Data transmission method and communication device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a data transmission method and a communication device, which are used for providing a scheme for realizing a data service based on a data service architecture, and the scheme reduces the complexity of realizing the data service based on the data service architecture by enhancing a user plane. The method comprises: an access network device receiving a data packet through a first protocol data unit (PDU) session, the first PDU session corresponding to a first data service task; under the condition that the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device executes a first operation on the first data according to the first data service task to obtain second data, and sends the second data according to the first PDU session; or under the condition that the first data service task is the data service task which is not processed by the access network device, the access network device forwards the data packet. Wherein the first data comprises data carried by the data packet.

Description

Data transmission method and communication device Technical Field

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

[0002] Data is generated, flows and consumed in communication networks, playing a significant role.

[0003] Data services (DS) refer to the provision of data as a service after operations such as data collection, preprocessing, and analysis. With the development of communication network scale and new technologies, the amount of data in communication networks is increasing, and the demand for data services is also increasing.

[0004] Efficient data utilization requires a comprehensive data services architecture that spans the entire data lifecycle, from generation, collection, storage, transmission, processing, analysis, exchange, and sharing. However, how to implement a data services architecture to reduce implementation complexity remains to be studied.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a data transmission method and a communication device for providing a solution for implementing data services based on a data service architecture. The solution can reduce the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture by enhancing the user plane.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a data transmission method is provided. The method can be performed by an access network device. The access network device can be an access network device, or a device including an access network device, or a module or unit of the access network device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the access network device. The following description takes the method performed by the access network device as an example. The method includes: the access network device receives a data packet through a first protocol data unit (PDU) session, and the first PDU session corresponds to a first data service task; when the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device performs a first operation on the first data according to the first data service task to obtain second data, and sends the second data according to the first PDU session; or, when the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the access network device forwards the data packet. The first data includes data carried by the data packet.

[0009] Since, in the embodiment of the present application, the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task, the data transmission of the data service can be isolated from the data transmission of the user plane, and for the data packet received through the first PDU session, when the access network device determines that the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device can open the data packet and perform data processing. When the access network device determines that the first data service is a data service not processed by the access network device, the access network device can transparently forward the data packet, and then the access network device supports in-path processing, so that the data of the data service can be converted and optimized during the transmission process to meet the needs of the data service. In this way, the system modification is small and the compatibility is good, which can reduce the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the data packet is a first data packet of a terminal device, and the access network device receives the data packet through a first PDU session, including: the access network device receives the first data packet from the terminal device through a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the first PDU session, and the DRB is associated with a first data service task; accordingly, the access network device sends second data according to the first PDU session, including: the access network device sends the second data to a user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session through a tunnel associated with the first PDU session; or, accordingly, the access network device forwards the first data packet, including: the access network device forwards the first data packet to the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. That is, in an uplink data transmission scenario, for the second data obtained by the access network device after processing the data packet, the access network device can continue to use the user-plane data transmission path, that is, send the second data through the user-plane network element; for the first data packet not processed by the access network device, the first data packet can be forwarded through the first PDU session. This method requires minimal modification to the system, can reduce the impact on the user-plane network element, and improve compatibility.

[0011] In one possible implementation, a data packet is a second data packet of a first network element, and the first network element is a data processing node corresponding to a first data service task; an access network device receives the data packet via a first PDU session, including: the access network device receives the second data packet from the first network element via a tunnel associated with the first PDU session, where the tunnel is associated with the first data service task; accordingly, the access network device sends second data according to the first PDU session, including: the access network device sends the second data to the terminal device via a DRB associated with the first PDU session; or accordingly, the access network device forwards the second data packet, including: the access network device forwards the second data packet to the terminal device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session. That is, in a downlink data transmission scenario, for the second data obtained by the access network device after processing the data packet, the access network device can continue to use the user plane data transmission path, i.e., send the second data through the user plane network element; for the first data packet not processed by the access network device, the first data packet can be forwarded via the first PDU session. This method requires minimal system modifications, reduces the impact on the user plane network element, and improves compatibility.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the first aspect further includes: the access network device obtains the first identity information of the terminal device and at least one address of the terminal device, the at least one address including the first address associated with the first PDU session; accordingly, the access network device sends the second data to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: when the address information of the next hop of the data processing node corresponding to the first data service matches the first identity information, the access network device encapsulates the second data according to the first address to obtain a third data packet; the access network device sends the third data packet to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session. In other words, the access network device can determine that the next hop is the terminal device through the first identity information, and obtain the first address of the terminal device in the first PDU session to encapsulate the third data packet, so that the terminal device determines that the third data packet is a data packet sent to itself based on the first address in the packet header of the third data packet, and submits the third data packet to the corresponding protocol stack for processing.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the access network device obtaining the first identity information of the terminal device includes: the access network device receiving first information from a data service control network element, where the first information includes the first identity information. In other words, the access network device can obtain the first identity information by receiving the first information from the data service control network element, so as to facilitate sending a data packet to the terminal device during downlink data transmission.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task processed by an access network device; the data transmission method provided in the first aspect further includes: the access network device receives a first data service request from a data service control network element, the first data service request including identification information of the first data service task and instruction information of the first operation; the access network device sends confirmation information of the first data service request to the data service control network element. In other words, upon receiving the confirmation information of the first data service request, the data service control network element can determine that the access network device agrees with the content requested by the first data service request, that is, the access network device is ready to receive data from other data processing nodes and send business data of the data service. In this way, the data service control network element can trigger the establishment of a first PDU session to provide a transmission channel for the business data of the data service.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the access network device performing a first operation on first data to obtain second data based on a first data service task includes: the access network device performing the first operation on the first data to obtain the second data based on a first data service request. In other words, the access network device may determine the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task based on a correspondence between the first PDU session and the first data service task, and then perform the first operation on the first data.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the first aspect further includes: the access network device receives a session request for a first PDU session, the session request including identification information of the first data service task and indication information of the quality of service QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session; the access network device establishes a DRB associated with the first PDU between the access network device and the terminal device according to the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session, the DRB is associated with the identification information of the first data service task; the access network device establishes a tunnel associated with the first PDU between the access network device and the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session, the tunnel is associated with the identification information of the first data service task. That is, in the process of establishing the first PDU session, the access network device can associate the DRB-ID associated with the first PDU session with the identification (e.g., DS-ID) of the first data service task, so that when the access network device receives a data packet through the DRB, it can determine the DS-ID of the first data service task based on the DRB-ID, and further determine that the data packet belongs to the first data service task.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the first aspect further includes: the access network device obtaining second identity information of the data service control network element; and the access network device sending the second identity information to the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device can discover the data service control network element through the second identity information sent by the access network device, and then communicate with the data service control network element.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the first aspect further includes: the access network device forwards control information between the terminal device and the data service control network element between the terminal device and the user plane network element corresponding to the second PDU session through the second PDU session; wherein the control information includes any of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element. In other words, the control data of the data service can be transmitted through the second PDU session, which can reduce the modification of the corresponding message content, process, and protocol stack of the service interface (N1 and / or N2), thereby reducing the implementation complexity and improving the system compatibility.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, wherein the priority of the first QoS flow is lower than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is higher than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow. It is understood that because the control signaling of the data service transmitted by the second PDU session is delay-sensitive, the PDB of the second QoS flow corresponding to the second PDU session should be lower than the PDB of the second QoS flow corresponding to the first PDU session, and in the event of network congestion, the priority of the second QoS flow is higher than the priority of the first QoS flow. In other words, because the priority of the first QoS flow is lower than the priority of the second QoS flow and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is higher than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, the communication node (e.g., a terminal device or access network device) of the PDU session can prioritize the control data of the data service task transmitted by the second PDU session over the data packets transmitted by the first PDU session.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first operation corresponds to at least one data service capability of the access network device. The data transmission method provided in the first aspect further includes: the access network device sending data service capability information of the access network device to a data service control network element, where the data service capability information includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability. In other words, the access network device can send the data service capability information of the access network device to the data service control network element so that the data service control network element can send a first data service request that matches the data service capability of the access network device to the access network device, thereby enabling the access network device to execute the first operation in the first data service request.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, IoT data, or artificial intelligence data. As will be appreciated, due to the diverse data sources and numerous data types within the network, the data processing processes vary significantly. By properly classifying data, the processing process can be simplified, system complexity can be reduced, and data services of various data types can be supported.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first operation includes at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data storage, data reporting, data analysis, data protection, or data compression. That is, the first operation is different from conventional encoding and decoding, modulation and demodulation, or rate matching operations. The first operation is an operation for data collection, data preprocessing, or data analysis to implement data services.

[0023] In a second aspect, a data transmission method is provided, which can be executed by a data service control network element, or by a component of the data service control network element, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the data service control network element, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the data service control network element. The following is an illustration of the method being executed by a data service control network element. The method includes: the data service control network element determines a first data service task based on data service demand information and at least one data service capability information; the data service control network element sends a data service request to a data processing node, the data service request including at least one of the following: identification information of the first data service task, operation instruction information, or address information of the next hop of the data processing node; the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request; the data service control network element triggers the establishment process of a first protocol data unit PDU session, and the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task.

[0024] The data service control network element can trigger the establishment of the first PDU session after the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task feeds back confirmation information of the data service request. This can avoid the data processing node rejecting the data service request, resulting in no data transmission after the first PDU session is established, thereby wasting network resources. Furthermore, by corresponding the first PDU session to the first data service task, the data transmission of the data service can be isolated from the data transmission of the user plane, and the data supporting the data service can be converted and optimized during the transmission process to meet the needs of the data service. This requires little modification to the system, has good compatibility, and can reduce the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task processed by an access network device, and the data processing node includes a terminal device, an access network device and a first network element; the data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node, including: the data service control network element sends a first data service request to the access network device, the first data service request is used to request to perform a first operation on the first data, obtain second data, and send the second data; the data service control network element sends a second data service request to the terminal device, the second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on the third data, obtain fourth data, and send the fourth data; the data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element, the third service request is used to request to perform a third operation on the third data, obtain fourth data, and send fourth data; the data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element, the third service request is used to request to perform a third operation on the third data, obtain fourth data, and send fourth data The data service request is used to request that the fifth data perform a third operation, obtain the sixth data, and send the sixth data; accordingly, the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request, including: the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the first data service request from the access network device; the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the second data service request from the terminal device; the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the third data service request from the first network element; wherein the third data includes data collected by the terminal device, the first data includes the fourth data, and the fifth data includes the second data; or the fifth data includes data collected by the first network element, the first data includes the sixth data, and the third data includes the second data. In other words, the first data service task can be a data service task processed by the access network device. For example, in the scenario where the data flow corresponding to the first data service task is uplink data transmission, the terminal device sends the service data of the data service to the access network device, the access network device processes the service data, and sends the processed service data to the first network element. For another example, for the data flow corresponding to the above-mentioned first data service task is a downlink data transmission scenario, the first network element sends the business data of the data service to the access network device, the access network device processes the business data, and sends the processed business data to the terminal device.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, and the data processing node includes a terminal device and a first network element. The data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node, including: the data service control network element sends a second data service request to the terminal device, the second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on third data to obtain fourth data, and to send the fourth data; the data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element, the third data service request is used to request to perform a third operation on fifth data to obtain sixth data, and to send the sixth data; accordingly, the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request, including: the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the second data service request from the terminal device; the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the third data service request from the first network element; wherein the third data includes data collected by the terminal device, and the fifth data includes the fourth data; or the fifth data includes data collected by the first network element, and the third data includes the sixth data. In other words, the first data service task may be a data service task not processed by the access network device. For example, in a scenario where the data flow direction corresponding to the first data service task is uplink data transmission, the terminal device sends the service data of the data service to the first network element. For another example, in a scenario where the data flow direction corresponding to the first data service task is downlink data transmission, the first network element sends the service data of the data service to the terminal device.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the data service control network element triggers the process of establishing the first PDU session, including: the data service control network element sends a session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element, and the session establishment request includes identification information of the first data service task. In other words, the data service control network element can trigger the session management network element to establish the first PDU session by sending the session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element. Furthermore, the session establishment request for the first PDU session includes identification information of the first data service task, so that in the process of establishing the first PDU session, the access network device can associate the DRB and tunnel associated with the first PDU session with the first data service task through the identification information of the first data service task.

[0028] It can be understood that the data service control network element can also send a session establishment request for the first PDU session to other network elements (such as a session binding network element) to trigger the establishment process of the first PDU session. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the second aspect further includes: the data service control network element receives a response message of the session establishment request from the session management network element. That is, the data service control network element can determine whether the first PDU session is successfully established through the response message of the session establishment request from the session management network element.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the second aspect further includes: the data service control network element transmits control information to the terminal device through the second PDU session; wherein the control information includes any of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element. In other words, the control data of the data service can be transmitted through the second PDU session, which can reduce the modification of the corresponding message content, process, and protocol stack of the above-mentioned service interface (N1 and / or N2), thereby reducing the implementation complexity and improving the system compatibility.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, wherein the priority of the first QoS flow is greater than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is less than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow. In other words, by making the priority of the first QoS flow lower than the priority of the second QoS flow and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow greater than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, the communication node (such as a terminal device or an access network device) of the PDU session can give priority to processing the control data of the data service task transmitted by the second PDU session relative to the data packets transmitted by the first PDU session.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the second aspect further includes: the data service control network element receiving data service registration information from the terminal device through a second PDU session, the data service registration information including first identity information of the terminal device and indication information for indicating an access network device providing services to the terminal device; and the data service control network element sending first information to the access network device, the first information including the first identity information. In other words, the data service control network element can receive the data service registration information from the terminal device so that the data service control network element can send the first information to the access network device, thereby facilitating the access network device to send data packets to the terminal device during downlink data transmission.

[0033] In one possible implementation, at least one piece of data service capability information includes data service capability information of a data processing node, and the operation indicated by the operation indication information corresponds to at least one data service capability of the data processing node. The data transmission method provided in the second aspect further includes: a data service control network element receiving data service capability information from the data processing node, where the data service capability information includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability. In other words, the data processing node can send the data service capability information of the access network device to the data service control network element, so that the data service control network element can send a data service request to the data processing node based on the data service capability of the data processing node, so that the data processing node can execute the first operation in the first data service request.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, IoT data, or artificial intelligence data. As will be appreciated, due to the diverse data sources and numerous data types within the network, the data processing processes vary significantly. By properly classifying data, the processing process can be simplified, system complexity can be reduced, and data services of various data types can be supported.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the operation indicated by the operation indication information includes at least one of the following operations: data collection, data preprocessing, data protection, data storage, or data analysis. In other words, the operation indicated by the data service request differs from conventional encoding and decoding, modulation and demodulation, or rate matching operations. This operation is directed to data collection, data preprocessing, or data analysis, etc., for implementing the data service.

[0036] In a third aspect, a data transmission method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device. The terminal device can be a terminal device, or a device including a terminal device, or a module or unit of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device. The following is an example of the method being executed by a terminal device. The method includes: the terminal device receives a second data service request from a data service control network element, the second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on third data, obtain fourth data, and send fourth data, and the second data service request corresponds to a first data service task; the terminal device sends confirmation information of the second data service request to the data service control network element; the terminal device generates a first data packet according to the second data service request, and the data carried by the first data packet includes the fourth data; the terminal device sends the first data packet to the access network device through a data radio bearer DRB associated with a first protocol data unit PDU session, and the DRB corresponds to the first data service task.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the data method provided in the third aspect also includes: the terminal device receives a data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, and the third data includes data carried by the data packet.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the data packet is the second data packet, and the terminal device receives the data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: the terminal device receives the second data packet from the first network element through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, and the first network element is the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the data packet is the third data packet, and the terminal device receives the data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: the terminal device receives the third data packet from the access network device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the data method provided in the third aspect further includes: the terminal device obtains second identity information of the data service control network element; and the terminal device communicates with the data service control network element based on the second identity information.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device obtains the second identity information of the data service control network element, including: the terminal device receives the second identity information from the access network device.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the data method provided in the third aspect also includes: the terminal device transmits control information between the terminal device and the data service control network element through a second PDU session; wherein the control information includes any one of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, wherein the priority of the first QoS flow is greater than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is less than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the data service registration information includes at least one of the following: first identity information of the terminal device, indication information for indicating an access network device providing services for the terminal device, or data service capability information of the terminal device.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the data service capability information of the terminal device includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, or artificial intelligence data.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the second operation includes at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data protection, data storage, or data analysis.

[0048] Among them, the technical effects of the third aspect or any of its implementation methods can refer to the technical effects of any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be an access network device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the access network device, or a device included in the access network device, such as a chip; or the communication device may be a data service control network element in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the data service control network element, or a device included in the data service control network element, such as a chip. Or, the communication device may be a terminal device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the terminal device, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the above methods, and the modules, units, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0050] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be comprised of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0051] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0052] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes the memory. Optionally, the memory is coupled to the processor, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be independent of the processor. Optionally, the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the memory is independent of the communication device.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0056] The communication device may be an access network device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the access network device, or a device included in the access network device, such as a chip; or the communication device may be a data service control network element in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the data service control network element, or a device included in the data service, such as a chip. Or the communication device may be a terminal device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the terminal device, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip.

[0057] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0058] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations.

[0059] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0060] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0061] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0062] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fourth to eighth aspects is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0063] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fourth to eighth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in any of the above aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0064] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: an access network device according to any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations, and a data service control network element according to any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations.

