Access network architecture, communication method and device, communication equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses an access network architecture, a communication method and device, communication equipment and a storage medium. The method comprises the steps that the access network architecture comprises a first node and a second node; wherein the first node is used for completing transmission of signaling messages and service data between the first node and terminal equipment; the second node is used for completing transmission of a signaling message with the first node, and the signaling message is used for controlling configuration management of the terminal device and the first node; wherein a signaling message which needs to be configured to the terminal equipment is sent to the first node through the second node, and is sent to the terminal equipment through the first node; and sending a signaling message needing to be configured to the first node to the first node through the second node. Therefore, complete separation of functions of a protocol control plane and a user plane is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and in particular, to an access network architecture, a communication method, a device, a communication device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In the access network architecture, due to the continuous enhancement and forward compatibility of the user plane function, the functions of each layer protocol stack are increasing, the packet header overhead is increasing, and there are characteristics that some function mechanisms of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer and the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer are the same and the relationship between the two is too close. These characteristics will lead to problems such as stronger inter-layer coupling, high hardware resource requirements, and redundant configurations caused by the deployment of the same functions (encryption and integrity protection functions) on the control plane and the user plane. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide an access network architecture, a communication method, a device, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product.

[0004] In a first aspect, an access network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application is characterized in that the access network architecture includes a first node and a second node; wherein,

[0005] The first node is configured to complete the transmission of signaling messages and service data between the first node and a terminal device;

[0006] The second node is configured to complete the transmission of signaling messages between the second node and the first node, and the signaling messages are used to control the configuration management of the terminal device and the first node; wherein, the signaling messages to be configured for the terminal device are sent to the first node through the second node and sent to the terminal device through the first node; the signaling messages to be configured for the first node are sent to the first node through the second node.

[0007] In a second aspect, a communication method provided by the present application is characterized in that it is applied to an access network architecture, the access network architecture includes a first node and a second node, the first node has a first protocol stack, and the second node has a second protocol stack; the method includes:

[0008] The first node receives first service data sent by a terminal device, processes the first service data through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed first service data to a core network user plane function; and / or, processes second service data through the first protocol stack and sends the processed second service data to the terminal device; and / or,

[0009] The first node receives a first signaling message sent by a terminal device, processes the first signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed first signaling message to the second node; and / or, receives a second signaling message sent by the second node, processes the second signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

[0010] In a third aspect, a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is characterized in that it is applied to a first node, the first node has a first protocol stack, and the device includes: a first communication unit and a first processing unit;

[0011] The first communication unit is configured to receive first service data sent by a terminal device; the first processing unit is configured to process the first service data through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed first service data to a core network user plane function; and / or,

[0012] The first communication unit is configured to receive second service data sent by a core network user plane function; the first processing unit is configured to process the second service data through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed second service data to the terminal device; and / or,

[0013] The first communication unit is configured to receive a first signaling message sent by a terminal device; the first processing unit is configured to process the first signaling message through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed first signaling message to a second node; and / or,

[0014] The first communication unit is configured to receive a second signaling message sent by the second node; the first processing unit is configured to process the second signaling message through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

[0015] In a fourth aspect, a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is characterized in that it is applied to a second node, the second node has a second protocol stack, and the device includes: a second communication unit and a second processing unit;

[0016] The second communication unit is configured to receive a first signaling message sent by a first node; the second processing unit is configured to process the first signaling message through the second protocol stack; and / or,

[0017] The second processing unit is configured to process a second signaling message through the second protocol stack, and the second communication unit is configured to send the processed second signaling message to a first node.

[0018] In a fifth aspect, a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application includes: a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute any of the above communication methods.

[0019] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium provided by an embodiment of the present application is configured to store a computer program, and the computer program causes a computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0020] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product provided by an embodiment of the present application includes computer program instructions, and the computer program instructions cause a computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0021] In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, through the above technical solution, the access network architecture is redefined. The access network architecture includes a first node and a second node. The first node has a first protocol stack for completing the transmission of signaling messages and service data between the first node and a terminal device. The first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer. The second node has a second protocol stack for completing the transmission of signaling messages between the second node and the first node. In this way, the protocol control plane and the user plane functions are completely separated. On the one hand, by setting up the data plane processing layer, the three-layer packet header is changed to a one-layer packet header to solve the problem of large packet header overhead, the retransmission function and the sorting function of the RLC layer and the PDCP layer are merged to solve the problem of multi-layer retransmission and reordering, and the problem that the PDCP layer continues to transmit while losing control packets, resulting in the RLC layer data exceeding the window overflow is solved. On the other hand, because the encryption and integrity protection functions are uniformly processed in the data plane processing layer, the first protocol stack can directly complete the encryption and integrity protection processing without the need to complete this function through the central unit (CU) of the original architecture. Therefore, the signaling parallelization function is realized, the overall architecture is more reasonable and simple, the user plane data processing delay is reduced, and under the same requirements, the data plane processing of the entire system has lower hardware and memory requirements. Description of the Drawings

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0024] Figure 3Schematic diagram of the data format corresponding to a protocol layer in an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0025] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of a network architecture in an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ;

[0026] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a protocol stack in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the data format corresponding to a protocol layer in an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0028] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a data packet in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of data transmission corresponding to a protocol layer in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the process of a communication method in an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0031] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the process of a communication method in an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0032] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the structural composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0033] Figure 12 Schematic diagram of the structural composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0034] Figure 13 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0035] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, rather than all, of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0036] To facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the related technologies in the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following related technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0037] It should be noted that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this article. The term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. It should also be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or a representation of an association relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that A directly indicates B. For example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B. For example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association relationship between A and B. It should also be understood that the "correspondence" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can represent a direct or indirect corresponding relationship between the two, can also represent an association relationship between the two, or can be relationships such as indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured.

[0038] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 。 Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 。As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the network architecture includes a radio access network (RAN) and a core network. Among them, the access network architecture adopts a separated architecture of a distributed unit (DU) and a centralized unit (CU), simply referred to as the DU-CU separated architecture. Figure 2 The dotted line in Figure 2The solid lines therein correspond to user plane interactions. In the DU-CU split architecture, the RAN side is divided into two logical nodes, namely CU and DU. Among them, the Service Data Adaption Protocol (SDAP) layer and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer are located in the CU, and the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the Physical (PHY) layer are located in the DU. In the DU-CU split architecture, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer is located in the CU. The CU adopts an architecture with separation of the Control Plane (CP) and the User Plane (UP), and is separated into two nodes, namely CU CP and CU UP, which are connected by an E1 interface. The E1 interface provides the control plane functions between CU CP and CU UP, including application protocols and the signaling bearer for transmitting application protocol messages. Since there is only the signaling control function between the base station side entities between CU CP and CU UP, both CU CP and CU UP are deployed with encryption and integrity protection functions. Among them, CU CP completes the encryption and integrity protection functions of terminal control messages, and CU UP completes the data plane encryption and integrity protection functions. There is an NG interface between the RAN and the core network, which is used to transmit the control signaling and user data between the RAN and the core network. The NG Control Plane (NG-C) interface is the logical interface between the RAN and the AMF node, and the NG User Plane (NG-U) interface provides the user data transmission function between the RAN and the UPF. The F1 interface is the internal interface of the RAN node, which is used to transmit the control signaling and user data between the DU and the CU. The F1 interface is divided into the control plane (F1-C) and the user plane (F1-U), where F1-C provides the control function between the DU and the CU, and F1-U provides the user data transmission function between the DU and the CU. As Figure 2 shown, an XN control plane interface (XN-C) and a user plane function interface (XN-U) are defined between two logically connected RAN nodes. The control signaling between the RAN nodes is transmitted through XN-C; the user plane data between the RAN nodes is transmitted through XN-U.

