Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device, and the method comprises the steps: receiving first information which indicates that an application client has a transmission synchronization demand of multiple service flows; and selecting a plurality of application servers according to the first information, and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the plurality of application servers, the first transmission server being used for synchronously transmitting service flows from the plurality of application servers to the application client. The transmission synchronization of the plurality of service flows from the plurality of application servers is realized by one transmission server, so that the processing of the transmission synchronization of the plurality of service flows by the plurality of transmission servers is avoided, and the signaling overhead caused by the interaction of a large amount of signaling among the plurality of transmission servers can be avoided; and additional time delay caused by interaction of a large amount of signaling can be avoided, so that the transmission synchronization process among the multi-mode service flows is simplified.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines multimodal business scenarios, which refer to business scenarios that require synchronization of data transmission between multiple business flows. Multimodal business scenarios include, for example, virtual reality (VR) scenarios, augmented reality (AR) scenarios, extended reality (XR) scenarios, or gaming scenarios, etc. The input or output of a multimodal application consists of multiple business flows, where a business flow may include at least two of video data, audio data, sensor data (such as ambient brightness, ambient temperature, etc.), or tactile data (such as controller vibration in gaming scenarios, etc.).

[0003] In the transmission of multimodal service flows, the difference in the time it takes for data from different service flows to reach the application client may exceed the synchronization delay threshold, thereby seriously affecting the user experience of multimodal applications, such as causing service lag and user dizziness.

[0004] To ensure that the transmission of multiple service flows in multimodal service scenarios meets synchronization latency requirements, that is, the difference in the time it takes for data from different service flows to reach the application client does not exceed the synchronization latency threshold, it is necessary to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows based on synchronization latency requirements. In the process of performing transmission synchronization of multiple service flows, how to reduce signaling overhead and reduce the complexity of transmission synchronization remain unresolved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device to reduce signaling overhead and reduce the complexity of transmission synchronization during the process of executing transmission synchronization of multiple business flows.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device or a module (such as a chip) for a communication device. The communication device can be an edge enabler client (Edge Enabler client, EEC) or an edge enabler server (Edge Enabler Server, EES). The method includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating that the application client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams; according to the first information, selecting multiple application servers, and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, the first transmission server is used to synchronously transmit the business streams from the multiple application servers to the application client.

[0007] In the above solution, the communication device selects multiple application servers and the same first transmission server corresponding to these multiple application servers. This first transmission server is used to synchronously transmit the service flows from these multiple application servers to the application client. Because a single transmission server synchronizes the transmission of multiple service flows from multiple application servers, this avoids the need for multiple transmission servers to handle the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows. This avoids the signaling overhead caused by the large amount of signaling exchanges between multiple transmission servers, as well as the additional latency introduced by these exchanges, thereby simplifying the transmission synchronization process between multimodal service flows.

[0008] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: receiving second information, the second information indicating a need to use a transmission server to synchronously transmit business flows from the multiple application servers; selecting multiple application servers based on the first information, and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, including: selecting multiple application servers based on the first information and the second information, and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers.

[0009] In the above scheme, the second information indicates that there is a need to use a transmission server to synchronously transmit the business flows from the multiple application servers, so that the communication device selects the transmission server instead of other types of servers to achieve synchronous transmission of the business flows from multiple application servers. Therefore, this method can achieve accurate selection of the transmission server.

[0010] In one possible implementation method, selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers includes: receiving information of at least one transmission server discovered by the multiple application servers respectively; and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers based on the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the multiple application servers respectively.

[0011] In the above solution, the application server discovers the transmission server, which can accurately determine the corresponding relationship between the application server and the transmission server, and helps to accurately select the same first transmission server corresponding to multiple application servers.

[0012] In one possible implementation method, selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers includes: receiving the identifiers of applications supported by the multiple transmission servers and the business types of the applications supported, as well as the identifiers of applications supported by the multiple application servers and the business types of the applications supported; selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers based on the identifiers of applications supported by the multiple transmission servers and the business types of the applications supported, as well as the identifiers of applications supported by the multiple application servers and the business types of the applications supported, wherein the multiple transmission servers include the first transmission server.

[0013] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: receiving third information, where the third information indicates whether the application server supports transmission of the service flow through the transmission server.

[0014] The above solution, based on the third information, can accurately determine whether the application server supports the transmission of service flows through the transmission server, which helps to accurately select the application server.

[0015] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, where the fourth information indicates whether the transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers.

[0016] The above solution, based on the fourth information, can accurately determine whether the transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers, which helps to accurately select the transmission server.

[0017] In a possible implementation method, selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers includes: selecting the first transmission server with the lightest load or the best performance from the same second transmission servers corresponding to the multiple application servers.

[0018] In the above solution, when multiple application servers correspond to multiple identical second transmission servers, the transmission server with the lightest load or the best performance is selected from them, which helps to improve the efficiency of transmission synchronization.

[0019] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge enabling server; the method further includes: sending information about the multiple application servers and information about the first transmission server to the edge enabling client.

[0020] In a possible implementation method, the information of the multiple application servers includes addresses of the multiple application servers, and the information of the first transmission server includes the address of the first transmission server.

[0021] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge enabling server; the method further includes: sending information of the first transmission server to the multiple application servers.

[0022] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge-enabled client; the method further includes: sending information about the multiple application servers and information about the first transmission server to the application client.

[0023] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge enabling client; the method further includes: sending information about the multiple application servers and information about the first transmission server to an edge enabling server.

[0024] In a possible implementation method, the first information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, an application identifier, or an application identifier list, where the application identifier list includes identifiers of multiple applications.

[0025] In a possible implementation method, the second information includes second indication information and / or an identifier of a transmission server.

[0026] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a communication device or a module (such as a chip) for a communication device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the first aspect described above. The function can be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementations in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0027] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0028] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and execute any implementation method of the first aspect. The processor comprises one or more.

[0029] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to call a program to execute any implementation method in the first aspect. The processor may be one or more.

[0030] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory, which is coupled to the processor and may be located inside or outside the device.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor; when the device is running, the processor executes computer instructions to enable the device to execute any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0032] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing the computer instructions.

[0033] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect is executed.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when run on a communication device, enables any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect to be executed.

[0035] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: a processor for executing any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture based on service-oriented architecture;

[0037] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the architecture serving SEALDD;

[0038] Figure 3 Example diagram of a scenario that enables transmission synchronization of multimodal traffic flows for multiple SEALDD servers;

[0039] Figures 4 to 8 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] To meet the challenges of wireless broadband technology and maintain the leading edge of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, the 3GPP standards group has developed a next-generation mobile communications network system architecture, known as the fifth-generation (5G) network architecture. This architecture not only supports access to the 5G core network (CN) using radio access technologies defined by the 3GPP standards group (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN)), but also supports access to the core network using non-3GPP access technologies via the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) or the next-generation packet data gateway (ngPDG).

[0043] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of 5G network architecture based on service-oriented architecture. Figure 1 The 5G network architecture shown may include access network equipment and core network equipment. Terminal devices access the data network (DN) through the access network equipment and the core network equipment. The core network equipment includes but is not limited to some or all of the following network elements: authentication server function (AUSF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data repository (UDR) network element, network storage function (NRF) network element, network exposure function (NEF) network element, application function (AF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, and user plane function (UPF) network element.

[0044] The terminal device can be user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal device, etc. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an urban air vehicle (such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, etc.), a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. For the sake of convenience, this application uses UE as an example of a terminal device for illustration, and any UE appearing in any subsequent position can be replaced by a terminal device.

[0045] Access network equipment can be wireless access network equipment or wired access network equipment. Wireless access network equipment includes 3GPP access network equipment, untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment, and trusted non-3GPP access network equipment. 3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs) in LTE, next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or modules or units that perform some of the functions of base stations, such as centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs). Untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, untrusted non-3GPP access gateways or N3IWFs, untrusted wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs), switches, and routers. Trusted non-3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, trusted non-3GPP access gateways, trusted WLAN APs, switches, and routers. Wired access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, wireline access gateways, fixed-line network equipment, switches, and routers. For ease of explanation, this application uses a base station as an example of an access network device, and any base station appearing at any subsequent location can be replaced by an access network device.

[0046] Base stations and UEs can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and UEs.

[0047] The AMF network element performs functions such as mobility management and access authentication / authorization. It is also responsible for transferring user policies between the UE and the PCF.

[0048] The SMF network element includes functions such as performing session management, executing control policies issued by the PCF network element, selecting the UPF network element, or allocating the UE's Internet Protocol (IP) address.

[0049] The UPF network element includes functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing statistics, or bandwidth limitation.

[0050] UDM network elements include functions such as executing and managing contract data or user access authorization.

[0051] UDR includes functions for accessing data such as contract data, policy data, or application data.

[0052] NEF network element is used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0053] The AF network element communicates application-side requirements to the network, such as Quality of Service (QoS) requirements or user status event subscriptions. The AF can be a third-party functional entity or an application service deployed by an operator, such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service. AF network elements include those within the core network (i.e., the operator's AF network element) and third-party AF network elements (such as an enterprise's application server).

[0054] The PCF network element includes policy control functions such as billing for sessions and service flow levels, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management, or UE policy decision-making. PCF network elements include access and mobility management policy control function (AM PCF) network element and session management policy control function (SM PCF) network element. Among them, the AM PCF network element is used to formulate AM policies and user policies for UEs. The AM PCF network element can also be called a policy control network element that provides services for UEs (PCF for a UE). The SM PCF network element is used to formulate session management policies (SM policy) for sessions. The SM PCF network element can also be called a policy control network element that provides services for protocol data unit (PDU) sessions (PCF for a PDU session).

[0055] NRF network elements can be used to provide network element discovery functions, providing network element information corresponding to the network element type based on requests from other network elements. NRF network elements also provide network element management services, such as network element registration, update, deregistration, or network element status subscription and push.

[0056] The AUSF network element is responsible for authenticating users to determine whether users or devices are allowed to access the network.

[0057] A DN is a network located outside of a carrier network. A carrier network can connect to multiple DNs, and a variety of services can be deployed on the DN, providing UEs with data and / or voice services. For example, a DN is the private network of a smart factory. Sensors installed in the workshop can be UEs. The DN houses a control server for these sensors, which can provide services to the sensors. The sensors can communicate with the control server, receive instructions from the control server, and transmit collected sensor data to the control server based on the instructions. Another example is a DN that is a company's internal office network. An employee's mobile phone or computer can be a UE, allowing them to access information and data resources on the company's internal office network.

[0058] Figure 1Nausf, Npcf, Nudr, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, Nnef, and Nnrf are service-based interfaces (SBIs) provided by the AUSF network element, PCF network element, UDR network element, UDM network element, AF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NEF network element, and NRF network element, respectively, and are used to invoke corresponding service-based operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers, and their meanings are as follows:

[0059] 1) N1: The interface between the AMF network element and the UE, which can be used to deliver non-access stratum (NAS) signaling to the UE (such as QoS rules from the AMF network element).

[0060] 2) N2: The interface between the AMF network element and the base station, which can be used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the base station.

[0061] 3) N3: The interface between the base station and the UPF network element, mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the base station and the UPF network element.

[0062] 4) N4: The interface between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, which can be used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the issuance of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane and reporting information on the user plane.

[0063] 5) N6: The interface between UPF network element and DN, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data flows between UPF network element and DN.

