Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, and belongs to the technical field of communication, in the method, a network element at a network side, such as a first network element, can obtain network congestion information of a service flow so as to determine the possibility of congestion of a current network and execute supervision. For example, after the network congestion degree is increased, if the possibility of network congestion has reached that an application side needs to adjust the transmission of the service flow to reduce the possibility, if the first network element determines the application side by monitoring the transmission of the service flow and adjusts the transmission of the service flow, the first network element determines the application side by monitoring the transmission of the service flow. If not, the transmission can be managed and / or controlled, so that network congestion is avoided, fairness between services is guaranteed, and the use experience of a user is guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) discussed opening the network status information to the application side in the R18 research. For example, the radio access network (RAN) equipment or user plane function (UPF) network element opens the network congestion information of the service flow to the application side. Ideally, the application side needs to perceive the degree of network congestion based on the network congestion information and adjust the transmission of the service flow accordingly, such as reducing the bit rate, to ensure the user experience.

[0003] However, the current mechanism cannot guarantee that the application side will adjust the transmission of the service flow according to the network situation (such as congestion information), resulting in the user experience cannot be guaranteed. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device to ensure the user experience when the application side needs to adjust the transmission of the service flow but has not actually adjusted it.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first network element, including: the first network element obtains network congestion information of a service flow; the first network element determines, based on the network congestion information of the service flow, that transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted, and based on determining that transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls transmission of the service flow.

[0007] Based on the above method, it can be known that the network element on the network side, such as the first network element, can obtain the network congestion information of the service flow to determine the possibility of congestion in the current network and perform supervision. For example, after the network congestion level becomes high, if the possibility of network congestion has reached the point where the application side needs to adjust the transmission of the service flow to reduce the possibility, if the first network element determines that the application side has not adjusted the transmission of the service flow by monitoring the transmission of the service flow, it can manage and / or control its transmission to avoid network congestion while ensuring fairness between services, thereby ensuring the user experience.

[0008] In a possible design scheme, the method further includes: obtaining configuration information of the service flow, the configuration information being used to instruct the first network element to determine whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the congestion level of the service flow, and managing and / or controlling the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0009] In response to the configuration information, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow. Based on the determination that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow.

[0010] For example, the configuration information can be used to instruct the first network element to determine whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted. That is, the first network element's supervision of the service flow can be triggered by the configuration information sent down by the network, so as to implement on-demand supervision and avoid resource waste.

[0011] Optionally, the configuration information includes regulatory indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow, such as flow description information of the service flow, specifically information such as an IP triplet, an IP quintuple, or an identifier of a QoS flow corresponding to the service flow, such as a QFI, or regulatory indication information. Among them, the regulatory indication information can be used to indicate whether the transmission needs to be adjusted based on the degree of congestion, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted. That is, the information for indicating the service flow can be decoupled from the regulatory indication information, and the two can be combined to indicate the function of the above-mentioned configuration information, and the indication method is more flexible.

[0012] It is understandable that the configuration information may not include information for indicating the service flow. For example, the service flow is pre-aligned between the first network element and the network, and the first network element may perform a regulatory operation on the service flow by default according to the regulatory indication information. Alternatively, the configuration information may be sent to the first network element together with the information indicating the service flow, thereby ensuring that the first network element can perform the regulatory operation indicated by the configuration information on the service flow. Alternatively, the configuration information may not include the regulatory indication information. For example, the configuration information may also be a new information type, and the new information type is used to implicitly indicate the above-mentioned regulatory operation.

[0013] Further, the configuration information is also used to indicate a monitoring time period. The monitoring time period is a time period for monitoring whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted. In response to the configuration information, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted within the monitoring time period according to the network congestion information of the service flow, and based on the determination that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted within the monitoring time period, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow. In other words, the first network element can implement on-time supervision according to the monitoring time period, and can also avoid waste of resources.

[0014] In one possible design scheme, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow has not been adjusted, including: the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow is at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction in the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate is increased, so as to achieve more comprehensive transmission monitoring and avoid monitoring loopholes.

[0015] Optionally, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow, including: the first network element can determine that the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the congestion level threshold according to the network congestion information of the service flow; or the first network element can determine that the increase in the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the increase threshold according to the network congestion information of the service flow. That is, the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the congestion level threshold, or the increase in the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the increase threshold, which can indicate that the transmission of the service flow has a high possibility of causing network congestion. In this way, the first network element can effectively avoid network congestion by monitoring the service flow accordingly.

[0016] In a possible design scheme, the first network element is an access network device, the service flow is carried by the QoS flow, the network congestion information of the service flow is the network congestion information of the QoS flow, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: the access network device performs at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packet carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening the new network congestion information of the QoS flow to increase the congestion level of the QoS flow. The proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

[0017] For example, the session management network element and the user plane network element may be network elements corresponding to the QoS flow, and the abnormal report may be used to indicate that the transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, so as to trigger the policy control network element through the session management network element to control and process the QoS flow, such as downgrading, which may specifically reduce the QoS guarantee, implement transmission speed limit, avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems, or may also trigger the policy control network element to notify the application side and issue an alarm. If the access network device discards the data packet carried in the QoS flow, or reduces the transmission priority of the DRB mapped by the QoS flow, the transmission of the QoS flow can be limited locally in the access network device to avoid network congestion, and at the same time avoid the transmission fairness problem caused by malicious competition of the service flow corresponding to the QoS flow. If the access network device maps the QoS flow to a new DRB, the QoS flow can be decoupled from other QoS flows that previously shared the DRB, avoiding the transmission fairness problem caused by the QoS flow occupying the DRB resources of other QoS flows. If the access network device opens new network congestion information of the QoS flow, the application side adjusts the transmission according to the higher congestion level, such as reducing the bit rate, to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness issues.

[0018] Optionally, the exception report may include the identifier of the QoS flow and / or information indicating the abnormality of data packet transmission. It can be seen that the identifier of the QoS flow and the information indicating the abnormality of data packet transmission can be decoupled, and the two can be combined to indicate the function of the above-mentioned exception report, and the indication method is more flexible.

[0019] It can be understood that the exception report may not include an identifier for the QoS flow. For example, the QoS flow is pre-aligned between the access network device and the session management network element / user plane network element. The session management network element / user plane network element may default to the transmission abnormality of the data packet carried in the QoS flow according to the exception report. Alternatively, the exception report may not include information for indicating the transmission abnormality of the data packet. For example, the exception report may also be a new report type, that is, the report type is used to implicitly indicate the transmission abnormality.

[0020] In a possible design scheme, the first network element is a user-plane network element, the service flow is carried by a QoS flow, and the network congestion information of the service flow is the network congestion information of the QoS flow. The first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: the user-plane network element performs at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding the data packet carried in the QoS flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow. The proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

[0021] For example, the session management network element may be a network element corresponding to the QoS flow, and the abnormal report may be used to indicate that the transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, so as to trigger the policy control network element through the session management network element to control and process the QoS flow, such as downgrading, which may specifically reduce the QoS guarantee, implement transmission speed limit, avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems, or may also trigger the policy control network element to notify the application side and issue an alarm. If the user plane network element discards the data packet carried in the QoS flow, the transmission speed of the QoS flow can be limited locally in the user plane network element to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems. The application function network element may be a network element corresponding to the service flow, and the alarm notification may be used to indicate that the data packet transmission of the service corresponding to the service flow is abnormal. If the user plane network element sends an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opens new network congestion information of the QoS flow, the application side adjusts the transmission according to the higher congestion level or the abnormal alarm transmission to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems. It should be understood that the above-mentioned service flow may also be replaced by a QoS flow that transmits the service flow.

[0022] Optionally, the abnormal report may include the identifier of the QoS flow and / or information indicating abnormal data packet transmission, wherein the identifier of the QoS flow may be the QoS flow identifier, QFI. The alarm notification may include the identifier of the service and / or information indicating abnormal data packet transmission. For the specific implementation, please refer to the above-mentioned related introduction, which will not be repeated here.

[0023] In one possible design, the first network element is a user plane network element, and the first network element manages and / or controls transmission of the service flow, including: the user plane network element performs at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an abnormality report to a session management network element, sending an alarm notification to an application function network element, discarding a data packet in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow;

[0024] For example, the session management network element or the application function network element are both network elements corresponding to the service flow, and the exception report or alarm notification is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet of the service corresponding to the service flow. If the user plane network sends an exception report to the session management network element, the policy control network element can be triggered by the session management network element to downgrade the guarantee of the service flow, realize transmission speed limit, and avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems between multiple service flows. If the user plane network element discards the data packets in the service flow, the transmission speed of the service flow can be limited locally in the user plane network element to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems between multiple service flows. If the user plane network element sends an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opens new network congestion information of the service flow, the application side adjusts the transmission according to the higher congestion level or the alarm transmission abnormality to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness problems between multiple service flows.

[0025] Optionally, the exception report or alarm notification includes an identifier of the service flow and / or information used to indicate an abnormality in data packet transmission. The identifier of the service flow may be flow description information corresponding to the service flow, such as IP quintuple, IP triplet information, etc. For specific implementation, please refer to the above-mentioned related introduction and will not be repeated here.

[0026] Optionally, the configuration information may include at least the following executions: a supervision strategy, a judgment strategy, or a management and control strategy.

[0027] Among them, the supervision strategy is used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period).

[0028] The judgment strategy is used to indicate whether it is necessary to determine whether the transmission of the service flow (such as within the monitoring time period) is at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction amplitude of the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate has increased.

[0029] When the first network element is an access network device, the management and control policy is used to indicate the need to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow (i.e., the QoS flow carrying the service flow), specifically including performing at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening new network congestion information for the QoS flow.

[0030] In the case where the first network element is a user plane network element, the control policy is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be managed and / or controlled, specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow; or specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow. The service flow being managed and / or controlled may also be a QoS flow carrying the service flow.

[0031] Optionally, the configuration information may further include information for indicating that the first network element for supervising transmission is the above-mentioned access network device or user plane network element.

[0032] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to an application function network element, including: the application function network element sends demand information. The demand information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, the transmission of the service flow is managed and / or controlled.

[0033] It can be understood that the demand information can be converted into the above-mentioned configuration information on the network side, and finally configured to the above-mentioned first network element.

[0034] In a possible design, the demand information may include regulatory indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow. The information for indicating a service flow may be flow description information, specifically information such as an IP quintuple and an IP triplet of the service flow, and the regulatory indication information is used to indicate whether transmission needs to be adjusted based on the degree of congestion, and to manage and / or control transmission when transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0035] Optionally, the demand information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to control the transmission of the business flow if the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring period.

[0036] Furthermore, the demand information may also include a monitoring time period.

[0037] Optionally, the demand information may include at least the following executions: a supervision strategy, a judgment strategy, or a management and control strategy.

[0038] Among them, the supervision strategy is used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period).

[0039] The judgment strategy is used to indicate the need to determine whether the transmission of the service flow (within the monitoring time period) is at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction amplitude of the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate has increased.

[0040] When the first network element is an access network device, the management and control policy is used to indicate the need to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow (i.e., the QoS flow carrying the service flow), specifically including performing at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening new network congestion information for the QoS flow.

[0041] In the case where the first network element is a user plane network element, the control policy is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be managed and / or controlled, specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow; or specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow. The service flow being managed and / or controlled may also be a QoS flow carrying the service flow.

[0042] Optionally, the demand information may further include information for indicating that the first network element for supervising the transmission is the above-mentioned access network device or user plane network element.

[0043] In a possible design scheme, the application function network element sends the demand information, including: the application function network element sends an application function network element request message to the policy control network element corresponding to the service flow, wherein the application function network element request message includes the demand information, which is used to reuse the existing signaling to reduce the difficulty of implementation, or a new signaling can be used to achieve decoupling from the existing signaling and more flexible information transmission. Specifically, the application function network element can directly send the request information carrying the demand information to the policy control network element, or the application function network element can send the request information carrying the demand information to the policy control network element through the network open network element.

