of the first terminal and indicate the terminal capabilities to the second network device, so that the implementation of the diversion strategy on the core network side can be technically supported on the access network side.

[0027] In some possible implementations, data in an eighth QoS flow transmitted through the second network device is received, and the eighth QoS flow is a QoS flow in the second PDU session.

[0028] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network device. The method includes: receiving first capability information from a first terminal, the first capability information indicating a first capability, the first capability being the capability of the first terminal required by the first network device, the first capability being a subset of the total capability of the first terminal, the first network device being a network device in a first PDU session, and the first PDU session being a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal; sending first indication information to a session management function SMF entity based on the first capability information, the first indication information indicating at least one of the following information determined by the first network device: stopping transmission of a first QoS flow in the first PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or, QoS parameters updated by a third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0029] In this method, the first network device receives the first capability information, so that it can obtain the terminal capability required for the first network device recommended by the first terminal to transmit part of the business data of the first terminal after diversion on the core network side, and formulate a diversion strategy (first indication information) based on the terminal to inform the SMF entity, so that the implementation of the diversion strategy can be technically supported on the access network and core network sides.

[0030] In some possible implementations, third indication information is received from the SMF entity, and the third indication information indicates at least one of the following information determined by the SMF entity: stopping transmission of the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, adding transmission of the second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0031] In this implementation, the first network device can not only indicate the diversion strategy recommended by the first network device to the core network side, but also receive the diversion strategy recommended by the core network side from the core network side, so that the diversion strategy used by the first network device is more in line with the network transmission environment.

[0032] In some possible implementations, data in a seventh QoS flow transmitted through a first UPF entity is received, the seventh QoS flow is the QoS flow in the first PDU session, and the first UPF entity is the UPF entity in the first PDU session; and the data in the seventh QoS flow is sent to the first terminal.

[0033] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to an SMF entity. The method includes: receiving a first indication message from a first network device, wherein the first indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by the first network device: stopping transmission of a first QoS flow in a first PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or, QoS parameters updated by a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, wherein the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first network device and the first UPF entity; sending a third indication message to the first UPF entity based on the first indication message, wherein the third indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by the SMF entity: indication information of the first QoS flow, indication information of the second QoS flow, or, QoS parameters updated by the third QoS flow.

[0034] In this method, the SMF entity obtains the first indication information recommended by the first network device and sends the first indication information to the first UPF entity, so that these devices can cooperate with the core network to realize the diversion of business data of the first terminal based on the first indication information.

[0035] In some possible implementations, second indication information is sent to a second UPF entity, the second indication information indicating at least one of the following information: adding transmission of a fourth QoS flow in a second PDU session, stopping transmission of a fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of a sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, the second PDU session being a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through a second network device and the second UPF entity.

[0036] In this method, the SMF entity obtains the first indication information and sends the first indication information to the second UPF entity, so that these devices can cooperate with the core network to realize the diversion of business data of the first terminal based on the second indication information.

[0037] Optionally, there is a communication connection between the first UPF and the second UPF, for example, the first UPF entity and the second UPF entity belong to different core networks; or the first UPF and the second UPF entity are the same UPF entity.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first UPF entity. The method includes: receiving first indication information from an SMF entity, the first indication information indicating at least one of the following information: stopping transmission of a first QoS flow in a first PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or, QoS parameters updated by a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, the first PDU session being a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first UPF entity and the first network device; receiving first service data from a data network DN, the first service data being service data of the first terminal; sending data of a seventh QoS flow to the first network device, the data of the seventh QoS flow containing the first service data, the seventh QoS flow being a QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0039] In the method, the first UPF entity receives the first indication information, so as to determine the operation that the first UPF entity should perform in order to implement the diversion strategy represented by the first indication information.

[0040] In some possible implementations, second indication information of the SMF entity is received, wherein the second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding a fourth QoS flow for transmission in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, wherein the fourth QoS flow is used to transmit data of a service transmitted by the first QoS flow, and the second QoS flow is used to transmit data of a service transmitted by the fifth QoS flow. The QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of a service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of a service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, and the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first UPF entity and the second network device; receiving second service data from the data network DN, wherein the second service data is service data of the first terminal; sending data of an eighth QoS flow to the second network device, wherein the data of the eighth QoS flow includes the second service data, and the eighth QoS flow is a QoS flow in the second PDU session.

[0041] In the method, the first UPF entity implements traffic diversion to the first network device and the second network device.

[0042] In some possible implementations, the first indication information indicates that the transmission of the first QoS flow in the first PDU session is stopped, including: the first indication information contains deactivation indication information of the first QoS flow, or, the indication information of the first QoS flow is deleted; the first indication information indicates the updated QoS parameters of the third QoS flow, including: the first indication information contains at least one of the following information: the proportion of the AMBR updated by the second QoS flow in the AMBR before the update, the proportion of the updated transmission rate of the second QoS flow in the transmission rate before the update of the second QoS flow, the updated transmission rate of the second QoS flow, or, the updated AMBR of the second QoS flow; the first indication information indicates that the transmission of the second QoS flow is added in the first PDU session, including: the first indication information contains activation indication information of the second QoS flow, or, indication information of adding the second QoS flow.

[0043] In the method, the first UPF entity implements traffic diversion to the first network device and the second UPF entity, so that the second UPF entity can transmit the service data of the first terminal to the second network device.

[0044] In any of the above aspects, optionally, the first indication information instructs stopping transmission of the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, and may include: the first indication information includes deactivation indication information of the first QoS flow, or deletes the indication information of the first QoS flow.

[0045] The first indication information indicates the updated QoS parameters of the third QoS flow, and may include: the first indication information contains at least one of the following information: the proportion of the updated AMBR of the second QoS flow in the AMBR before the update, the proportion of the updated transmission rate of the second QoS flow in the transmission rate before the second QoS flow was updated, the updated transmission rate of the second QoS flow, or the updated AMBR of the second QoS flow.

[0046] The first indication information indicates that the second QoS flow is added for transmission in the first PDU session, and may include: the first indication information includes activation indication information of the second QoS flow, or indication information of adding the second QoS flow.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a module or unit for implementing the method in any one of aspects 1 to 6. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0048] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is used to execute the communication method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects. The communication device may be a chip or a chip system used in a terminal device and a network device. The device may also include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the methods described in the above aspects can be implemented. The device may also include a communication interface, and the communication interface is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0049] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for execution by a communication device, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method in any one of the first to sixth aspects.

[0050] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to implement the method in any one of the first to sixth aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 5G network system application architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a core network offload scenario in a method applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a QoS and UE capability negotiation process;

[0054] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of core network service data diversion provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 5 A data network diversion schematic diagram provided for this application;

[0056] Figure 6 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 7 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 8 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig. 9This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in yet another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] 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.

[0062] In order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art can understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit the difference.

[0063] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0065] The technical solution provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) communication systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, terrestrial communication systems (TN) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems, or a fusion system of multiple systems.

[0066] A device in a communication system can send a signal to another device or receive a signal from another device. The signal may include information, signaling, or data, etc. The device may also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc., and the present application is described by taking the device as an example. For example, the communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device may send a downlink signal to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device may send an uplink signal to the network device. It is understandable that the terminal device and the network device in the present application jointly execute the corresponding communication method in the present application.

