Quality of service monitoring method, apparatus and system, and storage medium

Abstract

A quality of service monitoring method, apparatus and system, and a storage medium. In the present application, an access network device receives indication information of an application, wherein the indication information is used for indicating a quality of service monitoring mode; and the access network device monitors a time delay of an air interface part on the basis of the indicated quality of service monitoring mode, and sends same to a user plane function network element, wherein the user plane function network element calculates a complete time delay and sends same to the application. Therefore, the access network device and the application can unify quality of service monitoring modes, thereby accurately performing quality of service monitoring.

Description

Service quality monitoring method, device, system and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 3, 2023, with application number 202310973558.7 and invention name “Service Quality Monitoring Method, Device, System and Storage Medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method, device, system and storage medium for monitoring quality of service (QoS). Background Art

[0003] Some communication services, such as ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) services, have high requirements for QoS. Therefore, QoS monitoring during the communication process is particularly important. QoS monitoring mainly refers to monitoring the delay of data packets transmitted between the terminal and the user plane function (UPF) of the protocol data unit session anchor (PDU session anchor, PSA), including the delay of the data packet transmitted between the terminal and the access network device (i.e., the delay of the air interface part), and the delay of the data packet transmitted between the access network device and the anchor UPF (i.e., the delay of the core network part). Among them, monitoring the delay of the air interface part includes at least two monitoring methods. Therefore, the network does not know which monitoring method is used for feedback, and the application does not know which monitoring method the network uses for measurement, so it is impossible to use the monitoring results accurately.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a service quality monitoring method, device, system and storage medium to determine the way to perform service quality monitoring and accurately perform service quality monitoring.

[0006] In the first aspect, a service quality monitoring method is provided, which can be executed by an access network device, or by a module applied to the access network device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or by a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0007] The method includes: the access network device receives first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality monitoring method, and the indicated service quality monitoring method includes the first service quality monitoring method or the second service quality monitoring method; the access network device monitors the first delay of transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the indicated service quality monitoring method; and the access network device sends a second data packet to the user plane functional network element, and the second data packet includes the first delay. The access network device receives indication information from the application, the indication information is used to indicate the service quality monitoring method, and the access network device monitors the delay of the air interface part according to the indicated service quality monitoring method and sends it to the user plane functional network element, and the user plane functional network element calculates the complete delay and sends it to the application. In this way, the access network device and the application can unify the service quality monitoring method and accurately perform service quality monitoring.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is determined by the application function network element based on the service. For example, the first QoS monitoring method described above has low monitoring overhead and can calculate the delay of multiple data packets, but the monitoring accuracy is lower than that of the second QoS monitoring method. The second QoS monitoring method described above calculates the delay of each data packet separately, which has high monitoring accuracy but high monitoring overhead. The application can determine whether to use the first or second QoS monitoring method based on the service.

[0009] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is carried in control plane signaling. The access network device obtains the indication information regarding the quality of service monitoring mode through the control plane signaling, and the access network device may monitor the air interface latency of one or more data packets according to the indicated quality of service monitoring mode.

[0010] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is carried in the first data. The access network device obtains the indication information regarding the quality of service monitoring mode through user plane signaling (e.g., the first data), and the access network device monitors the air interface latency of the data packet indicated by the user plane according to the indicated quality of service monitoring mode.

[0011] In another possible implementation, the first QoS monitoring method calculates the average delay of multiple data packets, and the second QoS monitoring method calculates the delay of a single data packet. The first QoS monitoring method has low monitoring overhead and can calculate the delay of multiple data packets, but its monitoring accuracy is lower than that of the second QoS monitoring method. The second QoS monitoring method calculates the delay of each data packet separately, which has high monitoring accuracy but high monitoring overhead.

[0012] In another possible implementation, the indicated quality of service monitoring mode is the second quality of service monitoring mode, and the second data packet further includes a first correspondence relationship, where the first correspondence relationship is used to indicate a correspondence between a second delay and the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device. Through this first correspondence relationship, the user plane function network element can align the second delay corresponding to each data packet with the first delay corresponding to each data packet to accurately obtain the third delay.

[0013] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between a user-plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GPRS Tunneling Protocol for the User Plane, GTP-U) sequence number and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user plane function network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal. The GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the UPF and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal. When transmitting a data packet between the UPF and the access network device, the GTP-U sequence number is carried to identify the data packet, and when transmitting a data packet between the access network device and the terminal, the PDCP sequence number is carried to identify the data packet. Therefore, the access network device can maintain the correspondence between the GTP-U sequence number and the PDCP sequence number, thereby maintaining the correspondence between the second delay and the first delay.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between the time when the first data packet arrives from the user plane function network element to the access network device and the first latency. The access network device can obtain the time when the first data packet arrives from the user plane function network element to the access network device. Therefore, the first correspondence may also be a correspondence between the time when the first data packet arrives from the user plane function network element to the access network device and the first latency.

[0015] On the second aspect, a service quality monitoring method is provided, which can be executed by a user plane function network element, or by a module applied to the user plane function network element (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or by a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the user plane function network element functions.

[0016] The method includes: a user plane function network element receives a second data packet from an access network device, the second data packet includes a first delay for transmitting a first data packet between the access network device and the terminal, and the first delay is obtained by the access network device according to the indicated service quality monitoring method; the user plane function network element obtains a second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; the user plane function network element obtains a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal based on the first delay and the second delay; and the user plane function network element reports the third delay.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the user plane functional network element receives a first request, the first request is used to request service quality monitoring, the first request includes first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring method, the indicated service quality monitoring method includes a first service quality monitoring method or a second service quality monitoring method; and the user plane functional network element sends the first data packet to the access network device, the first data packet includes the first indication information.

[0018] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is determined by an application function network element according to a service.

[0019] In another possible implementation, the first quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the average value of the delays of multiple data packets, and the second quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

[0020] In another possible implementation, the indicated service quality monitoring method is the second service quality monitoring method, and the second data packet also includes a first correspondence relationship, which is used to indicate the correspondence between the second delay and the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; and the user plane function network element obtains the third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal based on the first delay and the second delay, including: the user plane function network element determines the first delay corresponding to the second delay based on the first correspondence relationship; the user plane function network element obtains the third delay based on the first delay and the second delay.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between a GTP-U sequence number and a PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user plane functional network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal.

[0022] In another possible implementation, the first corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the user plane functional network element and the first delay.

[0023] On the third aspect, a service quality monitoring method is provided. The method can be executed by a session management function network element, or by a module applied to the session management function network element (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or by a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the session management function network element.

[0024] The method includes: a session management function network element receiving first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, and the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode; and the session management function network element sending the first indication information.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is determined by an application function network element according to a service.

[0026] Fourthly, a service quality monitoring method is provided. The method can be executed by an access network device, or by a module applied to the access network device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or by a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0027] The method includes: an access network device monitors, by a first network device and a terminal, a transmission delay of a first data packet between the access network device and a terminal according to a first quality of service monitoring mode and a second quality of service monitoring mode, respectively, to obtain a first delay and a second delay; and the access network device sends a second data packet to a user plane function network element, the second data packet including first information and second information; wherein the first information includes the first delay and first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring mode; and the second information includes the second delay and second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring mode. The access network device provides the user plane function network element with the transmission delays of the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal monitored according to different quality of service monitoring modes, and explicitly indicates which quality of service monitoring mode each delay is calculated according to. Thus, the user plane function network element can obtain two different transmission delays of the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal, and report them to the application, so that the application can select which monitoring result to use according to service needs, thereby improving the accuracy of service quality monitoring.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first QoS monitoring method calculates the average delay of multiple data packets, while the second QoS monitoring method calculates the delay of a single data packet. The first QoS monitoring method has low monitoring overhead and can calculate the delay of multiple data packets, but its monitoring accuracy is lower than that of the second QoS monitoring method. The second QoS monitoring method calculates the delay of each data packet separately, which has high monitoring accuracy but high monitoring overhead.

