Method, apparatus and computer program

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus comprising means for providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function UPF or a user equipment UE, for assisting protocol data unit PDU set ident

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Various example embodiments of this disclosure relate to a method, apparatus, system and computer program and in particular but not exclusively to PDU Set Handling. BACKGROUND A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices, or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. A communication device may be provided with a service by an application server. Such communication networks operate in accordance with standards such as those provided by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Examples of standards are the so-called 5G (5th Generation) standards provided by 3GPP. A feature of modern communication systems is known as protocol data unit (PDU) set handling. For example, a number of PDUs that belong to a same application service flow may be mapped to a PDU set. SUMMARY Some example embodiments of this disclosure will be described with respect to certain aspects. These aspects are not intended to indicate key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor are they intended to be used to limit the scope thereof. Other features, aspects, and elements will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. According to a first aspect there is disclosed an apparatus comprising: means for providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to some examples, the apparatus further comprises means for providing, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of: information of one or more protocol data unit set categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; or information of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories. According to some examples, at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types is provided for determining one or more protocol data unit sets. According to some examples, the apparatus further comprises means for providing protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the protocol data unit set types, to a policy control function, for mapping the one or more protocol data unit set categories or the one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows. According to some examples, the apparatus comprises means for providing, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility. According to a second aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to provide, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of: information of one or more protocol data unit set categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; or information of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories. According to some examples, at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types is provided for determining one or more protocol data unit sets. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: provide protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the protocol data unit set types, to a policy control function, for mapping the one or more protocol data unit set categories or the one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: provide, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility. According to a third aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and means for identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to some examples, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving, from the application function, at least one of: information of one or more protocol set data categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; or information of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories. According to some examples, the apparatus further comprises means for determining one or more protocol data unit sets based on at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving information of one or more protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the apparatus comprises means for mapping one or more protocol data unit set categories or one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows, wherein the quality of service flows are associated with the quality of service parameters provided for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, from the application function, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility. According to a fourth aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to receive, from the application function, at least one of: information of one or more protocol set data categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; or information of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: determine one or more protocol data unit sets based on at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: receive information of one or more protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: map one or more protocol data unit set categories or one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows, wherein the quality of service flows are associated with the quality of service parameters provided for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: receive, from the application function, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility. According to a fifth aspect there is provided a method comprising: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to some examples, the method further comprises providing, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of: information of one or more protocol data unit set categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; or information of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories. According to some examples, at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types is provided for determining one or more protocol data unit sets. According to some examples, the method further comprises providing protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the protocol data unit set types, to a policy control function, for mapping the one or more protocol data unit set categories or the one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows. According to some examples, the method comprises providing, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility. According to a sixth aspect there is a method comprising: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to some examples, the method comprises receiving, from the application function, at least one of: information of one or more protocol set data categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; or information of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories. According to some examples, the method comprises determining one or more protocol data unit sets based on at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the method comprises receiving information of one or more protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the method comprises mapping one or more protocol data unit set categories or one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows, wherein the quality of service flows are associated with the quality of service parameters provided for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types. According to some examples, the method comprises receiving, from the application function, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility. According to a seventh aspect there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to