[0044] In addition, the effects of the method described in the second aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a policy control network element, including: the policy control network element determines policy information for service flow transmission, and sends the policy information to a session management network element corresponding to the service flow. The policy information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, the transmission of the service flow is managed and / or controlled.

[0046] It can be understood that the policy information can be converted into the above-mentioned configuration information by the session management network element, and finally configured to the above-mentioned first network element.

[0047] In a possible design, the policy information may include supervision indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow. The information for indicating a service flow may be flow description information, specifically information such as an IP quintuple and an IP triplet of the service flow, and the supervision indication information is used to indicate whether transmission needs to be adjusted based on the degree of congestion, and to manage and / or control transmission when transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0048] Optionally, the policy information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring period.

[0049] Furthermore, the policy information may also include a monitoring time period.

[0050] Optionally, the policy information may include at least the following executions: a supervision policy, a judgment policy, or a management and control policy.

[0051] Among them, the supervision strategy is used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period).

[0052] The judgment strategy is used to indicate the need to determine whether the transmission of the service flow (within the monitoring time period) is at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction amplitude of the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate has increased.

[0053] When the first network element is an access network device, the management and control policy is used to indicate the need to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow (i.e., the QoS flow carrying the service flow), specifically including performing at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening new network congestion information for the QoS flow.

[0054] In the case where the first network element is a user plane network element, the control policy is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be managed and / or controlled, specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow; or specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow. The service flow being managed and / or controlled may also be a QoS flow carrying the service flow.

[0055] Optionally, the policy information may further include information for indicating that the first network element for supervising transmission is the above-mentioned access network device or user plane network element.

[0056] In a possible design, the policy control network element determines the policy information, including: the policy control network element receives demand information about service flow transmission from an application function network element of the service flow, and determines the policy information according to the demand information. The demand information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, the transmission of the service flow is managed and / or controlled.

[0057] In a possible design, the demand information may include supervision indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow. The information for indicating a service flow may be flow description information, specifically information such as an IP quintuple and an IP triplet of the service flow, and the supervision indication information is used to indicate whether transmission needs to be adjusted based on the degree of congestion, and to manage and / or control transmission when transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0058] Optionally, the demand information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted based on the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring period.

[0059] Furthermore, the demand information may also include a monitoring time period.

[0060] Optionally, the demand information may include at least the following executions: a supervision strategy, a judgment strategy, or a management and control strategy.

[0061] Among them, the supervision strategy is used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period).

[0062] The judgment strategy is used to indicate whether it is necessary to determine whether the transmission of the service flow (such as within the monitoring time period) is at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction amplitude of the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate has increased.

[0063] When the first network element is an access network device, the management and control policy is used to indicate the need to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow (i.e., the QoS flow carrying the service flow), specifically including performing at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening new network congestion information for the QoS flow.

[0064] In the case where the first network element is a user plane network element, the control policy is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be managed and / or controlled, specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow; or specifically including executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow. The service flow being managed and / or controlled may also be a QoS flow carrying the service flow.

[0065] Optionally, the demand information may further include information for indicating that the first network element for supervising the transmission is the above-mentioned access network device or user plane network element.

[0066] In a possible design scheme, after the policy control network element sends policy information to the session management network element corresponding to the service flow, the method described in the third aspect may also include: the policy control network element receives indication information from the session management network element, and reduces the service quality QoS level of the PCC rule according to the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate the transmission abnormality of the service flow corresponding to the control policy and charging PCC rule.

[0067] In addition, the effects of the method described in the third aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0068] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a user plane network element, including: when the user plane network element opens network congestion information of a quality of service QoS flow, the user plane network element receives an exception report from an access network device corresponding to the QoS flow, wherein the exception report is used to indicate that the transmission of a data packet carried in the QoS flow is abnormal. When the transmission of a data packet carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow.

[0069] Among them, the explanation of the abnormal report can refer to the relevant introduction of the first aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0070] In one possible design scheme, the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow, including: in response to configuration information, the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate that when network congestion information of the open QoS flow is present but the transmission of data packets carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be managed and / or controlled.

[0071] Optionally, the method described in the fourth aspect may further include: the user plane network element receives configuration information from the session management network element corresponding to the QoS flow.

[0072] Further, the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow, including: the user plane network element performs at least one operation on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding the data packet carried in the QoS flow, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow. Among them, the session management network element is the network element corresponding to the QoS flow, the exception report is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow, the application function network element is the network element corresponding to the service carried by the QoS flow, and the alarm notification is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet of the service.

[0073] It can be understood that the user plane network element can also map the QoS flow to the corresponding service flow, such as the service flow carried by the QoS flow, and manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow.

[0074] In addition, the effects of the method described in the fourth aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0075] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: a policy control network element obtains policy information for service flow transmission, and sends the policy information to a session management network element. The session management network element sends configuration information of the service flow to a first network element according to the policy information. The first network element obtains network congestion information of the service flow, and responds to the configuration information. If the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow but has not been adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow.

[0076] The policy information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted. The first network element is an access network device or a user plane network element. The configuration information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0077] In a possible design, the policy information may include supervision indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow, wherein the supervision indication information is used to indicate whether the transmission needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0078] Optionally, the policy information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring period.

[0079] Furthermore, the policy information may also include a monitoring time period.

[0080] In a possible design, the policy control network element obtains policy information, including: the policy control network element receives demand information of service flow transmission from the application function network element of the service flow, and determines policy information according to the demand information. The demand information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0081] In a possible design, the demand information may include regulatory indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow, wherein the regulatory indication information is used to indicate whether the transmission needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0082] Optionally, the demand information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to control the transmission of the business flow if the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring period.

[0083] Furthermore, the demand information may also include a monitoring time period.

[0084] In a possible design scheme, after the policy control network element sends policy information to the session management network element corresponding to the service flow, the method described in the fifth aspect may also include: the policy control network element receives indication information from the session management network element, and reduces the quality of service QoS level of the PCC rule according to the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate the transmission abnormality of the service flow corresponding to the control policy and charging PCC rule.

[0085] Optionally, the configuration information includes supervision indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow. The supervision indication information may be used to indicate whether the transmission needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0086] Further, the configuration information is also used to indicate a monitoring time period. In response to the configuration information, if the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow but has not been adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: In response to the configuration information, if the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow but has not been adjusted within the monitoring time period, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow.

[0087] In one possible design scheme, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow is not adjusted, including: the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow is at least one of the following: the transmission rate is not reduced, the reduction in the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate is increased.

[0088] Optionally, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow, including: the first network element may determine that the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to a congestion level threshold based on the network congestion information of the service flow; or, the first network element may determine that the increase in the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to an increase threshold based on the network congestion information of the service flow.

[0089] In one possible design scheme, the first network element is an access network device, the service flow is carried by the QoS flow, the network congestion information of the service flow is the network congestion information of the QoS flow, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: the access network device performs at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening a new network congestion information for the QoS flow.

[0090] For example, the session management network element and the user plane network element may be network elements corresponding to the QoS flow, and the abnormal report may be used to indicate abnormal transmission of data packets carried in the QoS flow. The new ratio value of the network congestion information representation is the sum of the ratio value of the network congestion information representation of the QoS flow and the preset incremental ratio value.

[0091] Optionally, the exception report may include an identifier of the QoS flow and / or information indicating an exception in data packet transmission.

[0092] In one possible design scheme, the first network element is a user plane network element, the service flow is carried by a QoS flow, the network congestion information of the service flow is the network congestion information of the QoS flow, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: the user plane network element performs at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0093] For example, the session management network element is the network element corresponding to the QoS flow, and the exception report can be used to indicate that the data packet transmission carried in the QoS flow is abnormal. The application function network element can be the network element corresponding to the service flow, and the alarm notification is used to indicate that the data packet transmission of the service corresponding to the service flow is abnormal. The proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

[0094] Optionally, the exception report may include an identifier of the QoS flow and / or information indicating abnormality in data packet transmission, and the alarm notification may include an identifier of the service and / or information indicating abnormality in data packet transmission.

[0095] In one possible design scheme, the first network element is a user plane network element, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: the user plane network element performs at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information for the service flow.

[0096] For example, the session management network element or the application function network element is a network element corresponding to the service flow, and the abnormal report or alarm notification is used to indicate the abnormal data packet transmission of the service corresponding to the service flow. The proportion value of the new network congestion information representation is the sum of the proportion value of the network congestion information representation of the service flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

[0097] Optionally, the abnormality report or alarm notification includes an identifier of the service flow and / or information indicating abnormality in data packet transmission.

[0098] In addition, the effects of the method described in the fifth aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0099] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a module for executing the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, such as a transceiver module and a processing module. For example, the transceiver module is used to indicate the transceiver function of the communication device, and the processing module is used to execute functions of the communication device other than the transceiver function.

[0100] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, wherein the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the sixth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the fifth aspect.

[0101] Optionally, the communication device described in the fifth aspect may further include a storage module, wherein the storage module stores a program or instruction. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the communication device may execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0102] It can be understood that the communication device described in the sixth aspect can be a network device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the network device, or a device that includes a network device, and this application does not limit this.

[0103] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the sixth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the other aspects mentioned above and will not be repeated here.

[0104] According to a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor, the processor being configured to execute the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0105] In a possible design solution, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the seventh aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0106] In a possible design scheme, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may also include a memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be separately provided. The memory may be used to store the computer program and / or data involved in the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0107] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may be the network device described in any one of the first to fifth aspects, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that may be arranged in the network device, or a device including the network device.

[0108] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the seventh aspect can refer to the technical effects of the other aspects mentioned above and will not be repeated here.

[0109] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0110] In a possible design solution, the communication device described in the eighth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the eighth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0111] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device described in the eighth aspect may be the network device described in any one of the first to fifth aspects, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that may be arranged in the network device, or a device including the network device.

[0112] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the eighth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the other aspects mentioned above and will not be repeated here.

[0113] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the communication device executes the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0114] In a possible design scheme, the communication device described in the ninth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the ninth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0115] In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device described in aspect 9 may be the network device described in any one of aspects 1 to 5, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that may be arranged in the network device, or a device including the network device.

[0116] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the ninth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the other aspects mentioned above and will not be repeated here.

[0117] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes at least one of the following: the first network element described in the first aspect, the application function network element described in the second aspect, the policy control network element described in the third aspect, or the policy control network element described in the third aspect.

[0118] In the eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising: a computer program or instructions; when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0119] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0120] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the 5GS architecture;

[0121] Figure 2 This is a scenario diagram of the L4S mechanism;

[0122] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0124] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0125] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ;

[0126] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 4 ;

[0127] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0128] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0129] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless network (Wi-Fi) systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, Internet of Vehicles communication systems, fourth generation (4G) mobile communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems, such as 5.5G, sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems, etc.

[0130] For ease of understanding, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are first introduced below.

[0131] 1. Fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system (referred to as 5G system (5G system, 5GS)):

[0132] Figure 1 Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the 5GS architecture. Figure 1 As shown, 5GS includes: access network (AN) and core network (CN), and may also include: terminals.

[0133] The terminal may be one or more, such as a first terminal, a second terminal, a third terminal, etc. The terminal may be a terminal with transceiver functions, or may be a chip or chip system provided in the terminal. The terminal may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station (MS), mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a handset, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a smart home device (for example, a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), an intelligent robot, a robotic arm, a workshop equipment, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a roadside unit with a terminal function, and a wireless terminal in a smart city. unit, RSU), etc., flying equipment (e.g., intelligent robot, hot air balloon, drone, airplane), etc. The terminal of the present application may also be a vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit built into the vehicle as one or more components or units. The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal functions, for example, the terminal device may also be a device that functions as a terminal in D2D communication.