[0065] In one possible implementation, the communication system further includes a terminal device according to any aspect or any implementation thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a protocol data unit (PDU) session transmission structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a QoS service quality flow provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol layer structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a data service architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another data service architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG6 is a functional diagram of a data service architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an operation chain provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG8 is a schematic diagram 1 of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG9 is a second schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG10 is a third schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG11 is a fourth schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG12 is a flowchart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] 14 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure for controlling data transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure for business data transmission provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG16 is a second flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG17 is a third flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG18 is a fourth flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG19 is a fifth flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG20 is a sixth flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG21 is a flow chart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG22 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] FIG23 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0089] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is first given. The brief introduction is as follows:

[0090] First, the user plane (UP) in the new radio (NR) system:

[0091] In the NR system (also known as the fifth generation (5G) system), the user plane is used to transmit service data, such as voice data, or service data of applications (APPs) on the terminal device side. The functions of the user plane mainly include packet routing and forwarding, policy enforcement, traffic reporting, and quality of service (QoS) processing. Among them, under the service-based architecture (SBA) of the NR system, some functions of the user plane can be implemented by the user plane function (UPF) network element. Exemplarily, the UPF network element may include the following functions: serving as a session point for external protocol data unit (PDU) sessions connected to the data network (DN), packet routing and forwarding, partial user plane policy rule execution and packet inspection, and user plane QoS processing. For example, the UPF network element can receive user data from the DN and forward the user data to the terminal device through the access network (RAN) equipment. The UPF network element can also receive user data from the terminal device through the access network equipment and forward the user data to the DN. A DN can refer to a carrier's network that provides data transmission services to users, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Service (IMS) or the Internet. A DN can be a carrier's external network or a carrier-controlled network used to provide services to terminal devices.

[0092] In the NR system, the core of the user plane is to establish a PDU session, that is, to establish a session between the terminal device and the DN, and provide an end-to-end (E2E) user plane connection through the PDU session. For example, as shown in Figure 1, the two ends (or session points) of the PDU session are the terminal device and the UPF. The access network device is used to transparently forward the data packets transmitted between the terminal device and the UPF. The UPF is responsible for processing the service data transmitted between the terminal device and the DN, such as packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, and QoS processing.

[0093] As shown in Figure 1, a PDU session may include a transmission path between the DN and UPF network elements, a transmission path (or tunnel) between the UPF and access network equipment, and a transmission path (or radio bearer (RB)) between the terminal device and the access network equipment. The tunnel between the UPF and the access network equipment may be a general packet radio service tunneling protocol for the user plane (GTP-U) tunnel, which is used to carry data packets transmitted on the user plane. The radio bearer on the air interface may be a data radio bearer (DRB), which is used to carry data packets of a QoS flow.

[0094] It should be understood that for a PDU session, QoS flow is the minimum granularity for distinguishing QoS. A QoS flow can be a QoS flow that supports a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) (or called a GBR QoS flow), or a QoS flow that supports a non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) (or called a non-GBR QoS flow). A PDU session can include multiple QoS flows, such as supporting up to 64 QoS flows. Each QoS flow has its own corresponding QoS flow identity (QFI) to distinguish different QoS flows. User-plane service flows with the same QFI can be mapped to the same QoS flow to be processed using the same service forwarding processing method (such as scheduling). In addition, as shown in Figure 1, a PDU session may include a GTP-U tunnel, at least one QoS flow (such as QoS#1 to #3 in Figure 1), and at least one DRB (DRB#1 and DRB#2 in Figure 1). A DRB can carry one or more QoS flows (such as DRB#1 in Figure 1 carries QoS flow #1 and QoS flow #2, and DRB#2 carries QoS flow #3).

[0095] QoS can be configured at the QoS flow level, that is, it is configured at the granularity of QoS flow. For example, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the QoS flow architecture. As shown in Figure 2, the characteristics of the QoS flow can be represented by some parameters. The core network (CN) network element (such as the session management function (SMF) network element) configures these parameters to pre-configure, establish, or modify the corresponding QoS flow. For example, for a QoS flow, these parameters include: the QoS configuration (QoS profile) on the access network device side, the QoS rule (QoS rule) on the terminal device side, and the uplink packet detection rule (PDR) and downlink PDR on the UPF network element side.

[0096] The QoS configuration includes uplink and / or downlink QoS configuration, which is configured by the SMF network element to the access network device through the N2 interface, or pre-configured by the access network device. In one example, the QoS configuration may include: a 5G quality identity (5QI).

[0097] 5QI is used to indicate the wireless characteristics of the QoS flow. For example, 5QI includes at least one of the following: resource type, priority, packet delay budget (PDB), packet error rate (PER), average window, or maximum data burst (MDB). Among them, the resource type is used to indicate the type of the QoS flow, such as GBR QoS flow, or non-GBR QoS flow. Priority is used to indicate the scheduling priority of the QoS flow on the air interface, which can be the priority between QoS flows of different terminal devices, or the priority between different QoS flows of the same terminal device. PDB is used to indicate the upper limit of the time that the data packet of the QoS flow may be delayed between the terminal device and the UPF network element (UPF network element as the N6 termination point). In the case of 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) access, PDB can be used to support the configuration of scheduling and radio link control (RLC) layer functions (for example, the configuration of scheduling priority weights). PDB can include: access network data delay (AN PDB) and core network data delay (CN PDB). AN PDB is the data delay between the terminal device and AN, that is, the access network device. CN PDB is the data delay between AN and the UPF network element as the N6 termination point. AN PDB can be determined by subtracting CN PDB from PDB. The averaging window is the time period used to determine the GFBR and MFBR of the GBR QoS flow. MDB is used to indicate the maximum amount of data that the AN needs to serve, or transmit, within the AN PDB period.

[0098] Among them, QoS rules are mainly used by terminal devices to perform classification and marking of uplink user plane data services, such as associating uplink data with corresponding QoS flows according to QoS rules. QoS rules may include: the QFI of the QoS flow associated with the QoS rule, as well as the packet filter set (filter list) corresponding to the QoS flow, and the priority of the QoS flow. Among them, the packet filter set is mainly used to associate uplink data with the corresponding QoS flow. QoS rules can be configured by the SMF network element to the terminal device through the N1 interface, or deduced by the terminal device through the reflective QoS mechanism. For example, when downlink QoS rules are configured, the terminal device derives the uplink QoS rules based on the downlink QoS rules. In addition, a QoS flow can have multiple QoS rules. Each PDU session must be configured with a default QoS rule, and the default QoS rule is associated with a QoS flow.

[0099] It should be understood that data flows are IP flows at the IP layer, QoS flows at the non-access stratum (NAS) layer, and DRBs at the access stratum (AS) layer. Therefore, there are two layers of mapping relationships for QoS flows: the mapping relationship between QoS flows and IP flows, and the mapping relationship between QoS flows and DRBs.

[0100] It can be understood that in order to support the above-mentioned user plane connection, the air interface between the access network device and the terminal device can follow a certain protocol layer structure. Exemplarily, the protocol layer structure may include a user plane protocol layer structure, which can be applied to the terminal device or the access network device. As shown in Figure 3, the user plane protocol layer structure may include: a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, an RLC layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a physical (PHY) layer. The functions corresponding to the above-mentioned multiple protocol layers are as follows:

[0101] The SDAP layer is located above the PDCP layer and is used to carry user plane data. It is responsible for mapping QoS flows to data radio bearers (DRBs) and adding QFI to data packets.

[0102] The PDCP layer is mainly used for user plane header compression (the compression algorithm can be jointly determined by the terminal device and the access network device), or encryption / decryption, etc.

[0103] The RLC layer lies below the PDCP layer. RLC entities are categorized into transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). AM data transmission and reception share a single entity, while UM and TM data transmission and reception entities are separate. TM entities are used, for example, for broadcast messages, UM entities for voice services with latency requirements, and AM entities for general services requiring high accuracy.

[0104] The main function of the MAC layer is scheduling, including resource scheduling and mapping between logical channels and transport channels.

[0105] The main functions of the PHY layer are: error detection, encryption and decryption, rate matching, physical channel mapping, modulation and demodulation, frequency synchronization and time synchronization, etc.

[0106] It should be understood that the above-mentioned PHY layer may belong to layer 1 (layer 1, L1), and the MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, and SDAP layer belong to layer 2 (layer 2, L2).

[0107] Second, data service (DS):

[0108] Data services can refer to the collection, preprocessing, and analysis of data, followed by the provision of data as a service. Furthermore, with the reduction in computing and storage costs and the emergence of a large number of low-latency services and local applications, computing and storage, as well as the intelligent algorithms that rely on them, are trending towards deployment at the network edge, close to the data source, forming a data-centric network architecture. For example, perception and intelligence are key new capabilities of communication networks evolving beyond 5G (also known as sixth-generation (6G) networks). Perception can refer to the massive amounts of data generated by sensing devices, such as the network's own state, surrounding environment, and user / device behavior. Intelligence can refer to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or digital twin technologies to perform modeling, analysis, and automated decision-making to improve network operational efficiency and system performance, or to provide data services for intelligent applications. In other words, communication networks evolving beyond 5G are not only producers and providers of data (for example, providing trusted data services for intelligent applications), but also consumers of data. Data-driven intelligent applications can improve network performance and operational efficiency.

[0109] For example, based on the application scenarios and demand analysis of the communication network evolved after 5G, the data services provided by the data-centric network architecture are shown in Table 1.

[0110] Table 1

[0111] Based on the description of data services in Table 1, the differences between user plane data transmission in the NR system and data transmission of the data services shown in Table 1 above are:

[0112] (a) Functional Differences: The user plane in the NR system provides end-to-end connectivity between user terminals and the network through PDU sessions, enabling information exchange between the two devices. User plane data transmission is for human-to-human or human-to-machine communication. Data service data transmission consists of functions such as data collection, preprocessing, forwarding, storage, and analysis. Data service data is produced and consumed by machines / algorithms.

[0113] It should be understood that the data of the data service may also include control data, which is used to carry control information corresponding to the above data service, such as requesting the above data service or feedback information of the above data service request.

[0114] (b) Different starting and ending points: As previously explained regarding PDU sessions, access network devices transparently forward data packets between terminal devices and the UPF. This means that data can only start and end at the two ends of a PDU session. Data services support distributed management and control of perception data, AI data, network behavior, and status data. Therefore, data service data can start and end at any network element and terminal device.

[0115] (c) Data forwarding differs: In NR systems, access network devices transparently forward data packets within a PDU session. This means that the access network devices do not open or process data packets. Data services support on-link processing, allowing data to be transformed and optimized during transmission to meet the needs of data analytics and intelligent applications. In other words, data transmission allows access network devices to view and / or process the DRB data associated with the PDU session.

[0116] (d) Different forwarding principles: In the data packet transmission of the PDU session, the data forwarding node (such as the access network device or UPF) forwards the data packet based on the destination address in the packet header (or message header). In the data pipeline of the data service, the data forwarding node forwards the data packet based on the identifier of the data service task and / or the identifier of the data pipeline. Furthermore, the data forwarding of the user plane session in the NR system belongs to the transmission control protocol (TCP) / IP layer, and the data forwarding of the data service belongs to the application layer.

[0117] It should be understood that the data pipeline can also be called data flow, business logic, function chain, or operation chain, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0118] (e) Different topologies: The topology of a PDU session is a point-to-point connection. Data services support arbitrary topologies, such as a tree topology for data distribution and aggregation.

[0119] The following takes data collection in data services as an example to illustrate that data bearing based on the user plane cannot meet the needs of data services.

[0120] Exemplarily, the NR system may also include a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element. NWDAF collects data from CN and operation, administration and maintenance (OAM), such as from the network repository and various network functions (NF) (e.g., session management function (SMF), or through third-party application functions (AF)) to collect statistical data related to user mobility, load, communication mode, QoS, etc., and can provide other network elements with data analysis results at the terminal device group, service type, slice type, device level, etc.

[0121] For example, based on the end-to-end (E2E) user plane connection provided by the PDU session, the user plane data of the terminal device can reach the DN through the UPF, and then reach the application server (AS) through the DN. The NWDAF network element can interact with the AS through the data collection AF to obtain the user plane data of the terminal device.

[0122] However, the NWDAF network element cannot directly collect data from terminal devices or access network equipment. In addition, because data cannot be opened and processed at the intermediate nodes of the PDU session, the data can only be terminated at the UPF, which cannot meet the needs of distributed management and control of perception data, AI data, Internet of Things (IoT) data, or network behavior and status data.

[0123] To address these issues, communication networks can introduce an independent data plane to carry data related to data services, thereby building a unified data service architecture to meet data service needs. However, there is a lack of specific implementation solutions for introducing an independent data plane, that is, isolating data service data transmission from user plane data transmission. For example, how to reduce deployment complexity remains a pressing issue.

[0124] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission method, which reduces the complexity of implementing data services based on a data service architecture by enhancing the user plane.

[0125] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0126] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

[0127] 1. In the embodiments of the present application, "network element" and "node" can be logical entities or physical entities. In other words, in the embodiments of the present application, "device" can be used interchangeably with "network element" and will be described here as a unified description and will not be repeated below.

[0128] 2. In the embodiments of the present application, for the convenience of description, when numbering or indexing is involved, the consecutive numbering can start from 1, the consecutive numbering can also start from 0, or the numbering can start from any parameter.

[0129] 3. "Pre-definition," "pre-configuration," or "protocol agreement" may be achieved by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device, a data service control network element, or an access network device). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation methods. "Storage" may mean storage in one or more memories.

[0130] 4. The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols used in communication systems evolved after 5G (such as 6G communication systems). The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0131] 5. In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that under certain objective circumstances, the device (such as a terminal device, a data service control network element, or an access network device) will perform corresponding processing. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0132] 6. In the embodiments of the present application, “sending information to…(data service control network element)” can be understood as the destination end of the information being the data service control network element, and may include directly or indirectly sending information to the data service control network element. “Receiving information from…(access network device)” or “receiving information from…(access network device)” can be understood as the source end of the information being the access network device, and may include directly or indirectly receiving information from the access network device. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0133] 7. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application indicates that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. Moreover, "at least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions.

[0134] 8. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the term "including:" means including but not limited to, for example, A includes B, but is not limited to B, and A may also include C. This is explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0135] The embodiments of the present application can be applicable to LTE systems or NR systems, systems with a hybrid LTE and NR network, vehicle to everything (V2X) systems, device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine to machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems (such as narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems), 6G systems and other systems evolved after 5G, as well as other next-generation communication systems. Alternatively, the communication system can also be an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (cloud RAN, CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, without limitation.

[0136] In addition, the communication architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the communication architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0137] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the data service architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in detail using the network architecture shown in Figure 4 as an example.

[0138] For example, FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a data service architecture applicable to the data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the data service architecture includes a data service control network element and a data agent (DA) network element. The number of data service control network elements can be one or more, and the number of data agent network elements can be one or more.

[0139] The following introduces the data service control network element and the data agent network element respectively.

[0140] For data service control network elements:

[0141] The data service control network element can obtain data service requests, translate the data service requests into data service requirements for the data, determine the data proxy network elements used to implement the data service requirements, and orchestrate the functions of each data proxy network element so that the data proxy network elements perform corresponding operations and establish a dynamic logical network topology to implement the corresponding data service requirements. For example, the data service control network element can determine a data service task based on the data service requirements, where the data service task corresponds to at least one data service request, and the at least one data service request includes a data service request corresponding to each data proxy network element in at least one data proxy network element. In this way, the at least one data proxy network element can be requested to perform the operation indicated in its corresponding data service request to implement the data service requirement.

[0142] It can be understood that since the above-mentioned at least one data proxy network element needs to perform corresponding operations on the data according to the data service request, the data proxy network element in the at least one data proxy network element can also be called a data processing node, which is uniformly explained here and will not be repeated below.

[0143] In one possible implementation, the data service control network element may be deployed in a CN network element, a transfer network (TN) network element, an access network device, or other network elements (e.g., an OAM network element). For example, the data service control network element may be hierarchically deployed on the CN or access network device side. The data service control network element may be deployed in a network service (NS) network element.

[0144] In another possible implementation, the data service control network element can be deployed independently. For example, the data service control network element can be deployed independently in the network as an NF or network element. In actual deployment, one or more NFs can form a network element.

[0145] For data proxy network elements:

[0146] Data proxy network elements can implement at least one of the following functions: data collection, data preprocessing, data storage, data analysis, and data protection. Different data proxy network elements can have the same or different data service capabilities and implement the same or different functions. Data proxy network elements can interact with data service control network elements to obtain and execute the relevant operations required to implement data service requirements. Data proxy network elements can establish a logical network topology to form a dynamic data pipeline. This data pipeline is composed of the functions corresponding to one or more data proxy network elements according to data service requirements. The output of the previous function becomes the input of the next function, thereby implementing the corresponding data service.

[0147] In a possible implementation, the data proxy network element can be deployed in any core network element, transfer network (TN) network element, terminal equipment, access network equipment or other network elements (such as OAM network elements).

[0148] In another possible implementation, the data proxy network element can be deployed independently. For example, the data proxy network element can be deployed independently in the network as an NF or network element.

[0149] For example, a data proxy network element may be evolved from any core network element, transport network element, terminal device, access network device, or other network element, and may implement functions that can be implemented by any core network element, transport network element, terminal device, access network device, or other network element. It is understood that the functions of the data proxy network element provided in this application may be implemented by any core network element, transport network element, terminal device, access network device, or other network element.

[0150] For example, the data proxy network element can be evolved from the NWDAF network element, and can realize the functions of the NWDAF network element and the scenario use cases implemented based on the NWDAF network element.

[0151] In one possible implementation, based on the network element's resources and / or capabilities, data proxy network elements can be optionally deployed on any core network element, transport network element, terminal device, access network device, or other network element, enabling cross-domain data collection. Data can be collected across the entire domain, enabling cross-domain data management and collaboration.