a eighth aspect there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to a ninth aspect there is provided a computer program comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to a tenth aspect there is provided a computer program comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to an eleventh aspect there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transportlayer data flow. According to an twelfth aspect there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to a thirteenth aspect there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to a fourteenth aspect there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to a fifteenth aspect there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to a sixteenth aspect there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transportlayer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. According to a seventeenth aspect there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. According to a eighteenth aspect there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; and identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. In the above, many different embodiments have been described. It should be appreciated that further embodiments may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the embodiments described above. DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES Some example embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting and illustrative example only, with reference to the accompanying FIGs in which: FIG. 1 shows a representation of a 5th generation communication system; FIG. 2 shows a representation of current 5GS Architecture for PDU set handling for XR; FIG. 3 is a signalling diagram according to an example embodiment; FIG. 4 shows a representation of a control apparatus according to some example embodiments; FIG. 5 shows a representation of an apparatus for the communication system of FIG. 1 according to some example embodiments; FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method according to an example embodiment; FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method according to an example embodiment; FIG. 8 shows a representation of an apparatus according to some example embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following, various example embodiments are explained with reference to communication devices capable of communication with a communication system. Before explaining in detail the embodiments of the methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure, a 5th generation communication system (5GS), an access network and a core network (5GC) thereof, and communication devices are briefly explained with reference to FIGs 1,4 and 5. FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G communication system (5GS). The 5GS may comprise a user equipment (UE) 100, an access network such as a 5G radio access network (5G-RAN) 102 or next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), a 5G core network (5GC) 104, and one or more application functions. An application function may be deployed in the 5GS as trusted application function or may be deployed or host on one or more application servers of the data network. Such application functions are untrusted application functions. The 5GS connects the UE 100 to a data network the access network and the 5GC (e.g., a UPF 118 of the 5GC). The 5G-RAN 102 may comprise one or more radio access nodes, such as gNodeB (GNB). A gNB may include one or more gNodeB (GNB) distributed units connected to one or more gNodeB (GNB) centralized units. The 5GC 104 may comprise the following network functions: Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF); Network Exposure Function (NEF) 108; Network Repository Function (NRF); Policy Control Function (PCF); Unified Data Management (UDM) 110; Application Function (AF) 106; Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 112; an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 114; and Session Management Function (SMF) 116; and a user plane function (UPF) 118. FIG. 1 also shows the various interfaces (N1, N2 etc.) that may be implemented between the various elements of the system. To support extended Reality (XR) in 3GPP networks, SA2 for Release 18 has studied mechanisms for Integrated and Differentiated PDU Set handling, as described in TS23.700-60, Key issues 4 and 5. A PDU Set is one or more PDUs carrying the payload of one unit of information generated at the application level (e.g., a video frame or video slice for XR Services). FIG.2 shows current 5GS Architecture for PDU set handling for XR. For downlink XR traffic, 3GPP supports the detection of PDU Sets by the PSA (PDU Session Anchor) UPF 202 and subsequent marking by the UPF 202 of downlink GTP-U (GPRS tunnelling protocol user) packets sent to the NG-RAN. In some examples, the PSA UPF 202 is a UPF which terminates the N6 interface of a PDU session within a 5G core network. Integrated and differentiated PDU set handling is performed in the NG-RAN 210 according to PDU set quality of service (QoS) parameters that are applicable to the group of PDUs that form a PDU Set. These QoS parameters may include at least one of: PDU Set Error Rate (PSER); PDU Set Delay Budget (PSDB); and a PDU Set Integrated Handling Indicator (PSIHI). The PSER defines an upper bound for the rate of PDU Sets that have been processed by the sender of a link layer protocol (e.g., RLC in RAN of a 3GPP access) but that are not successfully delivered by the corresponding receiver to the upper layer (e.g., PDCP in RAN of a 3GPP access). Thus, the PSER defines an upper bound for a rate of non-congestion related PDU Set losses. The PSDB defines an upper bound for the delay that a PDU Set may experience for the transfer between the UE and the N6 termination point at the UPF, i.e. the duration between the reception time of the first PDU (at the N6 termination point for DL or the UE for UL) and the time when all PDUs of a PDU Set have been successfully received (at the UE for DL or N6 termination point for UL). The PSIHI indicates whether all PDUs in a PDU Set are needed by the application for the application to process the application layer information. The AF 208 may send a request to the NEF and / or the PCF 206 providing values for the PDU Set QoS parameters and Protocol Description information indicating the application protocol and protocol headers (for example real time protocol (RTP) and / or secure real time transport protocol (SRTP) with or without specific header extensions) and payload type (e.g., H.264), used by an application service flow sent on the downlink to the UPF. This information is in addition to the internet protocol (IP) and transport layer service data flow identification information (for example, user datagram protocol (UDP) or transport control protocol (TCP) and their respective port numbers) and QoS requirements (such as the maximum or guaranteed bitrate required by the AF 208). If the PCF 206 authorizes the AF 208 request, the PCF 206 incorporates the information received from the AF 208 in a policy and charging control (PCC) rule, which is subsequently sent to the SMF 204. Alternatively, the PDU Set QoS parameters and Protocol Description may be more statically configured in the 5GS. The SMF 204 may determine a QoS Flow for the XR traffic service data flow. QoS (quality of service) defines quality parameters to be met by user plane traffic, such as a Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) and a Non-guaranteed Bit Rate (Non-GBR), and in case of