Uplink transmission using PDU set-based priority within a QOS flow

Abstract

A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) and method are disclosed for transmitting uplink protocol data units (PDUs) associated with quality of service (QoS) flows having different priority levels on a per-PDU basis. The WTRU receives a WTRU packet data unit (PDU) set detection rule from a network entity, such as a session management function (SMF). The WTRU receives PDUs associated with quality of service (QoS) flows for uplink transmission from a higher layer. The WTRU determines a priority level for the received PDUs, regardless of their associated QoS, based on the WTRU PDU set detection rule, and determines a data radio bearer (DRB) or logical channel on which to transmit the PDUs based on the determined priority level. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 430,880, filed December 7, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Considerable effort is being directed towards the development of improved telecommunications equipment and services. In wireless communications, quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) are key to prioritizing communications and ensuring accurate and timely delivery of information based on rated or indicated importance.

[0003] In some network designs, a priority level associated with a 5G QoS characteristic indicates the priority when scheduling resources between QoS flows. Each QoS flow may be associated with a QFI. For each QFI, the QoS profile may indicate a 5QI value and a priority level associated with the QFI. When a priority level is included, it overrides the priority level associated with the 5QI. In other words, the priority level overrides the priority level associated with the 5QI. The just-mentioned "overriding" priority level is associated with a QoS flow and indicates the priority of the QoS flow relative to other QoS flows.

[0004] In a scenario where QoS flows carry packet data units (PDUs) of various importance, a radio access network (RAN) should not treat all PDUs of a QoS flow as having the same priority level. From the perspective of user QoE, it would be better if the RAN prioritized PDUs with relatively higher importance values. In other words, when making a decision about which PDUs to drop due to congestion, it would be preferable for the RAN to drop low-importance PDUs of different QoS flows rather than dropping only PDUs from a low-priority QoS flow.

[0005] In one model, a QoS flow is mapped onto only one data radio bearer (DRB) at a time in the UL. Therefore, all UL PDUs of a QoS flow will receive the same forwarding treatment and a common prioritization with respect to what radio resources are allocated to each PDU. The approach just described may be sufficient, taking into account that each packet of a QoS flow generally has the same characteristics, e.g., packet delay budget. However, with the introduction of the concept of PDU sets and the fact that individual PDU sets sent in a QoS flow may vary in importance, it may be desirable to define and / or associate different priority levels for PDUs within the same QoS downlink / uplink flow, as explained further below. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to one aspect, if PDU set-based QoS handling is used, a PDU Set Importance to Priority Level Mapping Rule may be signaled to the (R)AN and, if received, takes precedence over the priority level associated with the QoS flow and is to be used to assign priority levels to PDUs whose GTP-U headers contain a PDU Set Importance value. Because the just-described approach takes into account flow priorities and PDU Set Importance, lower layers (e.g., RLC) can remain largely unaware of the PDU Set Importance. In other words, higher layers can be configured such that the flow priorities and the importance of new PDU Sets are taken into account when determining the priorities for and mapping to logical channels.

[0007] According to an embodiment, when a QoS flow carries PDU sets, a PDU set importance parameter may be used to identify the importance of one or more PDU sets within the QoS flow. The PDU set importance parameter may then be used by the network or user equipment (UE), interchangeably referred to herein as a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), when determining what resources to allocate to each packet. This enables the WTRU to allocate resources for uplink transmission of PDUs to different DRBs based on PDU priority levels within the same QoS flow. Thus, according to an embodiment disclosed herein, an enhancement enables the service data adaptation (SDAP) layer of the WTRU to determine different priority levels for each UL PDU of the QoS flow. The priority level determined by the SDAP layer may be based on the importance of the detected PDU sets. One advantage of the just-mentioned enhancement is that the WTRU will be able to support certain procedures at the access stratum layer (e.g., logical channel prioritization, multiplexing, scheduling) that may result in proper prioritization and proper allocation of more resources to PDUs that are part of a higher priority PDU set and that are part of a PDU set that share other QoS requirements, such as packet delay budget, that can still be mapped to the same QoS flow.

[0008] The presently described advantages and other advantages may be achieved in a device and method for communicating in a wireless network, including a WTRU receiving packet data unit (PDU) set detection rules from a network, receiving PDUs associated with QoS flows from upper layers for uplink transmission, determining priority levels of the received packet data units (PDUs) regardless of their associated QoS based on the PDU set detection rules, and allocating resources for uplink transmission of the PDUs based on the determined priority levels, including allocating different data radio bearers (DRBs) for PDUs associated with the same QoS flows. In one embodiment, the PDU set detection rules are received from a network entity, such as a session management function (SMF), based on a triggering event. Determining the priority level of the PDUs may be based on the received PDU set detection rules and a PDU set importance value / indication associated with the PDUs to be transmitted.

[0009] In another embodiment, when a QoS flow carries PDU sets, a PDU set importance parameter may be used to identify the importance of one or more PDU sets within the QoS flow. The PDU set importance parameter may then be used by the RAN node to decide whether to schedule and / or what resources to allocate for each DL packet. In some cases, the RAN node may decide not to allocate any resources to DL packets. For example, during periods of congestion, the RAN may decide not to transmit DL packets that have a relatively low priority compared to other packets of the QoS flow that need to be transmitted. Dropping PDUs with low importance across multiple QoS flows is better from a QoE perspective than dropping many PDUs from lower priority QoS flows, and this aspect may result in an overall improved user experience. According to an embodiment, a method and device for downlink communication in a wireless network, including a network node, e.g., a base station, includes receiving a PDU set importance rule associated with a QoS profile for a PDU session from an SMF, receiving a PDU for downlink transmission, the PDU received in a GTP User plane (GTP-U) message including a header from a user plane function (UPF), determining a priority level of the packet data unit (PDU) based on the PDU set importance rule and information in the header of the GTP-U message including the PDU, and scheduling DL transmission of the PDU based on the determined priority level. Determining the priority level may include receiving the GTP-U message including the header and the PDU, inspecting the header for a PDU set importance value, and comparing the PDU set importance value to a priority mapping rule set of the PDU set importance rule.

[0010] Variations and embodiments are disclosed that use the PDU set importance parameter to achieve the just mentioned and other advantages as will be explained in more detail later in this specification.

[0011] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements and in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1A] 1 is a system diagram of an example communication system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 1B] 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU (Wireless Transmit / Receive Unit) that may be used within the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment. [Figure 1C] 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example RAN (Radio Access Network) and an example CN (Core Network) that may be used within the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment. [Figure 1D] 1B is a system diagram illustrating a further exemplary RAN and a further exemplary CN that may be used within the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates a message sequence diagram for wireless communication in a network using PDU-based priority levels and PDU set importance values ​​in downlink QoS flows according to one or more example embodiments. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates a flow diagram for a method for a base station to communicate in a wireless network using PDU-based priority set priority rules, according to an embodiment. [Figure 4]1 is a message sequence diagram of a method and apparatus for wireless communications using priority levels based on PDU set detection in uplink QoS flows in accordance with one or more example embodiments. [Figure 5] 1 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for a WTRU to include priority levels based on PDU set detection in an uplink QoS flow according to an example embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communication system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communication system 100 may be a multiple-access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcasts, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communication system 100 may enable the multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communication system 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S-OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), etc.

