Method for supporting time-sensitive communication and communications device

Abstract

Some embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for supporting timesensitive communication and a communications device. The method for supporting time-sensitive communication applied to a first communications device includes: transmitting (41) first information and / or second information; where the first information includes at least one of the following: first capability information of a terminal UE and information related to a delay between the UE and a radio access network RAN network element; and the second information includes at least one of the following: a type of the UE, a type of time-sensitive networking, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is required.

Description

Method and communication device for supporting time sensitive communication

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201910028869.X, filed on January 11, 2019 in China, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the technical field of wireless communication, and in particular, to a method and a communication device for supporting time sensitive communication. BACKGROUND

[0004] Many vertical industries have the demand of time sensitive communication. In the industrial internet, there are time sensitive data, such as robot instructions, which need to be executed in sequence within a specified time. However, network transmission resources are shared, and data transmission has latency and jitter, which cannot support time sensitive data. Therefore, a time sensitive network is proposed to support the transmission of time sensitive data.

[0005] The time sensitive network divides time into intervals, which are sliding windows. In each sliding window, the traffic specification of the time sensitive data stream is defined, and the transmission resources are reserved in advance. In this way, when the sliding window of the transmitted data arrives, even if there is no time sensitive data stream, the network resources cannot be occupied by other data streams. When the time sensitive data stream arrives, it occupies dedicated resources for transmission.

[0006] The sending end of the time sensitive data stream is called talker, and the receiving end of the time sensitive data stream is called listener. One or more bridges are used for data forwarding between the talker and the listener.

[0007] The transmission medium of the talker, the listener or the bridge can be a wireless connection. Therefore, the wireless communication network can be a transmission medium in the time sensitive network. How the wireless communication network supports time sensitive communication is a technical problem to be solved.

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and a communication device for supporting time sensitive communication, which are used to solve the problem of how the wireless communication network supports time sensitive communication.

[0010] To solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure is implemented as follows:

[0011] In a first aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a first communication device, comprising:

[0012] sending the first information and / or the second information;

[0013] wherein the first information comprises at least one of:

[0014] first capability information of a terminal (UE), and latency related information between the UE and a radio access network (RAN) network element;

[0015] the second information comprises at least one of:

[0016] a type of the UE, a type of a time-sensitive network, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data flow configuration information is needed.

[0017] In a second aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a second communication device, comprising:

[0018] obtaining the first information, the second information, and / or the third information;

[0019] performing a first operation according to the first information, the second information, and / or the third information;

[0020] wherein the first information comprises at least one of:

[0021] first capability information of a terminal (UE), and latency related information between the UE and a radio access network (RAN) network element;

[0022] the second information comprises at least one of:

[0023] a type of the UE, a type of a time-sensitive network, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data flow configuration information is needed.

[0024] the third information comprises at least one of:

[0025] capability information of an anchor gateway, and first transmission configuration information of a time-sensitive data flow.

[0026] In a third aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a third communication device, comprising:

[0027] obtaining bridge configuration information and / or configuration information of a time-sensitive data flow;

[0028] performing a second operation of time-sensitive communication according to the bridge configuration information and / or the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, which is a first communication device, comprising:

[0030] a sending module configured to send first information and / or second information;

[0031] The first information comprises at least one of:

[0032] first capability information of the UE, and latency-related information between the UE and a radio access network (RAN) network element.

[0033] The second information comprises at least one of:

[0034] a type of the UE, a type of a time-sensitive network, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is needed.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, which is a second communication device, comprising:

[0036] an obtaining module configured to obtain first information, second information, and / or third information;

[0037] a performing module configured to perform a first operation according to the first information, the second information, and / or the third information.

[0038] The first information comprises at least one of:

[0039] first capability information of the UE, and latency-related information between the UE and a radio access network (RAN) network element.

[0040] The second information comprises at least one of:

[0041] a type of the UE, a type of a time-sensitive network, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is needed.

[0042] The third information comprises at least one of:

[0043] capability information of an anchor gateway, and first transmission configuration information of a time-sensitive data stream.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, which is a third communication device, comprising:

[0045] an obtaining module configured to obtain bridge configuration information and / or configuration information of a time-sensitive data stream;

[0046] a performing module configured to perform a second operation of time-sensitive communication according to the bridge configuration information and / or the configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream.

[0047] In a sixth aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, when the program is executed by the processor, steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided in the first aspect are implemented, or steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided in the second aspect are implemented, or steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided in the third aspect are implemented.

[0048] In a sixth aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, when the computer program is executed by a processor, steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided in the first aspect are implemented, or steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided in the second aspect are implemented, or steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided in the third aspect are implemented.

[0049] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE can provide the network with the related capability of the UE as a bridge and the latency related information, to support the network to determine the bridge capability of the UE and the network; on the other hand, the UE can send the information of the time-sensitive network of the UE to the network, to support the network to determine whether to configure the time-sensitive data flow for the UE, thereby supporting the time-sensitive communication. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0050] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a description of preferred embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Moreover, like reference numerals in the drawings denote like parts throughout the various drawings. In the drawings:

[0051] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a wireless communication system provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of an architecture of a wireless communication system provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of transmission of a time-sensitive data flow in a bridge;

[0054] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0055] FIG. 5 is another flowchart of a method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG. 6 is another flowchart of a method for supporting time-sensitive communication provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0057] FIG. 7 is another flowchart of a method for supporting time sensitive communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0058] FIG. 8 is another schematic diagram of a method for supporting time sensitive communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG. 9 is another schematic diagram of a method for supporting time sensitive communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0060] FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure;

[0061] FIG. 11 is another structural diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure;

[0062] FIG. 12 is another structural diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure;

[0063] FIG. 13 is another structural diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure;

[0064] FIG. 14 is another structural diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure; and

[0065] FIG. 15 is another structural diagram of a communication device according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described in connection with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0067] The term “comprising” and any variation thereof in the specification and claims of the present application is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus that includes a list of steps or units need not be limited to those clearly listed, but can include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products or apparatus. In addition, the use of “and / or” in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects, for example, A and / or B means three cases including A alone, B alone, and A and B both.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the words “exemplary” or “for example” are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of “exemplary” or “for example” is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0069] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The method and communication device supporting time sensitive communication provided by embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied in a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system can be a 5G system, or an evolved long term evolution (eLTE) system, or a subsequent evolved communication system.

[0070] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, time sensitive can also be referred to as periodic deterministic. Time sensitive communication can also be referred to as periodic deterministic communication. Time sensitive data stream can also be referred to as periodic deterministic data stream. A time sensitive network technology is, for example, IEEE TSN (Time Sensing Network). Periodic deterministic communication is data transmission with a periodic transmission interval.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission configuration information of the time sensitive data stream can include user and / or network configuration information. The user and / or network configuration information is used to configure the transmission of the time sensitive data stream. The user and / or network configuration information can be the user and / or network configuration information in IEEE 802.1Qcc. The user and / or network configuration information can include at least one of the following: a listener group, a talker group, and a traffic specification.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 1, an architecture diagram of a wireless communication system is provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0073] The sender of the time sensitive data stream is referred to as a talker, and the receiver of the time sensitive data stream is referred to as a listener. One or more bridges are used for data forwarding between the talker and the listener. An end station node can be a talker or a listener. A bridge is responsible for data transmission between the talker and the listener.

[0074] The UE and the wireless communication network constitute a bridge. For downlink data, the UE is the bridge exit, and the UPF is the bridge entrance. For uplink data, the UE is the bridge entrance, and the UPF is the bridge exit.

[0075] The UE can be collocated with the End Station, the UE can be collocated with the Bridge, the UE can connect to the Bridge or the UE can connect to the End Station.

[0076] User / Network Configuration Information is used to configure the transmission of time sensitive data flows. For a centralized architecture, the wireless communication network can obtain the User / Network Configuration Information from an external control unit providing configuration information, which can be a Centralized Network Configuration (CNC), but is not limited to.

[0077] For a distributed architecture, the wireless communication network can receive the User / Network Configuration Information of the previous hop from the ingress of the bridge and generate the User / Network Configuration Information of the bridge.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 2, another architecture of a wireless communication system is provided for some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication system includes a UE, a Radio Access Network (RAN) network element, and a gateway UPF, which can be one or more UPFs. There can be zero or more Intermediate UPFs between the RAN and the anchor UPF.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 3, an illustration of a time sensitive data flow being transmitted in a bridge is provided. The time sensitive network divides time into intervals, which are sliding windows, and the two circles can represent the bridge delay. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bridge formed by the terminal and the wireless communication network can be referred to as the bridge formed by the terminal and the network.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission interval can be referred to as the transmission period.

[0082] In order to support time sensitive communication services, the following problems also need to be solved:

[0083] Problem 1. When the CNC determines the User / Network Configuration Information, the bridge delay needs to be considered. As shown in FIG. 2, the bridge delay includes the processing delay of the UE, the delay between the UE and the RAN network element, and the delay between the RAN and the UPF.

