Communication method and related equipment

Abstract

A communication method and related equipment, in the method, after a first communication device sends first information for requesting a service, the first communication device can receive data of the service from N functional entities, and the first information is used for determining the N functional entities providing the service. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed (and / or connected) to one or more communication devices, such that data can be provided for the service requested by the first communication device via the one or more communication devices. Therefore, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on requests of other communication devices, and the utilization rate of the data processing capability of the communication devices is improved through cooperative work of different communication devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0002] Traditional communication networks are designed to provide connection channels required for data communication between terminals and between terminals and application servers, as well as corresponding lifecycle management mechanisms and communication service quality (Quality of Service, QoS) guarantees.

[0003] Currently, for a communication device in a communication network, in addition to having signal transceiver capabilities, the communication device may also have data processing capabilities. Generally, the data processing capabilities can provide computing power support for the above data communication process. For example, the data processing capabilities can provide computing power support for the signal transceiver capabilities of this node to determine time-frequency domain resources for signal transceiver, etc., and implement the communication process between this communication device and other communication devices through the signal transceiver process.

[0004] However, in addition to processing signals received and transmitted in the communication network, the communication device may also be involved in other processing processes. Therefore, how to improve the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication device is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and related devices, which are used to enable a communication device to provide services based on requests from other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, to improve the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication device.

[0006] In a first aspect of this application, a communication method is provided. This method is executed by a first communication device. The first communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device or a terminal device), or the first communication device may be a part of the components in the communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the first communication device may also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the communication device. In this method, the first communication device sends first information to a second communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; the first communication device receives data of the service from the N functional entities.

[0007] Based on the above technical solution, after the first communication device sends the first information for requesting a service, the first communication device can receive data of the service from N functional entities, and the first information is used to determine the N functional entities that provide the service. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities, where some or all of the N functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through the one or more communication devices, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0008] In this application, terms such as functional entity, entity, logical entity, physical entity, etc. can be replaced with each other.

[0009] It should be noted that the number of communication devices deployed on (and / or connected to) N functional entities can be one or more, and there can be various relationships between the number of communication devices and the value of N. Exemplarily, taking the communication devices connected to N functional entities as an example. For example, when different functional entities are connected to different communication devices, the number of communication devices can be equal to the value of N. Another example is that when at least two different functional entities are connected to the same communication device, the number of communication devices can be less than the value of N. Another example is that when at least one different functional entity is connected to two or more communication devices, the number of communication devices can be greater than the value of N.

[0010] Optionally, during the process of the first communication device receiving data of the service from the N functional entities, the first communication device can communicate through a direct link. For example, the first communication device communicates with the N functional entities respectively through the direct link to receive the data of the service. Or, the first communication device can communicate through other means. For example, the first communication device communicates with the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) to receive the data of the service; another example is that the first communication device communicates with a part of the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) and communicates with another part of the N functional entities through a direct link to receive the data of the service; another example is that the first communication device communicates with the N functional entities through a wireless link and / or a wired link to receive the data of the service.

[0011] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first communication device sends first information to the second communication device, including: the first communication device sends the first information to the second communication device through a network exposure function (NEF).

[0012] Based on the above technical solution, when the first communication device is an application (for example, the application is a client application (Client APP) deployed on a terminal device or a server application (Server APP) deployed on an application server), the communication process between the first communication device and the second communication device can be forwarded through the NEF, that is, the first communication device can send the first information for requesting a service to the second communication device through the NEF.

[0013] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0014] The type information of the service, used to indicate the type of the service, including at least one of network as a service (NaaS), computing as a service (CaaS), AI as a service (AIaaS), and data as a service (DaaS);

[0015] The content information of the service, used to indicate at least one of the demand for network resources and the QoS requirement for the service;

[0016] The feedback trigger condition information of the service, used to indicate the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement situation.

[0017] Based on the above technical solution, the first information for requesting a service may include at least one of the above to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation. Moreover, the above at least one content can also be used to characterize the service-related information of the request, so that the first communication device can obtain the corresponding service.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement situation includes the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value.

[0019] Based on the above technical solution, the feedback trigger condition information of the service included in the first information can be used to indicate the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value. In this way, the subsequent second communication device can feedback the QoS status of the service to the first communication device based on the QoS status information of the service provided for the first communication device, as well as the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value.

[0020] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first communication device receives indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service.

[0021] Based on the above technical solution, the first communication device may also receive the above indication information, so that the first communication device can clarify the QoS status of the service.

[0022] Optionally, the indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service may come from a second communication device, N functional entities, or other communication devices mentioned later (such as a third communication device, a fourth communication device, a fifth communication device, etc.).

[0023] Optionally, the indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service may be information sent periodically or information triggered based on conditions (such as QoS being lower than a threshold), etc.

[0024] A second aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a second communication device. The second communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be a part of a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the second communication device may also be a logical module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a communication device. In this method, the second communication device receives first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; the second communication device sends second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0025] Based on the above technical solution, after the second communication device receives the first information for requesting a service, the second communication device may determine N functional entities that provide the service based on the first information. And, the second communication device may send second information for indicating providing the service to the first communication device to the N functional entities. Subsequently, the first communication device may receive service data from the N functional entities. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided. Thus, in a communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0026] Optionally, the second communication device may send the second information to the N functional entities in various ways. For example, the second communication device may send the second information to the N functional entities respectively, that is, each functional entity obtains the second information; or, the second information may include N identical or different pieces of information and the second communication device sends the N identical or different pieces of information to the N functional entities respectively, that is, each functional entity obtains one of its respective N pieces of information.

[0027] Optionally, during the process of the second communication device sending the second information to the N functional entities, the second communication device may communicate through a direct link. For example, the second communication device communicates with the N functional entities through the direct link respectively to implement the sending of the second information. Or, the second communication device may communicate in other ways. For example, the second communication device communicates with the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) to implement the sending of the second information; also, for example, the second communication device may communicate with a part of the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) and communicate with another part of the N functional entities through a direct link to implement the sending of the second information.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the second communication device receives the first information from the first communication device, including: the second communication device receives the first information from the first communication device through the NEF.

[0029] Based on the above technical solution, when the first communication device is an application (for example, the application is a Client APP deployed on a terminal device or a Server APP deployed on an application server), the communication process between the first communication device and the second communication device may be forwarded through the NEF, that is, the second communication device may receive the first information from the second communication device through the NEF.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second communication device obtains third information, where the third information is used to indicate the resource status information of M functional entities, and the M functional entities include the N functional entities, and M is greater than or equal to N.

[0031] Optionally, the third information may be used to determine the N functional entities. In other words, the first information is used to determine the N functional entities providing the service, including: the first information and the third information are used to determine the N functional entities among the M functional entities.

[0032] Based on the above technical solution, the second communication device may further obtain third information indicating the resource status information of M functional entities, and determine N functional entities that provide services for the first communication device among the M functional entities based on the first information and the third information, so that the second communication device can determine N functional entities that meet the service requirements among the M functional entities.

[0033] Optionally, the second communication device may obtain the third information in various ways. For example, the second communication device may receive the resource status information from each of the M functional entities respectively, and then obtain the third information based on the resource status information of the M functional entities; or, the second communication device may receive information from one or more management devices and obtain the third information based on the received information; wherein, the one or more management devices are used to manage / control / obtain the resource status information of the M functional entities.

[0034] Optionally, the third information may be information periodically obtained by the second communication device, or information obtained by the second communication device based on condition triggers (such as conditions where the resource status of one or more functional entities changes or the change value exceeds a threshold), or implemented in other ways, which is not limited herein.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the second information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the task, the type of the task, the QoS requirement of the task, and the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement situation of the task; wherein, the task is used to provide the service.

[0036] Based on the above technical solution, the second information sent by the second communication device may include at least one of the above task-related information, and the task is used to provide the service. In other words, after the second communication device obtains the first information for requesting the service, the second communication device may send a task indicating the provision of the service to the N functional entities through the second information. In this way, the service requested by the first communication device can be published in the form of a task to adapt to the "task-centric" network.

[0037] Optionally, the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device. When the second information includes at least one of the above task-related information, the second communication device may provide the service in the form of a task. Correspondingly, in the second aspect and related implementation processes, the second communication device may be understood as a task management function (TMF), or a TMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0038] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the QoS requirement of the task includes one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities.

[0039] Based on the above technical solution, the QoS requirements of the task may include the QoS requirements for providing services to N functional entities. In this way, when the services provided by the N functional entities meet the QoS requirements for providing services, the QoS requirements of the task can be guaranteed.

[0040] Optionally, among the one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities included in the QoS requirements of the task, there can be multiple implementations for the quantity of the one or more QoS requirements and the value of N. For example, when the QoS requirements of different functional entities are different, the quantity of the QoS requirements can be equal to the value of N. Another example is that when the QoS requirements of at least two different functional entities are the same, the quantity of the QoS requirements can be less than the value of N.

[0041] Optionally, the feedback trigger condition for the QoS achievement situation of the task may include the feedback trigger condition for the achievement situation of the one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the task satisfies at least one of the following:

[0043] The first information is used to determine the identifier of the task;

[0044] The first information includes the type information of the service and / or the content information of the service, and the type information of the service and / or the content information of the service are used to determine the type of the task;

[0045] The first information includes the content information of the service, and the content information of the service is used to determine the QoS requirements of the task;

[0046] The first information includes the feedback trigger condition information of the service, and the feedback trigger condition information of the service is used to determine the feedback trigger condition for the QoS achievement situation of the task.

[0047] Optionally, the type of the task includes at least one of a computing offloading task, an AI task, and a data collection task.

[0048] Based on the above technical solution, the task-related information indicated by the second information can be determined by the first information for requesting the service, so that the task indicated by the second information can provide the data required for the service.

[0049] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second communication device receives fourth information from the N functional entities, where the fourth information is used to indicate the QoS achievement status of the service; the second communication device sends fifth information to the N functional entities and / or the first communication device based on the fourth information, where the fifth information is used to update the QoS requirement of the task.

[0050] Based on the above technical solution, the second communication device can also receive fourth information from the N functional entities indicating the QoS achievement status of the service, and further, the second communication device can also send fifth information for updating the QoS requirement of the task based on the fourth information, so as to achieve the policy optimization of the QoS requirement of the task.

[0051] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0052] The type information of the service, which is used to indicate the type of the service, including at least one of network as a service, computing as a service, AI as a service, and data as a service;

[0053] The content information of the service, which is used to indicate at least one of the demand for network resources and the QoS requirement for the service;

[0054] The feedback trigger condition information of the service, which is used to indicate the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement status.

[0055] Based on the above technical solution, the first information for requesting the service can include at least one of the above, so as to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation. Moreover, the above at least one content can also be used to characterize the service-related information of the request, so that the first communication device can obtain the corresponding service.

[0056] In a possible implementation of the second aspect, the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement status includes the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value.

[0057] Based on the above technical solution, the feedback trigger condition information of the service included in the first information can be used to indicate the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value. In this way, the subsequent second communication device can feedback the QoS status of the service to the first communication device based on the QoS status information of the service provided for the first communication device, as well as the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value.

[0058] A third aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which is executed by a second communication device. The second communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be some components in a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the second communication device may also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a communication device. In this method, the second communication device receives first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the second communication device sends sixth information to a third communication device according to the first information, and the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the second communication device receives seventh information from the third communication device, and the seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities; the first information and the seventh information are used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities; the second communication device sends second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate to provide the service to the first communication device.

[0059] Based on the above technical solution, after the second communication device receives the first information for requesting a service, the second communication device can determine N functional entities for providing the service through the seventh information interacted with the third communication device. And, the second communication device can send second information for indicating to provide the service to the first communication device to the N functional entities. Subsequently, the first communication device can receive data of the service from the N functional entities. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities can be connected to one or more communication devices, that is, one or more communication devices connecting the N functional entities can provide data for the service requested by the first communication device. Thus, in a communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capacity of the communication devices can be improved.

