Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Set Importance (PSI) signaling, configuration, and PDU set deletion based on user equipment (UE) behavior.

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus are disclosed. According to some embodiments, a method is provided that is implemented by a wireless device (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16). The method includes receiving a first instruction for a first PDU set discard timer value for discarding a first PDU set, wherein the first PDU set discard timer is associated with at least a first PSI level and has a PDU set discard timer value that is different from and / or different from a PDCP discard timer value, and communicating with the network node (16) in accordance with the first instruction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, to wireless device behavior related to discarding (one or more) protocol data unit (PDU) sets.

Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for the 4th Generation (4G) wireless communication system (also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and the 5th Generation (5G) wireless communication system (also known as New Radio (NR)). Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes such as base stations and mobile wireless devices (WDs), as well as communication between network nodes and between WDs. 3GPP is also developing standards for the 6th Generation (6G) wireless communication network.

[0003] In particular, 5G is the 5th generation of mobile communication that addresses a wide range of use cases from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). 5G includes a New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and a 5G core network (5GC). The NR physical layer and upper layers reuse some of the LTE specifications and add the necessary components when motivated by new use cases.

[0004] Low-latency, high-rate applications such as Extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming are crucial in the 5G era. XR can refer to all real and virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. XR is a comprehensive term for different types of reality, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and areas interpolated between them. The level of virtuality ranges from partially sensory input to fully immersive VR.

[0005] 5G NR is designed to support applications that demand high rates and low latency, in line with the requirements presented by the support of XR and cloud gaming applications in NR networks. 3GPP Release 17 includes a study item on XR evaluation for NR. Several objectives of this study are to identify traffic models, evaluation methodologies, and key performance indicators of interest for each application of interest for relevant deployment scenarios, and to conduct performance evaluations accordingly to study possible standardization extensions in potential follow-up study items / work items (SI / WI).

[0006] Low-latency, high-rate XR applications Low-latency applications such as XR and cloud gaming may require bounded latency and not necessarily ultra-low latency. The end-to-end latency budget can range from 20 to 80 ms, which may need to be distributed across several components, including application processing latency, transport latency, and wireless link latency. Short transmit time intervals (TTI) or mini-slots targeting ultra-low latency may not be effective for these applications.

[0007] Figure 1 shows an example of frame latency measured across a radio access network (RAN), excluding application latency and core network latency. As shown in Figure 1, frame latency spikes exist in the RAN. Sources of latency spikes can include, in particular, queuing delays, time-varying radio environments, and time-varying frame sizes. For example, latency spikes can result from momentary shortages of radio resources or inefficient radio resource allocation in response to fluctuating frame sizes. Tools that can help eliminate latency spikes would be beneficial to enable better 5G support for this type of traffic.

[0008] In addition to bounded latency requirements, applications like XR and cloud gaming also require high-rate transmissions. This is evident from the large frame sizes resulting from this type of traffic. Typical frame sizes can range from tens to hundreds of kilobytes. Frame arrival rates can be 60 or 120 frames per second (fps). For example, a 100-kilobyte frame size and a 120-fps frame arrival rate might lead to a 95.8 Mbps rate requirement.

[0009] Large video frames are typically fragmented into smaller IP packets and transmitted in the RAN as several transport blocks (TBs) across several TTIs. Figure 2 shows an example of a cumulative distribution function of the number of transport blocks required to deliver video frames ranging in size from 20KB to 300KB. For example, Figure 2 shows that the median number of TBs required to deliver frames, each 200KB in size, is 5.

[0010] The characteristics of XR traffic arrival are entirely distinct from typical web browsing and VoIP traffic, as shown in Figure 3. In XR traffic, arrival times are quasi-periodic and, like VoIP, can be expected to be largely predictable. However, the data size of XR traffic is larger than that of VoIP, as explained above. Furthermore, similar to web browsing, the data size in XR traffic varies across every application PDU (e.g., protocol data unit) arrival instance due to the dynamics of content and human movement.

[0011] As explained above, many XR applications will generate traffic periodically in a variable size. When application packets enter the internet, the initial packet may be transmitted within a single PDU in the network, or it may be within several segmented PDUs. One application packet may correspond to, for example, one or more IP packets.

[0012] When an IP packet reaches the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, it will receive a PDCP SDU (e.g., a Service Data Unit). The PDCP layer will then create a PDCP PDU, which will be delivered to a lower layer (e.g., the lower network layer). When an IP packet reaches the PDCP, the PDCP layer starts a PDCP discard timer. When this timer expires, the PDCP discards the PDCP SDU and the corresponding PDCP data PDU. If a PDCP PDU has been delivered to a lower layer, the PDCP instructs the lower layer to discard it. A lower layer, such as an RLC, will discard the PDCP PDU (Radio Link Control (RLC) SDU) if these RLC SDUs or segments of RLC SDUs have not yet been sent to the lower layer.

[0013] As explained above, an application PDU, such as a video frame, is divided into multiple IP packets. All of these IP packets belonging to a single video frame can be defined as a PDU set.

[0014] For example, SA2 in 23700-60 confirmed that PDU sets can be assigned a PDU set importance indicator. This parameter can be used to identify the importance of a PDU set within a QoS flow. RAN can use it for PDU set-level packet discarding in the presence of congestion.

[0015] *PDU sets as defined by 3GPP 23.700-60: A PDU set consists of one or more PDUs that carry the payload of a single unit of information generated at the application level (for example, a frame or video slice for an XRM service, as used in 3GPP Technical Reference (TR) 26.926). 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 some or all of the information unit when some PDUs are missing. [Overview of the project]

[0016] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatus for wireless device behavior related to discarding (one or more) sets of protocol data units (PDUs).

[0017] This disclosure provides 1) signaling for configuring a wireless device, 2) additional signaling for activating and deactivating features, and 3) wireless device behavior when features are configured, activated, or deactivated.

[0018] 1) To address this, radio resource control (RRC) signaling may be used. 2) To address this, both RRC signaling and lower-layer signaling may be used. 3) To address this, different alternative forms are described of how a radio device may handle radio device timers and / or PDCP discard timers for dropping / discarding PDU sets.

[0019] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided which is implemented by a wireless device configured to communicate with a network node. A first instruction is received for a first PDU set discard timer value to discard a first set of protocol data units (PDUs), the first PDU set discard timer being associated with at least a first PDU set importance (PSI) level and having a PDU set discard timer value that is different from and / or different from a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer. Communication with the network node is carried out in accordance with the first instruction.

[0020] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a second instruction is received, which is configured to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

[0021] According to one or more embodiments of this model, the second instruction is received via either a PDCP control element or a Layer 1 signaling.

