Communication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and a communication device, the method comprising: a user plane function (UPF) receiving second information sent by a fourth network entity, the second information being used for triggering the UPF to determine jitter information of a target service flow between the UPF and a third network entity; and the UPF sends first jitter information to the fourth network entity, wherein the first jitter information comprises jitter information of the target service flow between the UPF and the third network entity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] In some communication systems, in order to save energy while supporting extended reality and multimedia services, traffic characteristics such as period and jitter can be provided by an application server (AS) to a radio access network (RAN) for enhancing node management and optimizing the connected mode discontinuous reception (CDRX) configuration. However, the effect of the existing CDRX configuration is not ideal. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a communication device. The following introduces each aspect involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a first network entity obtains first jitter information and / or first latency information; the first network entity determines target jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity according to the first jitter information and / or the first latency information.

[0005] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a sixth network entity sends first information to a fourth network entity, and the first information is used to trigger the fourth network entity to determine target jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a second network entity receives the target jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the third network entity sent by the fourth network entity; the second network entity performs connected mode discontinuous reception (CDRX) configuration based on the target jitter information.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a fifth network entity receives second information sent by the fourth network entity, and the second information is used to trigger the fifth network entity to determine jitter information of a target traffic flow between the fifth network entity and the third network entity; the fifth network entity sends first jitter information to the fourth network entity, and the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the fifth network entity and the third network entity.

[0008] Fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a fourth network entity sends fifth information to a first network entity, and the fifth information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0009] Sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, including: a terminal device sends seventh information to a first network entity, and the seventh information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0010] Seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, including: an acquisition unit, configured to acquire first jitter information and / or first delay information; a determination unit, configured to determine the target jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity according to the first jitter information and / or the first delay information.

[0011] Eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a sending unit, configured to send first information to a fourth network entity, and the first information is used to trigger the fourth network entity to determine the target jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0012] Ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a receiving unit, configured to receive the target jitter information of a target traffic flow between the device and a third network entity sent by a fourth network entity; a configuration unit, configured to perform discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration in the connected state based on the target jitter information.

[0013] Tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a receiving unit, configured to receive second information sent by a fourth network entity, and the second information is used to trigger the device to determine the jitter information of a target traffic flow between the device and a third network entity; a sending unit, configured to send first jitter information to the fourth network entity, and the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the device and the third network entity.

[0014] Eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a sending unit, configured to send fifth information to a first network entity, and the fifth information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0015] Twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a sending unit, configured to send seventh information to a first network entity, and the seventh information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of a target traffic flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0016] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor. The memory is used to store programs, and the processor performs data transmission and reception through the transceiver. The processor is used to call the programs in the memory so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0017] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor configured to call a program from a memory so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0018] In a fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, including a processor configured to call a program from a memory such that a device installed with the chip executes the method described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0019] In a sixteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, having a program stored thereon, and the program causes a computer to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0020] In a seventeenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, including a program that causes a computer to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0021] In an eighteenth aspect, a computer program is provided, and the computer program causes a computer to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, a first network entity obtains first jitter information and / or first delay information, and determines target jitter information of a target service flow between a second network entity and a third network entity according to the first jitter information and / or the first delay information, thereby helping the second network entity perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information, so that the CDRX configuration better fits the service flow characteristics, and further optimizing the power saving effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applied.

[0024] Figure 2 is an exemplary diagram of a 5GS architecture in an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 3 is an exemplary diagram of data transmission delay in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Figure 5It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Figure 6 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0029] Figure 7 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0030] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] Figure 10 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application.

[0033] Figure 11 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0034] Figure 12 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0035] Figure 13 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0036] Figure 14 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0037] Figure 15 It is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0038] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 It is a wireless communication system 100 applied in an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system 100 may include a network device 110 and a user equipment (UE) 120. The network device 110 may communicate with the UE 120. The network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and may communicate with the UE 120 located within the coverage area. The UE 120 may access the network (such as a wireless network) through the network device 110.

[0040] Figure 1Exemplarily, a network device and two UEs are shown. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple network devices, and the coverage range of each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0041] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), etc. The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system, and also satellite communication systems, and so on.

[0042] The UE in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a terminal device, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The UE in the embodiments of the present application may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users and can be used to connect people, things, and machines, such as a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. The UE in the embodiments of the present application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a laptop computer, a palmtop computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, 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, etc. Optionally, the UE can be used to act as a base station. For example, the UE can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between UEs in V2X or D2D, etc. For instance, a cellular phone and a car communicate with each other using sidelink signals. A cellular phone communicates with a smart home device without relaying the communication signal through a base station.

[0043] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with a UE. This network device can also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device can be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a UE to a wireless network. A base station can generally cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, base band unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof.

[0044] In some embodiments, the network device can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to act as a mobile network device, and one or more cells can move according to the position of the mobile network device. In other examples, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to be a device for communicating with another network device. In some embodiments, the network device can refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device can include a CU and a DU, or the network device can further include an AAU.

[0045] It should be understood that the network device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water; it can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and satellites in the air. In the embodiments of the present application, the network device and the scenario in which it is located in the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

[0046] It should also be understood that all or part of the functions of the network device and the UE in the present application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0047] The following uses Figure 2 as an example to illustrate the solution in the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] Figure 2 is a 5GS (5G system) architecture diagram, which includes: network slice specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF), network slice selection function (NSSF), authentication server function (AUSF), unified data management (UDM), network slice admission control function (NSACF), access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), policy control function (PCF), application function (AF), UE, radio access network (RAN), user plane function (UPF), data network (DN), and other network elements.