[0067] To facilitate understanding of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the system architecture and application scenarios of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application are described below. It is understandable that the system architecture and application scenarios described in the embodiment of the present application are to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0068] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a device for communicating with the terminal device, and the network device may include an access network device or a radio access network device, such as a base station. The network device in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to a wireless network. Base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmission point (TP), master station, auxiliary station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station may also refer to a communication module, modem or chip used to be set in the aforementioned equipment or device. The base station may also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the base station function in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network side device in a 6G network, and a device that performs the base station function in future communication systems. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. Optionally, the RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.In some deployments, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit control plane (central unit-control plane, CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (central unit user plane (central unit-user plane, CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network device may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0069] In addition, network equipment also includes core network equipment, which is mainly used to provide user connection, user management and service carrying. It can be used as a bearer network to provide an interface to the external network to process and distribute services of the entire network.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device can be replaced with a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. The device can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device. In the embodiment of the present application, only the device for implementing the function of the network device is used as a network device as an example for explanation, and the solution of the embodiment of the present application is not limited.

[0071] In an embodiment of the present application, 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.

[0072] The terminal device may be a device that provides voice / data, such as a handheld device or a vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MID), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (public land mobile The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0073] As an example but not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as 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 powerful functions achieved through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include full-featured, large-sized, and fully or partially independent of smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as devices 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 types of smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0074] In this system, the terminal can be connected to the base station wirelessly. Within the coverage of multiple base stations, a terminal can simultaneously connect to multiple base stations and obtain business data transmission services through multiple base stations. The base station can be connected to the core network equipment wirelessly or by wire. Multiple base stations can simultaneously connect to the same core network or to different core networks. The core network equipment and the base station can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network equipment and the logical functions of the base station can be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of some core network equipment and some base station can be integrated on one physical device. Base stations can be connected to each other by wire or by wireless.

[0075] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device and / or the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface; it can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and satellites in the air. In the embodiments of the present application, the scenarios in which the network device and the terminal device are located are not limited. In addition, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or they can be software functions running on dedicated hardware, software functions running on general-purpose hardware, such as virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. The present application does not limit the specific forms of the terminal device and the network device.

[0076] In the communication field, a dual connection technology is proposed in a communication system. The dual connection technology means that a UE is connected to two base stations at the same time to transmit data with the two base stations.

[0077] For example, Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic diagram of dual connection in a communication system. In the system, there is an LTE base station and an NR base station, and both base stations serve a UE at the same time. The dotted arrow in the figure indicates that a control plane connection is established between the UE and the network, and the solid arrow in the figure indicates that a data link is established between the UE and the network.

[0078] like Figure 1 As shown, after the data is transmitted from the core network to the NR base station, the NR base station, as the main base station, divides the data into two parts. One part is sent to the UE through the air interface of the NR base station, and the other part is sent to the LTE base station through the base station interface, and then sent to the UE through the air interface of the LTE base station. At this time, the LTE base station acts as a secondary base station and cooperates with the main base station to complete the data transmission.

[0079] It can be seen that the existing dual connectivity mechanism requires an interface between base stations, necessary negotiation between the primary base station and the secondary base station to complete UE configuration, and data offloading between base stations. However, in some specific scenarios, there may be no interface available between base stations, or the base stations may not support dual connectivity.

[0080] The present application provides a core network offload architecture, where the UE can transmit data to the core network through two base stations respectively. At the same time, the UE will establish a control plane connection with the core network through the two base stations respectively, where the core network can be one or two, and the base station type can be an LTE base station, an NR base station or even a satellite.

[0081] The control plane connection also includes the non-access stratum (NAS) connection between the UE and the core network, and the radio resource control (RRC) connection between the UE and the base station.

[0082] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a core network traffic diversion scenario applicable to the method of the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown in (a), the communication system 100 may include a network device and a terminal device 110, wherein the network device may include a base station 120, a base station 130, and a core network device 140, and two base stations are connected to the same core network.

[0083] like Figure 2 As shown in (b), the communication system 100 also includes two core network devices, such as core network device 140 and core network device 150, and the two base stations are connected to different core networks.

[0084] like Figure 2 As shown in (c) of FIG. 1 , the communication system 100 further includes a non-terrestrial network gateway (NTN gateway) 160 and an aerial satellite 170. The NTN gateway may also be referred to as a satellite observation station.

[0085] In the embodiment of the present application, the two base stations connected to the UE can be both NR base stations; or both LTE base stations; or one can be an NR base station and the other can be an LTE base station. The air interface standard is not limited here. In addition, the base station type is not limited. For example, both base stations can be ground base stations, or both can be satellites, or one can be a ground base station and the other can be a satellite.

[0086] In the existing dual connection technology, the two base stations serving the UE are divided into a primary base station and a secondary base station. The primary base station will configure a secondary base station for the UE, so that the two base stations can serve the UE at the same time, thereby effectively improving the rate and reliability of the UE.

[0087] Specifically, the primary base station determines which services of the UE are carried by the secondary base station, or which services are carried by both the primary base station and the secondary base station. At the same time, since the UE's capabilities are fixed, when the UE needs to connect to the primary base station and the secondary base station at the same time, the UE capabilities that the primary base station and the secondary base station can use also need to be reasonably allocated. In the existing mechanism, the allocation of capabilities is dominated by the primary base station.

[0088] Exemplarily, the primary base station informs the secondary base station of the quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the service on the UE, for example, the total rate currently required by the service, and informs the secondary base station of the rate that the primary base station can guarantee. Accordingly, the rate that the secondary base station needs to guarantee is obtained by subtracting the rate guaranteed by the primary base station from the total rate currently required by the service, such as Figure 3 Shown is a schematic diagram of a QoS and UE capability negotiation process.

[0089] During the implementation process, the rate that the primary base station can guarantee is evaluated by the primary base station based on the UE capabilities allocated to it. Therefore, the information provided by the primary base station to the secondary base station also includes the UE capability information that the secondary base station can currently use. The UE capability that the secondary base station can use can be understood as the remaining UE capability after deducting the UE capability to be used by the primary base station from the total UE capability.

[0090] In the existing dual connection technology, the initiation of dual connection, the service diversion method, and the negotiation of UE capabilities are all decided by the main base station. Therefore, the main base station can achieve a better match between the diversion method and the UE capability allocation based on a simple algorithm, thereby improving the UE experience.

[0091] It can be seen that all decisions in the dual-connection scenario are made by the main base station, while in the core network diversion scenario provided in this application, the diversion is decided by the core network, the base station is not aware of it, and the core network is not aware of the UE's air interface capabilities. This may cause the diversion ratio decided by the core network to be mismatched with the UE's capability split under the two base stations, resulting in the UE being unable to obtain the expected rate gain.

[0092] Therefore, the present application proposes a method for matching the core network offload ratio and the UE air interface capability division under the core network offload architecture, so as to maximize the UE rate.

[0093] In this embodiment, the core network equipment includes multiple network elements, such as access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, and user plane function (UPF) network element, which are all main network functions of the core network in the system.

[0094] Among them, the SMF network element is mainly responsible for deciding the diversion decision. The UPF network element performs data diversion according to the diversion strategy. The AMF network element is mainly responsible for sending the diversion strategy decided by the SMF to the base station and to the UE through NAS signaling.

