Monitoring method and equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a monitoring method and equipment, and the method comprises the steps that a first terminal transmits a first data packet to a second terminal, and the packet header of the first data packet comprises at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein the first identifier is used for representing the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal; the first indication is used for indicating that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on the PC5. According to the embodiment of the invention, QoS monitoring on the PC5 between the first terminal and the second terminal can be realized.

Description

Monitoring methods and equipment Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a monitoring method and device. Background Art

[0002] In communication systems, there are QoS monitoring methods to meet service requirements. How to implement QoS monitoring on PC5 is a technical problem that needs to be solved.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a monitoring method and apparatus that can implement QoS monitoring on the PC5 port.

[0005] The present invention provides a monitoring method, including:

[0006] The first terminal sends a first data packet to the second terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0007] The first identifier is used to indicate a quality of service (QoS) flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0008] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0009] The present application also provides a monitoring method, including:

[0010] The second terminal receives a first data packet from the first terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0011] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0012] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0013] The present application also provides a monitoring method, including:

[0014] The first network element receives a first monitoring request, where the first monitoring request includes service flow description information and / or a monitored QoS type;

[0015] The first network element generates a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy according to the first monitoring request.

[0016] The present application also provides a monitoring method, including:

[0017] The second network element receives the QoS monitoring result on PC5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal;

[0018] The second network element aggregates the QoS monitoring result on PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from UE to UPF to obtain the end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0019] The embodiment of the present application further provides a first terminal, including:

[0020] The first sending module is configured to send a first data packet to the second terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0021] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0022] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0023] The embodiment of the present application further provides a second terminal, including:

[0024] The third receiving module is configured to receive a first data packet from the first terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0025] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0026] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0027] The embodiment of the present application further provides a first network element, including:

[0028] a fourth receiving module, configured to receive a first monitoring request, wherein the first monitoring request includes service flow description information and / or a monitored QoS type;

[0029] A generating module is used to generate a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy according to the first monitoring request.

[0030] This embodiment of the present application further provides a second network element, including:

[0031] A sixth receiving module, configured to receive a QoS monitoring result on the PC 5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal;

[0032] The second aggregation module is used to aggregate the QoS monitoring result on PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from UE to UPF to obtain the end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0033] The present application also provides a communication device including a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory and control the transceiver so that the device executes the above method.

[0034] The embodiment of the present application also provides a chip for implementing the above method.

[0035] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor, which is used to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0036] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which enables a device to execute the above method when the computer program is executed by the device.

[0037] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above method.

[0038] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal sends a first data packet to the second terminal, and carries a relevant identifier in the header of the first data packet, so as to implement QoS monitoring on the PC5 between the first terminal and the second terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present application.

[0041] FIG2 exemplarily shows a 5G network system architecture diagram.

[0042] FIG3 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a QoS monitoring process.

[0043] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an AI / ML architecture incorporating ProSe.

[0044] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an architecture model using ProSe 5G UE to network relay.

[0045] FIG6 is a flowchart of an implementation of a monitoring method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0046] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of information interaction between a first terminal and a second terminal in a measurement method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0047] FIG8 is a schematic flow chart of a terminal initiating QoS monitoring on PC 5 according to the present application.

[0048] FIG9 is a schematic flowchart of end-to-end QoS monitoring in the U2N scenario according to the present application.

[0049] FIG10 is another schematic flowchart of end-to-end QoS monitoring in the U2N scenario according to the present application.

[0050] FIG11 is a schematic flowchart of a monitoring method 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0051] FIG12 is a schematic flowchart of a monitoring method 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0052] Figure 13 is a schematic flow chart of a monitoring method 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0053] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a first terminal 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a first terminal 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0055] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a second terminal 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0056] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a second terminal 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] Figure 18 is a structural diagram of a first network element 1800 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0058] FIG19 is a schematic structural diagram of a first network element 1900 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0059] FIG20 is a schematic structural diagram of a second network element 2000 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] FIG21 is a schematic structural diagram of a second network element 2100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] FIG22 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2200 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0062] FIG23 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 2300 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0064] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of the embodiments of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or precedence. The objects described by the terms "first" and "second" may be the same or different.

[0065] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wireless Fidelity) system. Fidelity, WiFi), fifth-generation communication (5th-Generation, 5G) system or other communication systems, etc.

[0066] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0067] In one embodiment, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0068] In one embodiment, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, wherein the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, wherein the authorized spectrum can also be considered as an unshared spectrum.

[0069] The embodiments of the present application describe various embodiments in conjunction with network devices and terminal devices, wherein the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc.

[0070] The terminal device can be a station (STAION, ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc.

[0071] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0073] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0074] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device. The network device may be an access point (AP) in WLAN, a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network or a network device in an NTN network, etc.

[0075] As an example and not a limitation, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Optionally, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water.

[0076] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0077] FIG1 exemplarily illustrates a communication system 100. The communication system includes a network device 110 and two terminal devices 120. In one embodiment, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices 110, and each network device 110 may include a different number of terminal devices 120 within its coverage area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0078] In one embodiment, the communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0079] Among them, the network equipment may include access network equipment and core network equipment. That is, the wireless communication system also includes multiple core networks for communicating with the access network equipment. The access network equipment can be an evolutionary base station (evolutional node B, abbreviated as eNB or e-NodeB) macro base station, micro base station (also called "small base station"), pico base station, access point (AP), transmission point (TP) or new generation base station (new generation Node B, gNodeB), etc. in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a next-generation (mobile communication system) (next radio, NR) system or an authorized auxiliary access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system.