[0064] Figure 1 The various network function network elements in the architecture shown are connected through a service-based bus and interact through service-based interfaces. The advantage of the service-based bus is that it improves the flexibility, openness, scalability and intelligence of the network, and can support diverse business scenarios and needs. The service-based bus can be used to transmit various types of data and signaling, such as real-time signaling that is sensitive to latency (such as service-based interface call signaling between network element function network elements), real-time data that is sensitive to latency (such as real-time artificial intelligence reasoning data), and non-real-time data (such as offline artificial intelligence training data). Moreover, when the service-based bus transmits these data or signaling, these data or signaling are coupled together, that is, the service-based bus can be used for the transmission of real-time signaling, real-time data and non-real-time data at the same time.

[0065] It is understood that the above-mentioned network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above-mentioned network element or function can be implemented by a single device, or by multiple devices, or can be a functional module within a single device, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0066] Figure 2 The SEALDD layer is also called the SEALDD enhancement layer or the data transmission enhancement layer. For the sake of convenience, it is referred to as the SEALDD layer in the present invention.

[0067] The SEALDD layer can provide communication connection and data transmission functions to the Vertical Application Layer (VAL) applications, such as supporting the transmission of application / media data or signaling.

[0068] The SEALDD layer consists of a SEALDD client (SEALDDClient) and a SEALDD server (SEALDDServer). The SEALDD client is deployed on the UE in the form of software or system components, and the SEALDD server is deployed between the UPF network element and the application server (ApplicationServer, AS) in the form of an independent or integrated server, or between the UPF network element and the VAL server (VAL server). Figure 2 The example of deploying between the UPF network element and the VAL server is used for explanation. In addition, the SEALDD server can be deployed in a distributed manner, that is, multiple SEALDD servers can be deployed, depending on the deployment of the UPF network element and the VAL server.

[0069] The VAL client is deployed on the UE as software or a system component. The VAL client communicates with the VAL server via the VAL-UU interface. The VAL client communicates with the SEALDD client via the SEALDD-C interface. The SEALDD client and SEALDD server transmit user plane data or control plane signaling via the SEALDD-UU interface, which is carried over the user plane session established by the 3GPP network system. The SEALDD server communicates with the VAL server via the SEALDD-S interface. Two SEALDD servers interact with each other via the SEALDD-E interface, for example, to provide control plane context transfer and / or forward user plane data.

[0070] The SEALDD server can exchange control plane messages with the PCF network element via the N33 / N5 interface. The N5 interface is between the AF network element and the PCF network element, and the N33 interface is between the AF network element and the NEF network element. The AF network element can indirectly communicate with the PCF network element via the NEF network element. The SEALDD server can act as an AF network element, sending AF requests or subscription notifications to the PCF network element via the N33 / N5 interface. Furthermore, the SEALDD server can communicate user plane data with the UPF network element via the N6 interface.

[0071] For uplink data transmission, the VAL client transmits the data packet to the SEALDD client through the SEALDD-C interface. The SEALDD client encapsulates the data packet and sends it to the SEALDD server through the SEALDD-UU interface. The SEALDD server parses / decapsulates the data packet and sends it to the VAL server through the SEALDD-S interface.

[0072] For downlink data transmission, the VAL server transmits the data packet to the SEALDD server through the SEALDD-S interface. The SEALDD server encapsulates the data packet and sends it to the SEALDD client through the SEADD-UU interface. The SEALDD client parses / decapsulates the data packet and sends it to the VAL client through the SEALDD-C interface.

[0073] 3GPP defines multimodal business scenarios, which refer to business scenarios that require synchronization of data transmission between multiple multimodal business flows. Multimodal business scenarios include, for example, virtual reality (VR) scenarios, augmented reality (AR) scenarios, extended reality (XR) scenarios, or gaming scenarios, etc. The input or output of a multimodal application consists of multiple business flows, where the data of the business flows may include at least two of video data, audio data, sensor data (such as ambient brightness, ambient temperature, etc.), or tactile data (such as controller vibration in gaming scenarios, etc.).

[0074] In this application, multimodal business flows may also be referred to as business flows for short, which are uniformly described here and will not be repeated later.

[0075] For multimodal service scenarios, users' immersive experience requires data from multiple data sources to be transmitted synchronously. To this end, 3GPP provides an example of the synchronization delay requirements between data sources, as shown in Table 1.

[0076] Table 1

[0077] Example Composition of multimodal business flows Synchronization delay requirements Example 1 Audio-Haptics Audio data can be within 50ms of haptic data Example 2 Video-Haptics Video data can be within 15ms of tactile data Example 3 Audio-Haptics Haptic data can be within 25ms of audio data Example 4 Video-Haptics Haptic data can be within 50ms of video data

[0078] According to Example 1, the synchronization delay requirement indicates that audio data can be within 50ms later than haptic data. For example, the difference between the time when the UE's VAL client receives the audio data and the time when the VAL client in the UE receives the haptic data is within a range of 0 to 50ms. According to Example 2, the synchronization delay requirement indicates that video data can be within 15ms later than haptic data. For example, the difference between the time when the UE's VAL client receives the video data and the time when the VAL client in the UE receives the haptic data is within a range of 0 to 15ms. According to Example 3, the synchronization delay requirement indicates that haptic data can be within 25ms later than audio data. For example, the difference between the time when the UE's VAL client receives the haptic data and the time when the VAL client in the UE receives the audio data is within a range of 0 to 25ms. According to Example 4, the synchronization delay requirement indicates that haptic data can be within 50ms later than video data. For example, the difference between the time when the UE's VAL client receives the haptic data and the time when the VAL client in the UE receives the video data is within a range of 0 to 50ms.

[0079] In the transmission of multimodal service streams, the difference in the time it takes for data from different service streams to reach the VAL client may exceed the synchronization delay threshold. For example, in Example 1, audio data may arrive more than 50ms later than tactile data, seriously affecting the user experience of multimodal applications, such as causing service lag and user dizziness. Therefore, how to ensure that the transmission of multiple data sources (i.e., multiple service streams) in multimodal service scenarios meets the synchronization delay requirements is currently a problem that needs to be solved.

[0080] Since multimodal business scenarios have synchronization delay requirements for multiple business flows, in one implementation method, the SEALDD server can ensure the transmission synchronization between multiple business flows in the multimodal business scenario, and the multiple business flows come from multiple VAL servers.

[0081] Figure 3 Figure 2 illustrates a scenario that enables synchronization of multimodal service streams for multiple SEALDD servers. In this example, VAL server #1 generates service stream 1, which is a video stream. The video data packets of this video stream are sent from VAL server #1 to SEALDD server #1. VAL server #2 generates service stream 2, which is an audio stream. The audio data packets of this audio stream are sent from VAL server #2 to SEALDD server #2. VAL server #3 generates service stream 3, which is a haptic stream. The haptic data packets of this haptic stream are sent from VAL server #3 to SEALDD server #3.

[0082] For this example, in order to achieve the transmission synchronization between multiple service flows in the multimodal service scenario guaranteed by the SEALDD server, the SEALDD servers need to exchange information such as the transmission status of the service flows. For example, SEALDD server #1 notifies SEALDD server #2 of the transmission status of the video service flow, and SEALDD server #2 determines whether to perform corresponding adjustments to the audio service flow based on the transmission status of the video service flow, the transmission status of the audio service flow, and the synchronization delay requirements corresponding to the video service flow and the audio service flow. For example, it updates the QoS of the audio service flow so that the transmission between the video service flow and the audio service flow meets the synchronization delay requirement. The synchronization delay requirement is used to indicate the synchronization delay relationship that should be satisfied between the data packets of the video service flow and the data packets of the audio service flow received by the UE's VAL client. For example, the synchronization delay requirement indicates that the audio data packet can be within 50ms later than the video data packet.

[0083] Since SEALDD servers need to exchange information such as the transmission status of business flows, a large amount of signaling overhead is generated between SEALDD servers, which makes the implementation complex and may introduce additional delays due to a large amount of signaling interaction, making it difficult to synchronize multimodal business flows.

[0084] To solve this problem, this application provides a corresponding solution, please refer to the following Figure 4 Example of .

[0085] To facilitate understanding of the content of this application, some nouns or terms involved in this application are explained below.

[0086] 1. Edge Data Network (EDN)

[0087] One understanding of EDN is that EDN is a network logic concept. EDN corresponds to a data network, a special local data network (local DN). EDN includes edge-enabling functions and can be identified using the Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) and the Data Network Name (DNN).

[0088] Another way to think of EDN is as a peer-to-peer concept of the central cloud. It can be understood as a local data center (geographical concept) and can be identified using DNAI. An EDN can include multiple local data networks.

[0089] 2. Edge Application Server (EAS)

[0090] EAS is a logical concept that can include both hardware and software. It refers to applications deployed in the EDN. For example, it can be an instance of social media software, augmented reality (AR), or virtual reality (VR) deployed in the EDN.

[0091] EAS is also called edge application, application instance, edge application instance, mobile edge computing (MEC) application, MEC application server, etc.

[0092] 3. Application Client (AC)

[0093] The AC is a client program running on the UE. Users can access application services from the application server through the AC. The AC can connect to the application server in the cloud or to the EAS deployed and running in one or more EDNs.

[0094] In the embodiment of the present application, the VAL client is a specific example of an AC.

[0095] 4. Edge Enabler Server (EES)

[0096] An EAS can be registered on an EES, or the EAS information can be configured on an EES through a management system. The EES is called the EES associated with the EAS, and the EES manages the EAS on the EES.

[0097] EES provides enabling capabilities for EAS deployed in the EDN, better supporting the deployment of applications in MEC. EES supports edge application registration, UE authentication and authorization, and provisioning of the EAS IP address to the UE. EES also supports obtaining the EAS identifier and sending it to the Edge Configuration Server (ECS).

[0098] 5. Edge Enabler Client (EEC)

[0099] The EEC is the UE-side counterpart of the EES. The EEC registers its information and AC information with the EES, performs security authentication and authorization for the UE, obtains the EAS IP address from the EES, and provides edge computing capabilities to the AC (for example, the EEC returns discovered EAS information (such as the IP address) to the AC).

[0100] 5. ECS

[0101] The ECS is responsible for configuring the EDN, for example, it can provide EES information to the UE.

[0102] The following is an introduction to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0103] Figure 4 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by a communication device or a module (such as a chip) for a communication device. For ease of explanation, the following description uses a communication device executing the method as an example. The communication device may be an EES, EEC, or other type of device or server.

[0104] In this embodiment, the transmission server may be the SEALDD server described above or other servers used for transmission, the transmission client may be the SEALDD client described above or other clients used for transmission within the UE, the application server may be the VAL server described above or other servers used to generate service flows, and the application client may be the VAL client described above or other clients within the UE used to receive service flows and perform application logic processing (such as decoding and displaying service flows, etc.).

[0105] The method comprises the following steps:

[0106] Step 401: A communication device receives first information.

[0107] The first information indicates that the application client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple service flows. The transmission synchronization requirement for multiple service flows means that the difference in the time it takes for data packets from multiple service flows (i.e., multiple multimodal service flows) to arrive at the application client must be less than or equal to the synchronization delay threshold. This can also be understood as requiring that the data packets from multiple multimodal service flows arrive at the application client at a relatively close time.

[0108] The first information may also be referred to as multimodal service demand information.

[0109] The first information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, an application identifier, or an application identifier list, the application identifier list including multiple application identifiers. The application identifier indicates the application to which the application client needs to connect. In a specific implementation, the application identifier may be an application server identifier, which indicates an application whose service flow is generated by the application server.