[0095] In this application, the network element may also be referred to as an entity or a functional entity. For example, the AMF network element may also be referred to as an AMF entity or an AMF functional entity. For example, the SMF network element may also be referred to as an SMF entity or an SMF functional entity, etc.

[0096] It is understandable that the names of the network elements in the present application do not limit the scope of the present application and may also be other names.

[0097] For example, SMF is only an exemplary name for a network element, entity or device in the core network that is responsible for determining diversion decisions. As long as it is a network element, entity or device with this function or similar functions, no matter how its name is defined, it should be included in the protection scope of SMF in this application.

[0098] For example, AMF is only an exemplary name for the network element, entity or device in the core network that is responsible for forwarding the diversion decision to the base station and / or terminal. As long as it is a network element, entity or device with this function or similar functions, no matter how its name is defined, it should be included in the protection scope of AMF in this application.

[0099] For example, UPF is only an exemplary name for a network element, entity or device in the core network that is responsible for transmitting service data between the data network and the terminal. As long as it is a network element, entity or device with this function or similar function, no matter how its name is defined, it should be included in the protection scope of UPF in this application.

[0100] In the embodiment of the present application, the core network data offloading can be understood as the business data offloading in the core network, such as Figure 4 Shown is a schematic diagram of core network service data diversion provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0101] Figure 4 (a), (b) and (c) are schematic diagrams of equipment connections applicable to core network data offloading.

[0102] Figure 4 In (a), the two base stations are linked to the same AMF and / or the same SMF, and are linked to the same UPF, and the UE can establish links with the two base stations. Specifically, the UE can establish links with gNB1 and gNB2 respectively, and gNB1 and gNB2 are linked to the same UPF, AMF and SMF.

[0103] Figure 4 (b) and Figure 4The difference of (a) is that the two base stations are connected to different UPFs. Specifically, gNB1 is connected to UPF1, gNB2 is connected to UPF2, and UPF1 and UPF2 are connected to the same SMF.

[0104] Figure 4 (c) and Figure 4 The difference of (b) is that it contains two core networks, and the two base stations are respectively connected to the AMF, SMF and UPF in different core networks. Specifically, gNB1 is connected to UPF1 and AMF1, gNB2 is connected to UPF2 and AMF2, UPF1 is connected to SMF1, and UPF2 is connected to SMF2.

[0105] Optionally, core network data offload is also reflected on the data network (DN) side. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of data network diversion.

[0106] Figure 5 In (a), UPF performs data diversion (downlink) and aggregation (uplink). For example, DN transmits service data to UPF. After UPF receives the service data from DN, it diverts the service data to gNB1 and gNB2.

[0107] Figure 5 In (b), DN performs data splitting (downlink) and aggregation (uplink), where the data network can also be understood as an application server. For example, DN transmits part of the UE's service data to UPF1 and UPF2 respectively. After UPF1 receives part of the service data from DN, it transmits the part of the service data to gNB1; after UPF2 receives another part of the service data from DN, it transmits the other part of the service data to gNB2.

[0108] In this application, the core network data splitting and the data network / server data splitting are not distinguished. For the convenience of description, only the core network data splitting is used as an example for explanation.

[0109] An exemplary scenario applicable to the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is as follows: the UE first transmits a service through the network device 1, for example, the UE sends and receives service data with UPF1 in the UPF through the network device 1, where the UE, network device 1 and UPF1 can be referred to as path 1; for path 1, a protocol data unit (PDU) session can be first established for the service between AMF1 in the AMF and the network device 1, for example, AMF1 sends information about the PDU session corresponding to the service to the network device 1, including the aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR) of the PDU session and / or information about at least one QoS flow contained in the PDU session, etc. The AMBR can be the total rate upper limit of all Non-GBR QoS flows contained in the PDU session, and the QoS flow information can include the identifier and QoS parameters of each QoS flow, for GBR QoS flow, the QoS parameters include at least uplink guaranteed rate, downlink guaranteed rate, uplink maximum rate, downlink maximum rate. For the convenience of description, the transmission rate of the QoS flow refers to the above rates and is no longer distinguished in the description; then, the UE can establish a connection with the network device 2 based on the indication of the network device 1, the indication of the AMF1 or the indication of the SMF, and then establish a connection with the UPF2 in the UPF through the network device 2 and send and receive data. Here, the UE, network device 2 and UPF2 can be referred to as path 2.

[0110] Among them, because the data sent and received by the UE through network device 2 and UPF2 should originally be sent and received by the UE through network device 1 and UPF1, but is finally sent and received by the UE through network device 2 and UPF2, in the embodiment of the present application, the behavior of UPF2 and network device 2 to send and receive this part of the business data is called data migration or data diversion, and this part of the data is called data migrated from path 1 to or diverted to path 2.

[0111] In this application, the PDU session information or QoS parameters involved in path 1 and path 2 are referred to as diversion strategies. The diversion strategy includes at least one of the following strategies: 1) diverting part of the data of a PDU session or one or more QoS flows in a PDU session to another path for transmission; 2) migrating part of the QoS flows in a PDU session from one path to another path for transmission.

[0112] The following describes how communication devices cooperate with each other to implement the traffic diversion strategy with reference to specific examples.

[0113] Figure 6 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6The circles used in the figure mark different network elements, which are used to indicate transparent transmission through the network element, that is, the data information can be forwarded and transmitted without any processing at the network element.

[0114] like Figure 6 As shown, the method includes S610 to S640.

[0115] S610, SMF sends first indication information to network device 1. Correspondingly, network device 1 receives the first indication information.

[0116] The first indication information indicates that the first QoS flow in the first PDU session stops transmitting, the second QoS flow is added to the first PDU session for transmission, or the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session are updated, and the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting the service data of the first terminal through the first network device. It can be understood that the first indication information can also be called a diversion strategy.

[0117] In some possible implementations, the first indication information indicates that the first QoS flow to be transmitted in the first PDU session is stopped, which can be understood as: terminating, suspending, deleting or deactivating one or more QoS flows in the first PDU session. These one or more QoS flows are called the first QoS flow.

[0118] The first indication information indicates the first QoS flow to be stopped from being transmitted in the first PDU session, and may include: the first indication information includes an identifier of the first QoS flow and indication information indicating to stop transmitting the QoS flow.

[0119] After stopping transmission of the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, in order to ensure the service experience of the UE, the data of the service that should have been transmitted by the first QoS flow can be migrated or diverted to other network devices, such as network device 2.

[0120] In some possible implementations, the first indication information indicates adding a second QoS flow for transmission in the first PDU session, which can be understood as: adding one or more new QoS flows in the first PDU session, or activating one or more QoS flows in the first PDU session that are in a deactivated state or a suspended state. These one or more QoS flows are called second QoS flows.

[0121] The first indication information indicates that a second QoS flow to be transmitted is added in the first PDU session, and may include: the first indication information includes an identifier of the second QoS flow and indication information indicating that a second QoS flow to be transmitted is added.

[0122] The data transmitted by the second QoS flow added in the first PDU session may be data of services that should originally be transmitted by the QoS flow in other network devices (e.g., network device 2), or may be data of services migrated or diverted by the QoS flow in other network devices (e.g., network device 2).

[0123] In some possible implementations, when the first indication information indicates updated QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session, the updated QoS parameters may be better than the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameters before the update may be better than the updated QoS parameters.