[0029] In another possible implementation, the second information further includes a first correspondence, where the first correspondence indicates a correspondence between the third delay and the second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device. This first correspondence enables the user plane function network element to align the third delay corresponding to each data packet with the second delay corresponding to each data packet to accurately obtain the fifth delay.

[0030] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between a GTP-U sequence number and a PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user plane function network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal. The GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the UPF and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal. When transmitting a data packet between the UPF and the access network device, the GTP-U sequence number is carried to identify the data packet, and when transmitting a data packet between the access network device and the terminal, the PDCP sequence number is carried to identify the data packet. Therefore, the access network device can maintain the correspondence between the GTP-U sequence number and the PDCP sequence number, thereby maintaining the correspondence between the third delay and the second delay.

[0031] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between the time it takes for the first data packet to arrive at the access network device from the user plane function network element and the second latency. The access network device can obtain the time it takes for the first data packet to arrive at the access network device from the user plane function network element. Therefore, the first correspondence may also be a correspondence between the time it takes for the first data packet to arrive at the access network device from the user plane function network element and the second latency.

[0032] In the fifth aspect, a service quality monitoring method is provided, which can be executed by a user plane function network element, or by a module applied to the user plane function network element (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or by a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the user plane function network element functions.

[0033] The method comprises: a user plane function network element receives a second data packet from an access network device, the second data packet includes first information and second information; wherein the first information includes a first delay and first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to a first quality of service monitoring method; the second information includes a second delay and second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to a second quality of service monitoring method; the user plane function network element obtains the The third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane functional network element and the access network device; the user plane functional network element respectively calculates the sum of the first delay, the second delay and the third delay to obtain the fourth delay and the fifth delay; and the user plane functional network element sends third information and fourth information, the third information includes the fourth delay and fourth indication information, and the fourth information includes the fifth delay and fifth indication information; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the fourth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method; the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the fifth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the first quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the average value of delays of multiple data packets, and the second quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, a service quality monitoring method is provided, which can be executed by a service quality monitoring system.

[0036] The method includes: a session management function network element receives first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, and the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode; the session management function network element sends the first indication information; the access network device monitors a first delay for transmitting a first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the indicated service quality monitoring mode; the access network device sends a second data packet to the user plane function network element, where the second data packet includes the first delay; the user plane function network element obtains a second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; the user plane function network element obtains a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal based on the first delay and the second delay; and the user plane function network element reports the third delay.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is determined by an application function network element according to a service.

[0038] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is carried in control plane signaling.

[0039] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is carried in the first data.

[0040] In another possible implementation, the first quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the average value of the delays of multiple data packets, and the second quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

[0041] In another possible implementation, the indicated service quality monitoring method is the second service quality monitoring method, and the second data packet also includes a first correspondence relationship, which is used to indicate the correspondence between the second delay and the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane functional network element and the access network device.

[0042] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between a user-plane General Packet Radio Tunneling Protocol GTP-U sequence number and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user-plane functional network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal.

[0043] In another possible implementation, the first corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the user plane functional network element and the first delay.

[0044] In another possible implementation, the session management function network element sends a first request to the user plane function network element, where the first request is used to request service quality monitoring, and the first request includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring method, and the indicated service quality monitoring method includes a first service quality monitoring method or a second service quality monitoring method; and the user plane function network element sends the first data packet to the access network device, where the first data packet includes the first indication information.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, a service quality monitoring method is provided, the method comprising: an access network device monitors the delay of a first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to a first service quality monitoring method and a second service quality monitoring method, respectively, to obtain a first delay and a second delay; the access network device sends a second data packet to a user plane function network element, the second data packet including first information and second information; wherein the first information includes the first delay and first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first service quality monitoring method; the second information includes the second delay and second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second service quality monitoring method The user plane function network element obtains the third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; the user plane function network element respectively calculates the sum of the first delay, the second delay and the third delay to obtain the fourth delay and the fifth delay; and the user plane function network element sends third information and fourth information, the third information including the fourth delay and fourth indication information, and the fourth information including the fifth delay and fifth indication information; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the fourth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method; the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the fifth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the first quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the average value of delays of multiple data packets, and the second quality of service monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

[0047] In another possible implementation, the second information further includes a first correspondence relationship, where the first correspondence relationship is used to indicate a correspondence between a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device and the second delay.

[0048] In another possible implementation, the first correspondence includes a correspondence between a user-plane General Packet Radio Tunneling Protocol GTP-U sequence number and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user-plane functional network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal.

[0049] In another possible implementation, the first corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the user plane function network element and the second delay.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, a service quality monitoring device is provided, configured to implement the service quality monitoring method of the first aspect or any one of its implementations; or to implement the service quality monitoring method of the fourth aspect or any one of its implementations. The device may be an access network device, a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to an access network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0051] In a ninth aspect, a service quality monitoring device is provided, configured to implement the service quality monitoring method in the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect; or configured to implement the service quality monitoring method in the fifth aspect or any one of the implementations of the fifth aspect. The device may be a user plane function network element, or a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to a user plane function network element, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a user plane function network element.

[0052] In a tenth aspect, a service quality monitoring device is provided, configured to implement the service quality monitoring method of the third aspect or any one of the implementations of the third aspect. The device may be a session management function network element, or a module (such as a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to a session management function network element, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of a session management function network element.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the service quality monitoring device in the sixth to eighth aspects includes a module for respectively executing the method in any one of the first to fifth aspects or any one of the implementations.

[0054] In another possible implementation, the service quality monitoring device in the sixth to eighth aspects above includes a processor coupled to a memory; the processor is configured to enable the device to perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned service quality monitoring method. The memory is used to couple with the processor, which stores the necessary programs (instructions) and / or data for the device. Optionally, the service quality monitoring device may further include a service quality monitoring interface for implementing service quality monitoring between the device and other network elements. Optionally, the memory may be located inside the service quality monitoring device or outside the service quality monitoring device.

[0055] In another possible implementation, the service quality monitoring device in the sixth to eighth aspects above includes a processor and a transceiver, the processor being coupled to the transceiver, the processor being used to execute a computer program or instruction to control the transceiver to receive and send information; when the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the processor is also used to implement the above method through a logic circuit or execution code instruction. The transceiver may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit or an input-output interface, configured to receive signals from other service quality monitoring devices other than the service quality monitoring device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other service quality monitoring devices other than the service quality monitoring device. When the service quality monitoring device is a chip, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit or an input-output interface.

[0056] When the service quality monitoring device in aspects 8 to 10 is a chip, the sending unit may be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a service quality monitoring interface; and the receiving unit may be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a service quality monitoring interface. When the service quality monitoring device is a terminal, the sending unit may be a transmitter or a transmitter; and the receiving unit may be a receiver or a receiver.

[0057] In the eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the methods described in the above aspects are implemented.

[0058] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed on a service quality monitoring device, the service quality monitoring device executes the methods described in the above aspects.

[0059] In a thirteenth aspect, a service quality monitoring system is provided, which is used to implement the method described in the sixth aspect or any one of the implementations of the sixth aspect.