[0039] Figure 3 is the schematic diagram of the data format corresponding to the protocol layer of the embodiment of the present application Figure 1For a protocol layer, the data received from the upper layer is called the Service Data Unit (SDU), and the data generated after adding the corresponding protocol layer header after being processed by this protocol layer is called the Protocol Data Unit (PDU). From the perspective of the user plane data processing flow, the user plane data first reaches the SDAP layer in the form of QoS flows. The SDAP layer is responsible for mapping the data of different QoS flows to different DRBs, and adding the QoS flow identifier to the data according to the network configuration to generate the SDAP PDU (Packet Data Unit) and deliver it to the PDCP layer. The PDCP layer performs relevant processing on the SDAP PDU (i.e., the PDCP SDU), including header compression, encryption, integrity protection, etc., and generates the PDCP PDU and delivers it to the RLC layer. The RLC layer processes the RLC SDU according to the configured RLC mode, such as the segmentation of the RLC SDU and the retransmission management. The MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing the data of the logical channels into a MAC PDU (also called a transport block), and this MAC PDU can include multiple RLC SDUs or segments of the RLC SDU. A MAC PDU can contain one or more SDUs. One MAC SDU can correspond to a complete RLC SDU or a segment of an RLC SDU. Table 1 shows the functions of the RLC layer, PDCP layer, and SDAP layer. As shown in Table 1, the high-level protocol stack mainly completes the data processing function to ensure the guaranteed transmission of data according to the service type of Quality of Service (QoS). Among them, the function of the SDAP layer is to be responsible for the mapping between the QoS flow and the Data Radio Bearer (DRB). The function of the PDCP layer is to be responsible for functions such as encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, serial number generation (Serial Number, SN), reordering, in-sequence or out-of-sequence delivery of data, SDU discard, duplicate discard, reconstruction, retransmission based on status reports, etc. The function of the RLC layer is to be responsible for functions such as RLC SDU packet segmentation, recombination, error detection, Automatic Repeat-reQuest (ARQ) function, serial number SN generation, sorting function, duplicate detection, SDU discard, reconstruction, retransmission based on status reports, etc. However, due to the continuous enhancement and forward compatibility of the 5G user plane function, the concept of the user plane protocol stack layer has become "thicker and thicker", resulting in the problem of increasing header overhead. The function of the SDAP protocol layer is too simple, and the functional mechanisms of the PDCP and RLC layers are the same and closely related, both having retransmission functions and sorting functions, which makes the protocol stack functions cumbersome and bloated, and there is a problem of redundant function deployment. Therefore, the following technical solutions of the embodiments of this application are proposed.

[0040] Table 1

[0041]

[0042] To facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above related technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and all of them fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least some of the following contents. It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to future mobile communication systems, such as 6G systems.

[0043] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 , as Figure 4 shown, an embodiment of the present application provides an access network architecture, and the access network architecture includes a first node and a second node. Among them, the first node is used to complete the transmission of signaling messages and service data between the first node and the terminal device; the second node is used to complete the transmission of signaling messages between the second node and the first node, and the signaling messages are used to control the configuration management of the terminal device and the first node; among them, the signaling messages that need to be configured for the terminal device are sent to the first node through the second node and sent to the terminal device through the first node; the signaling messages that need to be configured for the first node are sent to the first node through the second node.

[0044] Here, the first node may be a DU, the second node may be a CU, and the first node and the second node may also have other names, which are not limited in the present application. Specifically, referring to Figure 4, the RRC layer is located in the second node, the data plane process layer (DPPL), and the MAC layer are located in the first node. There is an NG user plane interface (NG-U interface) between the first node and the core network, and the first node can directly receive service data sent by the core network. There is only a control interface between the first node and the second node, and the functions of this interface implement the control plane functions, including application protocols, and a signaling bearer for transmitting application protocol messages. This control interface can be called the E1 interface or the F1-C interface, and it can also have other names, which are not limited in this application. The first node receives signaling messages sent by the second node, processes them, and then sends them to the terminal. The first node can complete the transmission of signaling messages and service data between the base station and the terminal device, where the encryption and integrity protection functions only reside in the first node. There is an NG control plane interface (NG-C interface) between the second node and the core network. The second node only receives signaling messages sent by the core network. The second node sends the signaling messages that need to be configured for the first node and the terminal device to the first node according to the signaling messages. The first node sends the air interface signaling messages to the terminal device to complete the control synchronization between the base station device and the terminal device.

[0045] As can be seen from the above, an access network architecture provided by an embodiment of this application, by setting the first node and the second node in the access network architecture, the first node has a first protocol stack, the second node has a second protocol stack, the first node completes the transmission of signaling messages and service data with the terminal device, and the second node completes the transmission of signaling messages with the first node. In this way, the protocol control plane and the user plane functions are completely separated. On the one hand, by setting the data plane processing layer, it is realized that the three-layer packet header becomes a one-layer packet header to solve the problem of large packet header overhead, the retransmission function and sorting function of the RLC layer and the PDCP layer are combined to solve the problem of multi-layer retransmission and reordering, and the problem that the PDCP layer continues to transmit while losing control data packets, resulting in the RLC layer data exceeding the window overflow. On the other hand, because the encryption and integrity protection functions are uniformly processed in the data plane processing layer, the first protocol stack can directly complete the encryption and integrity protection processing without having to complete this function through the central unit CU of the original architecture. Therefore, the signaling parallelization function is realized, the overall architecture is more reasonable and simple, while reducing the user plane data processing delay, the data plane processing of the entire system requires less hardware and memory under the same requirements.

[0046] In the embodiment of this application, when there are multiple first nodes in the access network architecture, there is a first interface between different first nodes, and the first interface is used to transmit signaling messages and service data between different first nodes.

[0047] In some embodiments, the first interface is used to transmit signaling messages and service data between different first nodes, and the signaling messages are no longer limited to the primary cell (in the traditional RAN architecture, the control messages of multiple cells can only be transmitted in the primary cell). Refer to Figure 4 , the first interface may be called the DN interface, and the first interface may also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0048] In the embodiments of this application, when there are multiple second nodes in the access network architecture, there is a second interface between different second nodes, and the second interface is used to transmit signaling messages between different second nodes.