[0080] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, a device having a communication function in a network / system may be referred to as a communication device. Taking the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example, the communication device may include a network device and a terminal device having a communication function. The network device and the terminal device may be specific devices in the embodiments of the present application and will not be described in detail here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0081] Figure 2 shows an exemplary diagram of the 5G network system architecture. Among them, the UE establishes an access layer connection with the AN through the Uu port, exchanges access layer messages and wireless data transmission, and the UE establishes a non-access layer (NAS) connection with the AMF through the N1 port, and exchanges NAS messages. AMF is the mobility management function in the core network, and SMF is the session management function in the core network. In addition to managing the mobility of the UE, the AMF is also responsible for forwarding session management-related messages between the UE and the SMF. PCF is the policy management function in the core network, responsible for formulating policies related to UE mobility management, session management, billing, etc. UPF is the user plane function in the core network, which transmits data with the external data network through the N6 interface and transmits data with the AN through the N3 interface.

[0082] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" is simply a description of an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0083] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" 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 between A and B.

[0084] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0085] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] 1. URLLC QoS Monitoring

[0087] Existing 5G systems offer Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring methods to meet the demands of Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services. Real-time monitoring of packet latency is used to meet the high QoS requirements of URLLC services. The core network's flow-granular QoS monitoring method is shown in Figure 3 and includes the following steps:

[0088] Steps 1-3: If a QoS monitoring request for a service data flow is received from an application function (AF), the policy control function (PCF) generates an authorized QoS monitoring policy based on the QoS monitoring request for the service data flow. The PCF includes the authorized QoS monitoring policy in the packet data unit (PDU) rule and sends it to the session management function (SMF). The SMF initiates uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) packet delay measurement between the UE and the protocol data unit session anchor (PSA) user plane function (UPF) through the packet data unit (PDU) session establishment or modification process.

[0089] Step 4: SMF sends a QoS monitoring request to the PSA UPF and the next generation access network (NG-RAN) through N4 signaling and N2 signaling respectively.

[0090] Step 5a: NG-RAN initiates UL / DL packet delay measurement of the Radio Access Network (RAN) part according to the QoS monitoring request, and reports the result to the PSA UPF in the uplink data packet or Dummy UL data packet.

[0091] If the NG-RAN and PSA UPFs are time-synchronized, one-way packet latency monitoring is supported. If they are not time-synchronized, the uplink and downlink packet latency is assumed to be the same.

[0092] Step 5b: When the PSA UPF sends the downlink monitoring packet, the PSA UPF encapsulates the QoS flow identifier (QFI), the QoS monitoring packet (QMP) indication, and the local time T1 of sending the downlink packet in the GTP-U header.

[0093] Step 6: NG-RAN records the local time T1 of the received GTP-U header and the local time T2 of the received downlink monitoring packet.

[0094] Step 7: When the NG-RAN receives an UL data packet from the UE with the same QFI as the DL monitoring packet, or when there is no uplink service data packet, the NG-RAN sends a dummy uplink packet to the UPF as a monitoring response packet. The NG-RAN encapsulates the QMP indication, the RAN-part UL / DL packet delay result, the times T1 and T2 mentioned above, and the local time T3 of sending the uplink monitoring response packet in the GTP-U header.

[0095] Steps 8-9: The PSA UPF records the local time T4 at which the response packet is received and calculates the round-trip delay (in the case of asynchronous transmission), or calculates the UL / DL packet delay from the RAN to the UPF (in the case of synchronous transmission). In the asynchronous case, the PSA UPF calculates the UL / DL delay using (T2-T1+T4-T3) / 2. In the synchronous case, the PSA UPF calculates the UL and DL packet delays using (T4-T3) and (T2-T1), respectively. Adding the UL / DL delay of the RAN part, the UL / DL delay from the UE to the PSA UPF is obtained. The PSA UPF reports the result to the SMF under certain conditions, such as when the threshold for reporting to the SMF is reached.

[0096] In addition, QoS measurement is not limited to the measurement of packet delay. UPF can also report information such as rate (or bit rate) to achieve rate (or bit rate) measurement.

[0097] 2. Terminals participate in AI training and reasoning:

[0098] As the performance of cameras and sensors on mobile devices continues to improve, more and more devices can collect valuable training data essential for training artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models. For many AI / ML tasks, small sample data collected by mobile devices is crucial for training the overall model.

[0099] Taking federated learning (FL) as an example, a federated learning server completes global model training by aggregating local training results reported by each terminal. In each training iteration, the terminal can use local training data to train the global model downloaded from the FL server, and then report intermediate training results (such as the gradient of the data network name (DNN)) to the FL server via the 5G uplink channel. The FL server then aggregates the collected gradients and updates the global model. The FL server distributes the updated global model to the federated terminals via the 5G downlink channel, and the terminals perform the next iterative training based on this updated model.

[0100] Due to limited UE storage capacity, the UE cannot store all required AI models in advance. Therefore, when the UE needs to perform an AI service, such as image recognition, it downloads the model data from a third-party application server. To ensure a consistent user experience, each AI inference service must be completed within a strict timeframe. Furthermore, due to the limitations of the UE's computing power, sufficient time must be allowed for the UE to complete local model inference and obtain the desired results. For example, if a user desires image recognition within 1 second, the model download time must be in milliseconds, given the latency associated with model inference on the UE side.

[0101] 3. AI / ML with Proximity Services (ProSe):

[0102] When the terminal participating in AI / ML cannot complete the entire local training due to computing power or power issues, and when other terminals also have the same model, the intermediate results that have been calculated to a certain step (such as a certain layer) can be sent to other terminals, and the other terminals complete the subsequent calculations; at this time, there is no need to be connected to the server. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an AI / ML architecture with ProSe. Data can be transmitted between UE 1 and UE2 as shown in Figure 4. Alternatively, when a terminal runs out of the coverage of the current base station or federal server during local calculation due to mobility reasons and cannot pass the trained results to the server, the results can also be sent to the server with the help of PreSE, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of AI / ML operations.

[0103] As shown in FIG4 , a UE outside the coverage of a base station or a federal server is a remote UE, and a UE within the coverage of a base station or a federal server is a relay UE. The remote UE can transmit data with the help of the relay UE.