[0060] In a fourteenth aspect, a service quality monitoring system is provided, which is used to implement the method described in the seventh aspect or any one of the implementations of the seventh aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] FIG1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an access network device (e.g., a gNB) provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG3a is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system based on a service-oriented interface in a non-roaming scenario;

[0064] FIG3 b is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a reference point-based communication system in a non-roaming scenario;

[0065] FIG3c is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system based on a service-oriented interface in an LBO roaming scenario;

[0066] FIG3 d is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a reference point-based communication system in an LBO roaming scenario;

[0067] FIG3e is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system based on a service-oriented interface in an HR roaming scenario;

[0068] FIG3 f is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a reference point-based communication system in an HR roaming scenario;

[0069] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the delay composition provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG5a is a schematic diagram of a downlink data packet transmitted according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG5 b is a schematic diagram of an uplink data packet sent according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a delay calculation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of another delay calculation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG8 is a flow chart of a method for monitoring quality of service according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG9 is a flow chart of another method for monitoring quality of service according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG10 is a flow chart of another method for monitoring quality of service according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a service quality monitoring device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of another service quality monitoring device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0079] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0080] The technology provided by this application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the communication system can be a fourth generation (4G) th generation, 4G) communication systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems), fifth generation (5th The present application provides a communication system that is a 5G generation (5G) communication system, or a future communication system, such as a 6G communication system, or a fusion system of multiple systems. Among them, the 5G communication system can also be called a new radio (NR) system. In addition, the communication system provided in this application may include a non-terrestrial network (NTN) and / or a terrestrial network (TN).

[0081] A network element in a communication system can send signals to or receive signals from another network element. The signals may include information, signaling, or data. The network element may also be replaced by an entity, a network entity, a device, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. The present application uses the network element as an example for description. For example, a communication system may include at least one terminal and at least one access network device. The access network device may send downlink signals to the terminal, and / or the terminal may send uplink signals to the access network device. In addition, it is understood that if the communication system includes multiple terminals, the multiple terminals may also send signals to each other, that is, the signal sending network element and the signal receiving network element may both be terminals.

[0082] Refer to Figure 1, which is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 1000 includes a radio access network 100, a core network 200, and the Internet 300. Among them, the radio access network 100 can be a next-generation (e.g., 6G or higher) radio access network, or a traditional (e.g., 5G or 4G) radio access network. One or more terminals (120a-120j, collectively referred to as 120) can be connected to each other or to one or more network devices (110a, 110b, collectively referred to as 110) in the radio access network 100. The core network 200 may include one or more core network network elements. Taking the 5G core network as an example, the 5G core network includes a session management function (SMF) network element responsible for session management, a user plane function (UPF) network element responsible for packet routing, forwarding, and QoS control on the user plane, an application function (AF) network element, etc. The above-mentioned core network elements can work independently or be combined together to implement certain control functions, such as AF, SMF and UPF can be combined together as a core network element. The core network element in the embodiment of the present application can be any one of the above-mentioned AF, SMF, UPF, etc. Among them, Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system can also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices, etc., which are not drawn in Figure 1. For example, in actual applications, the communication system can include multiple network devices (also called access network devices) at the same time, and can also include multiple communication devices at the same time. A network device can serve one or more communication devices at the same time. A communication device can also access one or more network devices at the same time. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of communication devices and network devices included in the communication system.

[0083] The network device may be an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals, and may be an access network device that connects a communication device to the communication system in a wireless manner, such as a base station. The base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), access network equipment in open radio access network (O-RAN), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), multi-standard wireless node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), centralized unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node, centralized unit user plane (CU user The base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The network device may also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip provided in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The network device may also be a mobile switching center and a device to device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), a device that performs the base station function in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the base station function in a future communication system, etc. The network device may support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0084] All or part of the functions of the network device in this application may also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The network device in this application may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions.

[0085] Network devices can be fixed or mobile. For example, base stations 110a and 110b are stationary and are responsible for wireless transmission and reception in one or more cells from communication device 120. The helicopter or drone 120i shown in Figure 1 can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile base station 120i. In other examples, the helicopter or drone (120i) can be configured to act as a communication device communicating with base station 110b.

[0086] In this application, the communication device used to implement the above-mentioned access network function can be an access network device, a network device having some of the access network functions, or a device capable of supporting the implementation of the access network function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit and a software module. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in combination with the access network device. In the method of this application, the communication device used to implement the access network device function is described as an access network device.

[0087] The terminal 120 can be any device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user and can communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (RAN). The terminal provided in this application can be applied to various communication scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, aerospace equipment, a drone device, etc. The communication device 120 can be a wireless device in the above various communication scenarios or a device used to be set in a wireless device, such as a communication module, modem or chip in the above device. A communication device may also be referred to as a terminal, terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. A communication device may also be a communication device in a future communication system. A communication device may be used in a dedicated network device or a general-purpose device. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form used by the communication device.

[0088] For example, a communication device can function as a base station. For example, a UE can function as a dispatching entity, providing sidelink signals between UEs in V2X, D2D, or P2P scenarios. As shown in Figure 1 , a cell phone 120a and a car 120b communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cell phone 120a and smart home device 120e communicate without relaying the communication signals through base station 110b.

[0089] In this application, the communication device used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned terminal 120 can be a terminal device, or a module having some of the functions of the above-mentioned terminal, or a device capable of supporting the implementation of the functions of the above-mentioned terminal, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal or used in combination with the terminal. In this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in this application, the communication device is described as a terminal or UE as an example.

[0090] The communication between the access network device and the terminal follows a certain protocol layer structure. The protocol layer structure may include a control plane protocol layer structure and a user plane protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of protocol layers such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer. For example, the user plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of protocol layers such as the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the physical layer. In one possible implementation, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer.

[0091] Exemplarily, the protocol layer structure between the access network device and the terminal may further include an AI layer for transmitting data related to the AI ​​function.

[0092] In one example, as shown in FIG2 , which is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an access network device (such as a gNB) provided in an embodiment of the present application, the access network device may include a CU and a DU. Multiple DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU. As an example, the interface between the CU and the DU may be referred to as an F1 interface. Among them, the interface between the control plane (CP) of the CU and the DU may be F1-C, and the interface between the user plane (UP) of the CU and the DU may be F1-U. The CU and the DU may be divided according to the protocol layers of the wireless network: for example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the RLC layer and the MAC layer, etc.) are set in the DU; for another example, the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer are set in the DU.

[0093] It will be appreciated that the above division of the processing functions of the CU and DU based on protocol layers is merely an example, and the division may be performed in other ways. For example, the CU or DU may be divided to include functions for more protocol layers, or to include partial processing functions for a protocol layer. In one design, some functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers above the RLC layer are located in the CU, while the remaining functions of the RLC layer and functions of protocol layers below the RLC layer are located in the DU. In another design, the functions of the CU or DU may be divided based on service type or other system requirements, for example, based on latency, where functions whose processing time must meet latency requirements are located in the DU, while functions that do not meet these latency requirements are located in the CU. In another design, the CU may also include one or more functions of the core network. For example, the CU may be located on the network side to facilitate centralized management. In another design, the RU of the DU is remotely located, where the RU has radio frequency functions. In another design, the DU and RU may be divided at the physical layer (PHY). For example, the DU may implement high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU may implement low-layer functions in the PHY layer.

[0094] For example, the functions of the CU can be implemented by one entity, or by different entities. For example, the functions of the CU can be further divided, that is, the control plane and the user plane are separated and implemented by different entities, namely the control plane CU entity (i.e., CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (i.e., CU-UP entity). The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity can be coupled with the DU to jointly complete the functions of the access network device.