[0049] In some embodiments, the second node no longer includes a data transmission function and only transmits signaling messages, realizing a complete separation of the data plane and the signaling plane at a high level. Here, refer to Figure 4 , the second interface may be called the XN-C interface, and the second interface may also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0050] As can be seen from the above, an access network architecture provided by the embodiments of this application simplifies the access network interface by setting the first interface and the second interface. On the one hand, while reducing the data plane interface, it reduces the user plane data processing delay and simplifies the network architecture; on the other hand, the data that needs to be transmitted between base stations is transmitted through the first interface. Transmitting through the first interface can carry the timing and scheduling information of the MAC layer, which is used for scheduling and timing synchronization between the first nodes. In this way, the capabilities of the first interface are no longer limited to a fixed function of a certain layer.

[0051] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack provided by the embodiments of this application. As Figure 5 shown, the first node has a first protocol stack, and the second node has a second protocol stack. Among them, the first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer DPPL, a media access control layer MAC, and a physical layer PHY. The second protocol stack includes a radio resource control layer RRC; among them, the DPPL layer is above the MAC layer, and the MAC layer is above the PHY layer; the RRC layer is used to control each layer of the first protocol stack of the first node.

[0052] In some embodiments, the implementation of the first protocol stack and the second protocol stack may, but is not limited to, the following manner: the first protocol stack includes DPPL entities, MAC entities, and PHY entities. The second protocol stack includes an RRC entity, which has all the functions of the RRC entity, including interface functions such as NG-C and XN-C.

[0053] In the above solution, the DPPL entity is a newly defined entity. The DPPL entity has all the capabilities of the PDCP entity, RLC entity, and SDAP entity. The functions of the DPPL entity are the same-kind simplification and combination of the functions of the PDCP entity, RLC entity, and SDAP entity. The DPPL entity can be called a data plane processing layer entity. Of course, the DPPL entity can also have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0054] Here, refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 which is a schematic diagram of the data format corresponding to a protocol layer provided by an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 . As Figure 6 shown, in the process of processing user-plane data, the user-plane data first reaches the DPPL layer in the form of QoS flows. The DPPL layer is responsible for mapping the data of different QoS flows to different DRBs, and adding the QoS flow identifier to the data according to the network configuration. The QoS flow identifier is optional according to the configuration message, and three appropriate modes are configured according to the requirements of the QoS flow for the function processing of the DPPLSDU, and finally a DPPL PDU is generated. The MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing the data of the logical channels into a MAC PDU, and this MAC PDU can include one or more DPPL PDUs or a segmented part of a DPPL PDU. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a data packet provided by an embodiment of this application, which is an example of the data packet format of the DPPL layer. Among them, QoS Flow is the finest granularity of QoS control from the core network to the terminal, and each QoS Flow is identified by a QFI (QoS Flow ID). Within a PDU session, the QFI of each QoS Flow is unique. As Figure 7 shown, in the first mode and the second mode, a case with and without QFI is respectively exemplified, which mainly represents the main information content of the data packet, and the reserved bits and the lengths of each field need to be defined according to the actual situation.

[0055] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of data transmission corresponding to a protocol layer provided by an embodiment of this application. Figure 8 represents the traffic flow diagrams of downlink data and signaling under different QoS scenarios. The base station side receives different QoS requirements, selects three modes according to the requirements, and completes the user-plane mapping of QoS flow to the radio bearer DRB. After the DPPL on the UE side receives a DPPL PDU of a QoS flow from the lower layer, the DPPL entity is received to perform the reverse mapping of QoS flow to DRB, that is, map the uplink QoS flow to the DRB according to the indication of the DPPL header. As Figure 8As shown, in the scenario of dual-connected multi-cell processing or handover, the data processing locations of data splitting, data forwarding, and data retransmission are after the data is processed at the DPPL layer and the DPPL PDU is generated. The location where the multi-cell data processing function is located also determines that during multi-cell processing, the processing above the DPPL layer of different cells is based on one cell entity, and the control information of different cells only has different configurations at the MAC layer and below.

[0056] As can be seen from the above, an access network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application, by introducing the DPPL layer, proposes to merge the SDAP layer, the RLC layer, and the PDCP layer, so that the number of data processing layers after merging is reduced, the functions are normalized, the data transmission link is shorter, and the end-to-end delay is reduced. At the same time, the air interface signaling process is more concise. In the case of dual connectivity, only one DPPL layer is used for multiple cells, and the configurations above the DPPL layer on the network side and the terminal side are the same, and the configuration management no longer configures the DPPL layer and above.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present application, the data plane processing layer has multiple modes, and the multiple modes include a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode. Here, the first mode can be called the Acknowledge Mode (AM), the second mode can be called the Unacknowledge Mode (UM), and the third mode can be called the Transparent Mode (TM). Of course, the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode may also have other names, and the present application does not limit this. The data transmission functions of the data plane processing layer in the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode are described below.

[0058] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer with the first mode has an Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) function and a Sequence Number (SN) function.

[0059] It should be noted that the SN function of the DPPL entity with the first mode refers to the ability characteristics based on the SN sequence number sorting of the DPPL entity, including functions such as sorting, duplicate detection, in-sequence delivery, and packet loss detection.

[0060] Here, during the DPPL layer data transmission process in AM mode, a DPPL PDU is generated for each DPPL SDU. Under normal circumstances, when the AM DPPL entity receives a transmission opportunity indication from the MAC layer, it directly delivers the DPPL PDU with the DPPL header added to the MAC layer. If the AMD PDU contains a segment of a DPPL SDU, the SN information is included in the AMD PDU header. However, when the authorized resources indicated by the transmission opportunity are less than the DPPL PDU requirements, the AM DPPL entity sender will segment the current DPPL SDU and update the corresponding DPPL header to adapt to the DPPL PDU size indicated by the underlying layer. The AM DPPL entity has an automatic repeat request (ARQ) function, which supports the retransmission of DPPL SDUs or DPPL SDU segments. Specifically, when the size of the DPPL SDU or DPPL SDU segment to be retransmitted does not fit the DPPL PDU size indicated by the current MAC layer, the DPPL SDU can be segmented or the DPPL SDU segment can be re-segmented, and the number of segmentations is not limited. During the DPPL layer data reception process in AM mode, after the AM DPPL entity receiver receives the AMD PDU, it detects whether the AMD PDU is received repeatedly. If it is repeated, the AMD PDU is deleted; it detects the loss of the AMD PDU at the MAC layer and requests the peer end of the AM DPPL entity to retransmit; and it reconstructs the DPPL SDU from the received AMD PDU according to the SN information.

[0061] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer with the second mode does not have an ARQ function but has an SN function.

[0062] It should be noted that the SN function of the DPPL entity with the second mode refers to the ability characteristics based on the SN sequence number sorting of the DPPL entity, including functions such as sorting, duplicate detection, and packet loss detection.