[0084] (1) The processing latency of a UE is related to its capabilities. Different UEs have different capabilities; a single UE can support multiple bridge ports. The processing latency of a UE can also be called the bridging latency of the UE as a bridge. It can be the time for data transmission between a bridge port and the Uu port. Therefore, the processing latency of a UE can vary depending on the port. Time-sensitive networks require latency at the nanosecond level, so the processing latency of a UE cannot be ignored. Therefore, how the network obtains the processing latency of the UE to determine the bridging latency between the UE and the wireless communication network is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0085] (2) The delay between the UE and the RAN network element is part of the delay within the bridge. The air interface transmission delay varies depending on the distance of the UE from the cell center. Therefore, the bridge delay formed by the UE and the wired communication network is not fixed. How to determine the delay between the UE and the RAN network element (which may include the air interface transmission delay) is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0086] (3) The end-to-end latency between RAN network elements and anchor gateways (such as anchor UPFs) is also part of the bridge latency. As the UE switches between RAN network elements, the latency between the RAN network elements and the anchor UPFs also changes. How to determine the latency between the RAN network elements and the anchor UPFs is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0087] Question 2: When a UE acts as a bridge exit, the capabilities of the UEs and the transmission media they connect to differ. Therefore, the available bandwidth (or transmission rate) supported by each UE varies. This means the propagation delay of the UE as a bridge will differ.

[0088] For data packets of the same size, the required transmission time varies depending on the bandwidth. In time-sensitive networks, the time interval between the latest start time and the end time of data transmission must be sufficient to transmit the last data packet within the transmission interval. Since the end time of the data transmission interval is the same, the latest start time will differ for different bandwidths.

[0089] For a centralized bridge architecture, the CNC needs to obtain the bridge's capabilities (such as available bandwidth) to configure user and / or network configuration information. For a distributed bridge architecture, after the UE and the network form a bridge, upon receiving an SRP message, they obtain the user and / or network configuration information of the previous hop and also need to configure the user and / or network configuration information of the next hop based on the bridge's capabilities. However, the wireless communication network still lacks information about the UE's capabilities as a bridge exit point.

[0090] Question 3: Time-sensitive network configures time-sensitive data stream transmission for bridge and / or End Station, commonly referred to as user and / or network configuration information. The configuration architecture of time-sensitive network is divided into three types: fully distributed, fully centralized, and centralized-distributed hybrid. The bridge can obtain user and / or network configuration information from CNC. For centralized-distributed hybrid, the bridge connected with the End Station needs to send the user and / or network configuration information to the End Station. The bridge connected with the bridge does not need to send the user and / or network configuration information to the connected bridge. For centralized, the bridge connected with the End Station does not need to send the user and / or network configuration information to the End Station. The UE and the wireless communication network form a bridge, and the UE can be combined with the End Station, that is, the UE can be an End Station or a bridge. However, the wireless communication network still lacks information about whether the UE is an End Station or a bridge, and still lacks information about the type of time-sensitive network, and does not confirm whether to send the transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream to the UE.

[0091] Optionally, obtaining can be understood as obtaining from configuration, receiving, receiving after requesting, obtaining through self-learning, deriving according to un-received information, or obtaining after processing received information. The specific method can be determined according to actual needs, and some embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the same. For example, when a certain capability indication information sent by a device is not received, it can be inferred that the device does not support the capability.

[0092] Optionally, sending can include broadcasting, broadcasting in a system message, and returning after responding to a request.

[0093] In an optional embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel can include at least one of the following: a PDU session, a Quality of Service (QoS) flow, an Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer, a PDP context, a DRB, an SRB, and an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) association.

[0094] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NG interface can also be referred to as an S1 interface or an N2 interface, and the naming is not limited.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless communication network can be at least one of the following: a public network and a non-public network; or the first network can be a non-public network.

[0096] In an embodiment of the disclosure, the non-public network is a short name of a non-public network. The non-public network can be referred to as one of the following: a non-public communication network. The non-public network can include at least one of the following deployment modes: a physical non-public network, a virtual non-public network, and a non-public network implemented on a public network. In an embodiment, the non-public network is a closed access group (CAG). A CAG can be composed of a group of terminals.

[0097] In an embodiment of the disclosure, the non-public network can include or be referred to as a private network. The private network can be referred to as one of the following: a private communication network, a private network, a local area network (LAN), a private virtual network (PVN), an isolated communication network, a dedicated communication network, or other names. It should be noted that the naming manner is not specifically limited in some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0098] In an embodiment of the disclosure, the public network is a short name of a public network. The public network can be referred to as one of the following: a public communication network or other names. It should be noted that the naming manner is not specifically limited in some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0099] In an embodiment of the disclosure, the data packet size can be referred to as a data packet length.

[0100] In an embodiment of the disclosure, the data packet can be referred to as a data frame.

[0101] In an optional embodiment of the disclosure, the communication device can include at least one of the following: a communication network element and a terminal.

[0102] In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication network element can include at least one of the following: a core network element and a radio access network element.

[0103] In some embodiments of the disclosure, the core network network element (CN network element) can include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a core network device, a core network node, a core network function, a core network network element, a Mobility Management Entity (MME), an Access Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a serving GW (SGW), a PDN Gate Way (PDN gateway), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), and a radio access network device.

[0104] In some embodiments of the disclosure, the RAN network element can include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a radio access network device, a radio access network node, a radio access network function, a radio access network element, a 3GPP radio access network, a non-3GPP radio access network, a Centralized Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), a base station, an evolved Node B (eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a base station (NodeB), a Non-3GPP Inter Working Function (N3IWF), an Access Controller (AC) node, an Access Point (AP) device or a Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) node, an N3IWF.

[0105] The base station can be a base station (BTS, Base Transceiver Station) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB) in WCDMA, an evolved base station (eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in LTE, and a 5G base station (gNB). Some embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0106] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the UE is a terminal. The terminal can include a relay supporting terminal function and / or a terminal supporting relay function. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device or a user terminal (UE). The terminal can be a terminal-side device such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile Internet device (MID), a wearable device, or a vehicle-mounted device. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal is not limited in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0107] The method for supporting time-sensitive communication in some embodiments of the present disclosure is described below.

[0108] Referring to FIG. 4, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a first communication device. The first communication device includes but is not limited to a UE, and the method includes:

[0109] Step 41: transmitting first information and / or second information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: first capability information of the UE, delay-related information between the UE and a RAN network element; and the second information includes at least one of the following: a type of the UE, a type of the time-sensitive network, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data flow configuration information is required.

[0110] (1) The first capability of the UE can be understood as the capability of the UE as a network bridge. The first capability information of the UE can include at least one of the following: network bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the UE, processing delay information of the UE, and transmission propagation delay-related information of the UE. The bandwidth-related information supported by the UE can be related information of the available bandwidth supported by the UE, and indication information of whether the UE supports time-sensitive communication. The indication information of whether the UE supports time-sensitive communication can include whether the UE supports a stream reservation protocol (SRP).

[0111] It should be noted that, since the first capability information includes the bridge identification information of the UE, the bandwidth information supported by the UE, the processing delay information of the UE, and the transmission propagation delay related information of the UE, the network side can determine the specific capability of the terminal according to the above capability information, and then configure the terminal according to the capability of the terminal, so that the transmission time is more accurate.

[0112] (1.1) Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following: port related information, port bandwidth, port bandwidth availability parameter, and port transmission rate.

[0113] In an embodiment, the port bandwidth availability parameter can be defined as Bandwidth Availability Parameters in IEEE 802.1Q series.

[0114] In an embodiment, the port bandwidth can be the available bandwidth of the port, and the port transmission rate can be the available transmission rate of the port.

[0115] (1.2) Optionally, the transmission propagation delay related information of the UE includes at least one of the following: port related information, port transmission propagation delay, and traffic class.

[0116] The port transmission propagation delay can be the transmission time required for a data frame to pass from the port of the UE to the port of the connected station (bridge or End station).

[0117] (1.3) Optionally, the port related information can include at least one of the following: port identification information, port direction as exit or entry related information, port number, port MAC address, port IP address, port associated VLAN tag information, and port data filter information.

[0118] Optionally, the port data filter information can include at least one of the following: Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag information, media access control (MAC) address, IPv4 address, port number, IPv6 address, and port indication information, wherein the port indication information includes transmission port indication information or reception port indication information.

[0119] The VLAN tag information can include Service VLAN Tag (S-TAG) and / or Customer VLAN Tag (C-TAG).

[0120] (1.4) optionally, the service class is the number of transmit queues of the port or the service type. The service type can include at least one of the following: Background, best effort, excellent effort, critical application, video, voice, internetwork control, network control.

[0121] (1.4) optionally, the processing delay information of the UE includes at least one of the following: the port related information of the data ingress, the port related information of the data egress, the processing delay of the UE, the service class associated with the data packet. The port related information is as described above and will not be repeated here. The service class is as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0122] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE can be the bridge delay of the UE as a bridge. In an embodiment, the processing delay of the UE can be the transmission time required for the data packet to pass from the data ingress to the data egress. The data ingress or the data egress can include one of the following: the UU port of the UE, the bridge port of the UE; wherein the UU port is the interface between the UE and the RAN. The data ingress or the data egress can also include one of the following: the first bridge port of the UE, the second bridge port of the UE.

[0123] In an embodiment, the first bridge port of the UE can be the bridge port connected to the UU interface of the UE. In an embodiment, the second bridge port of the UE can be the port connected to the bridge or the End Station.

[0124] For example: when the data ingress is the UU port of the UE, the data egress can be the bridge port of the UE or the bridge egress of the UE; or when the data ingress is the bridge port of the UE or the bridge ingress of the UE, the data egress can be the UU port of the UE; or the data ingress is the first bridge port, and the data egress is the second bridge port of the UE; or the data ingress is the second bridge port of the UE, and the data egress is the first bridge port of the UE.