[0060] Optionally, the first information may further include one or more of: requirements for computing resources and / or transmission resources, QoS requirements, and feedback trigger conditions for QoS achievement. In this way, it can be ensured that the service indicated by the second information based on the first information by the second communication device can meet the one or more items. For example, the service indicated by the second information can meet the requirements for computing resources and / or transmission resources and / or QoS requirements. For another example, the service indicated by the second information can implement feedback on QoS achievement when the feedback trigger condition is triggered.

[0061] Optionally, the second information may also be used to indicate a computing task allocation policy on the N functional entities.

[0062] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information indicating that the type of the service is CaaS, and the second communication device can indicate, through the second information, that the N functional entities provide a CaaS type of service for the first communication device. Correspondingly, in the third aspect and related implementation processes, the second communication device may be understood as a computing management function (CMF), or a CMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0063] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a third communication device. The third communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the third communication device may be a part of a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the third communication device may also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a communication device. In this method, the third communication device receives sixth information from the second communication device, and the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the third communication device sends seventh information to the second communication device, and the seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities; the seventh information is used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities.

[0064] Based on the above technical solution, after the third communication device receives the request for the resource status information of one or more functional entities, the third communication device can send the seventh information indicating the resource status information of the one or more functional entities. Subsequently, the second communication device can determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities through the seventh information, and provide services for the first communication device through the N functional entities. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided through one or more communication devices. Thus, in a communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0065] Optionally, after the third communication device receives the request for the resource status information of one or more functional entities, the third communication device first obtains the resource status information of the one or more functional entities, and then sends the seventh information indicating the resource status information of the one or more functional entities.

[0066] Optionally, the third communication device obtaining the resource status information of the one or more functional entities includes: the third communication device generating a resource status collection task and sending the task to the one or more functional entities, so that the one or more functional entities report their own resource status information.

[0067] Optionally, the sixth information received by the third communication device includes a request for the resource status information of one or more functional entities, and the third communication device can indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities through the seventh information, that is, the third communication device can provide DaaS type services. Correspondingly, in the fourth aspect and related implementation processes, the third communication device can be understood as a data management function (DMF), or a DMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0068] In a possible implementation manner of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the seventh information includes at least one of the following: the computing resource status information of the one or more functional entities, the transmission status information of the network where the one or more functional entities are located.

[0069] Based on the above technical solution, the seventh information may include at least one of the above, so that the second communication device can obtain the computing resource status of each functional entity and the transmission status of the network based on the seventh information, so as to facilitate the second communication device to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities based on this information.

[0070] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a second communication device. The second communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be a part of a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the second communication device may also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the communication device functions. In this method, the second communication device receives first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the second communication device sends an eighth information to a third communication device according to the first information. Wherein, the eighth information may be used to request AI data of the service, and / or the eighth information may be used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, and N is a positive integer.

[0071] Based on the above technical solution, after the second communication device receives the first information for requesting a service, the second communication device may send the eighth information for requesting the AI data of the service to the third communication device. And, the third communication device may determine N functional entities that provide the AI data according to the eighth information. Subsequently, the first communication device may receive the service data from the N functional entities. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0072] Optionally, the first information may further include an AI service type, a requirement for resources (including at least one of computing resources, transmission resources, and model resources), a QoS requirement, a feedback trigger condition for QoS achievement, etc. Correspondingly, the services subsequently indicated to be provided to the N functional entities can meet the one or more of them.

[0073] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information indicating that the type of the service is AIaaS, and the second communication device can indicate through the eighth information to provide an AIaaS type service for the first communication device. Correspondingly, in the fifth aspect and related implementation processes, the second communication device may be understood as an artificial intelligence management function (AI management function, AIMF), or an AIMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0074] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the method further includes:

[0075] The second communication device receives the AI data from the third communication device and sends the AI data to the first communication device; or,

[0076] The second communication device receives the pipeline orchestration information from the third communication device and sends the pipeline orchestration information to the first communication device; where the pipeline orchestration information includes the forwarding path of the AI data in the N functional entities, and / or the identifiers of the N functional entities.

[0077] Based on the above technical solution, the second communication device may further receive the AI data from the third communication device, and the second communication device may further send the AI data to the first communication device. In this way, the first communication device can obtain the AI data to implement the provision of AIaaS for the first communication device.

[0078] Alternatively, the second communication device receives the pipeline orchestration information from the third communication device, and the second communication device can also send the pipeline orchestration information to the first communication device. Subsequently, the first communication device can obtain the AI data through the pipeline orchestration information. In this way, the first communication device can obtain the AI data to provide AIaaS for the first communication device.

[0079] The sixth aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a third communication device. The third communication device can be a communication device (such as a network device), or the third communication device can be some components in the communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the third communication device can also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the communication device functions. In this method, the third communication device receives the eighth information from the second communication device. Among them, the eighth information can be used to request AI data for services; and / or, the eighth information can be used to request to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer. The third communication device receives the AI data from the N functional entities and sends the AI data to the second communication device; or, the third communication device sends pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device; where the pipeline orchestration information includes the forwarding path of the AI data in the N functional entities, and / or, the identifiers of the N functional entities; or, the third communication device sends pipeline orchestration information to the N functional entities.

[0080] Based on the above technical solution, after the third communication device receives the eighth information for requesting AI data for services, the third communication device can determine N functional entities that provide the AI data based on the eighth information. Subsequently, the first communication device can obtain the AI data from the N functional entities in multiple ways. In other words, the services requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the services requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0081] Optionally, after receiving the eighth information for requesting AI data for a service, the third communication device first obtains AI data information. The third communication device generates an AI data collection task and sends the AI data collection task to one or more communication devices, so that the one or more communication devices provide AI data to the third communication device according to the pipeline orchestration information included in the AI data collection task. The third communication device receives the AI data from the N functional entities and sends the AI data to the second communication device.

[0082] Optionally, after receiving the eighth information for requesting AI data for a service, the third communication device first determines the pipeline orchestration information. The third communication device generates an AI data collection task and sends the AI data collection task to one or more communication devices, so that the one or more communication devices provide AI data to the first communication device according to the pipeline orchestration information included in the AI data collection task. The third communication device sends the pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device.

[0083] Optionally, the eighth information received by the third communication device is for requesting AI data for a service, and the third communication device can provide AI data in multiple ways, that is, the third communication device can provide DaaS-type services. Correspondingly, in the sixth aspect and related implementation processes, the third communication device can be understood as a DMF, or a DMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0084] Optionally, the AI data may include one or more of AI model parameters, datasets required for AI training, and datasets required for AI inference.

[0085] In a seventh aspect of the present application, a communication method is provided. This method is executed by a second communication device. The second communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be a part of the components in the communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the second communication device may also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the communication device. In this method, the second communication device receives the first information from the first communication device. The first information is used to request a service; the first information includes the type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the second communication device sends the ninth information to the fourth communication device according to the first information. The ninth information is used to request the AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, where N is a positive integer.

[0086] Based on the above technical solution, after the second communication device receives the first information for requesting a service, the second communication device may send the ninth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service to the fourth communication device. Moreover, the fourth communication device may determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result according to the ninth information. Subsequently, the first communication device may receive the service data from the N functional entities. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0087] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information indicating that the type of the service is AIaaS, and the ninth information sent by the second communication device can be used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result of the service, that is, the second communication device can provide an AIaaS type of service. Correspondingly, in the seventh aspect and related implementation processes, the second communication device may be understood as an AIMF, or an AIMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0088] In a possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the method further includes:

[0089] The second communication device receives AI calculation task information from the fourth communication device, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI calculation result; or,

[0090] The second communication device receives indication information from the fourth communication device indicating the processing result of the service; or,

[0091] The second communication device receives the AI calculation result from the fourth communication device and sends the AI calculation result to the first communication device.

[0092] Based on the above technical solution, the second communication device can, through the above various methods, enable the first communication device to obtain the AI calculation results provided by N functional entities, so as to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0093] The eighth aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a fourth communication device. The fourth communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the fourth communication device may be some components in the communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the fourth communication device may also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the communication device. In this method, the fourth communication device receives ninth information from a second communication device, where the ninth information is used to request the AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; the fourth communication device sends AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0094] Based on the above technical solution, after the fourth communication device receives the ninth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service, the fourth communication device may determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result based on the ninth information. Subsequently, the fourth communication device may send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, so that the N functional entities send the AI calculation result to the first communication device based on the AI calculation task information. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the service requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0095] Optionally, after the fourth communication device receives the ninth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service, it generates an AI calculation offloading task, and the fourth communication device may send the AI calculation offloading task to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation offloading task includes the N functional entities and the AI calculation task allocation policy on the N functional entities.

[0096] Optionally, the ninth information received by the fourth communication device is used to request the AI calculation result of the service, and the fourth communication device can provide the AI calculation result in multiple ways, that is, the fourth communication device can provide CaaS type services. Correspondingly, in the eighth aspect and related implementation processes, the fourth communication device may be understood as a CMF, or a CMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0097] In a possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the method further includes:

[0098] The fourth communication device sends AI computing task information to the second communication device, where the AI computing task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI computing result; or,

[0099] The fourth communication device sends indication information indicating the processing result of the service to the second communication device; or,

[0100] The fourth communication device receives the AI computing result from the N functional entities and sends the AI computing result to the second communication device or the first communication device; where the ninth information is determined based on the request of the first communication device.

[0101] Based on the above technical solution, the fourth communication device can also enable the first communication device to obtain the AI computing result from the N functional entities in the above multiple ways, or enable the second communication device to know the execution result of the AI computing task.

[0102] A ninth aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a second communication device. The second communication device may be a communication device (such as a network device), or the second communication device may be part of a component in a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the second communication device may also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a communication device. In this method, the second communication device receives first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the second communication device sends tenth information to a fifth communication device according to the first information, and the tenth information is used to request the AI computing result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI computing result, where N is a positive integer.

[0103] Based on the above technical solution, after the second communication device receives the first information for requesting a service, the second communication device may send tenth information for requesting the AI computing result of the service to the fifth communication device. And, the fifth communication device may determine N functional entities that provide the AI computing result according to the tenth information, and subsequently the first communication device may receive service data from the N functional entities. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided. Thus, in a communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0104] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information indicating that the type of the service is CaaS, and the tenth information sent by the second communication device can be used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result. Correspondingly, in the ninth aspect and related implementation processes, the second communication device can be understood as a CMF, or a CMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0105] In a possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the method further includes:

[0106] The second communication device receives AI calculation task information from the fifth communication device, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result; or

[0107] The second communication device receives the AI calculation result from the fifth communication device and sends the AI calculation result to the first communication device.

[0108] Based on the above technical solutions, the second communication device can, through the above various methods, enable the first communication device to obtain the AI calculation results provided by N functional entities, so as to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0109] A tenth aspect of this application provides a communication method, which is executed by a fifth communication device. The fifth communication device can be a communication device (such as a network device), or the fifth communication device can be a part of a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or the fifth communication device can also be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a communication device. In this method, the fifth communication device receives the tenth information from the second communication device, where the tenth information is used to request the AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; the fifth communication device sends AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0110] Based on the above technical solution, after the fifth communication device receives the tenth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service, the fifth communication device can determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result based on the tenth information. Subsequently, the fifth communication device can send AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, so that the N functional entities send the AI calculation result to the first communication device based on the AI calculation task information. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the service requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0111] Optionally, after the fifth communication device receives the tenth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service, it first generates an AI calculation task, and then sends the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities. The AI calculation task information includes the N functional entities for providing the AI calculation result.

[0112] Optionally, the tenth information received by the fifth communication device is used to request the AI calculation result of the service, and the fifth communication device can provide the AI calculation result in multiple ways, that is, the fifth communication device can provide services of the AIaaS type. Correspondingly, in the eighth aspect and related implementation processes, the fourth communication device can be understood as an AIMF, or an AIMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0113] In a possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the method further includes:

[0114] The fifth communication device sends the AI calculation task information to the second communication device; or,

[0115] The fifth communication device receives the AI calculation result from the N functional entities and sends the AI calculation result to the second communication device or the first communication device.

[0116] Based on the above technical solution, the fifth communication device can also enable the first communication device to obtain the AI calculation result from the N functional entities in the above multiple ways, or enable the second communication device to know the execution result of the AI calculation task.