[0134] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal. The device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device; it can also be a device that can support the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0135] The above-mentioned AN is used to implement access-related functions, can provide network access functions for authorized users in a specific area, and can determine transmission links of different qualities to transmit user data according to the user's level, business requirements, etc. AN forwards control signals and user data between the terminal and CN. AN may include: access network equipment, also known as radio access network (RAN) equipment. CN is mainly responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network and providing terminal with session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication functions. CN mainly includes the following network elements: user plane function (UPF) network element, authentication service function (AUSF) network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, network slice selection function (NSSF) network element, network exposure function (NEF) network element, network function repository function (NFrepository function, NRF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data storage (UDR), and application function network element (AF).

[0136] RAN equipment, that is, access network devices can be one or more. The access network device can be a device with wireless transceiver functions, or it can also be a chip or chip system arranged on the device, located in the access network (access network, AN) of the communication system, to provide access services for the terminal. For example, the access network device can be called a radio access network device (RAN) device, which can specifically be a next-generation mobile communication system, such as a 6G access network device, such as a 6G base station, or in the next-generation mobile communication system, the access network device can also have other naming methods, which are all covered within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application, and the present application does not impose any limitation on this. Alternatively, the access network device may also include 5G, such as a gNB in ​​a new radio (NR) system, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in 5G, or a network node constituting a gNB, a transmission point (TRP or transmission point, TP) or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), an RSU with a base station function, or a wired access gateway, or a core network element of 5G. Alternatively, the access network device may also include: an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, etc.

[0137] Among them, CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the network device can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, CU can be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, and CU can also be divided into a network device in the core network CN, which is not limited here.

[0138] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are described as examples in this application. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0139] UPF network element is mainly responsible for user data processing (forwarding, receiving, billing, etc.). For example, UPF network element can receive user data from data network (DN) and forward the user data to the terminal through access network equipment. UPF network element can also receive user data from the terminal through access network equipment and forward the user data to DN. DN network element refers to the operator network that provides data transmission services to users. For example, Internet protocol (IP) multimedia service (IMS), Internet, etc.

[0140] DN can be a network external to the operator or a network controlled by the operator, and is used to provide business services to terminal devices.

[0141] The AUSF network element is mainly used to perform terminal security authentication.

[0142] The AMF network element is mainly used for mobility management in mobile networks, such as user location update, user network registration, user switching, etc.

[0143] SMF network elements are mainly used for session management in mobile networks, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to users and selecting UPF network elements that provide data packet forwarding functions.

[0144] The PCF network element mainly supports providing a unified policy framework to control network behavior, provides policy rules to the control layer network functions, and is responsible for obtaining user subscription information related to policy decisions. The PCF network element can provide policies to the AMF network element and SMF network element, such as quality of service (QoS) policy and slice selection policy.

[0145] The NSSF network element is mainly used to select network slices for terminals.

[0146] NEF network elements are mainly used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0147] UDM network elements are mainly used to store user data, such as contract data, authentication / authorization data, etc.

[0148] The UDR network element is mainly used to store structured data, including contract data and policy data, externally exposed structured data, and application-related data.

[0149] AF mainly supports interaction with CN to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing some third-party services to the network side.

[0150] 2. Quality of service (QoS monitoring):

[0151] In order to assist ultra-reliability low latency communication services, the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) defines QoS monitoring features to achieve latency measurement at the packet granularity. The transmission delay of the data packet between the UE and the protocol data unit (PDU) session anchor (PSA) UPF network element is the result of QoS monitoring. The transmission delay includes the delay between the UE and the RAN device on the air interface side, and the transmission delay on the N3 link between the RAN device and the UPF network element on the core network side. Among them, for the core network side, the measurement of the uplink and downlink data packet transmission delay between the RAN equipment and the UPF network element can be based on different granularities, including the granularity of a single QoS flow of a certain UE, or the granularity of the general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GPRS tunnelling protocol for the user plane, GTP-U) tunnel at the user level, etc. The specific granularity used depends on the operator's policy, third-party application request or policy and charging control (PCC) rules.

[0152] For example, taking QoS monitoring at the QoS flow granularity as an example, the SMF network element will activate the uplink / downlink data packet delay measurement for a certain QoS flow in the PDU session establishment or modification process. The SMF network element will send a QoS monitoring request to the RAN device and the UPF network element. The QoS monitoring request will include the corresponding monitoring parameters, measurement report trigger conditions, etc. The N3 link data packet delay measurement between the RAN device and the UPF network element is achieved by adding timestamps and QoS monitoring indications to the GTP-U layer of the uplink and downlink data packets. The PSA UPF network element will report the measurement results to the SMF network element based on the QoS monitoring request sent by the SMF network element, if a certain threshold condition given by the SMF network element is met.

[0153] 3. R18 network information openness:

[0154] In the research of R18, how the application layer perceives the network status, or how to open the network status information to the application side, is an important issue that needs to be studied urgently. For example, how the application layer perceives the network status in real time and makes corresponding content adjustments to ensure the user's service experience and improve network utilization efficiency. For example, network information can be opened to third-party applications in the form of control plane capability opening interface, such as directly through the service interface of UPF network element, or using NEF network element to open it to third-party applications or follow the R16 solution, UPF network element sends the measurement results to SMF network element, and SMF network element opens the network information to third-party applications through NEF network element, realizing fast and real-time opening of network information.

[0155] It is understandable that, due to the possible security risks of RAN equipment itself, 3GPP standards often do not define that RAN should directly open network information to the outside world. RAN equipment needs to first inform the core network node, such as UPF network element, of the monitored network information, and then the UPF network element will open it to the outside world. Alternatively, RAN equipment can also add network information to the data packet in the form of user plane and send it to the UE side or application server side, which can also realize the opening of network information.

[0156] For ease of understanding, the following takes open network congestion information as an example for introduction.

[0157] As an implementation solution, the industry introduced low latency, low loss, scalable throughput (L4S) into 3GPP and used it for fast and real-time disclosure of 5GS network capability information, for example, disclosure of network congestion information by RAN equipment.

[0158] Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, explicit congestion notification (ECN) uses two information bits in the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) header as ECN flags to inform the sender or receiver of congestion at the transmission node so that the sender can drop the corresponding data packets to reduce the possibility of congestion. For example, the value of the CE flag is set to 11, indicating that congestion has occurred during the current network transmission process, while other values ​​of the CE flag, such as "00", "01", and "10", are used to indicate whether the ECN capability is supported, that is, the end side can use the indication of the ECN flag to clearly indicate whether the other end supports the ECN mechanism, which is used to achieve capability negotiation between the two ends.

[0159] L4S is an upgrade based on the ECN mechanism, further expanding the role of the original ECN flag, such as determining the degree of network congestion by counting the proportion of packets marked as congested (i.e., the ECN flag is "11") in multiple packets within a period of time. In other words, although there may not be network congestion at present, the current network status can still be perceived through the L4S mechanism so that the sender or receiver can make adjustments based on the network congestion information. For example, for media services, the sender may adjust the sending bit rate in real time based on network congestion information. In addition, the dual-end capability negotiation of L4S also refers to the ECN mechanism, and the ECN flag in the IP header is used to indicate whether the other end supports the L4S capability.

[0160] The R18 standard finally agreed on two implementation schemes of L4S: RAN equipment implements L4S and UPF network elements implement L4S.

[0161] 1) RAN equipment performs L4S:

[0162] RAN equipment can monitor the network congestion status of the corresponding QoS flow and perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby realizing the on-path opening of network congestion information to the outside world. The details are introduced below.

[0163] Downlink scenario:

[0164] The RAN device can determine the downlink network congestion status, such as the proportion of downlink data packets with a CE identifier of "11", based on the network status of the corresponding QoS flow or the network status of the DRB corresponding to the corresponding QoS flow, such as available bandwidth, bandwidth utilization, and the length of the data transmission queue on the air interface side. The proportion of downlink data packets is the network congestion information, or the network congestion information indicates the proportion of downlink data packets with a CE identifier of "11". The RAN device can add a corresponding CE identifier, such as "11", to the IP header of the downlink data packet through the L4S mechanism based on the network congestion status. The UE will perform corresponding statistics, such as counting the number or proportion of downlink data packets with a CE identifier value of "11" to determine the network congestion status. For example, if the number of data packets carrying "11" accounts for 40% of all received data packets, it can be considered that the probability of network congestion in the current network or the current QoS flow or the DRB corresponding to the current QoS flow is 40%. The UE can inform the sender of the above network congestion status through upper layer feedback mechanisms, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP) acknowledgment (ACK) feedback, the real-time transport control protocol (RTCP) feedback report, and the ACK mechanism of the quick UDP internet connection (QUIC) based on the user datagram protocol (UDP), such as the probability of network congestion occurring when the application server (AS) receives it from the UE side. Correspondingly, the AS can dynamically adjust the bit rate according to the network congestion status obtained through feedback, thereby ensuring the user's service experience. It should be understood that how the RAN device determines the network congestion status of the QoS flow or the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow depends on the self-implementation of the RAN device, which is not limited here.

[0165] Uplink scenario:

[0166] The RAN device can determine the uplink network congestion status according to the network status of the corresponding QoS flow or the network status of the DRB corresponding to the corresponding QoS flow, and add the corresponding CE mark, such as "11", to the IP header of the uplink data packet through the L4S mechanism. The application server side AS as the receiving end can perform corresponding statistics, such as counting the number or proportion of uplink data packets with the CE mark value of "11", and feed this information back to the sending end UE side to instruct the UE to dynamically adjust the bit rate to ensure the user's service experience. The specific implementation method is similar to the downlink scenario and will not be repeated here.

[0167] 2) UPF network element executes L4S:

[0168] The RAN device can monitor the network congestion status of the corresponding QoS flow or the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow, and send the network congestion status to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink data packet. The UPF network element performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the RAN device. The specific implementation is similar to that of the above-mentioned RAN device, which can be understood by reference and will not be repeated. In this way, the network congestion information can be opened to the outside world. It should be understood that how the RAN device determines the network congestion status of the QoS flow or the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow depends on the self-implementation of the RAN device, which is not limited here.

[0169] It can be seen that although third-party applications can obtain network congestion information on the network side through subscription and make corresponding rate adaptive adjustments, this cannot fully guarantee the user's service experience. For example, due to resource competition between different users, if the third-party application still does not adjust the transmission rate when the network congestion information is open, or even increases the transmission rate, it will affect the service experience of other users and lead to the loss of transmission fairness.

[0170] In response to the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application propose the following technical solutions.

[0171] The technical solution in this application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0172] In the embodiment of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the first indication information, the second indication information, or the third indication information, etc. below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be realized by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as specified by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common parts of each information can also be identified and uniformly indicated to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately.

[0173] In addition, the specific indication method may also be various existing indication methods, such as but not limited to the above-mentioned indication methods and various combinations thereof. The specific details of the various indication methods can refer to the prior art and will not be repeated herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple information of the same type, different indication methods may be used for different information. In the specific implementation process, the desired indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selected indication method. In this way, the indication method involved in the embodiment of the present application should be understood to cover various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0174] It should be understood that the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Among them, the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, pre-defined according to a protocol, or can be configured by the sending end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0175] "Pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be set separately or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0176] The "protocol" involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a protocol family in the communication field, a standard protocol with a similar protocol family frame structure, or a related protocol used in future communication systems, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to have a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0178] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, 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. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items 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. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will appreciate 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. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of 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 concrete way for easy understanding.

[0179] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0180] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first Figure 3 The communication system shown in the example is used to describe in detail the communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0181] like Figure 3 As shown, the communication system mainly includes: a first network element, a policy control network element and an application function network element.

[0182] For example, the first network element may be a user-plane-related network element, such as an access network device or a user-plane network element. The access network device may be the above-mentioned RAN device, or in future communication systems, the access network device may also be replaced by network elements with other corresponding functions. The user-plane network element may be the above-mentioned UPF network element, or in future communication systems, the user-plane network element may also be replaced by network elements with other corresponding functions. The policy control network element may be the above-mentioned PCF network element, or in future communication systems, the policy control network element may also be replaced by network elements with other corresponding functions. The application function network element may be the above-mentioned AF, or in future communication systems, the application function network element may also be replaced by network elements with other corresponding functions.

