Message deterministic transmission method, transmission device and readable storage medium

Abstract

The present application discloses a message deterministic transmission method, a transmission device and a readable storage medium. When a message is transmitted among a DS-TT of a sending end, a base station, an NW-TT and a DS-TT of a receiving end, the sending sequence of the messages is ensured by means of two-stage shaping, first-stage shaping refers to when the NW-TT receives the message sent by the DS-TT of the sending end, determining that the difference between a local time and the time when the message is sent from the DS-TT of the sending end is greater than or equal to a first shaping duration, and forwarding downstream according to a sending cycle, and second-stage shaping refers to when the DS-TT of the receiving end receives the message sent downstream by the NW-TT, determining that the difference between the local time and an entry time when the message enters the DS-TT of the sending end is greater than or equal to a second shaping duration, and forwarding downstream according to the sending cycle.

Description

Deterministic message transmission method, transmission device and readable storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on the Chinese patent application with application number 202310725392.7 and application date June 16, 2023, and claims the priority of the Chinese patent application. The entire content of the Chinese patent application is hereby introduced into this application as a reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of network communication technology, and in particular to a deterministic message transmission method, a transmission device, and a readable storage medium. Background Art

[0004] The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) protocol supports the integration of TSN (Time Sensitive Network) and 5G. A 5G system bridge acts as one or more TSN bridges within TSN to implement TSC (Time Sensitive Communication) in 5G networks. TSN includes an NW-TT (network-side TSN translator) and a DS-TT (device-side TSN translator). The ports on the NW-TT support connection to TSN, and the ports on the DS-TT also support connection to TSN, thus enabling the connection of the entire 5G system bridge with TSN.

[0005] In related technologies, the DS-TT of one device sends messages through a base station to the NW-TT, which then sends the messages through the base station to the DS-TT of the other device. During this process, if the network experiences air interface jitter, it can easily cause changes in the transmission time of the message in the network, thereby disrupting the order in which the messages arrive. This situation cannot meet the time synchronization and deterministic transmission requirements of TSN.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The following is a summary of the subject matter described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0008] Embodiments of the present application provide a deterministic message transmission method, a transmission device, and a readable storage medium.

[0009] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic transmission method for a message, which is applied to a network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT. The deterministic transmission method includes: receiving a first shaping duration sent by a session management function SMF network element, wherein the first shaping duration is determined according to the delay of the device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT sending the message to the NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing time of the NW-TT processing the message; receiving at least one message sent by the DS-TT of the sending end to the local through the uplink of the base station, and determining the sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the sending end; when the difference between the local time and the sending time of the message is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, sending the message to the DS-TT of the receiving end through the base station downlink.

[0010] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic transmission method for a message, which is applied to a device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT at the receiving end. The deterministic transmission method includes: receiving a second shaping duration sent by a session management function SMF network element, wherein the second shaping duration represents the maximum delay budget for the message to be transmitted from the DS-TT of the sending end to the DS-TT of the receiving end; receiving at least one message sent downlink by the network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through the base station, and determining the entry time of the message entering the DS-TT of the sending end; when the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, sending the message downlink.

[0011] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic transmission method for a message, which is applied to a base station. The deterministic transmission method includes: receiving uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information sent by a session management function SMF network element, wherein the difference between the burst arrival time of the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the burst arrival time of the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information is a first shaping duration, and the first shaping duration is determined according to the delay of the device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT sending the message to the network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing time of the NW-TT processing the message; when receiving the first message sent uplink by the DS-TT of the sending end, forwarding the first message to the NW-TT for processing according to the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information; when receiving the second message obtained after the NW-TT processing, forwarding the second message to the DS-TT of the receiving end according to the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a transmission device comprising at least one processor and a memory for communicating with the at least one processor; the memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to execute the deterministic transmission method described in the first aspect, the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0013] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and the computer-executable instructions are used to enable a computer to execute the deterministic transmission method as described above.

[0014] Other features and advantages of the present application will be described in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the description, or will be understood by practicing the present application. The purposes and other advantages of the present application can be achieved and obtained through the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solution of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the examples of the present application, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the present application.