[0049] The embodiments of the present application involve the terminal device (UE), radio access network (RAN), control plane network elements (such as PCF, SMF, etc.), user plane network elements (such as UPF), and application server (AS) among them. Among them, DN can implement the function of the user plane part of the application server, and AF can implement the function of the control plane part of the application server. Optionally, the radio access network element can be Figure 1 the network device 110 in Figure 1 and the terminal device can be

[0050]

[0051] Currently, the 5GS supports a quality of service (QoS) monitoring mechanism. The QoS monitoring mechanism is introduced below.QoS monitoring is mainly used for the measurement of packet delay. The packet delay between the UE and the anchor UPF consists of two parts: the uplink and downlink packet delays defined in the access network part of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) specification TS38.314 and the uplink and downlink packet delays between the base station and the anchor UPF. The base station needs to provide QoS monitoring for the measurement of the uplink and downlink packet delays in the access network part. The QoS monitoring of the uplink and downlink packet delays between the base station and the anchor UPF can be performed at different granularity levels, namely, at the level of each QoS flow of each UE, or at the level of each general packet radio service (GPRS) tunnel protocol user plane part (GTP-U) path. This depends on the operator's configuration, third-party application requests, and the PCF policy control of ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) services.

[0052] If a QoS monitoring request is received from the AF, the PCF generates an authorized QoS monitoring policy according to the service data flow. The PCF includes the authorized QoS monitoring policy in the PCC rule and provides it to the SMF.

[0053] The SMF can activate the end-to-end uplink and downlink packet delay measurement between the UE and the anchor UPF for a QoS flow during the packet data unit (PDU) session establishment or modification process. The SMF sends QoS monitoring request messages to the anchor UPF through the N4 interface and to the base station through the N2 signaling to initiate QoS monitoring between the anchor UPF and the base station. The monitoring parameters in the QoS monitoring request message can be obtained by the SMF based on the QoS monitoring policy of the PCF or local configuration. After receiving the QoS monitoring request message from the SMF, the base station starts to measure the uplink and downlink packet delays in the access network part and reports the measurement results to the anchor UPF through the uplink data packet. If the base station and the anchor UPF are time synchronized, one-way packet delay monitoring between the base station and the anchor UPF can be supported. If the base station and the anchor UPF are not time synchronized, it is assumed that the uplink packet delay and the downlink packet delay between the base station and the anchor UPF are the same. For both of the above cases, the anchor UPF creates a monitoring packet and sends it to the base station at a certain measurement frequency. This measurement frequency is determined by the anchor UPF according to the QoS monitoring report frequency received from the SMF.

[0054] The QoS monitoring process is as follows:

[0055] 1. The anchor UPF encapsulates the QoS flow identifier (QoS flow ID, QFI), QoS monitoring packet indication, and local time T1 into the GTP-U packet header. The QoS monitoring packet indication is used to indicate that this data packet is for uplink and downlink packet delay measurement, and the local time is the time when the anchor UPF sends the downlink monitoring packet.

[0056] 2. The base station records the local time T1 in the received GTP-U packet header and the time T2 when it receives this downlink monitoring packet.

[0057] 3. When the base station receives an uplink data packet corresponding to this QFI from the UE or when the base station sends a virtual uplink data packet as a monitoring response, the base station encapsulates the QoS monitoring packet indication, access network packet delay measurement result, local time T1, T2, and the monitoring response packet sending time T3 into the GTP-U packet header of this monitoring response packet. This response packet is sent to the UPF through the N3 interface. When the base station sends a virtual uplink data packet as a monitoring response to the anchor UPF depends on the implementation of the base station.

[0058] 4. The anchor UPF records the local time T4 when it receives the monitoring response packet and calculates the round-trip delay (if the time is not synchronized) or uplink and downlink packet delay (if the time is synchronized) between the base station and the anchor UPF according to the time information contained in the GTP-U packet header of the monitoring response packet. If the base station and the anchor UPF are not time synchronized, the anchor UPF calculates the packet delay between it and the base station through (T2 - T1 + T4 - T3) / 2. If the base station and the anchor UPF are time synchronized, the anchor UPF can obtain the uplink packet delay through (T4 - T3) and the downlink packet delay through (T2 - T1). The anchor UPF can calculate the uplink and downlink packet delay between the anchor UPF and the UE based on the received access network uplink and downlink packet delay results and the uplink and downlink packet delay between the base station and the anchor UPF calculated above. When certain specific conditions are met (such as reaching the reporting threshold), the anchor UPF reports the above calculation results to the SMF. Obviously, if the base station and the anchor UPF are not time synchronized, it may lead to inaccurate calculation results of the uplink and downlink packet delay.

[0059] The "packet" mentioned in the above QoS monitoring process may refer to a data packet transmitted based on the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP). The receiver of RTP transmission can use the sender report (SR) or receiver report (RR) packets of the RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) to provide reception quality feedback. Among them, the interarrival jitter field in SR / RR can feedback the estimated statistical variance of the RTP packet arrival interval time. The interarrival jitter field can be defined as the difference in the end-to-end transmission delay of two adjacent data packets.

[0060] In the configuration of CDRX, it is necessary to provide the packet jitter information between the AS and the RAN (such as Figure 3 ④ in) to the RAN before sending the service, so that the RAN can configure CDRX based on this jitter information, making the CDRX configuration more in line with the service flow characteristics, and then optimizing the power saving effect.

[0061] However, the above QoS monitoring mechanism can only measure the access network part delay (such as Figure 3 ① in), and the core network part delay (such as Figure 3 ② in); while the application server can only measure the server-side jitter caused by factors such as encoder load and content complexity, or obtain the end-to-end (such as Figure 3 ⑤ in) jitter estimated value through the interarrival jitter information in the SR / RR packet, and the end-to-end jitter estimated value can only be estimated after the UE or AS has received a certain number of uplink / downlink data packets, and is sent to the peer through the SR / RR packet. Therefore, the existing QoS monitoring mechanism cannot calculate the packet jitter information between the AS and the RAN (such as Figure 3 ④ in), and at the same time, the AS cannot directly provide this jitter information to the core network.

[0062] To solve one or more of the above technical problems, the present application proposes a communication method and a communication device, which can determine the jitter information between a second network entity (such as the RAN) and a third network entity (such as the AS). The following combines Figures 4 to 8 to give a detailed example of the embodiments of the present application.

[0063] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method of the embodiments of the present application. Figure 4 The method 400 shown may include steps S410 and S420, as follows:

[0064] S410, a first network entity obtains first jitter information and / or first latency information.

[0065] Wherein, the first network entity may be a PCF or a RAN.