[0183] In the communication system, the application function network element can configure the first network element to execute the policy defined in this application through the policy control network element. For example, the first network element can obtain network congestion information of the service flow to determine the possibility of network congestion and perform supervision. At this time, when the possibility of network congestion has reached the point where the application side needs to reduce the possibility by adjusting the transmission of the service flow, if the first network element does not adjust the transmission of the service flow by monitoring it, it can control its transmission to avoid sending network congestion, thereby ensuring the user experience.

[0184] The following will be combined Figure 4-Figure 7 The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the above communication system and specifically applied to various scenarios mentioned in the above communication system, which are specifically introduced below.

[0185] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 1 The communication method is applicable to the above communication system, and mainly involves the interaction between the first network element, the policy control network element and the application function network element.

[0186] like Figure 4 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0187] S401: A first network element obtains network congestion information of a service flow.

[0188] A service flow may be a data flow composed of data of a service (such as a video service, an audio service, etc.). The data flow may be identified by the IP quintuple / IP triplet of the data packet, the type of service (ToS) in the IPv4 header, and / or the flow label in the IPv6 header. Therefore, the IP quintuple / IP triplet / ToS / flow label, etc. are also referred to as information for indicating a service flow, or flow description information of a service flow. A service may have one or more service flows, and these service flows may each have their own QoS flow or share a QoS flow (such as these service flows share a QoS flow together, or share a QoS flow with service flows of other services). Therefore, a service flow may also be represented by a QoS flow that carries the service flow.

[0189] For example, when the first network element is an access network device, the access network device is usually not aware of a specific service, so the service flow may be a QoS flow that carries the service flow for the access network device.

[0190] For another example, when the first network element is a user plane network element, the user plane network element can perceive the service flow and the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow. Therefore, if the user plane network element supervises at the granularity of service flow, the service flow can be a service flow of a known service for the user plane network element; if the user plane network element supervises at the granularity of QoS flow, the service flow can be a QoS flow carrying the service flow for the user plane network element.

[0191] The network congestion information of a service flow can be used to indicate the degree of congestion of the service flow, or the congestion level, or the degree of congestion of the current network. Specifically, it can be a proportional value, which can be used to indicate the probability of network congestion. For example, if the network congestion information of a service flow is a proportional value of 32%, it means that there is a 32% chance that the network will be congested. If the network congestion information of a service flow is a proportional value of 45%, it means that there is a 45% chance that the network will be congested. By analogy, the larger the value of the network congestion information, the greater the probability that the network will be congested.

[0192] It should be understood that the network congestion information of the service flow as a proportional value is only an example and is not intended to be limiting. For example, it may also be a non-proportional value, such as 30, which can be converted into a proportional value, thereby indicating that the probability of network congestion is 30%.

[0193] If the first network element is an access network device, as described above, the network congestion information of the service flow can be the network congestion information of the QoS flow carrying the service flow, or the network congestion information of the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow carrying the service flow. Specifically, the access network device can determine the network congestion information of the QoS flow based on the network status of the QoS flow or the network status of the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow, such as available bandwidth, bandwidth utilization, and length of the data transmission queue on the air interface side. In addition, the access network device can open the network congestion information of the QoS flow, or send the network congestion information of the QoS flow to the user plane network element, so that the user plane network element can open the network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0194] If the first network element is a user plane network element, as described above, the network congestion information of the service flow can be the network congestion information of the service flow of a known service, or it can be the network congestion information of the QoS flow that carries the service flow, or it can be the network congestion information of the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow that carries the service flow. Specifically, the access network device can determine the network congestion information of the QoS flow according to the network status of the QoS flow or the network status of the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow, and send it to the user plane network element. Accordingly, the user plane network element receives the network congestion information of the QoS flow from the access network device. Optionally, the user plane network element can also map the network congestion information of the QoS flow to the network congestion information of the service flow according to the carrying relationship between the QoS flow and the service flow.

[0195] It can be understood that the above is introduced by taking network congestion information as an example, which is not a limitation. There may be other implementation methods. For example, when the first network element obtains the network congestion information of the QoS flow / service flow, it can also convert the network congestion information of the QoS flow / service flow into a congestion level. For example, the network congestion information of the QoS flow / service flow is 32%, which belongs to the level of 30%-40%. Therefore, it can be determined that the congestion level of the QoS flow / service flow is 30% or 40%, or level 1 / level 2, etc. The higher the level, the greater the probability of network congestion. S402, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the service flow but has not been adjusted.

[0196] S402: The first network element determines, based on network congestion information of the service flow, that transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted.

[0197] S403: Based on determining that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow.

[0198] S402-S403 are introduced in detail below.

[0199] Among them, the execution of S402-S403 by the first network element can be triggered by the configuration information of the service flow issued by the session management network element (recorded as configuration information #1), so as to realize on-demand supervision and avoid resource waste. The configuration information #1 can be used to instruct the first network element to determine whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted, or to instruct the first network element to manage and control the transmission of the service flow. Managing and / or controlling the transmission of the service flow includes: the first network element determines whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted.

[0200] For example, configuration information #1 may include supervision indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating a service flow. That is, the information for indicating a service flow and the supervision indication information may be decoupled, and the two may be combined to indicate the function of the configuration information #1, and the indication method is more flexible.

[0201] If the first network element is an access network device, or if the first network element is a user plane network element, and the user plane network element performs supervision at the granularity of QoS flow, the information used to indicate the service flow may be the QoS flow that carries the service flow, or the identifier of the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow, such as a QoS flow identifier (Qos flow identifier, QFI) or any other possible identifier, which is not limited to this. If the first network element is a user plane network element, and the user plane network element performs supervision at the granularity of service flow, the information used to indicate the service flow may be the flow description information of the service flow, such as the above-mentioned IP quintuple / IP triplet / ToS / flow label, etc.

[0202] The regulatory indication information may be implemented by reusing an existing information element in configuration information #1, or may be a newly defined information element, which may be a string of one or more bits or a bit map, used to indicate whether it is necessary to determine whether the transmission needs to be adjusted based on the degree of congestion, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, or used to indicate that the transmission is managed and / or controlled based on the degree of congestion and the transmission, specifically, used to indicate whether it is necessary to determine whether the transmission needs to be adjusted based on the degree of congestion, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

[0203] It is understandable that configuration information #1 may not include information for indicating a service flow. For example, the service flow is pre-aligned between the first network element and the network, and the first network element may perform a regulatory operation on the service flow by default according to the regulatory indication information. Alternatively, configuration information #1 may be sent to the first network element together with information indicating the service flow, thereby ensuring that the first network element can perform the regulatory operation indicated by the configuration information on the service flow. Alternatively, configuration information #1 may not include regulatory indication information. For example, configuration information #1 may also be a new information type, which is used to implicitly indicate the above-mentioned regulatory operation.

[0204] Optionally, configuration information #1 is also used to indicate a monitoring time period, such as including information for indicating a monitoring time period, which is used to indicate in conjunction with the above-mentioned information for indicating a service flow and the supervision indication information: it is necessary to determine whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the degree of congestion of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within the monitoring time period. The monitoring time period can be a specified time period, such as 10:40 to 10:50, or it can be a periodic time period, such as performing 5 minutes of monitoring every 10 minutes, or it can be the length of the time window for performing monitoring, such as 10 minutes, that is, monitoring whether the service flow is adjusted within 10 minutes, and there is no limitation on this. It should be understood that configuration information #1 may not indicate a monitoring time period, such as the monitoring time period can be pre-configured locally in the first network element or pre-defined locally in the first network element by a protocol.

[0205] It can also be understood that the above-mentioned need to determine whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period) can be understood as a regulatory strategy, or the regulatory strategy can indicate this information, such as indicating the need to determine whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period). Or it can also be replaced by any other possible named strategy. The regulatory policy can be carried by configuration information #1, or it can be issued separately, or it can be pre-configured locally in the first network element or pre-defined by protocol locally in the first network element, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0206] In addition, configuration information #1 is only an exemplary name, and it can also be replaced by any possible name, such as regulatory configuration information, transmission control configuration information, etc., without any limitation.

[0207] The first network element may receive configuration information #1 in advance. For example, the first network element is an access network device. During the process of establishing or modifying a session, the access network device may receive an N2 message from a session management network element, and the N2 message may carry configuration information #1. For another example, the first network element is a user plane network element. During the process of establishing an N4 session, the user plane network element may receive an N4 message from a session management network element, and the N4 message may carry configuration information #1.

[0208] Thus, in response to configuration information #1, the first network element performs transmission management and / or control on the transmission of the service flow according to the network congestion information of the service flow. Specifically, in response to configuration information #1, the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted (such as not adjusted within the monitoring time period) according to the network congestion information of the service flow. Based on the determination that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted, the first network element can perform transmission management and / or control on the service flow, which is described in detail below.

[0209] The first network element may determine whether transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the network congestion information of the service flow.

[0210] For example, the first network element can determine whether the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the congestion level threshold based on the network congestion information of the service flow. If the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the congestion level threshold, it means that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted, or the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted accordingly, such as reducing the transmission rate of the service flow accordingly. Otherwise, no adjustment is required. For example, if the network congestion information of the service flow is 40%, it means that the congestion level of the service flow, or the congestion level is 40%. At this time, if the congestion level threshold is 35%, it means that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted.

[0211] For another example, the first network element may also determine whether the increase in the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the increase threshold based on the network congestion information of the service flow. If the increase in the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to the increase threshold, it means that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted, or the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted accordingly, such as reducing the transmission rate of the service flow accordingly, otherwise, no adjustment is required. For example, the network congestion information of the service flow determined in S401 is 40%, and the network congestion information of the service flow determined historically before S401 is 20%, then the increase in the congestion level of the service flow is 20%. At this time, if the increase threshold is 15%, it means that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted.

[0212] For another example, the first network element can also determine whether the congestion level of the service flow has increased based on the network congestion information of the service flow. If it has increased, it means that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted accordingly, such as reducing the transmission rate of the service flow accordingly. Otherwise, no adjustment is required. For example, if the network congestion information of the service flow determined in S401 is 40%, and the network congestion information of the service flow determined historically before S401 is 30%, then the congestion level of the service flow has increased, indicating that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted.

[0213] In other words, if the congestion level of a service flow is greater than or equal to a congestion level threshold, or if the increase in the congestion level of a service flow is greater than or equal to an increase threshold, it may indicate that the transmission of the service flow is likely to cause network congestion. In this way, the first network element can monitor and / or adjust the transmission of the service flow accordingly to effectively avoid network congestion.

[0214] When the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted, the first network element can determine whether the transmission of the service flow (within the monitoring time period) is at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction in the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate has increased.

[0215] Among them, the transmission rate has not decreased or the transmission rate has increased, which means that the network level of the business flow has increased while the transmission rate of the business flow has not decreased or the transmission rate of the business flow has increased, or it means that the network level of the QoS flow has increased while the transmission rate of the QoS flow has not decreased or the transmission rate of the business flow has increased.

[0216] Among them, the amplitude threshold can be used to indicate the upper limit of the increase in network congestion, that is, if the upper limit is reached, the transmission needs to be managed and / or controlled. The amplitude threshold corresponds to the network congestion information of the above-mentioned business flow. The higher the congestion level indicated by the network congestion information of the business flow, the larger the corresponding amplitude threshold. For example, the congestion level indicated by the network congestion information of the business flow is 40%, and the corresponding amplitude threshold can be 15%, that is, when the probability of network congestion reaches 40%, the application side needs to reduce the probability of network congestion by at least 15% by reducing the transmission rate, or reduce the transmission rate by 15%. For another example, the congestion level indicated by the network congestion information of the business flow is 50%, and the corresponding amplitude threshold can be 25%, that is, when the probability of network congestion reaches 50%, the application side needs to reduce the transmission rate, such as reducing the transmission rate by 25%. For another example, if the network congestion information of a service flow increases by 15%, the corresponding amplitude threshold may be 15%. That is, when the probability of network congestion increases by 15%, the application side needs to reduce the transmission rate to reduce the network congestion by 15%.