[0014] 1A, communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (CN) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, although it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be referred to as a station (STA), may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals, and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d may be referred to interchangeably as a UE.

[0015] Further, the communications system 100 may include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communications networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, a next generation NodeB, e.g., a gNodeB (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be understood that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0016] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may further include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as, for example, a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and / or base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies and may be referred to as a cell (not shown). The frequencies may be licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for wireless services over a particular geographic area, which may be relatively fixed or may change over time. Furthermore, a cell may be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in a desired spatial direction.

[0017] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., RF (radio frequency), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, IR (infrared), UV (ultraviolet), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable RAT (radio access technology).

[0018] More specifically, as mentioned above, the communication system 100 may be a multiple-access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as, for example, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using, for example, wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA+ (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed ​​Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed ​​Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0019] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro), and may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA).

[0020] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may establish the air interface 116 using NR and may implement a radio technology such as NR radio access.

[0021] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement both LTE radio access and NR radio access, e.g., using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., eNBs and gNBs).

[0022] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a wireless technology such as, for example, IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GERAN (GSM EDGE), etc.

[0023] 1A may be, for example, a wireless router, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, or an access point and may utilize any suitable RAT to facilitate wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as, for example, a business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, etc. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as, for example, IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as, for example, IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish a picocell or a femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 through the CN 106.

[0024] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106 and may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, application, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have various quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as, for example, different throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, etc. The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, prepaid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as, for example, user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A , it will be understood that the RAN 104 and / or CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs employing the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, the CN 106, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may utilize NR radio technology, may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) that employs GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0025] Additionally, the CN 106 may serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include a circuit-switched telephone network providing plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols such as, for example, transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and / or IP in the TCP / IP (internet protocol) Internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the network 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs that may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0026] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with separate wireless networks over separate wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with a base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with a base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802.11 radio technology.

[0027] 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include, among other things, a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a GPS (Global Positioning System) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138. It will be understood that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the above elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0028] The processor 118 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other function that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to a transceiver 120, which may be coupled to a transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be understood that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0029] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit or receive signals to a base station (e.g., base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive, for example, IR, UV, or visible light signals. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be understood that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0030] 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO techniques. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0031] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate signals to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate signals received by the transmit / receive element 122. As mentioned above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, for example, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers to enable the WTRU 102 to communicate according to multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11.

[0032] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to and may receive user input data through a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, and / or a display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). Additionally, the processor 118 may output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. Furthermore, the processor 118 may access information and store data in any suitable type of memory, such as non-removable memory 130 and / or removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information and store data in memory that is not physically located in the WTRU 102, such as in a server or host computer (not shown).

[0033] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134 and may be configured to distribute and / or control power to other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any device suitable for providing power to the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry batteries (e.g., NiCd (nickel cadmium), NiZn (nickel zinc), NiMH (nickel metal hydride), Li-ion (lithium ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, etc.

[0034] Additionally, the processor 118 may be coupled to a GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to or instead of information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) over the air interface 116 and / or determine its location based on the timing of signals being received from two or more neighboring base stations. It will be understood that the WTRU 102 may obtain location information through any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0035] Additionally, the processor 118 may be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photos and / or videos), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, a Bluetooth module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, etc. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensor may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a Hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, a direction sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor, a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor, and the like.

[0036] The WTRU 102 may include a full-duplex radio where transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception)) may be parallel and / or simultaneous. The full-duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference, either by hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing by a processor (e.g., by a separate processor (not shown) or by the processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio where transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or DL ​​(e.g., for reception)) may be half-duplex.

[0037] 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106, according to an embodiment. As mentioned above, the RAN 104 may employ E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. Additionally, the RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0038] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c, although it will be understood that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, for example, the eNode-B 160a may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a.

[0039] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, etc. As shown in FIG. 1C , the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with each other via an X2 interface.

[0040] 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While the above-mentioned elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be understood that any of the just-mentioned elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0041] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may act as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, activating / deactivating bearers, selecting a particular serving gateway during initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, etc. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0042] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface. In general, the SGW 164 may route and forward user data packets to the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions such as, for example, anchoring the user plane during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available to the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing the context of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, etc.

[0043] The SGW 164 may be connected to a PGW 166 that may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to a packet-switched network, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communication between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0044] The CN 106 may facilitate communication with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communication between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional landline communication devices. For example, the CN 106 may include or communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. Furthermore, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0045] Although the WTRU is described in Figures 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is expected that in certain exemplary embodiments, such a terminal may use a wired communication interface (e.g., temporarily or permanently) with the communication network.

[0046] In an exemplary embodiment, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0047] A WLAN in infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and out of the BSS. Traffic to a STA originating from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and be delivered to the STA. Traffic originating from a STA to a destination outside the BSS may be sent to the AP for delivery to the respective destination. Traffic between STAs within a BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where a source STA may send traffic to the AP, and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. Traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. Peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) a source and destination STA via a direct link setup (DLS). In one exemplary embodiment, the DLS may use 802.11e DLS or 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and STAs within or using the IBSS (e.g., all STAs) may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication is sometimes referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" mode of communication.

[0048] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operation, an AP may transmit beacons on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., a 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically configured width. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In a typical embodiment, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented in an 802.11 system, for example. With CSMA / CA, STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit in a given BSS at any given time.

[0049] For example, a HT (high throughput) STA may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication by combining a 20 MHz primary channel with adjacent or non-adjacent 20 MHz channels to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0050] A Very High Throughput (VHT) STA may support channels of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz width. A 40 MHz and / or 80 MHz channel may be constructed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be constructed by combining eight contiguous 20 MHz channels or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, sometimes referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, after channel encoding, the data may proceed to a segment parser, which may split the data into two streams. IFFT (inverse fast Fourier transform) processing and time-domain processing may be performed on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped onto two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by the transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the operations for the 80+80 configuration described above may be reversed and the combined data may be sent to the MAC (Media Access Control).

[0051] Sub-1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. The operating bandwidths of the channels and carriers are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah compared to those used in 802.11n and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, while 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to an exemplary embodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communication (MTC), such as MTC devices in macro coverage areas. MTC devices may have limited capabilities, including support (e.g., only support) for limited and / or limited bandwidths. An MTC device may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (eg, to maintain a very long battery life).

