Calculation assisting method, communication device, chip and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides an auxiliary calculation method, a communication device, a chip and a computer readable storage medium, and the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment sends a first message to a network, and the first message is used for requesting the network to carry out auxiliary calculation on a first data packet; the network sends a second message to the terminal equipment; the second message is used for indicating to accept auxiliary calculation of the first data packet. By implementing the application, the terminal device can acquire that the network accepts the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet, so that the network executes a part of the calculation task of the first data packet when the first data packet is subsequently transmitted uplink or downlink, and the calculation task of the terminal device is reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to a method for assisting calculation, a communication device, a chip and a computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] Extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) related services usually have high requirements for the computing capability of terminal devices. For example, in a video service in the XR service, a large amount of high-quality picture data is transmitted to the terminal device by an application server, and the terminal device performs calculation on the data and then displays high-quality pictures to a user. However, when the load of the terminal device is high, the time for the terminal device to perform the calculation task is longer, which results in a longer total time delay for the terminal device to display high-quality pictures, and causes poor user experience.

[0003] Currently, a mobile edge computing (MEC) scheme can be used to deploy the application server on an edge node close to the terminal device, which can effectively shorten the total time delay, but still cannot reduce the calculation task of the terminal device. Therefore, how to reduce the calculation task of the terminal device has become one of the solutions to be solved. SUMMARY

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a method for assisting calculation, a communication device, a chip and a computer readable storage medium, which are beneficial to reduce the calculation task of the terminal device.

[0005] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a method for assisting calculation. The method is applied to a terminal device and includes: sending a first message to a first network function, the first message being used to request the network to assist calculation on a first data packet; the first network function being used to allocate a network function for providing the assistance calculation; receiving a second message from the first network function; and the second message being used to indicate acceptance of the assistance calculation on the first data packet. It can be seen that, based on the method described in the first aspect, the terminal device can obtain that the network accepts the assistance calculation on the first data packet, so that the network performs part of the calculation task of the first data packet when subsequently transmitting the first data packet in uplink or downlink, which is beneficial to reduce the calculation task of the terminal device.

[0006] In a possible implementation, the first message includes indication information of the terminal device, indication information of the type of the first data packet and indication information of a strategy for the assistance calculation of the first data packet. In this way, the first network function can allocate appropriate network functions for providing the assistance calculation to the terminal device according to the type of the first data packet and the identification of the assistance calculation strategy.

[0007] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the type of the first data packet comprises one or more of the following: a transmission identity of the first data packet, an application identity of the first data packet, a session identity of the first data packet, an application type identity of the first data packet, an application flow identity of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identity of the first data packet; and the transmission identity of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet. In this way, the type of the first data packet can be indicated by one or more of the transmission identity, the session identity, the application type identity, the application identity, the application flow identity, or the quality of service flow identity.

[0008] In a possible implementation, before the first message is sent to the first network function, the method further comprises: receiving a third message from the first network function, the third message being used to indicate that the first network function supports assigning a network function that provides auxiliary computation. In this way, the terminal device can know, based on the third message, that the first network function supports assigning a network function that provides auxiliary computation, and then send the first message to the first network function.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the third message comprises indication information of a type of a data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computing and indication information of a strategy of the auxiliary computation that is supported. The indication information of the type of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computing comprises one or more of the following: an application type identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computing, an application identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computing, an application flow identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computing, or a quality of service flow identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computing. In this way, the terminal device can know, based on the third message, the type of the data packet that the network supports auxiliary computation and the strategy of the auxiliary computation that is supported, and then send the first message to the first network function.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the computing task of the first data packet comprises a first computing task of the first data packet and a second computing task of the first data packet, and the network-assisted computation of the first data packet comprises that the network performs the second computing task of the first data packet. After the second message from the first network function is received, the method further comprises: if the first data packet is an uplink data packet, performing the first computing task of the first data packet and sending, to the network, the first data packet on which the first computing task has been performed; or if the first data packet is a downlink data packet, receiving, from the network, the first data packet on which the second computing task has been performed and performing the first computing task on the first data packet on which the second computing task has been performed. In this way, when the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the terminal device performs the first computing task first and then the network performs the second computing task; and when the first data packet is a downlink data packet, the network performs the second computing task first and then the terminal device performs the first computing task, thereby facilitating reduction of the computing task of the terminal device.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending, to the first network function, a message for requesting the network to assist in computing the second data packet; the transmission direction of the first data packet is different from the transmission direction of the second data packet; the message for requesting the network to assist in computing the second data packet includes indication information of a type of the second data packet and indication information of a strategy for assisting in computing the second data packet, and the indication information of the strategy for assisting in computing the second data packet is different from the indication information of the strategy for assisting in computing the first data packet. In this way, the terminal device can request the network to use different strategies for assisting in computing the data packets in uplink transmission and downlink transmission. For example, for the data packet in uplink transmission, the network is requested to perform 50% of the computing task, and correspondingly, the terminal device performs 50% of the computing task; for the data packet in downlink transmission, the network is requested to perform 20% of the computing task, and correspondingly, the terminal device performs 80% of the computing task.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

[0013] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another method for assisting in computing, which is applied to a first network function and includes: receiving a first message from a terminal device, the first message being used for requesting the network to assist in computing a first data packet; sending, based on the first message, a request message to a second network function, the request message being used for requesting the second network function to assist in computing the first data packet; receiving an acknowledgement message sent by the second network function; the acknowledgement message being used for indicating that the second network element accepts to assist in computing the first data packet; and sending a second message to the terminal device, the second message being used for indicating that the network accepts to assist in computing the first data packet. It can be seen that, based on the method described in the second aspect, after receiving the first message, the first network function can obtain that the second network function accepts to assist in computing the first data packet, and then notify the terminal device that the network accepts to assist in computing the first data packet, so that the second network function in the network can perform part of the computing task of the first data packet when the terminal device transmits the first data packet in uplink transmission or downlink transmission, which is beneficial to reducing the computing task of the terminal device.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first message or the request message includes indication information of the terminal device, indication information of a type of the first data packet, and indication information of a strategy for assisting in computing the first data packet. In this way, the first network function can not only allocate the second network function to the terminal device according to the indication information of the type of the first data packet and the indication information of the strategy for assisting in computing, but also enable the second network function to determine program instructions for performing the assisting in computing of the first data packet according to the indication information of the type of the first data packet and the indication information of the strategy for assisting in computing.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the type of the first data packet comprises one or more of the following: a transmission identity of the first data packet, a session identity of the first data packet, an application type identity of the first data packet, an application identity of the first data packet, an application flow identity of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identity of the first data packet; and the transmission identity of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet. In this way, the type of the first data packet can be indicated by one or more of the transmission identity, the session identity, the application type identity, the application identity, the application flow identity, or the quality of service flow identity.

[0016] In a possible implementation, before the first message is received from the terminal device, the method further comprises: sending, to the terminal device, a third message, where the third message is used to indicate that the first network function supports assigning a network function that provides auxiliary calculation. In this way, the terminal device can know, based on the received third message, that the first network function supports assigning a network function that provides auxiliary calculation, and then send the first message to the first network function.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the third message comprises indication information of a type of a data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary calculation supports calculation and indication information of a policy of the auxiliary calculation that is supported. The indication information of the type of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary calculation supports calculation comprises one or more of the following: an application type identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary calculation supports calculation, an application identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary calculation supports calculation, an application flow identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary calculation supports calculation, or a quality of service flow identity of the data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary calculation supports calculation. In this way, the terminal device can know, based on the received third message, the type of the data packet that the network supports auxiliary calculation and the policy of the auxiliary calculation that the network supports, and then send the first message to the first network function.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

[0019] In a possible implementation, the second network function is a UPF. After the confirmation message is received from the second network function, the method further comprises: sending, to the access network device, address information of the UPF or sending, to the UPF, address information of the access network device; and the address information of the UPF or the address information of the access network device is used to establish a first tunnel between the UPF and the access network device, and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet. In this way, the first data packet can be transmitted in the order of “terminal device (calculating the first data packet) The access network device The UPF (calculating the first data packet) The data network”.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the second network element is a TPF; after receiving the confirmation message from the second network function, the method further includes: if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device, sending address information of the TPF to the access network device, or sending address information of the access network device to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the access network device is used to establish a first tunnel between the access network device and the TPF; and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet. In this way, the access network device can transmit the first data packet to the TPF through the first tunnel after subsequently receiving the first data packet transmitted in uplink, so as to enable the TPF to assist in calculating the first data packet transmitted in uplink; or the TPF can transmit the first data packet transmitted in downlink to the access network device through the first tunnel after subsequently assisting in calculating the first data packet transmitted in downlink.

[0021] In a possible implementation, if the TPF is further connected to the data network via a user plane function UPF, the method further includes: sending address information of the TPF to the UPF, or sending address information of the UPF to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF; and the second tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0022] In this way, when the TPF is connected to the data network via the UPF, the first data packet can be transmitted in the order of “terminal device (calculating the first data packet) access network device TPF (assisting in calculating the first data packet) UPF data network” based on the first tunnel between the TPF and the access network device and the second tunnel between the TPF and the UPF during subsequent transmission of the first data packet; or when the TPF network element is connected to the data network, the first data packet can be transmitted in the order of “terminal device (calculating the first data packet) access network device TPF (assisting in calculating the first data packet) data network” based on the first tunnel between the TPF network element and the access network device during subsequent transmission of the first data packet.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: if the TPF is connected to the data network via a user plane function (UPF) and is connected to the terminal device via the UPF and the access network device, sending address information of the TPF to the UPF or sending address information of the UPF to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF; sending the address information of the UPF to the access network device or sending the address information of the access network device to the UPF; the address information of the access network device or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a third tunnel between the UPF and the access network device; and the second tunnel and the third tunnel are used to transmit the first data packet. In this way, when the TPF is connected to the data network via the UPF and is connected to the terminal device via the UPF and the access network device, the first data packet can be transmitted in the order of "terminal device (calculating the first data packet) -> UPF -> access network device -> UPF -> TPF" based on the third tunnel between the UPF and the access network device and the second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF. access network device UPF TPF (assisting in calculating the first data packet) UPF data network

[0024] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another method for assisting in calculation, which is applied to a second network function and includes: receiving a request message from a first network function, the request message being used to request the second network function to assist in calculating a first data packet; and sending an acknowledgement message to the first network function, the acknowledgement message being used to indicate acceptance of assisting in calculating the first data packet. As can be seen, based on the method described in the third aspect, the second network function can accept assisting in calculating the first data packet, so that the second network function can perform part of the calculation task of the first data packet when subsequently transmitting the first data packet in uplink or downlink, which is beneficial to reducing the calculation task of the terminal device.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the request message includes indication information of the terminal device, indication information of a type of the first data packet, and indication information of a strategy for assisting in calculating the first data packet. In this way, the second network function can determine program instructions for performing the assisting in calculating the first data packet according to the indication information of the type of the first data packet and the indication information of the strategy for assisting in calculating.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the type of the first data packet comprises one or more of the following: a transmission identity of the first data packet, a session identity of the first data packet, an application type identity of the first data packet, an application identity of the first data packet, an application flow identity of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identity of the first data packet; and the transmission identity of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet. In this way, the type of the first data packet can be indicated by one or more of the transmission identity, the session identity, the application type identity, the application identity, the application flow identity, or the quality of service flow identity.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

[0028] In a possible implementation, the second network function is a user plane function (UPF); and the method further comprises: establishing a first tunnel with the access network device, the first tunnel being used to transmit the first data packet. In this way, based on the first tunnel between the access network device and the UPF, the first data packet can be transmitted in the order of “terminal device (calculating the first data packet) The access network device The UPF (assisting in calculating the first data packet) The data network”.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the second network function is a task processing function (TPF) network element; and the method further comprises: if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device and the TPF is connected to the data network, establishing a first tunnel with the access network device; or, if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device and the TPF is connected to the data network via a user plane function (UPF), establishing a first tunnel with the access network device and a second tunnel with the UPF; or, if the TPF is connected to the data network via the UPF and connected to the terminal device via the UPF and the access network device, establishing a second tunnel with the UPF; and the first tunnel and / or the second tunnel is / are used to transmit the first data packet.

[0030] In this way, in the first case (the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device and the TPF is connected to the data network), the first data packet is transmitted in the order of “terminal device (calculating the first data packet) The access network device The TPF (assisting in calculating the first data packet) The data network”. The access network device The TPF (assisting in calculating the first data packet) UPF transmitting the first data packet in the order of the "terminal device (computing the first data packet) access network device UPF TPF (assisting in computing the first data packet) UPF transmitting the first data packet in the order of the "terminal device (computing the first data packet)

[0031] In a possible implementation, after the above sending of the confirmation message to the first network function, the method further includes: receiving at least one data packet; filtering the at least one data packet based on a preset first filtering granularity to obtain the first data packet; and assisting in computing the first data packet based on a policy indicated by the first data packet for the assistance in computing the first data packet. In this way, after the subsequent second network element receives the at least one data packet, the first data packet that needs to be assisted in computing by the second network function can be obtained by filtering first, and then the policy for the assistance in computing the first data packet is determined, and the first data packet is assisted in computing according to the policy for the assistance in computing.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the first filtering granularity includes one or more of the following: tunnel granularity, application type granularity, application granularity, application flow granularity, or quality of service flow granularity. In this way, the second network function can filter to obtain the first data packet according to one or more of the tunnel granularity, the application type granularity, the application granularity, the application flow granularity, or the quality of service flow granularity.