[0095] In the above architecture, signaling generated by the CU can be sent to the terminal via the DU, and vice versa. For example, RRC or PDCP layer signaling is ultimately processed into physical layer signaling and sent to the terminal, or converted from received physical layer signaling. In this architecture, the RRC or PDCP layer signaling can be considered to be sent via the DU, or via the DU and RU.

[0096] For example, any of the above-mentioned DU, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and RU can be a software module, a hardware structure, or a software module + hardware structure, without limitation. The existence forms of different entities can be different and are not limited. For example, DU, CU, CU-CP, and CU-UP are software modules, and RU is a hardware structure. These modules and their execution methods are also within the scope of protection of this application.

[0097] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in the O-RAN system, CU may be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may be called O-DU, CU-CP may be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may be called O-CU-UP, and RU may be called O-RU.

[0098] It should be understood that the number and type of each device in the communication system shown in Figure 1 are for illustration only, and the present application is not limited to this. In actual applications, the communication system may also include more terminals, more access network devices, more core network elements, and other network elements, such as network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions.

[0099] It is understandable that all or part of the functions implemented by one or more of the terminals, access network devices, core network network elements, or network elements for implementing artificial intelligence functions can be virtualized, that is, implemented by one or more of the proprietary processors or general-purpose processors and the corresponding software modules. Among them, since the terminal and the access network device involve an interface for air interface transmission, the transceiver function of the interface can be implemented by hardware. Exemplarily, one or more functions of the virtualized terminal, access network device, core network network element, or network element for implementing artificial intelligence functions can be implemented by a cloud device, such as a cloud device in an over the top (OTT) system.

[0100] The method provided in this application can be used for communication between access network equipment and core network elements, but is not limited to this.

[0101] In this application, "sending information to... (e.g., access network device)" or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination end of the information being the access network device. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the access network device. "Receiving information from... (e.g., access network device)" or "receiving information from... (e.g., access network device)", or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the source end of the information being the access network device, which can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the access network device. The information may be processed as necessary between the source end and the destination end of the information transmission, such as format changes, but the destination end can understand the valid information from the source end. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0102] The system architecture of the above-mentioned communication system is different in different scenarios (including non-roaming scenarios and roaming scenarios). Taking the 5G communication system as an example, Figures 3a and 3b respectively illustrate the architecture of the communication system based on the service interface and the architecture of the communication system based on the reference point in the non-roaming scenario; and Figures 3c to 3f respectively illustrate the architecture of the communication system based on the service interface and the architecture of the communication system based on the reference point in the roaming scenario. Among them, roaming can be divided into: local breakout (LBO) and home routing (HR). Figures 3c and 3d respectively illustrate the architecture of the communication system based on the service interface and the architecture of the communication system based on the reference point in the LBO roaming scenario. In the LBO roaming scenario, the service data flow is continued in the roaming location without returning to the user's home network. In this scenario, the SMF and PCF in the embodiment of the present application are both located in the visited public land mobile network (VPLMN). Figures 3e and 3f respectively illustrate the architecture of a communication system based on a service-oriented interface and a communication system based on a reference point in an HR roaming scenario. In the HR roaming scenario, the SMF and PCF in the embodiment of the present application are both located in the home public land mobile network (HPLMN).

[0103] The embodiments of this application mainly involve the following core network elements, whose functions are as follows:

[0104] SMF: Session Management Function Network Element. Its main functions are to control the establishment, modification, and deletion of sessions, and the selection of user plane nodes.

[0105] UPF: User Plane Function Network Element. Its main functions include packet routing and forwarding, mobility anchor, uplink classifier to support routing service flows to the data network, and branch point to support multi-homing protocol data unit (PDU) sessions.

[0106] AF: Application Function Network Element. Its main function is to cooperate with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 rd The 3GPP core network interacts with the 3GPP to provide services, affecting traffic routing, access network capability exposure, and policy control.

[0107] Policy control function (PCF): The main function is to serve as a policy decision point, providing rules based on service data flow and application detection, gating, quality of service (QoS), and flow-based charging control.

[0108] As shown in Figure 4, a schematic diagram of the delay composition is provided for an embodiment of the present application. The QoS monitoring in the present application mainly refers to monitoring the delay of the data packet transmitted between the terminal and the UPF, specifically including the delay of the data packet transmitted between the terminal and the access network device (i.e., the delay of the air interface part), and the delay of the data packet transmitted between the access network device and the anchor point UPF (i.e., the delay of the core network part).

[0109] The main process for performing QoS monitoring is as follows: Based on the QoS monitoring request received from the AF, the PCF generates an authorized QoS monitoring policy for the service data flow. The PCF includes the authorized QoS monitoring policy in the policy and charging control (PCC) rules and provides it to the SMF. When the SMF receives the authorized QoS monitoring policy, it configures the UPF(s) and access network equipment to perform latency measurement according to the selected method.

[0110] 1. QoS monitoring in the core network can be achieved mainly through flow-level or node-level monitoring:

[0111] (1) QoS monitoring at flow granularity

[0112] The SMF sends the QoS monitoring policy for the QoS flow to the anchor UPF through the PDU session establishment or modification process. Based on the QoS monitoring policy received from the PCF, the anchor UPF initiates delay measurement of data packets between the access network device and the anchor UPF. The access network device initiates delay measurement of uplink / downlink data packets on the Uu interface (i.e., the delay of the air interface portion (Uu delay) in Figure 4). When the anchor UPF sends a downlink data packet, if all user plane nodes in the communication system are time-synchronized (indicating that uplink and downlink delays can be calculated separately), the anchor UPF adds a transmission timestamp (such as T1 in Figure 4) to the downlink message. The downlink message may also include GTP-U. The access network device calculates the downlink delay based on the time the message was received (such as T2 in Figure 4) and sends the downlink delay and Uu interface delay (downlink delay from the access network device to the UE) to the anchor UPF in an uplink message. The uplink message may also include GTP-U. In the absence of uplink service data packets, the access network device can send a null packet (Dummy uplink data packet) to the UPF as a QoS monitoring response packet. The anchor UPF can calculate the transmission delay of each segment of the uplink and downlink messages based on the information reported by the access network device, the time when the access network device sends the uplink message (such as T3 in Figure 4), and the time when the data packet is received (such as T4 in Figure 4).

[0113] If the anchor UPF and the access network device do not support time synchronization, the anchor UPF records the local time when the downlink message is sent. The access network device provides the anchor UPF with the delay measurement results of the uplink / downlink data packets of the Uu interface and the time of local packet transmission and reception through the N3 interface. The anchor UPF can calculate the message round-trip time based on the time when the uplink message is received locally and the information reported by the access network device. (If it is assumed that the uplink and downlink delays between the access network device and the UPF are symmetrical, the one-way delay can be obtained by dividing by 2, that is, the uplink and downlink delays cannot be calculated separately, and the one-way delay is obtained by offsetting the time difference).

[0114] The anchor UPF can report the QoS monitoring results to the SMF according to certain conditions (such as reaching the SMF reporting threshold) for subsequent application layer alarms or other QoS policy decisions.

[0115] (2) Node-level QoS monitoring

[0116] Node-level QoS monitoring can provide node-level granularity delay estimation results. Unlike the QoS flow-level QoS monitoring mentioned above, node-level monitoring estimates the core network message delay based on the GTP-U echo (Echo) request / response in the user plane transmission path. Simply put, the uplink / downlink packet delay between the access network device and the anchor UPF in (1) is used to estimate the core network message delay using the GTP-U Echo request / response in the user plane transmission path.

[0117] 2. QoS monitoring of the air interface (i.e., Uu delay in Figure 4):

[0118] (1) One method is to calculate the average value of the delay of multiple data packets.