[0052] A WLAN system that may support multiple channels and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, includes a channel that may be designated as a primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by the STA that supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode among all STAs operating in the BSS. In an 802.11ah example, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for a STA (e.g., an MTC-type device) that supports (e.g., only supports) the 1 MHz mode, even if the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or NAV (Network Allocation Vector) setting may depend on the state of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (that only supports a 1 MHz mode of operation) transmitting to the AP, then all available frequency bands may be considered busy even if most of the available frequency bands remain idle.

[0053] In the United States, the available frequency bands that may be used by 802.11ah are 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In South Korea, the available frequency bands are 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz, depending on the country code.

[0054] 1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106, according to an embodiment. As mentioned above, the RAN 104 may employ NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. Additionally, the RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0055] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c, although it will be understood that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement MIMO techniques. For example, the gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit and / or receive signals to the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c. Thus, for example, the gNB 180a may use multiple antennas to transmit and / or receive wireless signals to the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation techniques. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of the just-mentioned component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum, while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) techniques. For example, the WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from the gNBs 180a and 180b (and / or 180c).

[0056] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for separate transmissions, separate cells, and / or separate portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframes or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., including various numbers of OFDM symbols and / or various absolute time lengths).

[0057] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without accessing another RAN (e.g., eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, etc.). In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as mobility anchor points. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in unlicensed bands. In a non-standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate / connect with a gNB 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating / connecting with another RAN, such as, for example, an eNode-B 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In a non-standalone configuration, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may act as mobility anchors for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput in serving the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0058] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, network slicing support, data center (DC), interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data to User Plane Functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information to Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, etc. The UPFs 184 may be configured to perform PDU-based priority level processing for uplink QoS flows as described herein. As shown in FIG. 1D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with each other via an Xn interface.

[0059] 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. The SMF 183 may be configured to perform PDU-based priority level processing in embodiments of UL QoS flows as described herein. While the above-mentioned elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be understood that any of the just-mentioned elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0060] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N2 interface and may act as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, supporting network slicing (e.g., handling sessions of separate packet data units (PDUs) with separate requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, managing registration areas, terminating non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, etc. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b to customize CN support for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the type of service being used for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, separate network slices may be established for separate use cases, such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services related to MTC access, and the like. The AMFs 182a, 182b may provide control plane functionality for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) employing other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies, such as WiFi.

[0061] The SMFs 183a, 183b may be connected to the AMFs 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via an N11 interface. Additionally, the SMFs 183a, 183b may be connected to the UPFs 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via an N4 interface. The SMFs 183a, 183b may select and control the UPFs 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPFs 184a, 184b. The SMFs 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and assigning UE IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notification, and the like. The PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP-based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0062] The UPFs 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N3 interface and may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to a packet-switched network such as the Internet 110 to facilitate communication between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPFs 184, 184b may perform other functions such as, for example, routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, etc.

[0063] The CN 106 may facilitate communication with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include or communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) server) that acts as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. Furthermore, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to the local DNs 185a, 185b through the UPFs 184a, 184b via an N3 interface to the UPFs 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPFs 184a, 184b and the DNs 185a, 185b.

[0064] 1A-1D and the corresponding descriptions thereof, one or more or all of the functions described herein in connection with one or more of the WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a-b, eNode-Bs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a-b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more or all of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functionality.

[0065] The emulation device may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator's network environment. For example, one or more emulation devices may perform one or more, or all, functions while fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communications network to test other devices in the communications network. One or more emulation devices may perform one or more, or all, functions while temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communications network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for testing purposes and / or may perform testing using over-the-air (OTA) wireless communications.

[0066] The one or more emulation devices may perform one or more functions, inclusive, while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communications network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in testing scenarios in a testing laboratory and / or in an undeployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communications network to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communication via RF circuitry (which may include, e.g., one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0067] As used herein, the terms "RAN," "RAN node," "gNB," and "base station" are non-limiting examples that may be referred to interchangeably. Additionally, the terms "packet" and "protocol data unit (PDU)" may also be used interchangeably in this disclosure describing exemplary embodiments. The following description of specific examples is provided for an improved understanding of the disclosed embodiments, and the embodiments are not limited to the specific examples provided.

[0068] With regard to QoS in the downlink, the UPF allocates downlink packets to QoS flows based on rules configured by the previously referenced user plane function (UPF) and further configured by the previously described session management function (SMF). QoS flows are identified by a QoS Flow ID (QFI). The QFI is conveyed from the UPF to the RAN in the encapsulation header of messages. The (R)AN will map PDUs from a QoS flow to access-specific resources based on the QFI and associated QoS profile. The QoS profile associated with a QFI is typically configured in the RAN by the SMF. Typically, the SMF configures the UPF to discover which QoS flow a downlink packet maps to, and the SMF configures the RAN with information about the required forwarding treatment for each QoS flow.

[0069] In the example fifth-generation (5G) model, each QoS flow is associated with a 5QI value, which translates into forwarding treatment characteristics in terms of a 5G QI called "5QI." The 5QI is a scalar used as a reference to 5G QoS characteristics related to access node-specific parameters (e.g., scheduling weight, admission threshold, queue management threshold, link layer protocol configuration, etc.) that control the QoS forwarding treatment for the QoS flow. Each 5QI value may translate into the following characteristics used in the DL that determine packet forwarding treatment: resource type (non-guaranteed bit rate (GBR), GBR, delay-critical GBR), priority level, packet delay budget (including core network packet delay budget), packet error rate, averaging window (only for GBR and delay-critical GBR resource types), and maximum data burst volume (only for delay-critical GBR resource type). The translation of the 5QI to the above-listed characteristics is often based on a mapping table.

[0070] When configuring the UPF, the SMF sends a packet forwarding control protocol (PFCP) message with an N4 rule to the UPF using the N4 interface. The PFCP message may include a packet detection rule (PDR) ID. The PDR, identified by the PDR ID, describes how the UPF can detect a certain type of application traffic in the downlink. For example, the PDR may include an IP packet filter set or an application identifier. The application identifier is an index to a set of application detection rules configured in the UPF. The PFCP message may include a QoS enforcement rule (QER) ID. Each QER may include a QoS flow ID (QFI) that the UPF should include when forwarding downlink packets to RAN nodes and other UPFs. When the UPF detects traffic that matches the PDR, the UPF will use the QFI included in the QER.

[0071] To configure the RAN node, the SMF sends the QoS profile for the PDU session to the RAN node. For example, the QoS profile is sent to the RAN node via an N2 message via the access and mobility management function (AMF). The QoS profile can configure QoS flows for the PDU session. Each QoS flow is associated with a QFI. For each QFI, the QoS profile can indicate a 5QI value and a priority level associated with the QFI. If a priority level is included, it overrides the priority level associated with the 5QI. In other words, the priority level overrides the priority level associated with the 5QI in the mapping table.