[0066] Optionally, the first jitter information may refer to the jitter information corresponding to the target traffic flow, or may refer to the jitter information of the data packets (such as application layer data packets) corresponding to the target traffic flow. The jitter information may include a jitter value, and may further include: a jitter range (for example, a maximum value and a minimum value, etc.), a jitter mean, a jitter variance, etc. The target traffic flow may refer to a traffic flow transmitted based on the real-time transport protocol (RTP).

[0067] Optionally, the first latency information may refer to the transmission latency of the data packets corresponding to the target traffic flow. Optionally, the first latency information may be determined by the QoS monitoring mechanism in the foregoing embodiments.

[0068] S420, the first network entity determines the target jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the third network entity according to the first jitter information and / or the first latency information.

[0069] Optionally, the target jitter information may be the jitter value of the target traffic flow. Optionally, multiple target jitter information may be obtained by the above method, and at least one of the following may be calculated based on the multiple target jitter information: the jitter range of the target traffic flow (for example, the maximum value and the minimum value of the target traffic flow, etc.), the jitter mean of the target traffic flow, the jitter variance of the target traffic flow, etc.

[0070] Further, the RAN may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network entity obtains the first jitter information and / or the first latency information, and determines the target jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the third network entity according to the first jitter information and / or the first latency information, which helps the second network entity perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information, so that the CDRX configuration better fits the traffic flow characteristics, and further optimizes the power saving effect.

[0072] The present application utilizes the interarrival jitter field and timestamp field in the existing RTCP or RTP data packets, and combines with the QoS monitoring mechanism to obtain the data packet jitter information between the second network entity and the third network entity (such as Figure 3 in ④).

[0073] Optionally, according to different calculation methods of jitter information, it can be divided into the following methods:

[0074] Method 1, AF-assisted jitter information estimation:

[0075] Optionally, the first network entity can be a PCF.

[0076] The sixth network entity can send the first information to the fourth network entity, and the first information can be used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity. Optionally, the sixth network entity can send the third information to the fourth network entity, and the third information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0077] The first jitter information can include the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity.

[0078] The first delay information can include at least one of the following: the delay information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity; the delay information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and the delay information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity.

[0079] Optionally, the first network entity can obtain the first jitter information and the first delay information. Among them, the first jitter information can be determined by the sixth network entity. For example, the sixth network entity can determine the historical jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity as the first jitter information; or, the sixth network entity can also determine the first jitter information through the arrival interval jitter field in the second data packet header. Among them, the second data packet can be the data packet between the terminal device corresponding to the target service flow and the third network entity.

[0080] For example, in S410 above, the first network entity can receive the first jitter information sent by the sixth network entity; the first network entity can obtain the first delay information through QoS monitoring. Optionally, one or more of the first jitter information, the first information, and the third information can be sent by the sixth network entity at the same time.

[0081] It should be noted that this application does not limit the order in which the first network entity obtains the first jitter information and the first delay information. For example, the first network entity can obtain the first jitter information first and then obtain the first delay information; or, the first network entity can obtain the first delay information first and then obtain the first jitter information; or, the first network entity can also obtain the first jitter information and the first delay information at the same time.

[0082] Optionally, the first network entity may also determine second jitter information according to the first delay information. The second jitter information may include the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity. Optionally, the second jitter information may further include at least one of the following: the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity.

[0083] Further, in S420 above, the first network entity may subtract the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity from the first jitter information to obtain the target jitter information.

[0084] The first network entity may send the target jitter information to the second network entity. Further, the second network entity may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information.

[0085] For example, the second network entity may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information and at least one of the following: the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the third network entity and the fifth network entity, the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity, the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity, the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity, and the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the third network entity.

[0086] For example, in Method 1, the sixth network entity may provide the end-to-end jitter information recorded after the last interaction with the target UE to the first network entity, or after the application server and the UE complete data interaction for a period of time, then provide the statistically obtained end-to-end jitter information to the first network entity; the first network entity may continuously initiate at least two QoS monitors to obtain two measurement results including the delay of the first part (between the UE and the second network entity), or the delay of the second part (between the second network entity and the fifth network entity) and the delay between the UE and the fifth network entity, and calculate the jitter value of the RAN part according to the two measurement results; finally, the first network entity may calculate the jitter information between the second network entity and the third network entity through the end-to-end jitter value and the jitter value of the first part, and send the jitter information to the second network entity. Taking the first network entity as the PCF, the second network entity as the RAN, the third network entity as the AS, the fifth network entity as the UPF, and the sixth network entity as the AF as an example, in combination with Figure 5 the embodiments in Method 1 are described in detail as Figure 5 shown, Method 500 includes steps S510 to S540, specifically as follows:

[0087] S510, the AF sends an estimation request message to the PCF.

[0088] The AF sends an estimation request message to the PCF through the Network Exposure Function (NEF).

[0089] The estimation request message may include end-to-end jitter information between the AS and the UE. For example, the jitter information may include the end-to-end jitter value between the AS and the UE, and may also include the jitter range (maximum value, minimum value), jitter mean, jitter variance, etc. The jitter information may be the jitter information corresponding to the target service flow.

[0090] The above end-to-end jitter information may be determined by the AF. For example, it may be the end-to-end jitter information in the historical record of the AS's past interaction with the target UE (the historical record may be stored on the UE side or the AS side), or it may be obtained from the interarrival jitter field carried in the SR / RR data packet header after the AS and the UE have interacted for a period of time.

[0091] In addition, the estimation request message may also include an indication information for triggering the PCF to estimate the target jitter information corresponding to the target service flow; the estimation request message may also include a flow description information for determining the target service flow.

[0092] S520, the PCF initiates QoS monitoring.

[0093] The PCF may initiate QoS monitoring multiple times to obtain multiple delay information. Among them, the delay information may include at least one of the following:

[0094] The delay between the UE and the UPF, the delay of the RAN part (between the UE and the RAN), and the delay of the core network (CN) part (between the RAN and the UPF).

[0095] S530, the PCF calculates jitter information using the delay information.

[0096] The PCF can calculate at least one of the following using the multiple delay information obtained from QoS monitoring:

[0097] The jitter of the service flow between the UE and the UPF, the jitter of the RAN part, and the jitter of the CN part.