[0022] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction is received via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0023] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level.

[0024] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second indication indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use a first PDU set discard timer value.

[0025] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first indication is an explicit indication that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level.

[0026] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first indication is an implicit indication that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level by omitting an explicit assignment from the first indication.

[0027] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, an indication of at least one PSI level supported by a wireless device is transmitted.

[0028] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set to be used in a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

[0029] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set to be used in a plurality of data radio bearers (DRBs) or a plurality of services.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless device configured to communicate with a network node is provided. The wireless device is configured to receive a first indication of a first PDU set discard timer value for discarding a first set of protocol data units (PDUs), wherein the first PDU set discard timer is associated with at least a first PDU set importance (PSI) level, and different from a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) discard timer and / or has a PDU set discard timer value different from a PDCP discard timer value, and to communicate with the network node according to the first indication.

[0031] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the wireless device is further configured to receive a second indication, the second indication being configured to perform one of activating or deactivating a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first indication.

[0032] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second indication is received via one of a PDCP control element or layer 1 signaling.

[0033] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second indication is received via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0034] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second indication indicates a plurality of PDU set discard timer values for use at a certain PSI level.

[0035] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second indication indicates a plurality of PSI levels for which the first PDU set discard timer value is used.

[0036] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level.

[0037] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first instruction is an implicit instruction that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level by omitting an explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0038] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the wireless device is further configured to transmit at least one PSI level instruction supported by the wireless device.

[0039] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set to be used for a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

[0040] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

[0041] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method to be implemented in a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device. A first instruction is signaled for a first PDU set discard timer value to discard a first set of protocol data units (PDUs), the first PDU set discard timer being associated with at least a first PDU set importance (PSI) level and having a PDU set discard timer value that is different from and / or different from a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer. Communication with the wireless device is performed in accordance with the first instruction.

[0042] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a second instruction is signaled to a wireless device, the second instruction being configured to either activate or deactivate a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

[0043] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction is provided by either a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element or Layer 1 signaling.

[0044] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction is provided by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0045] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, wherein the plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​include a first PDU set discard timer value.

[0046] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

[0047] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level.

[0048] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first instruction is an implicit instruction that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level by omitting an explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0049] According to one or more embodiments of this model, at least one PSI level instruction supported by the wireless device is received.

[0050] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

[0051] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

[0052] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided that is configured to communicate with a wireless device. The network node is configured to signal a first instruction for discarding a first set of protocol data units (PDUs), wherein the first set of PDUs has a PDU set discard timer value that is associated with at least a first PDU set importance (PSI) level and is different from and / or different from a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) discard timer value, and to communicate with a wireless device in accordance with the first instruction.

[0053] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to signal a second instruction to a wireless device, the second instruction being configured to either activate or deactivate a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

[0054] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction is provided by either a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element or Layer 1 signaling.

[0055] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction is provided by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0056] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, wherein the plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​include a first PDU set discard timer value.

[0057] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

[0058] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level.

[0059] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first instruction is an implicit instruction that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level by omitting an explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0060] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to receive at least one PSI level instruction supported by a wireless device.

[0061] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

[0062] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

[0063] When considered in conjunction with the attached drawings, a more complete understanding of these embodiments, as well as their associated advantages and features, will be more readily apparent by referring to the following detailed description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0064] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an example of frame latency measured across the RAN. [Figure 2] This is a diagram illustrating an example of the cumulative distribution function of the number of transport blocks. [Figure 3] This diagram shows an example of XR traffic characteristics compared to VoIP and web browsing. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary network architecture illustrating a communication system connected to a host computer via an intermediate network, based on the principles described herein. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a wireless device via a network node, at least partially over a wireless connection, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This flowchart illustrates an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for running a client application on a wireless device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] This flowchart illustrates an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data in a wireless device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] This flowchart illustrates an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data from a wireless device on a host computer, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] This flowchart illustrates an exemplary method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data on a host computer, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10]This is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart of another exemplary process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process in a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] This is a flowchart of another exemplary process in a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0065] A "PDU Set Importance" (PSI) indicator may be defined, which indicates a certain level of importance for a PDU set. PSIs may be used by network and wireless devices to delete packets under certain circumstances or conditions. PSI and PDU set deletion interactions must be specified.

[0066] In congested situations, it may be beneficial to remove some packets from some users (UEs) to alleviate network load and increase overall network performance. However, it is not always necessary to remove all packets from all traffic flows. While downlink (DL) networks can specifically choose which packets from each data radio bearer (DRB) should be removed, uplink (UL) networks currently have no way to specify which packets from radio devices should be removed, such as by network nodes, unless all packets from radio devices are removed through a flushing process.

[0067] This disclosure solves at least one of the above-mentioned problems by providing, at least in part, 1) signaling for configuring a wireless device, 2) additional signaling for activating and deactivating features, and 3) wireless device behavior when features are configured, activated, or deactivated.

[0068] 1) To address this, radio resource control (RRC) signaling may be used. 2) To address this, both RRC signaling and lower-layer signaling may be used. 3) To address this, different alternative forms are described regarding how a radio device may handle a radio device timer and / or a PDCP discard timer for removing / discarding a PDU set.

[0069] Before describing exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be noted that embodiments primarily exist as combinations of device components and processing steps relating to wireless device behavior related to discarding a set of (one or more) protocol data units (PDUs). Accordingly, components are represented by conventional symbols in the drawings where appropriate, and only their specific details relevant to understanding the embodiments are shown, so as not to obscure this disclosure with details that would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art who are interested in the description herein. Similar numbers refer to similar elements throughout the description.

[0070] As used herein, relational terms such as “first” and “second,” “upper” and “lower” may be used simply to distinguish one entity or element from another, without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and does not limit the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” also include the plural form unless the context otherwise explicitly indicates. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including” specify the presence of the described feature, complete, step, action, element, and / or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, complete, step, action, element, component, and / or groups thereof.

[0071] In the embodiments described herein, joining terms such as “in communication with” may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which can be achieved, for example, by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling, or optical signaling. Those skilled in the art will understand that multiple components can interact with each other, and that modifications and variations are possible for achieving electrical and data communication.