[0117] Optionally, the AI calculation task information includes at least one of the following: the forwarding path of the AI calculation result in the N functional entities, the identifiers of the N functional entities, AI model information, and AI training set information.

[0118] Optionally, the AI calculation result includes the model parameters and / or AI data of the AI model.

[0119] In the eleventh aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a first communication device or a part of the components in the first communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine first information; the transceiver unit is configured to send the first information to a second communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive service data from the N functional entities.

[0120] In the twelfth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a second communication device or a part of the components in the second communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive the first information from the first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; the processing unit is configured to determine second information; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0121] In the thirteenth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a second communication device or a part of the components in the second communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive the first information from the first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the processing unit is configured to determine sixth information; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the sixth information to a third communication device according to the first information, and the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the transceiver unit is further configured to receive seventh information from the third communication device, and the seventh information is used to indicate resource status information of one or more functional entities; the first information and the seventh information are used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0122] A fourteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a third communication device or some components in the third communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive sixth information from a second communication device, and the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities. The processing unit is configured to determine seventh information. The transceiver unit is further configured to send the seventh information to the second communication device, and the seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities. The seventh information is used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities.

[0123] A fifteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a second communication device or some components in the second communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service. The first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service. The processing unit is configured to determine eighth information according to the first information. The transceiver unit is further configured to send the eighth information to a third communication device, and the eighth information is used to request AI data of the service. The eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer.

[0124] A sixteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a third communication device or some components in the third communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive eighth information from a second communication device, and the eighth information is used to request AI data of a service. The eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive the AI data from the N functional entities and send the AI data to the second communication device; or, the processing unit is configured to determine pipeline orchestration information. The transceiver unit is further configured to send the pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device. Wherein, the pipeline orchestration information includes a forwarding path of the AI data among the N functional entities, and / or, identifiers of the N functional entities; or, the third communication device sends the pipeline orchestration information to the N functional entities.

[0125] A seventeenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a second communication device or some components in the second communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the processing unit is configured to determine ninth information according to the first information; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the ninth information to a fourth communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

[0126] An eighteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a fourth communication device or some components in the fourth communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive ninth information from a second communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; the transceiver unit is further configured to determine AI calculation task information; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0127] A nineteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a second communication device or some components in the second communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the processing unit is configured to determine tenth information according to the first information; the transceiver unit is further configured to send the tenth information to a fifth communication device, where the tenth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

[0128] The twentieth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a fifth communication device or some components in the fifth communication device (such as a processor, a chip, a chip system, a logic module, or software, etc.). The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive the tenth information from the second communication device, and the tenth information is used to request the AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, where N is a positive integer; the processing unit is used to determine AI calculation task information; the transceiver unit is further used to send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0129] The twenty-first aspect of the present application provides a communication device, including at least one processor, and the at least one processor is coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store programs or instructions; the at least one processor is used to execute the programs or instructions so that the device implements the method described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the foregoing first aspect to tenth aspect.

[0130] The twenty-second aspect of the present application provides a communication device, including at least one logic circuit and an input-output interface; the logic circuit is used to execute the method described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the foregoing first aspect to tenth aspect.

[0131] The twenty-third aspect of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned first communication device and second communication device.

[0132] Optionally, the communication system further includes at least one of the above-mentioned third communication device, fourth communication device, and fifth communication device.

[0133] Optionally, the communication system further includes the above-mentioned N functional entities.

[0134] The twenty-fourth aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store one or more computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the above first aspect to tenth aspect.

[0135] The twenty-fifth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product (or computer program). When the computer program in the computer program product is executed by the processor, the processor executes the method described in any possible implementation manner of any one of the above first aspect to tenth aspect.

[0136] The twenty-sixth aspect of the present application provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor for supporting a communication device to implement the method described in any one of the possible implementations of the first to tenth aspects above.

[0137] In a possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system further includes an interface circuit, and the interface circuit provides program instructions and / or data for the at least one processor.

[0138] Among them, the technical effects brought by any one of the design manners of the eleventh to twenty-sixth aspects can be referred to the technical effects brought by different design manners of the first to tenth aspects above, which will not be elaborated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0139] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a communication system related to the present application;

[0140] Figure 2 It is another schematic diagram of a communication system related to the present application;

[0141] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0142] Figure 4a It is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0143] Figure 4b It is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided by the present application;

[0144] Figure 4c It is another schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided by the present application;

[0145] Figure 5a It is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0146] Figure 5b It is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0147] Figure 6 It is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0148] Figure 7 It is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0149] Figure 8 It is another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0150] Figure 9 Another schematic diagram of the communication method provided by this application;

[0151] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the communication device provided by this application;

[0152] Figure 11 Another schematic diagram of the communication device provided by this application;

[0153] Figure 12 Another schematic diagram of the communication device provided by this application;

[0154] Figure 13 Another schematic diagram of the communication device provided by this application. Detailed implementation manners

[0155] First, some terms in the embodiments of this application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0156] (1) In this application, "for indicating" may include for directly indicating and for indirectly indicating. When it is described that a certain indication information is for indicating A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0157] In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is called the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, it can be implemented by the way of direct indication, such as indicating through the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc. It can also be implemented by the way of indirectly indicating by indicating other information, where there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It can also only indicate a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or pre-agreed. For example, it can also rely on the arrangement order of each information pre-agreed (such as protocol regulations) to implement the indication of specific information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0158] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately. Moreover, the transmission periods and / or transmission timings of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific transmission method is not limited in this application. Among them, the transmission periods and / or transmission timings of these sub-information can be predefined, such as predefined according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. Among them, the configuration information can include, for example but not limited to, one or a combination of at least two of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) layer signaling, and physical layer signaling. Among them, MAC layer signaling includes, for example, MAC control element (CE); physical layer signaling includes, for example, downlink control information (DCI).

[0159] (2) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes 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, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "At least one (item)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Also, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects.

[0160] (3) "Transmit" and "receive" in the embodiments of this application represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to device X" can be understood as the destination of this information is device X, which can include directly sending through the air interface, and also include indirectly sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from device Y" can be understood as the source of this information is device Y, which can include directly receiving from device Y through the air interface, and can also include indirectly receiving from device Y through the air interface from other units or modules. "Transmit" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0161] Exemplarily, take the communication process between entity A and entity B as an example. In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be directly sent from A to B, or A can indirectly send it to B through other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, entity B can directly receive the information sent by entity A, or entity B can indirectly receive the information sent by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be information interaction between RAN nodes and terminals, for example, information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information interaction between different modules within a device, for example, information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0162] (4) Protocol data unit session: A protocol data unit (PDU) session is the carrier of PDU services.

[0163] Exemplarily, taking the terminal device as a user equipment (UE) as an example, the PDU connection service can be a service for exchanging PDU data packets between the UE and an external data network (DN); the PDU connection service is realized by the UE initiating the establishment of a PDU session. After a PDU session is established, a data transmission channel between the UE and the DN is established. The transmission process of the user plane tunnel of the PDU session includes connection processes such as the radio interface between the user equipment and the access network (UE-AN), the N3 interface between the access network and the user plane function (AN-UPF), and the N6 interface between the user plane function and the data network (UPF-DN). The PDU session in 5G includes one or more attributes such as S-NSSAI, data network name (DNN), PDU Session type, service and session continuity mode (SSC Mode), PDU Session identifier (ID), user plane security enforcement information, and multi-access PDU connectivity service.

[0164] (5) Computing power network: It can be a new type of information infrastructure that distributes and flexibly schedules computing resources, storage resources, and network resources among the cloud, edge, and end according to business requirements. The essence of a computing power network is a computing power resource service. In the future, enterprise customers or individual users will not only need networks and clouds but also need to flexibly schedule computing tasks to appropriate locations. A computing power network consists of three components: "computing", "network", and "brain". "Computing" is used to produce computing power, "network" is used to connect computing power, and "brain" is used to uniformly perceive, orchestrate, schedule, and coordinate the "computing power in the network".

[0165] Optionally, the computing power network has other names, such as computing-aware network (CAN), computing first network or computing force network, computing first network (CFN), computing power network (CPN), etc., which are different names similar to this.

[0166] (6) Computing power: That is, computing ability. "China's Computing Power White Paper (2022)" defines computing power as the ability of the servers in a data center to output results after processing data. Therefore, the broad definition of computing power is the computing ability to process information data and achieve the output of target results; the narrow definition of computing power is the theoretically maximum number of floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) that a computer possesses. The unit of computing power is an indicator and benchmark for measuring the strength of computing power, and there are currently various different measurement methods. Common ones include million instructions per second (MIPS), Dhrystone million instructions executed per second (DMIPS), operations per second (OPS), floating-point operations per second (FLOPS), hash per second (Hash / s), etc. Among them, the FLOPS unit has always been regarded as one of the main indicators for measuring the computing speed of a computer.

[0167] Please refer to Figure 1, is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 to which the embodiments of the present application are applied. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may further include the Internet 300. Among them, RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110), and may further include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 120a - 120j in

[0168] , collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, for example, wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices ( Figure 1 not shown in

[0168] ). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly, and the RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wiredly. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 may be independent different physical devices, or the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. Terminals can be connected to each other and RAN nodes can be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner.

[0169] The RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, a RAN entity or an access node, is used to help a terminal access the communication system wirelessly. In one application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such asFigure 1 in 110a) of [reference document], it can also be a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 in 110b) of [reference document], or it can also be a relay node or a donor node.

[0170] In another application scenario, the wireless access of a terminal can be assisted by the cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete part or all of the functions of the physical layer. For the specific descriptions of the above various protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the functions of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in the same RAN node, for example, integrated in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in the radio frequency device, for example, included in the remote radio unit (RRU) or the active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0171] In different systems, the RAN node may have different names. For example, in an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) system, the CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be called O-DU, the CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, in this application, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as examples for description. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0172] The communication between the access network device and the terminal device follows a certain protocol layer structure. The protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, or physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, or physical layer, etc.

[0173] For the correspondence between the network elements in the ORAN system and their realizable protocol layer functions, Table 1 below can be referred to.

[0174] Table 1

[0175] ORAN Network Element 3GPP Protocol Layer Function O-CU-CP RRC + PCDP - Control Plane (PDCP-C) O-CU-UP SDAP + PCDP - User Plane (PDCP-U) O-DU RLC + MAC + PHY-high O-RU PHY-low

[0176] For ease of description, in the following text, the base station is taken as an example of a RAN node for description.

[0177] The terminal is a device with wireless transceiver functions, which can send signals to the base station or receive signals from the base station. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver functions, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0178] The base station and the terminal can be in fixed positions or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0179] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, Figure 1 the helicopter or drone 120i in [description] can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j that access the radio access network 100 through 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, the communication between 110a and 120i is through the radio air interface protocol. Of course, the communication between 110a and 120i can also be through the interface protocol between base stations. At this time, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, both the base station and the terminal can be uniformly referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 The 110a and 110b in [description] can be referred to as communication devices with base station functions. Figure 1 The 120a - 120j in [description] can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0180] The communication between the base station and the terminal, between the base station and the base station, and between the terminal and the terminal can be carried out through authorized spectrum, or through unlicensed spectrum, or through both authorized spectrum and unlicensed spectrum at the same time; it can communicate through the spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), or through the spectrum above 6 GHz, or use both the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz at the same time. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0181] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be executed by modules (such as chips) in the base station, or by a control subsystem containing base station functions. The control subsystem containing base station functions here can be a control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the terminal, or by a device containing terminal functions.

[0182] In recent years, with many industries such as healthcare, factories, ports, coal mines, government and enterprises accelerating their digital transformation, computing and communication are becoming the core basic capabilities enabling the digital and intelligent transformation of industries. Therefore, operators have put forward the concept of a computing power network. The meaning of a computing power network can be to sense ubiquitous computing and services through the network, schedule computing tasks to the optimal computing execution nodes for processing, improve the utilization efficiency of network resources and computing resources, and at the same time provide users with low-latency and highly reliable service services to ensure the consistency of the user experience. Moreover, computing services can be extended to various types of services such as artificial intelligence (AI) services and data services.