[0098] For example, assuming that the delay of the CN part obtained in the i-th time is D i , then the jitter of the CN part can be calculated by (D i+1 - D i ), where i is a positive integer. The jitter of the RAN part can also be calculated by a similar method.

[0099] Meanwhile, by triggering QoS monitoring multiple times to estimate jitter information, information such as the range of jitter (minimum value, maximum value), the mean of jitter, and the variance of jitter can be statistically obtained.

[0100] Then, the PCF can obtain the jitter information between the AS and the RAN by subtracting the jitter information of the RAN part from the jitter information between the AS and the UE. Further, the PCF can obtain multiple pieces of jitter information between the AS and the RAN, and calculate the jitter range, jitter mean, jitter variance, etc. of the service flow transmission between the AS and the RAN based on these multiple pieces of jitter information.

[0101] Similarly, the PCF can obtain the jitter information between the UPF and the AS by subtracting the jitter information of the service flow between the UE and the UPF from the jitter information between the AS and the UE.

[0102] S540, the PCF sends the target jitter information to the RAN.

[0103] The PCF can provide the estimated jitter information of the service flow to the RAN for the RAN to perform CDRX configuration. The jitter information of the service flow can include at least one of the following:

[0104] The jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the service flow transmission between the AS and the RAN;

[0105] The jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the service flow transmission between the AS and the UPF;

[0106] The jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the service flow of the CN part;

[0107] The jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the service flow of the RAN part;

[0108] The jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the service flow between the UE and the UPF;

[0109] The jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the end-to-end service flow between the UE and the AS.

[0110] Method 2, UPF-assisted jitter information estimation:

[0111] Optionally, the first network entity is the PCF.

[0112] The sixth network entity can send the first information to the first network entity, and the first information can be used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity. Optionally, the sixth network entity can send the third information to the first network entity, and the third information is used to determine the target service flow. Optionally, the first information and the third information can be sent by the sixth network entity simultaneously or non-simultaneously.

[0113] The first jitter information may include the jitter information of the target service flow between the fifth network entity and the third network entity.

[0114] The first latency information may include the latency information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity. Optionally, the first latency information may further include at least one of the following: the latency information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and the latency information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity.

[0115] Optionally, the first network entity may obtain the first jitter information and the first latency information. Among them, the first jitter information may be determined by the fifth network entity. Optionally, the fifth network entity may calculate the first jitter information through N third data packets, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2. Among them, the third data packet may be the data packet between the fifth network entity corresponding to the target service flow and the third network entity. For example, the fifth network entity may obtain the first jitter information according to the arrival time of each data packet in the N third data packets at the fifth network entity and the timestamp field in each data packet header.

[0116] For example, in S410 above, the first network entity may receive the first jitter information sent by the fifth network entity; the first network entity may obtain the first latency information through QoS monitoring.

[0117] It should be noted that this application does not limit the order in which the first network entity obtains the first jitter information and the first latency information. For example, the first network entity may first obtain the first jitter information and then obtain the first latency information; or, the first network entity may first obtain the first latency information and then obtain the first jitter information; or, the first network entity may also obtain the first jitter information and the first latency information simultaneously.

[0118] The first network entity may further send second information to the fifth network entity, and the second information may be used to trigger the fifth network entity to determine the jitter information of the target service flow between the fifth network entity and the third network entity. The first network entity may further send fourth information to the fifth network entity, and the fourth information may be used to determine the target service flow. Optionally, the second information and the fourth information may be sent by the first network entity simultaneously or at different times.

[0119] The first network entity may further determine third jitter information according to the first latency information. Among them, the third jitter information may include the jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity. Optionally, the third jitter information may further include at least one of the following: the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity.

[0120] Further, in the above S420, the first network entity may add the first jitter information to the jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity to obtain the target jitter information.

[0121] The first network entity may send the target jitter information to the second network entity. Further, the second network entity may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information.

[0122] For example, the second network entity may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information and at least one of the following: the jitter information of the target service flow between the third network entity and the fifth network entity, the jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity, the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity, the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity.

[0123] For example, in Method 2, the fifth network entity may read the time stamp from the application layer data packet header; the fifth network entity may calculate the jitter information between the third network entity and the fifth network entity through the arrival time of at least two data packets at the fifth network entity and their time stamps, and send the calculation result to the first network entity; the first network entity continuously initiates at least two QoS monitors, obtains two measurement results including the delay of the first part (between the UE and the second network entity), or the delay of the second part (between the second network entity and the fifth network entity) and the delay between the UE and the fifth network entity, and calculates the jitter value of the first part according to the two measurement results; finally, the first network entity may calculate the jitter information between the second network entity and the third network entity through the end-to-end jitter value and the jitter value of the first part, and send the jitter information to the second network entity.

[0124] Next, taking the first network entity as the PCF, the second network entity as the RAN, the third network entity as the AS, the fifth network entity as the UPF, and the sixth network entity as the AF as an example, combined with Figure 6 the embodiments in Method 2 will be described in detail as Figure 6 shown. The method 600 includes steps S610 to S670, specifically as follows:

[0125] S610, the AF sends an estimation request message to the PCF.

[0126] The AF sends the estimation request message to the PCF through the NEF.

[0127] The estimation request message may further include an indication information for triggering the PCF to estimate the target jitter information corresponding to the target service flow; the estimation request message may further include a flow description information for determining the target service flow.

[0128] S620, the PCF sends a calculation request message to the UPF.

[0129] The calculation request message may include indication information and flow description information. For example, the PCF may send the indication information and the flow description information to the UPF for triggering the UPF to calculate the jitter information of the target service flow between the UPF and the AS.

[0130] S630, the UPF calculates the jitter information.

[0131] The UPF may read the timestamp field in the application layer data packet header for calculating the jitter information of the target service flow between the UPF and the AS. For example, the time when the i-th data packet arrives at the UPF is denoted as T i , and the packet sending time indicated by the timestamp field recorded in its data packet header is S i . The jitter information of the target service flow between the UPF and the AS may be calculated by (T i+1 -S i+1 )-(T i -S i ). Obviously, at least two data packets are required to calculate the jitter information of the service flow. When the number of data packets detected by the UPF increases (more than two data packets), the jitter range, jitter mean and variance of the service flow between the UPF and the AS can be calculated.