[0072] In some embodiments described herein, terms such as “coupled” and “connected” may be used herein to indicate a connection, though not necessarily directly, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0073] As used herein, the term “network node” can refer to any type of network node present in a radio network, which may further comprise any of the following: base stations (BS), radio base stations, base transceiver stations (BTS), base station controllers (BSC), radio network controllers (RNC), g-node B (gNB), evolved node B (eNB or e-node B), node B, MSR radio nodes such as multi-standard radio (MSR) BS, multi-cell / multicast coordinating entities (MCE), radio access backhaul integrated transmission (IAB) nodes, relay nodes, donor node control relays, radio access points (AP), transmit points, transmit nodes, remote radio units (RRU), remote radio heads (RRH), core network nodes (e.g., mobile management entities (MME), self-organizing network (SON) nodes, coordinating nodes, positioning nodes, MDT nodes, etc.), external nodes (e.g., third-party nodes, nodes outside the current network), nodes in distributed antenna systems (DAS), spectrum access system (SAS) nodes, element management systems (EMS), etc. Network nodes may also include test equipment. The term “wireless node” as used herein may also be used to refer to wireless devices (WDs) or wireless network nodes, etc.

[0074] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms "wireless device (WD)" and "user equipment (UE)" are used interchangeably. A WD as used herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD via wireless signals, such as a wireless device (WD). A WD can also be a wireless communication device, a target device, a D2D (device to device) WD, a machine-type WD or a WD capable of machine-to-machine communication (M2M), a low-cost and / or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with a WD, a tablet, a mobile terminal, a smartphone, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device.

[0075] In some embodiments, the general term “wireless network node” is used. A wireless network node can be any type of wireless network node, which may comprise any of the following: base stations, wireless base stations, base station transceiver stations, base station controllers, network controllers, RNCs, evolved node B (eNB), node B, gNB, multicell / multicast cooperative entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, wireless access point, remote radio unit (RRU), or remote radio head (RRH).

[0076] The terms discarding and dropping may be used interchangeably herein.

[0077] This disclosure may use terminology from a specific radio system, such as 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR), but it should be noted that this should not be considered to limit the scope of this disclosure to the aforementioned systems only. However, other radio systems, including Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), may also benefit from leveraging the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0078] It should be further noted that the functions described herein as being performed by wireless devices or network nodes may be distributed across multiple wireless devices and / or network nodes. In other words, the functions of network nodes and wireless devices described herein are not limited to being performed by a single physical device, but can actually be distributed across several physical devices.

[0079] Unless otherwise specified, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as they would ordinarily be understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Terms used herein should be interpreted as having the meanings of those terms in the context of this specification and the related art, and not in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly specified herein.

[0080] Some embodiments provide wireless device behavior related to discarding (one or more) sets of protocol data units (PDUs).

[0081] Referring again to the drawings, similar elements are referenced by similar reference numbers, and Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, such as a 3GPP type cellular network capable of supporting standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), comprising an access network 12 such as a wireless access network and a core network 14, according to one embodiment. The access network 12 comprises several network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (collectively referred to as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (collectively referred to as a coverage area 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c can connect to the core network 14 via a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in a coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to a corresponding network node 16a or to be paged by a corresponding network node 16a. A second WD22b in coverage area 18b can wirelessly connect to the corresponding network node 16b. Although multiple WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless device 22) are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one WD is in the coverage area, or where only one WD is connected to the corresponding network node 16. For convenience, only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown, but it should be noted that the communication system may include more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0082] Furthermore, it is conceivable that WD22 may be configured to communicate simultaneously with two or more network nodes 16 and two or more types of network nodes 16, as well as / or separately with them. For example, WD22 may have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or different network nodes 16 that support NR. As an example, WD22 may communicate with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0083] The communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud implementation server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 24 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. Connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24, or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a hosted network, or a combination of two or more of these. The intermediate network 30 may be a backbone network or the internet, if any. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more subnets (not shown).

[0084] The communication system in Figure 4, as a whole, enables connectivity between one of the connected WD22a, 22b and the host computer 24. The connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection. The host computer 24 and the connected WD22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and / or signaling over the OTT connection, using the access network 12, the core network 14, an optional intermediate network 30 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection can be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, network node 16 may not be notified, or does not need to be notified, of the past routing of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 24 that should be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected WD22a. Similarly, network node 16 does not need to be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from WD22a and destined for host computer 24.

[0085] Network node 16 is configured to include an instruction unit 32 configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions as described herein, including with respect to radio device behavior related to discarding one or more sets of protocol data units (PDUs). Radio device 22 is configured to include a PDU unit 34 configured to perform one or more radio device 22 functions as described herein, including with respect to radio device behavior related to discarding one or more sets of protocol data units (PDUs).

[0086] Next, an exemplary implementation of the WD22, network node 16, and host computer 24 described in the previous paragraph, according to one embodiment, will be described with reference to Figure 5. In the communication system 10, the host computer 24 includes hardware (HW) 38, including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain wired or wireless connections to the interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 10. The host computer 24 further includes a processing circuit 42 which may have memory and / or processing capabilities. The processing circuit 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor and memory such as a central processing unit, the processing circuit 42 may include integrated circuits for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 44 may be configured to access memory 46 (for example, to write to memory 46 and / or read from memory 46), and memory 46 may include any kind of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read-only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0087] The processing circuit 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein, and / or to cause such methods and / or processes to be carried out, for example, by the host computer 24. The processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for carrying out the host computer 24 functions described herein. The host computer 24 includes memory 46 configured to store data, programmatic software code, and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 48 and / or host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and / or processing circuit 42, cause the processor 44 and / or processing circuit 42 to carry out the processes described herein with respect to the host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.

[0088] Software 48 may be executable by processing circuit 42. Software 48 includes a host application 50. The host application 50 may be able to operate to provide services to remote users, such as a WD22 connected via an OTT connection 52 that terminates at the host computer 24. When providing services to remote users, the host application 50 may provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 52. "User data" may be data and information as described herein as implementing the functions described. In one embodiment, the host computer 24 may be configured to provide control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The processing circuit 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, and control the network node 16 and / or wireless device 22, transmit to the network node 16 and / or wireless device 22, and / or receive from the network node 16 and / or wireless device 22. The processing circuit 42 of the host computer 24 may include an information unit 54 configured to enable the service provider to analyze, detect, store, transmit, receive, forward, relay, etc., information relating to wireless device behavior related to discarding (one or more) sets of protocol data units (PDUs), and / or to perform one or more functions of the instruction unit 32 and / or PDU unit 34.

[0089] The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided within the communication system 10, the network node 16 including hardware 58 that enables the network node 16 to communicate with the host computer 24 and WD22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with the interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 10, and a wireless interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with WD22 located in the coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The wireless interface 62 may be formed as, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers, or may include them. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct, or the connection 66 may pass through the core network 14 of the communication system 10 and / or one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.