[0125] Further, the processing delay of the UE can be at least one of the following:

[0126] the time required for the data packet to pass from the first bridge port of the UE to the second bridge port of the UE;

[0127] the time required for the data packet to pass from the second bridge port of the UE to the first bridge port of the UE;

[0128] time taken for a data packet to pass from the UU port of the UE to the bridge port of the UE;

[0129] time taken for a data packet to pass from the bridge port of the UE to the UU port of the UE;

[0130] time taken for a data packet to be received at the bridge port of the UE to be ready for sending from the UU port of the UE.

[0131] In an embodiment, the time taken for a data packet to pass from the first bridge port of the UE to the second bridge port of the UE is the same as the time taken for a data packet to pass from the second bridge port of the UE to the first bridge port of the UE.

[0132] Further, the processing delay of the UE can comprise at least one of: a maximum processing delay of the UE and a minimum processing delay of the UE. The minimum processing delay of the UE is also referred to as the minimum bridge delay of the UE, and the maximum processing delay of the UE is also referred to as the maximum bridge delay of the UE. The minimum processing delay of the UE can be further distinguished into a minimum processing delay of the UE related to a data packet size and a minimum processing delay of the UE independent of a data packet size. The maximum processing delay of the UE can be further distinguished into a maximum processing delay of the UE related to a data packet size and a maximum processing delay of the UE independent of a data packet size.

[0133] Further, the processing delay of the UE can comprise at least one of: a downlink processing delay of the UE and an uplink processing delay of the UE.

[0134] The downlink processing delay of the UE can be one of:

[0135] time taken for a data packet to pass from the first bridge port of the UE to the second bridge port of the UE; data packet;

[0136] time taken for a data packet to pass from the UU port of the UE to the bridge port of the UE.

[0137] The downlink processing delay of the UE can be referred to as the downlink delay of the UE as a bridge.

[0138] The uplink processing delay of the UE can be one of:

[0139] time taken for a data packet to pass from the second bridge port of the UE to the first bridge port of the UE;

[0140] time taken for a data packet to pass from the bridge port of the UE to the UU port of the UE;

[0141] time taken for a data packet to be received at the bridge port of the UE to be ready for sending from the UU port of the UE.

[0142] It is understandable that the uplink data transmission needs the UE to request the scheduling of the RAN. The latency waiting for the scheduling of the RAN network element is not the processing latency of the UE. The uplink processing latency of the UE can be referred to as the uplink latency of the UE as a network bridge.

[0143] In an implementation, the uplink processing latency of the UE is consistent with the downlink processing latency of the UE.

[0144] (2) The latency related information between the UE and the RAN network element includes at least one of the following: the end-to-end latency between the UE and the RAN network element, the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element, the processing latency of the RAN, and the processing latency of the UE. The RAN network element can be the serving RAN network element of the UE, the RAN network element storing the context of the UE, or the RAN network element currently accessed by the UE.

[0145] Optionally, the end-to-end latency between the UE and the RAN network element can include at least one of the following:

[0146] the time required for a data packet to be received by the RAN network element from the N3 interface to be received by the UE,

[0147] the time required for a data packet to be sent by the UE to the RAN network element to be sent by the RAN network element to the N3 interface,

[0148] the sum of the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element and the processing latency of the RAN,

[0149] the sum of the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element, the processing latency of the RAN, and the processing latency of the UE.

[0150] The N3 interface is the N3 interface shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2.

[0151] Optionally, the processing latency of the RAN is the time required for a data packet to be received by the RAN network element to be sent by the RAN network element to the UE.

[0152] In an implementation, the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element is time advance / 2. The time advance can be the sending advance time configured for the UE by the RAN network element according to the air interface transmission latency. The time advance is, for example, N*TA (TA is the minimum unit of time adjustment). The farther the relative distance between the UE and the base station or cell center, the longer the air interface transmission latency. In another implementation, the air interface transmission latency is the time value converted from the cell radius. In another implementation, the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element is hack / 2, where hack / 2 is the time required for the 1 / 2hacq process.

[0153] (1) The type of UE includes one of the following: bridge, End station.

[0154] (2) The type of time sensitive network (or referred to as architecture type) includes one of the following: fully distributed, fully centralized, centralized-distributed hybrid.

[0155] In one implementation, the UE is a bridge. When the network needs to send user and / or network configuration information to the UE.

[0156] In another implementation, the UE is an End station and the architecture type of the time sensitive network is fully distributed or centralized-distributed hybrid. When the network needs to send user and / or network configuration information to the UE.

[0157] In another implementation, the UE is an End station and the architecture type of the time sensitive network is fully centralized. When the network does not need to send user and / or network configuration information to the UE.

[0158] (3) An indication of whether time sensitive data flow configuration information is needed. When the indication indicates yes, the network needs to send user and / or network configuration information to the UE. When the indication indicates no or the indication is not included, the network does not need to send user and / or network configuration information to the UE.

[0159] Further, the step 401 can be sending the first information and / or the second information when a preset condition is met.

[0160] The preset condition can be at least one of the following:

[0161] Receiving a request of the network for the first information;

[0162] Receiving a request of the network for the second information;

[0163] The type of UE is a bridge;

[0164] The UE supports time sensitive communication.

[0165] In this way, the first information and / or the second information can be sent only when the preset condition is met, so as to avoid frequent sending of the first information and / or the second information, and to achieve the effect of saving power consumption.

[0166] In one implementation, when the UE supports time sensitive communication, the first information and / or the second information is sent and the indication of whether the UE supports time sensitive communication indicates that the UE supports time sensitive communication.

[0167] Optionally, after the step of sending the first information and / or the second information, the method further includes:

[0168] obtaining port configuration information, the port configuration information comprising at least one of the following: related information of the port, bandwidth of the port, transmission rate of the port;

[0169] configuring the bandwidth and / or the transmission rate of the port according to the obtained port configuration information.

[0170] The port configuration information can be sent by the network.

[0171] In this embodiment, the bandwidth and / or the transmission rate of the port is configured according to the obtained port configuration information, so that the configured bandwidth of the port is more suitable for the transmission of time-sensitive data.

[0172] Optionally, the sending of the first information and / or the second information comprises:

[0173] sending the first information and / or the second information to a target end, wherein the target end comprises a RAN network element and a CN network element, and the target end can be a communication network element of a network that forms a bridge with the UE.

[0174] The CN network element can include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a PCF, an AMF, and an SMF.

[0175] Through some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first communication device can provide the network with the related capability and latency-related information of the UE as a bridge on one hand, and support the network to determine the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network; on the other hand, the UE sends the information of the time-sensitive network of the UE to the network, supporting the network to determine whether to configure the time-sensitive data flow for the UE, thereby supporting time-sensitive communication.

[0176] Please refer to FIG. 5, some embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a second communication device, wherein the second communication device includes but is not limited to a CN network element and a PCF, and the method comprises:

[0177] Step 51: obtaining first information, second information and / or third information;

[0178] Step 52: performing a first operation according to the first information, the second information and / or the third information.

[0179] The first information is the same as the first information in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and is not repeated here.

[0180] The second information is the same as the second information in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and is not repeated here.

[0181] The third information comprises at least one of the following: capability information of the anchor gateway, first transmission configuration information (such as user and / or network configuration information) of the time-sensitive data flow.

[0182] Optionally, the first information is acquired from at least one of the following: the UE, the first communication device, and a RAN network element currently accessed by the UE.

[0183] Optionally, the second information is acquired from at least one of the following: the UE, the first communication device, and a RAN network element currently accessed by the UE.

[0184] Optionally, the third information is acquired from at least one of the following: the UE and the anchor gateway.

[0185] Optionally, the related information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following: capability information of the anchor gateway, RAN network element and anchor gateway delay related information, and processing delay information of the anchor gateway.

[0186] (1) The capability of the anchor gateway can be understood as the capability of the anchor gateway as a bridge. The capability information of the anchor gateway can comprise at least one of the following: bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway, processing delay of the anchor gateway, and transmission propagation delay related information of the anchor gateway.

[0187] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following: related information of the port, bandwidth of the port, and transmission rate of the port.

[0188] The bandwidth of the port can be the available bandwidth of the port, and the transmission rate of the port can be the available transmission rate of the port.

[0189] Optionally, the transmission propagation delay related information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following: related information of the port, transmission propagation delay of the port, and service category.

[0190] The transmission propagation delay of the port can be the transmission time required for a data frame from the port of the UE to the port of the connected site (for example, a bridge or an end station).

[0191] Optionally, the related information of the port can comprise at least one of the following: identification information of the port, related information of the direction of the port being an exit or an entrance, port number, MAC address of the port, IP address of the port, VLAN tag information associated with the port, and data filter information of the port.

[0192] Optionally, the data filter information of the port can comprise at least one of the following: tag information (including S-Tag and / or C-Tag) of a VLAN, MAC address, IPv4 address, port number, IPv6 address, and indication information of a sending port or a receiving port.

[0193] Optionally, the service category can refer to the corresponding description of the example shown in FIG. 4, which is not described here.