[0119] The access network equipment can collect downlink delay (DL delay) and / or uplink delay (UL delay). After collecting the uplink / downlink delay measurement information, the access network equipment reports it to the PSA UPF for calculating the delay between the UPF and the UE.

[0120] (1) Downlink delay

[0121] Downlink latency refers to the latency of sending data packets from the access network device to the UE.

[0122] As shown in FIG5a, which is a schematic diagram of a downlink data packet transmitted according to an embodiment of the present application, the downlink delay includes several parts as shown in Table 1:

[0123] Table 1 Delay segments of downlink delay

[0124] The above delay segments are the average values ​​of the delays of multiple data packets.

[0125] The downlink delay can be measured at the UE or data radio bearer (DRB) granularity. The above D1 to D4 are all measured by the access network equipment, and do not require UE measurement collection and reporting.

[0126] (2) Uplink delay

[0127] Uplink latency refers to the latency for a UE to send a data packet to an access network device.

[0128] As shown in FIG5b, which is a schematic diagram of an uplink data packet transmission example according to an embodiment of the present application, the uplink delay includes several parts as shown in Table 2:

[0129] Table 2 Delay segments of uplink delay

[0130] The above delay segments are the average values ​​of the delays of multiple data packets.

[0131] Uplink latency can be measured at the UE or DRB granularity. D1 is measured and reported by the UE; D2.1, D2.2, D2.3, and D2.4 are measured by access network equipment and do not require UE measurement, collection, or reporting. All of these latency segments are measured in milliseconds (ms).

[0132] (2) Another way is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

[0133] In one example, it is a user plane solution, that is, the sending end can carry the timestamp in the user plane.

[0134] As shown in Figure 6, a flowchart of delay calculation provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. In step S601, the access network device sends a measurement and control request to start measurement; in step S602, the access network device sends a first data packet to the UE through the user surface, and carries the packet assembly time T1 of the access network device; in step S603, the UE calculates the downlink delay of the first data packet based on the time T2 when the first data packet is received: T2-T1; in step S604, the UE feeds back the downlink delay calculation result to the access network device through the control surface; in step S605, the UE sends a second data packet to the access network device through the user surface at time T3, and carries the UE's sending time T3; and in step S606, the access network device calculates the uplink delay of the second data packet based on the time T4 when the second data packet is received: T4-T3.

[0135] In another example, a control plane solution is used, that is, the UE side feeds back the reception time of each downlink data packet and the transmission time of each uplink data packet through an RRC message. As shown in Figure 7, a flowchart of another delay calculation provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. In step S701, the access network device sends a measurement and control request to start measurement; in step S702, the access network device sends a first data packet to the UE through the user side at time T1; in step S703, the access network device records the sending time 1 of the first data packet; the UE receives the first data packet at time T2, and in step S704, the UE feeds back the receiving time T2 and the PDCP sequence number (SN) of the first data packet to the access network device by controlling the UE; in step S705, the access network device calculates the downlink delay of the first data packet according to the receiving time T2 when the UE receives the first data packet: T2-T1; in step S706, the UE sends a second data packet to the access network device through the user side at time T3; in step S707, the access network device records the receiving time T4 of the second data packet; in step S708, the UE feeds back the sending time T3 and the PDCP sequence number (SN) of the second data packet to the access network device by controlling the UE SN; and in step S709, the access network device calculates the uplink delay: T4-T3 according to the receiving time T4 of the second data packet.

[0136] As can be seen from the above, since there are multiple ways to monitor QoS on the air interface, the network does not know which monitoring method is used for feedback, and the application does not know which monitoring method the network uses for measurement, making it impossible to accurately use the monitoring results.

[0137] In light of this, embodiments of the present application provide a service quality monitoring solution. An access network device receives indication information from an application, indicating a service quality monitoring mode. The access network device monitors air interface latency according to the indicated service quality monitoring mode and transmits the information to a user plane functional network element. The user plane functional network element then calculates the complete latency and transmits it to the application. This allows the access network device and application to unify the service quality monitoring mode, enabling accurate service quality monitoring.

[0138] As shown in Figure 8, a flow chart of a service quality monitoring method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0139] S801. The AF sends a first QoS monitoring request to the PCF, wherein the first QoS monitoring request includes first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, which can be a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode.

[0140] The AF's primary function is to interact with core network elements to provide services. Certain services, such as URLLC, have high QoS requirements. In practical applications, to ensure latency and reliability, the network must be able to promptly detect link quality and make appropriate adjustments. Therefore, the AF can initiate QoS monitoring requests to the network, or subscribe to QoS monitoring.

[0141] In this embodiment, the AF sends a first QoS monitoring request to the PCF. The first QoS monitoring request is used to request the network to perform QoS monitoring.

[0142] Among them, QoS monitoring mainly refers to monitoring the delay of data packets transmitted between the terminal and UPF, including the delay of the data packet transmitted between the terminal and the access network device (i.e. the delay of the air interface part), and the delay of the data packet transmitted between the access network device and the anchor point UPF (i.e. the delay of the core network part). The delay monitoring of the air interface part includes at least two monitoring methods. If the AF and the network cannot know each other about the monitoring method used for the delay monitoring of the air interface part, the network does not know which monitoring method to use for the delay monitoring of the air interface part; after receiving the delay monitoring result, the AF cannot know which monitoring method the network uses for monitoring, and thus cannot accurately use the delay monitoring result.

[0143] Therefore, in this embodiment, the first QoS monitoring request may include first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate the service quality monitoring method (QoS monitoring type) adopted by the network for the air interface part. Exemplarily, the first indication information may be the name of the service quality monitoring method, index, etc., which can indicate the specific "service quality monitoring method"; the first indication information may also not be the specific "service quality monitoring method" information, but other information (such as AF's QoS requirements). The network (such as PCF) can determine the indicated "service quality monitoring method" based on the AF's request. Exemplarily, the indicated service quality monitoring method may include the first service quality monitoring method or the second service quality monitoring method, and of course it can also be one of more service quality monitoring methods. The "first" and "second" here are only examples, and this application does not limit this. In addition, the network (such as PCF) can also determine the "service quality monitoring method" based on information such as the service slice or data network name (DNN) or local configuration.

[0144] Exemplarily, the first quality of service monitoring method may be to calculate the average value of the delay of multiple data packets (i.e., the method of Table 1 or Table 2) (average QoS monitoring), and the second quality of service monitoring method may be to calculate the delay of a single data packet (i.e., the method shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7) (per packet QoS monitoring).

[0145] The first QoS monitoring method has low monitoring overhead and can measure the latency of multiple packets, but its monitoring accuracy is lower than that of the second QoS monitoring method. The second QoS monitoring method calculates the latency of each packet separately, which has high monitoring accuracy but high monitoring overhead. The AF can determine whether to use the first or second QoS monitoring method based on the service.

[0146] By carrying the first indication information in the first QoS monitoring request, the AF can clearly instruct the network to adopt a service quality monitoring method for the air interface part, so that the adopted service quality monitoring method matches the application requirements.

[0147] S802. After receiving the first QoS monitoring request, the PCF generates an authorized QoS monitoring policy for the service data flow, and includes the authorized QoS monitoring policy in a PCC rule and provides it to the SMF. The PCC rule includes the first indication information.

[0148] After receiving the first QoS monitoring request, the PCF parses and obtains the first indication information, and carries the first indication information when generating the PCC rule.

[0149] S803. After receiving the PCC rule, the SMF sends a second QoS monitoring request (QoS monitoring request) to the access network device, wherein the second QoS monitoring request includes the first indication information.

[0150] That is, in this embodiment, the first indication information is carried in the control plane signaling.