[0104] 4. ProSe Architecture

[0105] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an architecture model using ProSe 5G UE-to-Network Relay (U2N Relay, UE-to-Network Relay). As shown in Figure 5, a ProSe-capable UE can communicate directly with another ProSe-capable UE via PC5. When a UE has both a 5G network connection to an external data network and ProSe capabilities, it can act as a Relay UE. Another ProSe-capable Remote UE can establish a direct connection with the Relay UE via PC5. The Relay UE then establishes a PDU session with the 5G network to interact with the external network.

[0106] Existing QoS monitoring methods only measure the QoS results between UE and UPF, and do not consider the measurement of QoS on PC5 when ProSe is added to the operation of AI / ML. However, QoS measurement on PC5 is of great significance to the operation of AI / ML. For example, when UE 1 offloads part of the training task to UE2, UE 1 needs to know the real-time transmission delay and rate between UE 1 and UE2 to decide how much task to offload to UE2. When the UE acts as a relay UE to help other UEs forward data to the server, the server needs to know the end-to-end QoS results so that it can determine whether the selected relay UE is suitable and whether it can ensure that the operation of AI / ML is not affected. Therefore, whether in the case of direct terminal connection or as a UE-to-network relay (U2N Relay, UE-to-Network Relay), measuring QoS on PC5 is of great significance.

[0107] The present application provides a monitoring method. FIG6 is a flowchart of an implementation of a monitoring method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to any of the systems shown in FIG1-5, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following:

[0108] S610: The first terminal sends a first data packet to the second terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication;

[0109] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0110] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0111] The QoS flow monitored by the first terminal may also be referred to as the QoS flow that the first terminal needs to monitor. The QoS monitoring on PC 5 may include packet latency monitoring and / or rate monitoring. In some embodiments, the header of the first data packet may further include first time information, which indicates the local time at which the first data packet is sent.

[0112] The first terminal may also receive a second data packet, wherein the header of the second data packet includes at least one of the first identifier, the first indication, the first time information, the second time information, and the third time information; wherein,

[0113] The second time information indicates the local time when the second terminal receives the first data packet;

[0114] The third time information indicates the local time when the second terminal sends the second data packet.

[0115] Afterwards, the first terminal can determine the data packet delay on PC5 based on at least one of the first time information, the second time information, the third time information and the fourth time information; wherein the fourth time information represents the local time when the first terminal receives the second data packet.

[0116] In some implementations, the first terminal may include a remote UE (Remote UE) or a relay UE (Relay UE).

[0117] In some implementations, the second terminal may also include a remote UE (Remote UE) or a relay UE (Relay UE).

[0118] For example, the first terminal is a Remote UE and the second terminal is a Relay UE. Or, the first terminal is a Relay UE and the second terminal is a Remote UE.

[0119] In one example, the first terminal may include an application layer and a ProSe layer;

[0120] In some implementations, the first terminal sending the first data packet to the second terminal may include:

[0121] The application layer generates a first data packet;

[0122] The ProSe layer adds at least one of a first identifier and a first indication to the header of the first data packet.

[0123] The first data packet to which the first identifier and / or the first indication are added may be sent to the second terminal through a physical channel.

[0124] In some embodiments, the monitoring method may further include:

[0125] The application layer sends a monitoring request to the ProSe layer;

[0126] The ProSe layer updates the PC5 QoS rules based on the monitoring request.

[0127] In this way, when an application layer data packet wants to be sent later, the ProSe layer can correctly identify the data packet and mark the corresponding identifier on the header of the data packet, such as at least one of the first identifier and the first indication, and may also include the first time information, etc.

[0128] In one example, the monitoring request includes at least one of a monitored QoS type and service flow description information. For example, the service flow description information can be used to identify a QoS flow, such as including quintuple information. The monitored QoS type can also be referred to as the QoS type to be monitored or the QoS parameter type to be monitored, for example, indicating that packet delay or rate needs to be monitored.

[0129] In one example, the first data packet includes a monitoring data packet, and the second data packet includes a monitoring response data packet.

[0130] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of information exchange between a first terminal and a second terminal in a measurement method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the first terminal sends a monitoring data packet to the second terminal, and the second terminal returns a monitoring response data packet to the first terminal. Based on the information carried in the monitoring response data packet and / or the local time when the first terminal receives the monitoring response data packet, the first terminal can calculate the QoS monitoring result on PC5. The QoS monitoring result may include the packet delay on PC5 between the first and second terminals. In addition, the QoS monitoring result may also include the rate on PC5. The QoS monitoring result on PC5 can also be referred to as the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 interface; the packet delay on PC5 can also be referred to as the packet delay on the PC5 interface, or the packet delay on PC5, or the packet delay on the PC5 interface; and the rate on PC5 can also be referred to as the rate on the PC5 interface, which can include the transmission rate. The first terminal or the second terminal can collect data packets over a period of time, count the number of collected data packets, and calculate the rate on PC5 (or the PC5 interface) based on the size of each data packet. In this way, QoS monitoring on PC5 (or the PC5 interface) can be achieved.

[0131] In some implementations, the first terminal may also send the QoS monitoring result on PC 5. For example,

[0132] The first terminal periodically sends the QoS monitoring result on PC5; and / or,

[0133] When the QoS monitoring result on PC5 meets the preset condition, the first terminal sends the QoS monitoring result on PC5.

[0134] For example, when the data packet delay of the first terminal on PC5 is greater than, less than, or equal to a preset delay threshold, the data packet delay on PC5 is sent. Alternatively, when the rate of the first terminal on PC5 is greater than, less than, or equal to a preset rate threshold, the rate on PC5 is sent.

[0135] The monitoring method proposed in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the QoS measurement of PC5 in the case of direct terminal connection, and can also be applied to the end-to-end QoS measurement in the case of U2N.

[0136] In some embodiments, the monitoring method further includes the first terminal receiving a first monitoring policy. In one example, the first monitoring policy includes a PC5 QoS monitoring policy. Before sending the first data packet, the first terminal may receive the first monitoring policy from the first network element, and the first network element may be a core network element such as a PCF. The first monitoring policy may include service flow description information and / or the monitored QoS type. The first terminal may update the PC5 QoS rule (PC5 QoS rule) based on the first monitoring policy. After updating the PC5 QoS rule, when an application layer data packet wants to be sent, the first terminal can correctly identify the data packet and put a corresponding identifier on the header of the data packet, for example, including at least one of the first identifier, the second identifier, and the first time information.