[0217] It should be understood that the above determination of whether the transmission of the service flow is at least one of the above can also be understood as a judgment strategy, that is, the judgment strategy can also indicate this information, such as being used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow (within the monitoring time period) needs to be determined as at least one of the following: the transmission rate has not decreased, the reduction in the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate has increased. Alternatively, the judgment strategy can also be replaced by any other possible named strategy. The judgment strategy can be carried by the above configuration information #1, or can also be issued separately, or can also be pre-configured or pre-defined by protocol locally in the first network element, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0218] It should also be understood that the purpose of opening the network congestion information of the service flow is to expect the application side to reduce the transmission rate of the service flow in a timely manner, such as reducing it to the expected level. If the first network element determines through monitoring that the application side not only fails to reduce the transmission rate of the service flow to the expected level, such as the transmission rate has not been reduced, the reduction amplitude of the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, and even increases the transmission rate, then the first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted, or needs to be optimized but has not been optimized. Therefore, the first network element needs to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow to reduce the probability of network congestion. The following is divided into three situations for introduction.

[0219] Case 1: The first network element is an access network device.

[0220] The access network device can perform at least one of the following operations on the above-mentioned QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packets carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or increasing the congestion level of the QoS flow when opening the network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0221] Among them, the session management network element and the user plane network element can be network elements corresponding to the QoS flow, such as the session management network element that configures (or establishes) the QoS flow and the user plane network element that carries the QoS flow.

[0222] The exception report can be used to indicate that the data packet transmission carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, that is, the QoS flow fails to make transmission adjustments when necessary, or the QoS flow does not make adjustments when the transmission needs to be adjusted under the current network congestion level, such as including the identification of the QoS flow and / or information indicating the abnormal transmission of the data packet. In other words, the identification of the QoS flow and the information indicating the abnormal transmission of the data packet can be decoupled, and the two can be combined to indicate the function of the above-mentioned exception report, and the indication method is more flexible.

[0223] It should be understood that the exception report may not include an identifier for the QoS flow. For example, the QoS flow is pre-aligned between the access network device and the session management network element / user plane network element. The session management network element / user plane network element can determine that the transmission of the service flow is abnormal based on the exception report. Alternatively, the exception report may not include information for indicating the transmission abnormality of the data packet. For example, the exception report may also be a new report type, which is used to implicitly indicate the transmission abnormality.

[0224] For ease of understanding, at least one operation performed in situation 1 is introduced below.

[0225] 1) If the access network device opens the network congestion information of the QoS flow, the access network device can send an exception report to the session management network element. The session management network element can send PCC rule indication information to the policy control network element based on the exception report.

[0226] Among them, the PCC rule indication information is used to indicate the transmission anomaly of the service flow corresponding to the PCC rule. For example, the PCC rule indication information may include at least one of the following: an identifier of the PCC rule, or information used to indicate the transmission anomaly of the data packet, and the two can be combined to indicate the function of the PCC rule indication information. Of course, the PCC rule indication information may not include information used to indicate the transmission anomaly of the data packet. For example, the PCC rule indication information may also be a new information type, and the new information type is used to implicitly indicate the transmission anomaly. At this time, the PCC rule indication information can also be used to indicate that the service flow cannot be adjusted when transmission adjustment is required, or that the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted under the current network congestion level.

[0227] The session management network element can determine the PCC rule corresponding to the QoS flow according to the identifier of the QoS flow in the exception report, and encapsulate the identifier of the PCC rule and the information used to indicate the abnormality of data packet transmission to obtain PCC rule indication information, and then send the PCC rule indication information to the policy control network element. For example, the session management network element carries the PCC rule indication information into any possible signaling sent by the session management network element to the policy control network element. The session management network element determines the identifier of the corresponding PCC rule according to the identifier of the QoS flow in the exception report, and the identifier of the PCC rule can also be the flow description information of the service flow, where the service flow is the service flow carried by the QoS flow.

[0228] The policy control network element may receive the PCC rule indication information from the session management network element, and according to the PCC rule indication information, reduce the QoS level of the PCC rule, such as reducing the QoS guarantee, and realizing transmission speed limit, so as to reduce the possibility of network congestion and the transmission fairness problem between service flows. Alternatively, the policy control network element may also send the PCC rule indication information to the application function network element, such as the application function network element providing the service flow, to realize the alarm transmission abnormality to the application function network element, so that the application function network element adjusts the transmission according to the alarm transmission abnormality, and avoids the occurrence of network congestion and the transmission fairness problem between service flows.

[0229] 2) If the network congestion information of the above-mentioned QoS flow (or service flow) is opened by the user plane network element, the access network device can send an exception report to the user plane network element. Specifically, the access network device can send the exception report to the user plane network element through the access and mobility management network element and the session management network element, or send the exception report to the user plane network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink data packet or the uplink empty packet. The user plane network element can receive the exception report of the access network device, or the access network device corresponding to the QoS flow, to determine that the transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow is abnormal. In this way, in the case of abnormal transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow, the user plane network element can manage and / or control the transmission of the QoS flow. For example, in response to the configuration information of the service flow (recorded as configuration information #2), the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow to reduce the possibility of network congestion.

[0230] Among them, configuration information #2 can be used to indicate that when the network congestion information of the QoS flow (or service flow) is open but the transmission of the QoS flow (or service flow) is abnormal, the transmission of the QoS flow (or service flow) needs to be managed and / or controlled. Configuration information #2 may include at least one of the following: information used to indicate the QoS flow (or service flow), such as QFI, flow description information of the service flow, or management indication information. The management indication information can be implemented by reusing the existing information element in configuration information #2, or it can also be a newly defined information element, which can be a string of one or more bits or a bit map, used to indicate that when the network congestion information is open but the transmission is abnormal, the transmission needs to be managed and / or controlled.

[0231] It can be understood that configuration information #2 may not include information for indicating the QoS flow. For example, the QoS flow is pre-aligned between the user plane network element and the access network device, and the user plane network element can manage and / or control the transmission of the QoS flow by default according to the management indication information. Alternatively, configuration information #2 may not include management indication information, for example, configuration information #2 may also be a new information type, and the new information type is used to implicitly indicate that the transmission of the QoS flow is managed and / or controlled.

[0232] Optionally, the user plane network element may obtain the above configuration information #2 from the session management network element in advance, such as receiving an N4 message from the session management network element during the N4 session establishment process, and the N4 message may carry the configuration information #2. Alternatively, the configuration information #2 may also be pre-configured or pre-defined by protocol in the user plane network element.

[0233] It can also be understood that configuration information #2 is only an exemplary name, and it can also be replaced by any possible name, such as control configuration information, transmission control configuration information, etc., without limitation.

[0234] In addition, the user plane network element can also map the QoS flow to the corresponding service flow, such as the service flow carried by the QoS flow, and the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow. In addition, the specific implementation of the user plane network element managing and / or controlling the transmission of the QoS flow / service flow can also refer to the relevant introduction of case 2 or case 3 below, which will not be repeated here.

[0235] 3) The access network device can discard the data packets carried in the QoS flow, such as discarding some of the data packets carried in the QoS flow according to a certain ratio (such as 30%, 40%, etc., without specific restrictions). Alternatively, the access network device can also directly reduce the transmission priority of the data radio bearer (DRB) mapped by the QoS flow. In this way, the transmission of the QoS flow can be limited locally on the access network device, and the transmission rate can be reduced as much as possible to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness issues between multiple flows, or in other words, reduce the possibility of network congestion and transmission fairness issues between multiple service flows.

[0236] 4) If the above-mentioned QoS flow shares DRB with other QoS flows, such as QoS flow #1 and QoS flow #2 share DRB #1, the access network device can also map the QoS flow to a new DRB, such as re-establishing a new DRB for the QoS flow, and the DRB can be exclusively used by the QoS flow, such as mapping QoS flow #1 to new DRB #2, so that QoS flow #1 and QoS flow #2 can both exclusively use the DRB, that is, decoupling the QoS flow from other QoS flows that have shared the DRB in advance, avoiding network congestion caused by the QoS flow occupying the DRB resources of other QoS flows, thereby reducing the possibility of network congestion and avoiding transmission fairness issues between multiple flows.

[0237] 5) If the network congestion information of the above-mentioned QoS flow is opened by the access network device, the access network device can continue to open the new network congestion information of the QoS flow. The ratio value represented by the new network congestion information can be the sum of the ratio value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental ratio value. The preset incremental ratio value can be dynamically set by the access network device according to the actual situation, and there is no specific restriction. For example, the access network device previously opens the network congestion information of the QoS flow at a ratio of 42%. If the preset incremental ratio value is 10%, the access network device can increase the ratio from 42% to 52%, and continue to open the network congestion information of the QoS flow at a ratio of 52%. That is, for example, in the uplink or downlink data packets, the IP header of 52% of the data packets is filled with a CE mark with a value of "11", so that the application side can adjust the transmission according to the higher congestion level, such as reducing the bit rate, to reduce the possibility of network congestion, while avoiding the transmission fairness problem between multiple streams.

[0238] Case 2: The first network element is a user plane network element, and the user plane network element performs supervision based on the granularity of QoS flow.

[0239] The user plane network element may perform at least one of the following operations on the above QoS flow: sending an exception report to the session management network element, discarding data packets carried in the QoS flow, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0240] Among them, the session management network element may be a network element corresponding to the QoS flow, such as a session management network element that configures (or establishes) the QoS flow. The exception report may be used to indicate an abnormality in the transmission of a data packet carried in the QoS flow, such as including an identifier of the QoS flow and / or information used to indicate an abnormality in the transmission of a data packet. The identifier of the QoS flow may be a QFI or a flow description information of a service flow carried by the QoS flow. For specific implementation, reference may be made to the relevant introduction to the above-mentioned exception report, which will not be repeated here. The above-mentioned QoS flow may correspond to a certain service, such as carrying data of the service, and the application function network element may be a network element that provides the service. The alarm notification may be used to indicate an abnormality in the transmission of a data packet of the service corresponding to the QoS flow, such as including an identifier of the service and / or information used to indicate an abnormality in the transmission of a data packet. The specific implementation is similar to the above-mentioned exception report, which may be referred to for understanding, and will not be repeated here.

[0241] For ease of understanding, executing at least one operation in situation 2 is introduced below.

[0242] 1) If the network congestion information of the QoS flow is opened by the user plane network element, the user plane network element can send an exception report to the session management network element, so that the final policy control network element can reduce the QoS level of the PCC rule, reduce the possibility of network congestion, and avoid transmission fairness issues between multiple flows.

[0243] 2) User-plane network elements can also discard data packets carried in QoS flows to implement local rate limiting, reduce the possibility of network congestion, and avoid transmission fairness issues among multiple flows.

[0244] 3) The user plane network element can also send an alarm notification to the application function network element, or open new network congestion information of the QoS flow, so that the application function network element (or the application side) can adjust the transmission due to a higher congestion level or due to abnormal alarm transmission, thereby avoiding network congestion and avoiding transmission fairness issues between multiple flows. Among them, the alarm notification includes the flow description information of the service flow carried by the QoS flow. Specifically, the user plane network element can determine the flow description information of the service flow carried by the QoS flow based on the QoS identifier. Optionally, the alarm notification will also include alarm indication information, which is used to indicate that the service flow failed to make transmission adjustment when it needed to, or to indicate that the service flow needed to be adjusted but was not adjusted under the current network congestion level, or to instruct the application server / application function network element to make corresponding transmission adjustments for the corresponding service flow.

[0245] In addition, the three operations performed in the above situation 2 can also refer to the relevant introduction of the above situation 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0246] Case 3: The first network element is a user plane network element, and the user plane network element performs supervision based on the granularity of service flow.

[0247] The user plane network element may perform at least one of the following on the above-mentioned service flow: sending an abnormal report to the session management network element, sending an alarm notification to the application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow. The proportion value represented by the new network congestion information may also be the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the service flow and the preset incremental proportion value. For details, please refer to the above and will not be repeated here.