[0151] The second QoS monitoring request is used to request QoS monitoring. After receiving the PCC rule, the SMF parses it to obtain the first indication information, and sends the first indication information to the access network device by carrying it in the second QoS monitoring request.

[0152] S804. After receiving the second QoS monitoring request, the access network device monitors the first delay of transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the service quality monitoring method indicated by the first indication information.

[0153] After receiving the second QoS monitoring request, the access network device parses the first indication information therein and obtains the service quality monitoring method indicated by the first indication information. The access network device may monitor the air interface latency of the one or more data packets according to the service quality monitoring method.

[0154] If the first indication information indicates a first quality of service monitoring method, such as calculating the average delay of multiple data packets, and if the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal is a downlink data packet, the access network device calculates the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the method in Table 1; if the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal is an uplink data packet, the access network device calculates the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the method in Table 2. The first data packet is one of multiple uplink / downlink data packets transmitted between the access network device and the terminal, the first delay is the average delay of multiple uplink / downlink data packets transmitted between the access network device and the terminal, and the first delay is the sum of the delay segments in Table 1 / Table 2.

[0155] If the first indication information indicates the second service quality monitoring method, such as calculating the delay of a single data packet, the access network device calculates the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the process shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7.

[0156] S805. The access network device sends a second data packet to the UPF, wherein the second data packet includes the first delay.

[0157] The access network device may carry the first delay in the uplink data packet (the second data packet in this embodiment). In the absence of an uplink service data packet, the access network device may send an empty packet (Dummy uplink data packet) to the UPF, carrying the first delay in the empty packet.

[0158] S806. UPF receives the second data packet and obtains the second delay for transmitting the first data packet between UPF and the access network device.

[0159] After receiving the second data packet, the UPF parses the second data packet to obtain the first delay carried therein.

[0160] In addition, the UPF can also obtain the second delay of transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device through the aforementioned flow granularity or node granularity monitoring method.

[0161] S807. The UPF obtains a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the UE based on the first delay and the second delay.

[0162] After obtaining the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal, and the second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device, the UPF can obtain a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the UE. Exemplarily, the third delay = the first delay + the second delay.

[0163] Furthermore, when the first indication information indicates the second QoS monitoring method, since the first delay is calculated for a single data packet, to facilitate the UPF's alignment of the second delay corresponding to each data packet with the first delay corresponding to each data packet to accurately obtain the third delay, after step S804, the access network device may further maintain the following first correspondence: a correspondence between the second delay and the first delay. That is, one such first correspondence is maintained for each data packet. It will be appreciated that the UPF obtains the second delay for the transmission of the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device through the aforementioned flow-granularity or node-granularity monitoring method. The access network device can then obtain the second delay of the first data packet, thereby establishing the aforementioned first correspondence after calculating the first delay of the first data packet.

[0164] In one example, the above-mentioned first correspondence can be a correspondence between a GTP-U sequence number and a PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the UPF and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal. Referring to the protocol stack diagram shown in Figure 5b, when transmitting a data packet between the UPF and the access network device, the GTP-U sequence number is carried to identify the data packet, and when transmitting a data packet between the access network device and the terminal, the PDCP sequence number is carried to identify the data packet. Therefore, the access network device can maintain the correspondence between the GTP-U sequence number and the PDCP sequence number, thereby maintaining the correspondence between the second delay and the first delay of the same first data packet. The access network device sends the first delay of the first data packet and the corresponding identification data packet information (such as GTP-U sequence number) to the UPF in the second data packet; after calculating the second delay, the UPF can also save the correspondence between the GTP-U sequence number and the second delay, so that the UPF can determine the first delay corresponding to the second delay based on the second delay calculated by itself and the identification data packet information corresponding to the second delay (such as GTP-U sequence number); then, the UPF obtains the third delay of the first data packet based on the first delay and the second delay.

[0165] In another example, a first data packet is transmitted between an access network device and a UPF. Taking downlink transmission as an example, the access network device can know the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF. Therefore, the above-mentioned first correspondence can also be the correspondence between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF and the first delay, thereby maintaining the correspondence between the second delay and the first delay of the same first data packet. The access network device sends the first delay of the first data packet and the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF to the UPF in the second data packet; after calculating the second delay, the UPF itself can also save the correspondence between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF and the second delay, so that the UPF can determine the first delay corresponding to the second delay based on the second delay calculated by itself and the time when the first data packet corresponding to the second delay arrives at the access network device from the UPF; then, the UPF obtains the third delay of the first data packet based on the first delay and the second delay.

[0166] S808. The UPF sends a first QoS monitoring response to the AF, wherein the first QoS monitoring response includes the third delay.

[0167] After obtaining the third time delay, the UPF may send a first QoS monitoring response to the AF, where the first QoS monitoring response is a response to the first QoS monitoring request, and the first QoS monitoring response includes the third time delay.

[0168] After receiving the first QoS monitoring response, the AF can accurately obtain the QoS of the link.

[0169] According to a method for monitoring quality of service (QoS) provided in an embodiment of the present application, an access network device receives indication information from an application via control plane signaling. The indication information indicates a QoS monitoring mode. The access network device monitors the air interface latency according to the indicated QoS monitoring mode and transmits the information to a user plane functional network element. The user plane functional network element then calculates the complete latency and transmits the information to the application. This allows the access network device and the application to unify the QoS monitoring mode and accurately perform QoS monitoring.

[0170] The above embodiment describes how an access network device obtains information indicating a QoS monitoring mode through control plane signaling, and how the access network device can monitor the air interface latency of one or more data packets according to the indicated QoS monitoring mode. The following embodiment describes how an access network device obtains information indicating a QoS monitoring mode through user plane signaling, and how the access network device monitors the air interface latency of a data packet indicated by the user plane according to the indicated QoS monitoring mode.

[0171] As shown in Figure 9, a flow chart of another service quality monitoring method provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0172] S901. The AF sends a first QoS monitoring request to the PCF, wherein the first QoS monitoring request includes first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, wherein the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode.

[0173] For the specific implementation of this step, reference may be made to step S801 of the embodiment shown in FIG8 , and details thereof will not be repeated here.

[0174] S902. After receiving the first QoS monitoring request, the PCF generates an authorized QoS monitoring policy for the service data flow, and includes the authorized QoS monitoring policy in a PCC rule and provides it to the SMF. The PCC rule includes the first indication information.

[0175] After receiving the first QoS monitoring request, the PCF parses and obtains the first indication information, and carries the first indication information when generating the PCC rule.

[0176] S903. After receiving the PCC rule, the SMF sends a second QoS monitoring request to the UPF, wherein the second QoS monitoring request includes the first indication information.

[0177] That is, in this embodiment, the first indication information is carried in the control plane signaling. The access network device can monitor the delay of the air interface portion of the data packet indicated by the user plane according to the indicated service quality monitoring mode.

[0178] The second QoS monitoring request is used to request QoS monitoring. After receiving the PCC rule, the SMF parses it to obtain the first indication information, and sends the first indication information to the UPF by carrying it in the second QoS monitoring request.

[0179] S904. After receiving the second QoS monitoring request, the UPF sends first data to the access network device, wherein the first data includes the first indication information.

[0180] After receiving the first data from the data network (DN), the UPF may carry the first indication information in the first data, that is, carry the first indication information through user plane signaling, so that the access network device may be informed of the service quality monitoring method indicated by the application.

[0181] S905. After receiving the second QoS monitoring request, the access network device monitors the first delay of transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the service quality monitoring method indicated by the first indication information.