[0033] In a possible implementation, any one of the at least one data packet includes one or more of the following indication information: a tunnel identifier of the data packet, an application type identifier of the data packet, an application identifier of the data packet, an application flow identifier of the data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the application type identifier of the data packet, the application identifier of the data packet, the application flow identifier of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the data packet is used to indicate that the data packet needs network assistance in computing and has a corresponding relationship with a policy for the assistance in computing the data packet. In this way, the application type identifier of the data packet, the application identifier of the data packet, the application flow identifier of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the data packet can be used to implicitly indicate that the data packet needs assistance in computing and the policy for the assistance in computing the data packet, so that the second network function can determine, according to one or more of the application type identifier of the data packet, the application identifier of the data packet, the application flow identifier of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the data packet, that the first data packet needs assistance in computing and the policy (such as a program instruction of the policy) for the assistance in computing the first data packet, to assist in computing the first data packet.

[0035] In a possible implementation, any of the at least one data packet further comprises a policy identifier of the assistance computation of the data packet and an assistance computation identifier corresponding to the data packet; the assistance computation identifier corresponding to the data packet is used to indicate that the data packet needs network assistance computation. In this way, whether the data packet needs assistance computation and the policy of the assistance computation of the data packet can be indicated by the policy identifier of the assistance computation of the data packet, so that the second network function can determine, according to the policy identifier of the assistance computation of the first data packet, that the first data packet needs assistance computation and the policy (such as a program instruction of the policy) of the assistance computation of the first data packet, to assist in the computation of the first data packet.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another assistance computation method, which is applied to an access network device and includes: receiving at least one data packet; filtering the at least one data packet based on a preset second filtering granularity to obtain a data packet that needs to be received by a second network function; the second network function being a network element that assists in the computation of a first data packet; and sending, to the second network function, the data packet that needs to be received by the second network function in the at least one data packet. It can be seen that, based on the method described in the fourth aspect, the access network device can first filter the data packet, and forward the data packet (including the first data packet) that needs to be received by the second network function to the second network function, so that the second network function can assist in the computation of the first data packet.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the second filtering granularity includes one or more of the following: a UE granularity, a session granularity, a tunnel granularity, an application type granularity, an application granularity, an application flow granularity, a quality of service flow granularity, or a second network element granularity. In this way, the access network device can filter the data packet that needs to be received by the second network function according to one or more of the UE granularity, the session granularity, the tunnel granularity, the application type granularity, the application granularity, the application flow granularity, the quality of service flow granularity, or the second network function granularity.

[0038] In a possible implementation, any of the at least one data packet includes one or more of the following: an assistance computation identifier of the data packet, an address identifier of a UE, a session identifier of the data packet, a tunnel identifier of the data packet, an application type identifier of the data packet, an application identifier of the data packet, an application flow identifier of the data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet; the assistance computation identifier corresponding to the data packet is used to indicate whether the data packet needs network assistance computation.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus. The communication apparatus can be the terminal device, the first network function, the second network function, or the access network device, or can be a device in the terminal device, the first network function, the second network function, or the access network device, or can be a device capable of being used with the terminal device, the first network function, the second network function, or the access network device. The communication apparatus can also be a chip system. The communication apparatus can perform the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect. The functions of the communication apparatus can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functions. The units or modules can be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects of the communication apparatus can be refer to the method and beneficial effects of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, and the repeated parts will not be described here.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication apparatus including a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory being coupled; the processor is configured to implement the method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip including a processor and an interface, the interface being configured to receive or output a signal, and the processor being configured to execute code instructions to implement the method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0042] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, when the computer program is invoked by a computer, the computer executes the method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0043] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes the method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0044] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 2 FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a method for auxiliary calculation provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 3 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a flow of another method for auxiliary calculation provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 4 FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system in a first example provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 5 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the first example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0049] Figure 6 is a first architecture diagram of the communication system in the second example provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0050] Figure 7 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the first example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0051] Figure 8 is a second architecture diagram of the communication system in the second example provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0052] Figure 9 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the second example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0053] Figure 10 is a third architecture diagram of the communication system in the second example provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0054] Figure 11 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the third example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0055] Figure 12 is a first architecture diagram of the communication system in the third example provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0056] Figure 13 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the first example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0057] Figure 14 is a second architecture diagram of the communication system in the third example provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0058] Figure 15 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the second example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0059] Figure 16 is a third architecture diagram of the communication system in the third example provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0060] Figure 17 is a flowchart of an interaction process under the third example of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0061] Figure 18is a first architecture schematic diagram of a communication system in the fourth example provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 19 is a first interaction flow schematic diagram of a communication system in the fourth example provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 20 is a second architecture schematic diagram of a communication system in the fourth example provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 21 is a second interaction flow schematic diagram of a communication system in the fourth example provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 22 is a third architecture schematic diagram of a communication system in the fourth example provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 23 is a third interaction flow schematic diagram of a communication system in the fourth example provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 24 is a flow schematic diagram of another method for assisting calculation provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 25 is a structure schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 26 is a structure schematic diagram of another communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The embodiment of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiment of the present application.

[0071] The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings are intended to distinguish different objects, and are not intended to describe a particular order. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device including a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but can optionally include other steps or units not listed or can optionally include other steps or units inherent to the process, method, product or device.

[0072] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, and "more than" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent three cases: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0073] The communication system described in this application will be introduced below:

[0074] The embodiments of this application can be applied to 5G communication systems (or new radio, NR), future communication systems, etc. These embodiments are applicable not only to communication between user equipment and base stations, communication between user equipment, and communication between base stations, but also to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), or Internet of Things (IoT) communication, etc.

[0075] The architecture of the communication system in this embodiment is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, where, Figure 1 The communication system shown includes user equipment (UE), radio access network (RAN), core network (CN), and data network (DN). Among them:

[0076] User equipment: user equipment is a kind of device with wireless transceiver function, which can communicate with access network equipment in wireless access network. User equipment can also be called terminal equipment, access terminal, terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, user agent or user device, etc. In a possible implementation manner, user equipment can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted;Or it can also be deployed on the water surface, including a ship;Or it can also be deployed in the air, such as an airplane, a balloon or a satellite, etc. In another possible implementation manner, user equipment can be a handheld device with wireless communication function, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a sensor, a terminal in Internet of Things, a terminal in Internet of Vehicles, a drone, any form of terminal device in 5G network or future network, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitation thereto. In still another possible implementation manner, user equipment can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in smart power grid, a wireless terminal in smart city or a wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0077] Wireless access network: including at least one access network device, the access network device is similar to the base station in the traditional network, which is deployed near the user equipment, responsible for forwarding control signals and user data between user equipment and core network. Specifically, the access network device can implement wireless link maintenance function, wireless resource management function and part of the mobility management function, etc., such as in wireless link maintenance, responsible for maintaining the wireless link with the user equipment, and responsible for the protocol conversion of wireless link data and IP data quality monitoring; in the wireless resource management function, responsible for the establishment and release of wireless link, scheduling and allocation of wireless resources, etc.; in the mobility management function, responsible for configuring user equipment measurement, evaluating wireless link instruction and deciding cell handover, etc. Illustratively, the access network device can include next generation evolved node B (ng-eNB) in 5G system, next generation node B (gNB) in 5G system, etc., which is not limited specifically. Alternatively, the access network device can also include access point (AP) in WLAN, broadband remote access server (BRAS), relay station, communication device in future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network, communication device in NTN network, etc.

[0078] Core network: including at least one core network device, the core network device is responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network, managing the network functions of the mobile network, providing session management, mobility management, policy management, security authentication, etc. for UE. When the user equipment is attached, it provides network access authentication for the user equipment; when the user equipment has a service request, it allocates network resources for the user equipment; when the user equipment moves, it updates the network resources for the user equipment; when the user equipment is idle, it provides fast recovery mechanism for the user equipment; when the user equipment is detached, it releases the network resources for the user equipment; when the user equipment has service data, it provides data routing function for the user equipment, such as forwarding uplink data to data network; or receiving downlink data of user equipment from data network, and forwarding to wireless access network, so as to send to user equipment.

[0079] Data network: used to provide service for users, usually, the client is located in the user equipment, and the server (also known as application server) is located in the data network. The data network can be a private network, such as a local area network, or an external network, such as the Internet, or a dedicated network jointly deployed by operators, such as a network providing IMS service.

[0080] In Figure 1The illustrated communication system is taken as an example of a 5G communication system. In the 5G communication system, the core network can include, but is not limited to, the following network functions:

[0081] A user plane function (UPF), an authentication server function (AUSF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), a network exposure function (NEF), a network function repository function (NRF), a unified data management (UDM), a policy control function (PCF), and an application function (AF).

[0082] Among these network functions, the UPF is a network function for a user plane, and the rest are network functions for a control plane. The interaction between the network functions for the control plane adopts a service invocation manner to replace the point-to-point communication manner in the traditional architecture. In the service-oriented architecture, the network functions for the control plane expose services to other network functions for the control plane for invocation by other network functions for the control plane. In the point-to-point communication, a specific set of messages exists for the communication interface between the network functions for the control plane, and can only be used by the network functions for the control plane at both ends of the interface when communicating.

[0083] The functions of these network functions are as follows:

[0084] UPF: performs packet routing and transmission according to the routing rules of the SMF, for example, sends the uplink transmitted packet to the DN or other UPF, and forwards the downlink transmitted packet to other UPF or RAN. It can also perform packet detection, service usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing, and packet storage.

[0085] AMF: performs access management, mobility management, reachability management, access authentication and authorization, and the like for the NextGen UE.

[0086] SMF (Service Provider Manager) manages sessions for NextGen UEs, including allocating and releasing session resources. Session resources include session QoS, session paths, and forwarding rules. In one example, SMF is also responsible for selecting a UPF (User Provider Framework) so that the selected UPF can perform packet routing and transmission.

[0087] AUSF: Performs security authentication on the UE, such as generating the key required for authentication.

[0088] NSSF: Selects a network slice for the UE, thereby achieving logical isolation between different services between the UE and the DN.

[0089] NEF: Provides network functionality to third parties through northbound API interfaces.

[0090] NRF: Provides storage and selection capabilities for network function entity information for other network functions.

[0091] UDM: User Subscription Context Management, including support for authentication trust handling in 3GPP authentication and key negotiation mechanisms, user identity processing, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, SMS management, etc.

[0092] PCF: User Policy Management, for example, it can provide policy rule information for AMF and SMF, etc.

[0093] AF: Application Management, provides application-layer information, and can interact with the policy framework through NEF or directly with the policy framework to make policy decision requests, etc.

[0094] Optionally, in addition to the network functions mentioned above, the core network in a 5G communication system may also include a task processing function (TPF) and / or a task control function (TCF). TPF is a user plane network function, and TCF is a control plane network function. In one example, the TPF can perform the functions defined in the UPF, including but not limited to: packet routing and transmission, packet inspection, etc., while the TCF can be used to select and control the TPF.

[0095] based on Figure 1 The communication system shown in this application provides an auxiliary calculation method that can reduce the calculation task of the UE. The method involved in the embodiment of this application is described below.

[0096] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an auxiliary calculation method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes:

[0097] 201、The UE sends a first message to the CN, and the first message is used to request the CN to assist in computing the first data packet. Correspondingly, the CN receives the first message.

[0098] In the embodiments of the present application, the first data packet is a service data packet, and the request for the CN to assist in computing the first data packet means that a part of the computing task of the first data packet originally performed by the UE is requested to be performed by the CN. The computing task of the first data packet is associated with the service to which the first data packet belongs. For example, if the service to which the first data packet belongs is a video service in XR service, the computing task of the first data packet includes cleaning and / or rendering processing of the video data carried in the first data packet.

[0099] For example, the computing task of the first data packet originally performed by the UE includes a first computing task and a second computing task, and the CN is requested to perform the second computing task, and correspondingly, the UE performs the first computing task.

[0100] In a possible implementation, the first message can include indication information of the UE, indication information of the type of the first data packet, and indication information of the strategy of the assisted computing of the first data packet.

[0101] The indication information of the UE is used to indicate the UE. For example, the UE address identifier such as the IP address of the UE and the port number of the UE can be used. The indication information of the type of the first data packet is used to indicate the type of the first data packet, and the type of the first data packet can be represented in one or more granularities.

[0102] In one example, the granularity includes but is not limited to one or more of a transmission granularity, a session granularity, an application type granularity, an application granularity, an application flow granularity, or a quality of service flow granularity, and accordingly, the indication information of the type of the first data packet can include one or more of a transmission identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet. For example, the transmission identifier of the first data packet can be UL or DL, UL indicating that the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, and DL indicating that the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet; the session identifier of the first data packet can be a protocol data unit session identifier (PDUSession ID) of the first data packet; the application type identifier of the first data packet is an identifier of a type (Type) to which an application (APP) corresponding to the first data packet belongs, for example, the first data packet is a service data packet of a first APP, and the first APP belongs to an APP Type-1, and thus the application type identifier of the first data packet is an ID of the APP Type-1; the application identifier of the first data packet is an identifier (ID) of an application (APP) corresponding to the first data packet, for example, the first data packet is a service data packet of a first APP, and thus the application identifier of the first data packet can be an APP ID of the first APP; the application flow identifier of the first data packet is an identifier of an application flow (APP Flow) to which the first data packet belongs, for example, the service data packet of the first APP includes a data packet of a video flow or a data packet of an audio flow, and thus the application flow identifier of the first data packet can be an APP Flow ID of the video flow in the first APP; and the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet is an identifier (QoS Flow ID, QFI) of a quality of service flow to which the first data packet belongs, and according to a service priority, a delay requirement, and the like, the service data packet of the first APP is divided into a plurality of QoS Flows, such as a QoS Flow-1, a QoS Flow-2, and a QoS Flow-3, and the first data packet belongs to a data packet of the QoS Flow-3, and thus the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet is an ID of the QoS Flow-3.