[0124] The updated QoS parameters are better than the QoS parameters before the update, which can be understood as migrating or diverting the data of the services in the QoS flow in other network devices (such as network device 2) to the third QoS flow; the QoS parameters before the update are better than the updated QoS parameters, which can be understood as migrating or diverting the data of the services in the third QoS flow to the QoS flow in other network devices (such as network device 2).

[0125] As an example, when the QoS parameter includes a rate, the updated QoS parameter being better than the QoS parameter before the update can be understood as: the updated rate is greater than the rate before the update.

[0126] In some possible implementations, the first indication information may indicate a diversion ratio, for example, used to indicate the ratio of the rate at which the first PDU session continues to transmit data on the path of the network device 1 to the original rate.

[0127] For example, if the AMBR of the first PDU session on the original path 1 is 100 Mbps, and the first indication information indicates that the diversion ratio is 30%, it means that the AMBR of the current first PDU session should be 70 Mbps, and the AMBR diverted on another transmission path is 30 Mbps.

[0128] In some possible implementations, the diversion ratio included in the first indication information can also be used to indicate the ratio of the rate at which each QoS flow in one or more QoS flows in the first PDU session continues to transmit data on the path of network device 1 to the original rate.

[0129] As an example, one QoS flow identifier may correspond to one piece of ratio information, so that different diversion strategies may be adopted for different QoS flows.

[0130] For example, if the transmission rate of a QoS flow is 2 Mbps and the current indicated ratio is 30%, it means that the current network device 1 needs to provide a rate of 0.6 Mbps for the QoS flow.

[0131] In some possible implementations, the first indication information is carried in a PDU session update message or a QoS flow information update message.

[0132] SMF sends the first indication information to the network device 1, which may include: SMF sends the first indication information to the network device 1 through AMF.

[0133] Exemplarily, the AMF indicates to gNB1 the AMBR of the PDU session after diversion, the transmission rate of the QoS flow, or instructs the base station to delete one or more QoS flows in the PDU session. In addition, in order to trigger the subsequent behavior of the base station, the SMF can indicate that the reason for the network device 1 to trigger the update is that the core network diversion is triggered.

[0134] S615, SMF sends second indication information to network device 2. Accordingly, network device 2 receives the second indication information sent by SMF. The second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding a fourth QoS flow to be transmitted in the second PDU session, stopping the transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating the QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, where the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting the service data of the first terminal through network device 2 and UPF2.

[0135] In some possible implementations, the second indication information indicates that the fifth QoS flow to be transmitted in the second PDU session is stopped, which can be understood as: terminating, suspending, deleting or deactivating one or more QoS flows in the second PDU session. These one or more QoS flows are called the fifth QoS flow.

[0136] The second indication information indicates the fifth QoS flow that stops transmission in the second PDU session, and may include: the second indication information includes an identifier of the fifth QoS flow and indication information indicating to stop transmission of the QoS flow.

[0137] After stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, in order to ensure the transmission performance of the service data of the UE, the data of the service that should have been transmitted by the fifth QoS flow can be migrated or diverted to other network devices, such as network device 1.

[0138] As an example, data of a service that should originally be transmitted by the fifth QoS flow is migrated or diverted to the second QoS flow.

[0139] In some possible implementations, the second indication information indicates that a fourth QoS flow is added for transmission in the second PDU session, which can be understood as: adding one or more new QoS flows in the second PDU session, or activating one or more QoS flows in a deactivated state or a suspended state in the second PDU session. These one or more QoS flows are called the fourth QoS flow.

[0140] The second indication information indicates that a fourth QoS flow to be transmitted is added in the second PDU session, and may include: the second indication information includes an identifier of the fourth QoS flow and indication information indicating that a QoS flow to be transmitted is added.

[0141] The data transmitted by the fourth QoS flow added in the second PDU session may be data of services that should originally be transmitted by the QoS flow in other network devices (e.g., network device 2), or may be data of services migrated or diverted by the QoS flow in other network devices (e.g., network device 2).

[0142] As an example, data of a service that should originally be transmitted by the first QoS flow is migrated or diverted to the fourth QoS flow.

[0143] In some possible implementations, when the second indication information indicates the updated QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, the updated QoS parameters may be better than the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameters before the update may be better than the updated QoS parameters.

[0144] The updated QoS parameters are better than the QoS parameters before the update, which can be understood as migrating or diverting the data of the services in the QoS flow in other network devices (such as network device 1) to the sixth QoS flow. For example, the data of the services transmitted by the third QoS flow is migrated or diverted to the sixth QoS flow.

[0145] The QoS parameters before the update are better than the QoS parameters after the update, which can be understood as migrating or diverting the data of the service in the sixth QoS flow to the QoS flow in other network devices (such as network device 1). For example, the data of the service transmitted by the first QoS flow is migrated or diverted to the third QoS flow.

[0146] As an example, SMF sends the second indication information to network device 2, which may include: SMF sends the second indication information to network device 2 through AMF.

[0147] As an example, the second indication information may be that when network device 2 establishes a path with UE to transmit UE's service data, SMF can inform network device 2 of the service information through AMF, and the service information includes PDU session information corresponding to the service and PDU session AMBR, and the PDU session information includes QoS flow information.

[0148] For example, the PDU AMBR may be a value calculated based on the diversion ratio, and the transmission rate of the QoS flow is also a value calculated based on the diversion ratio. The QoS flow is also a QoS flow moved from path 1 to path 2. In this case, the SMF does not need to provide additional diversion strategy information.

[0149] In some possible implementations, when a service connection is established between SMF and network device 2, SMF sends complete information of the PDU session corresponding to the service to network device 2. At this time, it is necessary to provide additional diversion strategy information, that is, provide second indication information.

[0150] In this embodiment, it can be understood that S615 is an optional step.

[0151] S620, SMF sends first indication information to UPF. Correspondingly, UPF receives the first indication information sent by SMF.

[0152] In some possible implementations, the first indication information sent by SMF to UPF is consistent with the content of the first indication information sent by SMF to network device 1 through AMF. For example, when UPF starts to transmit UE service data with network device 1, after SMF determines the diversion ratio, it is necessary to inform UPF of the diversion ratio to control the behavior of UPF sending data to network device 1.

[0153] S625, SMF sends the second indication information to UPF. Correspondingly, UPF receives the second indication information sent by SMF.

[0154] In some possible implementations, the second indication information sent by SMF to UPF is consistent with the content of the second indication information sent by SMF to network device 2 through AMF.

[0155] It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the execution order of S610, S615, S620 and S625 is not limited.

[0156] S630, the network device 1 sends the first capability information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the first capability information from the network device 1. The first capability information is used to indicate the capability segmentation suggestion provided by the network device 1 to the UE.

[0157] Optionally, the capability switching suggestion may include the following: UE capabilities required by network device 1 and / or UE capabilities required by network device 2. The UE capabilities required by network device 1 may be understood as: UE capabilities recommended for network device 1 or path 1, or UE capabilities that can be allocated to network device 1 or path 1; the UE capabilities required by network device 2 may be understood as: UE capabilities recommended for network device 2 or path 2, or UE capabilities that can be allocated to network device 2 or path 2.

[0158] In this step, network device 1 can determine how much UE capacity is currently needed to meet the current QoS requirement (taking rate as an example) based on the first indication information obtained. Network device 1 knows the total capacity of the UE and can evaluate the currently required UE capacity and how much UE capacity can be used by network device 2.