[0183] At the same time, facing the requirements of the sixth generation (6G) network and future services, such as the low-latency requirements of immersive services such as extended reality (XR) and holography, and the massive data real-time processing requirements of intelligent services such as robots, intelligent agents, and AI generated content (AIGC) large models. In addition, 6G services may exhibit immersive and intelligent characteristics. The 6G network needs to support the scheduling of AI resources and the processing of ultra-large amounts of data to reduce the computing power and energy consumption of the terminal to meet the requirements of more lightweight, immersive, and intelligent terminal capabilities. Therefore, the 6G network architecture may change from "connection-centric" to "task-centric". The traditional "connection-centric" network architecture aims to provide a connection channel for data communication between terminals and between terminals and application servers, as well as corresponding lifecycle management mechanisms and communication QoS guarantees.

[0184] Take Figure 2 as an example. The current 5G network connection establishment method, that is, the PDU session establishment process, is to provide a transmission channel for data transmission between the UE and the application server located in the DN, including establishing a data radio bearer (DRB) between the UE and the RAN and an NG interface user plane channel (NG-U tunnel) between the RAN and the UPF of the core network, and providing corresponding QoS guarantees; while the "task-centric" network architecture not only requires the network to provide connection services, but also requires the network to coordinate and allocate the computing power, connections, algorithms, and data resources of network nodes to jointly complete a specific goal. The 6G network provides various services, such as data services, computing services, AI services, and traditional communication connection services, by introducing mechanisms for computing power, storage resources, and the coordination of computing power, algorithms, and data of multiple nodes.

[0185] At present, for a communication device in a communication network, in addition to the signal transceiving capability, the communication device may also have data processing capability. Generally, the data processing capability can provide computing power support for the above-mentioned data communication process. For example, the data processing capability can provide computing power support for the signal transceiving capability of the node to determine the time and frequency domain resources for signal transceiving, and realize the communication process between the communication device and other communication devices through the signal transceiving process.

[0186] However, in addition to processing the signals received and sent in the communication network, the communication device may also take into account other processing processes. Therefore, how to improve the utilization rate of the data processing capability of the communication device is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently.

[0187] For example, taking the 5G network as an example, the 5G network provides a transmission channel for data transmission between the UE and the application server located in the data network by establishing a PDU session, and only provides corresponding QoS guarantees for the air interface transmission between the UE and the RAN and the user plane channel between the RAN and the UPF. The network element nodes inside the network do not provide QoS guarantees for other types of services such as data or computing for the UE. In addition, for network-native services such as wireless perception and AI services for optimizing wireless network performance, it is necessary to coordinate the transmission, computing power, AI and data resources on the UE, RAN network elements and CN network elements to complete these large computing or large data services; similarly, for application services outside the network such as XR and cloud game rendering, it is also necessary to coordinate the connection, computing power, AI and data resources between the terminal, edge cloud and central cloud to support low-latency and large-capacity services. However, the current wireless network architecture only supports simple communication connection functions and only guarantees communication QoS. It neither supports the provision of AI, data or computing services, nor supports the coordinated deployment of multiple elements including connection, computing power, AI and data to complete services. Therefore, it is necessary to design a unified network architecture to provide various services and to centrally manage and control various services to ensure QoS.

[0188] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method and related equipment, which can enable a communication device to provide services based on requests from other communication devices, and improve the utilization rate of the data processing capacity of the communication device through the collaborative work of different communication devices.

[0189] See also Figure 3 , is a schematic diagram of an implementation of the communication method provided in this application, and the method includes the following steps.

[0190] It should be noted that in Figure 3Taking the first communication device and the second communication device as the execution entities of this interaction schematic as an example to illustrate this method, but the present application does not limit the execution entities of this interaction schematic. For example, in Figure 3 and other subsequent drawings (such as Figure 5b , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Figure 9 ), the execution entity of the method can be replaced by a chip, a chip system, a processor, a logic module, software, etc. in the communication device.

[0191] Figure 3 The method shown may include the following S301, S302, and S303.

[0192] S301. The first communication device sends the first information. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information. Wherein, the first information is used to request a service.

[0193] In S301, the first information sent by the first communication device can be used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; in other words, when the second communication device receives the first information, it can determine N functional entities that provide the service based on the first information.

[0194] In a possible implementation manner, the first information sent by the first communication device in S301 includes at least one of the following information A to information C:

[0195] Information A: The type information of the service. Wherein, the information A can be used to indicate the type of the service, including at least one of network as a service (NaaS), computing as a service (CaaS), AI as a service (AIaaS), and data as a service (DaaS);

[0196] Information B: The content information of the service. Wherein, the information B can be used to indicate at least one of the demand for network resources and the QoS requirement for the service. For example, the demand for network resources can include the demand for transmission resources, computing resources, data resources, or AI model resources. Another example is that the QoS requirement for the service can include one or more of the requirements for computing delay, transmission delay, etc.

[0197] Information C: The feedback trigger condition information of the service. Wherein, the information C can be used to indicate the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement situation.

[0198] Optionally, in Information C, the feedback trigger condition for the QoS achievement includes the QoS deviation degree and / or the threshold of the QoS deviation value. Specifically, the feedback trigger condition information of the service included in the first information can be used to indicate the threshold of the QoS deviation degree and / or the QoS deviation value. The second communication device can determine that when the trigger condition indicated by Information C is met, based on the QoS status of the service provided for the first communication device, and the threshold of the QoS deviation degree and / or the QoS deviation value, the second communication device feeds back the QoS status of the service to the first communication device (or, the second communication device adjusts the QoS requirement for the service and feeds back the adjusted QoS requirement to the first communication device).

[0199] The first information for requesting a service may include at least one of the above Information A to Information C, which can improve the flexibility of the solution implementation. Moreover, at least one of the above Information A to Information C can also be used to characterize the service-related information of the request, so that the first communication device can obtain the corresponding service.

[0200] In a possible implementation manner, in S301, the process of the first communication device sending the first information to the second communication device may include: the first communication device sends the first information to the second communication device through a network exposure function (NEF). Specifically, the first communication device is an application (for example, the application is a Client APP deployed on a terminal device or a Server APP deployed on an application server). The communication process between the first communication device and the second communication device can be forwarded through the NEF, that is, the first communication device can send the first information for requesting a service to the second communication device through the NEF.

[0201] S302. The second communication device sends the second information. Correspondingly, N functional entities receive the second information. The second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0202] The second communication device determines N functional entities that provide the service based on the first information, and sends the second information to the determined N functional entities. After receiving the second information, the N functional entities can determine to provide the service to the first communication device based on the second information and send the data of the service in S303. The second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0203] In a possible implementation, before S302, the method further includes: the second communication device obtains third information, where the third information is used to indicate the resource status information of M functional entities, and the M functional entities include the N functional entities, and M is greater than or equal to N; correspondingly, the second communication device may determine the N functional entities among the M functional entities based on the first information and the third information. Specifically, the second communication device may further obtain third information indicating the resource status information of the M functional entities, and determine, based on the first information and the third information, the N functional entities that provide services for the first communication device, so that the second communication device can determine the N functional entities that meet the service requirements among the M functional entities.

[0204] Optionally, the second communication device may obtain the third information in multiple ways. For example, the second communication device may respectively receive the resource status information from the M functional entities; or, the second communication device may receive information from one or more management devices and obtain the third information based on the received information; where the one or more management devices are used to manage / control / obtain the resource status information of the M functional entities.

[0205] Optionally, the third information may be information periodically obtained by the second communication device, or may be information obtained by the second communication device based on condition triggers (such as conditions where the resource status of one or more functional entities changes or the change value exceeds a threshold), or other implementations, which are not limited herein.

[0206] In a possible implementation, in S302, the second information sent by the second communication device includes at least one of the following information 1 to information 4:

[0207] Information 1: The identifier of the task.

[0208] Information 2: The type of the task.

[0209] Information 3: The QoS requirement of the task.

[0210] Information 4: The feedback trigger condition for the QoS achievement of the task.

[0211] Among the above information 1 to information 4, the task is used to provide the service.

[0212] Specifically, the second information sent by the second communication device may include at least one of the above task-related information, and this task is used to provide the service. In other words, after the second communication device obtains the first information requesting the service in S301, the second communication device may send, in S302, a task indicating the provision of the service to N functional entities through the second information. In this way, the service requested by the first communication device can be published in the form of a task to adapt to a "task-centric" network.

[0213] Optionally, a "task-centric" network may be referred to as an XaaS network, and X may refer to one or more of network, computing, AI, and data.

[0214] Optionally, the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device. When the second information includes at least one of the above task-related information, the second communication device may provide the service in the form of a task. Correspondingly, in the second aspect and related implementation processes, the second communication device may be understood as a task management function (TMF), or a TMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0215] In a possible implementation manner, for the information 3 included in the second information, the QoS requirements of this task may include one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities. Specifically, the QoS requirements of this task may include the QoS requirements for the N functional entities to provide services. In this way, when the services provided by the N functional entities meet the QoS requirements for providing the services, the QoS requirements of the task can be guaranteed.

[0216] Optionally, for one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities included in the information 3 (i.e., the QoS requirements of the task), there may be multiple implementations for the number of the one or more QoS requirements and the value of N. For example, when the QoS requirements of different functional entities are different, the number of the QoS requirements may be equal to the value of N. Another example is that when the QoS requirements of at least two different functional entities are the same, the number of the QoS requirements may be less than the value of N.

[0217] Similarly, for the information 4 included in the second information, the feedback trigger conditions for the QoS achievement situation of the task may include the feedback trigger conditions for the achievement situations of one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities.

[0218] In a possible implementation manner, among the above information 1 to information 4, this task satisfies at least one of the following:

[0219] The first information is used to determine the identifier of this task;

[0220] The first information includes the type information of the service and / or the content information of the service, and the type information of the service and / or the content information of the service are used to determine the type of the task, and the type of the task includes at least one of a computing offloading task, an AI task, and a data collection task;

[0221] The first information includes the content information of the service, and the content information of the service is used to determine the QoS requirement of the task;

[0222] The first information includes the feedback trigger condition information of the service, and the feedback trigger condition information of the service is used to determine the feedback trigger condition of the QoS achievement of the task.

[0223] Specifically, the task-related information indicated by the second information can be determined by requesting the first information of the service, so that the tasks indicated by the second information of the N functional entities can provide the data required by the service.

[0224] Optionally, in S302, the second communication device can send the second information to the N functional entities in multiple ways. For example, the second communication device can send the second information to the N functional entities respectively, that is, each functional entity obtains the second information; or, the second information can include N copies of the same information and the second communication device sends the N copies of the same information to the N functional entities respectively, that is, each functional entity obtains one of its respective N copies of information. Optionally, the QoS requirement of the task includes one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities, and the QoS requirements of the N different functional entities are different, then the second information can include N different pieces of information and send the information corresponding to a specific functional entity among the N functional entities to the N functional entities respectively; if at least two of the QoS requirements of the N functional entities are the same and the other QoS requirements are different, then for the at least two different functional entities, the second communication device can send the same information to the at least two functional entities.

[0225] Optionally, in S302, during the process of the second communication device sending the second information to the N functional entities, the second communication device can communicate through a direct link. For example, the second communication device communicates with the N functional entities through the direct link respectively to implement the sending of the second information. Or, the second communication device can communicate in other ways. For example, the second communication device communicates with the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) to implement the sending of the second information; or, the second communication device can communicate with a part of the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) and communicate with another part of the N functional entities through a direct link to implement the sending of the second information.

[0226] S303. N functional entities send the data of the service. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the data of the service.

[0227] In this application, terms such as functional entity, entity, logical entity, and physical entity can be replaced with each other.

[0228] It should be noted that the number of communication devices deployed in (and / or connected to) N functional entities can be one or more, and there can be various relationships between the number of such communication devices and the value of N. Exemplarily, taking the communication device connected to N functional entities as an example. For example, when different functional entities are connected to different communication devices, the number of such communication devices can be equal to N. Another example is that when at least two different functional entities are connected to the same communication device, the number of such communication devices can be less than N. Another example is that when one of the N functional entities is connected to two or more communication devices, the number of such communication devices can be greater than N.