[0090] In the embodiments shown, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes a processing circuit 68. The processing circuit 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. More specifically, in addition to, or instead of, a processor and memory such as a central processing unit, the processing circuit 68 may include an integrated circuit for processing and / or control, for example, one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access the memory 72 (e.g., write to and / or read from the memory 72), and the memory 72 may include any kind of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, for example, cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read-only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0091] Therefore, the network node 16 further has software 74 stored either internally in memory 72 or in external memory (e.g., a database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 74 may be executable by processing circuit 68. Processing circuit 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein, and / or to cause such methods and / or processes to be carried out by the network node 16, for example. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for carrying out the network node 16 functions described herein. Memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code, and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and / or processing circuit 68, cause the processor 70 and / or processing circuit 68 to carry out the processes described herein with respect to the network node 16. For example, the processing circuit 68 of the network node 16 may include an instruction unit 32 configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions described herein, such as functions related to wireless device behavior involving discarding one or more sets of protocol data units (PDUs).

[0092] The communication system 10 further includes the WD22 already mentioned. The WD22 may have hardware 80 which may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a radio connection 64 with a network node 16 serving the coverage area 18 in which the WD22 is currently located. The radio interface 82 may be formed as, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers, or may include them.

[0093] The WD22 hardware 80 further includes a processing circuit 84. The processing circuit 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88. More specifically, in addition to, or instead of, a processor and memory such as a central processing unit, the processing circuit 84 may include an integrated circuit for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 86 may be configured to access memory 88 (e.g., write to memory 88 and / or read from memory 88), and memory 88 may include any kind of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read-only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

[0094] Therefore, the WD22 may further include software 90, which may be stored, for example, in memory 88 in the WD22 or in external memory accessible by the WD22 (e.g., a database, storage array, network storage device, etc.). The software 90 may be executable by processing circuit 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may operate to provide services to human or non-human users via the WD22, with the support of a host computer 24. On the host computer 24, a running host application 50 may communicate with a running client application 92 via an OTT connection 52 that terminates in the WD22 and the host computer 24. When providing services to a user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that the client application 92 provides.

[0095] The processing circuit 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein, and / or to have such methods and / or processes performed, for example, by the WD22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing the WD22 functions described herein. The WD22 includes memory 88 configured to store data, programmatic software code, and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and / or client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and / or processing circuit 84, cause the processor 86 and / or processing circuit 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to the WD22. For example, the processing circuit 84 of the wireless device 22 may include a PDU unit 34 configured to perform one or more wireless device 22 functions as described herein, such as functions related to wireless device behavior related to discarding a set of (one or more) protocol data units (PDUs).

[0096] In some embodiments, the internal workings of the network node 16, WD22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in Figure 5, and separately, the surrounding network topology may be as shown in Figure 4.

[0097] In Figure 5, the OTT connection 52 is depicted abstractly to illustrate communication between the host computer 24 and the wireless device 22 via the network node 16, without explicit reference to the intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, and the network infrastructure may be configured to hide the routing from WD22, the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. While the OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may also make decisions to dynamically change the routing (for example, based on network load balancing considerations or reconfiguration).

[0098] The wireless connection 64 between WD22 and network node 16 follows the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to WD22 using an OTT connection 52 in which the wireless connection 64 may form the final segment. More precisely, some teachings of these embodiments may improve data rate, latency, and / or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user latency, relaxed file size limits, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0099] In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors, which are improved in one or more embodiments. Further optional network functions may be provided for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and the WD22 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24, or in the software 90 of the WD22, or both. In embodiments, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or in relation to a communication device through which the OTT connection 52 passes, and the sensor may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or values ​​of other physical quantities through which the software 48, 90 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may include message formatting, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration may not need to affect the network node 16, and may be unknown to or imperceptible to the network node 16. Several such procedures and functions are known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary WD signaling that facilitates the measurement of the host computer 24, such as throughput, propagation time, and latency. In some embodiments, the measurement may be implemented such that software 48, 90 monitors propagation time, errors, etc., and software 48, 90 uses an OTT connection 52 to send messages, in particular empty or "dummy" messages.

[0100] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes a processing circuit 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 configured to forward the user data to the cellular network for transmission to the WD22. In some embodiments, the cellular network also includes a network node 16 having a radio interface 62. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to perform the functions and / or methods described herein for preparing / starting / maintaining / supporting / terminating transmissions to the WD22 and / or preparing / terminating / maintaining / supporting / terminating transmissions from the WD22, and / or the processing circuit 68 of the network node 16 is configured to perform them.

[0101] In some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes a processing circuit 42 and a communication interface 40, the communication interface 40 being configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from the WD 22 to the network node 16. In some embodiments, the WD 22 includes a radio interface 82 and / or processing circuit 84 configured to perform and / or perform the functions and / or methods described herein for preparing / starting / maintaining / supporting / terminating transmissions to the network node 16 and / or preparing / terminating / maintaining / supporting / terminating transmissions from the network node 16.

[0102] Figures 4 and 5 show various "units" within each processor, such as the instruction unit 32, the information unit 54, and the PDU unit 34. These units can be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in the corresponding memory within the processing circuit. In other words, the units can be implemented in hardware or in combination with hardware and software within the processing circuit.

[0103] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system in Figures 4 and 5, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD22, which may be described with reference to Figure 5. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (block S100). In an optional substep of the first step, the host computer 24 provides user data by running a host application, such as host application 50 (block S102). In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission to carry the user data to the WD22 (block S104). In an optional third step, the network node 16 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer 24 to the WD22, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (block S106). In an optional fourth step, WD22 executes a client application, such as client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (block S108).

[0104] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of Figure 4, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD22, which may be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (block S110). In an optional substep (not shown), the host computer 24 provides user data by running a host application, such as host application 50. In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission to carry the user data to the WD22 (block S112). The transmission may proceed via the network node 16, as taught in the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step, the WD22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (block S114).

[0105] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of Figure 4, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD22, which may be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In an optional first step of the method, the WD22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (block S116). In an optional substep of the first step, the WD22 runs a client application 92 that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (block S118). In an optional second step, either additionally or alternatively, the WD22 provides user data (block S120). In an optional substep of the second step, the WD provides user data by running a client application, such as the client application 92 (block S122). When providing user data, the runnable client application 92 may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific format in which the user data is provided, WD22 may initiate transmission of the user data to the host computer 24 in an optional third substep (block S124). In a fourth step of the method, the host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from WD22 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (block S126).

[0106] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as the communication system of Figure 4, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD22, which may be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In an optional first step of the method, the network node 16 receives user data from the WD22 (block S128), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional second step, the network node 16 initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (block S130). In a third step, the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (block S132).