[0159] In some possible implementations, network device 1 may first obtain information about network device 2 to better evaluate the capability division method.

[0160] For example, network device 1 may obtain information about network device 2 from AMF or from UE.

[0161] In some possible implementations, network device 1 obtains information about network device 2 from AMF, and AMF may inform network device 1 of the information about network device 2 when sending the first indication information to network device 1 on behalf of SMF.

[0162] In some possible implementations, the network device 1 may obtain the information about the network device 2 from the UE by the UE notifying the network device 1 through RRC signaling after the UE accesses the network device 2.

[0163] As an example, the information of the network device 2 may include one or more of any of the following information: an identifier of the network device 2, a type of the network device 2, a cell identifier of at least one cell for which the network device 2 provides services to the UE, frequency information of the cell, bandwidth information of the cell, and frequency band information of the cell, wherein the type of the network device 2 may be an LTE base station, an NR base station, or an NTN.

[0164] In some possible implementations, after comprehensively considering the first indication information, the service requirements of the UE, the air interface capabilities of the UE, and the information of the network device 2, the network device 1 indicates the capability segmentation suggestion to the UE.

[0165] As an example, the capability segmentation suggestion may include the capabilities currently to be used by network device 1, including bandwidth, frequency band combination, number of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) layers, uplink power, power sharing mode, etc.; it may also be the capabilities currently available for another path, including bandwidth, frequency band combination, uplink power, number of MIMO layers, uplink power, power sharing mode, etc.

[0166] In S630, when the network device 1 sends a capability segmentation suggestion to the UE, the network device 1 may be a base station on the main path of the service data of the UE, referred to as an anchor base station.

[0167] The communication method of this embodiment may optionally further include S635.

[0168] S635, the network device 2 sends the second capability information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second capability information from the network device 2. The second capability information is used to indicate the capability segmentation suggestion provided by the network device 2 to the UE.

[0169] In this embodiment, S635 may refer to S630, for example, the network device 1 in S630 is replaced by the network device 2, and the first indication information in S630 is replaced by the second indication information, so it is not repeated here.

[0170] The communication method of this embodiment may optionally further include S640.

[0171] S640, the UE sends the third capability information to the network device 1. Correspondingly, the network device 1 receives the third capability information from the UE.

[0172] In the above step S630, the capability segmentation suggestion sent by network device 1 to UE may not be mandatory, so the capability segmentation method finally decided by UE may be inconsistent with the suggestion of network device 1. When the capability segmentation suggestions are inconsistent, UE needs to send capability restrictions or restricted capability information to network device 1.

[0173] Optionally, in step S630, network device 1 may send a capability splitting command to UE. At this time, UE can only follow the instruction of network device 1, perform capability splitting according to the instruction of network device 1, and trigger step S640.

[0174] It can be understood that the capability split command sent by network device 1 to UE may not be reasonable from the perspective of UE, so after receiving the command, UE can refuse to execute it, and then give UE suggestions and update the command on network device 1. Accordingly, after network device 1 receives the capability split suggestion from UE, it can update the capability split command.

[0175] S645, the UE sends fourth capability information to the network device 2. Correspondingly, the network device 2 receives the fourth capability information from the UE. The fourth capability information is used to indicate the capability limitation of the UE or the limited capability information.

[0176] In some possible implementations, after the network device 1 provides a suggestion to the UE, the UE may provide the capability limitation or the limited capability information to the network device 2 according to the suggestion of the network device 1 .

[0177] According to the prior art, the network device 2 obtains the total capability of the UE, and in the scenario corresponding to the present application, the UE needs to connect to two base stations at the same time, so the UE capability actually available in the network device 2 is limited. Therefore, the UE can inform the base station of the capability limitation information or the limited capability information through the uplink message.

[0178] Exemplarily, the uplink message may include the current actually available bandwidth, the actually available frequency band combination or the available frequency bands in the frequency band combination, the actually available number of MIMO layers, the actually available uplink power, the actually available power sharing mode, etc.

[0179] In some possible implementations, the suggestion of the UE and the information of the network device 2 sent by the UE to the network device 1 may be one message.

[0180] In this embodiment, after obtaining the offload strategy of the core network, the base station sends a capability splitting suggestion or a splitting command to the UE based on the offload strategy, so as to match the UE capability with the offload strategy and maximize the UE rate.

[0181] However, in this embodiment, the core network sends the offload strategy to the base station, and the base station decides the capability segmentation method or provides suggestions for the UE based on the offload strategy.

[0182] In the method of this embodiment, as an example, after UPF receives the service data of the UE from the DN, it can divert the service data of the UE to network device 1 and network device 2 based on the first indication information and / or the second indication information, so that network device 1 and network device 2 can respectively transmit the diverted data to the UE. Finally, the service data diverted by UPF are all transmitted to the UE.

[0183] As another example, after the UPF denoted as UPF1 receives the service data of the UE from the DN, it can divert the service data of the UE to the network device 1 and the UPF denoted as UPF2 based on the first indication information and / or the second indication information. After receiving the service data diverted by UPF1, UPF2 transmits the service data to the network device 2, so that the network device 2 transmits the service data to the UE, and the network device 1 also transmits the service data diverted to the network device 1 to the UE.

[0184] As another example, the UPF denoted as UPF1 receives part of the service data of the UE from the DN and can transmit the service data to the network device 1; the UPF denoted as UPF2 receives another part of the service data of the UE from the DN and can transmit the service data to the network device 1; the network device 2 transmits the service data to the UE, and the network device 1 also transmits the service data to the UE.

[0185] Figure 6In the illustrated embodiment, the diversion strategy (i.e., the first indication information and the second indication information) is given to the network device, and the network device then decides the capability segmentation method or provides suggestions for the UE based on the diversion strategy. In other embodiments, the core network can send the diversion strategy to the UE via a NAS message, and the UE decides the capability segmentation method and informs the network device, thereby triggering the QoS guarantee that the network can provide based on the capability evaluation after segmentation.

[0186] Figure 7 The figure is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 As shown, the method includes S710 to S750.

[0187] S710, SMF sends third indication information to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the third indication information from SMF.

[0188] In some possible implementations, the meaning of the third indication information in this step can be referred to Figure 6 The meaning of the first indication information of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0189] S715, SMF sends fourth indication information to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the fourth indication information from SMF.

[0190] In some possible implementations, the meaning of the fourth indication information in this step can be referred to Figure 6 The meaning expressed by the second indication information of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0191] S720, AMF sends third indication information to the UE.

[0192] In some possible implementations, the third indication information is carried in NAS signaling.

[0193] The AMF sends the third indication information to the UE, which may include: the AMF sends the third indication information to the UE through the network device 1.

[0194] S725, AMF sends fourth indication information to the UE.

[0195] In some possible implementations, the fourth indication information is carried in NAS signaling.

[0196] AMF sends fourth indication information to the UE, which may include: AMF sends fourth indication information to the UE through network device 2.

[0197] It can be understood that S715 and S725 are optional steps, because the AMF can also send the first indication information to the UE to indicate the diversion strategy only through the network device 1. Because when the overall service information remains unchanged, the UE can obtain the QoS information corresponding to the service data transmitted through the network device 2 through the diversion strategy and the overall service information.

[0198] S730, SMF sends third indication information to UPF. Correspondingly, UPF receives the third indication information from SMF.