PDU Set based QoS handling, one or more of the above mentioned PDU Set QoS parameters, PSER, PSDB and PSIHI. A QoS flow represents a lowest level of granularity for a traffic flow, enabling application of QoS policies and charging. The SMF 204 may send the PDU Set QoS parameters to the NG-RAN 210 and send the Protocol Description information to the PSA UPF 202. For example, the SMF 204 may instruct the PSA UPF 202 to perform PDU Set marking and may provide the PSA UPF 202 the Protocol Description indicating the protocol (e.g., RTP / SRTP), extension header(s) (e.g., RTP PDU Set header extension) and payload type (e.g., H.264) used by the service data flow. The Protocol Description may be received in the PCC rule, based on information provided by the AF 208 or by PCF local policies. The PSA UPF 202 may use the Protocol Description information and implementation rules (e.g., the PCC rule and / or PCF local policies) to detect the application protocol header and payload of downlink PDUs, determine PDU Sets and extract PDU Set information. Alternatively, PSA UPF 202 implementation procedures can be used for identifying PDU Sets even if the UPF does not receive Protocol Description Information (e.g., for proprietary application protocols other than RTP). PDU Set information sent to the NG-RAN 210 in the GTP-U header currently comprises the following: PDU Set Sequence Number; Indication of the end (or last) PDU of the PDU Set; PDU Sequence Number within a PDU Set; PDU Set Size in bytes; and PDU Set Importance. In some examples, the PDU Set Importance may identify the relative importance of a PDU Set compared to other PDU Sets within a QoS Flow. In other examples, depending on configuration, the PDU Set Importance may identify the relative importance of a PDU Set compared to other PDU Sets across QoS flows with the same Priority Level. PDU Set Importance is currently the only GTP-U parameter provided by the UPF that differentiates PDU Sets according to the type of application / media layer payload / attributes represented. For example, a different importance value can be given to a PDU carrying different PDU set types (e.g., a PDU carrying a video l-Frame versus a P-Frame). The NG-RAN may use the PDU Set Importance for PDU Set level packet discarding in the presence of congestion. Therefore, 3GPP SA2 leaves uplink PDU Set handling at the UE to 3GPP RAN groups. 3GPP SA2 has agreed that an AF can provide, within the Protocol Description, certain high-level information indicating the type of traffic a service data flow for a PDU Set identification and handling request contains. The alternative “service protocol” definitions provided by the AF are: RTP or SRTP; RTP or SRTP with RTP Header Extensions, including: RTP Header Extensions for PDU Set Marking as defined in TS 26.522

[179] ; Other RTP Header Extensions as defined RFC 8285

[189] ; RTP or SRTP without RTP Header Extensions, but together with RTP Payload Format (e.g., H.264 or H.265); RTP or SRTP with RTP Header Extensions for PDU Set Marking as defined in TS 26.522

[179] , and together with RTP Payload Format (e.g., H.264 or H.265); RTP or SRTP with other RTP Header Extensions following RFC 8285

[189] , and together with RTP Payload Format (e.g., H.264 or H.265). An application service flow (or service data flow) may be considered a flow of packets which represents an application (or service) being delivered to an end user, such as a subscriber to the application or service. The current state of the art does not define which traffic the AF would prefer to be treated as PDU Sets and which traffic the AF would prefer to be treated as individual PDUs in the case of an application service flow that contains multiple protocols, RTP streams and RTP payload formats. In addition, the AF is not able to specify for certain Protocol Descriptions what the UE or UPF should consider a PDU Set (i.e., a slice, a frame, etc.). Instead, most of the PDU set handling is determined by UPF implementation or special agreements between the 5GS operator and the application provider. Further, the AF is able to request only a single set of QoS parameters (e.g., delay budget and reliability criteria (for example, error rate)) for a given application. However, this does not fit application needs arising due to multiplexed traffic that may warrant different QoS characteristics. Therefore, DL application service flow PDUs that are classified by the UPF as belonging to a PDU Set are handled in the 5GS according to the PDU Set QoS parameters and the GTP-U header markings provided by the UPF. However, the current state of the art is limited in defining how PDUs within the same application service flow that do not belong to a PDU Set can be handled. For example, an application service flow may contain a video stream for which the UPF performs PDU Set detection and determines the GTP-U header markings. However, the same application service flow may also contain other PDUs such as RTCP PDUs (i.e., to control the RTP flow(s)), or PDUs that represent additional media components, such as an audio stream for which PDU Set classification is not appropriate or not needed. In general, the application service flow may contain a variety of PDUs that do not conform to a template, algorithm or other methodology used by the UPF to determine that a PDU belongs to a PDU Set. These individual PDUs (for example, PDUs that do not belong to a PDU set) may be multiplexed into a single service data flow, for instance using various IETF protocol multiplexing options that cover, e.g., RTP with multiple media streams, RTCP, STUN, DTLS-SRTP and WebRTC data channel. Handling PDUs in 5GS that do not belong to a PDU set has been defined in a limited way. Currently, the AF is limited to providing only Protocol Description information indicating the application protocol and protocol header (e.g., RTP / SRTP with a specific header extension) and payload type (e.g., H.264). However, the AF has the most knowledge of the application service flow. The present disclosure provides mechanisms for the provision of additional information from the AF, for optimized PDU set identification at the UPF and / or UE. For example, the present disclosure addresses the problem of how an AF can provide further, and more exact or more detailed information to the PCF about the media and media components for which PDU Set Detection is to be performed. This may particularly be the case when multiple media components are multiplexed on a single transport layer flow. The present disclosure further addresses the problem of how an AF can provide information on what constitutes PDU Sets that the UPF or UE should detect (for example, one or more of video slices; video frames; spatial layers; temporal layers, etc, in a video media component of the application flow), and what PDU Set Importance may be ascribed to each PDU Set Type (for example, to PDU Sets representing an l-Frame vs a P-Frame). In the current state of the art, the AF may provide the 5GS with a Protocol Description and PDU Set QoS parameters (e.g., PDU Set delay budget (PSDB), PDU set error rate (PSER), PDU set integrated handling indicator (PSIHI)) while the UPF performs PDU Set detection based on information configured in the UPF. However, there is nothing that links the AF provided PDU Set QoS parameters with UPF or UE PDU Set detection methodology. For example, the AF may provide PDU Set QoS parameters under the assumption that the UPF or UE will detect video frames (e.g., I-Frames, P-Frames) as PDU Sets, while the algorithm provisioned on the UPF actually detects