[0110] When the first information includes the first indication information, the first indication information explicitly indicates that the application client has the transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams. When the first information includes the application identifier or the application identifier list, the application identifier or the application identifier list implicitly indicates that the application client has the transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams. For example, the application identifier #1 indicates that the application client has the transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams, and the application identifier #2 indicates that the application client does not have the transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams or does not indicate whether the application client has the transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams. Therefore, when the first information includes the application identifier #1, it implicitly indicates that the application client has the transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams. For another example, the first information includes an application identification list, which consists of application identification #1, application identification #2 and application identification #3, where different application identifications indicate different business flow requirements of the application client, such as application identification #1 indicates that the application client has a need to connect to an audio application server to obtain an audio business flow, application identification #2 indicates that the application client has a need to connect to a video application server to obtain a video business flow, and application identification #3 indicates that the application client has a need to connect to a tactile application server to obtain a tactile business flow, and the application identification list also implicitly indicates that the application client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business flows.

[0111] In step 402, the communication device selects a plurality of application servers according to the first information, and selects the same first transmission server corresponding to the plurality of application servers.

[0112] The first transmission server is used to synchronously transmit the service flows from the multiple application servers to the application client.

[0113] The communication device learns from the first information that the application client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams, and thus selects multiple application servers for the application client, and selects the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers. Exemplarily, the application servers selected by the communication device include application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3, and application server #1 corresponds to transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #3, application server #2 corresponds to transmission server #2, transmission server #3, and transmission server #4, and application server #3 corresponds to transmission server #2 and transmission server #5, then the communication device selects transmission server #2 (the transmission server #2 is also called the first transmission server) for synchronously transmitting the business streams from application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3 to the application client. In an embodiment of the present application, the transmission server synchronously transmits the business stream from the application server to the application client, which can be: the transmission server synchronously transmits the business stream from the application server to the transmission client, and the transmission client then transmits the business stream to the application client. For example, transmission server #2 synchronously transmits the service flows from application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3 to the transmission client, and then the transmission client transmits the service flows to the application client.

[0114] In the embodiments of the present application, an application server corresponds to a transmission server, which means that the service flow generated by the application server can be transmitted through the transmission server. For example, application server #1 corresponds to transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #3, which means that the service flow generated by application server #1 can be transmitted through at least one of transmission server #1, transmission server #2, or transmission server #3. In other words, the service flow generated by application server #1 can be sent to at least one of transmission server #1, transmission server #2, or transmission server #3, and at least one of transmission server #1, transmission server #2, or transmission server #3 will send the service flow to the UE.

[0115] In the embodiments of the present application, multiple service flows can be generated by different application servers, that is, each application server generates only one service flow. For example, service flow #1 is generated by application server #1, service flow #2 is generated by application server #2, and service flow #3 is generated by application server #3. Service flow #1, service flow #2, and service flow #3 are video, audio, and haptic flows, respectively.

[0116] Alternatively, an application server can generate one or more service flows. For example, service flow #1 and service flow #2 are generated by application server #1, and service flow #3 is generated by application server #2. Service flow #1, service flow #2, and service flow #3 are video, audio, and haptic flows, respectively.

[0117] In the above solution, the communication device selects multiple application servers and the same first transmission server corresponding to these multiple application servers. This first transmission server is used to synchronously transmit the service flows from these multiple application servers to the application client. Because a single transmission server synchronizes the transmission of multiple service flows from multiple application servers, this avoids the need for multiple transmission servers to handle the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows. This avoids the signaling overhead caused by the large amount of signaling exchanges between multiple transmission servers, as well as the additional latency introduced by these exchanges, thereby simplifying the transmission synchronization process between multimodal service flows.

[0118] The implementation process involved in the above solution is described below.

[0119] In one implementation method, before step 402, the communication device receives second information indicating a need to use a transmission server to synchronously transmit service flows from multiple application servers. This second information can be understood as indicating the use of a transmission server, rather than other types of servers, to achieve synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers. Accordingly, step 402 can specifically be: the communication device selects multiple application servers based on the first information and the second information, and selects the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers. The second information can also be referred to as transmission server transmission requirement information or transmission server requirement information. Exemplarily, the second information includes second indication information and / or an identifier of the transmission server. When the second information includes the second indication information, the second indication information explicitly indicates a need to use a transmission server to synchronously transmit service flows from multiple application servers. When the second information includes an identifier of the transmission server, the identifier of the transmission server implicitly indicates a need to use a transmission server to synchronously transmit service flows from multiple application servers.

[0120] In one implementation method, if at least one transmission server corresponding to each of the selected multiple application servers includes multiple identical second transmission servers, the communication device can select the first transmission server with the lightest load or the best performance from the identical second transmission servers corresponding to the multiple application servers. For example, the application servers selected by the communication device include application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3, application server #1 corresponds to transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #3, application server #2 corresponds to transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #4, and application server #3 corresponds to transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #5. It can be seen that application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3 all correspond to transmission server #1 and transmission server #2. Therefore, the communication device can select a transmission server with the lightest load and / or the best performance (i.e., the first transmission server) from transmission server #1 and transmission server #2 (both transmission server #1 and transmission server #2 can be referred to as second transmission servers), and the transmission server will synchronously transmit the service flows from the multiple application servers to the application client.

[0121] In the embodiment of the present application, the optimal performance of the transmission server may refer to the optimal transmission performance of the transmission server (for example, the lowest or optimal transmission delay), or the optimal software and / or hardware performance of the transmission server, etc. This is explained here and will not be repeated later.

[0122] The following describes a method for implementing a communication device to select multiple application servers.

[0123] For example, a communication device receives an application client identifier and an application service type from an application client. The application client is a client that supports the application. Therefore, the application client identifier corresponds to the application identifier. The communication device determines an application based on the application client identifier and selects an application server that supports the application service type based on the received application service type. The application service type can be a video service, an audio service, a haptic service, or the like. A service type can also be referred to as a service flow type.

[0124] The following example illustrates this. Assume that a communication device receives application client ID #1 and service types #1, #2, and #3. Application client ID #1 corresponds to a gaming app, service type #1 is a video service, service type #2 is an audio service, and service type #3 is a haptic service. This indicates that the application client needs to receive the video, audio, and haptic service streams of the gaming app. The communication device first obtains at least one application server that supports the video service of the game APP (for example, including application server #1, application server #2 and application server #3), at least one application server that supports the audio service of the game APP (for example, including application server #4, application server #5 and application server #6), and at least one application server that supports the tactile service of the game APP (for example, including application server #7, application server #8 and application server #8), and then selects an application server from the at least one application server that supports the video service of the game APP (for example, selects application server #1), selects an application server from the at least one application server that supports the audio service of the game APP (for example, selects application server #4), and selects an application server from the at least one application server that supports the tactile service of the game APP (for example, selects application server #7). Therefore, the application servers finally selected include application server #1, application server #4 and application server #7, that is, application server #1 provides the video service stream of the game APP, application server #4 provides the audio service stream of the game APP, and application server #7 provides the tactile service stream of the game APP.

[0125] It should be noted that, in another implementation method, the service type of an application can also be used to identify both an application and the service type of the application. For example, service type #1 is used to indicate service type #1 of application #1, service type #2 is used to indicate service type #2 of application #1, service type #3 is used to indicate service type #3 of application #1, service type #4 is used to indicate service type #1 of application #2, service type #5 is used to indicate service type #2 of application #2, service type #6 is used to indicate service type #3 of application #2, and so on. Based on this implementation method, the application client may not need to send the application client identifier, but only needs to send at least two service types. Exemplarily, the service type of the application in this implementation method can be represented by an EASID.

[0126] After selecting multiple application servers, the communication device needs to further select the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers. Different implementation methods are described below.

[0127] Implementation method 1: The communication device receives information of at least one transmission server discovered by multiple application servers respectively, and selects the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers based on the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the multiple application servers respectively.

[0128] For the first implementation method, the application server first discovers at least one transmission server through the transmission server discovery process and obtains the information of the at least one transmission server discovered (e.g., identifier and / or address). The application server then registers the information of the application server (e.g., the address of the application server, the identifier of the application supported by the application server, and the business type of the application supported by the application server) and the information of the at least one transmission server discovered by the application server with EES. For example, application server #1 discovers transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #3; application server #2 discovers transmission server #2, transmission server #3, and transmission server #4; and application server #3 discovers transmission server #2 and transmission server #5. Then, application server #1 registers the information of application server #1, the information of transmission server #1, the information of transmission server #2, and the information of transmission server #3 with EES; application server #2 registers the information of application server #2, the information of transmission server #2, the information of transmission server #3, and the information of transmission server #4 with EES; and application server #3 registers the information of application server #3, the information of transmission server #2, and the information of transmission server #5 with EES.

[0129] The identifier of the application supported by the application server may be represented by EASID, the service type of the application supported by the application server may be represented by EAStype, or one EASID may be used to represent both the identifier of the application supported by the application server and the service type of the application supported by the application server.

[0130] In one implementation method, Figure 4In the embodiment, the communication device is an EES. The EES can select the same first transmission server corresponding to multiple application servers based on the information of the application servers stored on the EES and the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the application servers. The information of the application servers stored by the EES and the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the application servers refer to the application server registering the information of the application servers and the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the application servers with the EES after discovering at least one transmission server, so that the EES stores the information of the application servers and the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the application servers. Exemplarily, the application servers selected by the EES based on the aforementioned method include application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3, and the transmission servers discovered by application server #1 include transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #3, the transmission servers discovered by application server #2 include transmission server #2, transmission server #3, and transmission server #4, and the transmission servers discovered by application server #3 include transmission server #2 and transmission server #5. Then, the communication device selects transmission server #2 for synchronously transmitting the service flows from application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3 to the application client. Transmission server #2 is also called the first transmission server.

[0131] In another implementation method, Figure 4 In an embodiment, the communication device is an EEC. The EES may send application server list information and information about at least one transmission server discovered by the application server in the application server list information to the EEC. The application server list information includes information about multiple application servers. The EEC first selects multiple application servers from the application server list information based on the aforementioned method, and then selects the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers. For example, the application servers selected by the EEC based on the aforementioned method include application server #1, application server #2, and application server #3. The transmission servers discovered by application server #1 include transmission server #1, transmission server #2, and transmission server #3. The transmission servers discovered by application server #2 include transmission server #2, transmission server #3, and transmission server #4. The transmission servers discovered by application server #3 include transmission server #2 and transmission server #5. The communication device then selects transmission server #2 for synchronously transmitting the service flows from application servers #1, application server #2, and application server #3 to the application client. Transmission server #2 is also referred to as the first transmission server.

[0132] In a second implementation method, a communication device receives identifiers of applications supported by multiple transmission servers and the service types of the applications supported by the multiple transmission servers, as well as identifiers of applications supported by multiple application servers and the service types of the applications supported by the multiple transmission servers. The communication device selects a first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers based on the identifiers of the applications supported by the multiple transmission servers and the service types of the applications supported by the multiple application servers, and the identifiers of the applications supported by the multiple application servers and the service types of the applications supported by the multiple application servers, where the multiple transmission servers include the first transmission server.