[0199] This step may refer to S620 and will not be described in detail here.

[0200] S735, SMF sends fourth indication information to UPF. Correspondingly, UPF receives the fourth indication information from SMF.

[0201] This step may refer to S625 and will not be described in detail here.

[0202] S740, the UE sends first capability information to the network device 1, where the first capability information indicates a first capability that the UE recommends the network device 1 to use, where the first capability is a subset of the UE capability. Accordingly, the network device 1 receives the first capability information from the UE.

[0203] In some possible implementations, the UE may decide to update the capability information to the base station based on the third indication information.

[0204] As an example, after the UE obtains the third indication information from the core network, it determines the QoS requirements that need to be guaranteed on network device 1 and network device 2 (for example, the transmission rates that need to be achieved on network device 1 and network device 2, respectively) in accordance with the instructions of the third indication information, and then evaluates the UE air interface capabilities required to achieve the QoS requirements on these two network devices, thereby dividing the UE capabilities within the scope of the UE's total air interface capabilities, and informing the two base stations of the available UE capabilities on the two paths, respectively.

[0205] The implementation method of UE determining UE capabilities can refer to Figure 6 The relevant contents in the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0206] S745, the UE sends the second capability information to the network device 2. Accordingly, the network device 2 receives the second capability information from the UE.

[0207] This step may refer to S740 and will not be described in detail here.

[0208] S750, network device 1 sends a first indication message to the core network SMF network element, and the first indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by network device 1 based on the first capability information: stop transmitting the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, increase transmission of the second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or update the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0209] The second QoS flow and the third QoS flow may be referred to as QoS flows that can be currently guaranteed by the network device 1. It can be understood that, in the present application, the currently guaranteed QoS may also be understood as the currently serviceable QoS flow.

[0210] It can be understood that the first QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the first QoS flow determined by the SMF, the second QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the second QoS flow determined by the SMF, the third QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the third QoS flow determined by the SMF, or the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow determined by the SMF.

[0211] S755, network device 2 sends a second indication message to the core network SMF network element, and the second indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by network device 2 based on the second capability information: stop transmitting the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, add transmission of the fourth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or update the QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session.

[0212] Among them, the fourth QoS flow and the sixth QoS flow can be called QoS flows that can be currently guaranteed by the network device 2.

[0213] It can be understood that the fourth QoS flow determined by the network device 2 may be different from the fourth QoS flow determined by the SMF, the fifth QoS flow determined by the network device 2 may be different from the fifth QoS flow determined by the SMF, the sixth QoS flow determined by the network device 2 may be different from the sixth QoS flow determined by the SMF, or the QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow determined by the network device 2 may be different from the QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow determined by the SMF.

[0214] That is, network device 1 and network device 2 evaluate the currently guaranteed QoS flow according to the UE capability updated / restricted by the capability reported by the UE, and then feed back to the core network.

[0215] As an example, network device 1 and network device 2 respectively obtain the restricted capabilities reported by the UE, and evaluate the QoS guarantee that can be currently provided to the UE based on the UE capabilities and current load, air interface status with the UE and other information.

[0216] Optionally, network device 1 and network device 2 may report to the core network when evaluating that the currently guaranteed QoS does not match the QoS requirement issued by the core network.

[0217] From an implementation perspective, the core network can confirm whether the QoS guarantee fed back by the base station matches the diversion strategy. If it does not match, the diversion strategy can be further adjusted.

[0218] In this embodiment, it is considered that the core network sends the offload strategy to the UE through the NAS message, the UE decides the capability segmentation method and informs the base station, thereby triggering the QoS guarantee that the base station can provide based on the capability evaluation after segmentation.

[0219] In this embodiment, the offload strategy is sent to the UE, triggering the UE to perform UE capability segmentation based on the offload strategy, thereby enabling the air interface transmission capability to match the offload strategy of the core network, thereby maximizing the offload gain.

[0220] In the above two embodiments, after the core network decides on the offload strategy information first, the base station or UE adaptively adjusts the UE capability division to ensure that the UE capability division matches the offload strategy, thereby obtaining gain.

[0221] In the method of this embodiment, as an example, after UPF receives the service data of the UE from the DN, it can divert the service data of the UE to network device 1 and network device 2 based on the first indication information and / or the second indication information, so that network device 1 and network device 2 can respectively transmit the diverted data to the UE. Finally, the service data diverted by UPF are all transmitted to the UE.

[0222] As another example, after the UPF denoted as UPF1 receives the service data of the UE from the DN, it can divert the service data of the UE to the network device 1 and the UPF denoted as UPF2 based on the first indication information and / or the second indication information. After receiving the service data diverted by UPF1, UPF2 transmits the service data to the network device 2, so that the network device 2 transmits the service data to the UE, and the network device 1 also transmits the service data diverted to the network device 1 to the UE.

[0223] As another example, the UPF denoted as UPF1 receives part of the service data of the UE from the DN and can transmit the service data to the network device 1; the UPF denoted as UPF2 receives another part of the service data of the UE from the DN and can transmit the service data to the network device 1; the network device 2 transmits the service data to the UE, and the network device 1 also transmits the service data to the UE.

[0224] Figure 6 and Figure 7In the embodiments shown, the core network first decides on the diversion strategy, and then the network device or UE adaptively adjusts the UE capability to ensure that the UE capability matches the diversion strategy, thereby obtaining gain. In some embodiments, the UE can first perform capability segmentation, thereby affecting the QoS that the network device can guarantee, and then affecting the diversion strategy of the core network.

[0225] Figure 8 The figure is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the method includes S810 to S840.

[0226] S810, the UE sends first capability information to the network device 1. Accordingly, the network device 1 receives the first capability information. The first capability information indicates a first capability, the first capability is a capability of the UE required by the network device 1, the first capability is a subset of the total capability of the UE, the network device 1 is a network device in a first PDU session, and the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the UE.

[0227] S815, the UE sends the second capability information to the network device 2. Accordingly, the network device 2 receives the second capability information. The second capability information indicates a second capability, the second capability is a capability of the UE required by the network device 2, the second capability is a subset of the total capability of the UE, the network device 2 is a network device in the second PDU session, and the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the UE.

[0228] In some possible implementations, the UE may determine currently available capabilities based on the service cells of the currently connected network device 1 and network device 2, divide the capabilities, and inform network device 1 and network device 2 respectively of the available UE capabilities after the division.

[0229] S820, network device 1 sends a first indication message to SMF, and the first indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by network device 1: stop transmitting the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, add transmission of the second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or update the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0230] Or it can be said that the network device 1 feeds back the QoS that the network device 1 can currently guarantee to the SMF based on the first capability.

[0231] S825, network device 2 sends a second indication message to SMF, and the second indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by network device 2: stop transmitting the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, add transmission of the fourth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or update the QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session.

[0232] Or it can be said that network device 2 feeds back the QoS that network device 2 can currently guarantee to SMF based on the second capability.

[0233] S830, SMF sends first indication information to UPF.

[0234] For details of this step, please refer to step S730, which will not be repeated here.

[0235] S835, SMF sends a second indication message to UPF.

[0236] For details of this step, please refer to step S735, which will not be repeated here.