[0063] Here, during the DPPL layer data sending process in the UM mode, a UMD PDU is generated for each DPPL SDU, and the corresponding DPPL packet header is included in the UMD PDU. When the sending UM DPPL entity sends the UMD PDU to the MAC layer, the UMD PDU contains a segment of a DPPL SDU, and the SN information is included in the UMD PDU header. It is necessary to sort and reorganize the segmented DPPL SDU according to this SN information. During the DPPL layer data receiving process in the UM mode, when the UM DPPL entity receives the UMD PDU, it is necessary to detect whether there is a loss of segmentation of the DPPL SDU caused by the MAC layer, and reorganize the DPPL SDU from the received UMD PDU according to the SN information. If the UMD PDUs belonging to a certain DPPL SDU have been lost at the MAC layer, the other UMD PDUs belonging to the same DPPL SDU can no longer reorganize this DPPL SDU, so these UMD PDUs are deleted.

[0064] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer with the third mode has a pass-through function.

[0065] It should be noted that the pass-through function of the DPPL entity with the third mode means not processing the received data.

[0066] Here, during the DPPL layer data sending process in the TM mode, the DPPL SDU is formed into a TMD PDU, the DPPL SDU is not segmented, no DPPL packet header is added, and the DPPL SDU is directly sent to the MAC layer without any modification. The receiving TM DPPL entity directly sends the TMD PDU received from the MAC layer (that is, the DPPL SDU) to the upper layer without any modification.

[0067] From the above, it can be seen that a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application proposes to select the DPPL layer under three transmission modes based on QoS requirements, so that when data is forwarded, data forwarding occurs after the DPPL layer PDU above the MAC layer is generated. Since it is closer to the underlying data transmission, the accuracy of data forwarding can be improved. On the one hand, the problem of retransmission caused by RLC layer data being correctly transmitted but not delivered to the PDCP layer in time during data transmission in the prior art is solved; on the other hand, since the three layers are merged into one layer, the retransmission function and sorting function of the RLC and PDCP layers are merged, the problem of large header overhead and multi-layer retransmission and sorting functions is solved; on the other hand, the problem of the control PDU of the PDCP layer in the prior art is solved that the PDCP layer control PDU does not allocate the PDCP SN sequence number, only the data PDU is allocated a sequence number, but when the RLC layer is processed, the control PDU or the data PDU of the PDCP layer is not distinguished, and the SN sequence number is allocated to both. When the PDCP control data packet is lost, the PDCP layer does not perceive it, so the PDCP window slides normally, but the RLC layer can perceive that the PDCP layer control packet has not received feedback and there is packet loss, resulting in the inability to slide the window normally, causing the RLC layer data to overflow due to the continued transmission of the PDCP layer data. At the same time, the problem of decentralized deployment of the same functions caused by encryption and integrity protection in both CU-CP and CU-UP is solved.

[0068] In the embodiment of the present application, the data plane processing layer includes the following functions in the order of processing the data on the sending side: QoS data flow to DRB mapping function, SN allocation, header compression function, integrity protection, encryption function, segmentation or retransmission function, header addition function, data offload bearing, data routing function and data replication function; the data plane processing layer includes the following functions in the order of processing the data on the receiving side: header removal function, duplicate detection, reassembly or sorting function, decryption function, integrity protection verification, header decompression, DRB to QoS data flow mapping; or;

[0069] The data plane processing layer includes the following functions in the order of data processing on the sending side: QoS data flow to DRB mapping function, header and SN number addition, original data packet header compression, integrity protection, encryption function, segmentation and retransmission function, data packet header modification, data diversion bearing, data routing function and data replication function; the data plane processing layer includes the following functions in the order of data processing on the receiving side: header removal function, duplicate detection, reorganization or sorting function, decryption function, integrity protection verification, header decompression, DRB to QoS data flow mapping. The purpose of adding header first is to protect the integrity of the DPPL header, and the data header can be encrypted optionally to increase the security of data packets transmitted over the air interface.

[0070] Here, refer toFigure 8 , such as Figure 8 shown, the base station side receives different QoS requirements, selects three modes according to the requirements, and completes the user plane mapping of QoS flow to the radio bearer DRB. After the DPPL on the UE side receives a DPPL PDU of a QoS flow from the lower layer, the receiving DPPL entity performs the reverse mapping of the QoS flow to the DRB, that is, maps the uplink QoS flow to the DRB according to the indication of the DPPL packet header.

[0071] In some embodiments, the sending side receives different QoS requirements and completes the user plane mapping of the QoS flow to the radio bearer DRB. After completing the mapping function of the QoS data stream to the DRB, the data is sequentially processed for SN allocation, header compression (ROHC), integrity protection (Integrity protection), encryption (Ciphering), segmentation or retransmission (ARQ), adding a header (Add head), data splitting bearer (Split drb), data routing (Routing), and data duplication (Duplicate) function processing, and the processed DPPL PDU is sent to the lower layer and sent to the receiving side through the air interface. After the DPPL layer on the receiving side receives a DPPL PDU of a QoS flow from the lower layer, it sequentially performs header removal (Rem head), duplicate detection, recombination or sorting, decryption (Deciphering), integrity protection verification, decompression of the header, and mapping processing from the DRB to the QoS data stream, that is, maps the uplink QoS flow to the DRB according to the indication of the DPPL packet header.

[0072] In other embodiments, the sending side receives different QoS requirements and completes the user plane mapping of the QoS flow to the radio bearer DRB. After completing the mapping function of the QoS data stream to the DRB, the data is sequentially processed for adding a header and SN number, compression of the original data packet header, integrity protection, encryption, segmentation and retransmission, modification of the data packet header, data splitting bearer, data routing function, and data duplication function processing, and the processed DPPL PDU is sent to the lower layer and sent to the receiving side through the air interface. After the DPPL layer on the receiving side receives a DPPL PDU of a QoS flow from the lower layer, it sequentially performs header removal, duplicate detection, recombination or sorting, decryption, integrity protection verification, decompression of the header, and mapping from the DRB to the QoS data stream, that is, maps the uplink QoS flow to the DRB according to the indication of the DPPL packet header.

[0073] As can be seen from the above, an access network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application proposes a DPPL layer to merge the three layers of the SDAP layer, the RLC layer, and the PDAP layer. As a result, the SN functions of the same mechanism in the PDCP layer and the RLC layer are completely merged into a window sorting. While realizing the function of streamlining the protocol stack, it reduces the data sorting operations and data caching introduced by sorting-related operations, thus greatly reducing the processing volume of CPU resources and solving the problems of large packet header overhead, multi-layer retransmission, and sorting functions. On the other hand, it solves the problem that in the prior art, the control PDU of the PDCP layer is not assigned a PDCP SN sequence number, and only the data PDU is assigned a sequence number. However, when processing at the RLC layer, it does not distinguish between the control PDU and the data PDU of the PDCP layer, and both are assigned SN sequence numbers. When the control packet of the PDCP is lost, the PDCP layer is not aware of it. Therefore, the PDCP window slides normally, but the RLC layer can sense that the control packet of the PDCP layer has not received feedback and there is a packet loss, resulting in the inability to slide the window normally, causing the problem of RLC layer data exceeding the window due to the continuous transmission of PDCP layer data. On the other hand, it solves the problem of decentralized deployment of the same function caused by the existence of encryption and integrity protection in both the CU-CP and the CU-UP.