[0072] The priority level associated with a 5G QoS characteristic indicates the priority when scheduling resources between QoS flows, with the lowest priority level value corresponding to the highest priority. The priority level may be used to distinguish between QoS flows of the same WTRU and may also be used to distinguish between QoS flows from different WTRUs. In case of congestion, when it is not possible to satisfy all QoS requirements for one or more QoS flows, the priority level is used to select for which QoS flow the QoS requirements are prioritized. In case of no congestion, the priority level should be used to define the resource allocation between QoS flows.

[0073] A PDU set for packets delivered from the UPF to the RAN node is a PDU. As mentioned earlier, the concept of a PDU set has recently been introduced and defined. A PDU set consists of one or more PDUs generated at the application level, carrying a payload for one unit of information (e.g., a frame or a video slice for an XRM service). In some implementations, all PDUs in a PDU set are required by the application layer to use the corresponding unit of information. In other implementations, the application layer can still recover part of the information unit when some PDUs are missing.

[0074] To support PDU set handling in 5G systems, PDU set-related information that can be identified by the UPF includes the PDU set sequence number, the end of the PDU set, the PDU sequence number within the PDU set, the size of the PDU set, and, in this embodiment, the importance of the PDU set. The PDU set information can be sent by the UPF to the RAN node via a general packet radio service tunneling protocol unit (GTP-U) header of a user plane packet. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the RAN node can perform PDU set-based QoS handling based on the PDU set QoS parameters received via the control plane and the PDU set information received via the user plane in the GTP-U header, as described further below. Furthermore, as described in the following embodiments, the PDU set importance parameter can be used to identify the importance of a PDU set within a QoS flow, for example, the RAN can use it for PDU set-level packet discarding in the presence of congestion.

[0075] A service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer in the WTRU maps QoS flows to data radio bearers (DRBs) in the uplink (UL). One or more QoS flows may be mapped onto one DRB; prior to the presently disclosed embodiments, one QoS flow was mapped onto only one DRB at a time in the UL.

[0076] Downlink Data-Related Issues. As explained above, the priority associated with a QoS flow indicates the priority of the QoS flow relative to other QoS flows. When a QoS flow carries a PDU set, the PDU set importance parameter of the disclosed embodiments is used to identify the importance of the PDU set within the QoS flow. Currently, a RAN node can only determine a single priority value for all packets in a QoS flow. This priority is then used by the RAN node to determine whether to schedule and / or what resources to allocate to each DL packet, and sometimes to decide not to allocate resources to DL packets. For example, during periods of congestion, the RAN may drop some or all of the entire QoS level flows with low priority by deciding not to transmit DL packets belonging to QoS flows with lower priority relative to packets of QoS flows with higher priority.

[0077] Due to the introduction of the concept of PDU sets and the fact that PDU sets sent in QoS flows may vary individually in terms of importance, embodiments of the present disclosure enable RAN nodes to determine the priority of DL packets (i.e., PDUs) within the same QoS flow. Exemplary embodiments provide an overall improved user experience, since from a QoE perspective, it is better to drop PDUs of low importance across all QoS flows, rather than dropping only PDUs from flows with lower priority QoS.

[0078] Issues Related to Uplink Data. As explained above, currently, one QoS flow is mapped onto only one DRB at a time in the UL. Therefore, all UL PDUs of a QoS flow will receive the same forwarding treatment and general prioritization with respect to which radio resources are allocated to each PDU. The approach just described may be sufficient considering that each packet of a QoS flow generally has the same packet delay budget. However, with the introduction of the concept of PDU sets and the fact that the PDU sets sent in a QoS flow may vary in terms of their respective importance, embodiments of the present disclosure may utilize the WTRU's access stratum protocol layer to provide specific forwarding treatment during UL transmission according to the PDU set attributes. The forwarding treatment may include any of the procedures supported by the WTRU's protocol layer to ensure QoS, such as mapping PDUs to preconfigured logical channels, prioritizing the logical channels, multiplexing PDUs in the logical channels into transport blocks, and scheduling. In an example, a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer in the WTRU may determine the priority of UL packets (i.e., PDUs) within a QoS flow and may use the just-described priority information to map packets to different DRBs configured with associated priority values. The SDAP layer may provide appropriate forwarding treatment during UL data transmission and provide the priority level information to the PDCP entity in the WTRU (e.g., via a PDCP service data unit (SDU) header) so that the priority level information can be taken into account when using resources allocated by the base station.

[0079] According to some embodiments, the RAN node may determine a different priority level for each DL PDU of a QoS flow. The priority level determined by the RAN node may be based on the importance of the detected PDU set. One advantage of the just described embodiment is that the scheduler of the RAN node can allocate more resources to PDUs that are part of a higher priority PDU set, while PDU sets that share other QoS requirements, such as packet delay budget, can still be mapped to the same QoS flow.

[0080] Further embodiments enable the SDAP layer of the WTRU to determine a different priority level for each UL PDU of a QoS flow. The priority level determined by the SDAP layer may be based on the importance of the detected PDU set. One advantage of the just-mentioned enhancement is that the WTRU will be able to support certain procedures at the access stratum layer (e.g., logical channel prioritization, multiplexing, scheduling) that may result in proper prioritization and proper allocation of more resources to PDUs that are part of a higher priority PDU set and that are part of a PDU set that share other QoS requirements, such as a packet delay budget, that can still be mapped to the same QoS flow.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 2, a method 200 for PDU set priority determination for downlink transmission according to one exemplary embodiment is shown. A Radio Access Network (RAN) node, e.g., a base station, may implement per-PDU priority level determination for downlink traffic as follows: The RAN node may receive 206 a PDU Set Importance Rule (PDUSIR), also referred to herein as a rule set, and a QoS profile for the PDU session from the SMF. It should be noted that further steps constituting the RAN node's reception of the just-mentioned information may vary as shown in FIG. 2, including the occurrence 202 of a trigger event, e.g., high congestion occurrence or the like, in the SMF. The SMF may pass 204 a PDUSIR to the UPF based on the trigger event 202 or for each new QoS flow, depending on desired preferences and efficiency. Examples of steps 202 and 204 of FIG. 2 are described later below.

[0082] The RAN node receives 212 the PDUs from the UPF. In one example embodiment, the PDUs may be received 212 as general packet radio system / service (GPRS) tunneling protocol unit (GTP-U) messages. In the example just described, the GTP-U message may include a header that identifies the priority level of the associated PDUs it carries. The RAN node then uses information from the GTP-U message header (received 206) and the PDU set importance rules to determine 214 PDU set-based priority levels for the associated PDUs for downlink transmission.

[0083] The RAN node uses the determined PDU set-based priority level to determine 216 what network resources to use / schedule when transmitting 218 the PDU to the WTRU. In some example embodiments, the PDU set importance rule received by the RAN node in step 206 may be included as part of a QoS profile. In one example, the PDU set importance rule received by the RAN node may be part of a Non Dynamic 5QI Descriptor.