[0237] S840, SMF sends a third indication message to network device 1, and the third indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by SMF: stopping transmission of the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, adding transmission of the second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

[0238] It can be understood that the first QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the first QoS flow determined by the SMF, the second QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the second QoS flow determined by the SMF, the third QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the third QoS flow determined by the SMF, or the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow determined by the SMF.

[0239] S845, SMF sends a fourth indication message to network device 2, and the fourth indication message indicates at least one of the following information determined by SMF: stop transmitting the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, add transmission of the fourth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or update the QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session.

[0240] It can be understood that the first QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the first QoS flow determined by the SMF, the second QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the second QoS flow determined by the SMF, the third QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the third QoS flow determined by the SMF, or the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow determined by the network device 1 may be different from the QoS parameters of the third QoS flow determined by the SMF.

[0241] S850, SMF sends third indication information to the UE.

[0242] S855, SMF sends fourth indication information to the UE.

[0243] In some possible implementations, after the SMF receives the guaranteed QoS information fed back by the network device 1 and the network device 2, it decides on the diversion strategy based on the information.

[0244] Exemplarily, the QoS of the data diverted to each base station after the SMF makes a decision is within the guaranteed QoS range fed back by each base station. After the decision is made, the diversion strategy can be notified to the UPF, the two base stations and the UE respectively.

[0245] As an example, the information indicated by SMF to UPF can refer to step S620, the information indicated by SMF to network device 1 and network device 2 can refer to step S610, and the manner and content of SMF indicating diversion strategy information to UE can refer to step S720, which will not be repeated here.

[0246] This embodiment considers that the UE first performs capability segmentation, and the base station evaluates the QoS guarantee based on the UE's updated capabilities, and then assists the core network in deciding the diversion strategy, thereby matching the end-to-end diversion strategy and the capability segmentation strategy to maximize the rate gain.

[0247] The above embodiments of the present application are described by taking the 5G system as an example, but the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application are not limited to being applicable only to the 5G system, and the solutions in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to the future 6G network. For example, the 5G gNB can be replaced with a 6G base station, and the AMF and UPF in the 5G core network can also be replaced with similar functional network elements in the 6G core network.

[0248] This application Figures 6 to 8 The embodiments shown are all based on the scenario of two network devices under a single core network.

[0249] As an example, Figures 6 to 8 The method shown in any figure can be applied to Figure 4 In the communication system shown in (b), the UE may be Figure 4 In (b), the network device 1 may be Figure 4 In (b), gNB1 and network device 2 can be Figure 4 For gNB2 in (b), UPF can Figure 4 In (b), the UPF and SMF can be Figure 4 In (b), the SMF and AMF can be Figure 4 AMF in (b).

[0250] But in reality, Figures 6 to 8Any of the embodiments is also applicable to scenarios of different core networks, such as traffic diversion across 5G systems and 6G systems. In the cross-core network scenario, in addition to the interaction described in the previous embodiment, because two core networks are involved, the two SMFs between the core networks also need to interact with each other to exchange diversion strategy information, and then the data is diverted from one UPF to another UPF.

[0251] As an example, Figures 6 to 8 The method shown in any figure can be applied to Figure 4 In the communication system shown in (d) of FIG. 1 , the UE may be Figure 4 In (d), the UE, network device 1 may be Figure 4 In (d), gNB1 and network device 2 can be Figure 4 In (d) gNB2, UPF may include Figure 4 (d) UPF1 and UPF2, SMF can contain Figure 4 SMF1 in (d) and Figure 4 (d) SMF2, AMF can contain Figure 4 AMF1 in (d) and Figure 4 AMF2 in (d).

[0252] Figures 6 to 8 In the method shown in any figure, SMF sending indication information to UPF may include: SMF1 sending indication information (for example, first indication information or third indication information) to UPF1; SMF1 sending indication information (for example, second indication information or fourth indication information) to SMF2, and SMF2 sending the indication information to UPF2.

[0253] Figures 6 to 8 In the method shown in any figure, SMF sending indication information (for example, first indication information or third indication information) to AMF may include: SMF1 sending indication information to AMF1; SMF1 sending indication information (for example, second indication information or fourth indication information) to SMF2, and SMF2 sending the indication information to AMF2.

[0254] Fig. 9 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 9 As shown, the apparatus 900 may include a processing module 901 and a communication module 902 .

[0255] As a first example, the apparatus 900 may be used to implement Figures 6 to 8 A communication method implemented by a terminal device in any of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 . For example, the processing module 901 is used to implement Figures 6 to 8 The communication module 902 is used to implement the processing steps performed by the terminal device in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 8The steps of sending and / or receiving performed by the terminal device in any of the embodiments shown in the drawings can be used to perform Figure 6 Medium: S630, S635, S640, S645; Figure 7 S720, S725, S740, S745; Figure 8 Among them: S810, S815, S850, and S855.

[0256] As a second example, the apparatus 900 may be used to implement Figures 6 to 8 A communication method implemented by a network device in any of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 . For example, the processing module 901 is used to implement Figures 6 to 8 The communication module 902 is used to implement the processing steps performed by the network device in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 8 The steps of sending and / or receiving performed by the network device in any of the embodiments shown in the drawings, such as Figure 6 Medium S610, S615; Figure 7 S740, S745, S750, S755; Figure 8 Among them: S810, S815, S820, S825, S840, S845.

[0257] As a third example, the apparatus 900 may be used to implement Figures 6 to 8 A communication method implemented by a core network device in any of the embodiments shown in FIG. 9 . For example, processing module 901 is used to implement Figures 6 to 8 The steps related to the processing performed by the core network device in any of the embodiments shown in the embodiment, the communication module 902 is used to implement Figures 6 to 8 The steps of sending and / or receiving performed by the core network device in any of the embodiments shown in the embodiment, such as Figure 6 Medium S610, S615, S620, S625; Figure 7 S710, S715, S720, S725, S730, S735, S750, S755; Figure 8 Among them: S820, S825, S830, S835, S840, S845, S850, and S855.

[0258] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application. Fig.10As shown, the device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and a communication circuit 1002. The processor 1001 and the communication circuit 1002 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication circuit 1002 can be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the device 1000 may also include a memory 1003 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1001 or storing input data required by the processor 1001 to run the instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1001 runs the instructions. It is understood that the memory 1003 may be located outside the processor 1001, or inside the processor 1001.

[0259] As an example, the processor 1001 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 901 , and the communication circuit 1002 is used to implement the functions of the communication module 902 .

[0260] The apparatus 1000 may be a communication device or a chip used in a communication device. For example, the apparatus 1000 may be a communication device or a chip used in a communication device. It is understood that when the apparatus 1000 is a communication device, the communication circuit 1002 may be a transceiver.

[0261] In some embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is also provided. When the computer program product is executed on a processor, the method implemented by the communication device in any of the above embodiments can be implemented.

[0262] Some embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a processor, the method implemented by the communication device in any of the above embodiments can be implemented.

[0263] In some embodiments of the present application, a communication system is also provided, which can implement the method implemented by the communication device in any of the above embodiments.

[0264] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be the following devices or all or part of the circuits in the following devices for processing functions: central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0265] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and can write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a network device or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0266] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instruction may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape; it may also be an optical medium, for example, a digital video disc; it may also be a semiconductor medium, for example, a solid-state hard disk.