[0152] For example, the data proxy network element, as a NF, can match the encryption environment of cloud-native service-based interface (SBI), dynamic NF instantiation, and container orchestration engine (Kubernetes, K8S) deployment. In addition, it can minimize the performance loss and security impact on the NF.

[0153] When there are multiple data proxy network elements in a communication network, some of the data proxy network elements can be built into the network equipment (referring to any core network network element, terminal equipment, access network equipment, or other network elements, etc.), and some of the data proxy network elements can be deployed independently; or, multiple data proxy network elements are all built into the network equipment, or, multiple data proxy network elements are all deployed independently, which is not limited in this application.

[0154] It should be understood that the data service control network element can be a logical entity or a physical entity, and the data proxy network element can be a logical entity or a physical entity, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0155] For example, the data proxy network elements may be deployed in a centralized manner or in a distributed manner, wherein the distributed deployment manner may include a distributed hash table (DHT) manner.

[0156] It can be understood that the distributed and flexible on-demand deployment of data proxy network elements can meet the diverse and flexible data service needs and reduce the cost of collecting data.

[0157] The core network element is located on the network side of the communication network and can be used to provide network services for access network devices, terminal devices, etc. The core network element may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a mobility management element, a session management element, a user plane element, a policy control element, a network openness element, an application element, a NWDAF element, or an OAM element.

[0158] Mobility management network element: Mainly used for mobility management and access management. In the NR system, the access management network element can be the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, which mainly performs functions such as mobility management and access authentication / authorization. In addition, the mobility management network element can also be responsible for transmitting user policies between the terminal and the policy control function (PCF) network element.

[0159] Session management network element: mainly used for session management (such as creation, deletion, etc.), maintenance of session context and user plane forwarding tunnel information, IP address allocation and management of terminal devices, selection of manageable user plane network elements, termination points of policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification.

[0160] In the NR system, the session management network element can be an SMF network element, which is responsible for IP address allocation, user plane selection, billing and QoS policy control of terminal devices.

[0161] User plane network element: Serves as the interface with the data network, performing functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing and statistics, and bandwidth limiting. This includes packet routing and forwarding, as well as QoS processing for user plane data. In NR systems, this user plane network element can be the UPF network element.

[0162] Policy control network element: This includes user subscription data management, policy control, charging policy control, and QoS control. It is used to guide the unified policy framework of network behavior and provide policy rule information to control plane function network elements (such as AMF network elements or SMF network elements). In the NR system, this policy control network element can be the PCF network element.

[0163] Network open network element: can be used to provide the framework, authentication and interface related to network capability exposure, and transmit information between the NR system network function and other network functions. In the NR system, the network open network element can be a network open function (NEF) network element, which is mainly used to open the services and capabilities of the 3GPP network function to the AF, and also allows the AF to provide information to the 3GPP network function.

[0164] Application network element: can be used to provide various business services, can interact with the core network through the network element function (NEF) network element, and can interact with the policy management framework for policy management. In the NR system, this application network element can be an AF network element or a time-sensitive application function (TSNAF) network element, which represents the application function of a third party or operator. It is the interface for the 5G network to obtain external application data and is mainly used to convey the requirements of the application side to the network side.

[0165] NWDAF network element: can be used to collect data from the core network and OAM network elements, and feed back data analysis results to the NF, AF or OAM.

[0166] OAM network element: can collect data from access network equipment.

[0167] Among them, the above-mentioned access network equipment can manage wireless resources, provide access services for terminal equipment, and complete data forwarding between terminal equipment and the core network. The access network equipment can also be understood as a base station in the network.

[0168] In one possible implementation, the access network device may be a transmission and reception point (TRP), a base station, a remote radio unit (RRU) or a baseband unit (BBU) of a split base station (also referred to as a distributed unit (DU)), a broadband network gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch, a non-3GPP access device, a relay station or an access point, etc. The network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the RAN device in a V2X system may be a road side unit (RSU). In addition, the RAN device in the embodiment of the present application can be an eNB or eNodeB (evolutional NodeB) in LTE, a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario, a base station in a 5G communication system (such as the next generation Node B (gNodeB, gNB)), or a base station in a future evolution system (such as a 6G communication system), etc., and is not specifically limited here.

[0169] Furthermore, in one possible implementation, in some deployments, the gNB may include a centralized unit (CU), a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) signaling layer and / or the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by the DU+AAU. It is understood that a network device can be a device including one or more of a CU node, a DU node, or an AAU node. Furthermore, a CU can be classified as a network device in the RAN or a network device in the CN, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0170] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application are described by taking CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0171] In one possible implementation, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal. The terminal may be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a terminal agent, or a terminal device in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. Optionally, the terminal device may be a smart internet of things (SIoT) terminal device or a non-SIoT terminal device, having certain computing, storage, and other capabilities. Non-SIoT end devices can collect data through IoT gateways. For example, non-SIoT end devices may be terminals with limited computing power, such as single-function sensors. Alternatively, SIoT end devices may have built-in data proxy network elements, or the SIoT end devices may implement the functions of data proxy network elements.

[0172] It should be understood that Figure 4 is only a simplified schematic diagram for ease of understanding. The data service architecture may also include other devices or network elements, such as a trusted anchor agent (TAA), data consumers and / or data storage network elements (for specific implementation, please refer to the corresponding description in Figure 5 below), which are not drawn in Figure 4.

[0173] For example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another data service architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the data service architecture based on the data plane provided in an embodiment of the present application can provide data services to data consumers. The data service architecture may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a data service control network element, a data proxy network element, a trusted anchor agent, a data consumer, and a data storage network element.

[0174] The following introduces the trusted anchor agent, data consumer and data storage network element respectively.

[0175] For a trusted anchor proxy:

[0176] Trusted anchor agents are used to ensure data credibility and provide trusted services such as authentication, authorization, and access control (AAA). These services can be implemented, for example, through distributed ledger technology (DLT). Trusted anchor agents can store immutable data, such as public keys, identifiers, indexes, transaction-related data, or critical data that cannot be tampered with. For another example, trusted anchor agents can include a trustworthiness enablement interface, which can be a support interface for trusted technologies like blockchain, protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and reliability of data.

[0177] For example, the trusted anchor agent can be deployed in a distributed or centralized manner. A distributed trusted anchor agent can be a node in a distributed ledger technology (DLT) (such as a blockchain), while a centralized trusted anchor agent can be implemented by evolving existing security and trust mechanisms such as authentication, authorization, and access control.

[0178] For data consumers:

[0179] Data consumers may include, but are not limited to, any of the following: applications, application servers, or network service (NS) network elements. Applications may be applications used by operators (or communication service providers (CSPs)) for network planning, optimization, and / or network AI, or they may be applications external to the mobile communication network (also referred to as third-party applications). Data consumers may be independently deployed in the network as network functions or network elements.

[0180] For data storage network elements:

[0181] The data storage network element can support the storage of various data, such as streaming data, batch data, log information, AI model parameter configuration information, intermediate data, etc., and can expand the storage function of the data proxy network element. The data storage network element also supports structured, unstructured, or semi-structured unified storage. Optionally, the data storage network element supports dynamic classification and multi-level storage of various types of files. Exemplarily, the data storage network element can be a centralized database or a distributed database, such as a distributed hash table DHT or an interplanetary file system (IPFS). Optionally, the data storage network element supports at least one of the following data storage encryption technologies: database appearance encryption, transparent data encryption (transport data encryption, TDE), transparent file encryption (transport file encryption, TFE), user defined functions (user defined functions, UDF) encryption, or full disk encryption (full disk encryption, FDE), etc.

[0182] Exemplarily, the data storage network element may be a data storage function (DSF) network element, or may be evolved from a data storage function network element. The data storage network element may be deployed in the network as an NF or a network element.

[0183] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, considering that data proxy network elements can be deployed across domains, data service tasks can be divided into two types according to the real-time requirements of data service tasks and the cross-domain situation of data proxy network elements: one is a coarse-grained, non-real-time data service task; the other is a fine-grained, real-time data service task.

[0184] In one possible implementation, the data service control network element may include a data orchestrator and a data controller. The data orchestrator is responsible for coarse-grained, non-real-time data orchestration, while the data controller is responsible for fine-grained, real-time orchestration tasks. In other words, the data orchestrator and the data controller can collaborate to achieve elasticity and programmability in the data pipeline.

[0185] Among them, the data orchestrator can be deployed on the CN side, and the data controller can be deployed on the CN side or the access network side. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0186] It should be understood that the data orchestrator may be referred to as a data orchestration network element, or a data orchestration function, or a data service orchestration function, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. Similarly, the data controller may be referred to as a data control network element, or a data control function, or a data service control function, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0187] For example, FIG6 is a functional diagram of a data service architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0188] It should be understood that the functions of the data storage network element and the trusted anchor agent can be referred to the relevant description of the data service architecture shown in Figure 5. The functions of the data orchestrator, data controller, and data agent network element are described below in conjunction with Figure 6.

[0189] For Data Orchestrator:

[0190] 6 , the functions that the data orchestrator can implement include but are not limited to at least one of the following: an interface with applications, demand translation, an interface with network service orchestration, coarse-grained data proxy orchestration, and a data security and privacy protection technology library.

[0191] Application Interface: The data orchestrator can interact with data consumers through the application interface. For example, the data orchestrator can receive service requests from data consumers. For example, the service request can be a requirement filled out based on a standard template, such as a service level agreement (SLA).

[0192] Demand translation: The data orchestrator translates data service requests into service requirements for the functions of each data proxy network element. For example, the data service control network element translates requirements such as service level agreements into requirements for corresponding resources and network configurations.

[0193] Interface with Network Service Orchestration: The data orchestrator can interact with network service NEs through the interface with the network service orchestration. For example, the data service control NE can negotiate with the network service NE based on service requirements. For example, if algorithms or computing power are required, the data orchestrator can collaborate with other network service NEs.

[0194] Coarse-grained data proxy orchestration: Based on the data service capabilities of data proxy network elements, each data proxy network element is orchestrated to form a dynamic logical network topology to meet service requirements.

[0195] For example, the data service control network element translates requirements such as the service level agreement into requirements for corresponding resources and network configuration, and based on the data service capabilities of the data proxy network elements, selects the data proxy network elements participating in this data service, and orchestrates the various data proxy network elements to form a dynamic logical network topology.

[0196] Optionally, the data service control NE can negotiate with other network service NEs during the orchestration data proxy process. For example, if algorithms and computing power are required, the data service control NE can collaborate with other network service NEs to select the corresponding AI algorithms and computing power, and the network service NEs will then push the algorithms.

[0197] Optionally, the data service control network element can dynamically specify a data proxy network element that directly interacts with the data consumer, and send the information of the data proxy network element to the data consumer, so that the application can call the application programming interface (API) of the data proxy network element to obtain data or processing results, etc.

[0198] Data security and privacy protection technology repository: Data protection functions can be implemented through the data protection technology repository (DPTR). The DPTR can include a library of data security and privacy protection algorithms, such as differential privacy, homomorphic encryption, multi-party computation, and zero-knowledge proofs. The data orchestrator can push or update information from the DPTR to the data agent network element on demand, serving as the data protection technology (DPT) for managing the data agent network element. The DPTR can be loosely coupled with the data orchestrator. The DPTR can be a common capability of network elements in the data service architecture and can evolve and optimize independently. An independent data protection technology repository facilitates end-to-end data processing compliance testing.

[0199] For example, the information of the data protection technology library may include the identification, index, configuration information of the data security protection and privacy protection technology library, the data security protection and privacy protection technology library itself, etc.

[0200] For Data Controllers:

[0201] 6 , the functions that can be implemented by the data orchestrator include but are not limited to at least one of the following: fine-grained data agent orchestration, data agent management, and a trusted anchor client (TAC).

[0202] Fine-grained data proxy orchestration: used for fine-grained real-time orchestration. For example, in the local domain, the data controller orchestrates each data proxy network element to form a dynamic logical network topology based on the data service capabilities and data service requests of the data proxy network element to meet service requirements.

[0203] Data agent management: The data controller receives data service capabilities from the data agent network element, and implements the registration and deregistration functions of the data agent network element, and realizes real-time supervision of the DA by monitoring the heartbeat of the data agent network element.

[0204] Trusted anchor client: The data controller can have a built-in trusted anchor client, so that the data controller can initiate requests to the TAA for security mechanisms such as authentication, authorization, and access control, as well as apply for traceability and application services for data access.

[0205] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application can divide the data arranger and / or the data controller into functional modules according to the above functions or the following method embodiments. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one module. The integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of functions or modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0206] For data proxy network elements:

[0207] 6 , the functions that can be implemented by the data proxy network element include but are not limited to at least one of the following: control, data collection, preprocessing, storage, application programmable interface, analysis, and data protection.

[0208] By performing the above functions, the data proxy network element can realize data service collaboration and closed-loop management, and can output data with different processing requirements on demand.

[0209] Control: Based on the operations set by the data service control network element (such as the data orchestrator or data controller) on the data proxy network element, the various functions of the data proxy network element are orchestrated to form a data pipeline. The control function can be implemented by the controller of the data service control network element.

[0210] For example, by orchestrating the various data proxy network elements through the data service control network element to form a dynamic logical network topology, and the data proxy network element orchestrating the various functions in the data proxy network element to form a data pipeline, automated data management can be achieved, dynamic on-demand configuration can be achieved, and new services and new demands can be responded to agilely, supporting the realization of rich application scenarios, and realizing the rapid launch of new data service services, thereby shortening the time to market (TTM).

[0211] Data acquisition (acquisition): Acquiring data, for example, through subscription / notification, or through request / response. Optionally, the request may indicate the triggering method, triggering conditions, reporting cycle, data volume, etc. for data reporting. Optionally, the data proxy network element may support streaming data and batch data acquisition. Optionally, the data proxy network element may support real-time data and non-real-time data acquisition. Optionally, the data proxy network element may support the acquisition of various data. Data can be divided into several categories. For example, data types may include but are not limited to: network data, user data, AI data, and IoT data. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the division of data. It can be divided into more or fewer types, or the types of data can be divided from other perspectives, or the types of data may not be divided.

[0212] Pre-processing: This refers to operations performed on collected raw data, such as cleaning, filling, smoothing, merging, normalizing, checking for consistency, extracting fields from the raw data, converting formats, removing redundant data, compressing, filtering, and / or fusing. This is done to improve data quality and prepare for subsequent processing (e.g., analysis). This eliminates potential issues with the raw data, such as missing data, data noise, data redundancy, and / or dataset imbalance.

[0213] Storage: Supports centralized and distributed storage. Optionally, data that requires strict access protection or privacy protection, such as user contract data, is stored locally in the data proxy network element.

[0214] Application Programmable Interface: Each function of the data proxy network element can provide services to data service consumers directly through the API.

[0215] Analytics: Loosely coupled with the data proxy NE, it can be deployed separately from the data proxy NE as needed. It supports various data analysis technologies, such as AI training, AI inference, machine learning (ML), and big data analytics. Data analytics functions can access data services at various levels of the data proxy NE, including data collection, preprocessing, and storage, through APIs. Optionally, the AI ​​models required for data analysis can be pre-configured locally on the data proxy NE or pushed by network service NEs.

[0216] Data protection: Technologies such as k-anonymity, l-diversity, and differential privacy are used to process data, preventing attackers from directly obtaining sensitive information from desensitized data, thereby protecting data privacy. Information in the data protection technology library can be pre-installed in the data proxy network element or pushed on-demand by the data service control network element, ensuring security and privacy protection for data at every level of the data proxy network element.

[0217] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application can divide the data proxy network element into functional modules according to the above functions or the following method embodiments. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one module. The integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of functions or modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0218] For example, by orchestrating the various data proxy network elements through the data service control network element to form a dynamic logical network topology, and the data proxy network element orchestrating the various functions in the data proxy network element to form a data pipeline, automated data management can be achieved, dynamic on-demand configuration can be achieved, and new services and new demands can be responded to agilely, supporting the realization of rich application scenarios, and realizing the rapid launch of new data service services, thereby shortening the time to market (TTM).

[0219] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an operation chain provided by an embodiment of the present application. The following describes the operation chain formed by the data service control network element controlling various functions in the data proxy network element with reference to Figure 7.

[0220] An operation chain is formed by a data proxy network element obtaining operations set for it from a data service control network element, and orchestrating various functions within the data proxy network element based on the operations set by the data service control network element. For example, as shown in Figure 7, assume that the operations set for data proxy network element 1 obtained by data proxy network element 1 from the data service control network element include: fusing data obtained from other data proxy network elements, performing pre-processing, analyzing the data, obtaining analysis results, and sending the analysis results to data consumers. Data proxy network element 1 orchestrates various functions to form operation chain 1 as shown in Figure 7: collecting data, then performing pre-processing, analyzing the pre-processing results, and sending the analysis results to data consumers via an application programmable interface. It can be understood that the data flow corresponding to operation chain 1 is data flow 1, and the data flow corresponding to data flow 1 is: from other data proxy network elements to data proxy network element 1, and from data proxy network element 1 to data consumers.

[0221] As another example, as shown in Figure 7 , assuming that data proxy network element 1 obtains from the data service control network element an operation configured for data proxy network element 1, including transmitting collected data to data proxy network element 2, data proxy network element 1 orchestrates various functions to form operation chain 2 as shown in Figure 7 : collect data and send it to data proxy network element 2. It can be understood that the data flow corresponding to operation chain 2 is data flow 2, and the data flow direction corresponding to data flow 2 is from data proxy network element 1 to data proxy network element 2.