[0016] FIG1 is a network architecture diagram of a 5G network combined with TSN according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a message transmission direction in a network provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] FIG3 is a flowchart of deterministic transmission of messages on the NW-TT side provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0019] FIG4 is a flowchart of a process after an NW-TT receives a message according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] FIG5 is a flowchart of NW-TT downlink message transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] FIG6 is a flowchart of deterministic transmission of messages on the DS-TT side of a receiving end provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0022] FIG7 is a flowchart of a process after a DS-TT receiving message is received by a receiving end according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] FIG8 is a flowchart of a DS-TT downlink message transmission at a receiving end provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG9 is a flowchart of deterministic transmission of a message on a base station side provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a transmission device provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0027] Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), a protocol suite for achieving deterministic minimal latency in a non-deterministic Ethernet network, defines a time-sensitive mechanism for Ethernet data transmission, adding determinism and reliability to standard Ethernet to ensure real-time, deterministic, and reliable data transmission. Related standards primarily address time synchronization, bounded low latency, highly reliable transmission, and resource management.

[0028] Referring to the 5G network element connection architecture diagram shown in Figure 1, the 3GPP protocol supports the integration of Time-Sensitive Networks (TSN) and 5G networks to support time-sensitive communications in 5G systems. According to the 3GPP protocol, a 5G system 5GS bridge acts as one or more TSN bridges. For each 5GS bridge in the TSN, the ports on the NW-TT support connections to TSN, and the ports on the DS-TT support connections to TSN, thus enabling the entire 5GS bridge to connect to TSN.

[0029] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2 , when a message is sent from a terminal 1 (or end station, represented by End Station 1 in FIG1 ) or a TSN bridge 1 (represented by TSN Bridge 1 in FIG1 ) to a base station gNB, it first passes through the DS-TT corresponding to the terminal 1 / TSN bridge 1 (represented by UE-DS-TT1 in FIG1 ), and then reaches the base station gNB. The base station gNB processes the message and sends it to the NW-TT (NW-TT in FIG1 is located in the UPF (User Plane Function) network element). The NW-TT then forwards the message. The message is forwarded through the base station gNB to a terminal N (represented by End Station N in FIG1 ) or a TSN bridge N (represented by TSN Bridge N in FIG1 ). During this forwarding process, the message passes through the DS-TT corresponding to the terminal N / TSN bridge N (represented by UE-DS-TT2 in FIG1 ), and UE-DS-TT2 then forwards the message to the terminal N / TSN bridge N.

[0030] In 5G networks, messages are mainly transmitted between network elements through corresponding air interfaces. When abnormal conditions occur in the network, transmission abnormalities will occur on the air interfaces. For example, air interface jitter will cause changes in the transmission duration and sequence of messages in the network. The determinism of downlink message transmission cannot be guaranteed, and the transmission requirements of TSN are not met.

[0031] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic message transmission method, a transmission device and a readable storage medium. By setting the shaping time, the received messages are shaped in the transmission order to ensure the determinism of network transmission and avoid the impact of air interface jitter on the message order.

[0032] 3 , an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic transmission method, which is applied to NW-TT. The deterministic transmission method includes but is not limited to the following steps S100 to S300 .

[0033] Step S100: receiving a first shaping duration sent by a session management function (SMF) network element, where the first shaping duration is determined based on a delay in sending a message from the DS-TT to the NW-TT via an uplink air interface and a processing time of the NW-TT for processing the message;

[0034] Step S200: receiving at least one message sent by the DS-TT of the transmitting end to the local area via the base station uplink, and determining the time when the message is sent from the DS-TT of the transmitting end;

[0035] Step S300: When the difference between the local time and the time when the message is sent is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, the message is sent downlink to the DS-TT of the receiving end through the base station.

[0036] The SMF (Session Management Function) network element sends the first shaping duration to the NW-TT, which then performs the initial shaping on the TSN message based on the first shaping duration. The first shaping duration is related to the DS-TT uplink forwarding delay and the message processing time in the NW-TT. The DS-TT uplink forwarding delay is the delay in the message forwarding process from the DS-TT local port through the base station to the NW-TT. The message processing time in the NW-TT is the total duration of the entire process from the NW-TT receiving the message, processing it locally, and then forwarding it. When setting the first shaping duration, in addition to directly adding the DS-TT uplink forwarding delay and the NW-TT packet processing time to obtain the total duration as the first shaping duration, you can also use a duration related to these two durations. For example, set corresponding coefficients for the DS-TT uplink forwarding delay and the NW-TT packet processing time, and then add the product of these two durations and the corresponding coefficients to obtain the first shaping duration. The first shaping duration can also be determined by other means to ensure that the packets are sent in the correct order when the NW-TT sends them locally.