[0132] S640, the UPF sends the jitter information to the PCF.

[0133] The UPF may feedback the jitter information of the target service flow between the UPF and the AS to the PCF.

[0134] S650, the PCF initiates QoS monitoring.

[0135] The PCF may initiate multiple QoS monitorings to obtain multiple delay information. Among them, the delay information may include at least one of the following:

[0136] The delay between the UE and the UPF, the delay of the RAN part (between the UE and the RAN), the delay of the core network (CN) part (between the RAN and the UPF).

[0137] Optionally, step S650 may be executed at any time between S610 and S660.

[0138] S660. The PCF calculates jitter information using delay information.

[0139] The PCF can calculate at least one of the following using multiple delay information obtained through QoS monitoring:

[0140] Jitter information of the traffic flow between the UE and the UPF, jitter information of the RAN part, jitter information of the CN part.

[0141] Combining the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the UPF and the AS measured by the UPF with the results obtained through QoS monitoring, the end-to-end jitter information between the UE and the AS and the jitter information between the AS and the RAN can be calculated. Further, the PCF can obtain multiple end-to-end jitter information between the UE and the AS and multiple jitter information between the AS and the RAN, and calculate at least one of the following based on this jitter information:

[0142] End-to-end traffic flow jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance between the UE and the AS.

[0143] Jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of traffic flow transmission between the AS and the RAN.

[0144] S670. The PCF sends the target jitter information to the RAN.

[0145] The PCF can provide the estimated traffic flow jitter information to the RAN for the RAN to perform CDRX configuration. The jitter information of the traffic flow can include at least one of the following:

[0146] Jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of traffic flow transmission between the AS and the RAN;

[0147] Jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of traffic flow transmission between the AS and the UPF;

[0148] Jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the traffic flow in the CN part;

[0149] Jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the traffic flow in the RAN part;

[0150] Jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance of the traffic flow between the UE and the UPF;

[0151] End-to-end traffic flow jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance between the UE and the AS.

[0152] Method 3. Estimation based on jitter information detected by the RAN:

[0153] The first network entity can be the RAN.

[0154] The fourth network entity may send fifth information to the first network entity, and the fifth information may be used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity. Optionally, the fourth network entity may send sixth information to the first network entity, and the sixth information may be used to determine the target service flow. Optionally, the fifth information and the sixth information may be sent by the fourth network entity simultaneously or at different times.

[0155] The first jitter information may include the jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0156] Optionally, the first network entity may obtain the first jitter information. Optionally, the first network entity may calculate the first jitter information through N first data packets, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2. Among them, the first data packet may be the data packet between the second network entity and the third network entity corresponding to the target service flow. For example, in S410 above, the first network entity may obtain the first jitter information according to the arrival time of each data packet in the N first data packets at the second network entity and the timestamp field in each data packet header.

[0157] Further, the first network entity may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information.

[0158] For example, in Method 3, the first network entity may read the application layer data packet header to obtain the timestamp; the first network entity may calculate the jitter information between the second network entity and the third network entity through the arrival time of at least two data packets at the second network entity and their timestamps.

[0159] Taking the first network entity as the RAN, the second network entity as the RAN, the third network entity as the AS, the fourth network entity as the PCF, and the fifth network entity as the UPF as an example, combined with Figure 7 the embodiments in Method 3 will be described in detail. As Figure 7 shown, method 700 includes steps S710 to S730, specifically as follows:

[0160] S710, the AF sends an estimation request message to the PCF.

[0161] The AF sends an estimation request message to the PCF through the NEF.

[0162] The estimation request message may further include an indication information for triggering the PCF to estimate the target jitter information corresponding to the target service flow; the estimation request message may further include a flow description information for determining the target service flow.

[0163] S720, the PCF sends a calculation request message to the RAN.

[0164] The calculation request message may include indication information and flow description information. For example, the PCF may send the calculation request message to the RAN through the AMF or SMF to trigger the RAN to calculate the jitter information of the target service flow between the RAN and the AS.

[0165] S730, the RAN calculates the jitter information.

[0166] The RAN may read the timestamp field in the application layer data packet header to calculate the jitter information of the target service flow between the RAN and the AS. For example, the time when the i-th data packet arrives at the RAN is denoted as T i , and the packet sending time indicated by the timestamp field recorded in its data packet header is S i . The jitter information of the target service flow between the RAN and the AS can be calculated by (T i+1 - S i+1 ) - (T i - S i ). Obviously, at least two data packets are required to calculate the jitter information of the service flow. After the data packets detected by the UPF continue to increase (more than two data packets), the jitter range, jitter mean, and variance of the service flow between the RAN and the AS can be calculated.

[0167] Furthermore, the RAN may configure CDRX according to the jitter information calculated by itself.

[0168] Method 4, UE-assisted jitter information estimation:

[0169] The first network entity may be the RAN.

[0170] The terminal device may send the seventh information to the first network entity, and the seventh information may be used to trigger the first network entity to determine the jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity. The terminal device may send the eighth information to the first network entity, and the eighth information may be used to determine the target service flow. Optionally, the seventh information and the eighth information may be sent by the terminal device simultaneously or at different times.

[0171] The first jitter information may include the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity.

[0172] The first delay information may include the delay information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity.

[0173] Optionally, the first network entity may obtain first jitter information and first latency information. Among them, the first jitter information may be determined by the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may determine the historical jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the third network entity as the first jitter information; alternatively, the terminal device may also determine the first jitter information through the arrival interval jitter field in the second data packet header. Among them, the second data packet may be a data packet between the terminal device corresponding to the target traffic flow and the third network entity.

[0174] For example, in the above S410, the first network entity may receive the first jitter information sent by the terminal device; the first network entity may obtain the first latency information. Optionally, the first network entity may obtain the first latency information through internal implementation, and this application does not limit the specific obtaining method. For example, the first network entity may calculate the first latency information by interacting with the UE and through the transmission latency of the data.

[0175] Optionally, one or more of the first jitter information, the seventh information, and the eighth information may be sent by the terminal device simultaneously.