[0194] (2) The delay-related information between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: a delay between the RAN network element and the connected gateway, N gateway delays, and a processing delay of the anchor gateway, wherein each gateway delay is a delay between two gateways, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0195] (3) Optionally, the processing delay information of the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: related information of the port of the data inlet, related information of the port of the data outlet, a processing delay of the anchor gateway, and a service category associated with the data packet.

[0196] In an implementation manner, the processing delay of the anchor gateway can be a transmission time required for the data packet to pass between the data inlet and the data outlet. The data inlet or the data outlet can include an N3 interface or an N9 interface, or an N6 interface.

[0197] Further, the processing delay of the anchor gateway can include at least one of the following: a maximum processing delay of the anchor gateway and a minimum processing delay of the anchor gateway. The minimum processing delay of the anchor gateway is also referred to as the minimum bridge delay of the anchor gateway, and the maximum processing delay of the anchor gateway is also referred to as the maximum bridge delay of the anchor gateway. The minimum processing delay of the anchor gateway can be further divided into a minimum processing delay of the anchor gateway related to the size of the data packet and a minimum processing delay of the anchor gateway unrelated to the size of the data packet. The maximum processing delay of the anchor gateway can be further divided into a maximum processing delay of the anchor gateway related to the size of the data packet and a maximum processing delay of the anchor gateway unrelated to the size of the data packet.

[0198] Further, the processing delay of the anchor gateway can include at least one of the following: a downlink processing delay of the anchor gateway and an uplink processing delay of the anchor gateway.

[0199] The downlink processing delay of the anchor gateway can be a time required for transmitting a data packet from the bridge outlet of the anchor gateway after receiving the data packet from the N3 or N9 interface of the anchor gateway.

[0200] The anchor gateway is a gateway that terminates the N6 interface. Further, the anchor gateway described above can be an anchor gateway that establishes a bridge channel.

[0201] The RAN network element is a RAN network element serving a UE.

[0202] Optionally, the first operation described above can be a time-sensitive related operation. For example, the first operation can include at least one of the following:

[0203] (1) determining the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network;

[0204] (2) determining the second transmission configuration information of the time sensitive data flow (such as the user and / or network configuration information of the egress);

[0205] (3) sending the configuration information of the time sensitive data flow; the configuration information of the time sensitive data flow is the first transmission configuration information of the time sensitive data flow or the second transmission configuration information of the time sensitive data flow;

[0206] (4) determining the bridge configuration information;

[0207] (5) disclosing or sending the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network.

[0208] According to the first information, the second information and / or the third information, the determination of the in-bridge latency of the bridge formed by the UE and the network includes at least one of the following:

[0209] determining the in-bridge latency of the bridge formed by the UE and the network;

[0210] determining the bandwidth availability parameter of the bridge formed by the UE and the network.

[0211] In an embodiment, the determination of the in-bridge latency of the bridge formed by the UE and the network can be one of the following

[0212] the sum of the processing latency of the UE, the latency between the UE and the RAN network element, and the latency between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway (i.e. the processing latency of the UE + the latency between the UE and the RAN network element + the latency between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway);

[0213] the sum of the processing latency of the UE, the transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element, the processing latency of the RAN network element, the latency between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway, and the processing latency of the anchor gateway (i.e. the processing latency of the UE + the transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element + the processing latency of the RAN network element + the latency between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway + the processing latency of the anchor gateway).

[0214] According to the first information, the second information and / or the third information, the determination of the second transmission configuration information of the time sensitive data flow

[0215] The data start transmission offset can be the data start transmission time within the egress data transmission interval.

[0216] In an implementation, the data start transmission offset can be (bridge delay + data arrival time at ingress) mod data transmission interval; when the calculated data start transmission offset and interval end time are not enough to transmit the maximum transmission frame and the maximum number of transmissions, the transmission can be pushed to the next interval start time. That is, the data start transmission offset can be zero.

[0217] The data start transmission offset further distinguishes the earliest start transmission offset time and the latest start transmission offset time.

[0218] According to the first information, the second information and / or the third information, the configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream can include at least one of the following:

[0219] When the first condition is met, the configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream is sent to the UE;

[0220] When the second condition is met, the configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream is sent to the anchor gateway.

[0221] Optionally, the first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0222] The time-sensitive data stream is downlink data (e.g., when the UE is an exit of a bridge formed by the UE and the network);

[0223] The type of the UE is bridge;

[0224] The architecture type of the time-sensitive network is fully distributed;

[0225] The UE is an end station and the architecture type of the time-sensitive network is a centralized and distributed hybrid;

[0226] The indication information of the time-sensitive data stream configuration information indicates that the time-sensitive data stream configuration information is needed.

[0227] Optionally, the second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0228] The time-sensitive data stream is uplink data (e.g., when the anchor gateway is an exit of a bridge formed by the anchor gateway and the network);

[0229] The architecture type of the time-sensitive network is fully distributed or a centralized and distributed hybrid.

[0230] Optionally, after the step of performing the first operation, the method further includes:

[0231] The determined bridge configuration information is sent to at least one of the following:

[0232] The UE, the anchor gateway.

[0233] The bridge configuration information is the configuration information of the bridge exit.

[0234] Optionally, the bridge configuration information comprises at least one of the following: related information of the port, and configured bandwidth of the port.

[0235] In an embodiment, the bridge configuration information is sent to the UE when the time-sensitive data flow is downstream data or when the UE is a bridge exit. In another embodiment, the bridge configuration information is sent to the anchor gateway when the time-sensitive data flow is upstream data or when the anchor gateway is a bridge exit.

[0236] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third communication device determines the bridge capability of the UE and the network, performs the bridge exit operation, etc., according to the related capability of the UE as a bridge, the related capability of the anchor gateway as a bridge, and the latency-related information. On the other hand, according to the time-sensitive network information of the UE, it is determined whether to configure the time-sensitive data flow for the UE, thereby supporting time-sensitive communication.

[0237] Referring to FIG. 6, the present disclosure also provides a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a third communication device, including but not limited to a UE or an anchor UPF. The method comprises the following steps:

[0238] Step 61: Obtain bridge configuration information and / or time-sensitive data flow configuration information.

[0239] Step 62: Perform a second operation of time-sensitive communication according to the bridge configuration information and / or time-sensitive data flow configuration information.

[0240] The bridge configuration information can be network exit configuration information.

[0241] Optionally, the bridge configuration information comprises at least one of the following: related information of the port, bandwidth of the port, and transmission rate of the port.

[0242] The bandwidth of the port can be the available bandwidth of the port, and the transmission rate of the port can be the available transmission rate of the port.

[0243] The related information of the port is as described in Embodiment 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0244] In an embodiment, performing a second related operation of time-sensitive communication according to the bridge configuration information and / or time-sensitive data flow configuration information comprises configuring the bandwidth and / or transmission rate of the port according to the obtained port configuration information.

[0245] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, by configuring the bridge exit, time-sensitive communication is supported.

[0246] Referring to FIG. 7, some embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a fourth communication device, which includes but is not limited to a RAN network element, and the method comprises the following steps:

[0247] Step 71: confirming the UE-to-RAN network element time delay related information.

[0248] Step 72: sending the UE-to-RAN network element time delay related information.

[0249] Specifically, the UE-to-RAN network element time delay related information is the same as that described in the embodiment of FIG. 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0250] Optionally, the UE-to-RAN network element time delay related information is sent to at least one of the following: AMF, SMF, PCF. In an embodiment, after sending the UE-to-RAN network element time delay related information to the AMF, the AMF sends the UE-to-RAN network element time delay related information to the PCF.

[0251] Through some embodiments of the present disclosure, the fourth communication device provides time delay related information to support the network to determine the capability of the UE and the network constructed bridge, thereby supporting time-sensitive communication.

[0252] The method for supporting time-sensitive communication of some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in combination with specific application scenarios.

[0253] The data transmission method of some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in combination with specific application scenarios.

[0254] Application scenario 1 of the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0255] The application scenario 1 of the embodiments of the present disclosure mainly describes the process of UE requesting to establish a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session. The PDU session can be used for the UE to communicate in a local area network (such as a VLAN) as a bridge (such as a VLAN). Please refer to FIG. 8, which comprises the following steps:

[0256] Step 1: The UE sends first information and / or second information (as described in the embodiment of FIG. 4) to the AMF, such as indicating the capability of the UE as a bridge (such as the processing time delay of the UE, the port bandwidth) and the UE-to-RAN network element time delay, or the type of UE, etc.

[0257] The UE sends an uplink NAS message to the AMF, and the NAS message contains a PDU session establishment request. The PDU session establishment request includes first information and / or second information (as described in the embodiment of FIG. 4).

[0258] Step 2: The AMF sends a PDU session_create SM context message to the SMF.

[0259] Step 3: SMF selects UPF. SMF sends N4 session establishment to the selected SMF.

[0260] Step 4: SMF registers the terminal to the Unified Data Manager (UDM). The SMF can also retrieve, subscribe to the terminal's subscription data.

[0261] Step 5: SMF retrieves the terminal's policy from the PCF.

[0262] The SMF sends the first information and / or the second information to the PCF. The PCF performs the time-sensitive first related operation (as described in the embodiment of FIG. 6) according to the first information and / or the second information. For example, the PCF determines the bridge capability (such as the bridge latency) of the UE and the network configuration. The PCF sends the bridge capability to the AF. The AF sends the bridge capability to the CNC.

[0263] Step 6: SMF sends N1N2 message to AMF. The N1N2 message contains the NAS message of PDU session establishment accept.