[0037] In some embodiments, NW-TT will first receive information containing the first shaping duration sent by the SMF network element, and then NW-TT will receive at least one message sent by the DS-TT of the sending end to the local area through the base station uplink. NW-TT determines the difference between the local time and the time when the message is sent from the DS-TT of the sending end. When the message meets the condition that the difference is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, NW-TT will send all local to-be-sent messages that meet the above conditions in this downlink sending window, where the downlink sending window represents the gating rule corresponding to the periodic queuing forwarding of NW-TT. Periodic queuing forwarding enables the message to ensure bounded delay in TSN, which is a common message scheduling rule in TSN and will not be further explained here.

[0038] In summary, the NW-TT buffers the received packets and waits for a period of time until the buffered packets meet the condition that the difference is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration. The packets are then sent downlink. This process is the first level of packet shaping.

[0039] As shown in FIG4 , in some embodiments, to facilitate the NW-TT in determining the time when the DS-TT uplink of the transmitting end sends the message, the message includes a sending timestamp of the DS-TT uplink message sent by the transmitting end. Determining the sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the transmitting end in step S200 includes:

[0040] Step S210, putting the message into the first local buffer;

[0041] Step S220: Determine the sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the sending end according to the sending timestamp of the buffered message.

[0042] The transmitting DS-TT sends a message upstream to the NW-TT, adding a send timestamp before sending the message. The send timestamp indicates the time the message was sent from the transmitting DS-TT. When the NW-TT receives the message, it places the received message in the first local buffer and then determines the send time (send timestamp t2) from the message. It also monitors whether the difference between the send timestamp t2 of the message and the local time (which can be calculated as an absolute value) is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration. If so, the message is set to the pending state. In practice, because there may be more than one message in the first local buffer, the NW-TT actually monitors the send timestamp t2 of all local messages.

[0043] As previously mentioned, to meet the bounded latency requirements of TSN, the NW-TT periodically sends out messages in the pending state. Therefore, there may be cases in the NW-TT where the difference between the sending timestamp t2 of some messages and the local time is greater than the first shaping duration. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5, in the above step S300, when the difference between the local time and the sending time of the message is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, the message is sent downlink via the base station to the DS-TT at the receiving end, including:

[0044] Step S310, determining the sending time of each message in the first local buffer area;

[0045] Step S320: When the difference between the local time and the time when the message was sent is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, the message is set as the first message to be sent;

[0046] Step S330: When the downlink sending window of the NW-TT is reached, the first message to be sent is downlink-sent to the DS-TT of the receiving end via the base station.

[0047] A message in the pending-send state is identified as a first pending-send message if the difference (calculated as an absolute value) between the send time (send timestamp t2) and the local time is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration. When the next downlink send window in the NW-TT arrives, that is, the time for periodic queuing and forwarding, i.e., the downlink send window, all first pending-send messages are downlinked to the base station, which then forwards the messages to the receiving end's DS-TT.

[0048] The NW-TT is set up in the UPF network element. The local time of the NW-TT is the local time of the N3 interface, which is the communication interface between the UPF network element and the base station's 5G radio access network. The N3 interface is the interface between the 5G(R)AN (Radio Access Network) and the UPF, and is mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the 5G(R)AN and the UPF.

[0049] 6 , an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic transmission method, which is applied to DS-TT at a receiving end. The deterministic transmission method includes but is not limited to the following steps S400 to S600 .

[0050] Step S400: receiving a second shaping duration sent by a session management function (SMF) network element, where the second shaping duration represents a maximum delay budget for transmitting a message from a DS-TT at a transmitting end to a DS-TT at a receiving end;

[0051] Step S500: receiving at least one message sent downlink by a network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through a base station, and determining an entry time of the message into the DS-TT of the sending end;

[0052] Step S600: When the difference between the local time and the message entry time is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, the message is sent downlink.