[0176] It should be noted that this application does not limit the order in which the first network entity obtains the first jitter information and the first latency information. For example, the first network entity may obtain the first jitter information first and then the first latency information; or the first network entity may obtain the first latency information first and then the first jitter information; or the first network entity may also obtain the first jitter information and the first latency information simultaneously.

[0177] Optionally, the first network entity may further determine fourth jitter information based on the first latency information. Among them, the fourth jitter information may include the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity. Optionally, the fourth jitter information may further include at least one of the following: the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity.

[0178] Further, in the above S420, the first network entity may subtract the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity from the first jitter information to obtain the target jitter information.

[0179] Further, the first network entity may perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information.

[0180] For example, in Method 4, the UE may provide the end-to-end jitter information recorded after the last interaction between the application server and the target UE to the first network entity, or after the application server and the UE complete data interaction for a period of time, provide the statistically obtained end-to-end jitter information to the first network entity; then the first network entity may measure the jitter information between the second network entity and the UE; finally, the first network entity may calculate the jitter information between the second network entity and the third network entity by subtracting the service flow jitter between the second network entity and the UE from the end-to-end jitter information provided by the UE.

[0181] Taking the first network entity as the RAN, the second network entity as the RAN, the third network entity as the AS, the fourth network entity as the PCF, and the fifth network entity as the UPF as an example, combined with Figure 8 the embodiments in Method 4 will be described in detail. As Figure 8 shown, method 800 includes steps S810 and S820, specifically as follows:

[0182] S810, the UE sends an estimation request message to the RAN.

[0183] The estimation request message may include the end-to-end jitter information between the AS and the UE. For example, the jitter range (maximum value, minimum value), jitter mean, jitter variance, etc. This jitter information may be the jitter information corresponding to the target service flow.

[0184] The above end-to-end jitter information may be determined by the UE. For example, it may be the end-to-end jitter information in the historical record (the historical record may be stored on the UE side or the AS side) after the AS's past interaction with this UE, or it may be obtained from the interarrival jitter field carried in the SR / RR data packet header after the AS and the UE interact for a period of time.

[0185] In addition, the estimation request message may further include an indication information for triggering the RAN to estimate the target jitter information corresponding to the target service flow; the estimation request message may further include a flow description information for determining the target service flow.

[0186] S820, the RAN determines the jitter information.

[0187] The RAN may measure the delay information of the target service flow between the UE and the RAN, and use this delay information to calculate the jitter information of the target service flow between the UE and the RAN.

[0188] Next, the RAN subtracts the end-to-end jitter information provided by the UE from the jitter information corresponding to the target service flow between the RAN and the UE, and then it can calculate the jitter information corresponding to the target service flow between the RAN and the AS. Further, the RAN can obtain the jitter information corresponding to the target service flow between multiple RANs and the AS, and calculate the jitter range, jitter mean, and jitter variance corresponding to the target service flow between the RAN and the AS based on this multiple jitter information.

[0189] Further, the RAN can perform CDRX configuration according to the calculated jitter information.

[0190] As described above in conjunction with Figures 1 to 8 , the method embodiments of the present application are described in detail. Next, in conjunction with Figures 9 to 15 , the apparatus embodiments of the present application are described in detail. It should be understood that the descriptions of the method embodiments and the apparatus embodiments correspond to each other. Therefore, for the parts not described in detail, reference can be made to the previous method embodiments.

[0191] Figure 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 9 shown, the apparatus 900 includes an acquisition unit 910 and a determination unit 920, specifically as follows:

[0192] The acquisition unit 910 is configured to acquire first jitter information and / or first delay information;

[0193] The determination unit 920 is configured to determine the target jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity according to the first jitter information and / or the first delay information.

[0194] Optionally, the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity, and the first delay information includes at least one of the following: the delay information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity; the delay information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and the delay information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity; wherein, the acquisition unit 910 is specifically configured to: receive the first jitter information sent by the sixth network entity; acquire the first delay information through service quality (QoS) monitoring.

[0195] Optionally, the determining unit 920 is further configured to: determine second jitter information according to the first delay information, where the second jitter information includes jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity; specifically, the determining unit 920 is configured to: subtract the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity from the first jitter information to obtain the target jitter information.

[0196] Optionally, the second jitter information further includes at least one of the following: jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity.

[0197] Optionally, the first jitter information includes jitter information of the target traffic flow between the fifth network entity and the third network entity, and the first delay information includes delay information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity; specifically, the obtaining unit 910 is configured to: receive the first jitter information sent by the fifth network entity; and obtain the first delay information through quality of service (QoS) monitoring.

[0198] Optionally, the determining unit 920 is further configured to: determine third jitter information according to the first delay information, where the third jitter information includes jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity; specifically, the determining unit 920 is configured to: add the first jitter information to the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the fifth network entity to obtain the target jitter information.

[0199] Optionally, the first delay information further includes at least one of the following: delay information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and delay information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity; the third jitter information further includes at least one of the following: jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, and jitter information of the target traffic flow between the terminal device and the second network entity.

[0200] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a sending unit 930, configured to: send the target jitter information to the second network entity.

[0201] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving unit 940, configured to: receive first information sent by the sixth network entity, where the first information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0202] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving unit 940, configured to: receive third information sent by the sixth network entity, where the third information is used to determine the target traffic flow.

[0203] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a sending unit 930, configured to: send second information to the fifth network entity, where the second information is used to trigger the fifth network entity to determine jitter information of the target traffic flow between the fifth network entity and the third network entity.

[0204] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a sending unit 930, configured to: send fourth information to the fifth network entity, where the fourth information is used to determine the target traffic flow.

[0205] Optionally, the apparatus 900 is a Policy Control Function (PCF), the second network entity is a Radio Access Network (RAN), the third network entity is an Application Server (AS), the fifth network entity is a User Plane Function (UPF), and the sixth network entity is an Application Function (AF).

[0206] Optionally, the first jitter information includes jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the third network entity; where the obtaining unit 910 is specifically configured to: calculate the first jitter information through N first data packets, where the first data packets are data packets between the second network entity and the third network entity corresponding to the target traffic flow, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0207] Optionally, the obtaining unit 910 is specifically configured to: obtain the first jitter information according to the arrival time of each of the N first data packets at the second network entity and the timestamp field in each data packet header.