[0137] The first identifier may include a PC5 QoS flow identifier (PFI).

[0138] The first indication may include a PC5 QoS monitoring packet (PQMP, PC5 QoS monitoring packet) indication.

[0139] The following is a detailed description of specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0140] Example 1:

[0141] This embodiment is mainly aimed at the case of direct connection of terminals. For example, taking UE 1 as an example, when the first terminal (such as UE 1) wants to offload part of the task to the second terminal (such as UE 2), the first terminal needs to know the QoS monitoring value on PC5 between the first terminal and the second terminal, then the first terminal can initiate QoS monitoring on PC5. The above scenario is only an example. The embodiment of the present application can support QoS monitoring on PC5 in any other scenario. Figure 8 is a schematic flow chart of a terminal initiating QoS monitoring on PC5 according to the present application, including the following steps:

[0142] Step 0: When the application layer of a first terminal (such as UE 1) wants to measure the latency on PC5, the application layer of the first terminal sends a monitoring request to the ProSe layer of the first terminal. The monitoring request may include the monitored QoS type and / or service flow description information. Based on the monitoring request, the ProSe layer updates the PC5 QoS rule. After this step, when an application layer data packet wants to be sent, the first terminal can correctly identify the data packet and mark the data packet header with the corresponding identifier.

[0143] S801. According to step 0, when the ProSe layer of the first terminal receives a monitoring data packet from the application layer, the ProSe layer of the first terminal may add a PFI and a PQMP to the header of the monitoring data packet. PFI stands for PC5 QoS flow identifier, indicating the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal (or the QoS flow that needs to be monitored). PQMP stands for PC5 QoS monitoring packet, indicating that this data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC5. In addition, if the QoS monitoring is data packet delay monitoring, the ProSe layer of the first terminal may also add the local time T1 of sending the monitoring data packet to the header.

[0144] S802: The first terminal sends the monitoring data packet to the second terminal.

[0145] S803: After receiving the monitoring data packet, the second terminal determines that the data packet is a monitoring data packet according to PQMP. Therefore, the second terminal records the sending time T1 of the monitoring data packet and the local receiving time T2 of the monitoring data packet.

[0146] S804: The second terminal sends a monitoring response data packet to the first terminal, and writes PFI, PQMP, T1, T2 and the local time T3 of sending the monitoring response data packet into the header of the monitoring response data packet.

[0147] S805: The first terminal receives the monitoring response data packet and records the local time T4 when the monitoring response data packet is received.

[0148] S806. The first terminal calculates the data packet delay on PC5 based on T1-T4. For example, in an asynchronous situation, the first terminal calculates the data packet delay on PC5 by (T2-T1+T4-T3) / 2. In a synchronous situation, the first terminal calculates the data packet delay in different directions on PC5 by (T4-T3) and (T2-T1). In addition, if the rate of data packets on PC5 is to be monitored, the first terminal or the second terminal can calculate the rate on PC5 based on the number of data packets collected within a period of time and the size of each data packet, which rate can include the transmission rate on PC5.

[0149] The first terminal or the second terminal may send the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 to the application layer of the first terminal periodically or conditionally. For example, the QoS result is sent to the application layer of the first terminal only when it meets a certain threshold.

[0150] Example 2:

[0151] This embodiment is mainly aimed at end-to-end QoS measurement in the U2N case. In this embodiment, when an application function (AF) wants to know the end-to-end delay, it is used to determine whether the Relay UE can meet the operation of AI / ML. Therefore, the AF can first send a first monitoring request to the policy control function (PCF), and the first monitoring request may include service flow description information and / or monitored QoS type; wherein, the service flow description information can be used to identify the QoS flow, such as containing five-tuple information, etc.; the monitored QoS type can also be referred to as the QoS type that needs to be monitored, or the QoS parameter type that needs to be monitored, for example, it can be used to indicate that the packet delay or rate needs to be monitored.

[0152] The first monitoring request may include an end-to-end QoS monitoring request. Based on the first monitoring request, the PCF may generate an end-to-end QoS monitoring policy, for example, including a first monitoring policy and / or a second monitoring policy. The first monitoring policy may include the PC5's QoS monitoring policy, and the second monitoring policy may include the UE-to-UPF QoS monitoring policy. The first monitoring policy may include service flow description information and / or the monitored QoS type.

[0153] PCF sends the QoS monitoring policy of PC5 to Relay UE and / or Remote UE. Remote UE and / or Relay UE perform QoS monitoring between UEs. The specific monitoring process can refer to the method shown in Example 1. The first terminal in Example 1 can be Remote UE or Relay UE. QoS monitoring between UEs can be performed only by Remote UE, or only by Relay UE, or respectively by Remote UE and Relay UE. PCF can also send the QoS monitoring policy from UE to UPF (such as carrying the QoS monitoring policy from UE to UPF through PCC rules) to SMF, and SMF initiates a QoS monitoring request from UE to UPF.

[0154] After the Remote UE and / or Relay UE performs QoS monitoring on PC5, they can report the QoS monitoring results on PC5 to the PCF or PSA UPF. The PCF or PSA UPF aggregates the QoS monitoring results on PC5 and the QoS monitoring results from the UE (Relay UE) to the UPF to obtain the total end-to-end QoS monitoring value.

[0155] Figure 9 is a schematic flow chart of end-to-end QoS monitoring in the U2N scenario according to the present application. In the example shown in Figure 9, the PCF aggregates the QoS monitoring results on PC5 and the QoS monitoring results from the UE (Relay UE) to the UPF. As shown in Figure 9, the following steps are included:

[0156] S901. When the AF wants to know the end-to-end QoS value, the AF sends an end-to-end QoS monitoring request to the PCF. The request includes the QoS type to be monitored, such as rate or packet delay, and service flow description information.