[0222] It should be understood that the operation chain 1 and operation chain 2 shown in Figure 7 are only examples provided by this application and do not constitute a limitation on the order in which the various functions in the data proxy network element are executed. The order in which the data proxy network element executes the various functions can be dynamically adjusted according to service requirements.

[0223] 8-11 are schematic diagrams of some network architectures provided by embodiments of the present application. The data service architecture shown in FIG4 can be applied to the network architectures shown in FIG8-11.

[0224] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture under the condition of full service of core network and access network equipment, Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture under the condition of non-service access network equipment and service core network, Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture under the condition of non-service access network equipment and service core network (retaining N4 interface), and Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of the network architecture with hierarchical deployment of data service control network elements.

[0225] In conjunction with Figures 8 to 10, the network architecture may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a data consumer, a terminal device, an access network device, a user plane network element, a data network, a core network element, a data service control network element, a data proxy network element, a data storage network element, a trusted anchor agent, and a data consumer. The specific implementation method can refer to the description of Figures 4 to 7 above and will not be repeated here. The network architecture may also include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a mobility management network element (Figures 9 and 10). The network architecture may also include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a session management network element (Figure 10). The core network network elements shown in Figures 8 to 10 may include any core network element other than the user plane network element, the mobility management network element, and / or the session management network element.

[0226] The data proxy network element can be deployed in any network element in the network architecture except the data service control network element, the data storage network element, and the trusted anchor agent. That is to say, any network element in the network architecture except the data service control network element, the data storage network element, and the trusted anchor agent can realize the function of the data proxy network element.

[0227] In one possible implementation, in the network architecture shown in Figures 8 to 10, the independence between network functions can be improved through service-oriented interfaces, deployment flexibility and efficient scalability can be achieved, and the efficiency of developing new functions can be improved.

[0228] For example, the data service control network element interacts with other network elements (such as data consumers, data proxy network elements, core network elements, and trusted anchor agents, etc.) through a first service interface, the data proxy network element interacts with other network elements (such as data consumers, data service control network elements, core network elements, terminal devices, access network devices, data storage network elements, and trusted anchor agents, etc.) through a second service interface, the data storage network element interacts with other network elements (such as data proxy network elements, core network elements, terminal devices, and access network devices, etc.) through a third service interface, and the trusted anchor agent interacts with other network elements (such as data service control network elements, data proxy network elements, core network elements, terminal devices, access network devices, data storage network elements, and trusted anchor agents, etc.) through a fourth service interface.

[0229] In conjunction with Figure 11, the network architecture may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: data consumer, data service control network element, access network domain data service control network element, CN domain data service control network element, access network equipment, core network network element, terminal equipment, trusted anchor agent, and data storage network element.

[0230] In the architecture shown in Figure 11, data service control network elements are deployed in a hierarchical manner. The data service control network elements can manage the RAN domain data service control network elements and the CN domain data service control network elements. The access network domain data service control network elements and the CN domain data service control network elements can interact directly with each other. The access network domain data service control network elements can interact directly with access network devices. The CN domain data service control network elements can interact directly with core network elements. The trusted anchor agent can interact directly with other network elements in the network architecture except terminal devices. The data storage network element can interact directly with access network devices and core network elements.

[0231] It should be understood that the solutions in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, and the corresponding names can also be replaced by the names of corresponding functions in other communication systems.

[0232] The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 12 to 21.

[0233] It should be understood that the information names between the various devices (or apparatuses) or the names of the parameters in the information in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0234] In addition, in the method embodiments shown in the following Figures 12 to 21, the access network device can be an access network device, or a chip or logic circuit of an access network device, etc., and the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a chip or logic circuit of a terminal device, etc., which are uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0235] As shown in FIG12 , a flowchart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG12 , which includes the following steps:

[0236] S1201: A first node corresponding to a first PDU session sends a data packet via the first PDU session. Correspondingly, an access network device receives the data packet via the first PDU session. The first PDU session corresponds to a first data service task.

[0237] In a possible implementation, the method shown in FIG12 further includes steps S1202a-1 to S1202a-2.

[0238] S1202a-1. When the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device performs a first operation on the first data according to the first data service task to obtain second data, where the first data includes data carried by the data packet.

[0239] S1202a-2: The access network device sends second data to the second node corresponding to the first PDU session according to the first PDU session. Correspondingly, the second node corresponding to the first PDU session receives the second data from the access network device through the first PDU session.

[0240] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the first PDU session corresponds to a data service and is independent of sessions for transmitting other user plane data.

[0241] In other words, if the access network device determines that the first data service task is a data service task to be processed by the access network device, the access network device can open the data packet and perform data processing, thereby supporting in-path processing, so that the data service data can be converted and optimized during transmission to meet the data service requirements. Furthermore, by associating the first PDU session with the first data service task, the data transmission of the data service can be isolated from the data transmission of the user plane. This approach requires minimal system modifications, improves compatibility, and reduces the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture.

[0242] In another possible implementation, the method shown in FIG12 further includes step S1202b.

[0243] S1202b: When the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the access network device forwards the data packet to the second node corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0244] That is to say, when the first data service task is a data service task that is not processed by the access network device, the access network device can transparently forward the data packet, and thus does not need to open and process the data packet every time it is received, thereby increasing data transmission efficiency.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the access network device may determine whether the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device according to whether the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task is received.

[0246] The above steps S1201 to S1202b are described in detail below.

[0247] For step S1201:

[0248] It should be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, the communication nodes involved in the first PDU session may include: a terminal device, an access network device, and a user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. Among them, the first node corresponding to the first PDU session may be a terminal device, and the second node corresponding to the first PDU session may be a user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. Alternatively, the first node corresponding to the first PDU session may be a user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session, and the second node corresponding to the first PDU session may be a terminal device. The first PDU session can be used by the terminal device to transmit business data corresponding to the first data service task. For example, the terminal device can send or receive business data corresponding to the first data service task through the first PDU session.

[0249] The first data service task and the first PDU session are respectively introduced below.

[0250] A. First data service task:

[0251] In the embodiment of the present application, the first data service task is used to implement the data service requirement. The first data service may be determined by a data service control network element. The data service control network element may be a data orchestrator or a data controller. For details, see the relevant description in FIG6 , which will not be repeated here.

[0252] Illustratively, the data control service network element may determine the first data service task based on a data service requirement and at least one piece of data service capability information. The data service requirement may include a data service requirement requested by a data consumer. As described in Figure 5 regarding data consumption, a data consumer may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: an application, an application server, or a network service NS network element.

[0253] For example, depending on the data consumer, data service requirements can be divided into application service requirements or business service requirements. Application services can refer to services requested by applications or application servers, while business services can refer to services requested by network service elements in the network.

[0254] Exemplarily, data services may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: network data-related services, user data-related services, AI data-related services, and IoT data-related services.

[0255] The following is an illustrative introduction to the above-mentioned network data, user data, AI data, and IoT data.

[0256] In one possible implementation, network data may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: logs (e.g., debug logs, security logs, call history record (CHR) logs, etc.), alarms, call statistics (or traffic statistics), configuration data, minimization of drive-tests (MDT) data, user session information, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) data, digital twin network data, network metadata, network status data, or network behavior data. The network data may include data collected by access network devices and / or data collected by terminal devices.

[0257] In a possible implementation, the user data may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: user contract information, such as user profile.

[0258] In one possible implementation, AI data may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: a training dataset for a corresponding task, a test dataset for a corresponding task, local or global model data, and AI metadata. The AI ​​data may be generated by training raw data or preprocessed raw data.

[0259] In one possible implementation, IoT data may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: environmental data, sensor data, and measurement data from IoT terminals. IoT data may include data collected by SIoT terminal devices and data collected by non-SIoT terminal devices via IoT gateways.

[0260] Optionally, the data service control network element can classify data based on multiple dimensions, such as data type, data source, and data consumer. As can be appreciated, due to the diverse data sources and the wide variety of data in the network, the data processing processes vary significantly. By properly classifying data, the processing process can be simplified, reducing system complexity and supporting data services of various data types.

[0261] It should be understood that the above division of data is merely exemplary, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the division of data. Data may be divided into more or fewer categories, or data may be divided from other perspectives, or data may not be divided at all.

[0262] In one possible implementation, the at least one data service capability information may include data service capability information of each data proxy network element in the at least one data proxy network element. The functional description of the data proxy network element can be specifically referred to the relevant descriptions in the aforementioned Figures 4 to 7 and will not be repeated here.

[0263] In one possible implementation, the first data service task corresponds to at least one data service request. The at least one data service request may include a data service request corresponding to each data processing node in the at least one data processing node. The data processing node may be a data proxy network element in the at least one data proxy network element that receives the data service request.

[0264] It is understood that in the network architectures shown in Figures 8-11, the data processing node can be a terminal device, an access network device, or a data proxy network element deployed on the core network side. For example, the data proxy network element deployed on the core network side can be, for example, a data processing function (DPF) network element or an OAM network element. The DPF can be an independently deployed data proxy network element for data processing or data analysis.

[0265] Optionally, the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device. The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0266] S1203: The data service control network element sends a first data service request to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the first data service request from the data service control network element. The first data service request includes identification information of the first data service task and instruction information of the first operation.

[0267] In a possible implementation manner, the first data service request may include address information of the next hop of the data processing node.

[0268] In one possible implementation, the identification information of the first data service task may include a data service task ID (DST-ID) of the first data service task. The data service task ID may also be referred to as a data service ID (DS-ID). It is understood that a data service task may correspond to one data service, and one data service may correspond to one data service requirement.

[0269] In a possible implementation, the indication information of the first operation may be used to indicate an operation performed to implement the data service, wherein the first operation may correspond to at least one data service capability of the data processing node.

[0270] In one possible implementation, the data service capability may include one or more of the following: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability.

[0271] For example, data collection capabilities may include the types of data supported for collection, and the data types may include one or more of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, and artificial intelligence data.

[0272] For example, data preprocessing capabilities may include supported preprocessing methods, such as field extraction, format conversion, redundant data removal, compression, and fusion of raw data.

[0273] For example, data storage capability may include one or more of the following: storable data capacity, encryption algorithm for stored data, and storage method.

[0274] For example, the data reporting capability may include one or more of the following: a minimum reporting period, a single reported data volume, a maximum reported data volume, whether file upload is supported, and whether streaming data is supported.

[0275] For example, data analysis capabilities may include one or more of the following: supported analysis tasks, whether AI training is supported, and whether AI reasoning is supported.

[0276] For example, data protection capabilities may include one or more of the following: supported data protection technologies, such as k-anonymity, l-diversity, differential privacy, homomorphic encryption, and secure multi-party computing.

[0277] For example, the data compression capability may include one or more of the following: supported data compression algorithms, such as Huffman coding and arithmetic coding.

[0278] In a possible implementation, the first operation includes at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data storage, data reporting, data analysis, data protection, or data compression.

[0279] That is, the first operation is different from common encoding and decoding, modulation and demodulation, or rate matching operations. The first operation is an operation for data collection, data preprocessing, or data analysis to implement data services.

[0280] It should be understood that the implementation methods of the above-mentioned data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, and data compression capability can also refer to the description of the functions of the data proxy network element in Figures 4 to 7 above. The data proxy network element has corresponding functions, which means it has corresponding capabilities.

[0281] In addition, the above division of data service capabilities is only exemplary, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the division of data service capabilities. It can be divided into more or fewer categories, or the categories of data service capabilities can be divided from other angles, or the categories of data service capabilities may not be divided. For example, data service capabilities may include data traceability capabilities, or data perception capabilities, etc. Data traceability capabilities may include authentication, authorization, traceability capabilities, or audit capabilities, etc. Data perception capabilities may refer to the ability to confirm the data format, or the ability to describe the characteristics of the data. Of course, the above-mentioned names for data service capabilities are only examples and not limitations. For example, the above-mentioned data perception capabilities may also be called data dictionary capabilities. The data dictionary may include a network feature set, a data format, or a network knowledge graph, etc.

[0282] In a possible implementation, the address information of the next hop of the data processing node may include at least one of the following: identification information of the next hop data proxy network element, identity information of the next hop data proxy network element, or the IP address of the next hop data proxy network element.

[0283] The identification information of the next-hop data proxy may include a next-hop data proxy network element identifier (next DA ID). The next DA ID may be an identifier or index configured by the data service control network element for each data proxy network element. The identifier or index may correspond to the identity information of the data proxy network element. In this way, a data processing node (e.g., an access network device) may determine the identity information of the next-hop data processing node based on the next DA ID and send data to the next-hop data processing node based on the identity information of the next-hop data processing node.

[0284] Exemplarily, the data service control network element may send a first correspondence list to the access network device. The first correspondence list may include the DA ID of each data processing node in at least one data node and the identity information of the data proxy network element corresponding to the DA ID. In this way, the access network device may determine the identity information of the next-hop data processing node based on the next DA ID and send data based on this identity information.

[0285] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the identity information of the next-hop data proxy network element. The following exemplifies the identity information of some data proxy network elements.

[0286] For example, the identity information of the data proxy network element may include a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and / or a uniform resource identifier (URI). Of course, the identity information of the data proxy network element may also be other information. For example, if the data proxy network element is a terminal device, the identity information of the terminal device may include at least one of the following: a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), a 5G globally unique temporary UE identity (5G-GUTI), or a permanent equipment identifier (PEI), etc.

[0287] For another example, when the data proxy network element is an access network device, the identity information of the access network device may include an identifier of the access network device (e.g., a gNB ID).

[0288] It should be understood that the above-mentioned access network device determines the identity information of the next-hop data processing node based on the next DA ID and sends data based on the identity information. This is only a schematic illustration. The access network device can also determine the interaction address of the next-hop data processing node based on the next DA ID and other information (such as the identification information of the data service task). The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0289] It can be understood that the address information of the next hop of the data processing node may include the identity information of the next hop data proxy network element (i.e., the next hop data processing node). In this way, the access network device can send data to the next hop data proxy network element based on the identity information of the next hop data proxy network element. For example, taking the next hop data processing node as an example of a terminal device, before the PDU session is established, the data service control network element can send a first data service request to the previous hop data processing node of the terminal device (e.g., the access network device), and the first data service request may include the identity information of the next hop data proxy network element.

[0290] It can also be understood that the address information of the next hop of the data processing node may include the IP address of the next hop data proxy network element. In this way, the data processing node can send data to the next hop data proxy network element based on the IP address of the next hop data proxy network element. It can be understood that in the process of establishing a PDU session, the network element on the core network side (such as the SMF network element) can assign an IP address to the terminal device. When the PDU session corresponding to the terminal device has been established and the data control service network element obtains the IP address corresponding to the PDU session, the address information of the next hop of the data processing node can be the IP address of the terminal device. In addition, the address information of the next hop of the data processing node can also include a port, so that the access network device can send data according to the IP address and port, so that after the next hop data processing node receives the data, it can deliver the data to the corresponding application according to the IP address and port.

[0291] It should be understood that the above-mentioned address information of the next hop of the data processing node is merely illustrative. The address information of the next hop of the data processing node may also be other address information used to determine the next hop of the data processing node, such as application programming interface (API) information. For another example, if the data processing node is a node in a blockchain network, the address information of the next hop of the data processing node may be a ledger address, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0292] It should also be understood that the first data service request may also include the data consumer's address information. For example, if the access network device is the last data processing node in the operation chain, the first data service request may include the operation instruction information and the data consumer's address information. Of course, the first data service request may also include only the operation instruction information to implicitly instruct the access network device to report data to the data service control network element.

[0293] In addition, to save network overhead, in the case where a data service task corresponds to multiple data processing nodes, the data service control network element can send routing information to the starting data processing node of the data flow in the operation chain. The routing information can indicate the address information of the next hop of the subsequent multiple data processing nodes. The data packet sent by the starting data processing node to the next hop data processing node can carry the routing information, so that the data service requests corresponding to the subsequent multiple data processing nodes may not include the address information of the next hop of the data processing node.

[0294] Exemplarily, the multiple data service requests include data service request #1 corresponding to data processing node #1, data service request #2 corresponding to data processing node #2, and data service request #3 corresponding to data processing node #3. Data service request #1 is used to request data processing node #1 to collect data #1 and send the collected data #1 to data processing node #2. Data service request #1 also includes routing information, which indicates the next-hop address information of data processing node #2 and the next-hop address information of data processing node #3. Data service request #2 is used to request data processing node #2 to collect data #2 for data #1 and to fuse data #1 and data #2 to obtain data #3. Data service request #3 is used to request data processing node #3 to perform data privacy and security protection to obtain data #4. In this way, data processing node #1 sends data packet #1 to data processing node #2, and data packet #1 carries data #1, the next-hop address information of data processing node #2, and the next-hop address information of data processing node #3. Then, data processing node #2 can send data packet #2 to data processing node #3 based on the next-hop address information. Data packet #2 carries data #3 and the next-hop address information of data processing node #3, so that data processing node #3 can send data #4 based on the next-hop address information carried in data packet #2.

[0295] It should be understood that the above description of data service requests is only an example. For example, data service request #1 can be used to request operations other than data collection, such as data preprocessing, data analysis, or data storage. Similarly, data service request #2 can also be used to request operations other than data collection and data fusion. Data service request #3 can also be used to request operations other than data inheritance and security protection. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0296] S1204: The access network device sends confirmation information of the first data service request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the first data service request from the access network device.

[0297] That is to say, when the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the first data service request, it can determine that the access network device agrees to the content requested by the first data service request, that is, the access network device is ready to receive data from other data processing nodes and send business data of the data service. In this way, the data service control network element can trigger the establishment of the first PDU session to provide a transmission channel for the business data of the data service.

[0298] B. First PDU session:

[0299] In the embodiment of the present application, the first PDU session can be used to transmit the service data of the data service. The service data of the data service can be specifically referred to the relevant description in the aforementioned "data service", which will not be repeated here.