[0053] The SMF network element sends a second shaping duration to the DS-TT, and the DS-TT can perform a second shaping on the TSN message according to the second shaping duration. The size of the second shaping duration is related to the maximum delay budget (max Delay Budget, maxDB) for the message to be transmitted from the DS-TT at the sending end to the DS-TT at the receiving end. The DS-TT at the receiving end determines the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message at the DS-TT at the sending end. If the difference is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, that is, greater than or equal to the maximum delay budget maxDB, then these messages are sent downlink to the end station or TSN bridge. The second shaping duration can directly take the value of the maximum delay budget maxDB, or it can set other values ​​according to the maximum delay budget maxDB, for example, taking 1.1 times the maximum delay budget maxDB as the second shaping duration. The second shaping duration can also be determined by other means, the purpose of which is to ensure that when the DS-TT at the receiving end sends the message locally, the order of the sent messages is correct.

[0054] In some embodiments, the DS-TT at the receiving end will first receive information containing the second shaping duration sent by the SMF network element. The DS-TT at the receiving end receives at least one message sent downlink by the base station to the local area. The DS-TT at the receiving end determines the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message into the DS-TT of the sending end. When the message satisfies the condition that the difference is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, the DS-TT at the receiving end will send all the local to-be-sent messages that meet the above conditions in this downlink sending window, where the downlink sending window represents the gating rule corresponding to the periodic queuing and forwarding of the DS-TT at the receiving end. The periodic queuing and forwarding enables the message to be guaranteed with bounded delay in TSN. It is a common message scheduling rule in TSN and will not be further explained here.

[0055] In short, after receiving a message, the DS-TT at the receiving end buffers the message and waits for a period of time until the buffered message meets the condition that the difference is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration. The message is then sent downlink. This process is the second level of message shaping.

[0056] In some embodiments, to facilitate the DS-TT at the receiving end to determine the time when the message enters the DS-TT at the transmitting end, the message includes an entry timestamp of the message entering the DS-TT at the transmitting end. As shown in FIG7 , determining the entry time of the message entering the DS-TT at the transmitting end in step S500 includes:

[0057] Step S510, putting the message into the second local buffer;

[0058] Step S520: Determine the entry time of the message into the DS-TT of the sending end according to the entry timestamp of the buffered message.

[0059] The DS-TT on the sending end receives an uplink message and records the timestamp of the message entering the DS-TT on the sending end. This timestamp indicates the time when the message enters the DS-TT on the sending end. The DS-TT on the sending end adds this entry timestamp to the message and sends it to the NW-TT. Therefore, the message received by the NW-TT includes the entry time (entry timestamp t1) and the transmission time (transmission timestamp t2). When the DS-TT on the receiving end receives a message sent by the NW-TT, it monitors whether the difference between the entry timestamp t1 of the message and the local time (which can be calculated as an absolute value) is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration. If so, the status of the message is set to the waiting state. In fact, because there may be more than one message in the second local buffer area, the DS-TT on the receiving end actually monitors the entry timestamp t1 of all local messages.

[0060] As previously mentioned, in order to meet the bounded latency requirements of TSN, the DS-TT at the receiving end periodically sends out packets in the pending state. Therefore, in the DS-TT at the receiving end, there may be cases where the difference between the entry timestamp t1 of some packets and the local time is greater than the second shaping duration. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 8, in the above step S600, when the difference between the local time and the entry time of the packet is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, the packet is sent downlink, including:

[0061] Step S610, determining the sending time of each message in the second local buffer area;

[0062] Step S620: When the difference between the local time and the message entry time is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, the message is set as the second message to be sent;

[0063] Step S630: When the downlink sending window of the DS-TT of the receiving end is reached, the second message to be sent is sent to the receiving end device corresponding to the DS-TT of the receiving end.

[0064] A message in the pending state is identified as a second pending message if the difference (which can be calculated as an absolute value) between its entry time (entry timestamp t1) and the local time is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration. When the next downlink send window in the DS-TT of the receiving end arrives, that is, the time when the periodic queuing forwarding is reached, that is, the downlink send window, all second pending messages are sent downlink to the end station or TSN bridge.

[0065] It can be understood that the above is a case where the DS-TT at the receiving end receives the message sent by the DS-TT at the sending end. If the DS-TT at the receiving end serves as the sending side and the DS-TT at the sending end serves as the receiving side, then the DS-TT at the receiving end implements the function of the DS-TT at the sending end, and the DS-TT at the sending end implements the function of the DS-TT at the receiving end. That is to say, the DS-TT at the sending end and the DS-TT at the receiving end are essentially equivalent, and implement corresponding functions in the uplink and downlink.