[0157] S902. The PCF generates an end-to-end QoS monitoring policy, including the QoS monitoring policy from the UE to the UPF and the QoS monitoring policy of the PC5.

[0158] S903. The PCF sends the QoS monitoring policy from the UE to the UPF to the SMF. For example, the PCF carries the QoS monitoring policy from the UE to the UPF in the PCC rule and sends it to the SMF.

[0159] S904: According to the QoS monitoring policy from the UE to the UPF, the SMF sends a QoS monitoring request to the PSA UPF and the RAN respectively.

[0160] S905. PSA UPF calculates the QoS monitoring results from UE to UPF, such as the packet delay from UE to UPF.

[0161] S906. The PSA UPF sends the QoS monitoring result from the UE to the UPF to the PCF.

[0162] S907: The PCF sends the generated QoS monitoring policy of PC5 to the Relay UE and / or Remote UE. The QoS monitoring policy of PC5 includes service flow description information, monitored QoS type, etc.

[0163] S908. The Remote UE and / or Relay UE updates the PC5 QoS rule based on the QoS monitoring policy of PC5 and performs QoS monitoring on PC5. The specific monitoring method can refer to the method described in Implementation 1. For example, the Remote UE and / or Relay UE can act as the first terminal in Implementation 1 to initiate QoS monitoring on PC5. The Remote UE and / or Relay UE can also act as the second terminal in Implementation 1, receiving the monitoring data packet from the first terminal and feeding back a monitoring response data packet to the first terminal to complete QoS monitoring on PC5.

[0164] S909. The Relay UE and / or the Remote UE sends the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 to the PCF.

[0165] S910 , the PCF aggregates the QoS monitoring result from the UE to the UPF obtained in step S906 and the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 obtained in step S909 to obtain a final end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0166] S911. The PCF sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result to the AF. When sending the end-to-end QoS monitoring result, the PCF may send it periodically or when the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets a predetermined condition.

[0167] Figure 10 is another schematic flow chart of end-to-end QoS monitoring in the U2N scenario according to the present application. In the example shown in Figure 10, the PSA UPF aggregates the QoS monitoring results on PC5 and the QoS monitoring results from the UE (Relay UE) to the UPF. As shown in Figure 10, the following steps are included:

[0168] S1001. When the AF wants to know the end-to-end QoS value, the AF sends an end-to-end QoS monitoring request to the PCF. The request includes the QoS type to be monitored, such as rate or packet delay, and service flow description information.

[0169] S1002. PCF generates an end-to-end QoS monitoring policy, including the QoS monitoring policy from UE to UPF and the QoS monitoring policy of PC5.

[0170] S1003. PCF sends the QoS monitoring policy from UE to UPF to SMF. For example, PCF carries the QoS monitoring policy from UE to UPF in the PCC rule and sends it to SMF.

[0171] S1004: According to the QoS monitoring policy from the UE to the UPF, the SMF sends a QoS monitoring request to the PSA UPF and the RAN respectively.

[0172] S1005. PSA UPF calculates the QoS monitoring results from UE to UPF, such as the packet delay from UE to UPF.

[0173] S1006: The PCF sends the generated QoS monitoring policy of PC5 to the Relay UE and / or Remote UE. The QoS monitoring policy of PC5 includes service flow description information, monitored QoS type, etc.

[0174] S1007. The Remote UE and / or Relay UE updates the PC5 QoS rule based on the QoS monitoring policy of PC5 and performs QoS monitoring on PC5. The specific monitoring method can refer to the method described in Implementation 1. For example, the Remote UE and / or Relay UE can function as the first terminal in Implementation 1 to initiate QoS monitoring on PC5. The Remote UE and / or Relay UE can also function as the second terminal in Implementation 1, receiving the monitoring data packet from the first terminal and feeding back a monitoring response data packet to the first terminal to complete QoS monitoring on PC5.

[0175] S1008. The Relay UE and / or the Remote UE sends the QoS monitoring result on the PC 5 to the PSA UPF.

[0176] S1009. The PSA UPF aggregates the QoS monitoring result from the UE to the UPF obtained in step S1005 and the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 obtained in step S1008 to obtain a final end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0177] S1010. The PSA UPF sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result to the AF, for example, via the PCF. When sending the end-to-end QoS monitoring result, the PSA UPF may send it periodically or when the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets a predetermined condition.

[0178] The monitoring method proposed in the embodiment of the present application adds QoS monitoring on PC5, which allows the UE or AF to accurately know the QoS value on PC5 and the entire end-to-end. In AI / ML applications, the UE or AF can accurately determine the amount of tasks that need to be offloaded and whether the selected Relay UE is suitable for AI / ML operations, thereby more efficiently supporting application-layer AI / ML services.

[0179] In the implementation of this application, a new indication, namely PQMP, is introduced for QoS monitoring on PC5, and the UE inserts the indication and timestamp in the data packet header, thereby supporting QoS measurement between UEs. For the U2N scenario, this embodiment of the application introduces a new end-to-end QoS monitoring request. The PCF generates QoS monitoring policies from the UE to the UPF and between UEs, and performs QoS monitoring for each segment separately. The PCF or PSA UPF aggregates the QoS monitoring results of each segment to obtain the final end-to-end monitoring result.

[0180] The monitoring method proposed in the embodiments of this application is not limited to 5G systems. In B5G or 6G networks that introduce AI functions, the same mechanism can also be used to enable the UE and AF to know the QoS values ​​on PC5 and end-to-end, thereby better supporting third-party AI / ML applications.

[0181] The present application also provides a monitoring method. FIG11 is a schematic flow chart of a monitoring method 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to any of the systems shown in FIG1-5, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0182] S1110: The second terminal receives a first data packet from the first terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0183] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0184] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0185] The QoS flow monitored by the first terminal may also be referred to as the QoS flow that the first terminal needs to monitor.

[0186] In some implementations, the header of the first data packet further includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the local time when the first data packet is sent.