[0182] For the specific implementation of this step, reference may be made to step S804 of the embodiment shown in FIG8 , and details thereof will not be repeated here.

[0183] S906. The access network device sends a second data packet to the UPF, wherein the second data packet includes the first delay.

[0184] The access network device may carry the first delay in the uplink data packet (the second data packet in this embodiment). In the absence of an uplink service data packet, the access network device may send an empty packet (Dummy uplink data packet) to the UPF, carrying the first delay in the empty packet.

[0185] S907. UPF receives the second data packet and obtains the second delay for transmitting the first data packet between UPF and the access network device.

[0186] After receiving the second data packet, the UPF parses the second data packet to obtain the first delay carried therein.

[0187] In addition, the UPF can also obtain the second delay of transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device through the aforementioned flow granularity or node granularity monitoring method.

[0188] S908. The UPF obtains a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the UE based on the first delay and the second delay.

[0189] For the specific implementation of this step, reference may be made to step S807 of the embodiment shown in FIG8 , and details thereof will not be repeated here.

[0190] S909. The UPF sends a first QoS monitoring response to the AF, wherein the first QoS monitoring response includes the third delay.

[0191] After obtaining the third time delay, the UPF may send a first QoS monitoring response to the AF, where the first QoS monitoring response is a response to the first QoS monitoring request, and the first QoS monitoring response includes the third time delay.

[0192] After receiving the first QoS monitoring response, the AF can accurately obtain the QoS of the link.

[0193] According to a method for monitoring quality of service (QoS) provided in an embodiment of the present application, an access network device receives indication information from an application via user plane signaling. The indication information indicates a QoS monitoring mode. The access network device monitors the air interface latency according to the indicated QoS monitoring mode and transmits the information to a user plane functional network element. The user plane functional network element then calculates the complete latency and transmits the information to the application. This allows the access network device and the application to unify the QoS monitoring mode and accurately perform QoS monitoring.

[0194] The above embodiment describes that the access network device performs QoS monitoring according to the QoS monitoring mode indicated by the application. In the following embodiments, the application may not indicate the QoS monitoring mode and accurate QoS monitoring results can also be obtained.

[0195] As shown in Figure 10, a flow chart of another service quality monitoring method provided in an embodiment of the present application is provided. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0196] S1001. AF sends a first QoS monitoring request to PCF.

[0197] The AF's primary function is to interact with core network elements to provide services. Certain services, such as URLLC, have high QoS requirements. In practical applications, to ensure latency and reliability, the network must be able to promptly detect link quality and make appropriate adjustments. Therefore, the AF can initiate QoS monitoring requests to the network, or subscribe to QoS monitoring.

[0198] In this embodiment, the AF sends a first QoS monitoring request to the PCF. The first QoS monitoring request is used to request the network to perform QoS monitoring.

[0199] S1002. After receiving the first QoS monitoring request, the PCF generates an authorized QoS monitoring policy for the service data flow, and includes the authorized QoS monitoring policy in the PCC rule and provides it to the SMF.

[0200] S1003. After receiving the above PCC rule, the SMF sends a second QoS monitoring request to the access network device.

[0201] The second QoS monitoring request is used to request QoS monitoring.

[0202] S1004. The access network device monitors the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to the first service quality monitoring method and the second service quality monitoring method respectively, and obtains a first delay and a second delay.

[0203] In this embodiment, the access network device does not know which service quality monitoring method the application requires to monitor the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal. Therefore, the access network device monitors the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to the first service quality monitoring method and the second service quality monitoring method, respectively, to obtain the first delay and the second delay.

[0204] Exemplarily, the first quality of service monitoring method may be to calculate the average value of the delay of multiple data packets (i.e., the method of Table 1 or Table 2) (average QoS monitoring), and the second quality of service monitoring method may be to calculate the delay of a single data packet (i.e., the method shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7) (per packet QoS monitoring).

[0205] When calculating the delay according to the first service quality monitoring method, the access network device can calculate the sum of the segment delays of multiple data packets according to the method of Table 1 or Table 2 to obtain the first delay, wherein each segment delay is the average value of the delays of multiple data packets in the segment. Specifically, if the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal is a downlink data packet, the access network device calculates the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the method of Table 1; if the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal is an uplink data packet, the access network device calculates the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the method of Table 2. The first data packet is one of several uplink / downlink data packets transmitted between the access network device and the terminal, the first delay is the average value of the delays for transmitting several uplink / downlink data packets between the access network device and the terminal, and the first delay is the sum of the delay segments in Table 1 / Table 2.

[0206] When calculating the delay according to the second service quality monitoring method, the access network device can calculate the delay of a single data packet according to the method shown in Figure 6 or Figure 7 to obtain the second delay.

[0207] This embodiment takes two service quality monitoring methods to monitor the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal as an example. Of course, this application is not limited to the above two service quality monitoring methods. There can also be more service quality monitoring methods to monitor the delay of the air interface part. Those skilled in the art can refer to the above method to calculate the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to each service quality monitoring method.

[0208] S1005. The access network device sends a second data packet to the UPF.

[0209] After the access network device calculates the first delay and the second delay respectively according to the two service quality monitoring methods, it can carry the above-mentioned first delay and second delay in the uplink data packet (the second data packet in this embodiment). In the absence of an uplink service data packet, the access network device can send an empty packet (Dummy uplink data packet) to the UPF, carrying the above-mentioned first delay and second delay in the empty packet. In addition, in this embodiment, since the access network device calculates the first delay and the second delay respectively according to the two service quality monitoring methods, it is also necessary to indicate which service quality monitoring method is used to calculate the first delay and the second delay, so that the application can accurately use the QoS monitoring results.

[0210] Therefore, in this embodiment, the second data packet includes the first information and the second information.

[0211] The first information includes a first delay and first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring according to a first quality of service monitoring method.

[0212] The second information includes a second delay and second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring according to a second quality of service monitoring method.

[0213] Exemplarily, the first indication information and the second indication information may be 1 bit, and when the value of the 1 bit is "0", it is used to indicate the first quality of service monitoring mode; when the value of the 1 bit is "1", it is used to indicate the second quality of service monitoring mode. Or vice versa.

[0214] S1006. After receiving the above-mentioned second data packet, UPF obtains the third delay of transmitting the first data packet between UPF and the access network device.

[0215] The UPF can obtain the third delay of transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device through the aforementioned flow granularity or node granularity monitoring method.

[0216] S1007. The UPF calculates the sum of the first delay and the third delay to obtain a fourth delay; and calculates the sum of the second delay and the third delay to obtain a fifth delay.

[0217] When the air interface quality of service monitoring mode is the first quality of service monitoring mode, the UPF can obtain a fourth delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the UE after obtaining a first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal and a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device. Exemplarily, the fourth delay = the first delay + the third delay.

[0218] When the air interface quality of service monitoring mode is the second quality of service monitoring mode, the UPF can obtain the fifth delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the UE after obtaining the second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal and the third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the access network device. Exemplarily, the fifth delay = the second delay + the third delay.

[0219] In addition, when the air interface QoS monitoring method is the second QoS monitoring method, since the delay of a single data packet is calculated, in order to facilitate the UPF to align the third delay corresponding to each data packet with the second delay corresponding to each data packet to accurately obtain the fifth delay, after step S1004, the access network device may also maintain the following first correspondence: a correspondence between the third delay and the second delay. That is, for each data packet, one of the above-mentioned first correspondences is maintained. And in step S1005, the access network device may include the above-mentioned first correspondence in the second data packet. It is understandable that the UPF obtains the third delay of the first data packet transmitted between the UPF and the access network device through the aforementioned flow-granularity or node-granularity monitoring method. The access network device can obtain the second delay of the first data packet, and thus, after calculating the second delay of the first data packet, the access network device can establish the above-mentioned first correspondence.