[0084] In alternative embodiments, the 206 PDU Set Importance Rules received by the RAN node may be part of a Dynamic 5QI Descriptor. In other embodiments, the PDU Set Importance Rules may be a separate or standalone rule set. Preferably, indicators are used to identify incoming PDU quality characteristics and may be matched with predefined rule sets, although embodiments are not so limited. The PDU Set Importance Rules may be rules on how to map PDU Set Importance values ​​of DL PDUs within a QoS flow to one or more different priority levels.

[0085] In one embodiment, the PDU set importance rule may include one or more common ID(s), and the RAN node may receive a message from the SMF indicating that the one or more common ID(s) are associated with the PDU session. The GTP-U message header may indicate the PDU set importance value. For example, the GTP-U message header may include a PDU type field, and the value of the PDU type field is used by the RAN node to determine which PDU set importance rule is associated with the PDU.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 3, an example method 300 is shown for a base station using PDU set importance rule-based priority level determination for downlink transmission according to one embodiment. First, the base station receives PDU set importance rules associated with QoS flows for a PDU session from the SMF 305. Next, the base station receives a GTP-U message from the UPF 310, including a header and a payload with PDUs / PDU sets for downlink transmission. The base station identifies information from the GTP-U header, such as a PDU set importance value, and determines a priority level of the PDU for DL ​​transmission based on the PDU set importance value and the corresponding PDU set importance rule 320. The base station may then schedule DL transmission of the PDU to the WTRU based on the determined priority level 320. Although not shown, subsequent PDUs of the PDU session may be received and have different determined priority levels. In the manner just described, the priority level of each PDU scheduled and transmitted by the base station may differ within flows of the same QoS. In some embodiments, when the base station determines a congestion event, the base station may decide to drop certain PDUs. In other words, the base station may decide to cancel transmission of PDUs determined to have a lower priority than other PDUs of the same QoS flow. Referring to FIG. 4, a method 400 is shown for applying PDU-based priority level determination by a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) to UL traffic in accordance with various embodiments.4, the WTRU 401 may be divided into three distinct entities: a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity 402, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer 404, and a non-access stratum (NAS) layer 406. In the example just described, the WTRU 401 may receive 414 WTRU PDU set detection rules from the SMF at its NAS layer 406. When the WTRU 401 receives 418 a PDU for UL transmission, for example from a higher layer to the SDAP layer 404, the WTRU PDU set detection rules are used to determine a priority level for the PDU. The WTRU uses the determined priority level to determine 420 a data radio bearer (DRB) to use to transmit the PDU.

[0087] In various embodiments, the WTRU PDU set detection rules may be received 414 by the WTRU 401 in a PDU session establishment accept message or, alternatively, in a PDU session modification command. In an embodiment, the WTRU PDU set detection rules may be received 414 by the WTRU non-access stratum (NAS) layer 406, which is a functional layer in the wireless network protocol layer between the core network and the WTRU and manages the establishment of communication sessions and maintains communication sessions as the WTRU moves. In one example, the WTRU PDU set detection rules may be sent 416 by the WTRU NAS layer 406 to the WTRU service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer 404.

[0088] In various exemplary embodiments, the WTRU PDU set detection rule may include a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI), which may be used by the WTRU to determine which QoS flow(s) the WTRU PDU set detection rule applies to. According to some exemplary embodiments, the WTRU PDU set detection rule may include a priority determination rule, which may indicate a value that may be compared with at least a portion of the header of the incoming PDU in step 418, and the result of the comparison may be used to determine the priority level of each PDU set. The WTRU may determine the QFI associated with the incoming PDU and use the QFI to determine which WTRU PDU set detection rule to use to determine the priority level of the packet. Furthermore, the priority level may also be used to determine / select the resource (e.g., logical channel) to be used to transmit the PDU on the uplink.

[0089] In various downlink embodiments disclosed herein, a Session Management Function (SMF) may configure a PDU session per PDU priority level determination, as described with reference to Figure 2. In one example, the SMF detects a trigger event (202, Figure 2). Based on the trigger event, the SMF sends a PDU set detection rule for the PDU session to the UPF (204, Figure 2). The PDU set importance rule and QoS profile for the PDU session may be sent 206 to the RAN node.

[0090] In an embodiment relating to UL PDU-based priority levels, e.g., FIG. 4, the SMF may alternatively, or additionally, send 414, FIG. 4, a WTRU PDU set detection rule to the WTRU. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 4, a triggering event 412 in the SMF may be receipt of a PDU session establishment request, a decision to send a PDU session modification command, or receipt of a policy and charging control (PCC) rule from a policy control function (PCF) (not shown in FIG. 4).

[0091] The PDU set detection rules of the embodiments described herein may indicate to the UPF how to determine the relative importance of PDU sets. As described herein, there may be two basic entities that perform the indication of included PDU-based priority levels, depending on whether the PDU flow is in the downlink or uplink. The rules used by the base station or RAN node (Figures 2-3) are referred to as network PDU set importance rules, and the rules applied by the WTRU (Figures 4-5) are referred to as WTRU PDU set detection rules. Specific embodiments may vary to further separate QoS flows into PDU set-based priority levels without departing from the scope of the embodiments.

[0092] For the downlink referenced in Figure 2, the network PDU set importance rules sent by the SMF may be part of the QoS profile. In an example embodiment, the network PDU set importance rules sent by the SMF may be part of a non-dynamic 5QI descriptor or may be part of a dynamic 5QI descriptor and / or may generally include rules on how to map PDU set importance values ​​from QoS flows to PDU-based priority levels. In an example embodiment, the network PDU set importance rules may include one or more common ID(s), and the RAN node may receive a message from the SMF indicating that one or more common ID(s) are associated with the PDU session.

[0093] For the uplink, the WTRU PDU set detection rules referenced in Figure 4 may be sent by the SMF, for example, in a PDU Session Establishment Accept message or a PDU Session Modification Command. In some example embodiments, the WTRU PDU set detection rules may include one or more indicators, for example, QFIs, and one or more priority determination rules for indicator-based application of priority levels to assign to PDUs within a QoS flow.

[0094] In FIG. 2, having determined the priority of the DL PDU in the RAN based on the SMF signaling, the SMF may send 206 a QoS profile for the PDU session to the RAN node. The QoS profile may be sent to the RAN node during a PDU session establishment or PDU session modification procedure. To enable the RAN node to determine the priority of PDUs within a QoS flow rather than a single priority for all PDUs in the QoS flow, the SMF may include a PDU set importance rule in the QoS profile. The QoS profile may be sent by the SMF to the RAN node, for example, in a PDU Session Resource Setup Request Transfer Information Element or a PDU Session Resource Modify Request Transfer. QoS flow information may be sent to the RAN node in a QoS Flow Setup Request Item, a QoS Flow Add Request Item, or a QoS Flow Modify Request Item. As an example, the QoS profile includes QoS flow-level QoS parameter next generation application protocol (NGAP) information elements or similar functional signaling. The QoS profile may include non-dynamic 5QI descriptors or dynamic 5QI descriptors, as described above. Furthermore, in some embodiments, these non-dynamic 5QI descriptors and / or dynamic 5QI descriptors may be enhanced to include rules regarding how to map PDU set importance values ​​from QoS flows to priority levels.