[0066] 9 , an embodiment of the present application provides a deterministic transmission method, which is applied to a base station. The deterministic transmission method includes but is not limited to the following steps S700 to S900 .

[0067] Step S700: receiving uplink time-sensitive communication assistance information (TSC Assistance Information) and downlink time-sensitive communication assistance information (TSC Assistance Information) sent by a session management function (SMF) network element, wherein the difference between the burst arrival time of the uplink time-sensitive communication assistance information and the burst arrival time of the downlink time-sensitive communication assistance information is a preset fixed duration, and the preset fixed duration is determined based on the delay of the device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT sending a message to the network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing time of the NW-TT processing the message;

[0068] Step S800: When receiving a first message sent uplink by the DS-TT of the transmitting end, forwarding the first message to the NW-TT for processing according to the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information;

[0069] Step S900: When receiving the second message obtained after processing by the NW-TT, the second message is forwarded to the DS-TT of the receiving end according to the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information.

[0070] Time Sensitive Communication Assistance Information (TSCAI) instructs base stations on how to forward messages and describes the traffic characteristics of TSN services, including flow direction, burst arrival time, maximum burst size, and periodicity. This allows base stations to pre-prepare communication resources for periodic, deterministic services through configuration authorization, semi-static scheduling, and dynamic authorization. This eliminates the need for scheduling requests when TSN messages arrive, reducing latency. Base stations use uplink and downlink TSCAI to coordinate the forwarding of messages from the transmitting DS-TT through the NW-TT to the receiving DS-TT. The uplink and downlink TSCAI have burst arrival times (BATs). The SMF network element sets the BAT of the downlink TSCAI based on the BAT in the uplink TSCAI. The BAT is represented by BAT. The BAT of the downlink TSCAI is calculated as BAT + T. The SMF network element then sends the uplink and downlink TSCAI to the base station. The time T is determined based on the delay of the device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT sending a message to the network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing time of the NW-TT processing the message. This time T may be equal to or different from the first shaping duration. For example, the preset fixed duration is the total duration of the delay upper limit of the DS-TT on the sending end sending a message to the NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing time of the NW-TT processing the message.

[0071] In some embodiments, uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information is generated by the SMF network element based on the auxiliary data sent by the centralized network configuration CNC (Centralized Network Configuration) network element, and downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information is generated by the SMF network element based on the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and a preset fixed duration.

[0072] In some embodiments, the receiving of the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information sent by the session management function SMF network element in step S700 is:

[0073] Receive uplink time-sensitive communication assistance information and downlink time-sensitive communication assistance information sent by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element through the N2 interface;

[0074] Among them, the SMF network element sends uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information to the AMF network element through the N11 interface, and the N2 interface is the communication interface between the AMF network element and the 5G wireless access network of the base station.

[0075] The 5GS bridge implements collaborative management with the CNC network element via the TSN AF (Application Function) network element. The uplink TSCAI is sent by the SMF to the base station. At the same time, the SMF configures the first shaping duration and sends the first shaping duration to the NW-TT via the N4 interface. The SMF also converts the uplink TSCAI and the first shaping duration to obtain the downlink TSCAI, and then sends the downlink TSCAI to the base station via the N2 interface. The SMF network element is connected to the AMF network element via the N11 interface.

[0076] The above three embodiments respectively describe the NW-TT, the DS-TT at the receiving end, and the base station. The following describes the overall solution of this application in detail.

[0077] Figure 1 shows the implementation of a logical deterministic bridge based on two-level shaping. This bridge is used to perform two-level shaping on the transmission duration and order of TSN packets, ensuring deterministic network transmission in TSN. The first-level shaping occurs at the N3 interface, and the second-level shaping occurs at the UE-DS-TT. In Figure 1, the DS-TT at the transmitting end is represented as UE-DS-TT1, and the DS-TT at the receiving end is represented as UE-DS-TT2.