something different as PDU Sets (e.g., video slices). In this case, the AF providing PSER, PSDB and PSIHI parameters may be inappropriate. Further, currently neither the AF, nor the UPF (for DL) or UE (for UL) would be aware of this issue of mismatch between AF provided PDU Set QoS parameters and UPF or UE PDU Set detection methodology. Identification of PDU Sets and mapping can be done in a purely implementation or configuration specific manner by the UPF without any input from the AF. In that case an independent AF is not able to explicitly provide the QoS requirements for PDU Sets and individual PDUs as it does not know how the UPF will perform the mapping to PDU Sets and QoS flows. The present disclosure provides a more exact solution for giving AF influence and visibility regarding this aspect. Furthermore, if the AF provides further, and more exact information to the PCF, this enables the PCF to provide the appropriate policies and choose the proper QoS parameters for each required QoS flow. Some embodiments disclosed herein provide an AF that provides assistance information to a UPF and / or a UE to enable PDU Set QoS aligned with application media requirements. Providing assistance information in this manner enables a more exact solution for AF influence and visibility of XR media handling within the 5GS. In some examples, the assistance information comprises information indicating that an application service flow contains a multiplexing of protocols and media streams within a single IP transport-layer service flow. In some examples, the assistance information comprises an IP 5-tuple or an IP 6-tuple to identify the application service flow. In some examples, the IP 5-tuple and / or the IP 6-tuple comprises at least one of: an IP source address; an IP destination address; a transport protocol; a source port; a destination port, or a differentiated service code point (DSCP). In one example, the AF may provide assistance information comprising information of a transport flow carrying at least one of a RTP, RTCP, session traversal utilities for NAT (STUN), datagram transport layer security (DTLS)-SRTP and / or stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) over DTLS (WebRTC data channel) protocols, with RTP multiple media streams including one or more audio and video streams. In another example, the assistance information may comprise an IP-6-tuple to identify the application flow, an overall protocol description indicating the type of protocol multiplexing that is being carried in the application flow, types of media components or individual PDUs included in the application flow and protocol description that identifies the media composition, for each media component or individual PDU. In an example, the protocol description that identifies the media composition may comprise the following information “RTP framemarking header extension for scalable media”, “RTP PDU Set header extension”, “RTP H.264 payload format”. In another example, the protocol description that identifies the media composition may comprise information of the media composition (for example, a scalable video media with spatial and / or temporal layers). In some examples, the multiple media streams may be “components” or “protocols” or “sub-flows” of the overall application service flow. In some examples, separate assistance information may be provided for each media stream and / or component. In some examples, the media components may be a video stream; an audio stream; and a haptic stream. In some examples, the individual PDUs may be at least one of a RTCP; STUN; RTCP; DTLS-SRTP; and SCTP. In some examples, the assistance information is sent from the AF to the UPF and / or UE, via the PCF and SMF. In some examples, the assistance information may be used by the PCF to determine Service Flows that the SMF maps to QoS Flows. In some examples, the SMF provides the QoS flows to the UPF and / or the UE. In some examples, the UPF and / or UE uses the assistance information to identify or help with identification of PDU Sets. In some examples, the assistance information enables the UPF and / or UE to be application-aware ir more application-aware. In some examples, the UPF and / or the UE use the assistance information to perform classification of PDU Sets and mapping PDU Sets to QoS Flows provided by the SMF. Some embodiments disclosed herein provide an AF that provides, to a UPF and / or a UE, at least one of: one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; and one or more PDU set importance. In some examples, the AF requests that the UPF and / or UE detects one or more PDU sets based on at least one of the one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; and one or more PDU set importance. The present disclosure has identified that providing at least one of a PDU set category; a PDU set type; and a PDU set importance may enable or better enable PDU Set QoS aligned with application media requirements and may enable a more exact solution for AF influence and visibility of XR media handling within the 5GS. In some examples, the PDU Set Categories, PDU Set types and PDU set importance is used to request the type of PDU set detection and processing performed in the UPF and / or the UE. In some examples, the AF may request detection of multiple PDU set categories. In some examples, the AF may request detection of multiple PDU set types. In some examples, the PDU set category is a media-type specific description of what the UPF and / or UE should detect within an application service flow. For example, the AF may request that the UPF and / or UE is to detect one or more of the following PDU Set Categories for video media contained within the application flow: Video Slice; Video Frame; Group of Video Frames and / or Pictures; Temporal Layer; and Spatial Layer. In some examples, the PDU set importance is a per-PDU Set Type designation of the PDU set importance that the AF requests be assigned to detected PDU Sets. For example, a PDU set importance is associated with each PDU set type. In some examples, the PDU Set Importance is one piece of “PDU Set Information" which is determined at the UPF and sent to the RAN via the GTP-U header. When the UPF determines that a PDU belongs to a PDU Set, it may assign a PDU set importance based on pre-configuration at the UPF and / or information received in a user plane packet from the application function. In some examples, each PDU set type is dependent on a PDU set category. In these examples, the AF provides both a PDU set category and a PDU set type and optionally a PDU set importance for each PDU set type. In this case, the PDU Set Type may be a type of PDU Set within a PDU Set Category. For example, for the “Video Frame” Category, the PDU Set Types may be at least one of: “l-Frame”; and “Dependent Frame” (e.g., P-Frame). For the “Spatial Layer” PDU Set Category, the PDU Set Types may be at least one of: “Base Layer”; “Enhancement Layer-1”; and “Enhancement Layer-2”. Alternatively, in some examples, the PDU set types may be independent of the PDU set categories. For example, the AF may not provide PDU set categories and may only provide PDU set types and optionally a PDU set importance for each PDU set type. In some examples, the PDU set category is to be determined by the UPF and / or UE when the AF does not provide the PDU set categories. For example, the AF may request that the UPF and / or UE is to detect one or more of the following PDU set types contained within the application flow: Video Slice - Region of lnterest=High; Video Slice - Region of