[0133] For this second implementation method, the application server and the transport server first register their respective information with the EES. For example, the application server registers its information (e.g., the address of the application server, the identifiers of the applications supported by the application server, and the service types of the applications supported by the application server) with the EES, and the transport server registers its information (e.g., the address or identifier of the transport server, the identifiers of the applications supported by the transport server, and the service types of the applications supported by the transport server) with the EES. For example, the information registered by application server #1 with the EES includes: the address of application server #1, the identifiers of application #1 supported by application server #1, service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #1 supported by application server #1, service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #1 supported by application server #1, the identifiers of application #2 supported by application server #1, and service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #2 supported by application server #1. The information registered by application server #2 with EES includes: the address of application server #2, the identifier of application #1 supported by application server #2, service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #1 supported by application server #2, service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #1 supported by application server #2, the identifier of application #2 supported by application server #2, service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #2 supported by application server #2, and service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #2 supported by application server #2. The information registered by application server #3 with EES includes: the address of application server #3, the identifier of application #1 supported by application server #3, service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #1 supported by application server #3, the identifier of application #2 supported by application server #3, and service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #2 supported by application server #3. Illustratively, the information registered by transport server #1 with EES includes: the address (or identifier) ​​of transport server #1, the identifier of application #1 supported by transport server #1, service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #1 supported by transport server #1, service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #1 supported by transport server #1, the identifier of application #2 supported by transport server #1, and service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #2 supported by transport server #1. The information registered by transport server #2 with EES includes: the address (or identifier) ​​of transport server #2, the identifier of application #1 supported by transport server #2, service type #2 (e.g., audio service) of application #1 supported by transport server #1, the identifier of application #2 supported by transport server #2, and service type #1 (e.g., video service) of application #2 supported by transport server #2.

[0134] In one implementation method, Figure 4In the embodiment, the communication device is an EES. The EES can select the same first transmission server corresponding to multiple application servers based on the information of the application servers and the information of the transmission servers stored on the EES. The information of the application servers and the information of the transmission servers stored on the EES can be registered to the EES by the application servers and the transmission servers respectively, so that the EES stores the information of the application servers and the transmission servers. Exemplarily, the application servers selected by the EES based on the above method include application server #1 and application server #2, and application server #1 transmits the business flow of business type #1 of application #1, and application server #2 transmits the business flow of business type #2 of application #1. Since transmission server #1 supports business type #1 of application #1 and business type 2 of application #1, the EES can select transmission server #1 to synchronously transmit the business flows from application server #1 and application server #2 to the application client. The transmission server #1 is also called the first transmission server.

[0135] In another implementation method, Figure 4 In the embodiment, if the communication device is an EEC, the EES can send application server list information and transmission server list information to the EEC. The application server list information includes information about multiple application servers, and the transmission server list information includes information about multiple transmission servers. The EEC first selects multiple application servers from the application server list information based on the aforementioned method, and then selects the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers. For example, the application servers selected by the EEC based on the aforementioned method include application server #1 and application server #2. Application server #1 transmits the service flow of service type #1 of application #1, and application server #2 transmits the service flow of service type #2 of application #1. Because transmission server #1 supports both service type #1 and service type 2 of application #1, the EEC can select transmission server #1 to synchronously transmit the service flows from application server #1 and application server #2 to the application client. Transmission server #1 is also referred to as the first transmission server.

[0136] Based on the second implementation method, in one implementation method, the communication device may also receive third information, which indicates whether the application server supports the transmission of business flows through the transmission server. The third information may be information at the application server granularity. If the third information indicates that a certain application server supports the transmission of business flows through the transmission server, then the business flows of any application generated by the application server can be transmitted through the transmission server; if the third information indicates that a certain application server does not support the transmission of business flows through the transmission server, then the business flows of any application generated by the application server cannot be transmitted through the transmission server. Alternatively, the third information may also be information at the application granularity, that is, for each application supported by the application server, there is a corresponding third information, which is used to indicate whether the application server supports the transmission of the business flows of the application through the transmission server. After receiving the third information, the communication device can more accurately determine the application server based on the third information, and will not select application servers that do not support the transmission of business flows through the transmission server.

[0137] Based on the second implementation method, in one implementation method, the communication device may further receive fourth information indicating whether the transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers. This fourth information may be information at the transmission server granularity level. If the fourth information indicates that a transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers, the transmission server may synchronously transmit multiple service flows from any received application. If the fourth information indicates that a transmission server does not support synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers, the transmission server may not synchronously transmit multiple service flows from any received application. Alternatively, the fourth information may be information at the application granularity level. That is, for each application supported by the transmission server, there is a corresponding fourth information indicating whether the transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers. Upon receiving this fourth information, the communication device can more accurately determine the transmission server based on the fourth information and avoid selecting transmission servers that do not support synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers.

[0138] The following describes some possible operations of the communication device after the above step 402.

[0139] In one implementation method, Figure 4 The communication device in the embodiment is EES. After step 402, EES can send information of multiple selected application servers (such as addresses of multiple application servers) and information of the selected first transmission server (such as the address of the first transmission server) to EEC, and then EEC can send information of multiple application servers and information of the first transmission server to the application client.

[0140] In one implementation method, Figure 4 The communication device in the embodiment is EES. After step 402, EES can send information of the first transmission server (for example, the address of the first transmission server) to the multiple application servers respectively. Subsequently, the multiple application servers will send the generated multimodal business flows to the first transmission server, and the first transmission server will synchronously transmit the business flows from the multiple application servers to the application client.

[0141] In one implementation method, Figure 4 In the embodiment, the communication device is an EEC. After step 402, the EEC may send information of the selected multiple application servers (eg, addresses of the multiple application servers) and information of the selected first transmission server (eg, address of the first transmission server) to the application client.

[0142] In one implementation method, Figure 4 The communication device in the embodiment is EEC. After step 402, EEC can send information of the selected multiple application servers (for example, addresses of the multiple application servers) and information of the selected first transmission server (for example, address of the first transmission server) to EES, and then EES can send information of the first transmission server to the multiple application servers respectively. Subsequently, the multiple application servers will send the generated multimodal business flows to the first transmission server, and the first transmission server will synchronously transmit the business flows from the multiple application servers to the application client.

[0143] In an embodiment of the present application, the information of the application server appearing anywhere below may be the address of the application server or other types of information in a specific implementation, and the information of the first transmission server may be the address of the first transmission server or other types of information in a specific implementation, which are uniformly explained here.

[0144] To facilitate understanding of the content of this application, the following is an explanation with reference to specific examples. Figures 5 to 8 The embodiments are all above Figure 4 The following is a specific example of an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 5 to 8 In the embodiment of the present invention, the VAL client, the VAL server, and the SEALDD server are respectively Figure 4 Specific examples of application clients, application servers, and transmission servers in the embodiments of the present invention. Figures 5 to 8 In the embodiment, the VAL servers include VAL server #1 and VAL server #2. In actual application, other VAL servers may also be involved.

[0145] Figure 5 This is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0146] Step 500a: The SEALDD server sends a registration request message to the CCF entity. Correspondingly, the CCF entity receives the registration request message.

[0147] Among them, CCF is the abbreviation of CAPIF core function, CAPIF is the abbreviation of Common API Framework, and API is the abbreviation of application programming interface.

[0148] The registration request message is also referred to as a SEALDD server registration request message. It should be noted that the registration request message may also be replaced by other messages, such as a registration update message, an API publishing request message, and the like.

[0149] The registration request message is used to register the information of SEALDD with the CCF entity.

[0150] The registration request message includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the SEALDD server, an address of the SEALDD server, an API type supported by the SEALDD server, an API address of the SEALDD server, or indication information 1.

[0151] The identifier of the SEALDD server and / or the address of the SEALDD server is used to uniquely identify a SEALDD server.

[0152] The API types supported by the SEALDD server include, for example, reliable transmission API, general transmission API, or transmission measurement API.

[0153] The indication information 1 indicates that the SEALDD server supports transmission synchronization of multiple service flows. The indication information 1 is also called support for multimodal transmission synchronization information, support for multimodal transmission information, or support for multimodal synchronization information.

[0154] It should be noted that if the registration request message does not include the indication information 1, the SEALDD server identifier or the API type supported by the SEALDD server may implicitly indicate whether the SEALDD server supports the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows. For example, the SEALDD server identifier #1 indicates that the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows is supported, and the SEALDD server identifier #2 indicates that the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows is not supported. For another example, the API type #1 supported by the SEALDD server indicates that the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows is supported, and the API type #2 supported by the SEALDD server indicates that the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows is not supported.

[0155] Step 500b: The CCF entity sends a registration response message to the SEALDD server. Correspondingly, the SEALDD server receives the registration response message.

[0156] The registration response message is used to indicate a registration result, which can be either a registration success or a registration failure.

[0157] The registration response message may also be replaced by an API publishing response message, etc.

[0158] The above steps 500a and 500b may be respectively executed by multiple SEALDD servers.

[0159] Step 501a: VAL server #1 sends a discovery request message to the CCF entity. Correspondingly, the CCF entity receives the discovery request message.

[0160] The discovery request message is also called a SEALDD server discovery request message or an API discovery request message, etc.

[0161] The discovery request message is used to request the discovery of a SEALDD server that supports the synchronization of multiple service stream transmissions.

[0162] Exemplarily, the discovery request message includes SEALDD transmission requirement information, where the SEALDD transmission requirement information is used to indicate that the VAL server #1 has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0163] Exemplarily, the SEALDD transmission requirement information may be indication information.

[0164] Exemplarily, the SEALDD transmission requirement information may also be represented by an identifier of a SEALDD server.

[0165] Exemplarily, the SEALDD transmission requirement information may also be represented by an API type supported by the SEALDD server.

[0166] Step 501b: The CCF entity sends a discovery response message to VAL server #1. Correspondingly, VAL server #1 receives the discovery response message.

[0167] The discovery response message is also called a SEALDD server discovery response message or an API discovery response message, etc.

[0168] The discovery response message includes information about one or more SEALDD servers that support synchronization of multiple service stream transmissions, such as information about SEALDD server #1, information about SEALDD server #2, and information about SEALDD server #3. The information about the SEALDD server may include at least one of an identifier of the SEALDD server, an address of the SEALDD server, or an API address of the SEALDD server.

[0169] Step 502a: VAL server #2 sends a discovery request message to the CCF entity. Correspondingly, the CCF entity receives the discovery request message.

[0170] The discovery request message is also called a SEALDD server discovery request message or an API discovery request message, etc.

[0171] The discovery request message is used to request the discovery of a SEALDD server that supports the synchronization of multiple service stream transmissions.

[0172] Exemplarily, the discovery request message includes transmission synchronization requirement information, where the transmission synchronization requirement information is used to indicate that the VAL server #2 has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0173] Exemplarily, the transmission synchronization requirement information may be indication information.

[0174] Exemplarily, the transmission synchronization requirement information may also be represented by an identifier of a SEALDD server.

[0175] Exemplarily, the transmission synchronization requirement information may also be represented by an API type supported by the SEALDD server.

[0176] Step 502b: The CCF entity sends a discovery response message to VAL server #2. Correspondingly, VAL server #2 receives the discovery response message.

[0177] The discovery response message is also called a SEALDD server discovery response message or an API discovery response message, etc.

[0178] The discovery response message includes information about one or more SEALDD servers that support simultaneous transmission of multiple service streams, such as information about SEALDD server #2, information about SEALDD server #3, and information about SEALDD server #4. The information about the SEALDD server includes at least one of an identifier of the SEALDD server, an address of the SEALDD server, or an API address of the SEALDD server.

[0179] Step 503a: VAL server #1 sends a registration request message to EES. Correspondingly, EES receives the registration request message.

[0180] The registration request message may be, for example, an EAS registration request message or an EAS registration update request message.

[0181] The registration request message includes information of VAL server #1 and information of SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1. The information of SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1 may be SEALDD server list information, which includes information of SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1.

[0182] The information of VAL server #1 includes the address of VAL server #1, the identifiers of the applications supported by VAL server #1, and the service types of the applications supported by VAL server #1. For example, the identifiers of the applications supported by VAL server #1 and the service types of the applications supported by VAL server #1 include the identifier of application #1 supported by VAL server #1 and service type #1 and service type #2 of application #1 supported by VAL server #1, and also include the identifier of application #2 supported by VAL server #1 and service type #1 of application #2 supported by VAL server #1. Service type #1 is a video service, and service type #2 is an audio service. The identifier of the application can be represented by EASID, the service type of the application by EAStype, or both the identifier of the application and the service type of the application can be represented by EASID.