[0187] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0188] The second terminal sends a second data packet to the first terminal, wherein the header of the second data packet includes at least one of the first identifier, the first indication, the first time information, the second time information, and the third time information; wherein,

[0189] The second time information indicates the local time when the second terminal receives the first data packet;

[0190] The third time information indicates the local time when the second terminal sends the second data packet.

[0191] By receiving the first data packet from the first terminal and feeding back the second data packet to the first terminal, QoS monitoring on the PC 5 between the first terminal and the second terminal can be supported.

[0192] In some embodiments, the first identifier includes a PFI.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first indication comprises a PQMP indication.

[0194] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0195] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first data packet comprises a monitoring data packet.

[0197] In some implementations, the second data packet comprises a monitoring response data packet.

[0198] The present application also provides a monitoring method. FIG12 is a schematic flow chart of a monitoring method 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to any of the systems shown in FIG1-5, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0199] S1210: The first network element receives a first monitoring request, where the first monitoring request includes service flow description information and / or a monitored QoS type;

[0200] S1220: The first network element generates a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy according to the first monitoring request.

[0201] The first monitoring request is used to generate a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy.

[0202] In some implementations, the first monitoring request comprises an end-to-end QoS monitoring request.

[0203] In some embodiments, the first monitoring policy comprises a QoS monitoring policy for PC5.

[0204] In some implementations, the first monitoring strategy includes service flow description information and / or monitored QoS type.

[0205] In some embodiments, the second monitoring policy includes a UE-to-UPF QoS monitoring policy.

[0206] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0207] The first network element sends a first monitoring policy to the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0208] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0209] The first network element receives the QoS monitoring result on PC5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal;

[0210] The first network element aggregates the QoS monitoring result on PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from UE to UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0211] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0212] The first network element periodically sends end-to-end QoS monitoring results; and / or,

[0213] When the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets a preset condition, the first network element sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0214] In some embodiments, the first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0215] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0216] In some embodiments, the first network element includes a PCF.

[0217] This method supports the generation of QoS monitoring policies between UE and UPF, as well as QoS monitoring policies between UEs, by core network elements, thereby supporting the separate execution of QoS monitoring of each segment; by aggregating the QoS monitoring results of each segment, the final end-to-end monitoring results can be obtained.

[0218] The present application also provides a monitoring method. FIG13 is a schematic flow chart of a monitoring method 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to any of the systems shown in FIG1-5, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following contents.

[0219] S1310: The second network element receives the QoS monitoring result on PC5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal;

[0220] S1320: The second network element aggregates the QoS monitoring result on PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from UE to UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0222] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0223] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0224] The second network element periodically sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result; and / or,

[0225] When the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets a preset condition, the second network element sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0226] In some embodiments, the second network element includes a PSA UPF.

[0227] This method supports PSA UPF to aggregate the QoS monitoring results of each segment to obtain the final end-to-end monitoring results.

[0228] The present embodiment further provides a first terminal. FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of the first terminal 1400 according to the embodiment of the present application, including:

[0229] The first sending module 1410 is configured to send a first data packet to the second terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0230] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0231] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0232] In some implementations, the header of the first data packet further includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the local time when the first data packet is sent.

[0233] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first terminal 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The first terminal 1500 includes one or more features of the first terminal 1400 embodiment described above. In one possible implementation, in the embodiment of the present application, it further includes:

[0234] The first receiving module 1520 is configured to receive a second data packet, wherein the header of the second data packet includes at least one of a first identifier, a first indication, first time information, second time information, and third time information; wherein,

[0235] The second time information indicates the local time when the second terminal receives the first data packet;

[0236] The third time information indicates the local time when the second terminal sends the second data packet.

[0237] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0238] The determination module 1530 is configured to determine the data packet delay on PC5 based on at least one of the first time information, the second time information, the third time information, and the fourth time information; wherein,

[0239] The fourth time information indicates the local time when the first terminal receives the second data packet.

[0240] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0241] The second receiving module 1540 is configured to receive the first monitoring strategy.

[0242] In some embodiments, the first monitoring policy comprises a QoS monitoring policy for PC5.

[0243] In some implementations, the first monitoring strategy includes service flow description information and / or monitored QoS type.

[0244] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0245] The updating module 1550 is configured to update the PC5 QoS rule according to the first monitoring policy.

[0246] In some implementations, the system further includes a second sending module 1560 configured to send the QoS monitoring result on PC 5 .

[0247] In some implementations, the QoS monitoring result on PC 5 includes at least one of the following:

[0248] Packet latency on PC5;

[0249] The rate on PC5.

[0250] In some implementations, the second sending module 1560 is configured to:

[0251] Periodically sending QoS monitoring results on PC5; and / or,

[0252] When the QoS monitoring result on PC5 meets the preset condition, the QoS monitoring result on PC5 is sent.

[0253] In some embodiments, the first identifier includes a PFI.

[0254] In some embodiments, the first indication comprises a PQMP indication.

[0255] In some embodiments, the first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0256] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0257] In some embodiments, the first data packet comprises a monitoring data packet.

[0258] In some implementations, the second data packet comprises a monitoring response data packet.

[0259] In some embodiments, the first terminal includes an application layer and a ProSe layer;

[0260] Wherein, the application layer may be used to generate the first data packet;

[0261] The ProSe layer may be configured to add at least one of a first identifier and a first indication to a header of the first data packet.

[0262] In some implementations, the application layer may also be configured to send a monitoring request to the ProSe layer;

[0263] The ProSe layer can also be used to update PC5 QoS rules based on the monitoring request.

[0264] In one example, the monitoring request includes at least one of a monitored QoS type and service flow description information. For example, the service flow description information can be used to identify a QoS flow, such as including quintuple information. The monitored QoS type can also be referred to as the QoS type to be monitored or the QoS parameter type to be monitored, for example, indicating that packet delay or rate needs to be monitored.