[0248] The session management network element or the application function network element is the network element corresponding to the service flow, such as the session management network element that configures (or establishes) the QoS flow, and the application function network element that provides the service flow. The alarm notification or exception report can be used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet of the service corresponding to the service flow, such as including the identification of the service and / or the information used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet. The specific implementation is similar to the above-mentioned exception report or alarm notification, which can be understood by reference and will not be repeated.

[0249] For ease of understanding, executing at least one operation in situation 3 is introduced below.

[0250] 1) If the network congestion information of the service flow is opened by the user plane network element, the user plane network element can send an exception report to the session management network element so that the session management network element can send PCC rule indication information to the policy control network element, thereby triggering the policy control network element to reduce the QoS level of the PCC rule, such as reducing the transmission priority, thereby reducing the possibility of network congestion and avoiding the transmission fairness problem between multiple flows.

[0251] 2) User-plane network elements can also discard data packets in the service flow to implement local rate limiting, reduce the possibility of network congestion, and avoid transmission fairness issues among multiple flows.

[0252] 3) The user plane network element can also send an alarm notification to the application function network element, or open new network congestion information of the service flow, so that the application side can adjust the transmission according to the higher congestion level or the abnormal alarm transmission to avoid network congestion and transmission fairness issues between multiple flows. The alarm notification includes the flow description information of the service flow. Optionally, the alarm notification may also include alarm indication information, which can be used to indicate that the service flow cannot be adjusted when transmission adjustment is required, or indicate that the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted under the current network congestion level, or indicate that the application server / application function network element makes corresponding transmission adjustments for the corresponding service flow.

[0253] The three operations performed in the above situation 3 can also refer to the relevant introduction of the above situation 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0254] It can also be understood that in any of the above three situations, how the first network element specifically performs at least one corresponding operation can also be understood as a control strategy, or can also be replaced by any other possible named strategy. The control strategy can be carried by the above-mentioned configuration information #1 (or, for the user plane network element in situation 2, it can also be carried by configuration information #2), or it can also be issued separately, or it can also be pre-configured or pre-defined by protocol locally in the first network element, and the specific implementation is not limited. For example, in the case where the first network element is an access network device, the control strategy is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow (or the QoS flow carrying the service flow) needs to be managed and / or controlled, specifically including performing at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an abnormal report to the session management network element or the user plane network element, discarding the data packet carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of the data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or increasing the congestion level of the QoS flow when the network congestion information of the open QoS flow is opened. Or, in the case where the first network element is a user plane network element, the control strategy is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be managed and / or controlled. Managing and / or controlling the transmission of service flows includes executing at least one of the following on the service flows: sending an exception report to a session management network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, sending an alarm notification to an application function network element, or opening new network congestion information for the service flow; or specifically includes executing at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an exception report to a session management network element, sending an alarm notification to an application function network element, discarding data packets in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information for the service flow; wherein the service flow being managed and / or controlled may also be a QoS flow that carries the service flow.

[0255] Optionally, the configuration information of the service flow may also include information indicating that the first network element for managing and / or controlling the transmission is the above-mentioned access network device or user plane network element. For example, configuration information #1 carries information indicating that the first network element for supervising the transmission is an access network device, and configuration information #2 carries information indicating that the first network element for supervising the transmission is a user plane network element. Supervising the transmission means that if it is determined that the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted based on the congestion level information, the transmission is managed / or controlled.

[0256] In summary, network elements on the network side, such as the first network element, can obtain network congestion information of the service flow to determine the possibility of congestion in the current network and perform supervision. For example, when the network congestion level becomes high, if the possibility of network congestion has reached a point where the application side needs to adjust the transmission of the service flow to reduce the possibility, if the first network element determines that the application side has not adjusted the transmission of the service flow by monitoring the transmission of the service flow, it can manage and / or control its transmission to avoid network congestion while ensuring fairness between services, thereby ensuring the user experience.

[0257] Optionally, in combination with the above method, before S401, the method may further include the following process:

[0258] S400a, the application function network element obtains the demand information of the service flow transmission.

[0259] The demand information for service flow transmission (referred to as demand information) can be used to indicate the need to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow according to the congestion level of the service flow and the transmission of the service flow. Specifically, the demand information can be used to indicate the need to determine whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but has not been adjusted. For example, the demand information may include regulatory indication information, and optionally, may also include information for indicating the service flow, such as flow description information of the service flow, which may specifically be the above-mentioned IP quintuple / IP triplet / ToS / flow label and other information. The specific implementation may also refer to the relevant introduction in the above-mentioned S401, which will not be repeated here.

[0260] Optionally, the demand information may further include a monitoring time period. For specific implementation, reference may be made to the relevant introduction in S401 above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0261] Optionally, the demand information may also include the above-mentioned strategies, such as at least one of the above-mentioned supervision strategies, judgment strategies, or control strategies. The specific implementation may also refer to the relevant introduction in the above-mentioned S401, which will not be repeated here.

[0262] Optionally, the demand information may further include information for indicating that the first network element for supervising the transmission is the above-mentioned access network device or user plane network element.

[0263] The application function network element can obtain demand information from the local or other network elements at any possible time without restriction.

[0264] In addition, the demand information is only an exemplary name, and it can also be replaced by any possible name, such as management and control demand information, transmission management and control demand information, etc., without limitation.

[0265] S400b, the application function network element sends the demand information. The policy control network element obtains the policy information of the service flow.

[0266] If the application function network element and the policy control network element are both network elements in the operator's network, the application function network element can directly send demand information to the policy control network element. Alternatively, if the application function network element is a third-party network element outside the operator's network, the application function network element can send demand information to the network capability exposure network element. When the network capability exposure network element verifies that the application function network element is trustworthy, the network capability exposure network element sends the demand information to the policy control network element.

[0267] The policy control network element can determine the policy information (referred to as policy information) for the service flow transmission according to the demand information. For example, the policy information can also include supervision indication information, and optionally, can also include information for indicating the service flow. Optionally, the policy information can also include a monitoring time period. Optionally, the demand information can also include the above-mentioned policies, such as at least one of the above-mentioned supervision policies, judgment policies, or control policies. In other words, the policy control network element can obtain the information in the demand information and encapsulate it to obtain the policy information.

[0268] It can be understood that the policy control network element determines the policy information based on the demand information provided by the application function network element is an example and is not a limitation. For example, the policy information can also be pre-configured in the policy control network element or the protocol can be pre-defined in the policy control network element.

[0269] S400c: The policy control network element sends policy information to the session management network element corresponding to the service flow.

[0270] When the session management element triggers the establishment or modification of a service session, such as when a PDU session is established or modified, the policy control element may send the above policy information to the session management element. Alternatively, the policy control element may decide to send policy information to the session management element.

[0271] It should be understood that the definition of the corresponding session management network element can also refer to the above-mentioned related introduction, that is, the session management network element that establishes or modifies the session for transmitting the service flow, which will not be repeated here.

[0272] In addition, the policy information is merely an exemplary name, and it can also be replaced with any possible name, such as control policy information, transmission control policy information, etc., without limitation.

[0273] S400d, the session management network element sends the configuration information of the service flow to the first network element according to the policy information.

[0274] The session management network element may determine the configuration information of the service flow according to the received policy information, such as configuration information #1.

[0275] For example, for the above situation 1, the session management network element can indicate that the service flow is mapped to the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow, that is, the information used to indicate the service flow in the policy information is converted into the identifier of the QoS flow, such as QFI, and the QFI and other information in the policy information (such as supervision indication information, monitoring time period, etc.) are encapsulated as configuration information #1, and then the configuration information #1 is sent to the access network device, such as carried in the QoS configuration. For another example, for the above situation 2, the session management network element maps the service flow to the QoS flow corresponding to the service flow, that is, the flow description information of the service flow is converted into QFI, and the QFI and other information in the policy information are encapsulated into configuration information #1, and then the configuration information #1 is sent to the user plane network element. For example, the configuration information #1 is carried in the QoS enforcement rules (QoS enforcement rules, QER) or packet detection rule (packet detection rule, PDR) in the N4 rule. For another example, for the above situation 3, the session management network element can directly encapsulate the information in the policy information into configuration information #1, and then send the configuration information #1 to the user plane network element.

[0276] Optionally, for the above situation 1, the embodiment of the present application may also configure the above configuration information #2 for the user plane network element in a manner similar to configuration information #1. For example, the application function network element may also carry management indication information in the demand information, so that the management indication information may be subsequently obtained by the session management network element by carrying it in the policy information. In this way, the session management network element may convert the flow description information of the service flow into QFI according to the policy information, and encapsulate the flow description information, QFI and management indication information of the service flow into configuration information #2, and then send it to the user plane network element.

[0277] Combination of the above Figure 4 The overall process of the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 5-Figure 7 The specific process of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application in various scenarios is specifically introduced.

[0278] Scenario 1:

[0279] Figure 5 The communication method provided in this embodiment is shown in FIG. Figure 2. The communication method is applicable to the above communication system, and specifically involves the interaction between UE, RAN equipment (i.e., the above first network element is the access network equipment), SMF network element (i.e., the above session management network element), PCF network element (i.e., the above policy control network element), UPF network element (i.e., the above user plane network element) and AF (i.e., the above application function network element). In scenario 1, when the RAN device opens the network congestion information, the RAN device can perform transmission supervision according to the network congestion status to reduce the possibility of network congestion.

[0280] Specifically, Figure 5 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0281] S501, the AF sends an AF request message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the AF request message from the AF.

[0282] If the AF is in a non-trusted domain, such as a third-party AF outside the operator network, the AF request message may be an AFQoS request (Nnef_AFSessionWithQoS) message, which may carry the above-mentioned requirement information. The AF may send the AF QoS session message to the NEF network element. The NEF network element may authenticate the AF. If the AF is trusted through authentication, the NEF network element may send the requirement information to the PCF network element through the policy authorization (Npcf_PolicyAuthorization) service. Otherwise, the NEF network element rejects the AF QoS session message.

[0283] If the AF is in the trusted domain, such as the AF is in the operator network, the AF request message may be a policy authorization service message, that is, the AF may directly send the above requirement information to the PCF network element through the policy authorization service.

[0284] It can be understood that S501 is an optional step. For example, the policy information may also be pre-configured locally in the PCF network element, and S501 is not executed.

[0285] It can be understood that the specific implementation of the demand information can also refer to the relevant introduction in the above S400a, which will not be repeated here.

[0286] S502, the PCF network element obtains policy information.

[0287] When the demand information is received, the PCF network element may determine the policy information according to the demand information and / or the local operator configuration. For example, the PCF network element may obtain the information in the demand information, encapsulate it to obtain the policy information, and then save it locally. Alternatively, the policy information may also be pre-configured or pre-defined by protocol in the PCF network element locally. In this case, S501 may not be executed.

[0288] In addition, the specific implementation of the policy information can also refer to the relevant introduction in the above S400b-S400c, which will not be repeated here.

[0289] S503, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment or modification process.

[0290] In the PDU session establishment or modification process, the UE can send a non-access stratum (NAS) message to the AMF network element, and the AMF network element sends the PDU session establishment request message or PDU session modification request message in the NAS message to the SMF network element.

[0291] S504, the SMF network element triggers the session management (SM) policy association (SM policyassociation) establishment or modification process.

[0292] If the UE triggers the PDU session establishment process at this time, the SMF network element triggers the SM policy association establishment process. If the UE triggers the PDU session establishment process at this time, the SMF network element triggers the SM policy association modification process. During this process, the SMF network element can request the PCF network element to provide a new or modified policy related to the PDU session. Correspondingly, the PCF network element can respond to the request of the SMF network element, obtain the above policy information locally, and send it to the SMF network element.

[0293] Alternatively, the PCF network element may also trigger the SM policy association establishment or modification process by itself and send the policy information to the SMF network element by itself. In this case, S503 may not be executed.

[0294] In this way, the SMF network element can determine the configuration information according to the policy information. For example, the SMF network element can obtain the information in the policy information, and map the information used to indicate the service flow to the information used to indicate the QoS flow, such as QFI, and then encapsulate the information to obtain configuration information #1.