[0183] The information of the SEALDD server discovered by the VAL server #1 is the information of the SEALDD server discovered by the VAL server #1 through the above steps 501a and 501b.

[0184] Accordingly, the EES sends a registration response message or a registration update response message to the VAL server #1. The registration response message or the registration update response message is used to indicate a registration result, which is registration success or registration failure.

[0185] Step 503b: VAL server #2 sends a registration request message to EES. Correspondingly, EES receives the registration request message.

[0186] The registration request message may be, for example, an EAS registration request message or an EAS registration update request message.

[0187] The registration request message includes information of VAL server #2 and information of SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2. The information of SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2 may be SEALDD server list information, which includes information of SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2.

[0188] The information of VAL server #2 includes the address of VAL server #2, the identifiers of the applications supported by VAL server #2, and the service types of the applications supported by VAL server #2. For example, the identifiers of the applications supported by VAL server #2 and the service types of the applications supported by VAL server #2 include the identifier of application #1 supported by VAL server #2 and service type #1 of application #1 supported by VAL server #2, and also include the identifier of application #2 supported by VAL server #2 and service types #1 and #2 of application #2 supported by VAL server #2. Service type #1 is a video service, and service type #2 is an audio service.

[0189] The information of the SEALDD server discovered by the VAL server #2 is the information of the SEALDD server discovered by the VAL server #2 through the above steps 502a and 502b.

[0190] Accordingly, the EES sends a registration response message or an EAS registration update response message to the VAL server #2. The registration response message or the EAS registration update response message is used to indicate a registration result, which is registration success or registration failure.

[0191] Step 504: The VAL client sends a server discovery request message to the EEC. Correspondingly, the EEC receives the server discovery request message.

[0192] The server discovery request message is used to request the VAL server and the SEALDD server.

[0193] Exemplarily, the server discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the VAL client, at least two service types of an application, transmission synchronization requirement information, or SEALDD transmission requirement information.

[0194] The identifier of the VAL client can be used to determine the identifier of the application running on the VAL client, that is, the identifier of the VAL client and the identifier of the application have a corresponding relationship. For example, the server discovery request message includes the identifier #1 of the VAL client, the business type #1 of application #1, and the business type #2 of application #1. Among them, the identifier #1 of the VAL client and the identifier of application #1 have a corresponding relationship. The server discovery request message is used to request the VAL server and SEALDD server that support the business type #1 and business type #2 of application #1. Exemplarily, the business type #1 and business type #2 of application #1 in the server discovery request message can also be represented by an EASID list.

[0195] The transmission synchronization requirement information is used to indicate that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business flows. The transmission synchronization requirement information is an indication information. If the server finds that the request message does not contain the transmission synchronization requirement information, the VAL client's identifier or at least two business types of the application may implicitly indicate that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business flows. The transmission synchronization requirement information, the VAL client's identifier or at least two business types of the application are the aforementioned Figure 4 A specific example of the first information in the embodiment, that is, the transmission synchronization requirement information explicitly indicates that the VAL client has the transmission synchronization requirement of multiple business streams, or the VAL client identifier or at least two business types of the application implicitly indicate that the VAL client has the transmission synchronization requirement of multiple business streams.

[0196] The SEALDD transmission requirement information is used to indicate that the VAL client has a requirement to synchronize the transmission of multiple business flows through the SEALDD server. The SEALDD transmission requirement information can be represented by the identifier of the SEALDD server, or the SEALDD transmission requirement information can be an indication information. The SEALDD transmission requirement information is the aforementioned Figure 4 A specific example of the second information in the embodiment.

[0197] Step 505a: The EEC sends an EES discovery request message to the ECS. Correspondingly, the ECS receives the EES discovery request message.

[0198] The EES discovery request message is also called a service provisioning request message.

[0199] The EES discovery request message is used to request discovery of an EES.

[0200] The EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: EEC identifier, application identifier, at least two service types of the application, transmission synchronization requirement information or SEALDD transmission requirement information. For example, the at least two service types of the application can also be represented by an EASID list.

[0201] For the meaning of transmission synchronization requirement information and SEALDD transmission requirement information, please refer to the above description.

[0202] Step 505b: The ECS sends an EES discovery response message to the EEC. Correspondingly, the EEC receives the EES discovery response message.

[0203] The ECS determines at least one EES according to the EES discovery request message, and sends an EES discovery response message to the EEC, where the EES discovery response message includes information about the at least one EES, including an EES identifier and / or an EES address.

[0204] Step 506: EEC sends a server discovery request message to EES. Correspondingly, EES receives the server discovery request message.

[0205] If the ECS returns information about one EES to the EEC in step 505b, the EEC sends a server discovery request message to the EES in step 506. If the ECS returns information about multiple EESs to the EEC in step 505b, the EEC sends server discovery request messages to some or all of the multiple EESs in step 506.

[0206] The server discovery request message is used to request the VAL server and the SEALDD server.

[0207] Illustratively, the server discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an EEC identifier, an application identifier, at least two service types of the application, and transmission synchronization requirement information or SEALDD transmission requirement information. The application identifier can be represented by an EASID, the service type can be represented by an EAStype, or a single EASID can be used to represent both the application identifier and the service type.

[0208] For the meaning of transmission synchronization requirement information and SEALDD transmission requirement information, please refer to the above description.

[0209] In step 507, the EES determines multiple VAL servers and a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers.

[0210] The VAL server information and the SEALDD server information stored in the EES may be registered to the EES through the above steps 503a and 503b.

[0211] Exemplarily, the EES determines that the VAL client has a requirement for transmission synchronization of multiple service flows based on the transmission synchronization requirement information in the server discovery request message, the identifier of the application, or at least two service types of the application.

[0212] Exemplarily, the EES determines, based on the SEALDD transmission requirement information in the server discovery request message, that the VAL client has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0213] Exemplarily, the EES determines information about multiple VAL servers that support the at least two service types of the application based on the application identifier and the at least two service types of the application in the server discovery request message. Exemplarily, the server discovery request message of step 506 carries the identifier of application #1 and service type #1 and service type #2 of application #1. The EES selects VAL server #1 from the VAL servers that support service type #1 of application #1, and selects VAL server #2 from the VAL servers that support service type #2 of application #1. That is, VAL server #1 provides the service flow (e.g., video service flow) of service type #1 of application #1, and VAL server #2 provides the service flow (e.g., audio service flow) of service type #2 of application #1.

[0214] After determining multiple VAL servers, the EES selects an identical SEALDD server from the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers respectively.

[0215] If there are multiple identical SEALDD servers among the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers, the EES can select a SEALDD server with higher transmission performance (e.g., lower transmission delay) and / or lower load as the SEALDD server for synchronizing the transmission of multiple service flows based on the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server. The EES can obtain the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server from an analysis and prediction entity (e.g., an Application Data Analytics Enabler Server (ADAES) or a Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF) network element).

[0216] The following describes this with reference to specific examples.

[0217] Example 1

[0218] Through the above steps 501a and 501b, VAL server #1 discovers SEALDD servers including SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2. Then in the above step 503a, VAL server #1 registers the information of VAL server #1, SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2 to EES.

[0219] Through the above steps 502a and 502b, VAL server #2 discovers that the SEALDD servers include SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4. Then in the above step 503b, VAL server #2 registers the information of VAL server #2 and the information of SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4 to EES.

[0220] Assuming that the multiple VAL servers identified by EES include VAL server #1 and VAL server #2, EES selects a single SEALDD server (i.e., SEALDD server #2) from the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1 (i.e., SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2) and the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2 (i.e., SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3, and SEALDD server #4), and determines the information of SEALDD server #2. SEALDD server #2 serves as the SEALDD server for synchronizing the transmission of multiple service flows, meaning that SEALDD server #2 implements the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows.

[0221] Example 2

[0222] Through the above steps 501a and 501b, VAL server #1 discovers SEALDD servers including SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2. Then in the above step 503a, VAL server #1 registers the information of VAL server #1, SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2 to EES.

[0223] Through the above steps 502a and 502b, VAL server #2 discovers that the SEALDD servers include SEALDD server #1, SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4. Then in the above step 503b, VAL server #2 registers the information of VAL server #2 and the information of SEALDD server #1, SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4 to EES.

[0224] Assuming that the multiple VAL servers determined by EES include VAL server #1 and VAL server #2, EES selects an identical SEALDD server (i.e., SEALDD server #1 or SEALDD server #2) from the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1 (i.e., SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2) and the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2 (i.e., SEALDD server #1, SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3, and SEALDD server #4). Assuming that the transmission performance of SEALDD server #1 is higher than that of SEALDD server #2, and / or the load of SEALDD server #1 is lower than that of SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #1 is determined as the selected identical SEALDD server, and the information of SEALDD server #1 is further determined. SEALDD server #1 serves as the SEALDD server for synchronizing the transmission of multiple service flows, that is, SEALDD server #1 implements the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows.

[0225] Step 508: EES sends a server discovery response message to EEC. Correspondingly, EEC receives the server discovery response message.

[0226] The server discovery response message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identifier and / or address).

[0227] If EES determines that the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers have no intersection, that is, it is impossible to select the same SEALDD server, then the server discovery response message may include indication information for indicating that the server discovery failed, or include information of multiple VAL servers and information of the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers respectively, that is, different VAL servers select different SEALDD servers for the transmission of multiple business flows.

[0228] Step 509: The EEC sends a server discovery response message to the VAL client. Correspondingly, the VAL client receives the server discovery response message.

[0229] The server discovery response message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identifier and / or address).

[0230] If the server discovery response message of step 508 includes indication information indicating that the server discovery failed, then the server discovery response message of step 509 includes indication information indicating that the server discovery failed. If the server discovery response message of step 508 includes information about multiple VAL servers and information about SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers, then the server discovery response message of step 509 includes information about the multiple VAL servers (e.g., VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information about the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers (e.g., identifiers and / or addresses).

[0231] In step 510, the EES sends information of a selected identical SEALDD server to each of the multiple VAL servers.

[0232] In one implementation method, before step 510, the multiple VAL servers respectively send subscription messages to EES to subscribe to the information of the SEALDD server used for synchronization of multiple business flow transmissions. Accordingly, step 510 is specifically as follows: EES respectively sends notification messages to the multiple VAL servers, and the notification message contains information of a selected identical SEALDD server (such as an identifier and / or address).

[0233] In the figure, an example is taken in which EES sends information of selecting the same SEALDD server to VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively.

[0234] Step 511: The multiple VAL servers respectively send a request message to a selected identical SEALDD server.

[0235] In one implementation method, the request message includes the address of the VAL server and instruction information, the instruction information is used to instruct the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. Optionally, the request message also includes the service type of the service flow of the application provided by the VAL server.

[0236] In another implementation method, the name of the request message instructs the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. In this implementation method, the request message may not carry the above-mentioned instruction information. Exemplarily, the request message is specifically a multimodal service transmission subscription request message, a transmission synchronization subscription request message, or a transmission synchronization request message.

[0237] In the figure, it is taken as an example that VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively send request messages to the same selected SEALDD server.

[0238] In this solution, multiple VAL servers report VAL server information and information about the SEALDD servers discovered by the VAL servers to the EES. The EES then selects multiple VAL servers and chooses a single SEALDD server from among the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers. Because a single SEALDD server synchronizes the transmission of multiple service flows from multiple VAL servers, this avoids the need for multiple SEALDD servers to handle the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows. This reduces the signaling overhead and latency associated with extensive signaling exchanges between multiple SEALDD servers, simplifying the transmission synchronization process for multimodal service flows.