[0078] First level plastic surgery:

[0079] Uplink packets sent from UE-DS-TT1 are designated as "UE-DS-TT1 out," and downlink packets sent through the N3 interface are designated as "N3 out." The 5GS bridge implements coordinated management with the CNC via the TSN AF network element. The uplink TSCAI information is sent by the SMF network element to the base station (gNB). The SMF network element also configures the NW-TT's N3 first shaping duration T (the length is the upper limit of the uplink air interface forwarding delay + the NW-TT processing time). The first shaping duration T is then sent to the NW-TT via the N4 interface. The SMF network element converts the uplink TSCAI information and the first shaping duration T to obtain the downlink TSCAI information. The SMF network element then transmits the downlink TSCAI information to the gNB via the N2 interface.

[0080] At the ingress time of the uplink UE-DS-TT1 (when the packet enters UE-DS-TT1), the packet is timestamped with t1. At the egress time of the uplink UE-DS-TT1 (when the packet leaves UE-DS-TT1), the packet is timestamped with t2. The packet passes through the gNB and reaches the UPF / NWTT. After UE-DS-TT1 sends the packet for a time period T (the difference between the NW-TT local time and the timestamp t2 is the first shaping time period T), the NW-TT then sends the packet out of the N3 interface. When the packet is actually dequeued from the N3 interface, the BAT of the downlink TSCAI is set to the BAT of the uplink TSCAI + T. The Flow Direction parameter (packet transmission direction) of the TSCAI is changed from "uplink" to "downlink", while other parameters remain unchanged. The gNB controls radio resource allocation and data scheduling based on the BAT parameter and other information provided by the TSCAI, ensuring the timing and order of packet transmission, and achieving accurate and efficient data transmission.

[0081] Second level plastic surgery:

[0082] Configure the maximum packet delay maxDB between two UEs on the TSN AF / SMF as the second shaping duration.

[0083] When a message arrives at UE-DS-TT2 and enters the cache, UE-DS-TT2 compares the current local time with the timestamp t1 of the message in the cache, obtains the difference, and determines whether the corresponding difference of the message reaches maxDB. If so, the message changes to the sending state and moves to the waiting area for sending. It will be sent out after the gate is reached.

[0084] Generally speaking, the main process steps include but are not limited to the following:

[0085] 1101: The uplink TSCAI information is sent by the SMF network element to the gNB. At the same time, the first shaping duration T of the N3 interface of the NW-TT is configured on the SMF network element, and then T is sent to the NW-TT through the N4 interface.

[0086] 1102: The BAT of the downlink TSCAI information is equal to the BAT of the uplink TSCAI + T. The Flow Direction parameter of the TSCAI is changed from "uplink" to "downlink". The SMF transmits the downlink TSCAI to the gNB via the N2 interface.

[0087] The above steps 1101 and 1102 are preparatory steps.

[0088] 1103: The end station or TSN bridge sends a message to UE-DS-TT1.

[0089] 1104: When the message enters UE-DS-TT1, the message is timestamped with t1;

[0090] 1105: When the message leaves UE-DS-TT1, the message is timestamped with t2;

[0091] 1106: The message passes through the gNB and reaches the UPF / NW-TT, entering the buffer area.

[0092] 1107: When the local time of the N3 interface minus the timestamp t2 of the message in the buffer is greater than or equal to T, the message is sent from the N3 interface;

[0093] 1108: The message arrives at the gNB. The gNB controls the sending of the message based on the parameters such as BAT and periodicity provided by TSCAI.

[0094] 1109: The message arrives at UE-DS-TT2 and enters the buffer area;

[0095] 1110: UE-DS-TT2 compares the current local time with the timestamp t1 of the message in the buffer area to determine whether the message has reached the second shaping duration maxDB. If so, the message is switched to the sending state and moved into the waiting area for sending. The message is sent out after the gate is reached.

[0096] The TSCAI information path is as follows: the TSN AF obtains information from the CNC and sends it to the SMF network element via the PCF network element. The SMF network element then generates and sends the TSCAI to the gNB for use. After the SMF network element generates the downlink TSCAI, it passes it to the gNB via the N2 interface. The SMF network element sends the T to the UPF / NW-TT via the N4 interface.

[0097] The end station sends a message to UE-DS-TT1, which transmits the message to the UPF / NW-TT through the gNB. The UPF / NW-TT then sends the message to the network-side TSN bridge or receiving end station, or the UPF / NW-TT transmits the message to UE-DS-TT2 via the gNB.