lnterest=Medium; Video Slice - Region of lnterest=Low; Video Frame - l-Frame (Intra-coded picture); Video Frame - P-Frame (predicted picture); Video Group of Video Frames I Pictures; Video Temporal Base Layer; Video Temporal Enhancement Layer #1; Video Temporal Enhancement Layer #2; RTP / AVP Audio; and Haptic data. Tables 1-5 below show example PDU set types and PDU set importance for one or more PDU set categories, that may be requested by the AF. Table 3 below shows example PDU set types and PDU set importance for one or more PDU set categories (e.g., a combination of PDE set categories). Table 4 below shows that for some PDU set categories, there may only be one associated PDU set type. Table 5 below shows that the AF may provide a PDU set category for individual PDUs (e.g., RTCP, STUN, AVP audio, etc., all others). Tables 6 and 7 below show example PDU set types and PDU set importance when the PDU set types are independent of the PDU set categories. In the below examples, a smaller value of PDU set importance indicates a higher importance. For example, a PDU set importance of “1” Indicates a higher importance that a PDU set importance of “2” or “3”. However, it will be understood that the disclosure is not limited to a specific manner of indicating PDU set importance. PDU Set Types for the “Video Frame” PDU Set Category PDU Set Importance l-Frame 1 P-Frame 2 B-Frame 3 Table 1: PDU set types and PDU set importance for a “video frame” PDU set category. PDU Set Types for the “Temporal Layer” PDU Set Category PDU Set Importance Temporal Base Layer 1 Temporal Enhancement Layer 1 2 Temporal Enhancement Layer 2 3 Table 2: PDU set types and PDU set importance for a “temporal layer” PDU set category. PDU Set Types for the “Video Frame” and Temporal Layer Categories PDU Set Importance l-Frame, Temporal Base Layer 1 l-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 1 2 l-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 2 3 P-Frame, Temporal Base Layer 4 P-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 1 5 P-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 2 6 Table 3: PDU set types and PDU set importance for a combination of a “video frame” PDU set category and a “temporal layer” PDU set category. PDU Set Types for “AVP Audio” Category PDU Set Importance RTP / AVP Audio 3 10 Table 4: PDU set type and PDU set importance for an “AVP audio” PDU set category. PDU Set Types for “Individual PDU” Category PDU Set Importance RTCP 2 STUN 4 RTP / AVP Audio 3 All other PDUs (or unknown) 5 5 Table 5: PDU set types and PDU set importance for an “individual PDU” PDU set category. PDU Set Types PDU Set Importance l-Frame, Temporal Base Layer 1 l-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 1 2 l-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 2 3 P-Frame, Temporal Base Layer 4 P-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 1 5 P-Frame, Temporal Enhancement Layer 2 6 RTP / AVP Audio 4 Haptic data 5 RTCP 2 STUN 4 All other PDUs (or unknown) 5 Table 6: PDU set types and PDU set importance, wherein PDU set categories are not 10 provided by the AF. PDU Set Types PDU Set Importance l-Frame 1 P-Frame 2 RTP / AVP Audio 4 All other PDUs (or unknown) 5 Table 7: PDU set types and PDU set importance, wherein PDU set categories are not provided by the AF. In some examples, the AF may provide assistance information and at least one of a PDU set category, PDU set type and PDU set importance. In some examples, the AF may only provide the assistance information. In some examples, the AF may only provide at least one of the one or more PDU set categories, one or more PDU set types and one or more PDU set importance. In some examples, when the AF provides both the assistance information and at least one of a PDU set category, PDU set type and PDU set importance, the AF may indicate which media components identified in the assistance information are to be associated with which PDU set categories, PDU set types and PDU set importance. For example, if the AF indicates, in the assistance information, that an application flow contains scalable video and audio media components, the AF may also indicate at least one of the PDU Set Categories, PDU Set Types and PDU Set Importance that is to be associated with the scalable video component and / or audio media component. In some examples, the AF may provide the SMF (via the PCF) one or more PDU set QoS parameters and / or one or more QoS parameters. In some examples, the AF may provide the SMF (via the PCF) with a single set of QoS parameters for each of the PDU set categories and / or for each of the PDU set types. In some examples, the AF may provide the SMF (via the PCF) a separate set of QoS parameters for each of the PDU set categories and / or for each of the PDU set types. For example, the AF may request that the QoS parameters (e.g., PSER-1, PSDB-1, PSIHI-1) for the “Video Slice” PDU Set category and / or PDU set type is different from the QoS parameters (e.g., PSER-2, PSDB-2, PSIHI-2) for “Video Frame” PDU set category and / or PDU set type. Alternatively, in some examples, the PCF may configure one or more PDU set QoS parameters and / or one or more QoS parameters. Alternatively, in some examples, the SMF may configure one or more PDU set QoS parameters and / or one or more QoS parameters. In some examples, the SMF may determine a QoS flow for each of the QoS parameters associated with at least one of the PDU set categories and PDU set types. The SMF may provide the UE and / or UPF with the QoS flows. In some examples, the UPF and / or UE may determine the PDU set category and / or PDU set type for received PDUs. For example, the UPF and / or UE may determine PDU sets for PDUs, based on the received PDU set categories and / or PDU set types. In some examples, the UPF and / or UE maps the one or more PDU sets (that have been determined based on the one or more PDU set categories and / or PDU set types) to a QoS flow corresponding to the same PDU set category and / or PDU set type. In some examples, the AF may request, to the SMF, that multiple PDU sets (based on one or more PDU set categories and / or PDU set types) are to be mapped to a single QoS flow. In some examples, some packets within an application service flow, such as RTP packets carrying video payload, can be treated as PDU sets in the 5GS using the PDU set QoS parameters, namely PSDB, PSER, PSIHI. In some examples, other packets within the application service flow, such as RTCP, STUN or DTLS packets, do not naturally form PDU sets and can be treated as individual PDUs based on “traditional” QoS parameters, such as PDB and PER. In some examples, the 5GS (UE in the Uplink and UPF in the Downlink) may map the PDU sets to a specific QoS flow with QoS parameters PSDB, PSER, PSHI and individual PDUs to another QoS flow with QoS parameters PDB and PER, based on the request from the AF. Alternatively, individual PDUs may be associated with a PDU Set with an assigned PDU set importance, that distinguishes these PDUs from PDUs that belong to a PDU Set due to media components conveyed by the PDUs (see e.g., Table 5 above). In some examples, for each PDU Set Category and / or PDU set type that may be mapped by the UPF and / or UE to a different QoS Flow, the AF may provide at least one of: (1) QoS parameters PSDB, PSER and PSIHI for service data units (SDUs) associated by a IP flow 6-tuple, that matches the criteria identified by the protocol description comprised in the assistance information; and / or (2) QoS parameters PDB and PER for SDUs associated by a IP flow 6-tuple, that