[0239] Figure 6 This is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0240] Step 600a to step 600b, same Figure 5 Steps 500a to 500b in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0241] Among them, step 600a and step 600b correspond to and are the same as step 500a and step 500b respectively.

[0242] Step 601a to step 601b, same Figure 5 Steps 501a to 501b in the embodiment.

[0243] Among them, step 601a and step 601b correspond to and are the same as step 501a and step 501b respectively.

[0244] Step 602a to step 602b, same Figure 5 Steps 502a to 502b in the embodiment of FIG.

[0245] Among them, step 602a and step 602b correspond to and are the same as step 502a and step 502b respectively.

[0246] Step 603a to step 603b, same Figure 5 Steps 503a to 503b in the embodiment of FIG.

[0247] Among them, step 603a and step 603b correspond to and are the same as step 503a and step 503b respectively.

[0248] Step 604, same Figure 5 Step 504 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0249] Step 605a to step 605b, same Figure 5 Steps 505a to 505b in the embodiment of FIG.

[0250] Among them, step 605a and step 605b correspond to and are the same as step 505a and step 505b respectively.

[0251] Step 606, same Figure 5 Step 506 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0252] Step 607: EES sends a server discovery response message to EEC. Correspondingly, EEC receives the server discovery response message.

[0253] The server discovery response message includes information of at least two VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of SEALDD servers discovered by the at least two VAL servers (eg, identifiers and / or addresses).

[0254] The VAL server information and the SEALDD server information stored in the EES may be registered to the EES through the above steps 503a and 503b.

[0255] Exemplarily, the EES determines that the VAL client has a requirement for transmission synchronization of multiple service flows based on the transmission synchronization requirement information in the server discovery request message, the identifier of the application, or at least two service types of the application.

[0256] Exemplarily, the EES determines, based on the SEALDD transmission requirement information in the server discovery request message, that the VAL client has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0257] Exemplarily, the EES determines the information of the VAL servers supporting the at least two service types of the application based on the identifier of the application and the at least two service types of the application in the server discovery request message. Exemplarily, the server discovery request message of step 606 carries the identifier of application #1 and service type #1 and service type #2 of application #1. The EES determines that the VAL servers supporting service type #1 of application #1 include VAL server #1, VAL server #2, and VAL server #3, and determines that the VAL servers supporting service type #2 of application #1 include VAL server #3, VAL server #4, and VAL server #5. Therefore, the server discovery response message of step 607 carries the information of the VAL servers supporting service type #1 of application #1 (i.e., the address of VAL server #1, the address of VAL server #2, and the address of VAL server #3) and the information of the VAL servers supporting service type #2 of application #1 (i.e., the address of VAL server #3, the address of VAL server #4, and the address of VAL server #5).

[0258] In step 608 , the EEC determines multiple VAL servers and a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers.

[0259] Exemplarily, the EEC determines that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple service flows based on the transmission synchronization requirement information in the server discovery request message in step 604, the VAL client identifier, or at least two service types of the application.

[0260] Exemplarily, the EEC determines, based on the SEALDD transmission requirement information in the server discovery request message in step 604 , that the VAL client has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0261] Exemplarily, the EEC determines information of multiple VAL servers based on information of at least two VAL servers in the server discovery response message of step 607, where the multiple VAL servers are a subset of the at least two VAL servers. For example, with respect to the example in step 607, the EEC determines that the service flow of service type #1 of application #1 (e.g., a video service flow) is provided by VAL server #1 among VAL server #1, VAL server #2, and VAL server #3, and that the service flow of service type #2 of application #1 (e.g., an audio service flow) is provided by VAL server #5 among VAL server #3, VAL server #4, and VAL server #5.

[0262] After determining the information of multiple VAL servers, the EEC selects a same SEALDD server from the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers respectively.

[0263] If there are multiple identical SEALDD servers among the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers, the EEC may select a SEALDD server with higher transmission performance (e.g., lower transmission delay) and / or lower load as the SEALDD server for synchronizing transmission of multiple service flows based on the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server. The EES may obtain the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server from the analysis and prediction entity (e.g., ADAES or NWDAF network element), and carry the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server in the server discovery response message of step 607.

[0264] The following describes this with reference to specific examples.

[0265] Example 1

[0266] Through the above steps 601a and 601b, VAL server #1 discovers SEALDD servers including SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2. Then in the above step 603a, VAL server #1 registers the information of VAL server #1, SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2 to EES.

[0267] Through the above steps 602a and 602b, VAL server #2 discovers SEALDD servers including SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4. Then in the above step 603b, VAL server #2 registers the information of VAL server #2 and the information of SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4 to EES.

[0268] EES sends to EEC the information of VAL server #1, the information of SEALDD server #1 discovered by VAL server #1, and the information of SEALDD server #2 discovered by VAL server #1, as well as the information of VAL server #2, the information of SEALDD server #2 discovered by VAL server #2, the information of SEALDD server #3 discovered by VAL server #2, and the information of SEALDD server #4 discovered by VAL server #2.

[0269] Assuming that the multiple VAL servers determined by the EEC include VAL server #1 and VAL server #2, the EEC selects a single SEALDD server (i.e., SEALDD server #2) from the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1 (i.e., SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2) and the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2 (i.e., SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3, and SEALDD server #4), and determines the information of SEALDD server #2. SEALDD server #2 serves as the SEALDD server for synchronizing the transmission of multiple service flows, that is, SEALDD server #2 implements the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows.

[0270] Example 2

[0271] Through the above steps 601a and 601b, VAL server #1 discovers SEALDD servers including SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2. Then in the above step 603a, VAL server #1 registers the information of VAL server #1, SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2 to EES.

[0272] Through the above steps 602a and 602b, VAL server #2 discovers that the SEALDD servers include SEALDD server #1, SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4. Then in the above step 603b, VAL server #2 registers the information of VAL server #2 and the information of SEALDD server #1, SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3 and SEALDD server #4 to EES.

[0273] EES sends to EEC the information of VAL server #1, the information of SEALDD server #1 discovered by VAL server #1, and the information of SEALDD server #2 discovered by VAL server #1, as well as the information of VAL server #2, the information of SEALDD server #1 discovered by VAL server #2, the information of SEALDD server #2 discovered by VAL server #2, the information of SEALDD server #3 discovered by VAL server #2, and the information of SEALDD server #4 discovered by VAL server #2.

[0274] Assuming that the multiple VAL servers determined by the EEC include VAL server #1 and VAL server #2, the EEC selects an identical SEALDD server (i.e., SEALDD server #1 or SEALDD server #2) from the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #1 (i.e., SEALDD server #1 and SEALDD server #2) and the SEALDD servers discovered by VAL server #2 (i.e., SEALDD server #1, SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #3, and SEALDD server #4). Assuming that the transmission performance of SEALDD server #1 is higher than that of SEALDD server #2, and / or the load of SEALDD server #1 is lower than that of SEALDD server #2, SEALDD server #1 is determined as the selected identical SEALDD server, and the information of SEALDD server #1 is further determined. SEALDD server #1 serves as the SEALDD server for synchronizing the transmission of multiple service flows, that is, SEALDD server #1 implements the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows.

[0275] Step 609: The EEC sends a server discovery response message to the VAL client. Correspondingly, the VAL client receives the server discovery response message.

[0276] The server discovery response message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identifier and / or address).

[0277] If the EEC determines that the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers have no intersection, that is, the same SEALDD server cannot be selected, then the server discovery response message may include indication information for indicating that the server discovery failed, or include information of multiple VAL servers and information of the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers respectively, that is, different VAL servers select different SEALDD servers for the transmission of multiple business flows.

[0278] Step 610: EEC sends a notification message to EES, and EES receives the notification message accordingly.

[0279] The notification message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identification and / or address).

[0280] The notification message here may also be replaced by other messages, such as a request message, a report message, etc.

[0281] In step 611, the EES sends information of a selected identical SEALDD server to each of the multiple VAL servers.

[0282] In one implementation method, before step 611, the multiple VAL servers respectively send subscription messages to EES to subscribe to the information of the SEALDD server used for synchronization of multiple business flow transmissions. Accordingly, step 611 is specifically as follows: EES respectively sends notification messages to the multiple VAL servers, and the notification message contains information of a selected identical SEALDD server (such as an identifier and / or address).

[0283] In the figure, an example is taken in which EES sends information of selecting the same SEALDD server to VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively.

[0284] Step 612: The multiple VAL servers respectively send a request message to a selected identical SEALDD server.

[0285] In one implementation method, the request message includes the address of the VAL server and instruction information, the instruction information is used to instruct the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. Optionally, the request message also includes the service type of the service flow of the application provided by the VAL server.

[0286] In another implementation method, the name of the request message instructs the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. In this implementation method, the request message may not carry the above-mentioned instruction information. Exemplarily, the request message is specifically a multimodal service transmission subscription request message, a transmission synchronization subscription request message, or a transmission synchronization request message.

[0287] In the figure, it is taken as an example that VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively send request messages to the same selected SEALDD server.

[0288] In the above solution, multiple VAL servers report VAL server information and information about SEALDD servers discovered by the VAL servers to the EES. The EES then sends this information to the EEC. The EEC then selects multiple VAL servers and chooses a single SEALDD server from among the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers. Because a single SEALDD server synchronizes the transmission of multiple service flows from multiple VAL servers, this avoids the need for multiple SEALDD servers to handle the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows. This reduces the signaling overhead and latency associated with extensive signaling interactions between multiple SEALDD servers, simplifying the transmission synchronization process for multimodal service flows.

[0289] Should Figure 6 The embodiment and the above Figure 5 The main differences of the embodiments are: Figure 5 In the embodiment, the EES selects multiple VAL servers and selects an identical SEALDD server from the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers; Figure 6 In the embodiment, the EEC selects multiple VAL servers and selects an identical SEALDD server from the SEALDD servers discovered by the multiple VAL servers.

[0290] Figure 7 This is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0291] Step 701a: VAL server #1 sends a registration request message to EES. Correspondingly, EES receives the registration request message.

[0292] The registration request message may be, for example, an EAS registration request message or an EAS registration update request message.

[0293] The registration request message includes at least one of the following information: information of VAL server #1 (for example, the address of VAL server #1, the identifier of the application supported by VAL server #1, the service type of the application supported by VAL server #1), indication information a or indication information b.

[0294] The indication information a is used to indicate that VAL server #1 supports the generation of multimodal service flows. This indication information a is also called multimodal service indication information. If the registration request message does not carry this indication information a, the information of VAL server #1 may implicitly indicate that VAL server #1 supports the generation of multimodal service flows. The information of VAL server #1 includes the identifier of VAL server #1 and / or the address of VAL server #1.

[0295] The indication information b is used to indicate that the VAL server #1 supports the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server. The indication information b is also called SEALDD server transmission indication information.

[0296] Exemplarily, VAL server #1 supports service type #1 and service type #2 of application #1, and supports service type #1 of application #2. The registration request message includes the identifier of application #1, service type #1 of application #1, service type #2 of application #1, the identifier of application #2, and service type #1 of application #2.

[0297] Accordingly, the EES sends a registration response message or a registration update response message to the VAL server #1. The registration response message or the registration update response message is used to indicate a registration result, which is registration success or registration failure.

[0298] Step 701b: VAL server #2 sends a registration request message to EES. Correspondingly, EES receives the registration request message.

[0299] The registration request message may be, for example, an EAS registration request message.

[0300] The registration request message includes at least one of the following information: information of VAL server #2 (for example, the address of VAL server #2, the identifier of the application supported by VAL server #2, the service type of the application supported by VAL server #2), indication information c or indication information d.