[0229] Optionally, when the first communication device receives the data of the service from the N functional entities in S303, the first communication device can communicate through a direct link. For example, the first communication device communicates with the N functional entities respectively through the direct link to receive the data of the service. Or, the first communication device can communicate in other ways. For example, the first communication device communicates with the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) to receive the data of the service. Another example is that the first communication device communicates with a part of the N functional entities through one or more relay nodes (or forwarding nodes) and communicates with another part of the N functional entities through a direct link to receive the data of the service. Another example is that the first communication device communicates with the N functional entities through a wireless link and / or a wired link to receive the data of the service.

[0230] Optionally, in addition to receiving the data from the N functional entities, it is possible that the first communication device can send data to one or more of the N functional entities so that the first communication device can obtain the service through data interaction.

[0231] Based on Figure 3In the technical solution shown, after the first communication device sends the first information for requesting a service in S301, the first communication device may receive data of the service from N functional entities in S303, and the first information is used by the second communication device to determine the N functional entities providing the service. In other words, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data for the service requested by the first communication device can be provided in S303. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0232] Optionally, in Figure 3 In a possible implementation manner of the solution shown, the method further includes: the first communication device receives indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service. Specifically, the first communication device may further receive the above indication information, so that the first communication device can know the QoS status of the service.

[0233] Optionally, the indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service may come from the second communication device, one or more of the N functional entities, or other communication devices mentioned later (such as the third communication device, the fourth communication device, the fifth communication device, etc.). For example, if the indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service comes from the first functional entity among the N functional entities, the indication information may include the first QoS status information of the first functional entity, or if the indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service comes from the first functional entity and the second functional entity among the N functional entities, the indication information includes the first QoS status information of the first functional entity and the second QoS status information of the second functional entity.

[0234] Optionally, the indication information indicating the QoS status information of the service may be information sent periodically, or information triggered based on conditions (for example, one or more QoS statuses corresponding to one or more of the N functional entities are lower than a threshold, or the overall QoS weighted value of the N functional entities is lower than a threshold), etc.

[0235] In Figure 3In a possible implementation of the solution shown, the method further includes: the second communication device receives fourth information from the N functional entities, where the fourth information is used to indicate the QoS achievement situation of the service; the second communication device sends fifth information to the N functional entities and / or the first communication device based on the fourth information, where the fifth information is used to update the QoS requirement of the task. Specifically, the second communication device may also receive the fourth information indicating the QoS achievement situation of the service from the N functional entities, and the second communication device may also send the fifth information for updating the QoS requirement of the task based on the fourth information, so as to implement the policy optimization of the QoS requirement of the task.

[0236] The technical solution provided by this application will be introduced in detail below with reference to more accompanying drawings.

[0237] As an implementation example, as Figure 4a shown, the communication device requesting to provide a service (such as the first communication device in the previous embodiment) may be Figure 2 the UE in, and the communication device providing the service may include Figure 4a each type of "network node (i.e., the N functional entities in the previous embodiment)" in may include at least one of a gNB on the access network side, a core network device, and a mobile edge computing (MEC) device.

[0238] Exemplarily, in Figure 4a the example shown, the function introduction of each device is as follows.

[0239] UE: A terminal device that allows users to access the network, with local communication capabilities and certain computing capabilities, which are used to process third-party application services such as XR and AI services within the wireless network.

[0240] gNB: A 5G base station protocol functional entity, including the functions of CU and / or DU, is an interface device for mobile devices to access the Internet. The internal computing power is used to process AI and sensing and other services within the network, and can also process third-party application (3rd App) services.

[0241] Task management function (TMF): This function is deployed on the RAN side or the core network side, and orchestrates and manages the resources of nodes such as terminals, base stations, core networks, MECs, and edge clouds.

[0242] 5G Core Network (5GC): It includes Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), UPF, etc.

[0243] MEC: The Mobile Edge Computing platform is deployed in the DN after the core network UPF. It can perform application layer data interaction with the 5G system through the N6 interface to provide low-latency computing services. MEC can be co-deployed with the local UPF on the base station side.

[0244] It should be noted that Figure 4a merely as an example, the technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication networks, including but not limited to Figure 4a the 5G network, LTE network, 6G network, etc. as shown.

[0245] As can be seen from the above implementation process, the second communication device can receive a request from the first communication device and determine N functional entities that provide services for the first communication device based on this request. Correspondingly, when the second communication device is applied to a "task-centric" network, the second communication device can provide services in the form of tasks, that is, the second communication device can be a module that manages tasks in this network. For example, the second communication device can be a Task Management Function (TMF), or a TMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0246] Optionally, there may be various task requirements in the network. For this reason, the TMF may include one or more of Computing Management Function (CMF), Data Management Function (DMF), AI Management Function (AIMF), etc.

[0247] As an implementation example, the TMF can receive service requests from service objects inside and outside the network. For example, as a service platform, the NEF, the TMF can receive service requests through the NEF and confirm to provide various services to service objects (i.e., service requesters, such as the first communication device mentioned above), including: network as a service (NaaS), computing as a service (CaaS), AI as a service (AIaaS), and data as a service (DaaS). Service objects include network elements inside the network (such as RAN functions, CN functions, UEs) and third-party applications (such as Client APP, Server APP). It can be understood that the NEF has a communication interface with the service requester and a communication interface with network internal network elements.

[0248] As an implementation example, the TMF can manage, orchestrate, and monitor the tasks required to provide various services, including managing one or more of computing offloading tasks, data collection tasks, AI tasks, and traditional network connection tasks, and orchestrating one or more of various tasks and monitoring and controlling the task execution process. Task monitoring and control include sensing the QoS status of the system during the task execution process and making corresponding adjustments. For example, the TMF orchestrates the data collection task and monitors and controls the execution process of the data collection task, senses the QoS situation of the system to achieve the data collection service, and makes corresponding adjustments; the TMF can orchestrate the computing offloading task and monitor and control the execution of the computing task, sense the QoS situation of the system to achieve the computing service, and make corresponding adjustments; the TMF can also orchestrate and execute control of the AI task, and the AI task includes the transfer of AI models / AI data, the training / inference of AI models, etc.; the orchestration and execution control of the network connection task by the TMF can be the existing process of establishing a PDU session for the network and the process of providing corresponding session QoS guarantee.

[0249] In addition, the TMF can have multiple deployment forms, which will be described below in combination with more implementation examples.

[0250] Implementation method one, as Figure 4b shown, the TMF can include task management functions classified by category and can be deployed on the core network side and / or the RAN side.

[0251] Implementation method two, as Figure 4c shown, the TMF can include a unified task management function and can be deployed on the core network side and / or the RAN side.

[0252] Optionally, in Figure 4bOr Figure 4c In Figure 4c , the DMF may include a data collection function (DCF) and a data access control function (DAC). Among them, the DCF orchestrates data collection tasks, monitors and controls the execution process of data collection tasks, senses the QoS situation of the system to achieve data collection services, and makes corresponding adjustments. The DACF controls which node data to access and obtains the permission to access the data of that node.

[0253] It should be noted that when the TMF is deployed on the core network side, the TMF can manage the functional entities communicating with the core network side. That is, the N functional entities described above may include functional entities deployed in core network elements, functional entities deployed in RAN network elements, etc. Similarly, when the TMF is deployed on the RAN side, the TMF can manage the functional entities communicating with the RAN side. That is, the N functional entities described above may include functional entities deployed in the RAN, functional entities deployed in one or more terminal devices connected to the RAN, etc.

[0254] In addition, when the TMF is deployed on the core network side and the RAN side, it can be scheduled hierarchically. For example, the TMF deployed on the core network side can negotiate task scheduling with the TMF deployed on the RAN side. Among them, the TMF deployed on the RAN side can be responsible for managing computing nodes deployed on the RAN side or locally in the RAN, and the TMF deployed on the core network side can be responsible for managing the edge cloud or MEC nodes close to the core network.

[0255] Optionally, in Implementation Method 1 or Implementation Method 2, the TMF can be a native function of the gNB-CU or DU. A new protocol layer can be added on the RAN side to execute the functions of the TMF, which can be above the RRC layer or parallel to the RRC layer. Among them, for various task management functions, a corresponding protocol layer can be newly added on the RAN side to execute the corresponding functions. The newly added protocol layer is above the RRC layer or parallel to the RRC layer. For example, a computing resource control (CRC) protocol layer corresponding to the CMF, a data resource control (DRC) protocol layer corresponding to the DMF, and an AI resource control (AIRC) protocol layer corresponding to the AIMF are newly added.

[0256] Optionally, in Implementation Mode 1 or Implementation Mode 2, when the TMF is deployed on the RAN side, the task resource control (TRC) protocol layer corresponding to the TMF can be added. When the TMF is deployed on the core network side, it can be connected to other functions through a bus.

[0257] It should be understood that the CRC protocol layer can be used to manage computing-related resources, the DRC protocol layer can be used to manage data-related resources, the AIRC can be used to manage AI-related resources, and the TRC can be used to manage task-related resources. In addition, the above names such as CRC, DRC, AIRC, and TRC are just examples and can be replaced with other names in actual applications.

[0258] To facilitate the understanding of the architectures provided by the above Implementation Mode 1 and Implementation Mode 2, more implementation examples will be introduced below.

[0259] As an implementation example of Implementation Mode 1, as described below Figure 5a and Figure 5b shown, the first communication device in the above embodiments can be Figure 5a and Figure 5b the service objects (including but not limited to RAN / CN / UE, Client / Server APP, etc.), the second communication device in the above embodiments can be Figure 5a and Figure 5b the TMF in, and the N functional entities in the above embodiments can be Figure 5a the task execution nodes in.

[0260] In Figure 5a the solution shown, the service object can initiate a service request to the TMF (through the NEF), the TMF can perform task dispatching to the task execution node based on this service request, and subsequently, this task execution node can provide service data to the service object. Through Figure 5a the XaaS service process given in the embodiment shown, the network can generate corresponding tasks according to different service requests and execute the tasks, and ensure that the QoS requirements of the tasks can be achieved during the task execution process.

[0261] In some implementation processes, the TMF generates corresponding tasks according to the service type and service content, and generates QoS requirements.

[0262] In some implementation processes, the TMF dispatches tasks to the task execution nodes, and sends the QoS requirements corresponding to this task execution node and the feedback trigger conditions for the QoS achievement situation of this task execution node to the task execution node.

[0263] In some implementations, the task execution node detects whether QoS is achieved, and feeds back information indicating that QoS is not achieved or the degree of deviation to the TMF and / or the service object.

[0264] It should be understood that Figure 5a In the example, the service request is an example of the first information, and the "task dispatch" is an example of the second information.

[0265] As an implementation example of implementation method 1, Figure 5b As shown, the following steps are included.

[0266] It should be noted that Figure 5b The illustrated S501 may be an implementation example of the aforementioned S301, S504 may be an implementation example of the aforementioned S302, and S507 may be an implementation example of the aforementioned S303. Figure 5b The other steps shown are optional.

[0267] S501. The service object initiates a service request to TMF.

[0268] It is understandable that the service object can be a RAN network element, a CN network element or a UE, or a Client APP or a Server App; if the service object is a third-party application outside the network, a service request can be initiated through the NEF.

[0269] Specifically, in S501, the service request includes at least one of a service type, service content, and a service feedback condition.

[0270] Exemplarily, the service type may be a computing service, a data service, an AI service, or a communication service type; the service content includes the demand for network resources (resource demand) and QoS requirements. Network resources include transmission resources, computing resources, data resources, or AI model resources. The network resources required for different service requests may be different. Computing service requests only require computing resources and transmission resources. Service feedback conditions include feedback trigger conditions for QoS achievement.

[0271] S502. TMF generates corresponding tasks according to the service type and service content, and generates QoS requirements to be achieved to complete the tasks.

[0272] As an implementation example, taking the computing service type as an example, the TMF generates a computing offloading task according to the computing service type, the requirements for computing power and transmission resources, and the QoS requirements, and can also generate the QoS requirements (referred to as computing QoS) to be achieved for completing the computing offloading task. For example, requirements such as the amount of computation and computing latency; the TMF can generate the QoS requirements of S502 according to the QoS requirements of S501.