do not match the criteria identified by the protocol description comprised in the assistance information (for example, for the case when separate QoS flows are used for PDUs that belong to PDU Sets and PDUs that do not). Based on AF requested criteria, the PCF may provide policies to the SMF. If the AF provides both enumerated QoS parameters (1) and (2) above, the SMF may request the UPF and / or UE to map SDUs that match the criteria identified by the protocol description to QoS Flow 1 and request that the SDUs that do not match the criteria identified by the protocol description to QoS Flow 2. If the AF requests a single delay budget and error rate for all the PDUs, then the UPF and / or UE may map all the SDUs to a single QoS Flow. When multiplexed media and individual PDUs, within a same application service flow, are mapped to the same QoS flow, differentiated PDU set handling is provided based on the PDU Set Importance. FIG.3 shows an example of PDU set handling / determination at the UPF and / or UE. At S301, the AF 308 sends information, to the PCF 306, of at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; and one or more PDU set importance. In some examples, the AF 308 sends one or more PDU set QoS parameters to the PCF 306. In some examples, the AF 308 sends a separate set of PDU set QoS parameters for each of the PDU set categories and / or PDU set types. In some examples, the AF 308 sends a single set of PDU set QoS parameters for each of the PDU set categories and / or PDU set types. In some examples, the AF 308 sends this information to the PCF 306 via an NEF. At S302, the PCF 306 creates one or more policies to send to the SMF 304. In some examples, the one or more policies are based on information of at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; one or more PDU set importance; and one or more PDU set QoS parameters. In some examples, the PCF 306 incorporates the information of at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; one or more PDU set importance; and one or more PDU set QoS parameters in the one or more policies which are to be subsequently sent to the SMF 204. In some examples, the one or more policies are one or more PCC rules. In some examples, the one or more QoS parameters are QoS parameters received from the AF 308. In some examples, the PCF 306 configures the QoS parameters. At S303, the PCF 306 sends the one or more policies to the SMF 304. At S304, the SMF 304 creates one or more QoS flows. In some examples, the SMF 304 creates one or more QoS flows based on the one or more policies received from the PCF 306. In some examples, the SMF 304 may determine a QoS flow for each of the QoS parameters associated with the PDU set categories and / or PDU set types. In some examples, the SMF 304 creates one or more QoS flows based on the QoS parameters configured by the AF 308. In some examples, the SMF 304 creates one or more QoS flows based on the QoS parameters configured by the PCF 306. In some examples, the SMF 304 configures QoS parameters. In some examples, the SMF 304 creates one or more QoS flows based on the QoS parameters configured by the SMF 304. At S305a, the SMF 304 sends, to the UPF 302, information of at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; one or more PDU set importance; and one or more QoS flows. At S305b, the SMF 304 sends, to the UE 300, information of at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; one or more PDU set importance; and one or more QoS flows. At S306a, the UPF 302 determines one or more PDU sets and maps the one or more PDU sets to one or more QoS flows. In some examples, the UPF 302 determines one or more PDU sets based on at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; and one or more PDU set importance. In some examples, the UPF 302 maps the one or more PDU sets (based on the received PDU set categories and / or PDU set types) to a QoS flow corresponding to the same one or more PDU set category and / or one or more PDU set type. At S306b, the UE 300 determines one or more PDU sets and maps the one or more PDU sets to one or more QoS flows. In some examples, the UE 300 determines one or more PDU sets based on at least one of: assistance information; one or more PDU set categories; one or more PDU set types; and one or more PDU set importance. In some examples, the UE 300 maps the one or more PDU sets (based on the received PDU set categories and / or PDU set types) to a QoS flow corresponding to the same one or more PDU set category and / or one or more PDU set type. The present disclosure illustrates how the 5GS can be made aware, by the AF, of the packets / PDUs within a multiplexed application service flow that the UPF and / or UE should identify and handle as PDU sets and assign a PDU set importance. For example, providing assistance information to the UE and / or UPF provides the UE and / or UPF additional information from the AF, enabling optimised PDU set identification. Embodiments herein further allow the AF to influence how the 5GS should treat other packets (for example individual PDUs) within an application service flow. For example, individual PDUs may be mapped to a separate QoS flow or the same QoS flow as PDUs that convey a media component. The present disclosure enables the 5GS to dynamically determine the appropriate PDU set handling fora given application service flow, rather than determining PDU sets based on static configuration, which may not suit all applications. Furthermore, the present disclosure enables the AF to influence the latency and reliability, based on application needs. The PDU set importance determined by the application layer may be used to determine PDU set handling in the RAN or UE. With the additional information at the UPF and / or UE (for example, at least one of: the assistance information; the PDU set categories; the PDU set types; and the PDU set importance), PDU Set identification can be improved and a higher granularity with respect to PDU Set allocation can be achieved. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a control apparatus 400 for controlling a function of the access network (e.g., a 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN illustrated in FIG. 1) illustrated on FIG. 1. The control apparatus 400 may comprise at least one random access memory (RAM) 411a, at least on read only memory (ROM) 411b, at least one processor 412, 413 and a network interface 414. The at least one processor 412, 413 may be coupled to the RAM 411a and the ROM 411b. The at least one processor 412, 413 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 415. Execution of the software code 415 may for example cause the apparatus to perform operations for controlling a function of the access network. The software code 415 may be stored in the ROM 411b. The control apparatus 400 may be interconnected with another control apparatus 400 for controlling another function of the 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN. In some embodiments, each function of the 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN is deployed or hosted on a control apparatus 400. In alternative embodiments, two or more functions of the 5G-RAN or the NG-RAN may share a control apparatus. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a communication device 500, such as the UE illustrated on FIG. 1. The communication device 500 may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples of a communication device 500 comprise a user equipment, a mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or what is known as a ’smart phone’, a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), a personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, a machine-type communications (MTC) device, an Internet of things (loT) type communication device or any combinations of these or the like. The communication device 500 may comprise a transceiver for transmitting and / or receiving, for example, wireless signals carrying communications, for example radio signals. The communications may be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia data, machine data and so on. The communication device 500 may receive wireless signals (e.g., radio signals) over an air or radio interface 507 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit wireless signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In FIG. 5 transceiver is designated schematically by block 506. The transceiver 506 may comprise, for example, a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device and may comprise one or more antenna elements. The antenna arrangement may be a multi-input multi output (MIMO) antenna. The communication device 500 may be provided with at least one processor 501, at least one memory ROM 502a, at least one RAM 502b and other possible components 503 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access networks (e.g., the 5G-RAN or NG-RAN illustrated in FIG. 1) and other communication devices. The at least one processor 501 is coupled to the RAM 502b and the ROM 502a. The at least one processor 501 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 508. The software code 508 may for example allow to perform one or more operations of the communication device 500. The software code 508 may be stored in the ROM 502a. The processor, the ROM, and the RAM, the transceiver and other circuitry of the communication device (e.g., a modem) can be provided on a circuit board, in chipsets, or in a system on chip. This circuit board, chipsets or system on chip is denoted by reference 504. The communication device 500 may optionally have a user interface such as key pad 505, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof or the like. Optionally one or more of a display, a speaker and a microphone may be provided depending on the type of the communication device. Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method according to an example. The flow chart of Figure 6 is viewed from the perspective of an apparatus. For example, the apparatus may comprise an application function. As shown at S601, the method comprises providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. Figure 7 is a flow chart of a method according to an example. The flow chart of Figure 7 is viewed from the perspective of an apparatus. In some examples, the apparatus may comprise a UPF. In some examples, the apparatus may comprise a UE. As shown at S701, the method comprises receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow. At S702, the method comprises identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information. FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of non-volatile memory media 800a (e.g., computer disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD)) and 800b (e.g., universal serial bus (USB) memory stick) storing instructions and / or parameters 802 which when executed by a processor allow the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the method of FIGS. 6 and / or 7. It is understood that references in the above to various network functions (e.g., to an AMF, an SMF, TNF etc.) may comprise apparatus that perform at least some of the functionality associated with those network functions. Further, an apparatus comprising a network function may comprise a virtual network function instance of that network function. It should be understood that the apparatuses may comprise or be coupled to other units or modules etc., such as radio parts or radio heads, used in or for transmission and / or reception. Although the apparatuses have been described as one entity, different modules and memory may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities. It is noted that whilst some embodiments have been described in relation to 5G networks, similar principles can be applied in relation to other networks and communication systems. Therefore, although certain embodiments were described above by way of example with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, embodiments may be applied to any other suitable forms of communication systems than those illustrated and described herein. It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements. In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuitry, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.” This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device. The embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as in the processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or program, also called program product, including software routines, applets and / or macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they comprise program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may comprise one or more computerexecutable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of it. Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as in the FIGs may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The physical media is a non-transitory media. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM). The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may comprise one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), FPGA, gate level circuits and processors based on multi core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Various example embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate. The scope of protection sought for various example embodiments of the disclosure is set out by the independent claims. The example embodiments and features thereof, if any, described in this disclosure that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various example embodiments of the disclosure. The foregoing description has provided, by way of non-limiting and illustrative examples, a full and informative description of the various example embodiments of this disclosure. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings will still fall within the various example embodiments of the disclosure as set forth in the claims. By way of non-limiting and illustrative example, there is a further example embodiment comprising a combination of one or more example embodiments with any of the other example embodiments previously discussed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:means for providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for providing, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of:information of one or more protocol data unit set categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; orinformation of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 or claim 3, wherein at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types is provided for determining one or more protocol data unit sets.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for providing protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the protocol data unit set types, to a policy control function, for mapping the one or more protocol data unit set categories or the one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 2 to 5 wherein the apparatus comprises means for providing, to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility.