[0265] It should be understood that the above and other operations and / or functions of the modules in the first terminal according to the embodiment of the present application are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes of the first terminal in method 600 of Figure 6, and are not repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0266] The present embodiment further provides a second terminal. FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a second terminal 1600 according to the present embodiment, including:

[0267] The third receiving module 1610 is configured to receive a first data packet from a first terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein,

[0268] The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal;

[0269] The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC 5 .

[0270] In some implementations, the header of the first data packet further includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the local time when the first data packet is sent.

[0271] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second terminal 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The second terminal 1700 includes one or more features of the above-mentioned second terminal 1600 embodiment. In one possible implementation, in the embodiment of the present application, it further includes:

[0272] The third sending module 1720 is configured to send a second data packet to the first terminal, wherein the header of the second data packet includes at least one of the first identifier, the first indication, the first time information, the second time information, and the third time information; wherein,

[0273] The second time information indicates the local time when the second terminal receives the first data packet;

[0274] The third time information indicates the local time when the second terminal sends the second data packet.

[0275] In some embodiments, the first identifier includes a PFI.

[0276] In some embodiments, the first indication comprises a PQMP indication.

[0277] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0278] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0279] In some embodiments, the first data packet comprises a monitoring data packet.

[0280] In some implementations, the second data packet comprises a monitoring response data packet.

[0281] It should be understood that the above and other operations and / or functions of the modules in the second terminal according to the embodiment of the present application are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes of the second terminal in method 1100 of Figure 11, and for the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0282] The present embodiment further provides a first network element. FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of the first network element 1800 according to the embodiment of the present application, including:

[0283] The fourth receiving module 1810 is configured to receive a first monitoring request, where the first monitoring request includes service flow description information and / or a monitored QoS type;

[0284] The generating module 1820 is configured to generate a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy according to the first monitoring request.

[0285] In some implementations, the first monitoring request comprises an end-to-end QoS monitoring request.

[0286] In some embodiments, the first monitoring policy comprises a QoS monitoring policy for PC5.

[0287] In some implementations, the first monitoring strategy includes service flow description information and / or monitored QoS type.

[0288] In some embodiments, the second monitoring policy includes a UE-to-UPF QoS monitoring policy.

[0289] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first network element 1900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The first network element 1900 includes one or more features of the first network element 1800 embodiment described above. In one possible implementation, in the embodiment of the present application, it further includes:

[0290] The fourth sending module 1930 is configured to send the first monitoring strategy to the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

[0291] In some embodiments, further comprising:

[0292] The fifth receiving module 1940 is configured to receive the QoS monitoring result on the PC 5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal;

[0293] The first aggregation module 1950 is used to aggregate the QoS monitoring result on PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from UE to UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0294] In some embodiments, the present invention further includes a fifth sending module 1960, configured to:

[0295] Periodically sending end-to-end QoS monitoring results; and / or,

[0296] When the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets the preset conditions, the end-to-end QoS monitoring result is sent.

[0297] In some embodiments, the first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0298] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0299] In some embodiments, the first network element includes a PCF.

[0300] It should be understood that the above and other operations and / or functions of the module in the first network element according to the embodiment of the present application are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes of the first network element in method 1200 of Figure 12. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0301] The embodiment of the present application further provides a second network element. FIG20 is a schematic structural diagram of the second network element 2000 according to the embodiment of the present application, including:

[0302] The sixth receiving module 2010 is configured to receive the QoS monitoring result on the PC 5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal;

[0303] The second aggregation module 2020 is used to aggregate the QoS monitoring result on PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from UE to UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

[0304] In some embodiments, the first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0305] In some embodiments, the second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

[0306] Figure 21 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second network element 2100 according to an embodiment of the present application. The second network element 2100 includes one or more features of the above-mentioned second network element 2000 embodiment. In one possible implementation, in the embodiment of the present application, it further includes:

[0307] The sixth sending module 2130 is configured to:

[0308] Periodically sending end-to-end QoS monitoring results; and / or,

[0309] When the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets the preset conditions, the end-to-end QoS monitoring result is sent.

[0310] In some embodiments, the second network element includes a PSA UPF.

[0311] It should be understood that the above and other operations and / or functions of the module in the second network element according to the embodiment of the present application are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes of the second network element in method 1300 of Figure 13. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0312] It should be noted that the functions described in the various modules (submodules, units, or components, etc.) in the communication device of the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by different modules (submodules, units, or components, etc.) or by the same module (submodule, unit, or component, etc.). For example, the first receiving module and the second receiving module can be different modules or the same module, and both can implement their corresponding functions in the embodiment of the present application. In addition, the sending module and the receiving module in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by the transceiver of the device, and some or all of the other modules can be implemented by the processor of the device.

[0313] Figure 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2200 shown in Figure 22 includes a processor 2210, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0314] In some implementations, as shown in FIG22 , the communication device 2200 may further include a memory 2220. The processor 2210 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 2220 to implement the communication device in the embodiment of the present application.

[0315] The memory 2220 may be a separate device independent of the processor 2210 , or may be integrated into the processor 2210 .

[0316] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 22 , the communication device 2200 may further include a transceiver 2230 , and the processor 2210 may control the transceiver 2230 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, the transceiver 2230 may send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0317] The transceiver 2230 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 2230 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0318] In some embodiments, the communication device 2200 may be the communication device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 2200 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the communication device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0319] Figure 23 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 2300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 2300 shown in Figure 23 includes a processor 2310, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0320] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG23 , the chip 2300 may further include a memory 2320. The processor 2310 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 2320 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0321] The memory 2320 may be a separate device independent of the processor 2310 or may be integrated into the processor 2310 .

[0322] In some embodiments, the chip 2300 may further include an input interface 2330. The processor 2310 may control the input interface 2330 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0323] In some embodiments, the chip 2300 may further include an output interface 2340. The processor 2310 may control the output interface 2340 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0324] In some embodiments, the chip can be applied to the communication equipment in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network equipment in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0325] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0326] The processor mentioned above may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor mentioned above may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0327] The memory mentioned above may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM).