[0208] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving unit 940, configured to: receive fifth information sent by the fourth network entity, where the fifth information is used to trigger the second network entity to determine target jitter information of the target traffic flow between the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0209] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving unit 940, configured to: receive sixth information sent by the fourth network entity, where the sixth information is used to determine the target traffic flow.

[0210] Optionally, the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity, and the first delay information includes the delay information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity; wherein, the obtaining unit 910 is specifically configured to: receive the first jitter information sent by the terminal device; obtain the first delay information.

[0211] Optionally, the determining unit 920 is further configured to: determine fourth jitter information according to the first delay information, where the fourth jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity; wherein, the determining unit 920 is specifically configured to: subtract the jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the second network entity from the first jitter information to obtain the target jitter information.

[0212] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving unit 940, configured to: receive seventh information sent by the terminal device, where the seventh information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0213] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving unit 940, configured to: receive eighth information sent by the terminal device, where the eighth information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0214] Optionally, the apparatus 900 further includes a configuration unit 950, configured to: perform discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration in the connected state based on the target jitter information.

[0215] Optionally, the apparatus 900 is a radio access network (RAN), the second network entity is a RAN, the third network entity is an application server (AS), and the fourth network entity is a policy control function (PCF).

[0216] Figure 10 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 10 shown, the apparatus 1000 includes a sending unit 1010, specifically as follows:

[0217] The sending unit 1010 is configured to send first information to the fourth network entity, where the first information is used to trigger the fourth network entity to determine the target jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0218] Optionally, the sending unit 1010 is further configured to: send third information to the fourth network entity, where the third information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0219] Optionally, the sending unit 1010 is further configured to: send first jitter information to the fourth network entity, where the first jitter information includes jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity.

[0220] Optionally, the first jitter information is historical jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity, or the first jitter information is determined by an arrival interval jitter field in a second data packet header, where the second data packet is a data packet between the terminal device corresponding to the target service flow and the third network entity.

[0221] Optionally, the device 1000 is an Application Function (AF), the second network entity is a Radio Access Network (RAN), the third network entity is an Application Server (AS), and the fourth network entity is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

[0222] Figure 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 11 shown, the device 1100 includes a receiving unit 1110 and a configuration unit 1120, specifically as follows:

[0223] The receiving unit 1110 is configured to receive target jitter information of a target service flow between the device and a third network entity sent by a fourth network entity;

[0224] The configuration unit 1120 is configured to perform Connected Discontinuous Reception (CDRX) configuration in a connected state based on the target jitter information.

[0225] Optionally, the configuration unit 1120 is specifically configured to: perform CDRX configuration based on the target jitter information and at least one of the following: jitter information of the target service flow between the AS and a fifth network entity, jitter information of the target service flow between the device and the fifth network entity, jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the device, jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the fifth network entity, jitter information of the target service flow between the terminal device and the third network entity.

[0226] Optionally, the device 1100 is a Radio Access Network (RAN), the third network entity is an Application Server (AS), the fourth network entity is a Policy Control Function (PCF), and the fifth network entity is a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0227] Figure 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 12 shown, the device 1200 includes a receiving unit 1210 and a sending unit 1220, specifically as follows:

[0228] A receiving unit 1210, configured to receive second information sent by a fourth network entity, where the second information is used to trigger the device to determine jitter information of a target service flow between the device and a third network entity;

[0229] A sending unit 1220, configured to send first jitter information to the fourth network entity, where the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the device and the third network entity.

[0230] Optionally, the receiving unit 1210 is further configured to: receive fourth information sent by the fourth network entity, where the fourth information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0231] Optionally, the device 1200 further includes a calculation unit 1230, configured to: calculate the first jitter information through N third data packets, where the third data packets are data packets between the device corresponding to the target service flow and the third network entity, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0232] Optionally, the calculation unit 1230 is specifically configured to: obtain the first jitter information according to the arrival time of each of the N third data packets at the device and the timestamp field in the header of each data packet.

[0233] Optionally, the device 1200 is a User Plane Function (UPF), the third network entity is an Application Server (AS), and the fourth network entity is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

[0234] Figure 13 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 13 shown, the device 1300 includes a sending unit 1310, specifically as follows:

[0235] The sending unit 1310 is configured to send fifth information to a first network entity, where the fifth information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine jitter information of a target service flow between a second network entity and a third network entity.

[0236] Optionally, the sending unit 1310 is further configured to: send sixth information to the first network entity, where the sixth information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0237] Optionally, the device 1300 further includes a receiving unit 1320, configured to: receive first information sent by a sixth network entity, where the first information is used to trigger the device to determine target jitter information of the target service flow between the second and the third network entities.

[0238] Optionally, the device 1300 further includes a receiving unit 1320, configured to: receive third information sent by a sixth network entity, where the third information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0239] Optionally, the device 1300 is a Policy Control Function (PCF), the first network entity and the second network entity are Radio Access Networks (RANs), the third network entity is an Application Server (AS), and the sixth network entity is an Application Function (AF).

[0240] Figure 14 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 14 shown, the device 1400 includes a sending unit 1410, specifically as follows:

[0241] The sending unit 1410 is configured to send seventh information to a first network entity, where the seventh information is used to trigger the first network entity to determine the target jitter information of the target service flow between the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0242] Optionally, the sending unit 1410 is further configured to: send eighth information to the first network entity, where the eighth information is used to determine the target service flow.

[0243] Optionally, the sending unit 1410 is further configured to: send first jitter information to the first network entity, where the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the device and the third network entity.

[0244] Optionally, the first jitter information is the historical jitter information of the target service flow between the device and the third network entity, or the first jitter information is determined through the arrival interval jitter field in the second data packet header, where the second data packet is the data packet between the device corresponding to the target service flow and the third network entity.

[0245] Optionally, the first network entity and the second network entity are Radio Access Networks (RANs), and the third network entity is an Application Server (AS).

[0246] Figure 15 It is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 15 The dotted line in indicates that this unit or module is optional. The device 1500 can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The device 1500 can be a chip or a communication device.