[0295] In addition, the specific implementation of configuration information #1 can also refer to the relevant introduction in the above S401, which will not be repeated here.

[0296] S505, the SMF network element sends an N4 Session Establishment / Modification message to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the N4 Session Establishment / Modification message from the SMF network element.

[0297] Among them, the N4 session establishment / modification message is used to establish or modify the N4 session between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, or to configure the N4 session. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of the 3GPP protocol, which will not be repeated here.

[0298] S506, the SMF network element sends an N2 session management message (N2 SM message) to the RAN device. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the N2 session management message from the SMF network element.

[0299] Specifically, the SMF network element sends the information related to N2 session management to the RAN device through the AMF network element.

[0300] SMF can decide based on local policies that RAN equipment performs monitoring and control of open network congestion information, or SMF can decide based on policy information that RAN equipment performs monitoring and control of open congestion information. In this way, the QoS configuration carried by the N2 session management message can also include the above-mentioned configuration information #1. In addition, the N2 session management message can also include other information. For example, in the case of S503 execution, the N2 session management message can also include a PDU session establishment acceptance message or a PDU session modification acceptance message. The specific implementation can also refer to the relevant introduction of the 3GPP protocol, which will not be repeated here.

[0301] S507: The RAN device performs resource configuration corresponding to the PDU session.

[0302] Specifically, the RAN device may configure or reconfigure the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow established or modified in the PDU session.

[0303] The RAN device may send the received PDU session establishment acceptance message or PDU session modification acceptance message to the UE. In addition, the RAN device may also configure corresponding air interface resources, such as DRBs corresponding to QoS flows, according to the QoS configuration.

[0304] S508: The RAN device continues to complete the remaining PDU session establishment / modification process.

[0305] The specific implementation of S508 may also refer to the relevant introduction of the 3GPP protocol, which will not be repeated here.

[0306] S509: The RAN device performs congestion monitoring on the QoS flow.

[0307] The RAN device may determine the network congestion information of the QoS flow by performing congestion monitoring on the QoS flow.

[0308] Optionally, the QoS flow may also be replaced by a DRB mapped by the QoS flow, that is, the RAN device may also perform network congestion monitoring on the DRB.

[0309] S510, the RAN device performs L4S marking.

[0310] Optionally, the RAN device performs L4S marking to make network congestion information open to the outside world. For specific implementation, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above "3. R18 network information opening", which will not be repeated here.

[0311] S511, the RAN device reports network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0312] Optionally, the RAN device opens the network congestion information to the outside world through the control plane API. The RAN device may also report the network congestion information of the above QoS flow to the PCF network element through the SMF network element, and the PCF network element opens the network congestion information to the AF. For example, the PCF network element directly opens it to the AF or opens it to the AF side through the NEF network element.

[0313] It can be understood that S511 is an optional step. For example, the RAN device may choose not to report the network congestion information of the QoS flow through the control plane API. The third-party application may determine the network congestion information by itself based on the proportion of packets marked by L4S.

[0314] S512: The RAN device determines whether transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted.

[0315] By monitoring the congestion of the QoS flow, the RAN device can obtain the network congestion information of the QoS flow and determine whether the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted. If the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted and is actually adjusted, the RAN device does not execute the subsequent process. If the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted but is not actually adjusted, the RAN device continues to execute the subsequent process, such as S513-S517.

[0316] In addition, the specific implementation of S512 can also refer to the relevant introduction of S401-S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0317] S513, the RAN device opens new network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0318] S514: The RAN device discards the data packet carried in the QoS flow.

[0319] S515, the RAN device lowers the transmission priority of the DRB mapped to the QoS flow.

[0320] S516: The RAN device maps the QoS flow to the new DRB.

[0321] S517, the RAN device sends an exception report to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the exception report from the RAN device.

[0322] S513-S517 are optional, and the RAN device may choose to perform one or more steps, without specific limitation. In addition, the specific implementation of S513-S517 can also refer to the relevant introduction of the above-mentioned S402 situation 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0323] S518, the SMF network element sends PCC rule indication information to the PCF network element.

[0324] Specifically, the PCC rule indication information is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, or to indicate that the service flow needs to be processed for QoS degradation. Optionally, the SMF network element may also send the ID of the PCC rule to the PCF network element, and the PCC rule ID may also be the flow description information of the service flow within the PCC rule, wherein the SMF network element may determine the flow description information of the service flow corresponding to the QoS flow identifier based on the QoS flow identifier in the abnormal report reported by the RAN.

[0325] S519, the PCF network element reduces the QoS level or sends an alarm to the AF according to the PCC rule indication information.

[0326] The SMF network element can send indication information to the PCF network element based on the received exception report, so that the PCF network element can reduce the QoS level or alert the AF. The specific implementation can also refer to the relevant introduction of situation 1 of S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0327] Scenario 2:

[0328] Figure 6 The communication method provided in this embodiment is shown in FIG. Figure 3 . This communication method is applicable to the above-mentioned communication system, and specifically involves the interaction between UE, RAN equipment (i.e., the above-mentioned access network equipment), SMF network element (i.e., the above-mentioned session management network element), PCF network element (i.e., the above-mentioned policy control network element), UPF network element (i.e., the above-mentioned first network element is the user plane network element) and AF (i.e., the above-mentioned application function network element). In scenario 2, when the UPF network element opens the network congestion information, the RAN equipment can still perform transmission supervision according to the network congestion status to reduce the possibility of network congestion.

[0329] Specifically, Figure 6 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0330] S601, the AF sends an AF request message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the AF request message from the AF.

[0331] S602, the PCF network element obtains policy information.

[0332] S603: The UE initiates a PDU session establishment or modification process.

[0333] S604, the SMF network element triggers the session management SM policy association establishment or modification process.

[0334] The specific implementation of S601-S604 may also refer to the related introduction of S501-S504 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0335] S605, the SMF network element sends an N4 session establishment / modification message to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the N4 session establishment / modification message from the SMF network element.

[0336] The N4 session establishment / modification message is used to establish or modify the N4 session between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, such as including the above-mentioned configuration information #2. For specific implementation, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above-mentioned S402 case 1, which will not be repeated here. Of course, the N4 session establishment / modification message can also include existing information, which can be specifically referred to the relevant introduction of the 3GPP protocol, which will not be repeated here.

[0337] S606, the SMF network element sends an N2 session management message to the RAN device. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the N2 session management message from the SMF network element. Specifically, the SMF network element can send information related to N2 session management to the RAN device through AMF.

[0338] S607: The RAN device performs resource configuration corresponding to the PDU session.

[0339] Specifically, the RAN device may configure or reconfigure the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow established or modified in the PDU session.

[0340] S608: The RAN device continues to complete the remaining PDU session establishment / modification process.

[0341] S609: The RAN device performs congestion monitoring on the QoS flow.

[0342] The specific implementation of S606-S609 may also refer to the related introduction of S506-S509 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0343] S610, the RAN device sends the network congestion information of the QoS flow to the UPF network element.

[0344] Specifically, the RAN device can send the network congestion information to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink data packet, or send the network congestion information to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink empty data packet.

[0345] S611, UPF network element executes L4S marking.

[0346] Among them, the specific implementation of S610-S611 can refer to the relevant introduction in the above "3. R18 Network Information Openness", which will not be repeated here.

[0347] S612: The RAN device determines whether transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted.

[0348] By monitoring the congestion of the QoS flow, the RAN device can obtain the network congestion information of the QoS flow and determine whether the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted. If the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted and is actually adjusted, the RAN device does not execute the subsequent process. If the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted but is not actually adjusted, the RAN device continues to execute the subsequent process, such as S613-S617.

[0349] In addition, the specific implementation of S612 can also refer to the relevant introduction of S401-S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0350] S613: The RAN device discards the data packet carried in the QoS flow.

[0351] S614: The RAN device lowers the transmission priority of the DRB mapped to the QoS flow.

[0352] S615: The RAN device maps the QoS flow to the new DRB.

[0353] S616, the RAN device sends an exception report to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the exception report from the RAN device.

[0354] S617, the RAN device sends an exception report to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the exception report from the RAN device. Specifically, the RAN device can send the exception report to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink data packet, or send the exception report to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink empty data packet.

[0355] S613-S617 are optional, and the RAN device may choose to perform one or more steps, without specific limitation. In addition, the specific implementation of S613-S617 may also refer to the relevant introduction of the above-mentioned S402 situation 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0356] S618, the SMF network element sends PCC rule indication information to the PCF network element.

[0357] Specifically, the PCC rule indication information is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, or to indicate that the service flow needs to be processed for QoS degradation. Optionally, the SMF network element may also send the ID of the PCC rule to the PCF network element, and the PCC rule ID may also be the flow description information of the service flow within the PCC rule, wherein the SMF network element determines the flow description information of the service flow corresponding to the QoS flow identifier based on the QoS flow identifier in the abnormal report reported by the RAN.

[0358] S619, the PCF network element reduces the QoS level or sends an alarm to the AF according to the PCC rule indication information.

[0359] When the SMF network element receives an abnormal report, execute S618-S619. The specific implementation can also refer to the relevant introduction of situation 1 of S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0360] S620, the UPF network element opens new network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0361] S621, the UPF network element discards the data packets carried in the QoS flow or alerts the AF based on the abnormal report.

[0362] When the UPF network element receives an abnormal report, S620-S621 is executed. The specific implementation can also refer to the relevant introduction of situation 1 of S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0363] In addition, for the UPF network element in scenario 2, the QoS flow can also be replaced by the service flow corresponding to the QoS flow.

[0364] Scenario 3:

[0365] Figure 7 The communication method provided in this embodiment is shown in FIG. Figure 4 . This communication method is applicable to the above-mentioned communication system, and specifically involves the interaction between UE, RAN equipment (i.e., the above-mentioned access network equipment), SMF network element (i.e., the above-mentioned session management network element), PCF network element (i.e., the above-mentioned policy control network element), UPF network element (i.e., the above-mentioned first network element is the user plane network element) and AF (i.e., the above-mentioned application function network element). In scenario 3, when the UPF network element opens the network congestion information, the UPF network element can perform transmission supervision according to the network congestion status to reduce the possibility of network congestion.

[0366] Specifically, Figure 7 As shown, the process of the communication method is as follows:

[0367] S701, the AF sends an AF request message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the AF request message from the AF.

[0368] S702, the PCF network element obtains policy information.

[0369] S703, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment or modification process.

[0370] S704, the SMF network element triggers the session management SM policy association establishment or modification process.

[0371] The specific implementation of S701-S704 may also refer to the related introduction of S501-S504 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0372] S705, the SMF network element sends an N4 session establishment / modification message to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the N4 session establishment / modification message from the SMF network element.

[0373] The N4 session establishment / modification message is used to establish or modify the N4 session between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, such as including the above-mentioned configuration information #1. For specific implementation, please refer to the relevant introduction in the above-mentioned S402 situation 2, which will not be repeated here. Of course, the N4 session establishment / modification message can also include existing information, which can be specifically referred to the relevant introduction of the 3GPP protocol, which will not be repeated here.

[0374] S706, the SMF network element sends an N2 session management message to the RAN device. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the N2 session management message from the SMF network element. Specifically, the SMF network element can send information related to N2 session management to the RAN device through the AMF network element.

[0375] The N2 session management message may include existing information. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of the 3GPP protocol, which will not be repeated here.

[0376] S707: The RAN device performs resource configuration corresponding to the PDU session.

[0377] Specifically, the RAN device may configure or reconfigure the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow established or modified in the PDU session.

[0378] S708: The RAN device continues to complete the remaining PDU session establishment / modification process.

[0379] S709: The RAN device performs congestion monitoring on the QoS flow.

[0380] The specific implementation of S706-S709 can also refer to the relevant introduction of S506-S509 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0381] S710, the RAN device sends the network congestion information of the QoS flow to the UPF network element.

[0382] Specifically, the RAN device may send the network congestion information to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink data packet, or send the network congestion information to the UPF network element through the GTP-U layer of the uplink empty data packet.