[0264] Step 7: AMF sends PDU session resource setup request message to RAN network element. The N1N2 message contains the NAS message of PDU session establishment.

[0265] Further, the second information is described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, which is not repeated here.

[0266] Step 8: RAN network element sends RRC reconfiguration request to UE. The request is a NAS message, which includes the PDU session establishment command.

[0267] Step 9: UE returns RRC reconfiguration response to RAN network element.

[0268] Step 10: RAN network element returns PDU session resource setup response to AMF.

[0269] Step 11: AMF sends SM context update request to MF.

[0270] Step 12: SMF sends N4 session update, also known as N4 session modification, to UPF.

[0271] Step 13: UE sends uplink NAS message to AMF, which indicates the completion of PDU session establishment.

[0272] Step 14: SMF sends SM context update response to AMF.

[0273] Step 15: SMF sends N4 session update, also known as N4 session modification, to UPF.

[0274] Through some embodiments of the present disclosure, in the bridge-related PDU session establishment process, the UE provides the first information to the network. The network can determine the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the first information, and disclose it to the outside (such as CNC). The CNC can determine the configuration information of the user and / or network of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the bridge capability, thereby supporting the implementation of the time-sensitive network.

[0275] Through application scenario 1, in the bridge-related PDU session establishment process, the UE provides the first information and / or the second information to the network. The network can determine the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the first information and / or the second information, and disclose it to the outside (such as CNC). The CNC can determine the configuration information of the user and / or network of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the bridge capability, thereby supporting the implementation of the time-sensitive network.

[0276] Application scenario 2 of the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0277] The application scenario 2 of the embodiments of the present disclosure mainly describes the process of UE requesting registration. Please refer to FIG. 9, which includes the following steps:

[0278] Step 1: The UE sends a registration request message to the AMF, and the registration request message includes the first information and / or the second information (as described in the embodiment of FIG. 4). For example: the first capability information of the UE, the time delay related information between the UE and the RAN network element, and the type of the UE.

[0279] Step 2: The AMF registers the terminal to the unified data manager (UDM). The SMF can also obtain and subscribe to the subscription data of the terminal.

[0280] Step 3: The AMF establishes a policy association with the PCF regarding the UE. The AMF can obtain the policy of the terminal from the PCF.

[0281] Step 4: The AMF returns a registration response to the terminal.

[0282] Step 5: The terminal returns a registration completion to the AMF.

[0283] The AMF sends the obtained first information and / or second information to the PCF. The PCF performs a time-sensitive first operation (as described in the embodiment of FIG. 5) according to the first information and / or the second information. For example, determine the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network (such as the bridge delay). The PCF sends the bridge capability to the AF. The AF sends the bridge capability to the CNC.

[0284] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in the UE registration procedure, the UE provides first information to the network. The network can determine the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the first information, and disclose it to the outside (such as CNC). The CNC can determine the configuration information of the user and / or network of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the bridge capability. The network can trigger the UE to establish the PDU session related to the bridge when receiving the configuration information of the user and / or network. Thus, the implementation of the time sensitive network is supported.

[0285] According to the application scenario 2, in the UE registration procedure, the UE provides first information to the network. The network can determine the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the first information, and disclose it to the outside (such as CNC). The CNC can determine the configuration information of the user and / or network of the bridge formed by the UE and the network according to the bridge capability. The network can trigger the UE to establish the PDU session related to the bridge when receiving the configuration information of the user and / or network.

[0286] Referring to FIG. 10, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, which is a first communication device, and the first communication device includes but is not limited to a UE. As shown in FIG. 10, the communication device 1000 includes:

[0287] a sending module 1001 configured to send first information and / or second information;

[0288] The first information includes at least one of the following:

[0289] first capability information of the UE, and time delay related information between the UE and a radio access network (RAN) network element;

[0290] The second information includes at least one of the following:

[0291] a type of the UE, a type of the time sensitive network, and indication information of whether time sensitive data stream configuration information is needed.

[0292] Optionally, the first capability information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0293] bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the UE, processing time delay information of the UE, and transmission propagation time delay related information of the UE.

[0294] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0295] related information of a port, bandwidth of the port, bandwidth availability parameter of the port, and transmission rate of the port.

[0296] Optionally, the transmission propagation time delay related information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0297] Port-related information, transmission propagation delay of the port, service class.

[0298] Optionally, the UE processing delay information comprises at least one of:

[0299] Port-related information, UE processing delay, service class.

[0300] Optionally, the port-related information comprises at least one of:

[0301] Port identification information, port direction information indicating whether the port is an egress port or an ingress port, port number, port MAC address, port IP address, port data filter information.

[0302] Optionally, the port data filter information comprises at least one of:

[0303] Virtual local area network (VLAN) tag information, media access control (MAC) address, IPv4 address, port number, IPv6 address, port indication information, wherein the port indication information comprises indication information of a sending port or indication information of a receiving port.

[0304] Optionally, the UE processing delay is at least one of:

[0305] Port-related information of a data ingress port, port-related information of a data egress port, UE processing delay, service class associated with the data packet.

[0306] Optionally, the UE processing delay comprises at least one of:

[0307] Time required for a data packet to be transmitted from a first bridge port of the UE to a second bridge port of the UE;

[0308] Time required for a data packet to be transmitted from a second bridge port of the UE to a first bridge port of the UE;

[0309] Time required for a data packet to be transmitted from a UU port of the UE to a bridge port of the UE;

[0310] Time required for a data packet to be transmitted from a bridge port of the UE to a UU port of the UE;

[0311] Time required for a data packet to be received from a bridge port of the UE to be prepared to be transmitted from a UU port of the UE;

[0312] The UU port is an interface between the UE and a RAN.

[0313] Optionally, the UE-RAN inter-element delay-related information comprises at least one of:

[0314] an end-to-end latency between the UE and the RAN network element, an air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element, a processing latency of the RAN, a processing latency of the UE.

[0315] Optionally, the end-to-end latency between the UE and the RAN network element comprises at least one of:

[0316] a time required for a data packet to be received by the RAN network element from an N3 interface to the data packet to be received by the UE;

[0317] a time required for a data packet to be sent by the UE to the RAN network element to the data packet to be sent by the RAN network element to the N3 interface;

[0318] a sum of the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element and the processing latency of the RAN.

[0319] a sum of the air interface transmission latency between the UE and the RAN network element, the processing latency of the RAN and the processing latency of the UE.

[0320] Optionally, the processing latency of the RAN is:

[0321] a time required for a data packet to be received by the RAN network element to the data packet to be sent by the RAN network element to the UE.

[0322] Optionally, the type of the UE comprises one of:

[0323] a bridge, an end station; and / or

[0324] the type of the time-sensitive network comprises one of:

[0325] fully distributed, fully centralized, hybrid centralized and distributed.

[0326] Optionally, the sending the first information and / or the second information comprises:

[0327] sending the first information and / or the second information when a preset condition is met;

[0328] wherein the preset condition is at least one of:

[0329] receiving a request of the network for the first information;

[0330] receiving a request of the network for the second information;

[0331] the type of the UE is a bridge;

[0332] the UE supports time-sensitive communication.

[0333] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 11, the communication device 1000 further includes:

[0334] an obtaining module 1002, configured to obtain port configuration information, wherein the port configuration information includes at least one of the following: related information of a port, bandwidth of the port, and transmission rate of the port;

[0335] a configuring module 1003, configured to configure the bandwidth and / or the transmission rate of the port according to the obtained port configuration information.

[0336] Optionally, the sending of the first information and / or the second information includes:

[0337] sending the first information and / or the second information to a target end;

[0338] wherein the target end includes a RAN network element and a CN network element.

[0339] The communication device 1000 can realize each process implemented by the first communication device in the method embodiments of the present disclosure and achieve the same beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0340] Referring to FIG. 12, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide another communication device, which is a second communication device. The second communication device includes, but is not limited to, a CN network element and a PCF. As shown in FIG. 12, the communication device 1200 includes:

[0341] an obtaining module 1201, configured to obtain first information, second information, and / or third information;

[0342] an executing module 1202, configured to perform a first operation according to the first information, the second information, and / or the third information;

[0343] wherein the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0344] first capability information of a UE, and delay-related information between the UE and a RAN network element;

[0345] the second information includes at least one of the following:

[0346] a type of the UE, a type of a time-sensitive network, and indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is needed;

[0347] the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0348] capability information of an anchor gateway, and first transmission configuration information of a time-sensitive data stream.

[0349] Optionally, the first information is acquired from at least one of the following:

[0350] a UE, a first communication device, a RAN network element currently accessed by the UE; and / or

[0351] the second information is acquired from at least one of the following:

[0352] a UE, a first communication device, a RAN network element currently accessed by the UE; and / or

[0353] the third information is acquired from at least one of the following:

[0354] a UE, an anchor gateway.

[0355] Optionally, the first capability information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0356] bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the UE, processing delay information of the UE, and transmission propagation delay related information of the UE.

[0357] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0358] related information of a port, bandwidth of the port, bandwidth availability parameter of the port, and transmission rate of the port.

[0359] Optionally, the transmission propagation delay related information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0360] related information of a port, transmission propagation delay of the port, and service category.

[0361] Optionally, the processing delay information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0362] related information of a port, processing delay of the UE, and service category.