[0074] Figure 9 is a schematic flow chart of the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 , which is applied to the first node and the second node in the access network architecture. The first node has a first protocol stack, and the second node has a second protocol stack. As Figure 9 shown, the communication method includes at least one of the following steps:

[0075] Step 901, the first node receives the first service data sent by the terminal device, processes the first service data through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed first service data to the core network user plane function.

[0076] Here, the first node receives the first service data sent by the terminal device and processes the first service data through the first protocol stack.

[0077] In some embodiments, in step 901, processing the first service data through the first protocol stack and sending the processed first service data to the core network user plane function includes: processing the first service data through the PHY layer, and delivering the data obtained by the PHY layer processing to the MAC layer; processing the data from the PHY layer through the MAC layer, and delivering the data obtained by the MAC layer processing to the DPPL layer; processing the data from the MAC layer through the DPPL layer, and sending the data obtained by the DPPL layer processing to the core network user plane function.

[0078] Here, the first node receives the first service data sent by the terminal device, processes it through the PHY layer, and submits it to the MAC layer. The MAC layer decomposes and combines the MAC SDU received from the lower layer and submits it to the DPPL layer. The DPPL layer performs functional processing on the DPPL SDU received from the MAC layer and sends the processed data to the core network user plane function.

[0079] Step 902: The first node processes the second service data through the first protocol stack and sends the processed second service data to the terminal device.

[0080] Here, the first node directly receives the second service data sent by the core network. After processing the second service data through the first protocol stack, the first node sends it to the terminal device.

[0081] In some embodiments, step 902, processing the second service data through the first protocol stack and sending the processed second service data to the terminal device, includes: processing the second service data through the DPPL layer and submitting the data obtained by the DPPL layer processing to the MAC layer; processing the data from the DPPL layer through the MAC layer and submitting the data obtained by the MAC layer processing to the PHY layer; processing the data from the MAC layer through the PHY layer and sending the data obtained by the PHY layer processing to the terminal device.

[0082] Here, the second service data is processed through the DPPL layer. The DPPL layer is responsible for mapping the data of different QoS flows to different DRBs and adding the identifier of the QoS flow to the data according to the network configuration. The identifier related to the QoS flow is optionally added according to the configuration parameter, and the appropriate three modes are configured according to the QoS flow requirements for the functional processing of the DPPL SDU, and finally a DPPL PDU is generated. The MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing the received logical channels into a MAC PDU, and this MAC PDU can include one or more DPPL PDUs or a segmented section of a DPPL PDU. The data processed by the MAC layer is submitted to the PHY layer, and the data obtained by the PHY layer processing is sent to the terminal device.

[0083] Step 903: The first node receives the first signaling message sent by the terminal device, processes the first signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed first signaling message to the second node.

[0084] In some embodiments, the first node receives a first signaling message sent by a terminal device. The first signaling message is an RRC Setup Request message, which mainly carries information such as the initial identifier of the terminal and the reason for establishment. The first node processes the first signaling message, which carries configuration parameters of the PHY, MAC, and DPPL entities, and sends the processed first signaling message to the second node. At the same time, an RRC Setup message is generated at the DPPL layer and sent to the terminal device, implementing the process of triggering the parallel signaling processes of the second node and the terminal device by the first node.

[0085] Step 904: The first node receives a second signaling message sent by the second node, processes the second signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

[0086] In some embodiments, the second node receives a second signaling message sent by the core network. The second signaling message is used to control the configuration management of the terminal device and the first node. The second node sends the second signaling message that needs to be configured for the terminal device to the first node. The first node receives the second signaling message sent by the second node, processes the second signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

[0087] In some embodiments, the above step 903 can be implemented through the following related processes. Figure 10 It is a schematic flow of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 as Figure 10 shown. When the RRC connection establishment or bearer establishment process is triggered by the first node, it includes the following steps:

[0088] 1001: The first node receives a first signaling message sent by the terminal device, and obtains a service request message in the first signaling message through the first protocol stack.

[0089] Here, the first signaling message is an RRC MSG, such as an RRC establishment completion message. The first signaling message carries a NAS layer service request message.

[0090] 1002: The first node processes the first information, and sends the processed first signaling message carrying configuration parameters of the PHY, MAC, and DPPL entities to the second node. The second node receives the processed first signaling message sent by the first node, and the processed first signaling message carries a configuration parameter message. At the same time, the second node triggers the core network service establishment process.

[0091] In some embodiments, during the signaling message configuration process, if integrity protection and encryption of the signaling message are involved, the message process with the second node can be omitted in the above steps.

[0092] Optionally, when there is a secure context, the first section processes the first information, sends the processed first information carrying the configuration parameters of the PHY, MAC, and DPPL entities to the second node, and at the same time generates a reply message from the first node to the terminal device, and executes the message flow of step 904.

[0093] 1003. The second node sends a first signaling message to the first node. The first node receives the first signaling message sent by the second node. The first signaling message optionally carries a bearer configuration for configuring one or more bearers corresponding to a PDU session.

[0094] 1004. After the first node completes encryption and integrity protection for the first message, it sends the first signaling message to the terminal device. The first signaling message optionally carries a bearer configuration for configuring one or more bearers corresponding to a PDU session.

[0095] In some other embodiments, after the first node executes step 1001, it executes step 1004, that is, step 1004 can be located after step 1001. Specifically, the first node receives the first signaling message sent by the terminal device. After obtaining the service request message in the first signaling message through the first protocol stack, the first node processes the first signaling message and sends the first signaling message to the terminal device. The first signaling message optionally carries a bearer configuration.

[0096] As can be seen from the above, a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, by setting a first node and a second node in an access network architecture, the first node has a first protocol stack, the second node has a second protocol stack, the first node completes the transmission of signaling messages and service data with the terminal device, and the second node completes the transmission of signaling messages with the first node. In this way, the protocol control plane and user plane functions are completely separated. On the one hand, by setting up a data plane processing layer, it is possible to change from three-layer packet headers to one-layer packet headers to solve the problem of large packet header overhead, merge the retransmission function and sorting function of the RLC layer and PDCP layer to solve the problem of multi-layer retransmission and reordering, and solve the problem that the PDCP layer continues to transmit while losing control data packets, resulting in the RLC layer data exceeding the window overflow. On the other hand, because the encryption and integrity protection functions are uniformly processed in the data plane processing layer, the first protocol stack can directly complete the encryption and integrity protection processing without having to complete this function through the central unit CU of the original architecture. Therefore, the signaling parallelization function is realized, the overall architecture is more reasonable and simple, while reducing the user plane data processing delay, the data plane processing of the entire system has lower hardware and memory requirements under the same requirements.