[0383] S711, UPF network element executes L4S marking.

[0384] Among them, the specific implementation of S710-S711 can refer to the relevant introduction in the above "3. R18 Network Information Openness", which will not be repeated here.

[0385] S712, the UPF network element determines whether the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted.

[0386] The UPF network element can determine whether the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted based on the network congestion information of the QoS flow reported by the RAN device. If the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted and is actually adjusted, the UPF network element does not execute the subsequent process. If the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be adjusted but is not actually adjusted, the UPF network element continues to execute the subsequent process, such as S713-S716.

[0387] In addition, the specific implementation of S712 can also refer to the relevant introduction of S401-S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0388] S713, the UPF network element opens new network congestion information of the QoS flow.

[0389] S714, the UPF network element discards the data packets carried in the QoS flow.

[0390] S715, the UPF network element sends an exception report to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the exception report from the UPF network element.

[0391] S716, the UPF network element sends an alarm notification to the AF. Correspondingly, the AF receives the alarm notification from the UPF network element.

[0392] Among them, S713-S716 are optional, and the UPF network element can choose to execute one or more steps, without specific limitation. In addition, the specific implementation of S713-S716 can also refer to the relevant introduction of the above-mentioned S402 situation 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0393] S717, the SMF network element sends PCC rule indication information to the PCF network element.

[0394] Specifically, the PCC rule indication information is used to indicate that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, or to indicate that the service flow needs to be processed for QoS degradation. Optionally, the SMF network element may also send the ID of the PCC rule to the PCF network element, and the PCC rule ID may also be the flow description information of the service flow within the PCC rule, wherein the SMF network element may determine the flow description information of the service flow corresponding to the QoS flow identifier based on the QoS flow identifier in the abnormal report reported by the RAN.

[0395] S718, the PCF network element reduces the QoS level or sends an alarm to the AF according to the PCC rule indication information.

[0396] The SMF network element can send indication information to the PCF network element based on the received exception report, so that the PCF network element can reduce the QoS level or alert the AF. The specific implementation can also refer to the relevant introduction of situation 1 of S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0397] It can be understood that in scenario 3, the QoS flow can also be replaced by the business flow corresponding to the QoS flow, that is, configuration and transmission supervision are performed at the granularity of business flow. The specific implementation can also refer to the relevant introduction of situation 3 of S402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0398] Combination of the above Figure 4-Figure 7 The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail. Figure 8-Figure 9 A communication device for executing the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0399] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 For example, Figure 8 As shown, the communication device 800 includes: a transceiver module 801 and a processing module 802. For ease of description, Figure 8 Only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0400] Among them, the transceiver module 801 is used to perform the above Figure 4-Figure 7 The processing module 802 is used to perform the above-mentioned Figure 4-Figure 7 The method shown has other functions besides the sending and receiving functions.

[0401] Optionally, the transceiver module 801 may include a sending module ( Figure 8 ) and a receiving module ( Figure 8 The sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device 800, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device 800.

[0402] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage module ( Figure 8 When the processing module 802 executes the program or instruction, the communication device 800 can execute the above method. Figure 4-Figure 7 The functions of the respective devices / network elements in the method shown.

[0403] It can be understood that the communication device 800 can be a network device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in the network device, or a device that includes a network device, which is not limited in this application.

[0404] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 800 can be referred to Figure 4-Figure 7 The technical effects of the communication method shown will not be repeated here.

[0405] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 For example, the communication device may be a terminal, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that may be provided in the terminal. Fig. 9 As shown, the communication device 900 may include a processor 901. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 902 and / or a transceiver 903. The processor 901 is coupled with the memory 902 and the transceiver 903, such as being connected via a communication bus.

[0406] Combine the following Fig. 9 The components of the communication device 900 are described in detail:

[0407] The processor 901 is the control center of the communication device 900, and may be a processor or a general term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 901 is one or more central processing units (CPUs), or may be application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or may be configured to implement one or more integrated circuits of the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0408] Optionally, the processor 901 may execute various functions of the communication device 900 by running or executing a software program stored in the memory 902 and calling data stored in the memory 902, such as executing the above Figure 4-Figure 7 The communication method shown.

[0409] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 901 may include one or more CPUs, such as Fig. 9 CPU0 and CPU1 are shown in FIG.

[0410] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 900 may also include multiple processors, such as Fig. 9 901 and processor 904 are shown in FIG. Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0411] The memory 902 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 901. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0412] Optionally, the memory 902 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 902 may be integrated with the processor 901, or may exist independently and be communicated to the processor 901 through the interface circuit ( Fig. 9 (not shown) is coupled to the processor 901, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0413] The transceiver 903 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if the communication device 900 is a terminal, the transceiver 903 can be used to communicate with a network device, or with another terminal device. For another example, if the communication device 900 is a network device, the transceiver 903 can be used to communicate with a terminal, or with another network device.

[0414] Optionally, the transceiver 903 may include a receiver and a transmitter ( Fig. 9 The receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a sending function.

[0415] Optionally, the transceiver 903 may be integrated with the processor 901, or may exist independently and communicate with the processor 901 through the interface circuit ( Fig. 9 (not shown) is coupled to the processor 901, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0416] Understandably, Fig. 9 The structure of the communication device 900 shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, and the actual communication device may include more or less components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0417] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 900 can refer to the technical effects of the method described in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0418] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0419] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0420] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware (such as circuits), firmware or any other combination. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state hard disk.

[0421] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. Please refer to the context for specific understanding.

[0422] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "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 be represented by: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0423] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0424] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0425] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0426] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0427] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0428] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0429] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0430] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to the first network element, including: The first network element obtains network congestion information of the service flow; The first network element determines, based on the network congestion information of the service flow, that transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but does not adjust it; Based on determining that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Obtain configuration information of the service flow, wherein the configuration information is used to instruct the first network element to determine whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow if the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The configuration information of the service flow includes supervision indication information, wherein the supervision indication information is used to indicate whether transmission needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The configuration information is further used to indicate a monitoring time period, where the monitoring time period is a time period used to monitor whether the transmission of the service flow is adjusted.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first network element determines that transmission of the service flow is not adjusted, including: The first network element determines that the transmission of the service flow is at least one of the following: the transmission rate is not reduced, the reduction amplitude of the transmission rate is less than the amplitude threshold, or the transmission rate is increased.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first network element determines, according to the network congestion information of the service flow, that transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted, including: The first network element determines, according to the network congestion information of the service flow, that the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to a congestion level threshold; or, The first network element determines, based on the network congestion information of the service flow, that an increase in the congestion level of the service flow is greater than or equal to an increase threshold.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first network element is an access network device, the service flow is carried by a QoS flow, the network congestion information of the service flow is the network congestion information of the QoS flow, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: The access network device performs at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to a session management network element or a user plane network element, discarding a data packet carried in the QoS flow, reducing the transmission priority of a data radio bearer DRB mapped by the QoS flow, mapping the QoS flow to a new DRB, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow; Among them, the session management network element and the user plane network element are network elements corresponding to the QoS flow, the exception report is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow, and the proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The abnormality report includes the identifier of the QoS flow and / or information indicating abnormality in data packet transmission.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first network element is a user plane network element, the service flow is carried by a QoS flow, the network congestion information of the service flow is the network congestion information of the QoS flow, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: The user plane network element performs at least one of the following on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to a session management network element, sending an alarm notification to an application function network element, discarding a data packet carried in the QoS flow, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow; Among them, the session management network element is the network element corresponding to the QoS flow, the exception report is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow, the application function network element is the network element corresponding to the service flow, the alarm notification is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet of the service corresponding to the service flow, and the proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The abnormality report includes the identifier of the QoS flow and / or information used to indicate abnormal data packet transmission, and the alarm notification includes the identifier of the service and / or information used to indicate abnormal data packet transmission.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first network element is a user plane network element, and the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow, including: The user plane network element performs at least one of the following on the service flow: sending an abnormality report to a session management network element, sending an alarm notification to an application function network element, discarding a data packet in the service flow, or opening new network congestion information of the service flow; Among them, the session management network element or the application function network element is the network element corresponding to the service flow, the exception report or the alarm notification is used to indicate the data packet transmission abnormality of the service corresponding to the service flow, and the proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the service flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The abnormality report or the alarm notification includes the identifier of the service flow and / or information indicating abnormality in data packet transmission.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to application function network elements, including: The application function network element obtains demand information for service flow transmission, wherein the demand information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion degree of the service flow, and manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted; The application function network element sends the demand information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The demand information for the service flow transmission includes supervision indication information, wherein the supervision indication information is used to indicate whether the transmission needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level, and to perform transmission control when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The demand information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the business flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the business flow when the transmission of the business flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring time period.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The demand information includes the monitoring time period.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that The application function network element sends the demand information, including: The application function network element sends an application function network element request message to the policy control network element corresponding to the service flow, wherein the application function network element request message includes the requirement information.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to policy control network elements, including: The policy control network element obtains policy information for service flow transmission, wherein the policy information for service flow transmission is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion degree of the service flow, and manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted; The policy control network element sends the policy information to the session management network element corresponding to the service flow.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The policy information of the service flow transmission includes supervision indication information, wherein the supervision indication information is used to indicate whether the transmission needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level, and to manage and / or control the transmission when the transmission needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that The policy information is specifically used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion level of the service flow, and to manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted within a monitoring time period.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The policy information includes the monitoring time period.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that The policy control network element obtains the policy information, including: The policy control network element receives the demand information of the service flow transmission from the application function network element of the service flow, where the demand information of the service flow transmission is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion degree of the service flow, and manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted; The policy control network element determines the policy information according to the demand information.

23. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that After the policy control network element sends the policy information to the session management network element corresponding to the service flow, the method further includes: The policy control network element receives indication information from the session management network element, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a transmission anomaly of the service flow corresponding to the control policy and charging PCC rule; The policy control network element reduces the quality of service QoS level of the PCC rule according to the indication information.

24. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to user plane network elements, including: In the case where the user plane network element opens network congestion information of the quality of service QoS flow, the user plane network element receives an exception report from an access network device corresponding to the QoS flow, wherein the exception report is used to indicate that the transmission of a data packet carried in the QoS flow is abnormal; In the case where the transmission of the data packets carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The user plane network element performs transmission control on the QoS flow, including: In response to the configuration information, the user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow, wherein the configuration information is used to indicate that when the network congestion information of the QoS flow is opened but the transmission of the data packets carried in the QoS flow is abnormal, the transmission of the QoS flow needs to be managed and / or controlled.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: The user plane network element receives the configuration information from the session management network element corresponding to the QoS flow.

27. The method according to any one of claims 25-26, characterized in that The user plane network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the QoS flow, including: The user plane network element performs at least one operation on the QoS flow: sending an exception report to a session management network element, sending an alarm notification to an application function network element, discarding a data packet carried in the QoS flow, or opening new network congestion information of the QoS flow; Among them, the session management network element is the network element corresponding to the QoS flow, the exception report is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet carried in the QoS flow, the application function network element is the network element corresponding to the service carried by the QoS flow, the alarm notification is used to indicate the abnormal transmission of the data packet of the service, and the proportion value represented by the new network congestion information is the sum of the proportion value represented by the network congestion information of the QoS flow and the preset incremental proportion value.

28. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The policy control network element obtains policy information for service flow transmission, wherein the policy information for service flow transmission is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion degree of the service flow, and manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted; The policy control network element sends the policy information to the session management network element; The session management network element sends the configuration information of the service flow to the first network element according to the policy information, wherein the first network element is an access network device or a user plane network element, and the configuration information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted according to the congestion degree of the service flow, and manage and / or control the transmission of the service flow when the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted; The first network element obtains network congestion information of the service flow; In response to the configuration information, if the first network element determines, based on the network congestion information of the service flow, that the transmission of the service flow needs to be adjusted but is not adjusted, the first network element manages and / or controls the transmission of the service flow.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: The apparatus comprises: a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-28.

30. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-28.

31. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

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