[0363] Optionally, the related information of the port includes at least one of the following:

[0364] identification information of a port, related information of a port direction being an exit or an entrance, port number, MAC address of the port, IP address of the port, VLAN tag information associated with the port, and data filter information of the port.

[0365] Optionally, the data filter information of the port includes at least one of the following:

[0366] tag information of a VLAN, media access control (MAC) address, IPv4 address, port number, IPv6 address, and indication information of the port, wherein the indication information of the port includes indication information of a sending port or indication information of a receiving port.

[0367] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE comprises at least one of:

[0368] the related information of the port of the data ingress, the related information of the port of the data egress, the processing delay of the UE, the service class associated with the data packet.

[0369] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE comprises at least one of:

[0370] the time required for the data packet to be transferred from the first bridge port of the UE to the second bridge port of the UE;

[0371] the time required for the data packet to be transferred from the second bridge port of the UE to the first bridge port of the UE;

[0372] the time required for the data packet to be transferred from the UU port of the UE to the bridge port of the UE;

[0373] the time required for the data packet to be transferred from the bridge port of the UE to the UU port of the UE;

[0374] the time required for the data packet to be received from the bridge port of the UE to be prepared to be sent from the UU port of the UE;

[0375] The UU port is an interface between the UE and the RAN.

[0376] Optionally, the UE-to-RAN network element inter-delay information comprises at least one of:

[0377] the UE-to-RAN network element end-to-end delay, the UE-to-RAN network element air interface transmission delay, the processing delay of the RAN, the processing delay of the UE.

[0378] Optionally, the UE-to-RAN network element end-to-end delay comprises at least one of:

[0379] the time required for a data packet to be received from the N3 interface by the RAN network element to the data packet to be received by the UE;

[0380] the time required for a data packet to be sent by the UE to the RAN network element to the data packet to be sent by the RAN network element to the N3 interface;

[0381] the sum of the UE-to-RAN network element air interface transmission delay and the processing delay of the RAN;

[0382] the sum of the UE-to-RAN network element air interface transmission delay, the processing delay of the RAN, and the processing delay of the UE.

[0383] Optionally, the processing delay of the RAN comprises:

[0384] a time required from when the data packet is received by the RAN network element to when the data packet is transmitted by the RAN network element to the UE.

[0385] Optionally, the type of the UE comprises one of:

[0386] bridge, End station; and / or

[0387] fully distributed, fully centralized, hybrid of centralized and distributed.

[0388] Optionally, the related information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of:

[0389] capability information of the anchor gateway, inter-network element and anchor gateway latency information, processing latency information of the anchor gateway.

[0390] Optionally, the capability information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of: bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway, processing latency of the anchor gateway, transmission and propagation latency related information of the anchor gateway; and / or

[0391] the inter-network element and anchor gateway latency information comprises at least one of:

[0392] inter-network element and connected gateway latency, N inter-gateway latencies, processing latency of the anchor gateway, wherein each inter-gateway latency is a latency between two gateways, and N is an integer greater than 1; and / or

[0393] the processing latency information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of:

[0394] related information of a port of a data inlet, related information of a port of a data outlet, processing latency of the anchor gateway, a service class associated with the data packet.

[0395] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway comprises at least one of:

[0396] related information of a port, bandwidth of the port, transmission rate of the port; and / or

[0397] the transmission and propagation latency related information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of:

[0398] related information of a port, transmission and propagation latency of the port, service class.

[0399] Optionally, the first operation comprises at least one of:

[0400] determining a capability of a bridge formed by the UE and the network;

[0401] determining second transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow;

[0402] sending configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow, wherein the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow is the first transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow or the second transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow;

[0403] determining bridge configuration information;

[0404] disclosing or sending a capability of a bridge constituted by the UE and the network.

[0405] Optionally, the determining the in-bridge latency of the bridge constituted by the UE and the network comprises at least one of:

[0406] determining the in-bridge latency of the bridge constituted by the UE and the network;

[0407] determining a bandwidth availability parameter of the bridge constituted by the UE and the network.

[0408] Optionally, the determining the capability of the bridge constituted by the UE and the network comprises: determining the in-bridge latency of the bridge constituted by the UE and the network as one of:

[0409] a sum of a processing latency of the UE, a latency between the UE and a RAN network element, and a latency between the RAN network element and an anchor gateway;

[0410] a sum of a processing latency of the UE, a transmission latency between the UE and a RAN network element, a processing latency of the RAN network element, a latency between the RAN network element and an anchor gateway, and a processing latency of the anchor gateway.

[0411] Optionally, the sending the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow comprises at least one of:

[0412] when a first condition is met, sending the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow to the UE;

[0413] when a second condition is met, sending the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow to the anchor gateway.

[0414] Optionally, the first condition comprises at least one of:

[0415] the time-sensitive data flow is downlink data;

[0416] the UE is of a type of bridge;

[0417] an architecture type of the time-sensitive network is fully distributed;

[0418] the UE is an End station and the architecture type of the time-sensitive network is a hybrid of centralized distribution;

[0419] The indication information of the time-sensitive data stream configuration information indicates that the time-sensitive data stream configuration information is needed.

[0420] And / or

[0421] The second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0422] The time-sensitive data stream is uplink data.

[0423] The architecture type of the time-sensitive network is full-distributed or a hybrid of centralized distribution.

[0424] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 13, the communication device 1200 further includes:

[0425] The sending module 1203 is configured to send the determined bridge configuration information to at least one of the following:

[0426] The UE or the anchor gateway.

[0427] Optionally, the bridge configuration information includes at least one of the following: related information of the port, and a configuration bandwidth of the port.

[0428] The communication device 1200 can implement each process implemented by the second communication device in the method embodiments of the present disclosure, and achieve the same beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, details are not repeated here.

[0429] Please refer to FIG. 14, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide another communication device, which is a third communication device, and the third communication device includes but is not limited to a UE or an anchor UP. As shown in FIG. 14, the communication device 1400 includes:

[0430] The obtaining module 1401 is configured to obtain bridge configuration information and / or configuration information of a time-sensitive data stream.

[0431] The execution module 1402 is configured to perform a second operation of time-sensitive communication according to the bridge configuration information and / or the configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream.

[0432] Optionally, the bridge configuration information includes at least one of the following:

[0433] Related information of the port, a bandwidth of the port, and a transmission rate of the port.

[0434] Optionally, the second operation includes:

[0435] According to the obtained port configuration information, configuring a bandwidth and / or a transmission rate of the port.

[0436] The communication device 1400 can implement each process implemented by the third communication device in the method embodiments of the present disclosure, and achieve the same beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, details are not repeated here.

[0437] Referring to FIG. 15, FIG. 15 is a fifth structure diagram of a communication device provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 15, the communication device 1500 includes a memory 1501, a processor 1502, and a program 15011 stored in the memory 1501 and capable of running on the processor 1502.

[0438] When the communication device 1500 acts as the first communication device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the program 15011 is implemented by the processor 1502 when executed to implement the following steps:

[0439] sending the first information and / or the second information;

[0440] The first information includes at least one of the following:

[0441] the first capability information of the UE, the delay related information between the UE and the radio access network (RAN) network element;

[0442] The second information includes at least one of the following:

[0443] the type of the UE, the type of the time sensitive network, and the indication information of whether the time sensitive data stream configuration information is needed.

[0444] Optionally, the first capability information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0445] the bridge identification information of the UE, the bandwidth information supported by the UE, the processing delay information of the UE, and the transmission propagation delay related information of the UE.

[0446] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0447] the related information of the port, the bandwidth of the port, the bandwidth availability parameter of the port, and the transmission rate of the port.

[0448] Optionally, the transmission propagation delay related information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0449] the related information of the port, the transmission propagation delay of the port, and the service class.

[0450] Optionally, the processing delay information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0451] the related information of the port, the processing delay of the UE, and the service class.

[0452] Optionally, the related information of the port includes at least one of the following:

[0453] The identification information of the port, the direction of the port being an exit or an entrance related information, a port number, a MAC address of the port, an IP address of the port, VLAN tag information associated with the port, and data filter information of the port.

[0454] Optionally, the data filter information of the port comprises at least one of:

[0455] VLAN tag information, a MAC address, an IPv4 address, a port number, an IPv6 address, and indication information of the port, wherein the indication information of the port comprises indication information of a sending port or indication information of a receiving port.

[0456] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE comprises at least one of:

[0457] The related information of the port of the data entrance, the related information of the port of the data exit, the processing delay of the UE, and a service class associated with the data packet.

[0458] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE comprises at least one of:

[0459] The time required for the data packet to be transmitted from the first bridge port of the UE to the second bridge port of the UE;

[0460] The time required for the data packet to be transmitted from the second bridge port of the UE to the first bridge port of the UE;

[0461] The time required for the data packet to be transmitted from the UU port of the UE to the bridge port of the UE;

[0462] The time required for the data packet to be transmitted from the bridge port of the UE to the UU port of the UE;

[0463] The time required for the data packet to be received from the bridge port of the UE to be prepared to be transmitted from the UU port of the UE;

[0464] The UU port is an interface between the UE and the RAN.

[0465] Optionally, the UE-to-RAN inter-element delay related information comprises at least one of:

[0466] The UE-to-RAN inter-element end-to-end delay, the UE-to-RAN inter-element air interface transmission delay, the processing delay of the RAN, and the processing delay of the UE.