[0300] It should be understood that, referring to the difference between data transmission of data services and data transmission on the user plane described in "Data Services", new QoS parameters can be configured for the first PDU session to apply to the business data transmission of data services, and to separate the business data transmission of data services from the data transmission on the user plane, thereby ensuring the independence of the business data transmission of data services.

[0301] In one possible implementation, the priority of the QoS flow of the first PDU session is less than or equal to the priority of the QoS flow of the TCP-based transmission service, and / or the priority of the QoS flow of the first PDU session is less than or equal to the priority of the QoS flow of the buffered flow service. Wherein. The TCP-based transmission service may include at least one of the following: World Wide Web (WWW), email, interactive services (such as instant messaging), file transfer services (such as file transfer based on file transfer protocol (FTP)), or progressive video, etc. The buffered flow service may be, for example, a buffered flow video. It can be understood that based on the service description of the data service in Table 1 above, the related services of the data service are not sensitive to delay, and the QoS flows of other services can be scheduled preferentially when the network is congested. For example, for data collection, a sufficient sample size can be provided for applications such as AI or machine learning through long-term data collection, and then the data transmission of the data collection service should preferably ensure the accuracy of the data transmission (for example, PER is 10 -6 ), by limiting the priority of the QoS flow for data collection services, we can avoid impacting delay-sensitive services. It is understood that when the network is congested, the data transmission rate of the data service can be reduced, that is, the resource type of the QoS flow for the data service can be non-GBR.

[0302] In one possible implementation, the protocol predefines or stipulates the 5QI of the QoS flow of the data service. That is, when establishing the first PDU session, the 5QI can be used to indicate the QoS parameters corresponding to the first PDU session, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0303] For example, Table 2 is an exemplary set of 5QI parameters corresponding to the first PDU session. As shown in Table 2, the resource type of the QoS flow of the first PDU session can be non-GBR, the default priority can be 80 (i.e., less than the priority of the QoS flow based on TCP transmission service), the PDB can be 300ms, and the PER can be 10 -6 It is understood that N / A in Table 2 may mean not applicable.

[0304] Table 2

[0305] It should be understood that the above 5QI corresponding to the first PDU session is only an example, and the 5QI value may also be other values. In addition, the default priority may also be other values, such as 68 or 90. The PDB may also be other values, such as 500ms. The PER may also be other values, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0306] It can be understood that the first PDU session is used for the terminal device to transmit the business data of the data service. Since the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task, the terminal device is the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task. The business data of the data service transmitted by the terminal device may include: the business data of the data service transmitted between the terminal device and the first data service task and other data processing nodes, and / or the business data of the data service transmitted between the terminal device and the data consumer corresponding to the first data service task. Other data processing nodes may be access network devices, or data proxy network elements deployed on the core network side, etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0307] The following exemplifies a process in which a terminal device transmits business data of a data service through a first PDU session.

[0308] For example, the at least one data processing node corresponding to the first data service task may include: a terminal device and a first network element. The first network element may be a data proxy network element deployed on the core network side, such as the aforementioned DPF network element, or an OAM network element. The data service request corresponding to the first data service task may include a data service request for the terminal device and a data service request for the first network element. The data service request for the terminal device may, for example, request the terminal device to collect data #1 and send data #1 to the first network element. The data service request for the first network element may, for example, request the first network element to perform operation #1 on data #1, obtain data #2, and send data #2 to the data consumer. The transmission path of data #1 is as follows: the terminal device sends data packet #1 carrying data #1 to the access network device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session; the access network device forwards data packet #1 to the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session; and the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session sends data packet #1 to the first network element based on the destination address in the packet header of data packet #1.

[0309] It should be understood that in the above example, the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task includes an access network device, i.e., the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, and the access network device may perform steps S1201a-1 and S1202a-2 above. In some scenarios, the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task may not include the access network device, i.e., the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, and the access network device may perform step S1202b above. The access network device may determine whether the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device based on whether it receives a data service request corresponding to the first data service task.

[0310] In one possible implementation, the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task, which may include: the first PDU session corresponds to identification information of the first data service task. In other words, the access network device may determine that the data packet carried by the first PDU session belongs to the first data service task based on the correspondence between the identification information of the first PDU session and the first data service task.

[0311] It can be understood that the identification information of the first data service task can be, for example, the DS-ID of the first data service task. For details, please refer to the relevant description of the "identification information of the data service task" in the aforementioned data service request. It is explained here uniformly and will not be repeated below.

[0312] In one possible implementation, the first PDU session corresponds to the identification information of the first data service task, which may include: the DRB associated with the first PDU session corresponds to the identification information of the first data service task, and the tunnel associated with the first PDU session corresponds to the identification information of the first data service task. That is, in the process of the access network device receiving a data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, the MAC layer of the access network device can determine the logical channel or logical channel group corresponding to the DRB, and deliver the data packet to the upper protocol stack (such as the SDAP layer) through the logical channel or logical channel group. In this way, the SDAP layer entity can determine the DRB identifier (such as DRB ID) or the logical channel or logical channel group corresponding to the data packet, and then determine that the data carried by the data packet belongs to the business data of the first data service task based on the correspondence between the DRB ID and the first data service task. Similarly, in the process of the access network device receiving a data packet through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session, the access network device can determine that the tunnel corresponds to the first data service task based on the identification information of the tunnel, thereby determining that the data carried by the data packet is the business data of the first data service task.

[0313] It should be understood that the tunnel associated with the first PDU session may be a GTP-U tunnel associated with the first PDU session.

[0314] It is understood that the first node corresponding to the first PDU session may be a terminal device, and the access network device may receive data packets from the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session. Alternatively, the first node corresponding to the first PDU session may be a user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session, and the access network device may receive data packets forwarded from the user-plane network element through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session.

[0315] The following describes the relevant process of establishing the first PDU session.

[0316] It can be understood that before executing step S1201, a first PDU session will be established.

[0317] In one possible implementation, the data service control network element triggers the process of establishing the first PDU session. The data service control network element can trigger the establishment of the first PDU session after the terminal device corresponding to the first data service task feeds back confirmation information of the data service request. This can avoid the terminal device rejecting the data service request, resulting in no data transmission after the first PDU session is established, thereby wasting network resources. Of course, the data service control network element can also establish the first PDU session after the multiple data processing nodes involved in the PDU session (such as terminal devices, access network devices, or the above-mentioned first network element) feed back confirmation information of the data service request. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0318] In a possible implementation, the data service control network element triggers a process of establishing a first PDU session, including:

[0319] Step A: The data service control network element sends a session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the session establishment request for the first PDU session from the data service control network element.

[0320] The first PDU session establishment request includes the identification information of the first data service task. That is, the data service control network element can trigger the session management network element to establish the first PDU session by sending the session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element. Furthermore, the session establishment request for the first PDU session includes the identification information of the first data service task, so that during the process of establishing the first PDU session, the access network device can associate the DRB and tunnel associated with the first PDU session with the first data service task through the identification information of the first data service task.

[0321] Step B: The session management network element establishes a first PDU session.

[0322] Among them, the session management network element establishes the first PDU session, including obtaining the QoS configuration of the first PDU session, configuring the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session for the first PDU session, and obtaining the ID of the first PDU session and the IP address of the terminal device, etc., and then notifies the mobility management network to send a session request to the access network device to establish the DRB and tunnel corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0323] Exemplarily, the session management network element can obtain the QoS configuration of the first PDU session from a policy network element (e.g., a policy control function (PCF) network element), or the session management network element can subscribe to at least one of the 5QI value, ARP, GFBR, MFBR, etc. of the first PDU session from other network elements (e.g., a UDM network element), thereby determining the QoS configuration of the first PDU session.

[0324] It should be understood that the above-mentioned session management network element configures the user plane network element for the first PDU session, obtains the ID of the first PDU session and the IP address of the terminal device, etc. For specific processes, please refer to the definition in Section 4.3.2 of the technical specifications (TS) 23.504 in 3GPP, and will not be repeated here.

[0325] It can be understood that the above-mentioned session management network element can be replaced by a binding support function (BSF) network element, or other network elements that manage sessions in future evolved networks, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the data service control network element triggers a process for establishing the first PDU session, further comprising:

[0327] Step C: The session management network element sends a response message of the session establishment request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the service control network element receives the response message of the first PDU session establishment request from the session management network element.

[0328] The response information of the first PDU session establishment request is used to indicate whether the first PDU session establishment is successful.

[0329] That is, the data service control network element can determine whether the first PDU session is successfully established through the response information of the session establishment request from the session management network element.

[0330] Optionally, the response information to the first PDU session establishment request is used to indicate that the first PDU session was successfully established, and the response information may further include the IP address of the terminal device. In other words, after the first PDU session is established, the data service control network element may receive the IP address of the terminal device in the first PDU session through the session management network element, so as to send the IP address of the terminal device to the previous-hop data processing node of the terminal device.

[0331] It can be understood that in the process of establishing the first PDU session, the access network device can obtain the identification information of the first data service task corresponding to the first PDU session, so that the access network device can determine the correspondence between the first PDU session and the first data service task. For example, in the process of establishing the first PDU session, the DRB associated with the first PDU session can be allocated by the access network device, and the relevant information of the tunnel associated with the first PDU session can also be notified to the access network device through the mobility management network element. Then, the access network device can determine the correspondence between the DRB associated with the first PDU session and the first data service task, as well as the correspondence between the tunnel associated with the first PDU session and the first data service task through the identification information of the first data service task corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0332] It should be understood that the first PDU session may also be triggered by other network elements or devices. For example, the terminal device may trigger the establishment of the first PDU session after performing the operation requested by the data service request. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the triggering method of the first PDU session establishment process.

[0333] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0334] S1. An access network device receives a session request for a first PDU session, where the session request includes identification information of a first data service task and indication information of a QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session.

[0335] Among them, the indication information of the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session can be, for example, the above-mentioned 5QI value, so that the access network device can determine the QoS configuration according to the 5QI value to reduce the indication overhead.

[0336] It should be understood that the access network device can receive a session request for the first PDU session from the mobility management network element. For example, the session management network element or the BSF network element can send a Namf_communication service message to the mobility management network element. The service message carries the N1 session management container (or N1SM container) associated with the first PDU session, and N2 session management information (or N2SM information), etc. In this way, the mobility management network element sends a session request for the first PDU session to the access network device according to the service message. It can be understood that the specific definitions of N1SM container and N2SM information can be found in Section 4.3.2 of TS 23.504, and will not be repeated here.

[0337] It should also be understood that the access network device can also receive session requests for the first PDU session from other network elements, such as core network elements in future evolved networks that support communication between the core network and the access network device. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0338] S2. The access network device establishes a DRB associated with the first PDU between the access network device and the terminal device according to the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session. The DRB is associated with the identification information of the first data service task. It can be understood that in step S2, the access network device can associate the DRB-ID with the identifier (e.g., DS-ID) of the first data service task, so that when the access network device receives a data packet through the DRB, it can determine the DS-ID of the first data service task based on the DRB-ID, and further determine that the data packet belongs to the first data service task.

[0339] S3. A tunnel associated with the first PDU is established between the access network device and the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. The tunnel is associated with the identification information of the first data service task. It will be appreciated that by associating the tunnel with the identification information of the first data service task, when the access network device receives a data packet through the tunnel, it can determine the DS-ID of the first data service task based on the tunnel, and thus determine that the data packet belongs to the first data service task.

[0340] S4. The access network device sends response information to the session request.

[0341] It is understood that the access network device can send response information for the session request to the mobility management network element to indicate to the core network element that the DRB and tunnel associated with the first PDU session have been successfully established. Of course, the access network device can send response information for the session request to other core network elements besides the mobility management network element, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0342] It can also be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the aforementioned step B may include the aforementioned steps S1 to S4.

[0343] For step S1202a-1 and step S1202a-2:

[0344] It can be understood that the first operation can refer to the relevant description of the first operation in the aforementioned step S1203, which will not be repeated here.

[0345] In one possible implementation, the first operation corresponds to at least one data service capability of the access network device; the data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application further includes: the access network device sending data service capability information of the access network device to a data service control network element, where the data service capability information includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability. In other words, the access network device can send the data service capability information of the access network device to the data service control network element so that the data service control network element can send a first data service request that matches the data service capability of the access network device to the access network device, thereby enabling the access network device to execute the first operation in the first data service request.

[0346] It should be understood that the data service capabilities and supported data types can be specifically referred to the relevant description of the aforementioned step S1203, which will not be repeated here.

[0347] In one possible implementation, the access network device performs a first operation on the first data according to the first data service task to obtain the second data (i.e., step S1202a-1), including: the access network device performs the first operation on the first data according to the first data service request to obtain the second data. In other words, the access network device may determine the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task based on the correspondence between the first PDU session and the first data service task, and perform the first operation on the first data.

[0348] In one possible implementation, the first data service request may include: the DS-ID of the first data service task, information indicating the first operation, and next-hop address information of the data processing node. In this way, the access network device can determine, based on the correspondence between the DS-ID of the first data service and the DRB ID, whether the data packet transmitted via the first PDU session is a data packet to be processed by the access network device.

[0349] It can be understood that the above-mentioned DS-ID and the next hop address information of the data processing node can be specifically referred to the relevant description of the first data service request in the above-mentioned step S1203, and will not be repeated here.

[0350] It can also be understood that the first data packet can also carry the DS-ID of the first data service task, so that the access network device can determine the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task according to the DS-ID.

[0351] In one possible implementation, the first node corresponding to the first PDU session is a terminal device, and the second node corresponding to the first PDU session can be a user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. In this way, the access network device can send the second data to the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session, and the user-plane network element can send the second data to the destination address based on the destination address of the data packet carrying the second data. It can be understood that the destination address can be the address information of the next hop of the data processing node in the first data service request. Of course, the destination address can also be an address determined by the access network device based on the address information of the next hop of the data processing node, such as an IP address.

[0352] It should be understood that the access network device can also send the second data directly to the next-hop data processing node instead of sending the second data through the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. This can increase the flexibility of data transmission and meet any topology requirements of data services.

[0353] In another possible implementation, the first node corresponding to the first PDU session is the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session, and the second node corresponding to the first PDU session is the terminal device, so that the access network device can send the second data to the terminal device.

[0354] The following describes the uplink data transmission scenario and the downlink data transmission scenario respectively.

[0355] For uplink data transmission scenarios:

[0356] In one possible implementation, the data packet is the first data packet of the terminal device; the access network device receives the data packet through the first PDU session (i.e., step S1201), including: the access network device receives the first data packet from the terminal device through the data radio bearer DRB associated with the first PDU session. Correspondingly, the access network device sends the second data according to the first PDU session (i.e., step S1202a-2), including: the access network device sends the second data to the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session. In this way, the user-plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session can receive the second data from the access network device through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session, and send the second data according to the destination address carried by the data packet carrying the second data.

[0357] Among them, the DRB associated with the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task.

[0358] That is to say, in the uplink data transmission scenario, after the access network device performs the first operation on the data carried by the first data packet, it can continue to use the user plane data transmission path, that is, send the second data through the user plane network element. This will cause small modifications to the system, reduce the impact on the user plane network element, and improve compatibility.

[0359] For downlink data transmission scenarios:

[0360] In one possible implementation, the data packet is the second data packet of the first network element, and the first network element is the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task; the access network device receives the data packet through the first PDU session (i.e., step S1201), including: the access network device receives the second data packet from the first network element through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session. Correspondingly, the access network device sends the second data according to the first PDU session (i.e., step S1202a-2), including: the access network device sends the second data to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session. In this way, the terminal device can receive the second data from the access network device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0361] The tunnel associated with the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task.

[0362] It can be understood that, similar to the uplink data transmission scenario, during the downlink data transmission process, the access network device can also perform a second operation on the second data packet from the first network element, and send the second data along the user plane data transmission path, that is, send the second data to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, thereby reducing modifications to the system and improving compatibility.

[0363] Optionally, the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes: the access network device obtains the first identity information of the terminal device, and at least one address of the terminal device, and the at least one address includes the first address associated with the first PDU session. Accordingly, the access network device sends the second data to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: when the address information of the next hop of the data processing node corresponding to the first data service matches the first identity information, the access network device encapsulates the second data according to the first address to obtain a third data packet, and sends the third data packet to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session. In this way, the terminal device can receive the third data packet from the access network device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0364] The first address associated with the first PDU session may be the IP address of the terminal device.

[0365] It should be understood that, as described in the aforementioned step S1201 regarding the "address information of the next hop of the data processing node", the data service control network element may first send a data service request to the data processing node before the first PDU session is established. At this time, the core network network element (such as the session management network element, or the BSF network element) has not yet assigned an IP address to the terminal device, that is, the address information of the next hop of the data processing node contained in the first data service request may be: the identity information of the next hop data proxy network element. In other words, the access network device may determine whether the next hop data processing node is a terminal device based on the first identity information, and when it is determined that the next hop data processing node is a terminal device, the access network device may, after establishing the first PDU session, obtain the IP address of the terminal device in the first PDU session, encapsulate the second data according to the IP address, obtain a third data packet, and send the third data packet to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session. In this way, the terminal device may determine that the third data packet is a data packet sent to itself based on the IP address in the packet header of the third data packet, and submit the third data packet to the corresponding protocol stack for processing.

[0366] In one possible implementation, the access network device obtaining the first identity information of the terminal device includes: the access network device receiving first information from a data service control network element. The first information includes the first identity information. In other words, the access network device can obtain the first identity information by receiving the first information from the data service control network element, thereby facilitating the sending of a data packet to the terminal device during downlink data transmission.

[0367] Optionally, after the access network device receives the first data packet from the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, the access network device may record the source address in the header of the first data packet, where the source address is the first address of the terminal device.