[0107] Figure 10 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node 16 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the network node 16, such as by one or more of the processing circuit 68 (including the instruction unit 32), the processor 70, the radio interface 62 and / or the communication interface 60. The network node 16 is configured to signal a first instruction (block S134) for at least one PDU set discard timer value for at least one PDU set discard timer to be assigned to at least one protocol data unit (PDU) set importance (PSI) level, as described herein, and the PDU set discard timer value enables at least one PDU set associated with at least one PDU set discard timer value to be discarded when at least one PDU set discard timer expires. The network node 16 is configured to signal a second instruction (block S136) to activate and deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction. The network node 16 is configured to communicate with the wireless device 22 according to the first and second instructions (block S138).

[0108] According to one or more embodiments, the first instruction is one of two things: an explicit instruction that assigns at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level, or an implicit instruction that assigns at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level by omitting the explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0109] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction is provided by one of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and Open System Interconnection (OSI) Layer 1 (L1) signaling.

[0110] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction indicates a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, and one of a plurality of PSI levels for which the PDU set discard timer value is used.

[0111] Figure 11 is a flowchart of another exemplary process in a network node 16 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the network node 16, such as by one or more of the processing circuit 68 (including the instruction unit 32), the processor 70, the radio interface 62 and / or the communication interface 60. The network node 16 is configured to signal a first instruction for discarding a first set of protocol data units (PDUs) (block S140), as described herein, the first set of PDUs discard timer has a PDU set discard timer value that is associated with at least a first PDU set importance (PSI) level and is different from the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) discard timer and / or different from the PDCP discard timer value. The network node 16 is configured to communicate with a radio device 22 according to the first instruction (block S142), as described herein. According to one or more embodiments described herein, the first PDU set discard timer may be a different timer from the PDCP discard timer value. According to one or more embodiments described herein, the first PDU set discard timer value may operate in the PDCP.

[0112] According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to signal a second instruction to the wireless device 22, the second instruction being configured to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

[0113] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction is provided by either a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element or Layer 1 signaling.

[0114] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction is provided by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0115] According to one or more embodiments, a second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, wherein the plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​include a first PDU set discard timer value.

[0116] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

[0117] According to one or more embodiments, the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level.

[0118] According to one or more embodiments, the first instruction is an implicit instruction that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level by omitting an explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0119] According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to receive at least one PSI level instruction supported by the wireless device 22.

[0120] According to one or more embodiments, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

[0121] According to one or more embodiments, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

[0122] Figure 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a wireless device 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the wireless device 22, such as by one or more of the processing circuit 84 (including the PDU unit 34), the processor 86, the wireless interface 82 and / or the communication interface 60. The wireless device 22 is configured to receive a first instruction (block S140) for at least one PDU set discard timer value for at least one PDU set discard timer to be assigned to at least one protocol data unit (PDU) set importance (PSI) level, as described herein, the PDU set discard timer value allows at least one PDU set associated with at least one PDU set discard timer value to be discarded upon expiration of at least one PDU set discard timer. The wireless device 22 is configured to receive a second instruction (block S142) to perform one of activating and deactivating the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction. The wireless device 22 is configured to communicate with the network node 16 according to the first and second instructions as described herein (block S144).

[0123] According to one or more embodiments, the first instruction is one of two things: an explicit instruction that assigns at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level, or an implicit instruction that assigns at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level by omitting the explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0124] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction is provided by one of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and Layer 1 signaling.

[0125] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction indicates a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, and one of a plurality of PSI levels for which the PDU set discard timer value is used.

[0126] According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuit 84 is further configured to receive a PDU set, determine whether the PDU set has been assigned a PSI level based on the first and second instructions, start at least one PDU set discard timer with at least one PDU discard timer value implicitly indicated in the first instruction if the PSI level has not been assigned to the PDU set, and start at least one PDU discard timer using at least one PDU discard timer value explicitly indicated in the first instruction if the PSI level has been assigned to the PDU set.

[0127] According to one or more embodiments, the processing circuit 84 is further configured to determine whether the settings associated with the first instruction should be applied to at least one PDU discard timer that was operating when the second instruction was received.

[0128] Figure 13 is a flowchart of another exemplary process in a wireless device 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be implemented by one or more elements of the wireless device 22, such as by one or more of the processing circuit 84 (including the PDU unit 34), the processor 86, the wireless interface 82 and / or the communication interface 60. The wireless device 22 is configured to receive a first instruction (block S150) for a first PDU set discard timer value to discard a first protocol data unit (PDU) set, wherein the first PDU set discard timer has a PDU set discard timer value that is associated with at least a first PDU set importance (PSI) level and is different from the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) discard timer and / or different from the PDCP discard timer value, and to communicate with the network node 16 in accordance with the first instruction (block S152). According to one or more embodiments described herein, the first PDU set discard timer may be a different timer from the PDCP discard timer value. According to one or more embodiments described herein, the first PDU set discard timer value may operate in the PDCP.

[0129] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is further configured to receive a second instruction, the second instruction is configured to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

[0130] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction is received via a PDCP control element or a Layer 1 signaling.

[0131] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction is received via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0132] According to one or more embodiments, a second instruction specifies a number of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level.

[0133] According to one or more embodiments, the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

[0134] According to one or more embodiments, the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level.

[0135] According to one or more embodiments, the first instruction is an implicit instruction that assigns a first PDU set discard timer value to at least a first PSI level by omitting an explicit assignment from the first instruction.

[0136] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is further configured to transmit at least one PSI level instruction supported by the wireless device 22.

[0137] According to one or more embodiments, the first PDU set discard timer value is set to be used for a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

[0138] According to one or more embodiments, the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

[0139] Having described the general process flow of the configuration of this disclosure and provided examples of hardware and software configurations for implementing the processes and functions of this disclosure, the following sections provide configuration details and examples for radio device behavior related to discarding (one or more) sets of protocol data units (PDUs).

[0140] Some embodiments provide wireless device behavior related to discarding one or more sets of protocol data units (PDUs). One or more network node 16 functions described below may be performed by one or more of the processing circuit 68, processor 70, instruction unit 32, etc. One or more wireless device 22 functions described below may be performed by one or more of the processing circuit 84, processor 86, PDU unit 34, etc.

[0141] Network node 16 can set a PDCP discard timer value in wireless device 22. One timer is started for each PDCP SDU that reaches the PDCP layer. This timer starts when the PDCP SDU is received at the PDCP layer. When the timer expires, the PDCP layer discards the PDCP SDU and its associated PDCP PDU. It has been proposed to have a PDU set discard timer. This timer starts when the first PDCP SDU belonging to a PDU set reaches the PDCP layer. When this timer expires, all PDCP SDU packets associated with the PDU set are discarded. Network node 16 may set a PDU set discard timer value for each PDCP entity, i.e., for each DRB, or network node 16 may set one PDU set discard timer value for all DRBs, or if no PDU set discard timer value is provided for a given DRB, wireless device 22 does not set or use a PDU set discard timer value for that DRB.