[0095] The QoS profile of an embodiment may include an indication that the PDU set feature is enabled, thus indicating to the RAN node that the QoS flow is used to receive a DL PDU set that is to be differentiated. This indication may trigger the RAN node to check the headers of packets intended for DL ​​transmission for information about the PDU set associated with the DL PDU. Alternatively, the SMF may send the PDU set importance rule to the RAN node in a message independent of the PDU session. The network PDU set importance rule may include one or more identifiers (e.g., common ID(s)). The SMF may then indicate to the RAN node which PDU set importance rule should be applied in the PDU session by including the common ID in a PDU Session Resource Setup Request Transfer Information element or a PDU Session Resource Modify Request.

[0096] In the exemplary embodiment of Figure 2, when the NG-RAN node receives 212 a DL PDU from the UPF, the RAN node may perform a procedure to determine the priority level of the PDU instead of directly mapping to a priority level using the PDU's QFI. As an example of the just-mentioned procedure for determining the priority of a PDU, the RAN node may check whether the following conditions are true: (1) whether the PDU's header indicates a PDU set importance value, and (2) whether the QoS flow's non-dynamic 5QI descriptor or dynamic 5QI descriptor contains rules on how to map the PDU set importance values ​​from the QoS flow to priority levels. The just-mentioned rules are referred to herein as "PDU set importance to priority level mapping rules" and are shown to be sent 206 to the RAN node by the SMF.

[0097] If both of the above conditions are true, the RAN node may overlook or ignore the priority level normally associated with the 5QI of the QoS flow, and the RAN node will not take into account the priority level contained in the non-dynamic 5QI descriptor or the dynamic 5QI descriptor of the QoS flow. Instead, the RAN node will use the PDU Set Importance to Priority Level Mapping Rule to determine the priority level of the PDU.

[0098] As mentioned above, an embodiment of the network PDU-based priority level may include a trigger event (202, Figure 2) occurring in the SMF, such as a PDU session establishment procedure, a PDU session modification procedure, or the receipt of a new PCC rule from the PCF. The SMF determines how to inspect the incoming DL packet and sends PDU set detection rules 204 to the UPF, which determine information about the PDU set with which the DL packet is associated. The PDU set detection rules are described in more detail below.

[0099] Referring again to Figure 2, the SMF may send an N2 message to the RAN node. The N2 message may be sent to the RAN node via the AMF. The N2 message in the example just described includes QoS profile(s) for the PDU session, including PDU set importance to priority level mapping rules. In step 4, the UPF receives 208 a downlink packet, for example from an application. In 210, the UPF inspects the properties (i.e., content) of the downlink packet and determines 210 whether the packet is the first PDU of the PDU set, the last PDU of the PDU set, the PDU sequence number within the PDU set, the size of the PDU set, and the PDU set importance using the determined properties and the PDU set detection rules received from the SMF in step 204. Examples of the just described operations are further described below.

[0100] If the UPF is able to determine 210 the PDU set information for the downlink packet, the UPF will send 212 the downlink packet to the RAN node, for example in a GTP-U message. As mentioned above, the header of the GTP-U message may include the determined PDU set information, including PDU set importance information. Examples of the just-mentioned operations are further described below.

[0101] In Figure 2, the RAN node receives the PDU and associated PDU set information in a GTP-U header 212. The RAN node uses the PDU set importance information from the header and the PDU set importance-to-priority level mapping rule received in step 206 to determine a priority level for the PDU downlink transmission 214. If there is no PDU set importance information included in the header or if there is no priority level determined using the mapping rule, the RAN node may determine the priority level of the PDU based on the 5QI or based on the priority level indicated in the QoS profile. In other words, if PDU set-based QoS handling is used (i.e., the PDU set feature is enabled for the PDU session), the PDU set importance-to-priority level mapping rule may be signaled to the (R)AN and, if received, may take precedence over the priority level associated with the entire QoS flow and be used to assign a priority level to the PDU whose GTP-U header contains a PDU set importance value.

[0102] The RAN node then uses the priority level to schedule 216 the transmission of the DL PDU to the WTRU or decides not to transmit the DL PDU (e.g., due to congestion). Unless the RAN node decides not to transmit the DL PDU in step 216, e.g., due to congestion, the RAN node transmits 218 the DL PDU to the WTRU.

[0103] The PDU Set Importance Rules received by the RAN node may be part of a QoS Profile and may contain rules on how to map PDU Set Importance values ​​from QoS flows to priority levels. The PDU Set Importance Rules received by the RAN node may be part of a non-dynamic 5QI descriptor or a dynamic 5QI descriptor.

[0104] In some embodiments, the PDU set importance rule may include one or more common ID(s), and the RAN node may receive a message from the SMF indicating that the one or more common ID(s) are associated with the PDU session. As stated, the GTP-U message header may indicate a PDU set importance value. The GTP-U message header may include a PDU type field, and the value of the PDU type field is used by the RAN node to determine which PDU set importance rule to associate with the PDU.

[0105] An embodiment relating to a user plane function (UPF) that determines PDU set information will now be described. As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the UPF may be configured with PDU set detection rules, e.g., received from the SMF via the N4 interface. The PDU set detection rules may be used by the UPF to determine how to inspect incoming packets and to determine information about the PDU set associated with the DL packet. For example, the UPF may determine the PDU set sequence number associated with the packet and may further determine, e.g., whether the packet is the first PDU of the PDU set, the last PDU of the PDU set, the PDU sequence number within the PDU set, the size of the PDU set, and the PDU set importance. The PDU set detection rule(s) may indicate to the UPF how to determine the relative importance of the PDU sets. For example, the PDU set detection rule may indicate that if an incoming packet is found to contain certain information in its header, a relatively high importance should be assigned to the PDU set. A PDU set detection rule may indicate that if an incoming packet is found to contain some other information in the header, then a relatively lower importance should be assigned to the PDU set.