[0273] As an implementation example, taking the AI service type as an example, the TMF generates AI model / AI data transfer, AI model training, or AI inference tasks according to the AI service type and the requirements for computing power, transmission, AI, and data resources, and generates the QoS requirements (referred to as AI-QoS) to be achieved for completing the AI tasks, including requirements such as AI model accuracy and training / inference latency. For example, the AI-QoS requirements to be achieved by federated learning include: training accuracy of 83%-90%, training latency of 105-325 ms, uplink transmission latency of 1.05 s-3.25 s, uplink rate (uncompressed) of 325 Mbps-1 Gbps, and uplink rate (compressed) of 26.13 Mbps-80.88 Mbps.

[0274] As an implementation example, taking the data service type as an example, the TMF generates a data collection task according to the data service type and the requirements for connection and data resources, and generates the QoS (referred to as data QoS) to be achieved for completing the data collection task. The data QoS includes requirements such as data type / accuracy, transmission latency, and transmission rate. Taking sensing data as an example, different types / levels of sensing data have different transmission rate requirements. For example, the QoS requirement for the I / Q data rate is 5.2 Gbps, the spectral information rate requirement is 1.2 Gbps, the point cloud information rate is 1.2 Mbps, and the target information rate is 40 Kbps.

[0275] S503. The TMF controls the execution process of the task, including controlling which nodes' data to access, determining the network nodes participating in the task execution (i.e., task execution nodes, or the N functional entities), and part or all of the authentication process for these network nodes; the TMF can also collect the computing, transmission, AI, or data resource status data of the task execution nodes.

[0276] S504. The TMF dispatches the task to the task execution nodes and issues the QoS requirements and the feedback trigger conditions for the QoS achievement situation. The QoS of different tasks can refer to S502; the trigger condition can be the threshold of the QoS deviation degree or deviation value. Optionally, the TMF also assigns a task identifier (task ID) to the network nodes.

[0277] S505a. The task execution node executes the task according to the task assignment, and schedules the connection resources, computing, AI, or data resources to complete the task; during this period, the task execution node monitors the QoS achievement status.

[0278] Optionally, when it is detected that the deviation degree of the QoS situation (training / inference delay, data transmission delay / rate) achieved by the task execution node from the assigned QoS exceeds the preset threshold, the task execution node may feedback in S505b to the TMF that the QoS is not achieved or feedback the deviation degree information.

[0279] S506a. The TMF monitors the QoS status during the task completion process, and adjusts the QoS policy according to the QoS status feedback by the task execution node.

[0280] Optionally, the TMF may, in S506b and S506c, notify the adjusted QoS policy to the task execution node and / or the service object. For example, when the QoS deviation exceeds a certain negative value, it is adjusted to a better QoS requirement; if the deviation exceeds a certain positive value, it is adjusted to a looser QoS requirement. For example, the computing delay requirement is 10 ms, the deviation is 5 ms, and it is adjusted to a looser computing delay requirement of 15 ms (that is, provide guarantee according to the delay that can be satisfied as much as possible). The TMF notifies the service object so that the service object knows that the original QoS requirement information needs to be adjusted and the adjusted QoS requirement information.

[0281] S507. After the task execution node completes the task dispatched by the TMF, it provides the service data corresponding to the task to the service object.

[0282] As an implementation example of Implementation Method 2, when the second communication device is the CMF and the service type requested by the first communication device is CaaS, it can be implemented through Figure 6 the scheme shown.

[0283] As Figure 6 shown, it is another implementation schematic diagram of the communication method provided by this application, and this method includes the following steps.

[0284] S601. The first communication device sends the first information, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information. Among them, the first information includes the type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is CaaS.

[0285] It should be noted that the implementation process of the first information can refer to Figure 3 / Figure 5b and the descriptions of related embodiments. For example, the first information may further include one or more of the information B, information C, etc. described above.

[0286] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device in S601 includes type information indicating that the type of the service is CaaS, and the second communication device can indicate, through the second information, that the N functional entities provide a CaaS type of service for the first communication device. Correspondingly, in Figure 6 and related implementation processes, the second communication device can be understood as a CMF, or a CMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0287] S602. The second communication device sends sixth information, and correspondingly, the third communication device receives the sixth information. The sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities.

[0288] It can be understood that in S602, based on the computing service request indicated by the first information, the second communication device can request computing network status data information from the third communication device through the sixth information, including computing resource status data of one or more functional entities and transmission status data of the network.

[0289] S603. The third communication device sends seventh information, and correspondingly, the second communication device receives the seventh information. The seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities; the second communication device can determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities according to the first information and the seventh information.

[0290] Optionally, according to the computing network status data request sent by the second communication device, the third communication device generates a computing network status data collection task to obtain computing network status data, and the third communication device can send the computing network status data collection task to the one or more functional entities, so that the one or more functional entities report computing network status data information.

[0291] Optionally, after the third communication device receives the request for resource status information of one or more functional entities, the third communication device first obtains the resource status information of the one or more functional entities, and then sends the seventh information indicating the resource status information of the one or more functional entities.

[0292] Optionally, the third communication device obtaining the resource status information of the one or more functional entities includes: the third communication device generates a resource status collection task and sends the task to the one or more functional entities, so that the one or more functional entities report their own resource status information.

[0293] It should be understood that in S603, the second communication device may generate a computing task allocation policy based on the computing and network status indicated by the seventh information, and notify the computing tasks allocated to the network nodes. After the network nodes receive the computing task data of the service object and execute the computing tasks to obtain the computing results, the computing results are returned to the service object. In other words, after S603, the second communication device may use the first information and the seventh information to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities, and the second communication device sends second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device. Among them, the implementation process of the second information may refer to Figure 3 / Figure 5b the description of relevant embodiments.

[0294] Optionally, the second information may also be used to indicate the computing task allocation policy on the N functional entities.

[0295] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device in S601 may further include one or more of the following: requirements for computing resources and / or transmission resources, QoS requirements, and feedback trigger conditions for QoS achievement. In this way, it can be ensured that the service indicated by the second information can meet the one or more requirements. For example, the service indicated by the second information can meet the requirements for computing resources and / or transmission resources and / or QoS requirements. Another example is that the service indicated by the second information can implement the feedback of QoS achievement when the feedback trigger condition is triggered.

[0296] Optionally, the sixth information received by the third communication device includes request information for requesting the resource status information of one or more functional entities, and the third communication device can indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities through the seventh information, that is, the third communication device can provide DaaS type services. Correspondingly, in Figure 6 and related implementation processes, the third communication device may be understood as a DMF, or a DMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0297] In a possible implementation manner, the seventh information sent by the third communication device in S603 includes at least one of the following: the computing resource status information of the one or more functional entities, and the transmission status information of the network where the one or more functional entities are located. Specifically, the seventh information may include at least one of the above, so that the second communication device can obtain the computing resource status of each functional entity and the transmission status of the network based on the sixth information, so as to facilitate the second communication device to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities based on this information.

[0298] Based on Figure 6In the technical solution shown, the second communication device may be the CMF, and the third communication device may be the DMF. That is, the CMF requests computing network status data information from the DMF, and the DMF generates a data collection task and returns the collected computing network status data to the CMF. That is, computing services are provided through the collaborative workflow between the CMF and the DMF. Among them, the service requested by the first communication device may be provided by the N functional entities. Among them, the N functional entities may be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices. That is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the service requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0299] As an implementation example of Implementation Mode 2, when the second communication device is the AIMF and the service type requested by the first communication device is AIaaS, it can be implemented through Figure 7 the solution shown.

[0300] As Figure 7 shown, it is another implementation schematic diagram of the communication method provided by this application, and the method includes the following steps.

[0301] S701. The first communication device sends the first information. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information. Among them, the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes the type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AIaaS.

[0302] Optionally, the first information sent by the first communication device in S701 may further include one or more of the AI service type, the requirements for resources (including at least one of computing resources, transmission resources, and model resources), QoS requirements, feedback trigger conditions for QoS achievement, etc. Correspondingly, the services subsequently indicated to the N functional entities can meet the one or more items.

[0303] It should be noted that the implementation process of the first information can refer to Figure 3 / Figure 5b and the descriptions of related embodiments. For example, the first information may further include one or more of the aforementioned information B, information C, etc.

[0304] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information indicating that the type of the service is AIaaS, and the second communication device can indicate through the eighth information to provide AIaaS type services for the first communication device. Correspondingly, in Figure 7 and related implementation processes, the second communication device may be understood as the AIMF, or the AIMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0305] S702. The second communication device sends the eighth information, and correspondingly, the third communication device receives the eighth information. The eighth information is used to request the AI data of the service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer.

[0306] Specifically, in S702, the second communication device may generate the eighth information based on the first information, and the eighth information may be used to request the AI data of the service from the third communication device. The AI data may include one or more of AI model parameters, datasets required for AI training, and datasets required for AI inference.

[0307] Optionally, the eighth information received by the third communication device in S702 is used to request the AI data of the service, and the third communication device can provide the AI data in multiple ways, that is, the third communication device can provide DaaS-type services. Correspondingly, in Figure 7 and related implementation processes, the third communication device may be understood as a DMF, or a DMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0308] Optionally, after receiving the eighth information for requesting the AI data of the service, the third communication device first obtains AI data information. The third communication device generates an AI data collection task and sends the AI data collection task to one or more functional entities, so that the first or more functional entities provide AI data to the third communication device according to the pipeline orchestration information included in the AI data collection task. The third communication device receives the AI data from the one or more functional entities and sends the AI data to the second communication device.

[0309] Optionally, after receiving the eighth information for requesting the AI data of the service, the third communication device first determines the pipeline orchestration information. The third communication device generates an AI data collection task and sends the AI data collection task to one or more functional entities, so that the first or more functional entities provide AI data to the first communication device according to the pipeline orchestration information included in the AI data collection task. The third communication device sends the pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device.

[0310] In a possible implementation manner, Figure 7 The method shown also includes:

[0311] The second communication device receives the AI data from the third communication device and sends the AI data to the first communication device; or,

[0312] The second communication device receives the pipeline orchestration information from the third communication device and sends the pipeline orchestration information to the first communication device; wherein, the pipeline orchestration information includes the forwarding path of the AI data in the one or more functional entities, and / or, the identifiers of the one or more functional entities.

[0313] In other words, the second communication device can also receive the AI data from the third communication device, and the second communication device can also send the AI data to the first communication device. In this way, the first communication device can obtain the AI data to provide AIaaS for the first communication device.

[0314] Alternatively, the second communication device receives the pipeline orchestration information from the third communication device, and the second communication device can also send the pipeline orchestration information to the first communication device. Subsequently, the first communication device can obtain the AI data through the pipeline orchestration information. In this way, the first communication device can obtain the AI data to provide AIaaS for the first communication device.

[0315] Based on the above technical solution, when the second communication device is an AIMF and the third communication device is a DMF, the AIMF can request AI data from the DMF. The DMF generates an AI data collection task. The DMF can enable the first communication device to obtain the AI data in various ways, that is, provide AI services through the collaborative work process of the AIMF and the DMF. Among them, the service requested by the first communication device can be provided by the one or more functional entities, and the one or more functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the service requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0316] As an implementation example of the second implementation method, when the second communication device is an AIMF and the service type requested by the first communication device is AIaaS, it can be implemented through Figure 8 the scheme shown.

[0317] As Figure 8 shown, it is another implementation schematic diagram of the communication method provided by this application, and the method includes the following steps.

[0318] S801. The first communication device sends the first information. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information. The first information is used to request a service; the first information includes the type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AIaaS.

[0319] It should be noted that for the implementation process of the first information, reference can be made to Figure 3 / Figure 5b the description of the relevant embodiments. For example, the first information may further include one or more of the information B, information C, etc. described above.

[0320] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information indicating that the type of the service is AIaaS. And the ninth information sent by the second communication device can be used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result of the service, that is, the second communication device can provide an AIaaS type of service. Correspondingly, in Figure 8 the relevant implementation process, the second communication device can be understood as an AIMF, or an AIMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0321] S802. The second communication device sends the ninth information. Correspondingly, the fourth communication device receives the ninth information. Wherein, the ninth information is used to request the AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

[0322] Optionally, after receiving the ninth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service, the fourth communication device generates an AI calculation offloading task, and the fourth communication device can send the AI calculation offloading task to the N functional entities. The AI calculation offloading task includes the N functional entities and the AI calculation task allocation policy on the N functional entities.