[0103] The indication information of the strategy of the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet is used to indicate a strategy of an auxiliary calculation of the first data packet, and the strategy defines a calculation task requested to be performed by the CN.

[0104] In one example, the computing task requested to be performed by the CN can be represented as a degree of assistance computing requested by the CN, and accordingly, the indication information of the assistance computing strategy can be an identification of the degree of assistance computing. For example, in a computing task of a first data packet originally required to be performed by the UE, 20% of the computing task is requested to be performed by the CN, and accordingly, 80% of the computing task is performed by the UE, then the assistance computing strategy identification of the first data packet can be an ID of 20%.

[0105] In another example, the computing task requested to be performed by the CN can be represented as an action of assistance computing requested by the CN, and accordingly, the indication information of the assistance computing strategy can be an identification of the action of assistance computing. For example, the computing task of a first data packet originally required to be performed by the UE is completed by a neural network, and the neural network includes processing of M1 to M8 network layers, then the action of assistance computing can be {action1: M3 to M8} or {action2: M1 to M4}, and when the assistance computing strategy identification of the first data packet is an ID of action1, it means that the UE requests the CN to perform network layer processing of M3 to M8, and accordingly, the UE performs network layer processing of M1 to M2; when the assistance computing strategy identification of the first data packet is an ID of action2, it means that the UE requests the CN to perform network layer processing of M1 to M4, and accordingly, the UE performs network layer processing of M5 to M8.

[0106] In a possible implementation, if the first data packet is a service data packet of a first APP, the UE sends the first message to the CN in the following manner: a processor (such as a CPU / GPU) in the UE first detects that the current load is higher than a preset load threshold, and then the processor sends a load notification to the first APP to inform the first APP that the current load of the processor is higher than the preset load threshold; the first APP responds to the load notification and calls a communication interface to send the first message to the CN.

[0107] 202. The CN sends a second message to the UE, and the second message is used to indicate that the CN accepts assistance computing of the first data packet. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0108] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving the first message, the CN can determine whether to accept (or agree to) assistance computing of the first data packet according to the first message, and further determine whether to send the second message.

[0109] The second message can carry indication information of the CN accepting assistance computing of the first data packet.

[0110] Specifically, the CN determines, according to the first message, whether the type of the first data packet is a type of data packet supporting computation and whether the strategy of the first data packet for assisting computation is a strategy for assisting computation supported by the CN. For example, when the type of the first data packet is identified as a type of data packet supporting computation supported by the CN and the strategy of the first data packet for assisting computation is identified as a strategy for assisting computation supported by the CN, the CN can send a second message to the UE when the type of the first data packet is determined as a type of data packet supporting computation supported by the CN and the strategy of the first data packet for assisting computation is determined as a strategy for assisting computation supported by the CN.

[0111] For example, the type of data packet supporting computation supported by the CN can be represented at one or more granularities. For example, the granularities include, but are not limited to, an application type granularity, an application granularity, an application flow granularity, or a quality of service flow granularity. Accordingly, the indication information of the type of data packet supporting computation can include one or more of an application type identifier of data packet supporting computation, an application identifier of data packet supporting computation, an application flow identifier of data packet supporting computation, or a quality of service flow identifier of data packet supporting computation.

[0112] For example, the application type identifier of data packet supporting computation is an identifier of a type of application to which the data packet supporting computation belongs. For example, when the CN supports computation of APP Type-1, APP Type-2, and APP Type-3, the application type identifier of data packet supporting computation includes an ID of APP Type-1 and an ID of APP Type-2. The application identifier of data packet supporting computation (APP ID) can refer to the application identifier of the first data packet. The application flow identifier of data packet supporting computation (APP Flow ID) can refer to the application flow identifier of the first data packet. The quality of service flow identifier of data packet supporting computation (QoS Flow ID, or QFI for short) can refer to the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet. Optionally, in the application granularity, the type identifier of data packet supporting computation can also be an address identifier of an application server of data packet supporting computation, such as an IP address + port number of an APP Server of data packet supporting computation.

[0113] For example, the strategy for assisting computation supported by the CN can be represented by a degree of assisting computation or an action of assisting computation. Accordingly, the indication information of the strategy for assisting computation is an identifier of a degree of assisting computation or an identifier of an action of assisting computation, which can refer to the strategy identifier of the first data packet for assisting computation.

[0114] Optionally, the policy of the assisted calculation supported by the CN can be preconfigured or configured by the CN after receiving the first message. For example, the CN can preconfigure the policy of the assisted calculation by itself or by a third party; or the CN can determine the current load of the CN to configure the policy of the assisted calculation by itself or request a third party to configure the policy of the assisted calculation after receiving the first message.

[0115] Optionally, the CN can also determine whether to accept the assisted calculation of the first data packet in combination with the first message and the current load.

[0116] After the UE receives the second message, the CN can perform the assisted calculation of the first data packet when the UE transmits the first data packet in uplink or downlink.

[0117] For convenience of description, it is assumed that the calculation task of the first data packet originally performed by the UE in the embodiment and the remaining embodiments includes a first calculation task and a second calculation task, and the first message requesting the CN to perform the assisted calculation of the first data packet means requesting the CN to perform the second calculation task, and the UE performs the first calculation task. For example, the second calculation task is 20% of the calculation task of the first data packet originally performed by the UE, and the first calculation task is 80% of the calculation task of the first data packet originally performed by the UE; or the second calculation task is the network layer processing of M3 to M8, and the first calculation task is the network layer processing of M1 to M2.

[0118] When the first data packet is transmitted in uplink (i.e., the first data packet is an uplink data packet), the steps 203, 204, 205 and 206 are sequentially performed; when the first data packet is transmitted in downlink (i.e., the first data packet is a downlink data packet), the steps 206, 205, 204 and 203 are sequentially performed.

[0119] 203. The UE performs the first calculation task of the first data packet.

[0120] 204. The UE transmits the first data packet with the CN.

[0121] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the UE transmits the first data packet with the CN means that the UE sends the first data packet to the CN, and correspondingly, the CN receives the first data packet. When the first data packet is a downlink data packet, the UE transmits the first data packet with the CN means that the CN sends the first data packet to the UE, and correspondingly, the UE receives the first data packet.

[0122] 205、CN performs a second computing task on the first data packet.

[0123] 206、CN transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0124] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the CN transmitting the first data packet to the DN means that the CN sends the first data packet to the DN, and correspondingly, the DN receives the first data packet; when the first data packet is a downlink data packet, the CN transmitting the first data packet to the DN means that the DN sends the first data packet to the CN, and correspondingly, the CN receives the first data packet. Specifically, the DN receiving / sending the first data packet means that a server (APP Server) in the DN receives / sends the first data packet.

[0125] Based on the described embodiments, the UE can obtain that the CN accepts the assistance computing on the first data packet, so that a part of the computing task of the first data packet is performed by the CN in subsequent uplink transmission or downlink transmission of the first data packet, which is beneficial to reduce the computing task of the UE. Figure 2 The following describes the embodiments of the CN including a first network function and a second network function in detail.

[0126] Figure 2 The corresponding embodiments are further described as follows:

[0127] As shown in the figure, the first network function is configured to allocate a network function providing assistance computing; and the second network function is configured to perform assistance computing on the first data packet. The steps 301 and / or 302 are optional steps, and are performed prior to the step 301. Figure 3 301、The first network function in the CN sends a third message to the UE, and the third message is configured to indicate that the first network function supports allocation of a network function providing assistance computing. Correspondingly, the UE receives the third message.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the third message includes indication information of a type of data packet supported by the network function providing assistance computing to perform computing and indication information of a strategy of assistance computing supported.

[0129]

[0130] ​​In one example, the indication information of the type of the data packet for which the computation is supported and the indication information of the policy of the assisted computation supported can refer to the indication information of the type of the data packet for which the computation is supported and the indication information of the policy of the assisted computation supported by the CN in step 202 described above, and will not be described herein. For example, the third message includes the type identifier of the data packet for which the computation is supported and the policy identifier of the assisted computation supported, the type identifier of the data packet for which the computation is supported can be one or more of APP Type ID, APP ID, IP address + port number of APP Server, APP Flow ID or QFI, and the policy identifier of the assisted computation supported can be the ID of the degree of the assisted computation or the ID of the action of the assisted computation.

[0131] In a specific implementation, optionally, the first network function can send the third message to the UE based on control signaling (such as non-access layer (nonAccess Stratum, NAS) signaling); or the first network function can send the indication information contained in the third message to an access network device in the RAN, and the access network device sends the indication information to the UE based on system information blocks (system information block, SIB) in broadcast signaling; or the first network function sends the third message to the UE through data interaction between the APP layer and the UE, and the present application does not limit this.

[0132] It can be seen that based on the third message, the UE can first know that the first network function supports assigning a network function that provides assisted computation, and know the type of the data packet for which the network supports assisted computation and the policy of the assisted computation supported, and then send the first message to the first network function.

[0133] 302、The UE sends a fourth message to the first network function, and the fourth message is used to indicate the potential data packet type for which the CN assisted computation is required. Correspondingly, the first network function receives the fourth message.

[0134] In one example, the potential data packet type can be represented in one or more granularities, which are the granularities of the types of data packets calculated by the CN in step 202, including application type granularity, application granularity, application flow granularity, or quality of service flow granularity. For example, according to the one or more granularities, the fourth message can include one or more of the APPType ID, APP ID, IP address + port number of the APP Server, APP Flow ID, or QFI of the potential data packet. As can be seen, based on the fourth message, the first network function can know in advance the type of the potential data packet for which the UE needs assistance calculation, so that the first network function can determine in advance one or more network functions providing assistance calculation for the UE, and then determine the second network function from the one or more network functions providing assistance calculation according to the first message when the first message is received.

[0135] 303. The UE sends a first message to the first network function, the first message being used to request the CN to assist in calculating the first data packet. Correspondingly, the first network function receives the first message.

[0136] The specific implementation of step 303 can refer to the specific implementation of step 201.

[0137] Optionally, the UE can send the first message to the first network function based on control signaling (such as NAS signaling); or the UE can send the first message to the first network function through APP interaction (for example, in 5G, the UE accesses the NEF, triggering the NEF to send the first message to the SMF in the CN; or the UE sends the first message to the access network device, and the access network device or the UPF parses the first message and intercepts the first message and sends it to the first network function). The present application does not limit this.

[0138] 304. The first network function sends a request message to the second network function, the request message being used to request the second network function to assist in calculating the first data packet. Correspondingly, the second network function receives the request message.

[0139] 305. The second network function sends an acknowledgement message to the first network function, the acknowledgement message being used to indicate acceptance of the assistance calculation of the first data packet. Correspondingly, the first network function receives the acknowledgement message.

[0140] In step 304, the first network function needs to determine the second network function (or select the second network function) according to the first message first, and then send the request message to the second network function, so that the second network function judges whether to accept the assistance calculation of the first data packet according to the request message.

[0141] In one example, the first network function determines whether the type of the first data packet in the first message is a type of data packet that the second network function supports to calculate and whether the policy of the first data packet in the first message for the auxiliary calculation is a policy of the auxiliary calculation that the second network function supports, and the second network function determines whether the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet can be performed on the basis of the current load according to the current load and the request message. In another example, the second network function is not pre-configured with the policy of the auxiliary calculation that the second network function supports, and then the first network function determines whether the type of the first data packet is a type of data packet that the second network function supports to calculate according to the first message, and then the second network function determines whether the policy of the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet can be configured and whether the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet can be performed on the basis of the current load according to the current load and the request message (for example, the second network function is currently idle or has a low load, and the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet can be performed).

[0142] Specifically, the content contained in the request message in step 304 can be the same as the information contained in the first message. For example, the first message includes the address identifier of the UE, the transmission identifier of the first data packet (UL), the session ID of the first data packet, the APP Type ID of the first data packet, the APP ID of the first data packet, the APP Flow ID of the first data packet, the QFI of the first data packet, and the ID of the action of the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet, and the request message also includes the address identifier of the UE, the transmission identifier of the first data packet (UL), the session ID of the first data packet, the APP Type ID of the first data packet, the APP ID of the first data packet, the APP Flow ID of the first data packet, the QFI of the first data packet, and the ID of the action of the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet.

[0143] In the case that the second network function accepts the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet according to the indication of the request message, the second network function performs step 305 to send a confirmation message to the first network function, and then the first network function performs step 306 to send a second message to the UE.

[0144] 306、The first network function sends a second message to the UE, and the second message is used to indicate that the CN accepts the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0145] The specific implementation of step 306 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 201 and 202.

[0146] Optionally, before steps 302 to 306, the UE needs to pre-establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the RAN.

[0147] Optionally, before the steps 302-306, the UE needs to establish a data radio bearer (DRB) with the RAN.

[0148] Further, after the UE receives the second message, the first data packet can be assisted by the second network function when the first data packet is transmitted uplink or downlink. Still taking the example that the UE requests the CN to perform the second computing task and the UE performs the first computing task, when the first data packet is transmitted uplink (i.e., the first data packet is an uplink data packet), the steps 307, 308, 309 and 310 are sequentially performed; when the first data packet is transmitted downlink (i.e., the first data packet is a downlink data packet), the steps 310, 309, 308 and 307 are sequentially performed.