[0097] In the embodiments of the present application, the first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer (DPPL), a media access control layer (MAC), and a physical layer (PHY); the second protocol stack includes a radio resource control layer (RRC); wherein, the data plane processing layer is above the media access control layer, and the media access control layer is above the physical layer; the RRC layer is used to control each layer of the first protocol stack of the first node.

[0098] Here, the DPPL entity is a newly defined entity. The DPPL entity has all the functions of the PDCP entity, the RLC entity, and the SDAP entity. The functions of the DPPL entity are the combination of the functions of the PDCP entity, the RLC entity, and the SDAP entity. The DPPL entity can be referred to as a data plane processing layer entity. Of course, the DPPL entity can also have other names, which are not limited in the present application.

[0099] Here, referring to Figure 6 , Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the data format corresponding to a protocol layer provided by the embodiments of the present application Figure 2 . As Figure 6 shown, from the process of processing user plane data, the user plane data first reaches the DPPL layer in the form of QoS flows. The DPPL layer is responsible for mapping the data of different QoS flows to different DRBs, and adding the identifier of the QoS flow to the data according to the network configuration. The identifier related to the QoS flow is optionally added according to the configuration parameters, and three appropriate modes are configured according to the requirements of the QoS flow for the function processing of the DPPL SDU, and finally the DPPL PDU is generated. The MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing the data of the logical channels into a MAC PDU, and this MAC PDU can include one or more DPPL PDUs or a segmented part of a DPPL PDU.

[0100] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a data packet provided by the embodiments of the present application, which is an example of the data packet format of the DPPL layer. Among them, QoS Flow is the finest granularity of QoS control from the core network to the terminal, and each QoS Flow is identified by a QFI (QoS Flow ID). Within a PDU session, the QFI of each QoS Flow is unique. As Figure 7 shown, in the first mode and the second mode, a case with and without QFI is respectively exemplified, which mainly represents the main information content of the data packet, and the reserved bits and the lengths of each field need to be defined according to the actual situation.

[0101] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of data transmission corresponding to a protocol layer provided by the embodiments of the present application. Figure 8It represents the traffic flow diagrams of data and signaling in the downlink direction under different QoS scenarios. The base station side receives different QoS requirements, selects three modes according to the requirements, and completes the user plane mapping of QoS flow to the radio bearer DRB. After the DPPL on the UE side receives a DPPL PDU of a QoS flow from the lower layer, the received DPPL entity performs the reverse mapping of the QoS flow to the DRB, that is, maps the uplink QoS flow to the DRB according to the indication of the DPPL packet header. As Figure 8 shown, in scenarios such as dual connectivity and multi-cell processing or handover, the data processing locations of data splitting, data forwarding, and data retransmission are after the DPPL layer processes the data and generates the DPPL PDU. The location where the multi-cell data processing function is located also determines that during multi-cell processing, the processing above the DPPL layer of different cells is based on a cell entity, and the control information of different cells only has different configurations at the MAC layer and below.

[0102] As can be seen from the above, an access network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application, by introducing the DPPL layer, proposes to merge the SDAP layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer, so that the number of data processing layers after merging is reduced, the functions are normalized, the data transmission link is shorter, and the end-to-end delay is reduced. At the same time, the air interface signaling process is more concise. In the case of dual connectivity, only one DPPL layer is used for multi-cells, and the configurations above the DPPL layer on the network side and the terminal side are the same, and the configuration management no longer configures the DPPL layer and above.

[0103] In an embodiment of the present application, the data plane processing layer has multiple modes, and the multiple modes include a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode. Here, the first mode can be called the Acknowledge Mode (AM), the second mode can be called the Unacknowledge Mode (UM), and the third mode can be called the Transparent Mode (TM). Of course, the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode may also have other names, and the present application does not limit this. The data transmission functions of the data plane processing layer in the first mode, the second mode, and the third mode are described below.

[0104] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer with the first mode has the Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) function and the Sequence Number (SN) function.

[0105] It should be noted that the SN function of the DPPL entity with the first mode means: the ability characteristics of the DPPL entity based on the SN sequence number sorting, including functions such as sorting, duplicate detection, in-sequence delivery, and packet loss detection.

[0106] Here, during the DPPL layer data transmission process in AM mode, DPPL PDUs are generated for each DPPL SDU. Under normal circumstances, when the AM DPPL entity receives the transmission opportunity indication from the MAC layer, it directly delivers the DPPL PDU with the DPPL header added to the MAC layer. The AMD PDU contains a segment of a DPPL SDU, and the SN information is included in the AMD PDU header. However, when the authorized resources indicated by the transmission opportunity are less than the DPPL PDU requirements, the sending end of the AM DPPL entity will segment the current DPPL SDU and update the corresponding DPPL header to adapt to the DPPL PDU size indicated by the underlying layer. The AM DPPL entity has an automatic repeat request (ARQ) function, which supports the retransmission of DPPL SDUs or segments of DPPL SDUs. When the size of the DPPL SDU or segment of the DPPL SDU to be retransmitted is not suitable for the DPPL PDU size indicated by the current MAC layer, the DPPL SDU can be segmented or the segments of the DPPL SDU can be re-segmented, and the number of segmentations is not limited. During the DPPL layer data reception process in AM mode, after the receiving end of the AM DPPL entity receives the AMD PDU, it detects whether the AMD PDU is received repeatedly. If it is repeated, the AMD PDU is deleted; it detects the loss of the AMD PDU at the MAC layer and requests the peer end of the AM DPPL entity to retransmit; and it reconstructs the DPPL SDU from the received AMD PDU according to the SN information.

[0107] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer with the second mode does not have an ARQ function but has an SN function.

[0108] It should be noted that the SN function of the DPPL entity with the second mode refers to the ability characteristics based on the sorting of SN serial numbers by the DPPL entity, including functions such as sorting, duplicate detection, and packet loss detection.

[0109] Here, during the process of sending DPPL layer data in UM mode, a UMD PDU is generated for each DPPL SDU, and the corresponding DPPL header is included in the UMD PDU. When the sending UM DPPL entity sends the UMD PDU to the MAC layer, the UMD PDU contains a segment of a DPPL SDU, and the SN information is included in the UMD PDU header. The segmented DPPL SDU needs to be sorted and reorganized according to this SN information. During the process of receiving DPPL layer data in UM mode, when the receiving UM DPPL entity receives the UMD PDU, it needs to detect whether there is a loss of segmentation of the DPPL SDU caused by the MAC layer, and reorganize the DPPL SDU from the received UMD PDU according to the SN information. If the UMD PDUs belonging to a certain DPPL SDU have been lost at the MAC layer, the other UMD PDUs belonging to the same DPPL SDU can no longer reorganize this DPPL SDU, so these UMD PDUs are deleted.

[0110] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer with the third mode has a pass-through function.

[0111] It should be noted that the pass-through function of the DPPL entity with the third mode means that the received data is not processed.