[0267] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided for in any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0268] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first network device, the method comprises: Receive first indication information from a session management function SMF entity, where the first indication information indicates at least one of the following information: stopping transmission of a first quality of service QoS flow in a first protocol data unit PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, where the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first network device; A first capability is determined according to the first indication information, where the first capability is a capability of the first terminal required by the first network device, and the first capability is a subset of a total capability of the first terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: First capability information is sent to the first terminal, where the first capability information indicates the first capability.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second capability information is received from the first terminal, where the second capability information is used to indicate a capability determined by the first terminal for communicating with the first network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive first information from the SMF entity, where the first information is used to indicate that the first indication information is a diversion strategy of the core network.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving information of a second network device, where the second network device is in communication connection with the first terminal; The determining the first capability according to the first indication information includes: The first capability is determined according to the first indication information and information of the second network device.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a session management function (SMF) entity, the method comprises: Determine first indication information, where the first indication information indicates at least one of the following information: stopping transmission of a first quality of service QoS flow in a first protocol data unit PDU session, adding a transmission QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, where the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through a first network device and a first user plane function UPF entity; The first indication information is sent to at least one of the first network device, the first terminal, the first mobility management AMF entity and the first UPF entity, wherein the first AMF entity is the AMF entity associated with the first PDU session.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second indication message is sent to at least one of the second network device, the first terminal, the second AMF entity and the second UPF entity, wherein the second indication message indicates at least one of the following information: adding transmission of a fourth QoS flow in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session; the second PDU session is a PDU session that transmits service data of the first terminal through the second network device and the second UPF entity; the second AMF entity is the AMF entity associated with the second PDU session; there is a communication connection between the first UPF and the second UPF, or the first UPF and the second UPF entity are the same UPF entity.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first AMF entity and the second AMF entity are the same AMF entity.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first terminal, the method includes: Receive first indication information from a session management function SMF entity, where the first indication information indicates at least one of the following information: stopping transmission of a first QoS flow in a first PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, where the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through a first network device; Determine a first capability according to the first indication information, where the first capability is a capability of the first terminal required by the first network device, and the first capability is a subset of a total capability of the first terminal; First capability information is sent to the first network device, where the first capability information indicates the first capability.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Data in a seventh QoS flow transmitted through the first network device is received, where the seventh QoS flow is a QoS flow in the first PDU session.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive second indication information from the SMF entity, where the second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding a fourth QoS flow for transmission in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or, QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, the fourth QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the first QoS flow, the second QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the fifth QoS flow, the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the QoS parameters updated by the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, and the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through a second network device; Determine a second capability according to the second indication information, where the second capability is a capability of the first terminal required by the second network device, and the second capability is a subset of a total capability of the second terminal; Second capability information is sent to the second network device, where the second capability information indicates the second capability.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: Data in an eighth QoS flow transmitted through the second network device is received, and the eighth QoS flow is a QoS flow in the second PDU session.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first network device, the method comprises: receiving first capability information from a first terminal, where the first capability information indicates a first capability, where the first capability is a capability of the first terminal required by the first network device, where the first capability is a subset of a total capability of the first terminal, where the first network device is a network device in a first protocol data unit PDU session, and where the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal; Based on the first capability information, a first indication information is sent to the session management function SMF entity, and the first indication information indicates at least one of the following information determined by the first network device: stopping transmission of the first quality of service QoS flow in the first PDU session, adding transmission of the second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive third indication information from the SMF entity, the third indication information indicating at least one of the following information determined by the SMF entity: stop transmitting the first QoS flow in the first PDU session, add transmission of the second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or update QoS parameters of the third QoS flow in the first PDU session.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving data in a seventh QoS flow transmitted through a first user plane function UPF entity, the seventh QoS flow being a QoS flow in the first PDU session, and the first UPF entity being a UPF entity in the first PDU session; Sending data in the seventh QoS flow to the first terminal.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a session management function (SMF) entity, the method comprises: Receive first indication information from a first network device, where the first indication information indicates at least one of the following information determined by the first network device: stopping transmission of a first quality of service QoS flow in a first protocol data unit PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, where the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first network device and the first UPF entity; Based on the first indication information, third indication information is sent to the first user plane function UPF entity, and the third indication information indicates at least one of the following information determined by the SMF entity: indication information of the first QoS flow, indication information of the second QoS flow, or updated QoS parameters of the third QoS flow.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send second indication information to the second UPF entity, the second indication information indicating at least one of the following information: adding transmission of the fourth QoS flow in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or, updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, the second PDU session is a PDU session that transmits service data of the first terminal through a second network device and the second UPF entity, there is a communication connection between the first UPF entity and the second UPF entity, or the first UPF entity and the second UPF entity are the same UPF entity.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied in a first user plane function UPF entity, the method includes: Receive first indication information from a session management function SMF entity, where the first indication information indicates at least one of the following information: stopping transmission of a first quality of service QoS flow in a first protocol data unit PDU session, adding transmission of a second QoS flow in the first PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of a third QoS flow in the first PDU session, where the first PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first UPF entity and the first network device; receiving first service data from a data network DN, where the first service data is service data of the first terminal; Send data of a seventh QoS flow to the first network device, where the data of the seventh QoS flow includes the first service data, and the seventh QoS flow is a QoS flow in the first PDU session.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second indication information of the SMF entity, where the second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding a fourth QoS flow for transmission in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, where the fourth QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the first QoS flow, and the second QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the fifth QoS flow. The QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, and the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through the first UPF entity and the second network device; receiving second service data from the DN, where the second service data is service data of the first terminal; Send data of an eighth QoS flow to the second network device, where the data of the eighth QoS flow includes the second service data, and the eighth QoS flow is a QoS flow in the second PDU session.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second indication information of the SMF entity, where the second indication information indicates at least one of the following information: adding a fourth QoS flow for transmission in the second PDU session, stopping transmission of the fifth QoS flow in the second PDU session, or updating QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow in the second PDU session, where the fourth QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the first QoS flow, and the second QoS flow is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the fifth QoS flow. The QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, or the QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the first QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update is used to transmit data of the service transmitted by the QoS parameter difference between the updated QoS parameters of the sixth QoS flow and the QoS parameters before the update, and the second PDU session is a PDU session for transmitting service data of the first terminal through a second UPF entity and a second network device; receiving second service data from the DN, where the second service data is service data of the first terminal; Send data of an eighth QoS flow to the second UPF entity, where the data of the eighth QoS flow includes the second service data, and the eighth QoS flow is a QoS flow in the second PDU session.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that The first indication information instructs the first PDU session to stop transmitting the first QoS flow, including: the first indication information includes deactivation indication information of the first QoS flow, or deletes the indication information of the first QoS flow; The first indication information indicates the QoS parameters updated by the third QoS flow, including: the first indication information contains at least one of the following information: the proportion of the AMBR updated by the second QoS flow in the AMBR before the update, the proportion of the transmission rate updated by the second QoS flow in the transmission rate before the second QoS flow is updated, the transmission rate updated by the second QoS flow, or the AMBR updated by the second QoS flow; The first indication information indicates adding a second QoS flow for transmission in the first PDU session, including: the first indication information includes activation indication information of the second QoS flow, or indication information for adding the second QoS flow.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises functional modules for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Memory and processor; The memory is used to store program instructions; The processor is configured to execute program instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a program code for computer execution, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions for implementing the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

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