[0106] An embodiment for UPF indication of PDU set information to a RAN node will now be described. As described above, PDU set information can be sent to the RAN node by the UPF via the GTP-U header of a user plane packet (i.e., PDU). The RAN node can perform PDU set-based QoS handling based on the PDU set QoS parameters received via the control plane (step 206, FIG. 2) and the PDU set information received via the user plane in the GTP-U header (step 212, FIG. 2). Information included in the header may include the PDU set sequence number, the end of the PDU set, the PDU sequence number within the PDU set, the size of the PDU set, and the PDU set importance. The format of PDU session user plane protocol data that can be carried in the GTP-U header from the UPF to the RAN node can be defined. One exemplary existing protocol defines two different structures for PDU session user plane frames. The type of frame is indicated in a 4-bit PDU type information element in the header. The first type of structure is DL PDU Session Information (PDU Type 0), and the second type of structure is UL PDU Session Information (PDU Type 1). Certain embodiments herein may define a third type of structure when PDU set information needs to be sent from the UPF to the RAN node. In one example, the third type of structure may be called DL PDU SESSION INFORMATION FOR PDU SET (PDU Type 2). The just-mentioned header may include fields that allow the UPF to indicate information to the RAN node, such as the PDU set sequence number, the end of the PDU set, the PDU sequence number within the PDU set, the size of the PDU set, and the importance of the PDU set.Furthermore, the applicability of the PDU Set feature to a packet may be indicated to the RAN node by means of the PDU Type field being set equal to 3.

[0107] The PDU set importance value or indication may be one or more bits and may be used to indicate the importance of a PDU set relative to other PDU sets of the same QoS flow. For example, a value of 1 may indicate lower importance than a value of 0. The PDU set importance information may be sent by the UPF to the RAN node for each packet for which a PDU set importance value is determined. Alternatively, the PDU set importance information may be sent to the RAN node only with the first PDU of a PDU set, and the RAN may then assume that all subsequent PDUs of the same PDU set are of the same importance. If the PDU set information is not determined by the UPF, the UPF may send the DL data of the QoS flow to the RAN node using DL PDU Session Information (PDU type 0).

[0108] Example of Determining Priority of UL PDUs at a WTRU Based on SMF Signaling. As described above with respect to FIG. 4, the WTRU may receive 414 WTRU PDU Set Detection Rules from the SMF, for example, in a PDU Session Establishment Accept or PDU Session Modification command. The WTRU PDU Set Detection Rules may be used by the SDAP layer and may be, for example, an information element containing the following information: First, a QFI indicating to the WTRU which QoS Flow the WTRU PDU Set Detection Rules apply to. Second, a Priority Determination Rule is used by the SDAP layer of the WTRU to determine the priority levels of the PDUs of the PDU Set. For example, the Priority Determination Rule may indicate that a relatively high priority level should be assigned to the PDUs of the PDU Set when incoming UL packets of a QoS Flow are found to contain certain information in their headers. On the other hand, a priority determination rule may indicate that a relatively lower importance should be assigned to a PDU of a PDU set if the incoming UL packets of a QoS flow are found to contain some other information in their headers. In one example, an application may provide metadata to the SDAP layer. For example, an application (or a library used by the application) may call an application program interface (API) that associates an importance parameter with a "send" or "write" call to a socket. This importance parameter may then be carried down the stack to the SDAP API.

[0109] In one exemplary embodiment, the priority level may indicate a fixed priority (e.g., low, normal, high). In another exemplary embodiment, the priority level may be a number used by the WTRU protocol stack to determine the relative priority between (a set of) PDUs. For example, if PDUs are queued at priorities 10, 11, and 12, the stack may provide high priority treatment for 12 and low priority treatment for 10, or vice versa, depending on how one evaluates the priority levels.

[0110] Once the SDAP layer determines the priority level, it may use the priority level to determine which data radio bearers (DRBs) to map to UL packets of the QoS flow. In other words, the SDAP layer is enhanced and / or configured to use the just-mentioned priority level information to map packets of a single QoS flow to different DRBs. Furthermore, the SDAP layer may provide the priority level to the PDCP entity of the WTRU so that the PDCP entity of the WTRU can use the priority level to determine the forwarding treatment (e.g., logical channel) and / or resources to use for transmitting the UL packets.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 4, the exemplary method 400 of wireless communication using PDU-based priority levels for uplink transmission may include a triggering event 412 occurring in the SMF. The triggering event may be a PDU session establishment procedure, a PDU session usage procedure, or receipt of a new PCC rule from the PCF. The SMF sends 414 the PDU set detection rules to the WTRU. The PDU set detection rules may be sent in a PDU session establishment accept message or a PDU session modification command. The PDU set detection rules may include priority determination rules, in which the WTRU NAS layer 406 sends 416 the priority determination rules for the PDU session to the WTRU SDAP layer 404. The WTRU SDAP layer 404 receives 418 the PDUs from the WTRU upper layers and may also receive a PDU set importance value or indicator from the WTRU upper layers, e.g., the application layer, upon receiving the PDUs. The WTRU SDAP layer 404 uses a priority determination rule to determine the priority level of the received PDU and uses the determined priority level to select a DRB to transmit the PDU on the uplink 420. The determined priority level is independent of the QoS of the flow.

[0112] The WTRU SDAP layer 404 may send 422 the PDU and the determined priority level to the WTRU PDCP entity 402, which, together with lower layers, uses the priority level to determine the forwarding treatment and / or resources (e.g., the logical channel to use to send the PDU) to use to send the PDU 424. The WTRU may transmit 426 the PDU using the previously determined forwarding treatment and / or resources, or may decide not to send the PDU. As described above, in one example embodiment, each QoS flow is associated with a 5QI value, and each 5QI value may be converted into one or more of the following characteristics that may be used to determine packet forwarding treatment, for example, when setting priority levels per PDU: ● Resource type (non-GBR, GBR, delay-critical GBR), ●Priority level, Packet delay budget (including the packet delay budget of the core network), Packet error rate, Averaging window (GBR and Delay-Critical GBR resource types only), and ● Maximum data burst volume (delay-critical GBR resource type only).

[0113] For each QFI, the QoS profile may indicate a 5QI value and a priority level associated with the QFI. If a priority level is included, it overrides the priority level associated with the 5QI. In other words, the priority level overrides the priority level associated with the 5QI in the mapping table. The priority level associated with a 5G QoS characteristic indicates the priority when scheduling resources between QoS flows.

[0114] In the downlink, currently, a RAN node can only determine a single priority value for all packets in a QoS flow. The embodiments described herein provide a system enhancement such that the RAN node can individually determine the priority of DL packets (i.e., PDUs) within a QoS flow.

[0115] In the uplink, currently, all UL PDUs of a QoS flow will receive the same general prioritization with respect to what radio resources are allocated to each PDU, e.g., packets of the same QoS flow are allocated the same DRB on the uplink. Embodiments described herein provide system enhancements such that the SDAP layer of the WTRU is able to determine the priority of UL packets (i.e., PDUs) within a QoS flow and map the packets to different DRBs using the priority information just mentioned. Furthermore, embodiments may provide priority information to the PDCP entity of the WTRU so that the priority level information can be taken into account when determining which resources to attempt to allocate to the PDUs.