[0368] It is understandable that the access network device can also obtain the above-mentioned first address through other network elements, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0369] For step S1202b:

[0370] It can be understood that in the case where the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the access network device transparently forwards the data packet in step S1201.

[0371] The following describes the uplink data transmission scenario and the downlink data transmission scenario respectively.

[0372] For uplink data transmission scenarios:

[0373] In one possible implementation, the data packet is the first data packet of the terminal device, and the access network device receives the data packet through the first PDU session (i.e., step S1201), including: the access network device receives the first data packet from the terminal device through the data radio bearer DRB associated with the first PDU session. Accordingly, the access network device forwards the data packet (i.e., step S1202b), including: the access network device forwards the first data packet to the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. In this way, the user plane network element of the first PDU session can receive the first data packet through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session.

[0374] That is to say, in the uplink data transmission scenario, the access network device can forward the first data packet that does not require data processing through the first PDU session, thereby reducing modifications to the system, thereby reducing the impact on user-side network elements and improving compatibility.

[0375] For downlink data transmission scenarios:

[0376] In one possible implementation, the data packet is a second data packet of a first network element, and the first network element is a data processing node corresponding to a first data service task; the access network device receives the data packet through a first PDU session (i.e., step S1201), including: the access network device receives the second data packet from the first network element through a tunnel associated with the first PDU session. Accordingly, the access network device forwards the data packet (i.e., step S1202b), including: the access network device forwards the second data packet to the terminal device through a DRB associated with the first PDU session. In this way, the terminal device can receive the second data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0377] The tunnel associated with the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task.

[0378] It can be understood that, similar to the uplink data transmission scenario, during the downlink data transmission process, the access network device can forward the second data packet that does not require data processing. This will cause small modifications to the system, reduce the impact on user-side network elements, and improve compatibility.

[0379] It should be understood that the above describes the transmission of business data of the first data service task in the embodiment of the present application. The data of the data service task may also include control data (i.e., control signaling of the data service). The control data may be used to carry the data service request of the data service task, feedback on the data service request, or data service registration information. The above control data may be transmitted via a service-based interface (e.g., N2) between a core network element and an access network device, and / or a service-based interface (e.g., N1) between a core network element and a terminal device.

[0380] In an embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned control data can also be transmitted through a PDU session. The following introduces the control data of the data service task transmitted through a PDU session in an embodiment of the present application.

[0381] In one possible implementation, the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0382] The access network device forwards control information between the terminal device and the data service control network element between the terminal device and the user plane network element corresponding to the second PDU session through the second PDU session. The control information includes any one of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

[0383] That is to say, the control data of the data service can be transmitted through the second PDU session, which can reduce the modification of the corresponding message content, process, and protocol stack of the above-mentioned service interface (N1 and / or N2), thereby reducing the implementation complexity and improving system compatibility.

[0384] It can be understood that the data service registration information may include at least one of the data service capability information of the terminal device, the first identity information, indication information of the access network device providing services to the terminal device, and the first address.

[0385] Optionally, after obtaining data service registration information of the terminal device, the data service control network element may send first information to the access network device. The data service registration information includes first identity information. The data service control network element may interact with the access network device providing services to the terminal device by obtaining identification information of the access network device.

[0386] For example, the data service control network element may obtain the identifier of the access network device providing services to the terminal device from the core network element (eg, the mobility management network element), so that the data service control network element may interact with the access network device to transmit the first information.

[0387] For another example, the data service registration information may also include indication information for indicating the access network device providing services to the terminal device. In this way, the data service control network element may determine the access network device serving the terminal device through the data service registration information to interact with the access network device.

[0388] It should be understood that the data service control network element can obtain the data service registration information of the terminal device from the terminal device or other network elements. Among them, the other network elements can be, for example, a unified data management (UDM) network element or a network function repository function (NF repository function, NRF) network element, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0389] Optionally, after acquiring the address information for interaction with the terminal device, the data service control network element requests the terminal device for data service registration information. Alternatively, the terminal device may report the data service registration information to the data service control network element after acquiring the address information for interaction with the data service control network element.

[0390] It is understandable that the access network device may also obtain the first identity information used to determine the terminal device from other network elements or devices (such as a UDM network element or an NRF network element).

[0391] Optionally, the first information also includes the first address. For example, during the process of establishing the first PDU session, the terminal device may obtain the first address of the first PDU session and update the data service registration information to the data service control network element. The updated data service registration information includes the first address. In this way, the data service network element may update the first information to the access network device based on the updated data service registration information. The updated first information may include the first address.

[0392] It should be understood that the data service registration information may also include data service capability information of the terminal device, which may indicate at least one data service capability of the terminal device. In this way, the data service control network element may send a data service request corresponding to the first data service task to the terminal device based on at least one data service capability of the terminal device.

[0393] For details of the data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, please refer to the relevant description of the data service request in the aforementioned step S1201, which will not be repeated here.

[0394] The feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element may, for example, include confirmation information of the data service request, indicating that the terminal device confirms the execution of the content requested by the data service request; or, the feedback information may include rejection information, indicating that the terminal device rejects the content requested by the data service request. Of course, the feedback information of the data service request may also include other information, such as a reason value for rejecting the execution of the data service request, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0395] It can be understood that the second PDU session is similar to the first PDU session, and new QoS parameters can be configured for the second PDU session to apply to the control data transmission of the data service, and to separate the control data transmission of the data service, the data transmission on the user plane, and the business data transmission of the data service, thereby ensuring the independence of the control data transmission of the data service.

[0396] The following introduces the QoS parameters of the second PDU session in conjunction with the QoS parameters of the first PDU session.

[0397] In one possible implementation, the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget (i.e., PDB) of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow. The priority of the first QoS flow is lower than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is higher than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow.

[0398] It can be understood that since the control signaling of the data service transmitted by the second PDU session is sensitive to delay, the PDB of the second QoS flow corresponding to the second PDU session should be smaller than the PDB of the second QoS flow corresponding to the first PDU session, and when the network is congested, the priority of the second QoS flow is greater than the priority of the first QoS flow.

[0399] That is to say, since the priority of the first QoS flow is lower than the priority of the second QoS flow, the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is greater than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, relative to the data packets transmitted by the first PDU session, the communication node of the PDU session (such as the terminal device or the access network device) can give priority to processing the control data of the data service task transmitted by the second PDU session.

[0400] In one possible implementation, the protocol predefines or stipulates the 5QI of the QoS flow of the data service. That is, when establishing the second PDU session, the 5QI can be used to indicate the QoS parameters corresponding to the second PDU session, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0401] Exemplarily, the 5QI value 11 in Table 2 is an exemplary 5QI parameter set corresponding to the second PDU session. As shown in Table 2, the resource type of the second QoS flow of the second PDU session may be non-GBR, and the default priority may be 15, that is, the priority of the second QoS flow is greater than the priority of the QoS flow based on the TCP transmission service, and less than the priority of the IMS signaling. That is, when the network is congested, the priority of the QoS flow processing is: the priority of the QoS flow corresponding to the IMS signaling is greater than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the priority of the second QoS flow is greater than the priority of the QoS flow of the session voice and data service. The PDB may be 100ms, that is, the PDB of the second QoS flow is less than the PDB of the session time-frequency QoS flow and the first QoS flow. The PER may be 10 -6 It is understood that N / A in Table 2 may mean not applicable.

[0402] It should be understood that the above 5QI corresponding to the second PDU session is only an example, and the 5QI value may also be other values. In addition, the default priority may also be other values, such as 11, 12, or 16, etc., which are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. PDB may also be other values, such as 50ms, 75ms, or 150ms, etc., which are not limited. PER may also be other values, which are not limited.

[0403] The following describes the process of establishing the second PDU session.

[0404] In one possible implementation, the second PDU session may be triggered by a data service control network element. For example, the data service control network element may discover the terminal device through a core network element (such as a mobility management network element or a UDM network element), and then trigger the establishment of the second PDU session by triggering a session management network element or a BSF network element. In other words, the second PDU session may be triggered by the data service control network element to transmit the control data (control signaling) of the first data service task, thereby triggering the transmission of the service data corresponding to the first data service task.

[0405] In another possible implementation, the second PDU session may be triggered by the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may discover the data service control network element and, by establishing the second PDU session, proactively send control information to the data service control network element. This allows the data service control network element to determine a data service task based on the data service requirement information and at least one piece of data service capability information, and to send a data service request to the terminal device. In other words, the second PDU session may be triggered by the terminal device, thereby reducing signaling overhead on the data service control network element side.

[0406] Optionally, the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the access network device obtains second identity information of the data service control network element and sends the second identity information to the terminal device.

[0407] The second identity information may include identification information of the data service control network element.

[0408] That is, the terminal device can discover the data service control network element through the second identity information sent by the access network device, and then communicate with the data service control network element.

[0409] For example, the access network device may obtain the identification information of the data service control network element through a core network element (such as an OAM network element or a UDM network element).

[0410] In one possible implementation, the second identity information may further include address information corresponding to the data service control network element. The address information may be, for example, an IP address, or an IP address and port number. Alternatively, the address information may be, for example, a Full Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) and / or a URI, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0411] In one possible implementation, the access network device may send the second identity information to the terminal device via RRC signaling or a system information block (SIB). This implementation may enable the terminal device to obtain the second identity information in any RRC state (e.g., RRC connected state, RRC inactive state, RRC idle state, or other RRC states defined by future evolved networks).

[0412] It can be understood that the second identity information may include identification information of the data service control network element, and the terminal device may obtain the address information of the data service control network element from the OAM network element through the identification information of the data service control network element.

[0413] It should be understood that the terminal device can also obtain the second identity information through other network elements (such as OAM network elements), and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the specific implementation of the terminal device obtaining the second identity information.

[0414] It should also be understood that in the above steps S1201a-1 to S1201a-2, the access network device can process the data packet, and in step S1202b, the access network device can forward the data packet. For this purpose, an embodiment of the present application provides a protocol stack structure to support the access network device to process or forward the received data packet. The protocol stack structure is introduced below.

[0415] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a protocol stack proposed in an embodiment of the present application. The protocol stack includes a data processing layer (data forwarding control protocol, DFCP), a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer (PHY). The data processing layer is located above the packet data convergence protocol layer, and the PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer are deployed in order from top to bottom. The functions of the data processing layer are as follows:

[0416] Data processing layer: completes the routing and forwarding of data for data service tasks, processing of data for data service tasks, parsing and reorganization of data packet headers, reporting of statistical information, and pushing and updating of data protection technologies, etc.

[0417] It is understood that the data of the data service task includes the above-mentioned control data and business data, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the above-mentioned data processing layer can be used to process the data of the data service task, and the data processing layer can be used to process business data or control data.

[0418] When the protocol stack is configured at an intermediate node of data flow, the data processing layer can be used for data forwarding. For example, the access network device is the midpoint node of data flow, and the data sent by the data proxy network element deployed on the core network side to the terminal device can be sent to the terminal device via the access network device. When the protocol stack is configured at the starting node of data flow, the data processing layer can be used to determine the route of the data. For example, the access network device is the starting node of data flow, and the data processing layer can be used to obtain the route of the data and complete data forwarding. For example, the routing information of the data is obtained, and the route of the data is from the access network device to the data proxy network element deployed on the core network side, and then sent to the data consumer by the data proxy network element. Optionally, the routing information can be determined by the data service control network element.

[0419] In one possible implementation, the data processing layer can also be used for data packet compression and privacy protection. The data packet compression algorithm and privacy protection algorithm can be configured, indicated, or negotiated between the receiving end and the sending end, and this is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, taking the data interaction parties as an access network device and a data proxy network element (such as a DPF, or an OAM network element, etc.), the access network device can determine the data packet compression algorithm and / or privacy protection algorithm based on business requirements, the capabilities of the access network device, the capabilities of the data proxy network element, and business requests, and the access network device indicates the determined data packet compression algorithm and / or privacy protection algorithm to the data proxy network element.

[0420] It can be understood that the functions of the data processing layer do not necessarily have to be implemented. For example, the data processing layer has the ability to forward data, but when the protocol stack is configured at the data target node (for example, the data proxy network element deployed on the core network side is the last data processing node), the data target node does not need to forward the data after receiving the data.

[0421] The data processing of the data service task may be at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data storage, data traceability, data sharing or transaction, data analysis, or data format confirmation. For details, please refer to the relevant description in step S1201 and will not be repeated here.

[0422] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the protocol name corresponding to the above-mentioned data processing layer is only an example and can also be other names, such as the data control protocol layer. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0423] Based on the above description of the functions of the DFCP layer, the following exemplifies the protocol stack structure for the control data transmission of the data service task between the access network device and the data service control network element in the embodiment of the present application, as well as the protocol stack structure for the business data transmission of the data service task between the access network device and the data proxy network element.

[0424] The protocol stack structure for controlling data transmission of data service tasks:

[0425] It can be understood that the transmission of control data between the access network device and the data service control network element can be based on the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP), the secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS), or the fast user datagram protocol (UDP) Internet connection (quick UDP Internet connections, QUIC).

[0426] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure for controlling data transmission provided by an embodiment of the present application. For example, FIG14(a) is a protocol stack structure for controlling data transmission based on SCTP. As shown in FIG14(a), the protocol stack structure includes, from bottom to top: an L1 layer, an L2 layer, an IP layer, an SCTP layer, and a DFCP-C layer. The DFCP-C layer is used to represent the control data of the DFCP for transmitting data service tasks. For details of the L1 layer and the L2 layer, please refer to the relevant description in FIG3 and will not be repeated here.

[0427] For another example, Figure 14 (b) shows the protocol stack structure for HTTPS-based control data transmission. HTTPS is forwarded based on the TCP / IP layer. As shown in Figure 14 (b), the protocol stack structure, from bottom to top, includes: the L1 layer, the L2 layer, the IP layer, the TCP layer, the HTTPS layer, and the DFCP-C layer. The DFCP-C layer is used to represent the control data used by the DFCP layer to transmit data service tasks. For details about the L1 and L2 layers, please refer to the relevant descriptions in Figure 3 and will not be repeated here.

[0428] For another example, Figure 14(c) shows the protocol stack structure for QUIC-based control data transmission. QUIC is forwarded based on the UDP layer. As shown in Figure 14(c), the protocol stack structure, from bottom to top, includes: L1 layer, L2 layer, IP layer, UDP layer, QUIC layer, and DFCP-C layer. The L1 layer, L2 layer, and DFCP-C layer are described in the above example and will not be repeated here.

[0429] The protocol stack structure for business data transmission of data service tasks:

[0430] It can be understood that the service data transmission between the access network device and the data proxy network element can be based on GTP-U in addition to HTTPS or QUIC.

[0431] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack structure for business data transmission provided by an embodiment of the present application. For example, (a) in Figure 15 is a protocol stack structure for business data transmission based on QUIC. As shown in (a) in Figure 15, the protocol stack structure is similar to (c) in Figure 14, except that: the DFCP-U layer is located above the QUIC layer, and the DFCP-U layer is used to represent the business data used by the DFCP layer to transmit data service tasks. For details of the L1 layer and the L2 layer, please refer to the relevant description in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0432] For another example, Figure 15(b) shows the protocol stack structure for service data transmission based on GTP-U. GTP-U is forwarded based on the UDP layer. As shown in Figure 15(b), the protocol stack structure includes, from bottom to top: L1 layer, L2 layer, IP layer, UDP layer, GTP-U layer, and DFCP-U layer.

[0433] For example, Figure 15 (c) shows the protocol stack structure for HTTPS-based service data transmission. HTTPS is forwarded based on the TCP / IP layer, as shown in Figure 15 (c). The difference between this protocol stack structure and Figure 14 (b) is that the DFCP-U layer is above the HTTPS layer.

[0434] Since, in the embodiment of the present application, the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task, the data transmission of the data service can be isolated from the data transmission of the user plane, and for the data packet received through the first PDU session, when the access network device determines that the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device can open the data packet and perform data processing. When the access network device determines that the first data service is a data service not processed by the access network device, the access network device can transparently forward the data packet, and then the access network device supports in-path processing, so that the data of the data service can be converted and optimized during the transmission process to meet the needs of the data service. In this way, the system modification is small and the compatibility is good, which can reduce the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture.

[0435] The data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below by taking the data service control network element triggering the establishment of the first PDU session as an example.

[0436] FIG16 is a second flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG16 , the method includes:

[0437] S1601. A data service control network element determines a first data service task according to data service demand information and at least one piece of data service capability information.

[0438] Specifically, step S1601 may refer to the relevant description of the “first data service task” in the aforementioned step S1201, which will not be repeated here.

[0439] In a possible implementation, before step S1601, the method further includes: the data service control network element obtaining data service demand information and at least one piece of data service capability information.

[0440] For example, as described in the aforementioned step S1201 regarding the "first data service task", the data service control network element can receive a service request from a data consumer, and in combination with at least one data service capability information, translate the request into a service requirement for the functions of each data agent network element. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions of Figures 5 to 11, which will not be repeated here.

[0441] S1602: The data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node. Accordingly, the data processing node receives the data service request from the data service control network element. The data service request includes at least one of the following: identification information of the data service task, operation instruction information, or address information of the next hop of the data processing node.

[0442] In one possible implementation, at least one piece of data service capability information includes data service capability information of a data processing node, and the operation indicated by the operation indication information corresponds to at least one data service capability of the data processing node; and the data service control network element obtains at least one piece of data service capability information, including: the data service control network element receives data service capability information from the data processing node, the data service capability information includes at least one data service capability of the data processing node, and the data capability in the at least one data service capability is any one of the following: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability. In other words, the data service control network element can obtain at least one piece of data service capability information by receiving capability information reported by the data processing node, and thereby determine the first data service task.