[0112] Here, during the process of sending DPPL layer data in TM mode, the DPPL SDU is formed into a TMD PDU, the DPPL SDU is not segmented, no DPPL header is added, and the DPPL SDU is directly sent to the MAC layer without any modification. The receiving TM DPPL entity directly sends the TMD PDU received from the MAC layer (that is, the DPPL SDU) to the upper layer without any modification.

[0113] From the above, it can be seen that a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application proposes to select the DPPL layer under three transmission modes based on QoS requirements, so that when data is forwarded, data forwarding occurs after the DPPL layer PDU above the MAC layer is generated. Since it is closer to the underlying data transmission, the accuracy of data forwarding can be improved. On the one hand, the problem of retransmission caused by RLC layer data being correctly transmitted but not delivered to the PDCP layer in time during data transmission in the prior art is solved; on the other hand, since the three layers are merged into one layer, the retransmission function and sorting function of the RLC and PDCP layers are merged, the problem of large header overhead and multi-layer retransmission and sorting functions is solved; on the other hand, the problem of the control PDU of the PDCP layer in the prior art is solved that the PDCP layer control PDU does not allocate the PDCP SN sequence number, only the data PDU is allocated a sequence number, but when the RLC layer is processed, the control PDU or the data PDU of the PDCP layer is not distinguished, and the SN sequence number is allocated to both. When the PDCP control data packet is lost, the PDCP layer does not perceive it, so the PDCP window slides normally, but the RLC layer can perceive that the PDCP layer control packet has not received feedback and there is packet loss, resulting in the inability to slide the window normally, causing the RLC layer data to overflow due to the continued transmission of the PDCP layer data. At the same time, the problem of decentralized deployment of the same functions caused by encryption and integrity protection in both CU-CP and CU-UP is solved.

[0114] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present application, the technical solution of the present application can be subjected to a variety of simple modifications, and these simple modifications all belong to the protection scope of the present application. For example, the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present application will not further explain various possible combinations. For another example, the various different embodiments of the present application can also be arbitrarily combined, as long as they do not violate the idea of the present application, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed in the present application. For another example, under the premise of no conflict, the various embodiments and / or the technical features in the various embodiments described in the present application can be arbitrarily combined with the prior art, and the technical solution obtained after the combination should also fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0115] It should also be understood that in various method embodiments of the present application, the terms "downlink" and "uplink" are used to indicate the transmission direction of signals or data, wherein "downlink" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of signals or data is a first direction from a site to a user equipment of a cell, and "uplink" is used to indicate that the transmission direction of signals or data is a second direction from a user equipment of a cell to a site.

[0116] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application Figure 1 , which is applied to the first node, such as Figure 11 shown, the communication device 1100 includes: a first communication unit 1101 and a first processing unit 1102;

[0117] The first communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the first service data sent by the terminal device; the first processing unit 1102 is configured to process the first service data through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit 1101 is further configured to send the processed first service data to the core network user plane function; and / or,

[0118] The first communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the second service data sent by the core network user plane function; the first processing unit 1102 is configured to process the second service data through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit 1101 is further configured to send the processed second service data to the terminal device; and / or,

[0119] The first communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the first signaling message sent by the terminal device; the first processing unit 1102 is configured to process the first signaling message through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit 1101 is further configured to send the processed first signaling message to the second node; and / or,

[0120] The first communication unit 1101 is configured to receive the second signaling message sent by the second node; the first processing unit 1102 is configured to process the second signaling message through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit 1101 is further configured to send the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

[0121] In some embodiments, the first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer DPPL, a media access control layer MAC, and a physical layer PHY; the second protocol stack includes a radio resource control layer RRC; wherein, the data plane processing layer is located above the media access control layer, and the media access control layer is located above the physical layer.

[0122] In some embodiments, the data plane processing layer has multiple modes, and the multiple modes include a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode; wherein, the data plane processing layer with the first mode has an automatic repeat request ARQ function and a sequence number SN function; the data plane processing layer with the second mode does not have the ARQ function but has the SN function; the data plane processing layer with the third mode has a transparent transmission function.

[0123] In some embodiments, the first processing unit 1102 is further configured to process the first service data through the PHY layer, and submit the data obtained by the PHY layer processing to the MAC layer; process the data from the PHY layer through the MAC layer, and submit the data obtained by the MAC layer processing to the DPPL layer; process the data from the MAC layer through the DPPL layer.

[0124] In some embodiments, the first communication unit 1101 is further configured to send the data obtained by the DPPL layer processing to the core network user plane function.

[0125] In some embodiments, the first processing unit 1102 is further configured to process the second service data through the DPPL layer, and submit the data obtained by the DPPL layer processing to the MAC layer; process the data from the DPPL layer through the MAC layer, and submit the data obtained by the MAC layer processing to the PHY layer; process the data from the MAC layer through the PHY layer.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first communication unit 1101 is further configured to send the data obtained by the PHY layer processing to the terminal device.

[0127] Those skilled in the art should understand that Figure 11 the implementation functions of the various units in the shown communication device can be understood with reference to the relevant descriptions of the foregoing method. Figure 11 The functions of the various units in the shown communication device can be implemented by a program running on a processor or by specific logic circuits.

[0128] Figure 12 is a schematic structural composition of the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application Figure 2 , applied to the second node, such as Figure 12 shown, the communication device includes 1200: a second communication unit and a second processing unit.

[0129] The second communication unit 1201 is configured to receive a first signaling message sent by the first node; the second processing unit 1202 is configured to process the first signaling message through the second protocol stack; and / or,

[0130] The second processing unit 1202 is configured to process a second signaling message through the second protocol stack, and the second communication unit 1201 is configured to send the processed second signaling message to the first node.

[0131] In some embodiments, the second protocol stack includes the RRC layer.

[0132] Those skilled in the art should understand that Figure 12The implementation functions of the units in the communication device shown can be understood with reference to the relevant descriptions of the foregoing method. Figure 12 The functions of the units in the communication device shown can be implemented by a program running on a processor or by specific logic circuits.

[0133] Figure 13 FIG. 1300 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a terminal device or a network device. Figure 13 The communication device 1300 shown includes a processor 1310. The processor 1310 may call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0134] Optionally, as Figure 13 shown, the communication device 1300 may further include a memory 1320. Among them, the processor 1310 may call and run a computer program from the memory 1320 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0135] Among them, the memory 1320 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1310 or may be integrated in the processor 1310.

[0136] Optionally, as Figure 13 shown, the communication device 1300 may further include a transceiver 1330. The processor 1310 may control the transceiver 1330 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0137] Among them, the transceiver 1330 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1330 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0138] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may specifically be the network device in the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1300 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be elaborated here.

[0139] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may specifically be the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1300 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be elaborated here.

[0140] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with the ability to process signals. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed and completed by the hardware decoding processor, or executed and completed by the combination of the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines its hardware to complete the steps of the above method.

[0141] It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include but not be limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0142] It should be understood that the above memory is by way of example but not limitation. For example, the memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a synch link DRAM (SLDRAM), and a direct rambus RAM (DR RAM), etc. That is to say, the memory in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include but not be limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0143] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program.