[0142] When a PDU set importance (PSI) indicator is used to discriminate PDU set disposal procedures, the wireless device 22 may have one or more PDU set disposal timer values ​​for different PSI levels. One PDU set disposal timer will be started for each PDU set for which a PDU set disposal timer value is set and selected.

[0143] 1) Setting signaling to wireless device 22 Network node 16 may implicitly or explicitly associate one PSI level with one (or more) PDU set discard timer values. These values ​​may be specific to a PDU set, per service or for all configured services / DRBs, in a given DRB / PDCP in wireless device 22.

[0144] Network node 16 is not required to associate all PSI levels with a PDU set discard timer value. PSI levels that are not assigned an explicit PDU set discard timer value implicitly set their PDU set discard timer value to infinity, the default value, or this implies that no timer is set for that PSI level.

[0145] These scenarios may also apply when network node 16 associates a single PDU set discard timer value with one or more PSI levels. In this case, the same PDU set discard timer value is used for packets with different PSI levels.

[0146] Furthermore, associations between one or more PSI levels and one or more PDU set discard timer values ​​may be established based on radio device instructions regarding available / supported PSI levels when a connection is established. If there is explicit reporting from radio device 22 regarding a change in available / supported PSI levels, network node 16 may reset the associations between the indicated PSI levels and discard timer values.

[0147] The network node 16 may also indicate whether the PDU set discard timer for each PSI function should be activated or deactivated.

[0148] 2) Activate / Deactivate features The network, for example via network node 16, can further activate and deactivate the use of a PSI-specific PDU set discard timer function, which has already been pre-configured with associations between PSI levels and timer values, using a PDCP control element or MAC CE. Activation may include specifying which PSI level should use those associated PDU set discard timers, which of the PDU set discard timer values ​​should be selected for a given PSI if multiple timer values ​​are set for that PSI, or both. If there are multiple PSI levels associated with a single timer value, activation can specify which PSI level should use that timer value.

[0149] Feature activation can be triggered by a distributed unit (DU) or a central unit (CU). If activation is triggered by a CU and a PDCP CE is used, the CU will construct a PDCP CE or RRC message to send to the radio device 22. If a MAC CE is used, the CU will notify the DU via the F1 interface, and the DU will then send a MAC CE. An acknowledgment may be sent back from the DU to the CU via F1. If activation is triggered by a DU and a PDCP CE is used, the DU will instruct the CU via F1 to send a PDCP CE or RRC message to the radio device 22. An acknowledgment message may be sent from the CU to the DU. If a MAC CE is used for this purpose, the DU can construct a MAC CE and also inform the CU whether the feature has been activated or deactivated.

[0150] Another option for using PDCP CE or MAC CE is to use in-band signaling along with user plane data. The "R" bit (reserved) may be used in the PDCP header to indicate activation or deactivation. As described above, the DU or CU can trigger the activation or deactivation of a feature. There may be certain network implementations in which the DU triggers activation and deactivation, but the DU does not instruct the CU to do anything. The DU would then modify the PDCP PDU header to activate and deactivate the feature.

[0151] In some embodiments, activation / deactivation may be provided via L1 signaling, for example, DCI in PDCCH. In this case, the wireless device 22 can apply the feature as soon as the L1 signaling is received, or can begin applying the feature after a certain offset duration.

[0152] 3) Wireless device 22 behavior When a feature is activated and one of the PDUs belonging to the new PDU set, for example, the first PDCP SDU, reaches the PDCP layer, the wireless device 22 first identifies the PDU set and then determines whether the PDU set has been assigned a PSI level. These identifications and assignments depend on the wireless device capabilities and wireless device configuration.

[0153] If no PSI level is assigned to that PDU set, the wireless device 22 starts the PDU set discard timer at the value indicated when the PSI level is not used.

[0154] If a PSI level is assigned to that PDU set, the wireless device 22 checks whether the network has set a PDU set discard timer value for that PSI level, such as via the network node 16.

[0155] a) If no timer value is set, there are two options. The first option is that the wireless device 22 does not start the PDU set discard timer for that PDU set, or that the wireless device 22 sets the timer value to infinity (or a large value that is unlikely to occur). The second option is that if a default value is set by the network node 16, the wireless device 22 starts the PDU set discard timer with the default value. b) If one timer value is set, the wireless device 22 starts the PDU set discard timer value using the value instructed by the network node 16 for the PSI level. c) If multiple timer values ​​are set for the PSI level, the wireless device 22 checks whether the activation signal contains an instruction on which timer value should be used. If there is no instruction, the wireless device 22 uses the timer value set as the first priority, for example, the first timer value in a list (for example, a list ordered by priority).

[0156] There may be a situation where the wireless device 22 receives an activation or deactivation command and there is a PDU set with an active PDU set discard timer. In this (one or more) case, a) The wireless device 22 applies the new settings to newly received PDU sets without affecting any PDU set timers that are already running. b) The wireless device 22 applies the new settings to PDU sets that have been reached after a certain time threshold, which may also be network-configured. c) The wireless device 22 determines the PSI level for each PDU set in which the PDU set discard timer was active. If no PSI level is assigned, the wireless device 22 takes no action for that PDU set. If a PSI level is assigned, the wireless device 22 determines whether a PDU set timer value has been assigned for that PSI level. a. If no timer value is assigned, the wireless device 22 takes no action. b. If a value is assigned, the wireless device 22 either 1) restarts the PDU set timer with the new value, or 2) restarts the PDU set timer with the smallest value between the new value and the remaining time the timer had.

[0157] Activation can be used to update the association between PSI levels and timer values ​​when necessary, for example, when there is a new report of a change in the available PSI levels. For example, when wireless device 22 receives a different timer value, wireless device 22 may start using the new timer value for PSIs that were previously activated with some timer value.

[0158] Similarly, the wireless device 22 will stop using the timer value for an instructed PSI if the deactivation signaling specifies any PSI level for which that timer value should not be used, but activated uninstructed PSI levels will still continue to use that timer value.

[0159] When the PDU set discard timer value expires, the wireless device 22 discards all PDCP SDUs and PDUs associated with the PDU set. If the already operating discard timer expires due to the newly applied PDU set discard timer, the expiration and discard should take effect immediately.