[0247] The device 1500 may include one or more processors 1510. The processor 1510 can support the device 1500 to implement the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor 1510 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0248] The device 1500 may further include one or more memories 1520. A program is stored on the memory 1520, and the program can be executed by the processor 1510, so that the processor 1510 executes the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The memory 1520 may be independent of the processor 1510 or integrated in the processor 1510.

[0249] The device 1500 may further include a transceiver 1530. The processor 1510 can communicate with other devices or chips through the transceiver 1530. For example, the processor 1510 can send and receive data with other devices or chips through the transceiver 1530.

[0250] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the methods performed by the communication device in various embodiments of the present application.

[0251] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the methods performed by the communication device in various embodiments of the present application.

[0252] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the methods performed by the communication device in various embodiments of the present application.

[0253] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining B according to A does not mean determining B only according to A, and B can also be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0254] 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 simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0255] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the magnitude of the serial numbers of the above processes does not mean the sequence of execution. The execution sequence of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0256] In several embodiments provided by 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 illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there can be other division methods. For example, 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 displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0257] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0258] In addition, the functional units in various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0259] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0260] As described above, the above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, comprising: A User Plane Function (UPF) receives second information sent by a fourth network entity, where the second information is used to trigger the UPF to determine jitter information of a target traffic flow between the UPF and a third network entity; The UPF sends first jitter information to the fourth network entity, where the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the UPF and the third network entity.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The target traffic flow refers to a traffic flow transmitted based on the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP).

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The UPF receives a QoS monitoring request message sent by the fourth network entity through the N4 interface, and initiates QoS monitoring with a base station, where the monitoring parameters in the QoS monitoring request message are obtained by the fourth network entity based on the QoS monitoring policy of a Policy Control Function (PCF) or local configuration.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The UPF receives measurement results reported by the base station, where the measurement results are the results of the base station's measurement of the uplink and downlink packet delays of the access network.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The UPF encapsulates a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI), a QoS monitoring packet indication, and a local time T1 into a GTP-U packet header and sends it to the base station, where the QoS monitoring packet indication is used to indicate that the QoS monitoring packet is used for uplink and downlink packet delay measurement, and the local time is the time when the UPF sends a downlink monitoring packet.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The UPF receives a monitoring response packet sent by the base station through the N3 interface, where the GTP-U packet header of the monitoring response packet includes one or more of the QoS monitoring packet indication, the uplink and downlink packet delay measurement results of the access network, the local time T1, T2, and the monitoring response packet sending time T3.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further comprises: When receiving the monitoring response packet, the UPF records the local time T4, and calculates the uplink and downlink packet delays between the base station and the UPF according to the time information included in the GTP-U packet header of the monitoring response packet; If the base station and the UPF are not time-synchronized, the uplink and downlink packet delays between the base station and the UPF are obtained by calculating (T2 - T1 + T4 - T3) / 2; If the base station and the UPF are time-synchronized, the uplink packet delay is obtained by (T4 - T3), and the downlink packet delay is obtained by (T2 - T1).

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The UPF calculates the calculation results of the uplink and downlink packet delays between the UPF and a User Equipment (UE) according to the received uplink and downlink packet delay measurement results of the access network and the uplink and downlink packet delays between the base station and the UPF. The UPF reports the calculation result to the fourth network entity.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein, the packets for QoS monitoring refer to data packets transmitted based on the Real - Time Transport Protocol (RTP). The receiver of the RTP transmission uses the sender report (SR) or receiver report (RR) packets of the Real - Time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP) to provide feedback on the reception quality.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, the arrival interval jitter field in the SR / RR feeds back an estimated value of the statistical variance of the RTP packet arrival interval time. The arrival interval jitter field is defined as the difference in the end - to - end transmission delay of two adjacent data packets.

11. A communication method, wherein, comprises: A fourth network entity sends second information to a User Plane Function (UPF), and the second information is used to trigger the UPF to determine the jitter information of a target traffic flow between the UPF and a third network entity; The fourth network entity receives first jitter information sent by the UPF, and the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target traffic flow between the UPF and the third network entity.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the target traffic flow refers to a traffic flow transmitted based on the Real - Time Transport Protocol (RTP).

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the fourth network entity activates end - to - end uplink and downlink packet delay measurement between the UE and the UPF for a QoS flow during the establishment or modification of a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the method further comprises: The fourth network entity sends a QoS monitoring request message to the UPF through the N4 interface to initiate QoS monitoring between the UPF and the base station. Among them, the monitoring parameters in the QoS monitoring request message are obtained by the fourth network entity based on the QoS monitoring policy of the Policy and Charging Function (PCF) or local configuration.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the method further comprises: The fourth network entity receives the calculation result of the uplink and downlink packet delay between the UPF and the UE reported by the UPF. Among them, the calculation result is calculated by the UPF according to the received access network uplink and downlink packet delay measurement results and the uplink and downlink packet delay between the base station and the UPF.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein, the packets for QoS monitoring refer to data packets transmitted based on the Real - Time Transport Protocol (RTP). The receiver of the RTP transmission uses the sender report (SR) or receiver report (RR) packets of the Real - Time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP) to provide feedback on the reception quality.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein, the arrival interval jitter field in the SR / RR feeds back an estimated value of the statistical variance of the RTP packet arrival interval time. The arrival interval jitter field is defined as the difference in the end - to - end transmission delay of two adjacent data packets.

18. A communication device, wherein, comprises: A receiving unit, configured to receive second information sent by a fourth network entity, where the second information is used to trigger the device to determine jitter information of a target service flow between the device and a third network entity; A sending unit, configured to send first jitter information to the fourth network entity, where the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the device and the third network entity.

19. A communication device, characterized in that, it includes: A sending unit, configured to send second information to a user plane function (UPF), where the second information is used to trigger the UPF to determine jitter information of a target service flow between the UPF and a third network entity; A receiving unit, configured to receive first jitter information sent by the UPF, where the first jitter information includes the jitter information of the target service flow between the UPF and the third network entity.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, it includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor, where the memory is used to store a program, the processor performs data transceiver through the transceiver, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, it includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor, where the memory is used to store a program, the processor performs data transceiver through the transceiver, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

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