[0323] Optionally, the ninth information received by the fourth communication device is used to request the AI calculation result of the service, and the fourth communication device can provide the AI calculation result in multiple ways, that is, the fourth communication device can provide a CaaS type of service. Correspondingly, in Figure 8 the relevant implementation process, the fourth communication device can be understood as a CMF, or a CMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0324] Optionally, the AI calculation result includes model parameters and / or AI data of the AI model.

[0325] Optionally, when the second communication device is AIMF and the third communication device is CMF, after S802, CMF may generate an AI computing offloading task according to the AI computing offloading request, including an AI computing task allocation policy. During this process, CMF may also initiate a computing network status collection process to the DMF, and generate an offloading policy for the AI computing task based on the computing network status information, including the network nodes for executing the AI computing task, and optionally, the AI model information or AI training set information required for executing the AI computing task. CMF issues the generated AI computing offloading task to the network nodes for execution.

[0326] In a possible implementation, Figure 8 The method shown further includes:

[0327] The second communication device receives AI computing task information from the fourth communication device, where the AI computing task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI computing result; or,

[0328] The second communication device receives indication information from the fourth communication device indicating the processing result of the service; or,

[0329] The second communication device receives the AI computing result from the fourth communication device and sends the AI computing result to the first communication device.

[0330] Specifically, the second communication device can, through the above-mentioned multiple methods, enable the first communication device to obtain the AI computing results provided by N functional entities, so as to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0331] In a possible implementation, Figure 8 The method shown further includes:

[0332] The fourth communication device sends AI computing task information to the second communication device, where the AI computing offloading task is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI computing result; or,

[0333] The fourth communication device sends indication information indicating the processing result of the service to the second communication device; or,

[0334] The fourth communication device receives the AI computing results from the N functional entities and sends the AI computing results to the second communication device or the first communication device; where the ninth information is determined based on the request of the first communication device.

[0335] Specifically, the fourth communication device can also, through the above-mentioned multiple methods, enable the first communication device to obtain the AI computing results from the N functional entities, or enable the second communication device to learn about the execution results of the AI computing task.

[0336] Based on Figure 8 technical solution, when the second communication device is AIMF and the fourth communication device is CMF, AIMF can initiate an AI computing offloading request to CMF. CMF generates an AI computing offloading task and replies with the result information of AI computing offloading to AIMF, that is, to provide AI services through the collaborative workflow of AIMF and CMF. Among them, the service requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities. Among them, the N functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the service requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0337] As an implementation example of Implementation Mode 2, when the second communication device is CMF and the service type requested by the first communication device is CaaS, it can be implemented through the Figure 9 scheme shown.

[0338] As Figure 9 shown, it is another schematic diagram of the implementation of the communication method provided by this application. The method includes the following steps.

[0339] S901. The first communication device sends the first information. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first information. Among them, the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes the type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is CaaS.

[0340] It should be noted that the implementation process of the first information can refer to the description of Figure 3 / Figure 5b and related embodiments. For example, the first information may further include one or more of the previously described Information B, Information C, etc.

[0341] Optionally, the first information received by the second communication device includes type information for indicating that the type of the service is CaaS, and the tenth information sent by the second communication device can be used to determine the N functional entities that provide the AI computing result. Correspondingly, in the Figure 9 and related implementation processes, the second communication device can be understood as CMF, or a CMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0342] S902. The second communication device sends the tenth information. Correspondingly, the fifth communication device receives the tenth information. Among them, the tenth information is used to request the AI computing result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine the N functional entities that provide the AI computing result, where N is a positive integer.

[0343] Optionally, after receiving the tenth information for requesting the AI calculation result of the service, the fifth communication device first generates an AI calculation task, and then sends the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities. The AI calculation task information includes the N functional entities for providing the AI calculation result.

[0344] Optionally, the tenth information received by the fifth communication device is used to request the AI calculation result of the service, and the fifth communication device can provide the AI calculation result in multiple ways, that is, the fifth communication device can provide services of the AIaaS type. Correspondingly, in Figure 9 and related implementation processes, the fourth communication device can be understood as an AIMF, or an AIMF node / module / network element, etc.

[0345] Optionally, when the second communication device is a CMF and the fifth communication device is an AIMF, after S902, the AIMF can generate a task for transmitting AI data / AI model according to the AI model / AI data request. In this process, the AIMF can further initiate an AI data / AI model collection task to the DMF, referring to the collaborative work process between the AIMF and the DMF. The AIMF issues the AI data / AI model transmission task to the network node for execution.

[0346] In a possible implementation manner, Figure 9 the method shown further includes:

[0347] The second communication device receives the AI calculation task information from the fifth communication device, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI calculation result; or

[0348] The second communication device receives the AI calculation result from the fifth communication device and sends the AI calculation result to the first communication device.

[0349] Specifically, the second communication device can implement the first communication device to obtain the AI calculation results provided by the N functional entities through the above-mentioned multiple ways, so as to improve the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0350] In a possible implementation manner, Figure 9 the method shown further includes:

[0351] The fifth communication device sends the AI calculation task information to the second communication device; or,

[0352] The fifth communication device receives the AI calculation results from the N functional entities and sends the AI calculation results to the second communication device or the first communication device.

[0353] Specifically, the fifth communication device can also enable the first communication device to obtain the AI calculation results from the N functional entities through the above-mentioned various methods, or enable the second communication device to learn about the execution results of the AI calculation task.

[0354] Optionally, the AI calculation task information includes at least one of the following: the forwarding path of the AI calculation results among the N functional entities, the identifiers of the N functional entities, AI model information, and AI training set information.

[0355] Optionally, the AI calculation results include the model parameters and / or AI data of the AI model.

[0356] Based on Figure 9 In the technical solution shown, when the second communication device is a CMF and the fifth communication device is an AIMF, the CMF can request AI data / AI models from the AIMF, and the AIMF generates an AI data / AI model transfer task and notifies the CMF of the AI data / AI model transfer results, that is, provides computing services through the collaborative workflow of the CMF and the AIMF. Among them, the services requested by the first communication device can be provided by the N functional entities, where the N functional entities can be deployed on (and / or connected to) one or more communication devices, that is, through one or more communication devices, data can be provided for the services requested by the first communication device. Thus, in the communication system, the one or more communication devices can provide services based on the requests of other communication devices, and through the collaborative work of different communication devices, the utilization rate of the data processing capabilities of the communication devices can be improved.

[0357] It should be noted that Figures 6 to 9 The processes of the CMF, DMF, and AIMF working together given in the above four implementation methods can occur simultaneously, or can occur successively without distinguishing the order, and the steps in different implementation methods can be applied to each other (or combined with each other).

[0358] Please refer to Figure 10 , an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 1000. The communication device 1000 can implement the functions of the communication devices (such as the first communication device, the second communication device, the third communication device, the fourth communication device, or the fifth communication device) in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 1000 can be a terminal device (or a network device), or an integrated circuit or component inside the terminal device (or the network device), such as a chip.

[0359] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the first communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the processing unit 1001 is used to determine first information; the transceiver unit 1002 is used to send the first information to a second communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, and N is a positive integer; the transceiver unit 1002 is further used to receive service data from the N functional entities.

[0360] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is used to receive the first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, and N is a positive integer; the processing unit 1001 is used to determine second information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further used to send the second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0361] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is used to receive the first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the processing unit 1001 is used to determine sixth information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further used to send the sixth information to a third communication device according to the first information, and the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the transceiver unit 1002 is further used to receive seventh information from the third communication device, and the seventh information is used to indicate resource status information of one or more functional entities; the first information and the seventh information are used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities; the transceiver unit 1002 is further used to send the second information to the N functional entities, and the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0362] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the third communication device in the foregoing embodiments, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive sixth information from a second communication device, and the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the processing unit 1001 is configured to determine seventh information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the seventh information to the second communication device, and the seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities; the seventh information is used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities.

[0363] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiments, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the processing unit 1001 is configured to determine eighth information according to the first information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the eighth information to a third communication device, and the eighth information is used to request AI data of the service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer.

[0364] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the third communication device in the foregoing embodiments, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive eighth information from a second communication device, and the eighth information is used to request AI data of a service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to receive the AI data from the N functional entities and send the AI data to the second communication device; or, the processing unit 1001 is configured to determine pipeline orchestration information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device; wherein, the pipeline orchestration information includes a forwarding path of the AI data among the N functional entities, and / or, identifiers of the N functional entities; or, the third communication device sends the pipeline orchestration information to the N functional entities.

[0365] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the processing unit 1001 is configured to determine ninth information according to the first information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the ninth information to a fourth communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

[0366] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the fourth communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive ninth information from a second communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; the transceiver unit is further configured to determine AI calculation task information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0367] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the processing unit 1001 is configured to determine tenth information according to the first information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the tenth information to a fifth communication device, where the tenth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

[0368] In a possible implementation, when the device 1000 is used to execute the method performed by the fifth communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the device 1000 includes a processing unit 1001 and a transceiver unit 1002; the transceiver unit 1002 is configured to receive tenth information from a second communication device, where the tenth information is used to request the AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; the processing unit 1001 is configured to determine AI calculation task information; the transceiver unit 1002 is further configured to send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0369] It should be noted that for the information execution process and the like of the units of the foregoing communication device 1000, reference may specifically be made to the description in the method embodiment shown in the foregoing of this application, and details are not described herein again.

[0370] Please refer to Figure 11 , which is another schematic structural diagram of the communication device 1100 provided in this application. The communication device 1100 includes a logic circuit 1101 and an input / output interface 1102. Among them, the communication device 1100 may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0371] Among them, Figure 10 the shown transceiver unit 1002 may be a communication interface, and this communication interface may be Figure 11 the input / output interface 1102 in, and the input / output interface 1102 may include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, this communication interface may also be a transceiver circuit, and the transceiver circuit may include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0372] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the first communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the logic circuit 1101 is configured to determine first information; the input / output interface 1102 is configured to send the first information to a second communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, and N is a positive integer; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to receive service data from the N functional entities.

[0373] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is configured to receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, and N is a positive integer; the logic circuit 1101 is configured to determine second information; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to send the second information to the N functional entities, where the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0374] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is configured to receive first information from the first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the logic circuit 1101 is configured to determine sixth information; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to send the sixth information to the third communication device according to the first information, where the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to receive seventh information from the third communication device, where the seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of one or more functional entities; the first information and the seventh information are used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to send second information to the N functional entities, where the second information is used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

[0375] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the third communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is configured to receive sixth information from the second communication device, where the sixth information is used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; the logic circuit 1101 is configured to determine seventh information; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to send the seventh information to the second communication device, where the seventh information is used to indicate the resource status information of one or more functional entities; the seventh information is used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities.

[0376] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is configured to receive first information from the first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the logic circuit 1101 is configured to determine eighth information according to the first information; the input / output interface 1102 is further configured to send the eighth information to the third communication device, where the eighth information is used to request AI data of the service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, and N is a positive integer.

[0377] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the third communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is used to receive eighth information from the second communication device, where the eighth information is used to request AI data of a service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, and N is a positive integer; the input / output interface 1102 is further used to receive the AI data from the N functional entities and send the AI data to the second communication device; or, the logic circuit 1101 is used to determine pipeline orchestration information; the input / output interface 1102 is further used to send the pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device; where the pipeline orchestration information includes a forwarding path of the AI data among the N functional entities and / or identifiers of the N functional entities; or, the third communication device sends the pipeline orchestration information to the N functional entities.

[0378] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is used to receive first information from the first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; the logic circuit 1101 is used to determine ninth information according to the first information; the input / output interface 1102 is further used to send the ninth information to the fourth communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

[0379] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the fourth communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is used to receive ninth information from the second communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; the transceiver unit is further used to determine AI calculation task information; the input / output interface 1102 is further used to send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0380] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the second communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is used to receive first information from the first communication device, and the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; the logic circuit 1101 is used to determine tenth information according to the first information; the input / output interface 1102 is further used to send the tenth information to the fifth communication device, and the tenth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, where N is a positive integer.