[0149] 307. The UE performs the first computing task of the first data packet.

[0150] 308. The UE transmits the first data packet to the second network function.

[0151] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the UE transmitting the first data packet to the second network function means that the UE sends the first data packet to the second network function, and correspondingly, the second network function receives the first data packet. When the first data packet is a downlink data packet, the UE transmitting the first data packet to the second network function means that the second network function sends the first data packet to the UE, and correspondingly, the UE receives the first data packet.

[0152] 309. The second network function performs the second computing task of the first data packet.

[0153] 310. The second network function transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0154] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the second network function transmitting the first data packet to the DN means that the second network function sends the first data packet to the DN, and correspondingly, the DN receives the first data packet; when the first data packet is a downlink data packet, the second network function transmitting the first data packet to the DN means that the DN sends the first data packet to the second network function, and correspondingly, the second network function receives the first data packet. Specifically, the DN receiving / sending the first data packet means that a server (APP Server) in the DN receives / sends the first data packet.

[0155] It should be noted that the interaction between the UE and the first network function or the second network function needs to be realized via data forwarding of the RAN, or data forwarding of the RAN and data forwarding of the remaining network functions in the CN, and the form of data forwarding is based on the connection mode in the communication system architecture, which is not described herein.

[0156] Based on Figure 3 The described embodiments, the UE can obtain to the CN accept to the first data packet auxiliary calculation, so that subsequent in the uplink transmission or downlink transmission first data packet, by the second network function in the CN executes a part of the first data packet calculation task, help to reduce the UE's calculation task.

[0157] Need to explain, Figure 3 In the described embodiments, the first network function and the second network function are deployed in different network elements (i.e. network function entity devices).

[0158] Optionally, the first network function and the second network function are deployed in the same network element, hereinafter referred to as the first network element, that is, the first network element is used to receive the UE's request and also used to provide the UE with auxiliary calculation in response to the UE's request. In this optional way, the following steps can be performed: (1) the UE receives the third message sent by the first network element, the third message being used to indicate that the first network element provides auxiliary calculation; (2) the UE sends the fourth message to the fourth network element, the fourth message being used to indicate the potential data packet type that needs CN auxiliary calculation; (3) the UE sends the first message to the first network element, the first message being used to request the CN to assist in calculating the first data packet; (4) the first network element sends the second message to the UE, the second message being used to indicate that the CN accepts to assist in calculating the first data packet; (5) the UE performs the first calculation task of the first data packet; (6) the UE transmits the first data packet with the first network element; (7) the first network element performs the second calculation task of the first data packet; (8) the first network element transmits the first data packet with the DN.

[0159] Wherein, (1) and / or (2) are optional steps, which are executed before (3), and the specific implementation of (1) to (8) is referred to the above Figure 3 Corresponding embodiments. Based on this optional way, the UE can send the first message to the first network element to obtain that the CN accepts to assist in calculating the first data packet, so that subsequent in the uplink transmission or downlink transmission first data packet, by the first network element in the CN executes a part of the first data packet calculation task, help to reduce the UE's calculation task.

[0160] The steps 303 to 310 in the embodiments shown in the above Figure 3 Need to explain, in all the following embodiments, the first network function and the second network function are deployed in different network elements for example:

[0161] 1、In the first example, the first network function is SMF in a 5G communication system, and the second network function is UPF. In a 5G live network, the SMF is used to select the UPF, and the UPF has a connection function (a function of forwarding a data packet without calculating the data packet), so optionally, the UPF in the 5G live network can be configured with a calculation function to obtain the UPF in this example, or optionally, a type of UPF with a calculation function and a connection function is added in the 5G live network to obtain the UPF in this example.

[0162] Figure 4 The architecture diagram of the communication system corresponding to this example is shown, Figure 5 The interaction flow diagram under this communication system is shown: each step shows the starting point of interaction, and in specific implementation, one or more network functions in the access network device and / or CN can be used.

[0163] 501、The UE sends a first message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first message.

[0164] 502、The SMF sends a request message to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the request message.

[0165] 503、The UPF sends an acknowledgement message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0166] The specific implementation of steps 501 to 503 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 303 and 305 described above, and will not be described here.

[0167] 504、The SMF sends the address information of the UPF to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the address information of the UPF.

[0168] Specifically, the interaction between the SMF and the access network device can be implemented based on the AMF, that is, the SMF sends the address information of the UPF to the AMF, and the AMF sends the address information of the UPF to the access network device.

[0169] Optionally, the SMF can also send the address information of the access network device to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the address information of the access network device.

[0170] 505、The access network device and the UPF establish a first tunnel.

[0171] Optionally, the access network device can establish the first tunnel with the UPF based on the received address information of the UPF; or the UPF establishes the first tunnel with the access network device based on the received address information of the access network device.

[0172] Optionally, the first tunnel can be a dedicated data transmission tunnel or a shared data transmission tunnel. When the first tunnel is a dedicated data transmission tunnel, the first tunnel is used to transmit the data packet (e.g., the first data packet) calculated with the assistance of the UPF, and is not used to transmit the data packet (e.g., the data packet directly forwarded by the UPF to the DN without the assistance of the UPF) processed only by the UPF. When the first tunnel is a shared data transmission tunnel, the first tunnel is used to transmit not only the data packet (e.g., the first data packet) calculated with the assistance of the UPF, but also the data packet (e.g., the data packet directly forwarded by the UPF to the DN without the assistance of the UPF) processed only by the UPF.

[0173] Optionally, the access network device can further store a correspondence between one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier (e.g., the PDU Session ID) of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet, or the identifier of the first tunnel (obtained based on the establishment of the first tunnel in step 505) and the identifier (e.g., the address information of the UPF in step 504) of the UPF, so that the access network device forwards the data packet to the UPF based on the correspondence between the one or more identifiers and the identifier of the UPF or based on the identifier of the UPF in subsequent transmission of the data packet. It can be understood that forwarding the data packet to the UPF based on the correspondence between the identifier of the first tunnel and the identifier of the UPF is equivalent to forwarding the data packet to the UPF through the first tunnel. Optionally, the one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier (e.g., the PDU Session ID) of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet can be sent by the SMF / AMF / UPF to the access network device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0174] 506. The SMF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0175] Further, after receiving the second message, the UE can assist the UPF in calculating the first data packet when transmitting the first data packet in uplink or downlink.

[0176] Still taking the example of requesting the CN to perform the second calculation task and the UE to perform the first calculation task, when the first data packet is transmitted in uplink (i.e., the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet), steps 507, 508, 509, and 510 are sequentially performed, such as in the order of “UE (performing the first calculation task of the first data packet) → access network device → UPF (performing the second calculation task of the first data packet) → DN”.

[0177] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the steps 510, 509, 508 and 507 are sequentially executed, for example, in the order of "DN→UPF (performing the second computing task of the first data packet)→access network device→UE (performing the first computing task of the first data packet)".

[0178] 507. The UE performs the first computing task of the first data packet.

[0179] 508. The UE transmits the first data packet with the UPF.

[0180] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the UE transmitting the first data packet with the UPF means that the UE sends the first data packet having performed the first computing task to the access network device, and the access network device sends the first data packet having performed the first computing task to the UPF.

[0181] Optionally, the access network device can filter the first data packet to identify the UPF to which the first data packet is to be forwarded. The UPF can also filter the first data packet to identify the first data packet and identify the policy of the auxiliary computing of the first data packet. The filtering manner and the identification of the policy of the auxiliary computing can refer to the description in the embodiments below.

[0182] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the UE transmitting the first data packet with the UPF means that the UPF sends the first data packet having performed the second computing task to the access network device, and the access network device sends the first data packet having performed the second computing task to the UE. Optionally, the UPF can also filter the first data packet to identify the first data packet and identify the policy of the auxiliary computing of the first data packet. The filtering manner and the identification of the policy of the auxiliary computing can refer to the description in the embodiments below.

[0183] 509. The UPF performs the second computing task of the first data packet.

[0184] 510. The UPF transmits the first data packet with the DN.

[0185] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the UPF transmitting the first data packet with the DN means that the UPF sends the first data packet having performed the first computing task and the second computing task to the DN. When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the UPF transmitting the first data packet with the DN means that the DN sends the first data packet to the UPF. Specifically, the DN receiving / sending the first data packet means that a server (APP Server) in the DN receives / sends the first data packet.

[0186] Based on Figure 5The described embodiments can enable the UE to obtain that the CN accepts the first data packet auxiliary computation by interacting with the SMF, so that the CN UPF performs part of the first data packet computation task when the UE transmits the first data packet in the uplink or the downlink, thereby reducing the UE's computation task.

[0187] 2. In a second example, the first network function is an SMF in a 5G communication system, and the second network function is a TPF. A type of TPF with a computing function can be added in a 5G live network to obtain the TPF in this example.

[0188] According to the deployment mode of the TPF, the following three different architectures are shown in Figure 6 , Figure 8 , Figure 10 , but are not limited thereto. It should be noted that in specific implementation, one or more of the following architectures can be deployed, and when one of them is deployed, the interaction is performed according to the interaction mode corresponding to the deployed architecture; when multiple ones are deployed, the CN needs to be pre-configured to use which architecture for interaction:

[0189] 2.1, Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of the first communication system corresponding to this example, as shown in Figure 6 , in the control plane, the TPF is connected with the SMF, in the user plane, the TPF is connected with the UE via the access network device, and the TPF is directly connected with the DN.

[0190] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the interaction flow under the first communication system: each step shows the starting point of the interaction, and in specific implementation, one or more network functions in the CN and / or the access network device can be used:

[0191] 701. The UE sends a first message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first message.

[0192] 702. The SMF sends a request message to the TPF. Correspondingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0193] 703. The TPF sends an acknowledgement message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0194] The specific implementation of steps 701 to 703 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 303 and 305 described above, and will not be described here.

[0195] 704. The SMF sends address information of the TPF to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the address information of the TPF.

[0196] Specifically, the interaction between the SMF and the access network device can be based on the AMF, that is, the SMF can send the address information of the TPF to the AMF, and the AMF sends the address information of the TPF to the access network device.

[0197] Optionally, the SMF can also send the address information of the access network device to the TPF. Correspondingly, the TPF receives the address information of the access network device.

[0198] 705、The access network device establishes a first tunnel with the TPF.

[0199] Optionally, the access network device can establish the first tunnel with the TPF based on the received address information of the TPF, or the TPF establishes the first tunnel with the access network device based on the received address information of the access network device, and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0200] Optionally, the first tunnel can be a dedicated data transmission tunnel or a shared data transmission tunnel. For example, the TPF can not only deploy computing functions, but also deploy other data processing functions (such as data packet detection, classification, etc.). When the first tunnel is a dedicated data transmission tunnel, the first tunnel is used to transmit data packets (such as the first data packet) that are assisted by the TPF for computing, and is not used to transmit data packets (such as data packets that need to be classified) that are processed by the TPF for other data processing. When the first tunnel is a shared data transmission tunnel, the first tunnel is used to transmit not only data packets that are assisted by the TPF for computing, but also data packets that are processed by the TPF for other data processing (for example, taking uplink transmission as an example, the access network device transmits the first data packet and the data packet that needs to be classified to the TPF through the first tunnel).

[0201] Optionally, the access network device can also store a correspondence between one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet, or the identifier of the first tunnel and the identifier of the TPF. The specific implementation manner can refer to the corresponding description in the above step 505. Optionally, one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet can also be sent to the access network device by the TPF, which is not limited in the present application.

[0202] 706、The SMF sends a second message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0203] 707、The UE performs a first computing task of the first data packet.

[0204] 708. The UE and TPF transmit the first data packet.

[0205] 709. TPF performs the second computation task of the first data packet.

[0206] 710. TPF and DN transmit the first data packet.

[0207] The specific implementation methods of steps 706 to 710 can be referred to the specific implementation methods of steps 506 and 510 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0208] 2.2 Figure 8 The diagram shows the architecture of the second type of communication system corresponding to this example, as follows: Figure 8 As shown, in the control plane, the TPF is connected to the SMF, and in the user plane, the TPF is connected to the UE via the access network equipment, and the TPF is connected to the DN via the UPF. Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the interaction flow under this second communication system is shown: each step illustrates the starting point of the interaction, which, in practice, can be achieved via access network equipment and / or one or more network functions in the CN:

[0209] 901. The UE sends the first message to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first message.

[0210] 902. The SMF sends a request message to the TPF. Correspondingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0211] 903. The TPF sends an acknowledgment message to the SMF. The SMF receives the acknowledgment message accordingly.

[0212] The specific implementation methods of steps 901 to 903 can be referred to the specific implementation methods of steps 303 and 305 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0213] 904. The SMF sends the TPF's address information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the TPF's address information.

[0214] Specifically, the interaction between the SMF and the access network device can be based on the AMF, that is, the SMF can send the TPF address information to the AMF, and the AMF can send the TPF address information to the access network device.

[0215] Optionally, the SMF can also send the address information of the access network device to the TPF. Accordingly, the TPF receives the address information of the access network device.

[0216] 905. The access network equipment establishes the first tunnel with the TPF.

[0217] Optionally, the access network device can establish the first tunnel with the TPF based on the received address information of the TPF, or the TPF establishes the first tunnel with the access network device based on the received address information of the access network device, and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet. The specific implementation of the first tunnel can refer to the corresponding description of step 705.

[0218] Optionally, the access network device can also store the corresponding relationship between one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet, or the identifier of the first tunnel, and the identifier of the TPF. The specific implementation can refer to the corresponding description in step 705.