[0467] Optionally, the UE-to-RAN inter-element end-to-end delay comprises at least one of:

[0468] The time required for a data packet to be received from an N3 interface by the RAN element to the data packet to be received by the UE;

[0469] a time required for the data packet to be transmitted by the RAN network element to the N3 interface;

[0470] a sum of an air interface transmission delay between the UE and the RAN network element and a processing delay of the RAN;

[0471] a sum of an air interface transmission delay between the UE and the RAN network element, a processing delay of the RAN and a processing delay of the UE.

[0472] Optionally, the processing delay of the RAN is:

[0473] a time required for the data packet to be received by the RAN network element to the data packet to be transmitted by the RAN network element to the UE.

[0474] Optionally, the type of the UE includes one of:

[0475] a bridge, an end station; and / or

[0476] the type of the time-sensitive network includes one of:

[0477] fully distributed, fully centralized, and hybrid centralized and distributed.

[0478] Optionally, the sending the first information and / or the second information includes:

[0479] sending the first information and / or the second information when a preset condition is met;

[0480] wherein the preset condition is at least one of:

[0481] receiving a request of the network for the first information;

[0482] receiving a request of the network for the second information;

[0483] the type of the UE is a bridge;

[0484] the UE supports time-sensitive communication.

[0485] Optionally, after the step of sending the first information and / or the second information, the processor 1502 is further configured to:

[0486] obtaining port configuration information, wherein the port configuration information includes at least one of: related information of the port, a bandwidth of the port, and a transmission rate of the port;

[0487] configuring the bandwidth and / or the transmission rate of the port according to the obtained port configuration information.

[0488] Optionally, the sending the first information and / or the second information comprises:

[0489] sending the first information and / or the second information to a target end;

[0490] wherein the target end comprises a RAN network element, a CN network element.

[0491] When the communication device 1500 behaves as the second communication device in the above method embodiments, the program 15011, when executed by the processor 1502, implements the following steps:

[0492] obtaining the first information, the second information and / or the third information;

[0493] performing a first operation according to the first information, the second information and / or the third information;

[0494] wherein the first information comprises at least one of:

[0495] first capability information of a UE, delay related information between the UE and a RAN network element;

[0496] the second information comprises at least one of:

[0497] a type of the UE, a type of a time sensitive network, and indication information of whether time sensitive data flow configuration information is needed;

[0498] the third information comprises at least one of:

[0499] capability information of an anchor gateway, and first transmission configuration information of a time sensitive data flow.

[0500] Optionally, the first information is obtained from at least one of:

[0501] the UE, the first communication device, and a RAN network element currently accessed by the UE; and / or

[0502] the second information is obtained from at least one of:

[0503] the UE, the first communication device, and a RAN network element currently accessed by the UE; and / or

[0504] the third information is obtained from at least one of:

[0505] the UE, and the anchor gateway.

[0506] Optionally, the first capability information of the UE comprises at least one of:

[0507] Bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the UE, processing delay information of the UE, and transmission propagation delay related information of the UE.

[0508] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0509] Port related information, bandwidth of the port, bandwidth availability parameter of the port, and transmission rate of the port.

[0510] Optionally, the transmission propagation delay related information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0511] Port related information, transmission propagation delay of the port, and service category.

[0512] Optionally, the processing delay information of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0513] Port related information, processing delay of the UE, and service category.

[0514] Optionally, the port related information includes at least one of the following:

[0515] Identification information of the port, direction related information of the port being an exit or an entrance, port number, MAC address of the port, IP address of the port, data filter information of the port, and VLAN tag information associated with the port.

[0516] Optionally, the data filter information of the port includes at least one of the following:

[0517] VLAN tag information, media access control (MAC) address, IPv4 address, port number, IPv6 address, and port indication information, wherein the port indication information includes indication information of a sending port or indication information of a receiving port.

[0518] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE is at least one of the following:

[0519] Port related information of a data entrance port, port related information of a data exit port, processing delay of the UE, and service category associated with a data packet.

[0520] Optionally, the processing delay of the UE includes at least one of the following:

[0521] Time required for a data packet to pass from a first bridge port of the UE to a second bridge port of the UE;

[0522] Time required for a data packet to pass from the second bridge port of the UE to the first bridge port of the UE;

[0523] Time required for a data packet to pass from a UU port of the UE to a bridge port of the UE.

[0524] The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's bridge port to the UE's UU port;

[0525] The time required for a data packet to be received from the UE's bridge port and ready to be sent from the UE's UU port;

[0526] The UU port is the interface between the UE and the RAN.

[0527] Optionally, the latency-related information between the UE and the RAN network element includes at least one of the following:

[0528] The end-to-end delay between the UE and the RAN network element, the air interface transmission delay between the UE and the RAN network element, the processing delay of the RAN, and the processing delay of the UE.

[0529] Optionally, the end-to-end delay between the UE and the RAN network element includes at least one of the following:

[0530] The time required for the data packet to be received by the RAN network element from the N3 interface to the UE;

[0531] The time required for the data packet to be sent from the UE to the RAN network element to the RAN network element to the N3 interface;

[0532] The sum of the air interface transmission delay between the UE and the RAN network element and the RAN processing delay;

[0533] The sum of the air interface transmission delay between the UE and the RAN network element, the RAN processing delay, and the UE processing delay.

[0534] Optionally, the processing delay of the RAN is:

[0535] The time required from when the data packet is received by the RAN network element to when the data packet is sent to the UE by the RAN network element.

[0536] Optionally, the type of the UE includes one of the following:

[0537] bridge, End station; and / or

[0538] Fully distributed, fully centralized, and a hybrid of centralized and distributed systems.

[0539] Optionally, the relevant information of the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following:

[0540] The anchor gateway's capability information, the latency information between RAN network elements and the anchor gateway, and the anchor gateway's processing latency information.

[0541] Optionally, the capability information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following: bridge identification information of the UE, bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway, processing delay of the anchor gateway, transmission propagation delay related information of the anchor gateway; and / or

[0542] The delay related information between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following:

[0543] The delay between the RAN network element and the connected gateway, the delay between N gateways, and the processing delay of the anchor gateway, wherein each gateway delay is the delay between two gateways, and N is an integer greater than 1; and / or

[0544] The processing delay information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following:

[0545] The related information of the port of the data inlet, the related information of the port of the data outlet, the processing delay of the anchor gateway, and the service class associated with the data packet.

[0546] Optionally, the bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following:

[0547] The related information of the port, the bandwidth of the port, and the transmission rate of the port; and / or

[0548] The transmission propagation delay related information of the anchor gateway comprises at least one of the following:

[0549] The related information of the port, the transmission propagation delay of the port, and the service class.

[0550] Optionally, the first operation comprises at least one of the following:

[0551] Determining the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network;

[0552] Determining the second transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow;

[0553] Transmitting the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow, wherein the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow is the first transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow or the second transmission configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow;

[0554] Determining the bridge configuration information;

[0555] Disclosing or transmitting the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network.

[0556] Optionally, the determination of the in-bridge delay of the UE and the network comprises at least one of the following:

[0557] Determining the in-bridge delay of the UE and the network;

[0558] determine a bandwidth availability parameter of a bridge formed by the UE and the network.

[0559] Optionally, the determining the capability of the bridge formed by the UE and the network comprises: determining an in-bridge latency of the bridge formed by the UE and the network as one of:

[0560] a sum of a processing latency of the UE, a latency between the UE and a RAN network element, and a latency between the RAN network element and an anchor gateway;

[0561] a sum of a processing latency of the UE, a transmission latency between the UE and a RAN network element, a processing latency of the RAN network element, a latency between the RAN network element and an anchor gateway, and a processing latency of the anchor gateway.

[0562] Optionally, the sending the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow comprises: sending at least one of the following:

[0563] when the first condition is met, sending the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow to the UE;

[0564] when the second condition is met, sending the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow to the anchor gateway.

[0565] Optionally, the first condition comprises at least one of:

[0566] the time-sensitive data flow is downlink data;

[0567] the UE is of a type of bridge;

[0568] the architecture type of the time-sensitive network is fully distributed;

[0569] the UE is an End station and the architecture type of the time-sensitive network is a mixed type of centralized distribution and fully distributed;

[0570] the indication information of the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow indicates that the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow is needed;

[0571] and / or

[0572] the second condition comprises at least one of:

[0573] the time-sensitive data flow is uplink data;

[0574] the architecture type of the time-sensitive network is a mixed type of centralized distribution and fully distributed.

[0575] Optionally, after the step of performing the first operation, the processor 1502 is further configured to:

[0576] send the determined bridge configuration information to at least one of:

[0577] the UE, the anchor gateway.

[0578] Optionally, the bridge configuration information comprises at least one of the following: related information of the port, configured bandwidth of the port.

[0579] When the communication device 1500 behaves as the third communication device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the program 15011, when executed by the processor 1502, implements the following steps:

[0580] obtaining bridge configuration information and / or configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow;

[0581] performing a second operation of time-sensitive communication according to the bridge configuration information and / or the configuration information of the time-sensitive data flow.

[0582] Optionally, the bridge configuration information comprises at least one of the following:

[0583] related information of the port, bandwidth of the port, transmission rate of the port.

[0584] Optionally, the second operation comprises:

[0585] configuring the bandwidth and / or the transmission rate of the port according to the obtained port configuration information.