[0098] Configure the maximum delay (maxDB) between two UEs on the AF / SMF network element. The AF / SMF network element sends maxDB to the DS-TT through the Ethernet port management process.

[0099] Therefore, it can be seen that in the current TSN network UE2UE scenario, when messages are transmitted between UE-DS-TT1, gNB, UPF / NW-TT, and UE-DS-TT2, due to abnormal conditions such as air interface jitter, the message transmission duration will be uncertain, resulting in changes in the transmission order of multiple messages in a flow, and ultimately leading to network transmission uncertainty. Through the embodiments of the present application, in actual applications, by setting TSCAI parameter information and the first shaping duration and second shaping duration, the gNB controls the transmission duration and sequence of TSN flow messages to ensure the timing and sequence of message transmission is determined, thereby achieving accurate and efficient data transmission.

[0100] An embodiment of the present application also provides a transmission device, comprising at least one processor and a memory for communicating with the at least one processor; the memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to execute the aforementioned deterministic transmission method.

[0101] 10 , the control processor 1001 and the memory 1002 in the transmission device 1000 can be connected via a bus as an example. The memory 1002, as a non-transient computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store non-transient software programs and non-transient computer executable programs. In addition, the memory 1002 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-transient memory, such as at least one disk memory, a flash memory device, or other non-transient solid-state memory device. In some embodiments, the memory 1002 may optionally include a memory remotely arranged relative to the control processor 1001, and these remote memories can be connected to the transmission device 1000 via a network. Examples of the above-mentioned networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0102] Those skilled in the art will understand that the device structure shown in FIG10 does not constitute a limitation on the transmission device 1000 , and may include more or fewer components than shown, or a combination of certain components, or a different arrangement of components.

[0103] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions are executed by one or more control processors, for example, by a control processor 1001 in Figure 10, so that the one or more control processors can execute the deterministic transmission method in the above method embodiment, for example, execute method steps S100 to S300 in Figure 3, method steps S210 to S220 in Figure 4, method steps S310 to S330 in Figure 5, method steps S400 to S600 in Figure 6, method steps S510 to S520 in Figure 7, method steps S610 to S630 in Figure 8, and method steps S700 to S900 in Figure 9 described above.

[0104] The deterministic message transmission method, transmission device and readable storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present application have at least the following beneficial effects: in a time-sensitive network TSN, when a message is transmitted between the DS-TT, base station, NW-TT and DS-TT of the sending end, the message sending order is guaranteed by two-level shaping. The first-level shaping is that when the NW-TT receives the message sent by the DS-TT of the sending end, it determines the difference between the local time and the sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the sending end. If the difference is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, the message is sent downlink according to the sending period. The first shaping duration is determined according to the uplink sending delay of the DS-TT of the sending end and the processing time of the message in the NW-TT, which can ensure that the message is sorted into a suitable order in the NW-TT before being sent down; the second-level shaping is the DS-TT of the receiving end. When T receives a message sent downlink from NW-TT, it determines the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message into the DS-TT of the transmitter. If the difference is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, the message is sent down according to the sending period. The second shaping duration is determined based on the maximum delay budget for the message to be transmitted from the DS-TT of the transmitter to the DS-TT of the receiver, which can ensure that the message is sorted into the appropriate order in the DS-TT of the receiver before being sent down. During the first-level shaping and second-level shaping processes, the base station adjusts the sending timing of the uplink and downlink messages based on the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information. The above method ensures that the message transmission order will not change during the end-to-end transmission process, avoids the impact of air interface jitter on the message sequence, and realizes accurate and efficient data transmission in TSN.

[0105] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected based on actual needs to achieve the objectives of this embodiment.

[0106] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or some of the steps and systems in the method disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. Some physical components or all physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or implemented as hardware, or implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer-readable medium, and the computer-readable medium can include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or temporary media). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage media is included in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data) and is volatile and non-volatile, removable, and non-removable. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, as is well known to those skilled in the art, communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0107] The above is an explanation of some implementations of the present application, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned implementation methods. Technical personnel familiar with the art can also make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without departing from the scope of the present application. These equivalent modifications or substitutions are all included in the scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for deterministic transmission of a message, applied to a network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT, the method comprising: Receive a first shaping duration sent by a session management function SMF network element, where the first shaping duration is determined according to a delay of a device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT sending a message to the NW-TT through an uplink air interface and a processing duration of the NW-TT processing the message; receiving at least one message sent by the DS-TT of the sending end to the local area through the uplink of the base station, and determining the sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the sending end; When the difference between the local time and the sending time of the message is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, the message is sent downlink to the DS-TT of the receiving end through the base station.

2. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 1, wherein: The first shaping duration is the total duration of the delay upper limit value of the DS-TT at the sending end sending the message to the NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing duration of the NW-TT processing the message.

3. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 1, wherein: The message includes a sending timestamp of the DS-TT uplink sending the message at the sending end; and determining the sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the sending end includes: Putting the message into a first local buffer; The sending time of the message from the DS-TT of the sending end is determined according to the cached sending timestamp of the message.

4. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 3, wherein: When the difference between the local time and the sending time of the message is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, sending the message to the DS-TT of the receiving end through the base station downlink, comprising: Determining the sending time of each of the messages in the first local cache area; When the difference between the local time and the sending time of the message is greater than or equal to the first shaping duration, setting the message as the first message to be sent; When the downlink sending window of the NW-TT is reached, the first message to be sent is sent downlink to the DS-TT of the receiving end through the base station.

5. The deterministic transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The NW-TT is set in the user plane function UPF network element, the local time of the NW-TT is the local time of the N3 interface, and the N3 interface is the communication interface between the UPF network element and the 5G wireless access network of the base station.

6. A method for deterministic transmission of a message, applied to a device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT at a receiving end, the method comprising: A second shaping duration sent by a receiving session management function SMF network element, wherein the second shaping duration represents a maximum delay budget for transmitting a message from a DS-TT of a sending end to a DS-TT of a receiving end; receiving at least one message sent downlink by a network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through a base station, and determining an entry time of the message into the DS-TT of the sending end; When the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, the message is sent downlink.

7. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 6, wherein: The message includes an entry timestamp of the message entering the DS-TT of the sending end; The determining the entry time of the message into the DS-TT of the sending end includes: Putting the message into a second local buffer area; An entry time of the message entering the DS-TT of the sending end is determined according to the cached entry timestamp of the message.

8. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 7, wherein: When the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, sending the message downlink includes: Determining the sending time of each of the messages in the second local cache area; When the difference between the local time and the entry time of the message is greater than or equal to the second shaping duration, setting the message as the second message to be sent; When the downlink sending window of the DS-TT of the receiving end is reached, the second message to be sent is sent to the receiving end device corresponding to the DS-TT of the receiving end.

9. A method for deterministic transmission of a message, applied to a base station, the method comprising: Receive uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information sent by a session management function SMF network element, wherein the difference between the burst arrival time of the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the burst arrival time of the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information is a preset fixed duration, and the preset fixed duration is determined according to the delay of the device-side time-sensitive network converter DS-TT sending a message to the network-side time-sensitive network converter NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing duration of the NW-TT processing the message; When receiving a first message sent uplink by the DS-TT of the transmitting end, forwarding the first message to the NW-TT for processing according to the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information; When receiving the second message obtained after the NW-TT processes, the second message is forwarded to the DS-TT of the receiving end according to the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information.

10. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 9, wherein: The uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information is generated by the SMF network element according to the auxiliary data sent by the centralized network configuration CNC network element, and the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information is generated by the SMF network element according to the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the preset fixed duration.

11. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 10, wherein: The preset fixed duration is the total duration of the delay upper limit value of the DS-TT at the sending end sending the message to the NW-TT through the uplink air interface and the processing duration of the NW-TT processing the message.

12. The deterministic transmission method according to claim 9, wherein: The receiving of uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information sent by the session management function SMF network element includes: Receiving the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information sent by the access and mobility management function AMF network element through the N2 interface; Among them, the SMF network element sends the uplink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information and the downlink time-sensitive communication auxiliary information to the AMF network element through the N11 interface, and the N2 interface is the communication interface between the AMF network element and the 5G wireless access network of the base station.

13. A transmission device, comprising at least one processor and a memory for communicating with the at least one processor; the memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the deterministic transmission method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, or execute the deterministic transmission method as described in any one of claims 6 to 8, or execute the deterministic transmission method as described in claims 9 to 12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions are used to enable a computer to execute the deterministic transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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