[0301] The indication information c is used to indicate that VAL server #2 supports the generation of multimodal service flows. This indication information c is also called multimodal service indication information. If the registration request message does not carry the indication information c, the information about VAL server #2 can implicitly indicate that VAL server #2 supports the generation of multimodal service flows. The information about VAL server #2 includes the identifier of VAL server #2 and / or the address of VAL server #2.

[0302] The indication information d is used to indicate that the VAL server #2 supports the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server. The indication information d is also called SEALDD server transmission indication information.

[0303] Exemplarily, VAL server #2 supports service type #1 of application #1 and service type #1 of application #2, then the registration request message includes the identifier of application #1, service type #1 of application #1, the identifier of application #2, and service type #1 of application #2.

[0304] Correspondingly, the EES sends a registration response message to the VAL server #2. The registration response message is used to indicate the registration result, which is registration success or registration failure.

[0305] Step 702: The SEALDD server sends a registration request message to the EES. Correspondingly, the EES receives the registration request message.

[0306] This step 702 is performed by multiple SEALDD servers respectively.

[0307] The registration request message is also referred to as a SEALDD server registration request message. It should be noted that the registration request message may also be replaced by other messages, such as a registration update message.

[0308] The registration request message is used to register the information of SEALDD with EES.

[0309] The registration request message includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the SEALDD server, an address of the SEALDD server, indication information e, or supported multimodal service information.

[0310] The indication information e indicates that the SEALDD server supports the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows. The indication information e is also called support for multimodal transmission synchronization information, support for multimodal transmission information, or support for multimodal synchronization information. It should be noted that if the registration request message does not include the indication information e, the identifier of the SEALDD server may implicitly indicate whether the SEALDD server supports the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows. For example, the identifier #1 of the SEALDD server indicates that the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows is supported, and the identifier #2 of the SEALDD server indicates that the transmission synchronization of multiple business flows is not supported.

[0311] The supported multimodal service information is used to indicate the multimodal service flows or multimodal applications supported by the SEALDD server. For example, if the SEALDD server supports Service Type #1, Service Type #2, and Service Type #3 for Application #1, and Service Type #1 and Service Type #2 for Application #2, the registration request message includes the identifier of Application #1, Service Type #1 for Application #1, Service Type #2 for Application #1, and Service Type #3 for Application #1, the identifier of Application #2, Service Type #1 for Application #2, and Service Type #2 for Application #2.

[0312] Step 703: The VAL client sends a server discovery request message to the EEC. Correspondingly, the EEC receives the server discovery request message.

[0313] The server discovery request message is used to request the VAL server and the SEALDD server.

[0314] Exemplarily, the server discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the VAL client, at least two service types of an application, transmission synchronization requirement information, or SEALDD transmission requirement information.

[0315] The VAL client's identifier can be used to determine the identifier of the application running on the VAL client. That is, the VAL client's identifier corresponds to the application's identifier. For example, a server discovery request message includes VAL client identifier #1, application #1's service type #1, and application #1's service type #2. VAL client identifier #1 corresponds to application #1's identifier. This server discovery request message is used to request VAL servers and SEALDD servers that support application #1's service type #1 and application #1's service type #2.

[0316] The transmission synchronization requirement information is used to indicate that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business flows. The transmission synchronization requirement information is an indication information. If the server finds that the request message does not contain the transmission synchronization requirement information, the VAL client's identifier and at least two business types of the application may implicitly indicate that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business flows. The transmission synchronization requirement information, the VAL client's identifier or the at least two business types of the application are the aforementioned Figure 4 A specific example of the first information in the embodiment, that is, the transmission synchronization requirement information explicitly indicates that the VAL client has the transmission synchronization requirement of multiple business streams, or the VAL client identifier or at least two business types of the application implicitly indicate that the VAL client has the transmission synchronization requirement of multiple business streams.

[0317] The SEALDD transmission requirement information is used to indicate that the VAL client has a requirement to synchronize the transmission of multiple business flows through the SEALDD server. The SEALDD transmission requirement information can be represented by the identifier of the SEALDD server, or the SEALDD transmission requirement information can be an indication information. The SEALDD transmission requirement information is the aforementioned Figure 4 A specific example of the second information in the embodiment.

[0318] Step 704a: The EEC sends an EES discovery request message to the ECS. Correspondingly, the ECS receives the EES discovery request message.

[0319] The EES discovery request message is also called a service provisioning request message.

[0320] The EES discovery request message is used to request discovery of an EES.

[0321] The EES discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an EEC identifier, an application identifier, at least two service types of the application, transmission synchronization requirement information, or SEALDD transmission requirement information.

[0322] For the meaning of transmission synchronization requirement information and SEALDD transmission requirement information, please refer to the above description.

[0323] Step 704b: The ECS sends an EES discovery response message to the EEC. Correspondingly, the EEC receives the EES discovery response message.

[0324] The ECS determines at least one EES according to the EES discovery request message, and sends an EES discovery response message to the EEC, where the EES discovery response message includes information about the at least one EES, including an EES identifier and / or an EES address.

[0325] Step 705: EEC sends a server discovery request message to EES. Correspondingly, EES receives the server discovery request message.

[0326] If the ECS returns information about one EES to the EEC in step 704b, the EEC sends a server discovery request message to the EES in step 705. If the ECS returns information about multiple EESs to the EEC in step 704b, the EEC sends server discovery request messages to some or all of the multiple EESs in step 705.

[0327] The server discovery request message is used to request the VAL server and the SEALDD server.

[0328] Exemplarily, the server discovery request message includes at least one of the following information: an identifier of the EEC, an identifier of the application, at least two service types of the application, transmission synchronization requirement information, or SEALDD transmission requirement information.

[0329] For the meaning of transmission synchronization requirement information and SEALDD transmission requirement information, please refer to the above description.

[0330] In step 706, the EES determines information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identification and / or address).

[0331] The VAL server information and the SEALDD server information stored in the EES may be registered to the EES through the above steps 701a, 701b, and 702.

[0332] Exemplarily, the EES determines that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple service flows based on the transmission synchronization requirement information in the server discovery request message, the identifier of the VAL client, or at least two service types of the application.

[0333] Exemplarily, the EES determines, based on the SEALDD transmission requirement information in the server discovery request message, that the VAL client has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0334] Exemplarily, the EES determines information about multiple VAL servers that support the at least two service types of the application based on the identifier of the application and the at least two service types of the application in the server discovery request message. Exemplarily, the server discovery request message of step 705 carries the identifier of application #1 and service type #1 and service type #2 of application #1. The EES selects VAL server #1 from the VAL servers that support service type #1 of application #1, and selects VAL server #2 from the VAL servers that support service type #2 of application #1. That is, VAL server #1 provides the service flow (e.g., video service flow) of service type #1 of application #1, and VAL server #2 provides the service flow (e.g., audio service flow) of service type #2 of application #1.

[0335] Furthermore, EES selects a single SEALDD server for each of the selected VAL servers based on the applications and service types supported by the multiple SEALDD servers. For example, if SEALDD server #1 supports service type 1 of application #1 and service type #2 of application #1, SEALDD server #1 can be selected to synchronize the transmission of the service flow of service type #1 of application #1 from VAL server #1 and the service flow of service type #2 of application #1 from VAL server #2.

[0336] If the selected VAL servers correspond to multiple identical SEALDD servers, the EES can select a SEALDD server with higher transmission performance and / or lower load as the SEALDD server for synchronizing the transmission of multiple service flows based on the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server. The EES can obtain the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server from the ADAES or NWDAF network element.

[0337] Step 707: EES sends a server discovery response message to EEC. Correspondingly, EEC receives the server discovery response message.

[0338] The server discovery response message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identifier and / or address).

[0339] If the EES cannot select a same SEALDD server, the server discovery response message may include indication information indicating that the server discovery has failed.

[0340] Step 708: The EEC sends a server discovery response message to the VAL client. Correspondingly, the VAL client receives the server discovery response message.

[0341] The server discovery response message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identifier and / or address).

[0342] If the server discovery response message in step 707 includes indication information for indicating that the server discovery has failed, then the server discovery response message in step 708 includes indication information for indicating that the server discovery has failed.

[0343] Step 709: EES sends information of a selected identical SEALDD server to each of the multiple VAL servers.

[0344] In one implementation method, before step 709, the multiple VAL servers respectively send subscription messages to EES to subscribe to the information of the SEALDD server used for synchronization of multiple business flow transmissions. Accordingly, step 709 is specifically as follows: EES respectively sends notification messages to the multiple VAL servers, and the notification message contains information of a selected identical SEALDD server (such as an identifier and / or address).

[0345] In the figure, an example is taken in which EES sends information of selecting the same SEALDD server to VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively.

[0346] Step 710: The multiple VAL servers respectively send a request message to a selected identical SEALDD server.

[0347] In one implementation method, the request message includes the address of the VAL server and instruction information, the instruction information is used to instruct the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. Optionally, the request message also includes the service type of the service flow of the application provided by the VAL server.

[0348] In another implementation method, the name of the request message instructs the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. In this implementation method, the request message may not carry the above-mentioned instruction information. Exemplarily, the request message is specifically a multimodal service transmission subscription request message, a transmission synchronization subscription request message, or a transmission synchronization request message.

[0349] In the figure, it is taken as an example that VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively send request messages to the same selected SEALDD server.

[0350] In the above solution, the VAL server registers its VAL server information with EES, and the SEALDD server registers its SEALDD server information, along with the VAL server information corresponding to the multimodal services supported by the SEALDD server, with EES. EES then selects multiple VAL servers and identifies a single SEALDD server corresponding to these multiple VAL servers. Because a single SEALDD server synchronizes the transmission of multiple service flows from multiple VAL servers, this avoids the need for multiple SEALDD servers to handle the synchronization of multiple service flows. This reduces the signaling overhead and latency associated with extensive signaling interactions between multiple SEALDD servers, simplifying the synchronization process for multimodal service flows.

[0351] Should Figure 7 The embodiment and the above Figure 5 The main differences of the embodiments are: Figure 5 In the embodiment, the VAL server discovers the SEALDD server and the VAL server registers the information of the VAL server and the information of the SEALDD server discovered by the VAL server to the EES; Figure 7 In the embodiment, the VAL server and the SEALDD server are registered with the EES respectively, that is, the VAL server registers the VAL server information with the EES, and the SEALDD server registers the SEALDD server information and the VAL server information corresponding to the multimodal services supported by the SEALDD server with the EES.

[0352] Figure 8 This is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0353] Step 801a to step 801b, same Figure 7 Steps 701a to 701b in the embodiment.

[0354] Among them, step 801a and step 801b correspond to and are the same as step 701a and step 701b respectively.

[0355] Step 802 to step 803, same Figure 7 Steps 702 to 703 in the embodiment.

[0356] Among them, steps 802 to 803 correspond to steps 702 to 703 respectively.

[0357] Step 804a to step 804b, same Figure 7 Steps 704a to 704b in the embodiment of FIG.

[0358] Among them, step 804a and step 804b correspond to and are the same as step 704a and step 704b respectively.

[0359] Step 805, same Figure 7 Step 705 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0360] Step 806: EES sends a server discovery response message to EEC. Correspondingly, EEC receives the server discovery response message.

[0361] The server discovery response message includes information of at least two VAL servers (such as the VAL server address, applications supported by the VAL server, and business types of applications supported by the VAL server) and information of at least two SEALDD servers (such as the SEALDD server address, applications supported by the SEALDD server, and business types of applications supported by the SEALDD server).

[0362] The at least two VAL servers include VAL servers supporting at least two service types of applications provided by the VAL client, and the at least two SEALDD servers include SEALDD servers supporting at least two service types of applications provided by the VAL client.