[0586] The communication device 1500 can implement each process of the communication device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and thus details are not repeated here.

[0587] Some embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program, when executed by a processor, implements each process of any one of the above-mentioned method embodiments supporting time-sensitive communication, and achieves the same technical effects. Details are not repeated here to avoid repetition. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0588] Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present disclosure.

[0589] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0590] In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can be implemented by other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0591] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0592] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present disclosure can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0593] If the functions are realized in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosure essentially or the part of the prior art or the part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions for making a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the method described in various embodiments of the present disclosure. The foregoing storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk, and various program code storage media.

[0594] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by a computer program controlling relevant hardware. The program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program can include the processes of the above-mentioned embodiment methods. The storage medium can be a magnetic disc, an optical disc, a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM) and the like.

[0595] It can be understood that the embodiments described in the disclosure can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing units can be implemented in one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), general-purpose processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described in the disclosure, or a combination thereof.

[0596] For software implementation, the technologies described in the disclosure can be implemented by modules (for example, procedures, functions and the like) for performing the functions described in the disclosure. The software codes can be stored in a memory and executed by a processor. The memory can be implemented in the processor or outside the processor.

[0597] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising", "including", or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that processes, methods, articles or devices including a series of elements not only include those elements, but also include other elements not explicitly listed, or further include elements inherent in such processes, methods, articles or devices. Without more limitations, the element defined by the statement "comprising a" does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0598] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand the above-mentioned embodiment method can be realized by means of software and the necessary general hardware platform, of course, it can also be realized by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes a plurality of instructions for making a terminal (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioner, or network device, etc.) execute the method described in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0599] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described above in combination with the drawings, but the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the specific embodiments described above are only illustrative, not limiting, and those of ordinary skill in the art can make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present disclosure and the scope protected by the claims under the inspiration of the present disclosure, which all belong to the protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a first communication device, comprising: Send the first message and / or the second message; The first information includes at least one of the following: The first capability information of the terminal UE, and the time delay information between the UE and the radio access network RAN ​​element; The second information includes at least one of the following: The UE type, the time-sensitive network type, and the indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is required.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein, The UE's first capability information includes at least one of the following: The UE's bridge identification information, the UE's supported bandwidth information, the UE's processing latency information, and the UE's transmission and propagation latency information.

3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein, The bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port bandwidth, port bandwidth availability parameters, and port transmission rate.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The UE's transmission propagation delay related information includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port transmission and propagation latency, and service type.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, The UE's processing latency information includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, UE processing latency, and service type.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein, The relevant information for the port includes at least one of the following: Port identification information, port direction (egress or ingress) related information, port number, port media access control MAC address, port IP address, VLAN tag information associated with the port, and port data filter information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, The processing latency of the UE is at least one of the following: Information related to the data ingress port, information related to the data egress port, UE processing latency, and the service category associated with the data packet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, The processing latency of the UE includes at least one of the following: The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's first bridge port to the UE's second bridge port; The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's second bridge port to the UE's first bridge port; The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's UU port to the UE's bridge port; The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's bridge port to the UE's UU port; The UU port is the interface between the UE and the RAN.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, The UE type includes one of the following: Bridge, End station; and / or The types of time-sensitive networks include one of the following: Fully distributed, fully centralized, and a hybrid of centralized and distributed systems.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, Sending the first information and / or the second information includes: When preset conditions are met, send the first message and / or the second message; The preset condition is at least one of the following: Receive a network request for the first information; Receive a network request for the second information; The type of the UE is bridge; The UE supports time-sensitive communication.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein, After the step of sending the first information and / or the second information, the method further includes: Obtain port configuration information, wherein the port configuration information includes at least one of the following: relevant information about the port, port bandwidth, and port transmission rate; Configure the port bandwidth and / or transmission rate based on the obtained port configuration information.

12. A method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a second communication device, comprising: Obtain first information, second information, and / or third information; Based on the first information, the second information, and / or the third information, perform the first operation; The first information includes at least one of the following: The UE's first capability information and the latency-related information between the UE and the radio access network (RAN) elements; The second information includes at least one of the following: The type of UE, the type of time-sensitive network, and the indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is required; The third information includes at least one of the following: Anchor gateway capability information and first transmission configuration information for time-sensitive data streams.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The UE's first capability information includes at least one of the following: The UE's bridge identification information, the UE's supported bandwidth information, the UE's processing latency information, and the UE's transmission and propagation latency information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The bandwidth information supported by the UE includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port bandwidth, port bandwidth availability parameters, and port transmission rate.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, The UE's transmission propagation delay related information includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port transmission and propagation latency, and service type.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, The UE's processing latency information includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, UE processing latency, and service type.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, The relevant information for the port includes at least one of the following: Port identification information, port direction (egress or ingress) related information, port number, port media access control MAC address, port IP address, VLAN tag information associated with the port, and port data filter information.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein, The processing latency of the UE is at least one of the following: Information related to the data ingress port, information related to the data egress port, UE processing latency, and the service category associated with the data packet.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein, The processing latency of the UE includes at least one of the following: The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's first bridge port to the UE's second bridge port; The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's second bridge port to the UE's first bridge port; The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's UU port to the UE's bridge port; The time required for a data packet to be transmitted from the UE's bridge port to the UE's UU port; The UU port is the interface between the UE and the RAN.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein, The UE type includes one of the following: Bridge, End station; and / or Fully distributed, fully centralized, and a hybrid of centralized and distributed systems.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein, The relevant information of the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: The anchor gateway's capability information, the latency information between RAN network elements and the anchor gateway, and the anchor gateway's processing latency information.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The capability information of the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: the UE's bridge identification information, the bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway, the processing latency of the anchor gateway, and information related to the transmission and propagation latency of the anchor gateway; and / or The time delay-related information between the RAN network element and the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: The latency between the RAN network element and the connected gateway, the latency between N gateways, and the processing latency of the anchor gateway, wherein the latency between each gateway is the latency between two gateways, and N is an integer greater than 1; and / or The processing latency information of the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: Information related to the data ingress port, information related to the data egress port, processing latency of the anchor gateway, and service category associated with the data packet.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The bandwidth information supported by the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port bandwidth, port transmission rate; and / or The transmission propagation delay information of the anchor gateway includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port transmission and propagation latency, and service type.

24. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first operation includes at least one of the following: Determine the bridge capability formed by the UE and the network; Determine the second transmission configuration information for the time-sensitive data stream; Configuration information for sending time-sensitive data streams, wherein the configuration information for time-sensitive data streams is either first transmission configuration information for time-sensitive data streams or second transmission configuration information for time-sensitive data streams; Determine the bridge configuration information; The ability to publicly disclose or transmit the bridge formed by the UE and the network.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, The configuration information for sending time-sensitive data streams includes at least one of the following: When the first condition is met, the configuration information for the time-sensitive data stream is sent to the UE; When the second condition is met, the configuration information for the time-sensitive data stream is sent to the anchor gateway.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, The first condition includes at least one of the following: Time-sensitive data streams are downlink data; The UE type is bridge; The architecture of time-sensitive networks is fully distributed; The UE is an end station and the time-sensitive network architecture is a centralized-distributed hybrid type; The indication information for time-sensitive data stream configuration information indicates that time-sensitive data stream configuration information is required. and / or The second condition includes at least one of the following: Time-sensitive data streams are upstream data; The architecture of time-sensitive networks can be either fully distributed or a hybrid of centralized and distributed.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein, The bridge configuration information includes at least one of the following: port-related information and port-configured bandwidth.

28. A method for supporting time-sensitive communication, applied to a third communication device, comprising: Obtain bridge configuration information and / or time-sensitive data stream configuration information; Based on the bridge configuration information and / or the time-sensitive data stream configuration information, perform the second operation of time-sensitive communication.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein, The bridge configuration information includes at least one of the following: Port-related information, port bandwidth, and port transmission rate.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein, The second operation includes: Configure the port bandwidth and / or transmission rate based on the obtained port configuration information.

31. A communication device, wherein the communication device is a first communication device, comprising: The sending module is used to send first information and / or second information; The first information includes at least one of the following: The UE's first capability information and the latency-related information between the UE and the radio access network (RAN) elements; The second information includes at least one of the following: The UE type, the time-sensitive network type, and the indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is required.

32. A communication device, wherein the communication device is a second communication device, comprising: The acquisition module is used to acquire first information, second information, and / or third information; An execution module is configured to perform a first operation based on the first information, the second information, and / or the third information; The first information includes at least one of the following: The UE's first capability information and the latency-related information between the UE and the radio access network (RAN) elements; The second information includes at least one of the following: The type of UE, the type of time-sensitive network, and the indication information of whether time-sensitive data stream configuration information is required; The third information includes at least one of the following: Anchor gateway capability information and first transmission configuration information for time-sensitive data streams.

33. A communication device, wherein the communication device is a third communication device, comprising: The acquisition module is used to acquire bridge configuration information and / or time-sensitive data stream configuration information; The execution module is used to perform a second operation of time-sensitive communication based on the bridge configuration information and / or the configuration information of the time-sensitive data stream.

34. A communication device comprising a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, or implements the steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 27, or implements the steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication as claimed in any one of claims 28 to 30.

35. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, or implements the steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 27, or implements the steps of the method for supporting time-sensitive communication as claimed in any one of claims 28 to 30.