[0443] In one possible implementation, the data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, or artificial intelligence data.

[0444] In a possible implementation, the operation indicated by the operation instruction information includes at least one of the following operations: data collection, data preprocessing, data protection, data storage, or data analysis.

[0445] For details about the data service capability information, data types, and operations, please refer to the relevant description of step S1203, which will not be repeated here.

[0446] S1603: The data processing node sends confirmation information of the data service request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the data service request from the data processing node.

[0447] It can be understood that for the data processing nodes in step S1602 and step S1603, the data processing nodes may, for example, include a terminal device, an access network device, and a first network element, or may, for example, include a terminal device and a first network element. Steps S1602 and S1603 are further explained below based on different situations of the data processing nodes.

[0448] Optionally, the first data service task is a data service task processed by an access network device, and the data processing node includes a terminal device, an access network device, and a first network element; the data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node (step S1602), including:

[0449] S1602a: The data service control network element sends a first data service request to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the first data service request from the data service control network element. The first data service request is used to request that a first operation be performed on first data, to obtain second data, and to send the second data.

[0450] S1602b: The data service control network element sends a second data service request to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second data service request from the data service control network element. The second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on the third data, obtain fourth data, and send the fourth data.

[0451] S1602c: The data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the third data service request from the data service control network element. The third data service request is used to request the fifth data to perform a third operation, obtain sixth data, and send the sixth data.

[0452] It can be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution order between steps S1602a to S1602c.

[0453] Accordingly, the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request (step S1603), including:

[0454] S1603a: The access network device sends confirmation information of the first data service request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the first data service request from the access network device;

[0455] S1603b: The terminal device sends confirmation information of the second data service request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the second data service request from the terminal device.

[0456] S1603c: The first network element sends confirmation information of the third data service request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the third data service request from the first network element.

[0457] Optionally, the third data includes data collected by the terminal device, the first data includes the fourth data, and the fifth data includes the second data. In other words, the data flow corresponding to the first data service task is an uplink data transmission scenario, where the terminal device sends the service data of the data service to the access network device, the access network device processes the service data, and sends the processed service data to the first network element.

[0458] Alternatively, optionally, the fifth data includes data collected by the first network element, the first data includes the sixth data, and the third data includes the second data. That is, the data flow corresponding to the first data service task described above is a downlink data transmission scenario, where the first network element sends the service data of the data service to the access network device, the access network device processes the service data, and sends the processed service data to the terminal device.

[0459] It is understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution order between steps S1603a to S1603c. Alternatively, optionally, the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, and the data processing node includes the terminal device and the first network element; the data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node (step S1602), including: S1602b-S1602c. Accordingly, the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request (step S1603), including: S1603b-S1603c.

[0460] Optionally, the third data includes data collected by the terminal device, and the fifth data includes the fourth data. That is, the data flow corresponding to the first data service task is an uplink data transmission scenario, and the terminal device sends the service data of the data service to the first network element.

[0461] Alternatively, the fifth data includes data collected by the first network element, and the third data includes the sixth data. That is, the data flow corresponding to the first data service task is a downlink data transmission scenario, and the first network element sends the service data of the data service to the terminal device.

[0462] S1604: The data service control network element triggers a process for establishing a first PDU session, wherein the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task.

[0463] That is to say, in an embodiment of the present application, the data service control network element can trigger the establishment process of the first PDU session after receiving the confirmation information from the data processing node, so that the business data of the first data service task can be transmitted between the data processing nodes through the first PDU session, thereby avoiding the establishment of the first PDU session when the data processing node rejects the data service request.

[0464] In one possible implementation, the data service control network element triggers a process for establishing a first PDU session (i.e., step S1604), including:

[0465] S1604a: The data service control network element sends a session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the session establishment request for the first PDU session from the data service control network element. The session establishment request includes identification information of the first data service task.

[0466] The specific implementation of step S1604a can refer to the above step A and will not be repeated here.

[0467] That is, the data service control network element can trigger the session management network element to establish the first PDU session by sending a session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element. Furthermore, the session establishment request for the first PDU session includes identification information of the first data service task, so that during the process of establishing the first PDU session, the access network device can associate the DRB and tunnel associated with the first PDU session with the first data service task using the identification information of the first data service task.

[0468] It can be understood that the data service control network element can also send a session establishment request for the first PDU session to other network elements (such as BSF network elements) to trigger the establishment process of the first PDU session. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0469] S1605: The process of establishing the first PDU session.

[0470] Among them, the specific implementation of step S1605 can refer to the above-mentioned step B and steps S1 to S4, which will not be repeated in this embodiment of the present application.

[0471] S1606. The data processing node transmits data corresponding to the data service request through the first PDU session.

[0472] Among them, based on the description of the data processing node in the above steps S1602 and S1603, the data processing node may include a terminal device and a first network element, etc. According to the method flow shown in Figure 12, the terminal device can send or receive data through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, and the access network device transparently forwards or opens the data packets received through the first PDU session according to whether the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device. The first network element can receive or send data through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session. For details, please refer to the method flow diagram shown in Figure 17 below, which will not be repeated here.

[0473] Optionally, the method shown in FIG16 further includes:

[0474] S1607: The session management network element sends a response message to the data service control network element regarding the session establishment request. Accordingly, the service control network element receives the response message to the first PDU session establishment request from the session management network element. In other words, the data service control network element can determine whether the first PDU session is successfully established based on the response message to the session establishment request from the session management network element.

[0475] The specific implementation of step S1605 can be found in the above step C and will not be repeated here.

[0476] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the data service control network element transmits control information to the terminal device via a second PDU session, wherein the control information includes any one of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of a data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

[0477] Among them, the specific implementation of transmitting control information through the second PDU session can be found in the relevant description of the aforementioned "second PDU session" and will not be repeated here.

[0478] Since, in the embodiment of the present application, the data service control network element can trigger the establishment of the first PDU session after the data processing node corresponding to the first data service task feeds back confirmation information of the data service request, this can avoid the situation where the data processing node rejects the data service request, resulting in no data transmission after the first PDU session is established, thereby wasting network resources. Furthermore, by corresponding the first PDU session to the first data service task, the data transmission of the data service can be isolated from the data transmission of the user plane, and the data supporting the data service can be converted and optimized during the transmission process to meet the needs of the data service. This has small system modifications and good compatibility, and can reduce the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture.

[0479] To further understand that in the embodiment of the present application, the data processing node transmits the data corresponding to the data service request through the first PDU, the following explanation is given using the interaction between the terminal device, the access network device, the first network element, and the data service control network element as an example.

[0480] FIG17 is a flow chart of a third method for data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG17 , the method includes:

[0481] S1701: A data service control network element sends a second data service request to a terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second data service request from the data service control network element. The second data service request is used to request execution of a second operation on third data, obtaining fourth data, and sending the fourth data. The second data service request corresponds to the first data service task.

[0482] It is understood that the data service control network element can determine the first data service task based on the data service demand information and the at least one piece of data service capability information, and then send the second data service request to the terminal device. The specific implementation of the data service control network element determining the first data service task can be referred to the aforementioned step S1601 and will not be repeated here.

[0483] The specific implementation of step S1701 can refer to the above step S1602 and will not be repeated here.

[0484] In a possible implementation, the second operation includes at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data protection, data storage, or data analysis.

[0485] The second operation may be specifically described in detail in step S1201 regarding the operation instruction information, which will not be repeated here.

[0486] S1702: The terminal device sends confirmation information of the second data service request to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the confirmation information of the second data service request from the terminal device.

[0487] The specific implementation of step S1702 can refer to the above step S1603 and will not be repeated here.

[0488] Optionally, the user plane data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application further includes: the terminal device transmitting control information to the data service control network element through the second PDU session. The control information includes any of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

[0489] Among them, for the relevant description of the control information, please refer to the relevant description of the aforementioned "second PDU", which will not be repeated here.

[0490] S1703: The terminal device generates a first data packet according to the second data service request, where the data carried by the first data packet includes fourth data.

[0491] It is understood that the terminal device can obtain the address information of the next hop of the data processing node, determine the destination address, and encapsulate the first data packet based on the destination address. The second data service request may include the address information of the next hop of the data processing node, so the terminal device can obtain the address information of the next hop of the data processing node based on the second data service request. Alternatively, the terminal device receives a data packet corresponding to the first data service task, and the data packet may carry routing information. In this case, the terminal device can determine the address information of the next hop of the data processing node based on the routing information.

[0492] S1704: The terminal device sends a first data packet to the access network device via the DRB associated with the first meta-PDU session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first data packet from the terminal device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session. The DRB corresponds to the first data service task.

[0493] Among them, the above-mentioned details about the first PDU session and DRB can be found in the method embodiments shown in Figures 12 and 16, and will not be repeated here.

[0494] S1705. The access network device sends the first data packet or the second data to the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session through the first PDU session.

[0495] The second data may be data obtained by the access network device performing a first operation on the first data according to the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task.

[0496] It can be understood that the specific implementation of step S1705 can refer to the aforementioned steps S1202a-1, S1202a-2, and S1202b, which will not be repeated here.

[0497] Optionally, the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the terminal device receiving a data packet through a DRB associated with the first PDU session, wherein the third data includes data carried by the data packet.

[0498] It can be understood that the data packet may be the second data packet from the first network element in the above step S1202b, or the data packet may be the third data packet from the access network device in the above step S1202b.

[0499] In one possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the data packet is a second data packet, and the terminal device receives the data packet through a DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: the terminal device receives the second data packet from a first network element through the DRB associated with the first PDU session. The first network element is a data processing node corresponding to the first data service task.

[0500] In another possible implementation, the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the data packet is the third data packet, and the terminal device receives the data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: the terminal device receives the third data packet from the access network device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0501] It can be understood that the second data packet and the third data packet mentioned above can be specifically referred to the relevant description of the aforementioned step S1202b, which will not be repeated here.

[0502] Optionally, the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes: the terminal device obtains second identity information of the data service control network element, and communicates with the data service control network element based on the second identity information.

[0503] That is to say, the terminal device can actively send information, such as data service registration information, to the data service control network element by obtaining the second identity information, so that the data service control network element can determine the first data service task based on the data service demand information and at least one data service capability information, and send the second data service request to the terminal device.

[0504] Optionally, the terminal device obtains the second identity information of the data service control network element, including: the terminal device receives the second identity information from the access network device.

[0505] Among them, the specific implementation of the terminal device receiving the second identity information from the access network device can refer to the relevant description of the "second PDU" in the method embodiment shown in Figure 12, which will not be repeated here.

[0506] That is, the terminal device can discover the data service control network element through the second identity information sent by the access network device, and then communicate with the data service control network element.

[0507] It should be understood that the terminal device can also obtain the identification information of the data service control network element through other network elements (such as OAM network elements), and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0508] In a possible implementation, the data service registration information includes at least one of the following: first identity information of the terminal device, indication information for indicating an access network device providing services for the terminal device, or data service capability information of the terminal device.

[0509] Among them, the data service registration information can be specifically referred to the relevant description in the aforementioned "Second PDU Session", which will not be repeated here.

[0510] In one possible implementation, the data service capability information of the terminal device includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability.

[0511] In one possible implementation, the data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, or artificial intelligence data.

[0512] It can be understood that the at least one data service capability of the terminal device can be specifically described in the relevant description of the "first data service task" in the aforementioned step S1201, which will not be repeated here.

[0513] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device transmits data corresponding to the second data service request through the first PDU session corresponding to the first data service task, the data transmission of the data service can be isolated from the data transmission of the user plane, and the data supporting the data service can be converted and optimized during the transmission process to meet the requirements of the data service. This requires little modification to the system and has good compatibility, which can reduce the complexity of implementing data services based on the data service architecture.

[0514] In order to further understand the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the process of registering data service capability information by the terminal device through the second PDU session is taken as an example to illustrate.

[0515] FIG18 is a fourth flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG18 , the method includes:

[0516] S1801. Establish an RRC connection between the terminal device and the access network device.

[0517] S1802: The access network device obtains second identity information of the data service control network element, wherein the second identity information is used for communicating with the data service control network element.

[0518] The second identity information may include address information of the data service control network element, such as an IP address and a port. The specific implementation of step S1802 can be found in the "Second PDU Session Establishment Process", which will not be described in detail.

[0519] S1803: The access network device sends RRC signaling to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RRC signaling from the access network device. The RRC signaling includes the second identity information.

[0520] S1804: The terminal device triggers the establishment of a second PDU session.

[0521] The specific implementation of step S2003 can be found in the "procedure for establishing the second PDU session", which will not be described in detail.

[0522] S1805. The terminal device sends data service registration information to the data service control network element via the second PDU session. Accordingly, the data service control network element receives the data service registration information from the terminal device. The data service registration information may include at least one of the following: identification information of the terminal device, indication information for indicating the access network device providing services to the terminal device, or data service capability information of the terminal device. For details about the data service registration information, please refer to the relevant description in the aforementioned "For the Second PDU Session" and will not be repeated here.

[0523] In a possible implementation, the data service control network element stores the data service registration information sent by the terminal device.

[0524] It can be understood that the specific process of the terminal device sending data service registration information to the data service control network element through the second PDU session can be: the terminal device sends a data packet to the access network device, and the data carried by the data packet includes data service registration information; the access network device forwards the data packet to the user plane network element corresponding to the second PDU session; the user plane network element corresponding to the second PDU session sends the data packet to the data service control network element according to the destination address in the packet header of the data packet.

[0525] It should be understood that the terminal device updates the data service registration information in any of the following situations: the access network device serving the terminal device changes, the IP address of the terminal device changes (for example, the IP address corresponding to the new PDU session), or the data service capability of the terminal device changes.

[0526] Optionally, as shown in FIG18 , the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0527] S1806. The data service control network element sends first information to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the first information from the data service control network element. The first information includes an identifier of the terminal device and / or a first address. In this manner, in a downlink data transmission scenario, the access network device can encapsulate data packets received through the first PDU session based on the first information and transmit the data packets to the terminal device.

[0528] Optionally, the first information may further include data service capability information of the terminal device.

[0529] In a possible implementation, the access network device stores the first information.

[0530] To further understand the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, the following uses an uplink data transmission scenario as an example to exemplify the process of an access network device processing a data packet received through a first PDU session.

[0531] FIG19 is a flow chart of a data service transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG19 , the method includes:

[0532] S1901. Establish a second PDU session.

[0533] The specific implementation of step S1901 can be found in the method embodiment shown in FIG18 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0534] S1902: The data service control network element sends a first data service request to the access network device. Accordingly, the access network device receives the first data service request from the data service control network element. The first data service request requests the access network device to perform a first operation on first data, obtain second data, and send the second data to a next-hop address.

[0535] S1903: The access network device sends a first data service request response to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the first data service request response from the access network device. The first data service request response carries confirmation information of the first data service request.

[0536] S1904: The data service control network element sends a second data service request to the terminal device via a second PDU session. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second data service request from the data service control network element via the second PDU session. The second data service request requests the terminal device to perform a second operation on the third data to obtain fourth data, and to send the fourth data to a next-hop address.

[0537] S1905. The terminal device sends a second data service request response to the data service control network element via the second PDU session. Accordingly, the data service control network element receives the second data service request response from the terminal device via the second PDU session. The second data service request response carries confirmation information for the second data service request.

[0538] S1906: The data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element. Accordingly, the first network element receives the third data service request from the data service control network element. The third data service request is used to request the first network element to perform a third operation on the fifth data, obtain sixth data, and send the sixth data.

[0539] S1907: The first network element sends a third data service request response to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the third data service request response from the first network element. The third data service request response carries confirmation information of the third data service request.

[0540] It should be understood that the first to third data service requests correspond to the first data service task.

[0541] Among them, the specific implementation of the above steps S1901 to S1907 can be referred to steps S1601 to S1604, and will not be repeated here.

[0542] It can be understood that in the example shown in FIG. 19 , the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device.

[0543] S1908: The data service control network element sends a session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the session establishment request for the first PDU session from the data service control network element.

[0544] The specific implementation of step S1907 can be found in the aforementioned step A and will not be repeated here.

[0545] S1909. The session management network element establishes a first PDU session.

[0546] The specific implementation of step S1909 can be found in the aforementioned step B and will not be repeated here.

[0547] It can be understood that according to the aforementioned step B, step S1908 also includes the aforementioned steps S1 to S4, that is, the session management network element notifies the mobility management network element to send a session request for the first PDU session to the access network device (that is, step S1), and the access network device establishes a DRB and a tunnel based on the session request (that is, steps S2 and S3), and executes step S3 to notify the session management network element that the DRB and tunnel associated with the first PDU session have been successfully established, etc.

[0548] It can be understood that in steps S2 and S3, the access network device can determine the correspondence between the DRB and the tunnel and the first data service task based on the identification information of the first data service task.

[0549] S1910: The session management network element sends a session establishment request response to the data service control network element. Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives the session establishment request response from the session management network element. The session establishment request response is used to indicate that the first PDU session is successfully established.

[0550] The specific implementation of step S1910 can be found in the aforementioned step C and will not be repeated here.

[0551] S1911: The terminal device performs a second operation on the third data according to the second data service request to generate fourth data, and encapsulates the fourth data according to the next hop address information to obtain a first data packet. The payload of the first data packet may further include the DS-ID of the first data service task.

[0552] It can be understood that the destination address in the header of the first data packet is the next hop address information.

[0553] S1912: The terminal device sends a first data packet to the access network device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first data packet from the terminal device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0554] S1913. The access network device determines, based on the identifier of the DRB associated with the first PDU session, to perform the operation indicated by the first data service request on the first data packet. It is understood that the access network device may also determine, based on the DS-ID in the payload of the first data packet, to perform the operation indicated by the first data service request on the first data packet.