[0144] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0145] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0146] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, including computer program instructions.

[0147] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0148] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0149] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program.

[0150] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on the computer, it enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0151] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on the computer, it enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, details are not described herein again.

[0152] Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled professionals can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0153] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0154] In several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of devices or units can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0155] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or they can be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0156] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of this application can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0157] When the above-mentioned functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of this technical solution, can 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 this 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.

[0158] As described above, the above is only the specific implementation manner of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by this application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered by the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An access network architecture, characterized in that, The access network architecture includes a first node and a second node; wherein, The first node is used to complete the transmission of signaling messages and service data between the first node and the terminal device; The second node is used to complete the transmission of signaling messages between the second node and the first node, and the signaling messages are used to control the configuration management of the terminal device and the first node; wherein, the signaling messages to be configured for the terminal device are sent to the first node through the second node and then sent to the terminal device through the first node; the signaling messages to be configured for the first node are sent to the first node through the second node.

2. The access network architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that The first node has a first protocol stack, and the second node has a second protocol stack; wherein, the first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer (DPPL), a media access control layer (MAC), and a physical layer (PHY); the second protocol stack includes a radio resource control layer (RRC); wherein, the data plane processing layer is above the media access control layer, and the media access control layer is above the physical layer; the RRC layer is used to control each layer of the first protocol stack of the first node.

3. The access network architecture according to claim 2, wherein The data plane processing layer has multiple modes, and the multiple modes include a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode; wherein, The data plane processing layer with the first mode has an automatic repeat request (ARQ) function and a sequence number (SN) function; The data plane processing layer with the second mode does not have the ARQ function but has the SN function; The data plane processing layer with the third mode has a transparent transmission function.

4. The access network architecture according to claim 2, wherein, On the sending side, the data plane processing layer sequentially includes the following functions in the order of processing data: QoS data flow to DRB mapping function, SN allocation, header compression function, integrity protection, encryption function, segmentation or retransmission function, header addition function, data splitting and bearer, data routing function, and data replication function; on the receiving side, the data plane processing layer sequentially includes the following functions in the order of processing data: header removal function, duplicate detection, recombination or sorting function, decryption function, integrity protection verification, decompression of the header, DRB to QoS data flow mapping; Or; On the sending side, the data plane processing layer sequentially includes the following functions in the order of processing data: QoS data flow to DRB mapping function, header addition and SN number, compression of the original data packet header, integrity protection, encryption function, segmentation and retransmission function, modification of the data packet header, data splitting and bearer, data routing function, and data replication function; on the receiving side, the data plane processing layer sequentially includes the following functions in the order of processing data: header removal function, duplicate detection, recombination or sorting function, decryption function, integrity protection verification, decompression of the header, DRB to QoS data flow mapping.

5. The access network architecture according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that When there are multiple first nodes in the access network architecture, there is a first interface between different first nodes, and the first interface is used to transmit signaling messages and service data between different first nodes.

6. The access network architecture according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that In the case where there are multiple second nodes in the access network architecture, there is a second interface between different second nodes, and the second interface is used to transmit signaling messages between different second nodes.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to an access network architecture, the access network architecture includes a first node and a second node, the first node has a first protocol stack, and the second node has a second protocol stack; the method includes: The first node receives first service data sent by a terminal device, processes the first service data through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed first service data to the core network user plane function; and / or, processes second service data through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed second service data to the terminal device; and / or, The first node receives a first signaling message sent by the terminal device, processes the first signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed first signaling message to the second node; and / or, receives a second signaling message sent by the second node, processes the second signaling message through the first protocol stack, and sends the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer DPPL, a media access control layer MAC, and a physical layer PHY; the second protocol stack includes a radio resource control layer RRC; wherein, the data plane processing layer is above the media access control layer, and the media access control layer is above the physical layer; the RRC layer is used to control each layer of the first protocol stack of the first node.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The data plane processing layer has multiple modes, and the multiple modes include a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode; wherein, The data plane processing layer with the first mode has an automatic repeat request ARQ function and an SN function; The data plane processing layer with the second mode does not have an ARQ function but has an SN function; The data plane processing layer with the third mode has a transparent transmission function.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The process of processing the first service data through the first protocol stack and sending the processed first service data to the core network user plane function includes: Processing the first service data through the PHY layer, and delivering the data obtained by the PHY layer processing to the MAC layer; Processing the data from the PHY layer through the MAC layer, and delivering the data obtained by the MAC layer processing to the DPPL layer; Processing the data from the MAC layer through the DPPL layer, and sending the data obtained by the DPPL layer processing to the core network user plane function.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein The process of processing the second service data through the first protocol stack and sending the processed second service data to the terminal device includes: Processing the second service data through the DPPL layer, and delivering the data obtained by the DPPL layer processing to the MAC layer; Process the data from the DPPL layer through the MAC layer and deliver the data processed by the MAC layer to the PHY layer; Process the data from the MAC layer through the PHY layer and send the data processed by the PHY layer to the terminal device.

12. A communication device, characterized in that, Applied to a first node, the first node has a first protocol stack, and the device includes: a first communication unit and a first processing unit; The first communication unit is configured to receive first service data sent by a terminal device; the first processing unit is configured to process the first service data through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed first service data to the core network user plane function; and / or, The first communication unit is configured to receive second service data sent by the core network user plane function; the first processing unit is configured to process the second service data through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed second service data to the terminal device; and / or, The first communication unit is configured to receive a first signaling message sent by the terminal device; the first processing unit is configured to process the first signaling message through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed first signaling message to a second node; and / or, The first communication unit is configured to receive a second signaling message sent by the second node; the first processing unit is configured to process the second signaling message through the first protocol stack; the first communication unit is further configured to send the processed second signaling message to the terminal device.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein The first protocol stack includes a data plane processing layer DPPL, a media access control layer MAC, and a physical layer PHY; the second protocol stack includes a radio resource control layer RRC; wherein, the data plane processing layer is above the media access control layer, and the media access control layer is above the physical layer.

14. The device according to claim 13, characterized in that, The data plane processing layer has multiple modes, and the multiple modes include a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode; wherein, The data plane processing layer with the first mode has an automatic repeat request ARQ function and an SN function; The data plane processing layer with the second mode does not have an ARQ function but has an SN function; The data plane processing layer with the third mode has a transparent transmission function.

15. A communication device, characterized in that, Applied to a second node, the second node has a second protocol stack, and the device includes: a second communication unit and a second processing unit; The second communication unit is configured to receive a first signaling message sent by the first node; the second processing unit is configured to process the first signaling message through the second protocol stack; and / or, The second processing unit is configured to process a second signaling message through the second protocol stack, and the second communication unit is configured to send the processed second signaling message to the first node.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that, The second protocol stack includes an RRC layer.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: A processor and a memory for storing a computer program, the processor being configured to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 11.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, For storing a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 11.

19. A computer program product, characterized in that, Comprising computer program instructions that cause a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 11.

Images