[0160] Accordingly, one or more embodiments described herein allow for the use of PSI indicators to discard PDU sets with different priority levels in different ways in different scenarios, such as congestion situations, thereby mitigating congestion in the network at least partially.

[0161] Some examples Embodiment A1. A network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device 22 (WD22), wherein the network node 16 is Signaling a first instruction for at least one PDU set discard timer value for at least one PDU set discard timer to be assigned to at least one protocol data unit (PDU) set importance (PSI) level, wherein the PDU set discard timer value signals a first instruction that enables at least one PDU set associated with at least one PDU set discard timer value to be discarded upon expiration of at least one PDU set discard timer, Signaling a second instruction to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction, To communicate with the wireless device 22 in accordance with the first and second instructions. A network node 16 comprising a wireless interface 62 configured to perform and / or a processing circuit 68 configured to perform.

[0162] Embodiment A2. The first instruction is, An explicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level, An implicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction, and One of these is the network node 16 described in Embodiment A1.

[0163] Embodiment A3. The second instruction is, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), Layer 1 signaling and A network node 16 according to Embodiment A1, provided by one of the following.

[0164] Embodiment A4. The second instruction is, Multiple PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, Multiple PSI levels using PDU set discard timer values A network node 16 according to Embodiment A1, which indicates one of the following.

[0165] Embodiment B1. A method implemented in network node 16, wherein the method is: Signaling a first instruction for at least one PDU set discard timer value for at least one PDU set discard timer to be assigned to at least one protocol data unit (PDU) set importance (PSI) level, wherein the PDU set discard timer value signals a first instruction that enables at least one PDU set associated with at least one PDU set discard timer value to be discarded upon expiration of at least one PDU set discard timer, Signaling a second instruction to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction, To communicate with the wireless device 22 in accordance with the first and second instructions. Methods that include...

[0166] Embodiment B2. The first instruction is, An explicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level, An implicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction, and The method according to Embodiment B1, which is one of the embodiments.

[0167] Embodiment B3. The second instruction is, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), Layer 1 signaling and The method according to Embodiment B1, provided by one of the following.

[0168] Embodiment B4. The second instruction is, Multiple PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, Multiple PSI levels using PDU set discard timer values The method according to Embodiment B1, which indicates one of the following.

[0169] Embodiment C1. A wireless device 22 configured to communicate with a network node 16, wherein WD22 is Receiving a first instruction for at least one PDU set discard timer value for at least one PDU set discard timer to be assigned to at least one protocol data unit (PDU) set importance (PSI) level, wherein the PDU set discard timer value receives a first instruction that enables at least one PDU set associated with at least one PDU set discard timer value to be discarded upon expiration of at least one PDU set discard timer, Receiving a second instruction to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction, To communicate with network node 16 in accordance with the first and second instructions. A wireless device 22 comprising a wireless interface 82 and / or processing circuit 84 configured to perform and / or perform the same.

[0170] Embodiment C2. The first instruction is, An explicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level, An implicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction, and One of these is the wireless device 22 described in Embodiment C1.

[0171] Embodiment C3. The second instruction is, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), Layer 1 signaling and A wireless device 22 according to embodiment C1, provided by one of the following.

[0172] Embodiment C4. The second instruction is, Multiple PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, Multiple PSI levels using PDU set discard timer values A wireless device 22 according to Embodiment C1, which indicates one of the following.

[0173] Embodiment C5. The processing circuit 84 is, Receiving a PDU set, Based on the first and second instructions, determine whether the PDU set has been assigned a PSI level, If no PSI level is assigned to the PDU set, start at least one PDU set discard timer with at least one PDU discard timer value implicitly indicated in the first instruction, When a PSI level is assigned to a PDU set, at least one PDU set discard timer is started using at least one PDU discard timer value explicitly specified in the first instruction. A wireless device 22 according to embodiment C1, further configured to perform the following actions.

[0174] Embodiment C6. The wireless device 22 according to Embodiment C1, wherein the processing circuit 84 is further configured to determine whether the settings associated with the first instruction should be applied to at least one PDU discard timer that was operating when the second instruction was received.

[0175] Embodiment D1. A method implemented in a wireless device 22 configured to communicate with a network node 16, wherein the method is: Receiving a first instruction for at least one PDU set discard timer value for at least one PDU set discard timer to be assigned to at least one protocol data unit (PDU) set importance (PSI) level, wherein the PDU set discard timer value receives a first instruction that enables at least one PDU set associated with at least one PDU set discard timer value to be discarded upon expiration of at least one PDU set discard timer, Receiving a second instruction to either activate or deactivate the PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction, To communicate with network node 16 in accordance with the first and second instructions. Methods that include...

[0176] Embodiment D2. The first instruction is, An explicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level, An implicit instruction to assign at least one PDU set discard timer value to at least one PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction, and The method according to Embodiment D1, which is one of the embodiments.

[0177] Embodiment D3. The second instruction is, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), Layer 1 signaling and The method according to embodiment D1, provided by one of the following.

[0178] Embodiment D4. The second instruction is, Multiple PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, Multiple PSI levels using PDU set discard timer values The method according to Embodiment D1, which indicates one of the following.

[0179] Embodiment D5. Receiving a PDU set, Based on the first and second instructions, determine whether the PDU set has been assigned a PSI level, If no PSI level is assigned to the PDU set, start at least one PDU set discard timer with at least one PDU discard timer value implicitly indicated in the first instruction, When a PSI level is assigned to a PDU set, at least one PDU set discard timer is started using at least one PDU discard timer value explicitly specified in the first instruction. The method according to embodiment D1, further comprising:

[0180] Embodiment D6. The method according to Embodiment D1, further comprising determining whether the settings associated with the first instruction should be applied to at least one PDU discard timer that was operating when the second instruction was received.

[0181] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as methods, data processing systems, computer program products, and / or computer storage media for storing executable computer programs. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of entirely hardware embodiments, entirely software embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware embodiments, all of which may be generally referred to herein as “circuits” or “modules.” Any process, step, action, and / or function described herein may be carried out by and / or associated with a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, this disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer program code embodied in a medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer-readable medium may be used, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0182] Several embodiments have been described herein with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams illustrating methods, systems, and computer program products. It will be understood that each block in a flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as combinations of blocks in a flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device for creating a machine (thereby creating a dedicated computer), and so those instructions executed via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create means for implementing a function / action specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0183] These computer program instructions may also be stored in computer-readable memory or storage medium that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, and so the instructions stored in computer-readable memory may produce a product that includes instruction means for implementing a function / action specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0184] Computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable device in order to create a computer implementation process; therefore, instructions executed on a computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing a function / action specified in one or more blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0185] It should be understood that the functions / actions mentioned within a block may occur in a different order than those shown in the illustrative diagram of the operation. For example, depending on the functions / actions involved, two blocks shown consecutively may, in effect, be executed substantially concurrently, or blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order. Some of the diagrams include arrows on the communication path to indicate the primary direction of communication, but it should be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the illustrated arrows.