[0555] S1914: The access network device performs a first operation on the first data according to the first data service request to obtain second data, and encapsulates the second data according to the next hop address information to obtain a third data packet. The first data includes the data carried by the first data packet, namely, the fourth data.

[0556] Optionally, step S1914 may further include: the access network device obtaining a source address in a header of the first data packet, and determining that the IP address of the terminal device in the first PDU session is the source address. In this way, when processing downlink data, the access network device can encapsulate the data packet sent to the terminal device.

[0557] S1915. The access network device sends a third data packet to the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session.

[0558] S1916. The user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session sends the third data packet to the first network element based on the destination address in the header of the third data packet. Accordingly, the first network element receives the third data packet from the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session. In this manner, the first network element can execute the content requested by the third data service request.

[0559] It should be understood that in the downlink data transmission scenario, the difference from the uplink data transmission scenario is that: for the first data service task, which is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device processes the data packet from the first network element. It can encapsulate the processed data according to the IP address of the terminal device in the first PDU session to obtain a data packet, and send the data packet to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

[0560] The following takes the downlink data transmission scenario as an example to exemplify the process of the access network device processing the data packet received through the first PDU session.

[0561] Figure 20 is a flow chart of a data service transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 20, the method includes steps S2001 to S2016. Steps S2001 to S2010 are similar to steps S1901 to S1910 shown in Figure 19 and are not described in detail here.

[0562] S2011. The first network element performs a third operation on the fifth data according to the third data service request to generate sixth data, and encapsulates the sixth data according to the next hop address information to obtain a second data packet.

[0563] S2012: The first network element sends a second data packet to the user plane network element. Correspondingly, the user plane network element receives the second data packet from the first network element.

[0564] S2013: The user plane network element sends a second data packet to the access network device through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second data packet from the access network device through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session.

[0565] S2014. The access network device determines, based on the tunnel associated with the first PDU session, to perform the operation indicated by the first data service request on the second data packet.

[0566] S2015. The access network device performs a first operation on the first data in accordance with the first data service request to obtain second data, and encapsulates the second data according to the IP address of the downstream terminal device to obtain a third data packet. The first data includes the data carried in the second data packet, i.e., the sixth data. The IP address of the terminal device is the IP address of the terminal device in the first PDU session.

[0567] S2016. The access network device sends a third data packet to the terminal device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third data packet from the access network device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session. In this manner, the terminal device can execute the content requested by the second data service request.

[0568] It is understood that for a first data service task that is not processed by the access network device, in the uplink data transmission scenario, the difference from the method flow shown in FIG19 is that the data service control network element may not send the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task to the access network device, and the access network device may not forward the first data packet from the terminal device. In the downlink data transmission scenario, the difference from the method flow shown in FIG20 is that the data service control network element may not send the first data service request corresponding to the first data service task to the access network device, and the access network device may not forward the second data packet from the first network element.

[0569] The following is an illustrative description using the uplink data transmission scenario as an example.

[0570] Figure 21 is a flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method flow shown in Figure 21 is a flow chart of a method corresponding to an uplink data transmission scenario in which the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device. As shown in Figure 21, the method includes: steps S2101 to S2112, step S2101 is the same as step S1901, and steps S2102 to S2109 are similar to steps S1904 to S1912, except that the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, which will not be repeated.

[0571] S2110. The access network device sends a first data packet to a user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session according to the tunnel associated with the first PDU session.

[0572] The specific implementation of step S2110 can refer to step S1202b shown in Figure 12, which will not be repeated here.

[0573] S2111. The user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session sends the first data packet to the first network element according to the destination address in the header of the first data packet.

[0574] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the present application. Accordingly, the present application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods in the above method embodiments. The communication device can be the access network device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the access network device, or a component that can be used to implement the function of the access network device, such as a chip or a chip system. Alternatively, the communication device can be the data service control network element in the above method embodiments, or a device including data service control, or a component that can be used to implement the function of the data service control network element, such as a chip or a chip system. Alternatively, the communication device can be the data service network element in the above method embodiments, or a device including a second device, or a component that can be used to calculate the second device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0575] The above description primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the access network device described in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the access network device described above, or a component usable in the access network device; or the communication device may be the data service control network element device described in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the data service control network element described above, or a component usable in the data service control network element; or the communication device may be the terminal device described in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the terminal device described above, or a component usable in the terminal device. It will be understood that, to implement the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the respective functions. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0576] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0577] Taking the communication device as the access network device, or the data service control network element, or the terminal device in the above method embodiment as an example, Figure 22 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 22, the communication device 2200 includes: a processing module 2201 and a transceiver module 2202. Among them, the processing module 2201 is used to perform the processing functions of the access network device, or the data service control network element, or the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 2202 is used to perform the transceiver functions of the access network device, or the data service control network element, or the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0578] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0579] Since the communication device 2200 provided in this embodiment can execute the above-mentioned data transmission method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0580] In one possible design solution, the transceiver module 2202 may include a receiving module and a sending module (not shown in FIG22 ). The transceiver module is used to implement the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device 2200 .

[0581] In one possible design, the communication device 2200 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 22 ) storing programs or instructions. When the processing module 2201 executes the programs or instructions, the communication device 2200 may perform the functions of the access network device, the data service control network element, or the terminal device in any of the methods shown in FIG. 12 to FIG. 21 .

[0582] It should be understood that the processing module 2201 involved in the communication device 2200 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, which can be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module 2202 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, which can be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

[0583] For example, Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be a terminal device, a RAN device or a core network device, or a chip (system) or other parts or components that can be set in a terminal device, a RAN device or a core network device. As shown in Figure 23, the communication device 2300 may include a processor 2301. In one possible design scheme, the communication device 2300 may also include a memory 2302 and / or a transceiver 2303. The processor 2301 is coupled to the memory 2302 and the transceiver 2303, such as by a communication bus.

[0584] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 2300 with reference to FIG23 :

[0585] The processor 2301 is the control center of the communication device 2300 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 2301 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0586] In one possible design, the processor 2301 may execute various functions of the communication device 2300 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 2302 and calling data stored in the memory 2302 .

[0587] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 2301 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 23 .

[0588] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 2300 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 2301 and the processor 2304 shown in FIG23 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0589] Among them, the memory 2302 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of this application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 2301. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0590] In one possible design, the memory 2302 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 2302 may be integrated with the processor 2301, or may exist independently and be coupled to the processor 2301, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0591] Transceiver 2303 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 2300 is an access network device, transceiver 2303 can be used to communicate with a terminal device, a data service control network element, or a user plane network element. For another example, if communication device 2300 is a data service control network element, transceiver 2303 can be used to communicate with a terminal device, an access network device, or a data proxy network element. For another example, if communication device 2300 is a terminal device, transceiver 2303 can be used to communicate with an access network device, a data control service network element, or the like.

[0592] In one possible design, transceiver 2303 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG23 ), wherein the receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a sending function.

[0593] In one possible design solution, the transceiver 2303 may be an input / output interface or an interface circuit for inputting and / or outputting signals.

[0594] In one possible design scheme, the transceiver 2303 can be integrated with the processor 2301, or it can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 2301. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0595] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 2300 shown in Figure 23 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. The actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0596] In addition, the communication device 2300 can execute the above-mentioned data transmission method, so the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0597] In one possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the functions of the above-mentioned method embodiment are realized.

[0598] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of the above method embodiment when executed by a computer.

[0599] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the access network device and data service control network element described in the above method embodiment.

[0600] In a possible implementation, the communication system further includes the terminal device described in the above method embodiment.

[0601] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which includes the method described in any of the above method embodiments or any of its implementations.

[0602] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, 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 according to 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 via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. 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 or data center that includes one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, tape), optical media, or semiconductor media (e.g., solid state drive (SSD)).

[0603] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0604] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0605] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0606] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0607] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0608] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0609] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0610] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to encompass such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The access network device receives a data packet through a first protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first PDU session corresponds to a first data service task; In a case where the first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the access network device performs a first operation on first data according to the first data service task to obtain second data, where the first data includes data carried by the data packet; The access network device sends the second data according to the first PDU session; or, In a case where the first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the access network device forwards the data packet.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data packet is a first data packet of the terminal device, and the access network device receives the data packet through the first PDU session, including: The access network device receives a first data packet from the terminal device via a data radio bearer DRB associated with the first PDU session, wherein the DRB is associated with the first data service task; Correspondingly, the access network device sends the second data according to the first PDU session, including: The access network device sends the second data to the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session through the tunnel associated with the first PDU session; Alternatively, correspondingly, the access network device forwarding the first data packet includes: The access network device forwards the first data packet to the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The data packet is a second data packet of a first network element, and the first network element is a data processing node corresponding to the first data service task; The access network device receives a data packet through a first PDU session, including: The access network device receives a second data packet from the first network element through a tunnel associated with the first PDU session, the tunnel being associated with the first data service task; Correspondingly, the access network device sends the second data according to the first PDU session, including: The access network device sends the second data to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session; Alternatively, correspondingly, the access network device forwarding the second data packet includes: The access network device forwards the second data packet to the terminal device via the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access network device acquires the first identity information of the terminal device and at least one address of the terminal device, wherein the at least one address includes a first address associated with the first PDU; Correspondingly, the access network device sends the second data to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: When the address information of the next hop of the data processing node corresponding to the first data service matches the first identity information, the access network device encapsulates the second data according to the first address to obtain a third data packet; The access network device sends the third data packet to the terminal device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The access network device obtains the first identity information of the terminal device, including: The access network device receives first information from a data service control network element, where the first information includes the first identity information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device; the method further includes: The access network device receives a first data service request from a data service control network element, where the first data service request includes identification information of the first data service task and indication information of the first operation; The access network device sends confirmation information of the first data service request to the data service control network element.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The access network device performs a first operation on the first data according to the first data service task to obtain second data, including: The access network device performs the first operation on the first data according to the first data service request to obtain the second data.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access network device receives a session request for the first PDU session, where the session request includes identification information of the first data service task and indication information of a quality of service QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session; The access network device establishes a DRB associated with the first PDU between the access network device and the terminal device according to the QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session, wherein the DRB is associated with the identification information of the first data service task; A tunnel associated with the first PDU is established between the access network device and the user plane network element corresponding to the first PDU session, and the tunnel is associated with the identification information of the first data service task.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access network device obtains second identity information of the data service control network element; The access network device sends the second identity information to the terminal device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access network device forwards control information between the terminal device and the data service control network element through a second PDU session, between the terminal device and the user plane network element corresponding to the second PDU session; wherein the control information includes any one of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, wherein the priority of the first QoS flow is less than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is greater than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The first operation corresponds to at least one data service capability of the access network device; the method further includes: The access network device sends data service capability information of the access network device to the data service control network element, and the data service capability information includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, or artificial intelligence data.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The first operation includes at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data storage, data reporting, data analysis, data protection, or data compression.

15. A data transmission method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The data service control network element determines the first data service task according to the data service demand information and the at least one data service capability information; The data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node, where the data service request includes at least one of the following: identification information of the first data service task, operation instruction information, or address information of the next hop of the data processing node; The data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request; The data service control network element triggers a process of establishing a first protocol data unit PDU session, and the first PDU session corresponds to the first data service task.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The first data service task is a data service task processed by an access network device, the data processing node includes a terminal device, the access network device and a first network element; the data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node, including: The data service control network element sends a first data service request to the access network device, where the first data service request is used to request to perform a first operation on first data, obtain second data, and send the second data; The data service control network element sends a second data service request to the terminal device, where the second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on the third data to obtain fourth data, and send the fourth data; The data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element, and the third data service request is used to request Execute the third operation on the fifth data to obtain sixth data, and send the sixth data; Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request, including: The data service control network element receives confirmation information of the first data service request from the access network device; The data service control network element receives confirmation information of the second data service request from the terminal device; The data service control network element receives confirmation information of the third data service request from the first network element; Wherein, the third data includes data collected by the terminal device, the first data includes the fourth data, and the fifth data includes the second data; Alternatively, the fifth data includes data collected by the first network element, the first data includes the sixth data, and the third data includes the second data.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The first data service task is a data service task that is not processed by the access network device, the data processing node includes a terminal device and a first network element; the data service control network element sends a data service request to the data processing node, including: The data service control network element sends a second data service request to the terminal device, where the second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on the third data to obtain fourth data, and send the fourth data; The data service control network element sends a third data service request to the first network element, where the third data service request is used to request to perform a third operation on the fifth data to obtain sixth data, and to send the sixth data; Correspondingly, the data service control network element receives confirmation information of the data service request, including: The data service control network element receives confirmation information of the second data service request from the terminal device; The data service control network element receives confirmation information of the third data service request from the first network element; Wherein, the third data includes data collected by the terminal device, and the fifth data includes the fourth data; Alternatively, the fifth data includes data collected by the first network element, and the third data includes the sixth data.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The data service control network element triggers the establishment process of the first PDU session, including: The data service control network element sends a session establishment request for the first PDU session to the session management network element, where the session establishment request includes identification information of the first data service task.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: The data service control network element receives response information of the session establishment request from the session management network element.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: The data service control network element transmits control information with the terminal device through a second PDU session; wherein the control information includes any one of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

21. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, wherein the priority of the first QoS flow is greater than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is less than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: The data service control network element receives data service registration information from the terminal device through the second PDU session, where the data service registration information includes the first identity information of the terminal device and indication information for indicating an access network device that provides services for the terminal device; The data service control network element sends first information to the access network device, where the first information includes the first identity information.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 22, characterized in that The at least one data service capability information includes data service capability information of the data processing node, and the operation indicated by the operation indication information corresponds to the at least one data service capability of the data processing node; The method further comprises: The data service control network element receives data service capability information from the data processing node, and the data service capability information includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, etc. capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability.

24. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 23, characterized in that The data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, or artificial intelligence data.

25. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 24, characterized in that The operation indicated by the operation instruction information includes at least one of the following operations: data collection, data preprocessing, data protection, data storage, or data analysis.

26. A data transmission method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The terminal device receives a second data service request from the data service control network element, the second data service request is used to request to perform a second operation on the third data, obtain fourth data, and send the fourth data, the second data service request corresponds to the first data service task; The terminal device sends confirmation information of the second data service request to the data service control network element; The terminal device generates a first data packet according to the second data service request, where data carried by the first data packet includes the fourth data; The terminal device sends the first data packet to the access network device via a data radio bearer DRB associated with a first protocol data unit PDU session, and the DRB corresponds to the first data service task.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device receives a data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, and the third data includes the data carried by the data packet.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The first data service task is a data service task not processed by the access network device, the data packet is a second data packet, and the terminal device receives the data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: The terminal device receives a second data packet from a first network element through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, and the first network element is a data processing node corresponding to the first data service task.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The first data service task is a data service task processed by the access network device, the data packet is a third data packet, and the terminal device receives the data packet through the DRB associated with the first PDU session, including: The terminal device receives a third data packet from the access network device through the DRB associated with the first PDU session.

30. The method according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device obtains the second identity information of the data service control network element; The terminal device communicates with the data service control network element according to the second identity information.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that The terminal device obtains the second identity information of the data service control network element, including: The terminal device receives the second identity information from the access network device.

32. The method according to any one of claims 26 to 31, characterized in that The method also includes: the terminal device transmits control information with the data service control network element through a second PDU session; wherein the control information includes any one of the following: data service registration information of the terminal device, a data service request sent by the data service control network element to the terminal device, or feedback information of the data service request sent by the terminal device to the data service control network element.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The QoS configuration corresponding to the first PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the first QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow, and the QoS configuration corresponding to the second PDU session is used to indicate the priority of the second QoS flow and / or the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow, wherein the priority of the first QoS flow is greater than the priority of the second QoS flow, and the packet delay budget of the first QoS flow is less than the packet delay budget of the second QoS flow.

34. The method according to claim 32 or 33, characterized in that The data service registration information includes at least one of the following: first identity information of the terminal device, indication information for indicating an access network device providing services for the terminal device, or data service capability information of the terminal device.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that The data service capability information of the terminal device includes one or more of the following data service capabilities: data collection capability, data preprocessing capability, data storage capability, data reporting capability, data analysis capability, data protection capability, or data compression capability.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that The data types supported by the data service capability include at least one of the following: network data, user data, Internet of Things data, or artificial intelligence data.

37. The method according to any one of claims 26 to 36, characterized in that The second operation includes at least one of the following: data collection, data preprocessing, data protection, data storage, or data analysis.

38. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

39. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 15-25.

40. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 26-37.

41. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor, and the processor is used to enable the communication device to perform the data transmission method according to any one of claims 1-14, or enable the communication device to perform the data transmission method according to any one of claims 15-25, or enable the communication device to perform the data transmission method according to any one of claims 26-37 through logic circuits and / or execution instructions.

42. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that Also included is a memory for storing the instructions.

43. The device according to claim 41 or 42, characterized in that Also included is a communication interface, which is used to input and / or output signaling and / or data.

44. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes an access network device and a data service control network element, wherein the access network device is used to execute the data transmission method according to any one of claims 1-14, and the data service control network element is used to execute the data transmission method according to any one of claims 15-25.

45. The communication system according to claim 44, characterized in that The communication system further comprises a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is configured to execute the data transmission method according to any one of claims 26-37.

46. ​​A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions, which, when executed by a processor, enable the data transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or the data transmission method according to any one of claims 15 to 25, or the data transmission method according to any one of claims 26 to 37 to be implemented.

47. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the data transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or cause the computer to execute the data transmission method according to any one of claims 15 to 25, or cause the computer to execute the data transmission method according to any one of claims 26 to 37.

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