[0219] 906、The SMF sends the address information of the TPF to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0220] Specifically, the SMF can select any UPF, and then send the address information of the TPF to the UPF.

[0221] Optionally, the SMF can also send the address information of the selected UPF to the TPF. Correspondingly, the TPF receives the address information of the UPF.

[0222] 907、The TPF establishes a second tunnel with the UPF.

[0223] Optionally, the UPF can establish the second tunnel with the TPF based on the received address information of the TPF, or the TPF establishes the second tunnel with the access network device based on the received address information of the UPF, and the second tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0224] Optionally, the second tunnel can be a dedicated data transmission tunnel or a shared data transmission tunnel. The specific implementation of the second tunnel can refer to the implementation of the first tunnel.

[0225] Optionally, the UPF can also store a correspondence between one or more of the UE address identifier, the first data packet session identifier (e.g., PDU Session ID), the first data packet application type identifier, the first data packet application identifier, the first data packet application flow identifier, the first data packet quality of service flow identifier, or the second tunnel identifier (obtained based on the establishment of the second tunnel in step 907) and the TPF identifier (e.g., the address information of the TPF in step 906), so that the UPF forwards the first data packet to the TPF based on the correspondence between the one or more identifiers and the TPF identifier or based on the TPF identifier in subsequent transmission of the first data packet. It can be understood that forwarding the first data packet to the TPF based on the correspondence between the second tunnel identifier and the TPF identifier is equivalent to forwarding the first data packet to the TPF through the second tunnel. Optionally, the UE address identifier, the first data packet session identifier, the first data packet application type identifier, the first data packet application identifier, the first data packet application flow identifier, or the first data packet quality of service flow identifier can be sent by the SMF / AMF / TPF to the UPF, which is not limited in the present application.

[0226] Optionally, the TPF can also store a correspondence between one or more of the UE address identifier, the first data packet session identifier (e.g., PDU Session ID), the first data packet application type identifier, the first data packet application identifier, the first data packet application flow identifier, or the first data packet quality of service flow identifier (the first five identifiers are obtained based on the request message in step 902) and the UPF identifier (e.g., the address information of the UPF in the optional manner of step 906), so that the TPF forwards the first data packet to the UPF based on the correspondence between the one or more identifiers and the UPF identifier in subsequent transmission of the first data packet. It can be understood that forwarding the first data packet to the UPF based on the correspondence between the second tunnel identifier and the UPF identifier is equivalent to forwarding the first data packet to the UPF through the second tunnel.

[0227] 908、The SMF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0228] Further, after receiving the second message, the UE can be assisted by the TPF in the calculation of the first data packet in the uplink transmission of the first data packet or the downlink transmission of the first data packet.

[0229] Still taking the example that the UE performs the first computing task and the CN performs the second computing task, when the first data packet is transmitted in uplink (i.e., the first data packet is an uplink data packet), the steps 909, 910, 911 and 912 are sequentially performed, for example, in the order of "UE (performing the first computing task of the first data packet) -> access network device -> TPF (performing the second computing task of the first data packet) -> UPF -> DN".

[0230] When the first data packet is transmitted in downlink (i.e., the first data packet is a downlink data packet), the steps 912, 911, 910 and 909 are sequentially performed, for example, in the order of "DN -> UPF -> TPF (performing the second computing task of the first data packet) -> access network device -> UE (performing the first computing task of the first data packet)".

[0231] 909. The UE performs the first computing task of the first data packet.

[0232] 910. The UE transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0233] 911. The TPF performs the second computing task of the first data packet.

[0234] The specific implementation of the steps 908 to 911 can refer to the specific implementation of the steps 506 and 509 described above, and details are not described herein.

[0235] 912. The TPF transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0236] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the TPF transmitting the first data packet to the DN refers to that the TPF sends the first data packet on which the first computing task and the second computing task have been performed to the UPF, and the UPF sends the first data packet on which the first computing task and the second computing task have been performed to the DN. Optionally, the TPF can first identify which UPF needs to be forwarded.

[0237] When the first data packet is a downlink data packet, the TPF transmitting the first data packet to the DN refers to that the DN sends the first data packet to the UPF, and the UPF sends the first data packet to the TPF. Optionally, the UPF can first identify which TPF needs to be forwarded.

[0238] Specifically, the DN receiving / sending the first data packet refers to that a server (APP Server) in the DN receives / sends the first data packet.

[0239] 2.3、 Figure 10 The architecture of the third communication system corresponding to the example is shown in FIG. 6. Figure 10As shown, the TPF is connected with the SMF in the control plane, and connected with the UE via the access network device and the UPF in the user plane, and connected with the DN via the UPF. Figure 11 An interaction flow diagram under the third communication system is shown: each step shows the starting point of the interaction, and in the specific implementation, one or more network functions in the CN and / or the access network device can be used:

[0240] 1101. The UE sends a first message to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the first message.

[0241] 1102. The SMF sends a request message to the TPF. Accordingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0242] 1103. The TPF sends an acknowledgement message to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0243] The specific implementation of steps 1101-1103 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 303 and 305 described above, and will not be described here.

[0244] 1104. The SMF sends the address information of the TPF to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0245] 1105. The TPF establishes a second tunnel with the UPF.

[0246] The specific implementation of steps 1104-1105 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 906 and 907 described above, and will not be described here.

[0247] 1106. The SMF sends the address information of the UPF to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the address information of the UPF.

[0248] Specifically, the interaction between the SMF and the access network device can be implemented based on the AMF, that is, the SMF can send the address information of the UPF to the AMF, and the AMF sends the address information of the UPF to the access network device.

[0249] Optionally, the SMF can also send the address information of the access network device to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the address information of the access network device.

[0250] 1107. The access network device establishes a third tunnel with the UPF.

[0251] Optionally, the access network device can establish the third tunnel with the UPF based on the received address information of the UPF; or the UPF establishes the third tunnel with the access network device based on the received address information of the access network device, and the third tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0252] Optionally, the third tunnel can be a dedicated data transmission tunnel or a shared data transmission tunnel. When the third tunnel is a dedicated data transmission tunnel, the third tunnel is used to transmit data packets that need to be received by the TPF (such as the first data packet), and is not used to transmit data packets that do not need to be received by the TPF (for example, in the case of uplink transmission, data packets directly forwarded by the UPF to the DN without passing through the TPF). When the third tunnel is a shared data transmission tunnel, the third tunnel is used to transmit not only data packets received by the TPF, but also data packets that do not need to be received by the TPF.

[0253] Optionally, the access network device can also store a correspondence between one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier (such as the PDU Session ID) of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet, the identifier of the TPF, or the identifier of the third tunnel, and the identifier of the UPF (such as the address information of the TPF in step 1106), so that the access network device forwards to the UPF based on the correspondence between the one or more identifiers and the address information of the UPF when transmitting data packets subsequently. It can be understood that forwarding to the UPF based on the correspondence between the identifier of the third tunnel and the identifier of the UPF is equivalent to forwarding the data packet to the UPF through the third tunnel. Optionally, one or more of the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier (such as the PDU Session ID) of the first data packet, the application type identifier of the first data packet, the application flow identifier of the first data packet, the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet, or the identifier of the TPF can be sent to the access network device by the SMF / AMF / UPF / TPF, and the present application does not limit this.

[0254] 1108. The SMF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0255] Further, after the UE receives the second message, the UE can assist in calculating the first data packet by the TPF when transmitting the first data packet uplink or downlink.

[0256] Still taking the example of requesting the CN to perform the second calculation task and the UE to perform the first calculation task, when the first data packet is transmitted uplink (i.e., the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet), steps 1109, 1110, 1111, 1112, 1113, and 1114 are executed in turn, such as in the order of “UE (performing the first calculation task of the first data packet) → access network device → UPF → TPF (performing the second calculation task of the first data packet) → UPF → DN”.

[0257] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the steps 1114, 1113, 1112, 1111, 1110 and 1109 are sequentially executed, for example, in the order of “DN→UPF→TPF (performing the second computing task of the first data packet)→UPF→access network device→UE (performing the first computing task of the first data packet)”.

[0258] 1109. The UE performs the first computing task of the first data packet.

[0259] 1110. The UE transmits the first data packet to the UPF.

[0260] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the UE transmitting the first data packet to the UPF means that the UE sends the first data packet having performed the first computing task to the access network device, and the access network device sends the first data packet having performed the first computing task to the UPF. Optionally, the access network device can first filter the first data packet to identify which UPF needs to be forwarded to, and the filtering manner and the strategy of identifying the auxiliary computing can refer to the description in the following embodiments.

[0261] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the UE transmitting the first data packet to the UPF means that the UPF sends the first data packet having performed the second computing task to the access network device, and the access network device sends the first data packet having performed the second computing task to the UE.

[0262] 1111. The UPF transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0263] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the UPF transmitting the first data packet to the TPF means that the UPF sends the first data packet having performed the first computing task to the TPF. Optionally, the UPF can first identify which TPF needs to be forwarded to. Optionally, the TPF can also filter the first data packet and identify the strategy of auxiliary computing of the first data packet, and the filtering manner and the strategy of identifying the auxiliary computing can refer to the description in the following embodiments.

[0264] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the UPF transmitting the first data packet to the TPF means that the TPF sends the first data packet having performed the second computing task to the UPF. Optionally, the TPF can first identify which UPF needs to be forwarded to.

[0265] 1112. The TPF performs the second computing task of the first data packet.

[0266] 1113. The UPF transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0267] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the transmission of the first data packet between the UPF and TPF means that the TPF sends the first data packet, which has already performed the first computation task and the second computation task, to the UPF. Optionally, the TPF can first identify which UPF needs to be forwarded to.

[0268] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the transmission of the first data packet between the UPF and TPF means that the UPF sends the first data packet to the TPF. Optionally, the UPF can first identify which TPF needs to be forwarded to. Optionally, the TPF can also filter the first data packet and identify auxiliary calculation strategies for the first data packet. The filtering method and the auxiliary calculation strategies for identifying the first data packet can be referred to the description in the following embodiments.

[0269] 1114. The first data packet is transmitted between UPF and DN.

[0270] For example, when the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the transmission of the first data packet between the UPF and the DN means that the UPF sends the first data packet to the DN after performing the first and second computation tasks.

[0271] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the transmission of the first data packet between the UPF and the DN means that the DN sends the first data packet to the UPF. Specifically, the DN receiving / sending the first data packet means that the server (APP Server) in the DN receives / sends the first data packet.

[0272] based on Figure 7 / Figure 9 / Figure 11 In the described embodiment, the UE can interact with the SMF to obtain the CN's auxiliary calculation for the first data packet, so that when the first data packet is transmitted uplink or downlink, the TPF in the CN will perform part of the calculation task of the first data packet, which helps to reduce the calculation task of the UE.

[0273] 3. In the third example, the first network function is the AMF in the 5G communication system, and the second network function is the TPF. A TPF with computational capabilities can be added to the existing 5G network to obtain the TPF in this example.

[0274] Based on the deployment method of TPF, this application proposes the following three different architectures, such as Figure 12 , Figure 14 , Figure 16 As shown, this is not limited to this. It should be noted that in specific implementations, one or more of the following architectures can be deployed. When one architecture is deployed, the interaction will proceed according to the interaction method corresponding to that architecture. When multiple architectures are deployed, the CN system needs to pre-configure which architecture to use for interaction:

[0275] 3.1、 Figure 12 The architecture of the first communication system corresponding to this example is shown in FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the control plane, the TPF is connected with the AMF, in the user plane, the TPF is connected with the UE via the access network device, and the TPF is directly connected with the DN. Figure 12

[0276] Figure 13 The interaction flow in the first communication system is shown in FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 3B, each step shows the starting point of the interaction, and in the specific implementation, one or more network functions in the access network device and / or the CN can be used:

[0277] 1301. The UE sends a first message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first message.

[0278] 1302. The AMF sends a request message to the TPF. Accordingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0279] 1303. The TPF sends an acknowledgement message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0280] 1304. The AMF sends address information of the TPF to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the address information of the TPF.

[0281] 1305. The access network device establishes a first tunnel with the TPF.

[0282] 1306. The AMF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0283] 1307. The UE performs a first computing task for the first data packet.

[0284] 1308. The UE transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0285] 1309. The TPF performs a second computing task for the first data packet.

[0286] 1310. The TPF transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0287] The specific implementation of steps 1301-1310 can refer to the implementation of steps 701-710 in Figure 7 , which will not be described here.

[0288] 3.2、 Figure 14 The architecture of the second communication system corresponding to this example is shown in FIG. 3C. As shown in FIG. 3C, in the control plane, the TPF is connected with the AMF, in the user plane, the TPF is connected with the UE via the access network device, and the TPF is directly connected with the DN. Figure 14 ​As shown, in the control plane, the TPF is connected with the AMF (i.e. the AMF selects the TPF), the AMF is connected with the SMF, and the SMF is connected with the UPF (i.e. the SMF selects the UPF); in the user plane, the TPF is connected with the UE via the access network device, and the TPF is connected with the DN via the UPF. Figure 15 An interaction flow diagram under the second communication system is shown: each step shows the starting point of the interaction, and in the specific implementation, one or more network functions in the access network device and / or the CN can be used:

[0289] 1501. The UE sends a first message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the first message.

[0290] 1502. The AMF sends a request message to the TPF. Accordingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0291] 1503. The TPF sends an acknowledgement message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0292] 1504. The AMF sends address information of the TPF to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the address information of the TPF.