[0328] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM). In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0329] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable devices. The computer instruction can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instruction can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0330] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0331] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0332] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A monitoring method, comprising: The first terminal sends a first data packet to the second terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein, The first identifier is used to indicate a quality of service QoS flow monitored by the first terminal; The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC5.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The header of the first data packet also includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the local time when the first data packet is sent.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: The first terminal receives a second data packet, wherein the header of the second data packet includes at least one of the first identifier, the first indication, the first time information, the second time information and the third time information; wherein, The second time information indicates the local time when the second terminal receives the first data packet; The third time information indicates the local time when the second terminal sends the second data packet.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: The first terminal determines the data packet delay on PC5 according to at least one of the first time information, the second time information, the third time information and the fourth time information; wherein, The fourth time information indicates the local time when the first terminal receives the second data packet.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The first terminal receives a first monitoring strategy.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The first monitoring strategy includes a QoS monitoring strategy for PC5.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The first monitoring strategy includes service flow description information and / or monitored QoS type.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising: The first terminal updates the PC5 QoS rule according to the first monitoring strategy.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, further comprising, the first terminal sending a QoS monitoring result on PC5.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The QoS monitoring result on PC5 includes at least one of the following: The packet delay on the PC5; The rate on the PC5.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: The first terminal sends the QoS monitoring result on PC5, including: The first terminal periodically sends the QoS monitoring result on the PC5; and / or, When the QoS monitoring result on the PC 5 meets a preset condition, the first terminal sends the QoS monitoring result on the PC 5 .

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: The first identifier includes a PC5 QoS flow identifier PFI.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The first indication includes a PC5 QoS monitoring packet PQMP indication.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: The first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein: The second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein: The first data packet includes a monitoring data packet.

17. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The second data packet includes a monitoring response data packet.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein: The first terminal includes an application layer and a proximity service ProSe layer; The first terminal sends a first data packet to the second terminal, including: The application layer generates a first data packet; The ProSe layer adds at least one of the first identifier and the first indication in a header of the first data packet.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising, The application layer sends a monitoring request to the ProSe layer; The ProSe layer updates the PC5 QoS rules according to the monitoring request.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The monitoring request includes at least one of the monitored QoS type and service flow description information.

21. A monitoring method comprising: The second terminal receives a first data packet from the first terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein, The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal; The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC5.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein: The header of the first data packet also includes first time information, where the first time information indicates the local time when the first data packet is sent.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising, The second terminal sends a second data packet to the first terminal, and the header of the second data packet includes at least one of the first identifier, the first indication, the first time information, the second time information and the third time information; wherein, The second time information indicates the local time when the second terminal receives the first data packet; The third time information indicates the local time when the second terminal sends the second data packet.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein: The first identification includes a PFI.

25. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein: The first indication comprises a PQMP indication.

26. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein: The second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

27. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 26, wherein: The first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein: The first data packet includes a monitoring data packet.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein: The second data packet includes a monitoring response data packet.

30. A monitoring method comprising: The first network element receives a first monitoring request, where the first monitoring request includes service flow description information and / or a monitored QoS type; The first network element generates a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy according to the first monitoring request.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein: The first monitoring request includes an end-to-end QoS monitoring request.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein: The first monitoring strategy includes a QoS monitoring strategy for PC5.

33. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 32, wherein: The first monitoring strategy includes service flow description information and / or monitored QoS type.

34. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 33, wherein: The second monitoring strategy includes a QoS monitoring strategy from UE to UPF.

35. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 34, further comprising: The first network element sends the first monitoring strategy to the first terminal and / or the second terminal.

36. The method according to claim 35, further comprising, The first network element receives the QoS monitoring result on PC5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal; The first network element aggregates the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 with the QoS monitoring result from the UE to the UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

37. The method according to claim 36, further comprising, The first network element periodically sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result; and / or, The first network element sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result when the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets a preset condition.

38. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein: The first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

39. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 38, wherein: The second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

40. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 39, wherein: The first network element includes a PCF.

41. A monitoring method comprising: The second network element receives the QoS monitoring result on PC5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal; The second network element aggregates the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 with the QoS monitoring result from the UE to the UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein: The first terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

43. The method according to claim 41 or 42, wherein: The second terminal includes a remote UE or a relay UE.

44. The method according to any one of claims 41 to 43, further comprising: The second network element periodically sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result; and / or, The second network element sends the end-to-end QoS monitoring result when the end-to-end QoS monitoring result meets a preset condition.

45. The method according to any one of claims 41 to 44, wherein: The second network element includes a PSA UPF.

46. ​​A first terminal, comprising: The first sending module is configured to send a first data packet to the second terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein: The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal; The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC5.

47. A second terminal, comprising: The third receiving module is configured to receive a first data packet from a first terminal, wherein the header of the first data packet includes at least one of a first identifier and a first indication; wherein: The first identifier is used to indicate the QoS flow monitored by the first terminal; The first indication is used to indicate that the first data packet is used for QoS monitoring on PC5.

48. A first network element, comprising: A fourth receiving module, configured to receive a first monitoring request, wherein the first monitoring request includes service flow description information and / or a monitored QoS type; A generating module is used to generate a first monitoring strategy and / or a second monitoring strategy according to the first monitoring request.

49. A second network element, comprising: A sixth receiving module, configured to receive a QoS monitoring result on the PC5 from the first terminal and / or the second terminal; The second aggregation module is used to aggregate the QoS monitoring result on the PC5 and the QoS monitoring result from the UE to the UPF to obtain an end-to-end QoS monitoring result.

50. A communication device comprising: A processor, a memory and a transceiver, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory and control the transceiver to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20, 21 to 29, 30 to 40 or 41 to 45.

51. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20, 21 to 29, 30 to 40 or 41 to 45.

52. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 20, 21 to 29, 30 to 40 or 41 to 45.

53. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 20, 21 to 29, 30 to 40 or 41 to 45.

54. A computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 20, 21 to 29, 30 to 40 or 41 to 45.

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