[0116] Thus, embodiments described herein may provide per-PDU priority level determination for DL ​​traffic, including a RAN node including a transceiver and a processor configured to perform one or more operations including receiving a PDU set importance rule and a QoS profile for a PDU session from an entity such as an SMF, and receiving a message from an entity such as a UPF. The message includes the PDU and a message header that specifies the priority level of the PDU within the QoS flow. In one embodiment, the message including the PDU is received in a GTP-U message.

[0117] A processor in the RAN node uses information from the GTP-U message header and the PDU set importance rules to determine a priority level to associate with the PDU and, based on the determined PDU priority level, determines network resources to use when transmitting the PDU to another device, such as a WTRU.

[0118] The PDU Set Importance Rules received by the RAN node may be part of a QoS Profile and may contain rules on how to map PDU Set Importance values ​​from QoS flows to priority levels. The PDU Set Importance Rules received by the RAN node may be part of a non-dynamic 5QI descriptor or a dynamic 5QI descriptor. The PDU set importance rule may include one or more common ID(s), and the RAN node may receive a message from the SMF indicating that one or more common ID(s) are associated with the PDU session. The GTP-U message header may indicate a PDU set importance value. The GTP-U message header may include a PDU type field, and the value of the PDU type field is used by the RAN node to determine which PDU set importance rule is associated with the PDU.

[0119] Referring to FIG. 5, a method 500 for a WTRU using per-PDU priority level determination for UL traffic of a QoS flow is shown. The WTRU may include a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform method 500. Initially, the WTRU receives WTRU PDU set detection rules from an entity such as an SMF 505. The WTRU receives a PDU to be transmitted in an uplink transmission 510 and determines a priority level for the PDU based on the WTRU set detection rules and information associated with the PDU, such as a PDU set importance value in the header from the application 515. The WTRU may then determine 520 a data radio bearer to use to transmit the PDU based on the determined priority level. In the manner just described, unlike legacy systems, PDUs of the same QoS flow may be mapped to different DRBs based on the priority determined within the QoS flow using the PDU set importance rules and values ​​of various embodiments.

[0120] The WTRU PDU Set Detection Rule may be received by the WTRU in a PDU Session Establishment Accept message or a PDU Session Modification Command. The WTRU PDU Set Detection Rule may be sent by the WTRU NAS layer to the WTRU SDAP layer and may include a QFI that may be used by the WTRU to determine the QoS flows to which the WTRU PDU Set Detection Rule applies.

[0121] The WTRU PDU Set Detection Rules may include a priority determination rule that indicates a value to be compared with at least a portion of the header of the PDU being received to determine the priority level and the corresponding appropriate resource(s) to be used. In one embodiment, the WTRU may determine a QFI associated with the PDU and use the QFI to determine what WTRU PDU Set Detection Rule to use to determine the priority level of the packet. Furthermore, the determined priority level may also be used to determine the resource (e.g., logical channel) to use to transmit the PDU.

[0122] The priority level associated with a 5G QoS characteristic indicates the priority when scheduling resources between QoS flows and PDUs, with the lowest priority level value corresponding to the highest priority. The priority level may be used to distinguish between QoS flows and PDUs of the same WTRU, and may also be used to distinguish between QoS flows and PDUs of different WTRUs.

[0123] In case of congestion, if not all QoS requirements can be met for one or more QoS flows, the priority level may be used to select for which QoS flows and PDUs the QoS requirements are prioritized, such that a QoS flow or PDU with a priority level value N is given priority over a QoS flow or PDU with a higher priority level value (i.e., N+1, N+2, etc.). In case of no congestion, the priority level should be used to define the resource allocation between QoS flows and PDUs. Furthermore, the scheduler may prioritize QoS flows and PDUs based on other parameters (e.g., resource type, radio conditions) to optimize application performance and network capacity.

[0124] Every standardized 5QI is associated with a default value for the priority level (specified in the QoS characteristics table). Additionally, the priority level may be signaled to the (R)AN along with the standardized 5QI and, if received, may be used instead of the default value. The priority level may also be signaled to the (R)AN along with a preconfigured 5QI and, if received, may be used instead of the preconfigured value.

[0125] If PDU set-based QoS handling is used, a PDU set importance-to-priority level mapping rule may be signaled to the (R)AN and, if received, takes precedence over the priority level associated with the QoS flow and is to be used to assign a priority level to PDUs whose GTP-U header contains a PDU set importance value.

[0126] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. Furthermore, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware embodied in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electrical signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable recording media. Examples of computer-readable recording media include, but are not limited to, ROM (described), RAM (random access memory), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, and optical media such as magneto-optical media, e.g., CD-ROM disks and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor associated with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

1. 1. A method for a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), comprising: receiving a WTRU packet data unit (PDU) set detection rule from a network entity; receiving, from a higher layer, a PDU associated with a quality of service (QoS) flow for uplink transmission; determining a priority level of the received PDU regardless of the associated QoS flow based on the WTRU PDU set detection rule; determining a data radio bearer (DRB) or logical channel for transmitting the PDU based on the determined priority level; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the priority level comprises inspecting a value in a header of the received PDU and determining the priority level associated with the value in the WTRU PDU set detection rule.

3. allocating resources for transmission of the PDU using the determined DRB or logical channel; transmitting the PDU using the allocated resources; and The method of claim 1 further comprising:

4. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the WTRU PDU set detection rule is received in one of a PDU Session Establishment Accept message or a PDU Session Modification Command.

5. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the WTRU PDU set detection rules are received by a Network Access Stratum (NAS) layer for a PDU session.

6. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the value comprises a PDU set importance value provided by an application layer.

7. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the priority level of the received PDU is performed by a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) entity of the WTRU.

8. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network entity comprises a session management function (SMF).

9. 1. A wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), comprising: Walkie-talkies, and a processor in communication with the transceiver wherein the processor and transceiver receiving a WTRU packet data unit (PDU) set detection rule from a network entity; receiving, from an upper layer, a PDU associated with a quality of service (QoS) flow for uplink transmission; determining a priority level of the received PDU based on the WTRU PDU set detection rule, regardless of the associated QoS flow; determining a data radio bearer (DRB) or logical channel for transmitting the PDU based on the determined priority level; WTRU configured to:

10. 10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the determined DRB or logical channel may be different for different PDUs associated with the QoS flow.

11. 10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine the priority level by comparing a value in a header of the received PDU with a corresponding value in the WTRU PDU set detection rule.

12. 10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the WTRU PDU set detection rule is received in one of a PDU Session Establishment Accept message or a PDU Session Modification Command.

13. 10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the WTRU PDU set detection rules are received by a Network Access Stratum (NAS) of the WTRU for a PDU session.

14. 12. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the value comprises a PDU set importance value provided by an application layer.

15. 10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the WTRU further comprises a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) entity that determines the priority level of the received PDU.

16. 10. The WTRU of claim 9, wherein the network entity comprises a Session Management Function (SMF).

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