[0293] 1505. The access network device establishes a first tunnel with the TPF.

[0294] 1506. The AMF sends the address information of the TPF to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0295] 1507. The SMF sends the address information of the TPF to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0296] 1508. The TPF establishes a second tunnel with the UPF.

[0297] 1509. The AMF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0298] 1510. The UE performs a first calculation task on the first data packet.

[0299] 1511. The UE transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0300] 1512. The TPF performs a second calculation task on the first data packet.

[0301] 1513. The TPF transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0302] The specific implementation of steps 1501 to 1505 can refer to the description of steps 1001 to 1005. Figure 9The implementation methods of steps 901 to 905, steps 1506 to 1507 can refer to the implementation method of step 906, and steps 1508 to 1513 can refer to the implementation methods of steps 907 to 912, which will not be elaborated here.

[0303] 3.3 Figure 16 The diagram shows the architecture of the third type of communication system corresponding to this example, such as... Figure 16 As shown, in the control plane, the TPF is connected to the AMF (i.e., the AMF selects the TPF), the AMF is connected to the SMF, and the SMF is connected to the UPF (i.e., the SMF selects the UPF); in the user plane, the TPF is connected to the UE via the access network equipment and the UPF, and the TPF is connected to the DN via the UPF. Figure 17 A schematic diagram of the interaction flow under this third communication system is shown: each step illustrates the starting point of the interaction, which, in practice, can be achieved via access network equipment and / or one or more network functions in the CN:

[0304] 1701. The UE sends the first message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the first message.

[0305] 1702. The AMF sends a request message to the TPF. The TPF receives the request message accordingly.

[0306] 1703. The TPF sends an acknowledgment message to the AMF. The AMF receives the acknowledgment message accordingly.

[0307] 1704. The AMF sends the TPF's address information to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the TPF's address information.

[0308] 1705. The SMF sends the TPF's address information to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the TPF's address information.

[0309] 1706. TPF and UPF establish a second tunnel.

[0310] 1707. The SMF sends the UPF address information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the UPF address information.

[0311] 1708. The access network equipment establishes a third tunnel with the UPF.

[0312] 1709. The AMF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0313] 1710. The UE executes the first calculation task of the first data packet.

[0314] 1711. The UE and UPF transmit the first data packet.

[0315] 1712、UPF transmits the first data packet with the TPF.

[0316] 1713、The TPF performs a second computing task of the first data packet.

[0317] 1714、The UPF transmits the first data packet with the TPF.

[0318] 1715、The UPF transmits the first data packet with the DN.

[0319] The specific implementation of steps 1701-1703 can refer to the implementation of steps 1101-1103 in Figure 11 The specific implementation of steps 1704-1705 can refer to the specific implementation of step 1104, and the specific implementation of steps 1706-1715 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 1105-1114, which will not be described here.

[0320] Based on Figure 13 / Figure 15 / Figure 17 The described embodiments, the UE can obtain that the CN accepts the first data packet auxiliary computing by interacting with the AMF, so that a part of the computing task of the first data packet is performed by the TPF in the CN when the first data packet is transmitted uplink or downlink subsequently, which is beneficial to reduce the computing task of the UE.

[0321] 4、In the fourth example, the first network function is the TCF in the 5G communication system, and the second network function is the TPF. A type of TPF with computing function can be added in the 5G existing network to obtain the TPF in this example.

[0322] According to the deployment mode of the TPF, the present application proposes the following three different architectures, as shown in Figure 18 、 Figure 20 、 Figure 22 Need to be explained is that in the specific implementation, one or more of the following architectures can be deployed, when one of them is deployed, the interaction is carried out according to the interaction mode corresponding to the deployed architecture; when more of them are deployed, it is necessary to pre-configure the CN to use which architecture to interact:

[0323] 4.1、 Figure 18 The first communication system architecture diagram corresponding to this example is shown in Figure 18 In the control plane, the TPF is connected with the TCF, the TCF is connected with the AMF and / or SMF, in the user plane, the TPF is connected with the UE via the access network device, and the TPF is directly connected with the DN.

[0324] Figure 19An interaction flow diagram under the first communication system is shown: each step shows the starting point of interaction, and in the specific implementation, one or more network functions in the access network device and / or CN can be passed through:

[0325] 1901、The UE sends a first message to the TCF. Accordingly, the TCF receives the first message.

[0326] 1902、The TCF sends a request message to the TPF. Accordingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0327] 1903、The TPF sends an acknowledgement message to the TCF. Accordingly, the TCF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0328] The specific implementation of steps 1901-1903 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 701-703 described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0329] 1904、The TCF sends address information of the TPF to the AMF and / or SMF. Accordingly, the AMF and / or SMF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0330] 1905、The AMF and / or SMF sends the address information of the TPF to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the address information of the TPF.

[0331] Optionally, steps 1904 and 1905 can also be implemented in the following manner: the AMF and / or SMF sends address information of the access network device to the TCF, and the TCF sends the address information of the access network device to the TPF.

[0332] 1906、The access network device establishes a first tunnel with the TPF.

[0333] 1907、The TCF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0334] 1908、The UE performs a first calculation task on the first data packet.

[0335] 1909、The UE transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0336] 1910、The TPF performs a second calculation task on the first data packet.

[0337] 1911、The TPF transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0338] The specific implementation of steps 1906-1911 can refer to the implementation of steps 705-710 in Figure 7 .

[0339] 4.2、 Figure 20The architecture diagram of the second communication system corresponding to this example is shown as follows: Figure 20 In the control plane, the TPF is connected with the TCF (i.e., the TCF selects the TPF), the TCF is connected with the AMF and / or the SMF, and the AMF and / or the SMF is connected with the UPF (i.e., the AMF and / or the SMF selects the UPF); in the user plane, the TPF is connected with the UE via the access network device, and the TPF is connected with the DN via the UPF. Figure 21 The interaction flow diagram under the second communication system is shown as follows: each step shows the starting point of the interaction, which can be implemented via one or more network functions in the access network device and / or the CN:

[0340] 2101. The UE sends a first message to the TCF. Accordingly, the TCF receives the first message.

[0341] 2102. The TCF sends a request message to the TPF. Accordingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0342] 2103. The TPF sends an acknowledgement message to the TCF. Accordingly, the TCF receives the acknowledgement message.

[0343] The specific implementation of steps 2101-2103 can refer to the specific implementation of steps 901 and 903 described above, and will not be described here.

[0344] 2104. The TCF sends address information of the TPF to the AMF and / or the SMF. Accordingly, the AMF and / or the SMF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0345] 2105. The AMF and / or the SMF sends the address information of the TPF to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the address information of the TPF.

[0346] Optionally, steps 2104 and 2105 can also be implemented in the following manner: the AMF and / or the SMF sends address information of the access network device to the TCF, and the TCF sends the address information of the access network device to the TPF.

[0347] 2106. The access network device establishes a first tunnel with the TPF.

[0348] 2107. The AMF and / or the SMF sends the address information of the TPF to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the address information of the TPF.

[0349] 2108. The TPF establishes a second tunnel with the UPF.

[0350] 2109. The TCF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0351] 2110. The UE executes the first calculation task of the first data packet.

[0352] 2111. The UE and TPF transmit the first data packet.

[0353] 2112. TPF performs the second computation task of the first data packet.

[0354] 2113. TPF and DN transmit the first data packet.

[0355] For the specific implementation of steps 2106 to 2113, please refer to [the relevant documentation / reference]. Figure 9 The implementation method of steps 905 to 912.

[0356] 4.3 Figure 22 The diagram shows the architecture of the third type of communication system corresponding to this example, such as... Figure 22 As shown, in the control plane, the TPF is connected to the TCF (i.e., the TCF selects the TPF), the TCF is connected to the AMF and / or SMF, and the AMF and / or SMF is connected to the UPF (i.e., the AMF and / or SMF selects the UPF); in the user plane, the TPF is connected to the UE via the access network equipment and the UPF, and the TPF is connected to the DN via the UPF. Figure 23 A schematic diagram of the interaction flow under this third communication system is shown: each step illustrates the starting point of the interaction, which, in practice, can be achieved via access network equipment and / or one or more network functions in the CN:

[0357] 2301. The UE sends the first message to the TCF. Correspondingly, the TCF receives the first message.

[0358] 2302. The TCF sends a request message to the TPF. Correspondingly, the TPF receives the request message.

[0359] 2303. The TPF sends an acknowledgment message to the TCF. Correspondingly, the TCF receives the acknowledgment message.

[0360] The specific implementation methods of steps 2301 to 2303 can be referred to the specific implementation methods of steps 1101 and 1103 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0361] 2304. The TCF sends the TPF's address information to the AMF and / or SMF. Accordingly, the AMF and / or SMF receive the TPF's address information.

[0362] 2305. The AMF and / or SMF send the TPF's address information to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the TPF's address information.

[0363] Specifically, the AMF and / or the SMF can select any UPF, and then send address information of the UPF to the TPF.

[0364] Optionally, steps 2304 and 2305 can also be implemented in the following manner: after the AMF and / or the SMF select any UPF, the AMF and / or the SMF send address information of the UPF to the TCF, and the TCF sends the address information of the UPF to the TPF.

[0365] 2306. The TPF establishes a second tunnel with the UPF.

[0366] 2307. The AMF and / or the SMF send the address information of the UPF to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the address information of the UPF.

[0367] 2308. The access network device establishes a third tunnel with the UPF.

[0368] 2309. The TCF sends a second message to the UE. Accordingly, the UE receives the second message.

[0369] 2310. The UE performs a first calculation task of the first data packet.

[0370] 2311. The UE transmits the first data packet to the UPF.

[0371] 2312. The UPF transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0372] 2313. The TPF performs a second calculation task of the first data packet.

[0373] 2314. The UPF transmits the first data packet to the TPF.

[0374] 2315. The UPF transmits the first data packet to the DN.

[0375] The specific implementation of steps 2306 to 2315 can refer to the implementation of steps 1105 to 1114 in Figure 11 .

[0376] Based on Figure 19 / Figure 21 / Figure 23 the described embodiments, the UE can obtain that the CN accepts the assistance calculation of the first data packet by interacting with the TCF, so that part of the calculation task of the first data packet is performed by the TPF in the CN when the first data packet is subsequently transmitted in uplink or downlink, which is beneficial to reduce the calculation task of the UE.

[0377] It can be understood that the above Figures 4 to 23 is described by taking 5G as an example, and the above Figures 4 to 23The names of the various network functions in the above embodiments can also be updated as the system evolves, which is not limited in the present application.

[0378] The filtering of the first data packet by the RAN and the filtering of the first data packet by the second network function and the auxiliary computing strategy for identifying the first data packet in the above embodiments are described as follows:

[0379] Taking the transmission of at least one data packet as an example, it is assumed that the at least one data packet includes a first data packet:

[0380] When the first data packet is an uplink data packet, the following steps ① to ⑦ are performed:

[0381] ① The UE performs a first computing task on the first data packet in the at least one data packet.

[0382] ② The UE sends the at least one data packet to the RAN. Accordingly, the RAN receives the at least one data packet.

[0383] ③ The RAN filters the at least one data packet based on a preset second filtering granularity to obtain a data packet that needs to be received by the second network function.

[0384] The RAN can identify, according to the preset second filtering granularity and one or more pieces of indication information in each data packet in the at least one data packet, whether each data packet should be forwarded to the second network function.

[0385] In one example, the second filtering granularity includes one or more of the following: UE granularity, session granularity, tunnel granularity, application type granularity, application granularity, application flow granularity, quality of service flow granularity, or second network function granularity. Any data packet in the at least one data packet includes one or more pieces of indication information, such as the address identifier of the UE, the session identifier of the data packet (such as the PDU session ID), the tunnel identifier of the data packet, the application type identifier of the data packet, the application identifier of the data packet, the application flow identifier of the data packet, the quality of service flow identifier of the data packet, or the identifier of the second network function (which can be carried by the second message in the above embodiments and sent to the UE).

[0386] Optionally, the RAN is directly connected with the second network function: in one example, the data packet includes the identity of the second network function, and the RAN can identify whether the data packet is a data packet to be received by the second network function based on an explicit indication of the identity of the second network function (e.g., the identity of the second network function is the address information of the UPF when the second network function is a UPF). In another example, the data packet does not include the identity of the second network function, and includes one or more of the address identity of the UE, the session identity of the data packet, the tunnel identity of the data packet, the application type identity of the data packet, the application identity of the data packet, the application flow identity of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identity of the data packet, and since the one or more identities have a corresponding relationship with the identity of the second network function, the RAN can identify the data packet to be received by the second network function based on an implicit indication of the one or more identities.

[0387] Optionally, the RAN is connected with the second network function via the remaining network function: one or more of the address identity of the UE, the session identity of the data packet (e.g., PDU session ID), the tunnel identity of the data packet, the application type identity of the data packet, the application identity of the data packet, the application flow identity of the data packet, the quality of service flow identity of the data packet, or the identity of the second network function has a corresponding relationship with the identity of the remaining network function, and thus the RAN can identify the data packet to be received by the remaining network function based on an implicit indication of one or more of the address identity of the UE, the session identity of the data packet, the tunnel identity of the data packet, the application type identity of the data packet, the application identity of the data packet, the application flow identity of the data packet, the quality of service flow identity of the data packet, or the identity of the second network function; further, in one example, the remaining network function directly identifies the data packet to be received by the second network function based on the identity of the second network function; or, in another example, the corresponding relationship between the address identity of the UE, the session identity of the data packet (e.g., PDU session ID), the tunnel identity of the data packet, the application type identity of the data packet, the application identity of the data packet, the application flow identity of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identity of the data packet, and the identity of the second network function is stored in the remaining network function, and the remaining network function identifies the data packet to be received by the second network function based on an implicit indication of the corresponding relationship.