[0381] In a possible implementation, when the device 1100 is used to execute the method performed by the fifth communication device in the foregoing embodiment, the input / output interface 1102 is used to receive tenth information from the second communication device, and the tenth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, where N is a positive integer; the logic circuit 1101 is used to determine AI calculation task information; the input / output interface 1102 is further used to send the AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result.

[0382] In a possible implementation, Figure 10 the processing unit 1001 shown may be Figure 11 the logic circuit 1101 in

[0383] Optionally, the logic circuit 1101 may be a processing device, and the functions of the processing device may be implemented partially or entirely by software. Among them, the functions of the processing device may be implemented partially or entirely by software.

[0384] Optionally, the processing device may include a memory and a processor. Among them, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding processing and / or steps in any method embodiment.

[0385] Optionally, the processing device may only include a processor. The memory for storing the computer program is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected to the memory through a circuit / wire to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory. Among them, the memory and the processor may be integrated together, or may also be physically independent of each other.

[0386] Optionally, the processing device may be one or more chips or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), system on chips (SoCs), central processor units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processing circuits (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any combination of the above chips or processors, etc.

[0387] Please refer to Figure 12 , for the communication device 1200 involved in the above embodiments provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 1200 may specifically be the communication device acting as a terminal device in the above embodiments. Figure 12 The example shown is implemented by the terminal device (or components in the terminal device).

[0388] Among them, a possible schematic logical structure diagram of the communication device 1200. The communication device 1200 may include but is not limited to at least one processor 1201 and a communication port 1202.

[0389] Further optionally, the device may further include at least one of a memory 1203 and a bus 1204. In the embodiments of the present application, the at least one processor 1201 is used to control and process the actions of the communication device 1200.

[0390] In addition, the processor 1201 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure of the present application. The processor may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination including one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and so on. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0391] It should be noted that Figure 12 The communication device 1200 shown can specifically be used to implement the steps implemented by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments, and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the terminal device Figure 12 For the specific implementation manners of the communication device shown, reference can be made to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein one by one

[0392] Please refer to Figure 13 , which is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device 1300 involved in the foregoing embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 1300 can specifically be the communication device acting as a network device in the foregoing embodiments Figure 13 The example shown is implemented by a network device (or components in the network device). Among them, the structure of the communication device can refer to Figure 13 the structure shown

[0393] The communication device 1300 includes at least one processor 1311 and at least one network interface 1314. Further optionally, the communication device further includes at least one memory 1312, at least one transceiver 1313, and one or more antennas 1315. The processor 1311, the memory 1312, the transceiver 1313, and the network interface 1314 are connected, for example, by a bus. In the embodiments of the present application, this connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment does not make any limitation thereto. The antenna 1315 is connected to the transceiver 1313. The network interface 1314 is used to enable the communication device to communicate with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 1314 may include a network interface between the communication device and a core network device, such as an S1 interface, and the network interface may include a network interface between the communication device and other communication devices (such as other network devices or core network devices), such as an X2 or Xn interface

[0394] The processor 1311 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, and control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process data of software programs, for example, to support the communication device to execute the actions described in the embodiments. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processor. The baseband processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor is mainly used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process data of software programs Figure 13The processor 1311 therein may integrate the functions of a baseband processor and a central processor. Those skilled in the art can understand that the baseband processor and the central processor may also be separate processors interconnected through technologies such as a bus. Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, and the terminal device may include multiple central processors to enhance its processing capabilities. Each component of the terminal device may be connected through various buses. The baseband processor may also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processor may also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data may be built into the processor or stored in the memory in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing function.

[0395] The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 1312 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 1311. Optionally, the memory 1312 may be integrated with the processor 1311, for example, integrated within a single chip. Among them, the memory 1312 can store the program code for implementing the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application and be controlled by the processor 1311 for execution. Various types of computer program codes being executed can also be regarded as the driver programs of the processor 1311.

[0396] Figure 13 Only one memory and one processor are shown. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be a storage element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or an independent storage element. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard.

[0397] The transceiver 1313 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between a communication device and a terminal. The transceiver 1313 can be connected to the antenna 1315. The transceiver 1313 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1315 can receive radio frequency signals. The receiver Rx of the transceiver 1313 is used to receive the radio frequency signals from the antenna, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1311 so that the processor 1311 can further process the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1313 is also used to receive the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 1311, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and transmit the radio frequency signals through one or more antennas 1315. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one-stage or multi-stage down-conversion processing and analog-to-digital conversion processing on the radio frequency signals to obtain digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and the sequence of the down-conversion processing and the analog-to-digital conversion processing can be adjusted. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one-stage or multi-stage up-conversion processing and digital-to-analog conversion processing on the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to obtain radio frequency signals, and the sequence of the up-conversion processing and the digital-to-analog conversion processing can be adjusted. Digital baseband signals and digital intermediate frequency signals can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0398] The transceiver 1313 can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, the devices used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver unit can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the devices used to implement the transmitting function in the transceiver unit can be regarded as a transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit can also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit can be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0399] It should be noted that Figure 13 The illustrated communication device 1300 can specifically be used to implement the steps implemented by the network device in the foregoing method embodiments and achieve the corresponding technical effects of the network device. Figure 13 For the specific implementation manners of the illustrated communication device 1300, reference can be made to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein one by one.

[0400] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method as described in the possible implementation manners of the communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device) in the foregoing embodiments.

[0401] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product (or a computer program). When the computer program product is executed by the processor, the processor executes the methods of the possible implementation manners of the foregoing communication device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0402] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip system. The chip system includes at least one processor, which is used to support the communication device to implement the functions involved in the possible implementation manners of the foregoing communication device. Optionally, the chip system further includes an interface circuit, and the interface circuit provides program instructions and / or data for the at least one processor. In a possible design, the chip system may further include a memory, and the memory is used to store the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Among them, the communication device may specifically be the terminal device or the network device in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0403] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system. The network system architecture includes the first communication device and the second communication device in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0404] Optionally, the communication system further includes at least one of the foregoing third communication device, fourth communication device, and fifth communication device.

[0405] Optionally, the communication system further includes the foregoing N functional entities.

[0406] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0407] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0408] In addition, each functional unit in various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, may exist physically alone for each unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that makes a contribution, or all or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: Sending first information to a second communication device, the first information being used to request a service; the first information being used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; Receiving data of the service from the N functional entities.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The sending the first information to the second communication device includes: Sending the first information to the second communication device through a Network Exposure Function (NEF).

3. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receiving first information from a first communication device, the first information being used to request a service; the first information being used to determine N functional entities that provide the service, where N is a positive integer; Sending second information to the N functional entities, the second information being used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Receiving the first information from the first communication device includes: Receiving the first information from the first communication device through the NEF.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that It further includes: Obtaining third information, the third information being used to indicate resource status information of M functional entities, the M functional entities including the N functional entities, and M being greater than or equal to N.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The second information includes at least one of the following: An identifier of a task, a type of the task, a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of the task, a feedback trigger condition for QoS achievement of the task; where the task is used to provide the service.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The QoS requirement of the task includes one or more QoS requirements of the N functional entities.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The task satisfies at least one of the following: The first information is used to determine the identifier of the task; The first information includes type information of the service and / or content information of the service, and the type information of the service and / or the content information of the service are used to determine the type of the task; The first information includes the content information of the service, and the content information of the service is used to determine the QoS requirement of the task; The first information includes feedback trigger condition information of the service, and the feedback trigger condition information of the service is used to determine the feedback trigger condition for QoS achievement of the task.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that, It further includes: Receiving fourth information from the N functional entities, the fourth information being used to indicate the QoS achievement of the service; Based on the fourth information, sending fifth information to the N functional entities and / or the first communication device, the fifth information being used to update the QoS requirement of the task.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The first information includes at least one of the following: Type information of the service, used to indicate the type of the service, including at least one of Network as a Service, Compute as a Service, Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a Service, and Data as a Service; Content information of the service, used to indicate a demand for network resources, at least one of the QoS requirements of the service; Feedback trigger condition information of the service, used to indicate the feedback trigger condition for QoS achievement.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The feedback trigger condition for QoS achievement includes a QoS deviation degree and / or a threshold of a QoS deviation value.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive first information from a first communication device, the first information being used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service; Send sixth information to a third communication device according to the first information, the sixth information being used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities; Receive seventh information from the third communication device, the seventh information being used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities; the first information and the seventh information are used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities; Send second information to the N functional entities, the second information being used to indicate providing the service to the first communication device.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a third communication device, the method includes: Receive sixth information from a second communication device, the sixth information being used to request resource status information of one or more functional entities, where M is a positive integer; Send seventh information to the second communication device, the seventh information being used to indicate the resource status information of the one or more functional entities; the seventh information is used to determine N functional entities among the one or more functional entities.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The seventh information includes at least one of the following: Computing resource status information of the one or more functional entities, transmission status information of the network where the one or more functional entities are located.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive first information from a first communication device, the first information being used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service; Send eighth information to a third communication device according to the first information, the eighth information being used to request AI data of the service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, It further includes: Receive the AI data from the third communication device and send the AI data to the first communication device; or, Receive pipeline orchestration information from the third communication device and send the pipeline orchestration information to the first communication device; where the pipeline orchestration information includes the forwarding path of the AI data among the N functional entities, and / or, the identifiers of the N functional entities.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a third communication device, the method includes: Receive eighth information from a second communication device, the eighth information being used to request AI data of a service; the eighth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI data, where N is a positive integer; Receive the AI data from the N functional entities and send the AI data to the second communication device; or, the third communication device sends pipeline orchestration information to the second communication device; where the pipeline orchestration information includes the forwarding path of the AI data among the N functional entities, and / or, the identifiers of the N functional entities; or, the third communication device sends the pipeline orchestration information to the N functional entities.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is AI as a service. Send ninth information to a fourth communication device according to the first information, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, It further includes: Receive AI calculation task information from the fourth communication device, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result. Or, Receive indication information indicating a processing result of the service from the fourth communication device; or, Receive the AI calculation result from the fourth communication device and send the AI calculation result to the first communication device.

20. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a fourth communication device, the method includes: Receive ninth information from a second communication device, where the ninth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the ninth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; Send AI calculation task information to the N functional entities, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein It further includes: Send AI calculation task information to the second communication device, where the AI calculation offloading task is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result; or, Send indication information indicating a processing result of the service to the second communication device; or, Receive the AI calculation result from the N functional entities and send the AI calculation result to the second communication device or the first communication device; where the ninth information is determined based on a request from the first communication device.

22. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive first information from a first communication device, where the first information is used to request a service; the first information includes type information of the service, and the type information of the service is used to indicate that the type of the service is computing as a service. Send tenth information to a fifth communication device according to the first information, where the tenth information is used to request an AI calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein It further includes: Receive AI calculation task information from the fifth communication device, where the AI calculation task information is used to indicate task information for providing the AI calculation result. Or Receive the AI calculation result from the fifth communication device and send the AI calculation result to the first communication device.

24. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a fifth communication device, the method includes: Receive tenth information from a second communication device, where the tenth information is used to request an artificial intelligence (AI) calculation result of the service; and / or, the tenth information is used to determine N functional entities that provide the AI calculation result, and N is a positive integer; Send AI computing task information to the N functional entities, where the AI computing task information is used to indicate the task information for providing the AI computing result.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein It further includes: Send the AI computing task information to the second communication device; Or, Receive the AI computing result from the N functional entities, and send the AI computing result to the second communication device or the first communication device.

26. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 25, characterized in that The AI computing task information includes at least one of the following: The forwarding path of the AI computing result among the N functional entities, the identifiers of the N functional entities, AI model information, and AI training set information.

27. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 26, characterized in that, The AI computing result includes the model parameters of the AI model and / or AI data.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor, and the at least one processor is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

30. The communication device according to claim 29, wherein The communication device is a chip or a chip system.

31. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instruction is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 27 is implemented.

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