[0363] The VAL server information and the SEALDD server information stored in the EES may be registered to the EES through the above steps 801a, 801b, and 802.

[0364] Exemplarily, the EES determines that the VAL client has a requirement for transmission synchronization of multiple service flows based on the transmission synchronization requirement information in the server discovery request message, the identifier of the application, or at least two service types of the application.

[0365] Exemplarily, the EES determines, based on the SEALDD transmission requirement information in the server discovery request message, that the VAL client has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0366] Step 807 : The EEC determines multiple VAL servers and a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers.

[0367] Exemplarily, the EEC determines that the VAL client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple service flows based on the transmission synchronization requirement information in the server discovery request message in step 803, the VAL client identifier, or at least two service types of the application.

[0368] Exemplarily, the EEC determines, based on the SEALDD transmission requirement information in the server discovery request message in step 803 , that the VAL client has a requirement to implement transmission synchronization of multiple service flows through the SEALDD server.

[0369] Exemplarily, the EEC determines information about multiple VAL servers based on information about at least two VAL servers in the server discovery response message of step 806, where the multiple VAL servers are a subset of the at least two VAL servers. For example, if the EEC determines that VAL server #1 provides a service flow of service type #1 (e.g., a video service flow) for application #1 and that VAL server #2 provides a service flow of service type #2 (e.g., an audio service flow) for application #1, the determined multiple VAL servers include VAL server #1 and VAL server #5.

[0370] After determining the information of multiple VAL servers, the EEC selects a common SEALDD server for the selected VAL servers based on the applications and service types supported by the multiple SEALDD servers. For example, if SEALDD server #1 supports service type 1 of application #1 and service type #2 of application #1, SEALDD server #1 can be selected to synchronize the transmission of the service flow of service type #1 of application #1 from VAL server #1 and the service flow of service type #2 of application #1 from VAL server #2.

[0371] If the multiple VAL servers correspond to multiple identical SEALDD servers, the EEC may select a SEALDD server with higher transmission performance and / or lower load as the SEALDD server for synchronizing transmission of the multiple service flows based on the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server. The EES may obtain the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server from the ADAES or NWDAF network element and include the transmission performance and / or load of the SEALDD server in the server discovery response message in step 806.

[0372] Step 808: The EEC sends a server discovery response message to the VAL client. Correspondingly, the VAL client receives the server discovery response message.

[0373] The server discovery response message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identifier and / or address).

[0374] If the EEC cannot select a same SEALDD server, the server discovery response message may include indication information indicating server discovery failure.

[0375] Step 809: EEC sends a notification message to EES, and EES receives the notification message accordingly.

[0376] The notification message includes information of multiple VAL servers (eg, VAL server addresses, applications supported by the VAL servers, and business types of applications supported by the VAL servers) and information of a same SEALDD server corresponding to the multiple VAL servers (eg, identification and / or address).

[0377] The notification message here may also be replaced by other messages, such as a request message, a report message, etc.

[0378] Step 810: EES sends information of a selected identical SEALDD server to each of the multiple VAL servers.

[0379] In one implementation method, before step 810, the multiple VAL servers respectively send subscription messages to EES to subscribe to the information of the SEALDD server used for synchronization of multiple business flow transmissions. Accordingly, step 810 is specifically as follows: EES respectively sends notification messages to the multiple VAL servers, and the notification message contains information of a selected identical SEALDD server (such as an identifier and / or address).

[0380] In the figure, an example is taken in which EES sends information of selecting the same SEALDD server to VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively.

[0381] Step 811: The multiple VAL servers respectively send a request message to a selected identical SEALDD server.

[0382] In one implementation method, the request message includes the address of the VAL server and instruction information, the instruction information is used to instruct the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. Optionally, the request message also includes the service type of the service flow of the application provided by the VAL server.

[0383] In another implementation method, the name of the request message instructs the SEALDD server to synchronize the transmission of multiple service flows. In this implementation method, the request message may not carry the above-mentioned instruction information. Exemplarily, the request message is specifically a multimodal service transmission subscription request message, a transmission synchronization subscription request message, or a transmission synchronization request message.

[0384] In the figure, it is taken as an example that VAL server #1 and VAL server #2 respectively send request messages to the same selected SEALDD server.

[0385] In the above solution, a VAL server registers its VAL server information with the EES, and a SEALDD server registers its SEALDD server information and the VAL server information corresponding to the multimodal services supported by the SEALDD server with the EES. The EES then sends information about at least two VAL servers and at least two SEALDD servers to the EEC. The EEC then selects multiple VAL servers and identifies a single SEALDD server corresponding to these multiple VAL servers. Because a single SEALDD server synchronizes the transmission of multiple service flows from multiple VAL servers, this avoids the need for multiple SEALDD servers to handle the transmission synchronization of multiple service flows. This reduces the signaling overhead associated with extensive signaling interactions between multiple SEALDD servers, as well as the additional latency introduced by these interactions. This simplifies the transmission synchronization process between multimodal service flows.

[0386] Should Figure 8 The embodiment and the above Figure 6 The main differences of the embodiments are: Figure 6 In the embodiment, the VAL server discovers the SEALDD server and the VAL server registers the information of the VAL server and the information of the SEALDD server discovered by the VAL server to the EES; Figure 8 In the embodiment, the VAL server and the SEALDD server are registered with the EES respectively, that is, the VAL server registers the VAL server information with the EES, and the SEALDD server registers the SEALDD server information and the VAL server information corresponding to the multimodal services supported by the SEALDD server with the EES.

[0387] The present application defines the names of various messages in the above embodiments, but the invention does not limit the specific names of the messages. That is, in future communications, any of the above messages can also be replaced by other types of messages to implement the various steps or functions described above.

[0388] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the communication device (such as an edge-enabled client or an edge-enabled server) includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easy for those skilled in the art to appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0389] Figure 9 and Figure 10Schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the communication device (such as an edge-enabled client or an edge-enabled server) in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be a communication device or a module (such as a chip) applied to a communication device.

[0390] Figure 9 The communication device 900 shown includes a processing unit 910 and a transceiver unit 920. The communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the communication device in the above method embodiment.

[0391] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 4 to 8 In the method embodiment, the function of the communication device (such as an edge-enabled client or an edge-enabled server) is as follows: the transceiver unit 920 is used to receive first information, and the first information indicates that the application client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple business streams; the processing unit 910 is used to select multiple application servers according to the first information, and select the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, and the first transmission server is used to synchronously transmit the business streams from the multiple application servers to the application client.

[0392] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 920 is also used to receive second information, where the second information indicates a need to use a transmission server to synchronously transmit business flows from the multiple application servers; the processing unit 910 is used to select multiple application servers based on the first information, and select the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, specifically including: selecting multiple application servers based on the first information and the second information, and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers.

[0393] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 910 is used to select the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, specifically including: receiving information of at least one transmission server discovered by the multiple application servers respectively through the transceiver unit 920; and selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers based on the information of at least one transmission server discovered by the multiple application servers respectively.

[0394] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 910 is used to select the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, specifically including: receiving through the transceiver unit 920 the identifiers of the applications respectively supported by the multiple transmission servers and the business types of the applications supported, as well as the identifiers of the applications respectively supported by the multiple application servers and the business types supported by the multiple application servers; selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers according to the identifiers of the applications respectively supported by the multiple transmission servers and the business types supported by the applications, as well as the identifiers of the applications respectively supported by the multiple application servers and the business types supported by the applications, wherein the multiple transmission servers include the first transmission server.

[0395] In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 920 is further configured to receive third information, where the third information indicates whether the application server supports transmission of the service flow through the transmission server.

[0396] In a possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 920 is further configured to receive fourth information, where the fourth information indicates whether the transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers.

[0397] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 910 is used to select the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers, specifically including: selecting the first transmission server with the lightest load or the best performance from the same second transmission servers corresponding to the multiple application servers.

[0398] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge enabling server; and the transceiver unit 920 is further configured to send information of the multiple application servers and information of the first transmission server to the edge enabling client.

[0399] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge enabling server; the transceiver unit 920 is further configured to send information of the first transmission server to the multiple application servers.

[0400] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge-enabled client; and the transceiver unit 920 is further configured to send information about the multiple application servers and information about the first transmission server to the application client.

[0401] In a possible implementation method, the communication device includes an edge enabling client; the transceiver unit 920 is further configured to send information of the multiple application servers and information of the first transmission server to an edge enabling server.

[0402] In a possible implementation method, the first information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, an application identifier, or an application identifier list, where the application identifier list includes identifiers of multiple applications.

[0403] In a possible implementation method, the second information includes second indication information and / or an identifier of a transmission server.

[0404] A more detailed description of the processing unit 910 and the transceiver unit 920 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0405] Figure 10 The communication device 1000 shown includes a processor 1010 and an interface circuit 1020. The processor 1010 and the interface circuit 1020 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that the interface circuit 1020 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1030 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1010, input data required by the processor 1010 to execute instructions, or data generated by the processor 1010 after executing instructions.

[0406] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 1010 is used to implement the functions of the above processing unit 910 , and the interface circuit 1020 is used to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 920 .

[0407] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0408] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in an access network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist in the access network device or the terminal device as discrete components.

[0409] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, an access network device, a terminal device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0410] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0411] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next related objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next related objects are in a "division" relationship.

[0412] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a communication device or a module of a communication device, the method includes: receiving first information indicating that the application client has a transmission synchronization requirement for multiple service flows; According to the first information, multiple application servers are selected, and the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers is selected. The first transmission server is used to synchronously transmit the service flows from the multiple application servers to the application client.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: receiving second information indicating a need to synchronously transmit service flows from the plurality of application servers using a transmission server; The selecting, according to the first information, a plurality of application servers, and selecting a same first transmission server corresponding to the plurality of application servers, includes: According to the first information and the second information, multiple application servers are selected, and the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers is selected.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers includes: receiving information of at least one transmission server discovered by each of the plurality of application servers; According to information of at least one transmission server discovered by each of the multiple application servers, the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers is selected.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers includes: receiving identifiers of applications supported by a plurality of transmission servers and service types of the applications supported by the plurality of transmission servers, and identifiers of applications supported by the plurality of application servers and service types of the applications supported by the plurality of application servers; Based on the identifications of applications supported by the multiple transmission servers and the business types of the applications supported, as well as the identifications of applications supported by the multiple application servers and the business types of the applications supported, the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers is selected, and the multiple transmission servers include the first transmission server.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The method further comprises: Third information is received, where the third information indicates whether the application server supports transmission of the service flow through the transmission server.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is received, where the fourth information indicates whether the transmission server supports synchronous transmission of service flows from multiple application servers.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The selecting the same first transmission server corresponding to the multiple application servers includes: From the same second transmission servers corresponding to the multiple application servers, select the first transmission server with the lightest load or the best performance.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The communication device includes an edge enabling server; The method further comprises: The information of the multiple application servers and the information of the first transmission server are sent to the edge-enabled client.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The information of the multiple application servers includes addresses of the multiple application servers, and the information of the first transmission server includes the address of the first transmission server.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The communication device includes an edge enabling server; The method further comprises: Sending information of the first transmission server to the multiple application servers.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The communication device includes an edge-enabled client; The method further comprises: Sending information of the multiple application servers and information of the first transmission server to the application client.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and 11, characterized in that The communication device includes an edge-enabled client; The method further comprises: The information of the multiple application servers and the information of the first transmission server are sent to the edge enabling server.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following: first indication information, an application identifier, or an application identifier list, where the application identifier list includes identifiers of multiple applications.

14. The method according to claim 2, wherein The second information includes second indication information and / or an identifier of a transmission server.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices via an interface circuit and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is implemented.

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