[0388] It should be noted that if the second filtering granularity is a tunnel granularity and the tunnel identifier of the first data packet is an identifier of the shared tunnel, the data packet identified by the RAN to be received by the second network function includes not only the first data packet but also the remaining data packets to be received by the second network function. For example, when the second network function is a UPF, the data packet identified by the RAN to be received by the second network function includes not only the first data packet but also the non-assisted computing data packet originally transmitted to the UPF through the shared tunnel (i.e., the data packet directly forwarded to the DN by the UPF after receiving).

[0389] IV. The RAN transmits, to the second network function, the data packet to be received by the second network function in the at least one data packet. Accordingly, the second network function receives the data packet to be received by the second network function.

[0390] Optionally, the RAN directly transmits, to the second network function, the data packet to be received by the second network function in the at least one data packet, or transmits, to the second network function via the remaining network function, the data packet to be received by the second network function in the at least one data packet.

[0391] V. The second network function filters the data packet to be received by the second network function based on the preset first filtering granularity to obtain the first data packet.

[0392] The second network function can identify whether each data packet is the first data packet according to the preset first filtering granularity and one or more items in each data packet.

[0393] In one example, the first filtering granularity includes one or more of the following: a tunnel granularity, an application granularity, an application type granularity, an application flow granularity, or a quality of service flow granularity. For example, the second network function identifies whether each data packet is the first data packet based on one or more of the following: a tunnel identifier of the data packet, an application type identifier of the data packet, an application identifier of the data packet, an application flow identifier of the data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet.

[0394] It should be noted that if the tunnel identifier of the data packet cannot be used to identify the first data packet (e.g., the tunnel corresponding to the tunnel identifier can be used to transmit the first data packet and the non-assisted computing data packet), the first data packet can also be identified according to one or more of the following: an application identifier of each data packet, an application type identifier of each data packet, an application flow identifier of each data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of each data packet.

[0395] VI. The second network function performs a second computing task on the first data packet based on a policy of the assisted computing of the first data packet indicated by the first data packet.

[0396] In one example, one or more of the application identifier, the application type identifier, the application flow identifier, or the quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet in the first data packet has a corresponding relationship with the policy for the assistance computation of the first data packet, and thus the second network function determines, according to the implicit indication of the one or more of the application identifier, the application type identifier, the application flow identifier, or the quality of service flow identifier, that the first data packet needs the assistance computation and the policy for the assistance computation of the first data packet, to assist in the computation of the first data packet. For example, it is determined that the policy for the assistance computation of the first data packet is to perform a second computation task of the first data packet by the second network function, and then the second computation task of the first data packet is performed.

[0397] In another example, each data packet of the at least one data packet further comprises the following indication information: a policy identifier for the assistance computation of the data packet and an assistance computation identifier corresponding to the data packet, and the assistance computation identifier corresponding to the data packet is used to indicate whether the data packet needs the network assistance computation, and thus the second network function determines, according to the explicit indication of the policy identifier for the assistance computation and the assistance computation identifier, that the first data packet needs the assistance computation and the policy for the assistance computation of the first data packet, to assist in the computation of the first data packet. For example, it is determined that the policy for the assistance computation of the first data packet is to perform a second computation task of the first data packet by the second network function, and then the second computation task of the first data packet is performed.

[0398] ⑦、The second network function sends the first data packet to the DN. Correspondingly, the DN receives the first data packet.

[0399] When the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the following steps ⑧ to step

[0400] ⑧、The DN sends the at least one data packet to the second network function. It needs to be noted that when the DN sends the at least one data packet to the second network function, the network function passed through in the transmission process of the at least one data packet can still filter the at least one data packet, and the filtering manner can refer to the filtering manner of the RAN in the above-mentioned step ③, which is not described herein.

[0401] ⑨、The second network function receives the data packet in the at least one data packet that needs to be received by the second network function.

[0402] ①0、The second network function filters the data packet that needs to be received by the second network function based on a preset first filtering granularity, to obtain the first data packet.

[0403] The second network function performs a second computation task on the first data packet based on the policy for the assistance computation of the first data packet indicated by the first data packet.

[0404] The second network function sends the first data packet to the RAN.

[0405] The RAN sends the first data packet to the UE.

[0406] The UE performs the first computing task on the first data packet.

[0407] For each of the above embodiments, after each of the above embodiments, the UE can re-send a new first message to the CN to request the CN to provide auxiliary computing for a new type of data packet, and / or to adjust the strategy of the auxiliary computing of the data packet. For example, after a period of time, the load of the UE is further increased, the CN can be requested to perform more computing tasks, such as the type of the data packet in the new first message is still the type of the first data packet, and the 20% ID in the strategy of the auxiliary computing of the first data packet is changed to 50% ID, then after the request is successful, the CN changes from performing 20% computing tasks to performing 80% computing tasks, and correspondingly, the UE changes from performing 80% computing tasks to performing 50% computing tasks. Or, in another possible implementation, the CN triggers adjustment of the type of the data packet and the strategy of the auxiliary computing of the data packet, and notifies the UE, for example, after a period of time, the load of the CN is further increased, the CN can be requested to perform less computing tasks, then the notification message sent by the CN to the UE can still include the type of the first data packet and the strategy of the auxiliary computing of the first data packet, the 20% ID in the strategy of the auxiliary computing of the first data packet is changed to 10% ID, then after the notification is completed, the CN changes from performing 20% computing tasks to performing 10% computing tasks, and correspondingly, the UE changes from performing 80% computing tasks to performing 90% computing tasks.

[0408] Figure 24 is a flowchart of a process in which the CN provides auxiliary computing for the DN according to an embodiment of the present application. The process in which the CN provides auxiliary computing for the DN is similar to the process in which the CN provides auxiliary computing for the UE, and the difference is that:

[0409] 2401. The DN sends a first message to the CN, and the first message is used to request the CN to perform auxiliary computing for a first data packet. Correspondingly, the CN receives the first message.

[0410] In the embodiment of the present application, requesting the CN to perform auxiliary computing for the first data packet means that among the computing tasks of the first data packet originally performed by the DN, a part of the computing tasks is requested to be performed by the CN. For example, the computing tasks of the first data packet originally performed by the UE include a second computing task and a third computing task, the CN is requested to perform the second computing task, and correspondingly, the DN performs the third computing task.

[0411] 2402. CN sends a second message to DN, instructing CN to accept auxiliary calculations for the first data packet. Accordingly, DN receives the second message.

[0412] After the DN receives the second message, the CN can assist in the calculation of the first data packet during the uplink or downlink transmission of the first data packet.

[0413] When transmitting the first data packet uplink (i.e., the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet), steps 2406, 2405, 2404 and 2403 are executed sequentially; when transmitting the first data packet downlink (i.e., the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet), steps 2403, 2404, 2405 and 2406 are executed sequentially.

[0414] 2403. DN executes the third calculation task of the first data packet.

[0415] 2404. CN and DN transmit the first data packet.

[0416] 2405. CN executes the second computation task of the first data packet.

[0417] 2406. CN and UE transmit the first data packet.

[0418] The specific implementation methods of steps 2401 to 2406 can refer to the above embodiments. Optionally, before step 2401, CN may also send a third message to DN, and / or DN may send a fourth message to CN. The specific implementation methods of the third and fourth messages can refer to the above. Figure 3 Corresponding implementation examples.

[0419] based on Figure 24 In the described embodiment, the DN can obtain the CN's assistance in calculating the first data packet, so that when the first data packet is subsequently transmitted uplink or downlink, the CN can perform part of the calculation task of the first data packet, which helps to reduce the calculation task of the DN.

[0420] Figure 25 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 25 The communication device 2500 shown may include a transceiver unit 2501 and a processing unit 2502.

[0421] In one example, Figure 25The communication apparatus 2500 can be used to perform part or all of the functions of the user equipment (hereinafter referred to as terminal equipment) in the above-mentioned embodiments. The communication apparatus 2500 can be a terminal equipment, or a device in a terminal equipment, or a device that can be used in conjunction with a terminal equipment. Among them, the communication apparatus 2500 can also be a chip system. Wherein:

[0422] The transceiver unit 2501 is configured to: send a first message to a first network function, the first message being used to request network assistance calculation for a first data packet; the first network function is used to assign a network function for providing assistance calculation; receive a second message from the first network function; the second message is used to indicate acceptance of assistance calculation for the first data packet.

[0423] In a possible implementation, the first message includes indication information of the terminal equipment, indication information of the type of the first data packet, and indication information of the strategy of assistance calculation for the first data packet.

[0424] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the type of the first data packet includes one or more of the following: a transmission identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet; the transmission identifier of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet.

[0425] In a possible implementation, before the above-mentioned sending the first message to the first network function, the transceiver unit 2501 is further configured to: receive a third message from the first network function, the third message being used to indicate that the first network function supports assigning a network function for providing assistance calculation.

[0426] In a possible implementation, the third message includes indication information of a type of data packet supported by the network function for providing assistance calculation for calculation and indication information of a strategy of assistance calculation supported; the indication information of the type of data packet supported for calculation includes one or more of the following: an application type identifier of the data packet supported for calculation, an application identifier of the data packet supported for calculation, an application flow identifier of the data packet supported for calculation, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet supported for calculation.

[0427] In a possible implementation, the computing task of the first data packet includes a first computing task of the first data packet and a second computing task of the first data packet; the network assisting in computing the first data packet includes that the network performs the second computing task of the first data packet; after receiving the second message from the first network function, if the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet, the processing unit 2502 is configured to perform the first computing task of the first data packet, and the transceiver unit 2501 is further configured to send, to the network, the first data packet on which the first computing task is performed; or, if the first data packet is a downlink transmission data packet, the transceiver unit 2501 is further configured to receive, from the network, the first data packet on which the second computing task is performed, and the processing unit 2502 is configured to perform the first computing task on the first data packet on which the second computing task is performed.

[0428] In a possible implementation, the first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

[0429] In another example, Figure 25 The communication apparatus 2500 shown can be configured to perform part or all of the functions of the first network function in the above-described embodiments. The communication apparatus 2500 can be the first network function, can be an apparatus in the first network function, or can be an apparatus that can be used in matching with the first network function. The communication apparatus 2500 can also be a chip system. In this case:

[0430] The transceiver unit 2501 is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device, the first message being used to request the network to assist in computing a first data packet; send a request message to a second network function based on the first message, the request message being used to request the second network function to assist in computing the first data packet; receive an acknowledgement message sent by the second network function; the acknowledgement message being used to indicate that the second network element accepts to assist in computing the first data packet; and send a second message to the terminal device, the second message being used to indicate that the network accepts to assist in computing the first data packet.

[0431] In a possible implementation, the first message or the request message includes indication information of the terminal device, indication information of a type of the first data packet, and indication information of a policy of assisting in computing the first data packet.

[0432] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the type of the first data packet includes one or more of a transmission identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet; and the transmission identifier of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink transmission data packet or a downlink transmission data packet.

[0433] In a possible implementation, before the receiving the first message from the terminal device, the transceiver 2501 is further configured to: send a third message to the terminal device, where the third message is used to indicate that the first network function supports assigning a network function that provides auxiliary computation.

[0434] In a possible implementation, the third message includes indication information of a type of a data packet that the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation and indication information of a policy of the supported auxiliary computation; the indication information of the type of the data packet that supports computation includes one or more of the following: an application type identifier of the data packet that supports computation, an application identifier of the data packet that supports computation, an application flow identifier of the data packet that supports computation, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet that supports computation.

[0435] In a possible implementation, the first network function is a session management function SMF, an access mobile function AMF, or a task control function TCF.

[0436] In a possible implementation, the second network function is a UPF; after the receiving the confirmation message from the second network function, the transceiver 2501 is further configured to: send address information of the UPF to the access network device, or send address information of the access network device to the UPF; the address information of the UPF or the address information of the access network device is used to establish a first tunnel between the UPF and the access network device, and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0437] In a possible implementation, the second network element is a TPF; after the receiving the confirmation message from the second network function, the transceiver 2501 is further configured to: if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device, send address information of the TPF to the access network device, or send address information of the access network device to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the access network device is used to establish a first tunnel between the access network device and the TPF; and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0438] In a possible implementation, if the TPF is further connected to the data network via a user plane function UPF, the transceiver 2501 is further configured to: send address information of the TPF to the UPF, or send address information of the UPF to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF; and the second tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

[0439] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 2501 is further configured to: if the TPF is connected to a data network via a user plane function (UPF) and connected to the terminal device via the UPF and an access network device, send address information of the TPF to the UPF or send address information of the UPF to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF; send the address information of the UPF to the access network device or send the address information of the access network device to the UPF; the address information of the access network device or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a third tunnel between the UPF and the access network device; and the second tunnel and the third tunnel are used to transmit the first data packet.

[0440] In yet another example, Figure 25 The communication apparatus 2500 shown can be configured to perform part or all of the functions of the second network function in the above-described embodiments. The communication apparatus 2500 can be the second network function, or a device in the second network function, or a device capable of being used with the second network function. The communication apparatus 2500 can also be a chip system. In this case:

[0441] The transceiver 2501 is configured to: receive a request message from a first network function, the request message being used to request the second network function to assist in calculation of a first data packet; and send an acknowledgement message to the first network function, the acknowledgement message being used to indicate acceptance of the calculation assistance of the first data packet.