[0186] Computer program code for performing the operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object-oriented programming language such as Python, Java®, or C++. However, computer program code for performing the operations of the disclosure may also be written in a conventional procedural programming language such as the C programming language. The program code may run entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0187] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein in relation to the above description and drawings. It will be understood that a literal description and illustration of every combination and partial combination of these embodiments would be excessively repetitive and obscure. Therefore, all embodiments may be combined in some way and / or in combination, and this specification, including the drawings, should be construed as constituting a complete written description of all combinations and partial combinations of the embodiments described herein, and all combinations and partial combinations of the modes and processes of making and using them, and shall support any claims for any such combination or partial combination.

[0188] The abbreviations that may be used in the above explanation include the following:

[0189] Abbreviations and Explanations AR (Augmented Reality) DCI Downlink Control Information DL Downlink DRB dedicated wireless bearer eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband) FPS (frames per second) IP Internet Protocol KB (kilobyte) L1 Layer 1 MR (Mixed Reality) NR new radio PDCCH Physical Dedicated Control Channel PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDU Protocol Data Unit Importance of PSI PDU sets RAN (Radio Access Network) RLC Wireless Link Controller RRC Wireless Resource Controller SDU Service Data Unit TB transport block TTI Time Transmission Interval UE User Equipment UL Uplink URLLC: Ultra-high reliability, low latency communication VoIP (Voice over IP) VR (Virtual Reality) XR Extended Reality 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project 5GC 5G core

[0190] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to those specifically shown and described herein above. Furthermore, it should be noted that not all of the accompanying drawings are to a constant scale unless otherwise stated above. In light of the above teachings, various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the following claims.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a wireless device (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16), wherein the method is Receiving a first instruction for a first PDU set discard timer value to discard a first protocol data unit (PDU) set (S150), wherein the first PDU set discard timer value It is associated with at least the first PDU set importance (PSI) level, and The PDU set discard timer value is different from and / or different from the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer, Receiving the first instruction (S150), Communicating with the network node (16) in accordance with the first instruction (S152) Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving a second instruction, the second instruction being configured to activate or deactivate a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

3. The second instruction above is, PDCP control element, or Layer 1 signaling The method according to claim 2, which is received via one of the following.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second instruction is received via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first instruction is an implicit instruction to allocate the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising transmitting at least one PSI level instruction supported by the wireless device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set to be used for a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

12. A wireless device (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16), wherein the wireless device (22) Receiving a first instruction of a first PDU set discard timer value for discarding a first protocol data unit (PDU) set, wherein the first PDU set discard timer is It is associated with at least the first PDU set importance (PSI) level, and The PDU set discard timer value is different from and / or different from the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer, Receiving the first instruction, To communicate with the network node (16) in accordance with the first instruction above. A wireless device (22) configured to perform the following actions.

13. The wireless device (22) according to claim 12, wherein the wireless device (22) is further configured to receive a second instruction, the second instruction being configured to activate or deactivate a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

14. The second instruction above is, PDCP control element, or Layer 1 signaling The wireless device according to claim 13, which is received via one of the following.

15. The wireless device (22) according to claim 13, wherein the second instruction is received via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

16. The wireless device (22) according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level.

17. The wireless device (22) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels using the first PDU set discard timer value.

18. The wireless device (22) according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level.

19. The wireless device (22) according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the first instruction is an implicit instruction to allocate the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction.

20. The wireless device (22) according to any one of claims 12 to 19, further configured to transmit instructions of at least one PSI level supported by the wireless device (22).

21. The wireless device (22) according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set to be used for a specific data wireless bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

22. The wireless device (22) according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data wireless bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

23. A method implemented in a network node (16) configured to communicate with a wireless device, wherein the method is Signaling a first instruction for a first PDU set discard timer value to discard a first protocol data unit (PDU) set (S140), wherein the first PDU set discard timer is It is associated with at least the first PDU set importance (PSI) level, and Unlike the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer, and / or having a PDU set discard time value different from the PDCP discard timer value, Signaling the first instruction (S140), Communicating with the wireless device in accordance with the first instruction (S142) Methods that include...

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising signaling a second instruction to the wireless device (22), wherein the second instruction is configured to activate or deactivate a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

25. The second instruction above is, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, or Layer 1 signaling The method according to claim 24, provided by one of the following.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the second instruction is provided by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, and the plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​include the first PDU set discard timer value.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

29. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level.

30. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein the first instruction is an implicit instruction to allocate the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction.

31. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, further comprising receiving an instruction of at least one PSI level supported by the wireless device (22).

32. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 31, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use with a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

33. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 31, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

34. A network node (16) configured to communicate with a wireless device (22), wherein the network node (16) is Signaling a first instruction for a first PDU set discard timer value to discard a first protocol data unit (PDU) set, wherein the first PDU set discard timer is It is associated with at least the first PDU set importance (PSI) level, and The PDU set discard timer value is different from and / or different from the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) discard timer, Signaling the first instruction, To communicate with the wireless device (22) in accordance with the first instruction and A network node (16) configured to perform this task.

35. The network node (16) according to claim 34, further configured to signal a second instruction to the wireless device (22), wherein the second instruction is configured to activate or deactivate a PDU set discard timer function associated with the first instruction.

36. The second instruction above is, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control element, or Layer 1 signaling A network node (16) according to claim 35, provided by one of the above.

37. The network node (16) according to claim 35, wherein the second instruction is provided by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

38. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein the second instruction specifies a plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​for use at a certain PSI level, and the plurality of PDU set discard timer values ​​include the first PDU set discard timer value.

39. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein the second instruction indicates a plurality of PSI levels that use the first PDU set discard timer value.

40. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 34 to 39, wherein the first instruction is an explicit instruction to assign the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level.

41. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 34 to 39, wherein the first instruction is an implicit instruction to allocate the first PDU set discard timer value to at least the first PSI level by omitting an explicit allocation from the first instruction.

42. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 34 to 41, further configured to receive instructions of at least one PSI level supported by the wireless device (22).

43. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 34 to 42, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use in a specific data radio bearer (DRB), PDCP, or service.

44. The network node (16) according to any one of claims 34 to 42, wherein the first PDU set discard timer value is set for use by multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) or multiple services.

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