7. An apparatus comprising:means for receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; andmeans for identifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising means for receiving, from the application function, at least one of:information of one or more protocol set data categories for each of the one or more media streams in the application service flow; orinformation of one or more protocol data unit set types comprised in the application service flow and information of a protocol data unit set importance for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types indicates that one or more protocol data unit set types is associated with one or more protocol data unit set categories.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 or claim 9, further comprising means for determining one or more protocol data unit sets based on at least one of the information of the one or more protocol unit data set categories or the information of the one or more protocol data unit set types.

11. The apparatus of any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for receiving information of one or more protocol data unit set quality of service parameters for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus comprises means for mapping one or more protocol data unit set categories or one or more protocol data unit set types to one or more quality of service flows, wherein the quality of service flows are associated with the quality of service parameters provided for each of the one or more protocol data unit set categories or for each of the one or more protocol data unit set types.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the apparatus comprises means for receiving, from the application function, at least one of the assistance information, information of the one or more protocol data unit set categories, information of the one or more protocol data unit set types and information of the protocol data unit set importance, via one or more of a policy control function or a system management facility.

14. A method comprising:providing assistance information to at least one of a user plane function or a user equipment, for assisting protocol data unit set identification, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow.

15. A method comprising:receiving assistance information from an application function, wherein the assistance information indicates that an application service flow comprises one or more protocols and one or more media streams within a same internet protocol transport-layer data flow; andidentifying one or more protocol data unit sets based on the assistance information.Application No: GB2400335.2Claims searched: 1-15Examiner: Contract Unit ExaminerDate of search: 9 July 2024Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17Documents considered to be relevant:Category Relevant to claims Identity of document and passage or figure of particular relevance X 1-15 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT [3GPP], vol 3GPP SA 2, 2023, DEVARI CHANDRAMOULI ET AL, "Update TS23.201 for PDU Set and PDU Handling" URL: https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / tsg sa / WG2 Arch / TSGS2 156E Electronic 2023-04 / Docs / S2-2305216.zip page 1; 9 X 1, 2, 6-8, 11, 14, 15 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), vol 3GPP SA 2, 2023, DIMITRIOS KARAMPATSIS ET AL, "Addressing IP Version mismatch for RTP packets with RTP header extension" URL: https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / tsg sa / WG2 Arch / TSGS2 159 Xiamen 2023 -10 / Docs / S2-2310912.zip pages 1-3 A 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), vol 3GPP SA 2, 2023, MARCO SPINI ET AL, "Update on support of UL PDU Set based QoS handling" URL: https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / tsg sa / WG2 Arch / TSGS2 160 Chicago 202 3-1 l / Docs / S2-2312954.zip the whole document A - 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), vol 3GPP SA 2, 2022, MARCO SPINI ET AL, "KI#4&5: Evaluation and Conclusion" URL: https: / / www.3gpp.org / ftp / tsg sa / WG2 Arch / TSGS2 153E Electronic 2022-10 / Docs / S2-2208568,zip the whole documentCategories:X Document indicating lack of novelty or inventive step A Document indicating technological background and / or state of the art. Y Document indicating lack of inventive step if P Document published on or after the declared priority date but combined with one or more other documents of before the filing date of this invention. same category. & Member of the same patent family E Patent document published on or after, but with priority date earlier than, the filing date of this application.Field of Search:Search of GB, EP. WO &US patent documents classified in the following areas of the UKCX :Worldwide search of patent documents classified in the following areas of the IPC H04L; H04WThe following online and other databases have been used in the preparation of this search reportInternational Classification:Subclass Subgroup Valid From H04L 0047 / 24 01 / 01 / 2022 H04L 0047 / 2416 01 / 01 / 2022 H04L 0065 / 80 01 / 01 / 2022 H04W 0028 / 02 01 / 01 / 2009 H04W 0028 / 24 01 / 01 / 2009

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