[0442] In a possible implementation, the request message includes indication information of a terminal device, indication information of a type of the first data packet, and indication information of a policy for the calculation assistance of the first data packet.

[0443] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the type of the first data packet includes one or more of the following: a transmission identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet; and the transmission identifier of the first data packet is used to indicate whether the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet.

[0444] In a possible implementation, the first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

[0445] In a possible implementation, the second network function is a user plane function (UPF), and the processing unit 2502 is configured to: establish a first tunnel with an access network device, the first tunnel being used to transmit the first data packet.

[0446] In a possible implementation, the second network function is a task processing function (TPF) network element; the processing unit 2502 is configured to: if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device and the TPF is connected to the data network, establish the first tunnel with the access network device; or if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device and connected to the data network via a user plane function (UPF), establish the first tunnel with the access network device and the second tunnel with the UPF; or if the TPF is connected to the data network via the UPF and connected to the terminal device via the UPF and the access network device, establish the second tunnel with the UPF; and the first tunnel and / or the second tunnel are used to transmit the first data packet.

[0447] In a possible implementation, after the above sending of the confirmation message to the first network function, the transceiver unit 2501 is configured to receive at least one data packet; the processing unit 2502 is configured to filter the at least one data packet based on a preset first filtering granularity to obtain the first data packet; and the processing unit 2502 is configured to assist in calculating the first data packet based on a policy indicated by the first data packet for the auxiliary calculation of the first data packet.

[0448] In a possible implementation, the first filtering granularity includes one or more of the following: a tunnel granularity, an application type granularity, an application granularity, an application flow granularity, or a quality of service flow granularity.

[0449] In a possible implementation, any of the at least one data packet includes one or more of the following indication information: a tunnel identifier of the data packet, an application type identifier of the data packet, an application identifier of the data packet, an application flow identifier of the data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet.

[0450] In a possible implementation, the application type identifier of the data packet, the application identifier of the data packet, the application flow identifier of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the data packet is used to indicate that the data packet needs network assistance calculation and has a corresponding relationship with a policy for the auxiliary calculation of the data packet.

[0451] In a possible implementation, any of the at least one data packet further includes a policy identifier for the auxiliary calculation of the data packet and an auxiliary calculation identifier corresponding to the data packet; and the auxiliary calculation identifier corresponding to the data packet is used to indicate that the data packet needs network assistance calculation.

[0452] It should be noted that the specific implementation and advantages of the operations performed by the communication apparatus 2500 can be referred to the corresponding description in the above method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0453] Figure 26Fig. 8 shows a structural diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, which is configured to implement the functions of the terminal device, the first network function, or the second network function in the above method embodiments. The communication apparatus 2600 can be a terminal device, a first network function, or a second network function, or an apparatus for a terminal device, a first network function, or a second network function. The apparatus for a terminal device, a first network function, or a second network function can be a chip system or a chip in the terminal device, the first network function, or the second network function. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0454] The communication apparatus 2600 includes at least one processor 2601 configured to implement the data processing functions of the terminal device, the first network function, or the second network function in the methods according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus 2600 can also include a communication interface 2602 configured to implement the transceiving operations of the terminal device, the first network function, or the second network function in the methods according to the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or another type of communication interface, configured to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium. For example, the communication interface 2602 is configured to enable the communication apparatus 2600 to communicate with other devices. The processor 2601 transceives data through the communication interface 2602, and is configured to implement the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0455] The communication apparatus 2600 can also include at least one memory 2603 configured to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 2603 is coupled to the processor 2601. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is configured to enable information interaction between the apparatuses, units, or modules. The processor 2601 can operate in cooperation with the memory 2603. The processor 2601 can execute the program instructions stored in the memory 2603. At least one of the at least one memory 2603 can be included in the processor 2601.

[0456] When the communication apparatus 2600 is powered on, the processor 2601 can read the software program in the memory 2603, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 2601 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs the baseband signal to a radio frequency circuit (not shown in the figure), which converts the baseband signal into a radio frequency signal and transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of an electromagnetic wave through an antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication apparatus 2600, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 2601, which converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0457] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processor 2601 that performs baseband processing, for example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged in a remote manner from the communication apparatus.

[0458] The specific connection medium between the communication interface 2602, the processor 2601 and the memory 2603 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the memory 2603, the processor 2601 and the communication interface 2602 are connected through a bus 2604, and the bus is represented by a thick line in the drawings, and the connection mode between other components is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus and the like. For convenience, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in the drawings, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. Figure 26 Figure 26 The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus and the like. For convenience, only one thick line is used to represent the bus in the drawings, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. Figure 26

[0459] When the communication apparatus 2600 is specifically a device for a terminal device, a first network function or a second network function, for example, the communication apparatus 2600 is specifically a chip or a chip system, the communication interface 2602 can output or receive a baseband signal. When the communication apparatus 2600 is specifically a user equipment, an access network device or an application server, the communication interface 2602 can output or receive a radio frequency signal. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, and can implement or execute the disclosed methods, operations and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The operations of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware processor execution or combined execution by hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0460] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, when the computer program is run on a processor, the method flow of the method embodiments is realized.

[0461] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, when the computer program product is run on a computer, the method flow of the method embodiments is realized.

[0462] ​​It should be noted that, for the foregoing method embodiments, the sequences of the described actions are not necessarily required to achieve the objects of the application, and certain actions can be performed in other sequences or even concurrently. Additionally, the described embodiments are to be considered in a sense of disclosure, of the preferred embodiments, and are not necessarily exhaustive of the ways in which the application can be practiced.

[0463] The descriptions of the various embodiments provided by the present application can be mutually referred to, and each description of the various embodiments has its own focus. The parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment can be referred to the relevant description of other embodiments. For the convenience and brevity of description, for example, the functions of the various devices and the operations performed by the devices provided by the embodiments of the present application can be referred to the relevant description of the method embodiments of the present application, and the various method embodiments and the various device embodiments can also be referred to, combined or cited to each other.

[0464] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid state drive (SSD)) and the like.

Claims

1. A method of assisted computation, characterized by, The method is applied to a terminal device and comprises the following steps: sending a first message to a first network function, the first message being used to request the network to perform auxiliary computation on a first data packet; the first network function being used to allocate a network function that provides auxiliary computation; receiving a second message from the first network function; the second message being used to indicate acceptance of the auxiliary computation on the first data packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first message comprises indication information of the terminal device, indication information of the type of the first data packet, and indication information of the strategy of the auxiliary computation of the first data packet.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The indication information of the type of the first data packet comprises one or more of the following: a transmission identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet; The transmission identifier of the first data packet is used to indicate whether the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Before the step of sending the first message to the first network function, the method further comprises the following steps: receiving a third message from the first network function, the third message being used to indicate that the first network function supports allocation of a network function that provides auxiliary computation.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The third message comprises indication information of the type of a data packet on which the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation, and indication information of the strategy of the auxiliary computation that is supported. The indication information of the type of the data packet on which the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation comprises one or more of the following:

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, an application type identifier of the data packet on which the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation, an application identifier of the data packet on which the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation, an application flow identifier of the data packet on which the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet on which the network function that provides auxiliary computation supports computation. The computation task of the first data packet comprises a first computation task of the first data packet and a second computation task of the first data packet; the auxiliary computation on the first data packet by the network comprises execution of the second computation task of the first data packet by the network. After the step of receiving the second message from the first network function, the method further comprises the following steps: if the first data packet is an uplink data packet, executing the first computation task of the first data packet, and sending the first data packet on which the first computation task has been executed to the network; 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, or, if the first data packet is a downlink data packet, receiving the first data packet on which the second computation task has been executed from the network, and executing the first computation task on the first data packet on which the second computation task has been executed.

8. A method of assisted computing, characterized by, The first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF). The method is applied to a first network function and comprises the following steps: receiving a first message from a terminal device, the first message being used to request the network to perform auxiliary computation on a first data packet; sending a request message to a second network function based on the first message, the request message being used to request the second network function to perform auxiliary computation on the first data packet; receiving an acknowledgement message from the second network function; the acknowledgement message is used to indicate that the second network function accepts the first data packet assisted computation; sending a second message to the terminal device; the second message is used to indicate that the network accepts the first data packet assisted computation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The first message or the request message comprises indication information of the terminal device, indication information of a type of the first data packet, and indication information of a strategy of the first data packet assisted computation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The indication information of the type of the first data packet comprises one or more of the following: a transmission identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet; The transmission identifier of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that, Before the receiving the first message from the terminal device, the method further comprises: sending a third message to the terminal device, the third message being used to indicate that the first network function supports assigning a network function providing assisted computation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The third message comprises indication information of a type of a data packet supported by the network function providing assisted computation and indication information of a strategy of the assisted computation supported by the network function providing assisted computation. The indication information of the type of the data packet supported by the network function providing assisted computation comprises one or more of the following: an application type identifier of the data packet supported by the network function providing assisted computation, an application identifier of the data packet supported by the network function providing assisted computation, an application flow identifier of the data packet supported by the network function providing assisted computation, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet supported by the network function providing assisted computation.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8-12, characterized in that, The first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The second network function is a UPF. After the receiving the acknowledgement message from the second network function, the method further comprises: sending address information of the UPF to the access network device, or sending address information of the access network device to the UPF; The address information of the UPF or the address information of the access network device is used to establish a first tunnel between the UPF and the access network device, and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, The second network function is a TPF. After the receiving the acknowledgement message from the second network function, the method further comprises: if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via an access network device, sending address information of the TPF to the access network device, or sending address information of the access network device to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the access network device is used to establish a first tunnel between the access network device and the TPF; and the first tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, if the TPF is further connected to a data network via a user plane function (UPF), the method further comprises: The address information of the TPF is sent to the UPF, or the address information of the UPF is sent to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF; and the second tunnel is used to transmit the first data packet.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein, Further comprising: If the TPF is connected to a data network via a user plane function (UPF) and is connected to the terminal device via the UPF and an access network device, the address information of the TPF is sent to the UPF, or the address information of the UPF is sent to the TPF; the address information of the TPF or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a second tunnel between the UPF and the TPF; The address information of the UPF is sent to the access network device, or the address information of the access network device is sent to the UPF; The address information of the access network device or the address information of the UPF is used to establish a third tunnel between the UPF and the access network device; and the second tunnel and the third tunnel are used to transmit the first data packet.

18. A method of assisted computing, characterized by, Applied to a second network function, the method comprises: Receiving a request message from a first network function, the request message being used to request the second network function to assist in computing a first data packet; Sending an acknowledgement message to the first network function, the acknowledgement message being used to indicate acceptance of assisting in computing the first data packet.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The request message comprises indication information of a terminal device, indication information of a type of the first data packet, and indication information of a policy for assisting in computing the first data packet.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The indication information of the type of the first data packet comprises one or more of the following: A transmission identifier of the first data packet, a session identifier of the first data packet, an application type identifier of the first data packet, an application identifier of the first data packet, an application flow identifier of the first data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the first data packet; The transmission identifier of the first data packet is used to indicate that the first data packet is an uplink data packet or a downlink data packet.

21. The method of any one of claims 18-20, wherein, The first network function is a session management function (SMF), an access mobile function (AMF), or a task control function (TCF).

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The second network function is a user plane function (UPF). The method further comprises: Establishing a first tunnel with an access network device, the first tunnel being used to transmit the first data packet.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein, The second network function is a task processing function (TPF). The method further comprises: If the TPF is connected to a terminal device via an access network device and the TPF is connected to a data network, a first tunnel is established with the access network device; Or, if the TPF is connected to the terminal device via the access network device and is connected to the data network via a user plane function (UPF), a first tunnel is established with the access network device and a second tunnel is established with the UPF. Alternatively, if the TPF is connected to the data network via the UPF and to the terminal device via the UPF and the access network device, a second tunnel is established with the UPF; the first tunnel and / or the second tunnel are used to transmit the first data packet.

24. The method of any one of claims 18-23, wherein, After the sending of the confirmation message to the first network function, further comprising: receiving at least one data packet; filtering the at least one data packet based on a preset first filtering granularity to obtain the first data packet; assisting in calculating the first data packet based on a policy indicated by the first data packet.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, The first filtering granularity comprises one or more of the following: tunnel granularity, application type granularity, application granularity, application flow granularity, or quality of service flow granularity.

26. The method of claim 24 or 25, wherein, Any one of the at least one data packet comprises one or more of the following indication information: a tunnel identifier of the data packet, an application type identifier of the data packet, an application identifier of the data packet, an application flow identifier of the data packet, or a quality of service flow identifier of the data packet.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein, The application flow identifier of the data packet, the application type identifier of the data packet, the application identifier of the data packet, or the quality of service flow identifier of the data packet is used to indicate that the data packet needs network assistance calculation and has a corresponding relationship with a policy of assistance calculation of the data packet.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein, Any one of the at least one data packet further comprises a policy identifier of assistance calculation of the data packet and an assistance calculation identifier corresponding to the data packet; the assistance calculation identifier corresponding to the data packet is used to indicate that the data packet needs network assistance calculation.

29. A communications device, characterized by A chip for performing the method of any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-17 or claims 18-28.

30. A communications device, characterized by A chip comprising a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory being coupled, the processor being configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-17 or claims 18-28.

31. A chip, characterized by A chip comprising a processor and an interface, the interface being configured to receive or output signals, the processor being configured to execute code instructions, so that the chip implements the method of any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-17 or claims 18-28.

32. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program, when invoked by the computer, causes the computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1-7 or claims 8-17 or claims 18-28.

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