[0220] In one example, the first correspondence may be a correspondence between a GTP-U sequence number and a PDCP sequence number, where the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify a first data packet transmitted between a UPF and an access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify a first data packet transmitted between an access network device and a terminal. Referring to the protocol stack diagram shown in Figure 5b, a data packet transmitted between a UPF and an access network device carries a GTP-U sequence number for identification, and a data packet transmitted between an access network device and a terminal carries a PDCP sequence number for identification. Therefore, the access network device can maintain the correspondence between the GTP-U sequence number and the PDCP sequence number, thereby maintaining the correspondence between the third delay and the second delay for the same first data packet. The access network device sends the second delay of the first data packet and the corresponding identification data packet information (such as GTP-U sequence number) to the UPF in the second data packet; after calculating the third delay, the UPF also saves the correspondence between the GTP-U sequence number and the third delay, so that the UPF can determine the second delay corresponding to the third delay based on the third delay calculated by itself and the identification data packet information corresponding to the third delay (such as GTP-U sequence number); then, the UPF obtains the fifth delay of the first data packet based on the second delay and the third delay.

[0221] In another example, a first data packet is transmitted between an access network device and a UPF. Taking downlink transmission as an example, the access network device can know the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF. Therefore, the above-mentioned first correspondence can also be the correspondence between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF and the second delay, thereby maintaining the correspondence between the third delay and the second delay of the same first data packet. The access network device sends the second delay of the first data packet and the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF to the UPF in the second data packet; after calculating the third delay, the UPF also saves the correspondence between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the UPF and the third delay, so that the UPF can determine the second delay corresponding to the third delay based on the third delay calculated by itself and the time when the first data packet corresponding to the third delay arrives at the access network device from the UPF; then, the UPF obtains the fifth delay of the first data packet based on the second delay and the third delay.

[0222] S1008. UPF sends a first QoS monitoring response to AF.

[0223] After obtaining the fourth delay and the fifth delay calculated according to the two service quality monitoring methods, the UPF can send a first QoS monitoring response to the AF. The first QoS monitoring response is a response to the first QoS monitoring request, and the first QoS monitoring response includes the third information and the fourth information.

[0224] The third information includes a fourth delay and fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the fourth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method.

[0225] The fourth information includes the fifth time delay and fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the fifth time delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method.

[0226] By sending the delays between the UPF and the access network equipment, calculated using two different QoS monitoring methods, to the AF and explicitly indicating which QoS monitoring method was used for each delay, the AF can select the monitoring result based on service needs, thereby improving the accuracy of QoS monitoring.

[0227] According to a service quality monitoring method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the access network device provides the UPF with the delay of transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal monitored according to different service quality monitoring methods, and clearly indicates which service quality monitoring method each delay is calculated according to. In this way, the UPF can obtain two different delays for transmitting the first data packet between the UPF and the terminal, and report them to the application, so that the application can select which monitoring result according to business needs, thereby improving the accuracy of service quality monitoring.

[0228] It can be understood that in the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the access network device can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used for the access network device; the methods and / or steps implemented by the core network network element can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) that can be used for the core network network element.

[0229] The above description primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interactions between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a service quality monitoring device, which is used to implement the various methods described above. The service quality monitoring device can be the access network device described in the method embodiments described above, or a component that can be used in the access network device; alternatively, the service quality monitoring device can be the core network element described in the method embodiments described above, or a component that can be used in the core network element. It will be understood that, to implement the aforementioned functions, the service quality monitoring device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the various exemplary units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0230] The embodiment of the present application can divide the service quality monitoring device into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0231] Based on the same concept of the above-mentioned service quality monitoring method, this application also provides the following service quality monitoring device:

[0232] As shown in FIG11 , a schematic diagram of the structure of a service quality monitoring device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. The service quality monitoring device 1100 includes a processing unit 1101 and an interface unit 1102 ; wherein:

[0233] When the service quality monitoring device is used to implement the functions of the access network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, the processing unit 1101 is used to perform the operation of S804 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 8, and the interface unit 1102 is used to perform the operations of the access network device in S803 and S805 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 8; or, the processing unit 1101 is used to perform the operation of S905 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 9, and the interface unit 1102 is used to perform the operations of the access network device in S904 and S906 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 9; or, the processing unit 1101 is used to perform the operation of S1004 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 10, and the interface unit 1102 is used to perform the operations of the access network device in S1003 and S1005 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 10.

[0234] When the service quality monitoring device is used to implement the function of UPF in the above-mentioned method embodiment, the processing unit 1101 is used to perform the operations of S806 and S807 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 8, and the interface unit 1102 is used to perform the operation of UPF in S805 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 8; or, the processing unit 1101 is used to perform the operations of S907 and S908 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 9, and the interface unit 1102 is used to perform the operations of UPF in S903, S904 and S906 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 9; or, the processing unit 1101 is used to perform the operations of S1006 and S1007 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 10, and the interface unit 1102 is used to perform the operations of UPF in S1005 and S1008 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 10.

[0235] When the service quality monitoring device is used to implement the functions of SMF in the above-mentioned method embodiment, the interface unit 1102 is used to execute the operations of SMF in S802 and S803 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 8; or, the interface unit 1102 is used to execute the operations of SMF in S902 and S903 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 9; or, the interface unit 1102 is used to execute the operations of SMF in S1002 and S1003 in the embodiment as shown in Figure 10.

[0236] For the specific implementation of the processing unit 1101 and the interface unit 1102 , reference may be made to the description in the above method embodiment.

[0237] As shown in Figure 12, it is a structural diagram of another service quality monitoring device provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the service quality monitoring device 1200 includes a processor 1201. Optionally, the service quality monitoring device 1200 may also include a memory 1203 (indicated by a dotted line in the figure). The memory 1203 is used to store instructions executed by the processor 1201, or to store input data required for the processor 1201 to run instructions, or to store data generated after the processor 1201 runs instructions. Optionally, the service quality monitoring device 1200 may also include an interface circuit 1202 (indicated by a dotted line in the figure), and the processor 1201 and the interface circuit 1202 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1202 can be a transceiver or an input and output interface. Among them, the processor 1201 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1101 in the embodiment shown in Figure 11 above; and the interface circuit 1202 is used to implement the function of the interface unit 1102 in the embodiment shown in Figure 11 above.

[0238] When the above-mentioned service quality monitoring device is a chip applied to an access network device, the chip implements the functions of the access network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), which is sent by the core network element to the access network device; or the chip sends information to other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), which is sent by the access network device to the core network element.

[0239] When the above-mentioned service quality monitoring device is a chip applied to a core network element, the chip implements the functions of the core network element in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The chip receives information from other modules in the core network element (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the access network equipment to the core network element; or the chip sends information to other modules in the core network element (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the core network element to the access network equipment.

[0240] In addition, it should be noted that the aforementioned interface unit and / or processing unit can be implemented through virtual modules, for example, the processing unit can be implemented through a software function unit or a virtual device, and the interface unit can be implemented through a software function or a virtual device. Alternatively, the processing unit or interface unit can also be implemented through a physical device. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the interface unit can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface to perform input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operations) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operations); the processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0241] The division of modules in this application is illustrative and represents only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the examples of this application may be integrated into a single processor, exist physically as separate modules, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in either hardware or software functional modules.

[0242] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0243] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method in the above embodiment is implemented.

[0244] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in the above embodiment.

[0245] An embodiment of the present application also provides a service quality monitoring system, including the above-mentioned service quality monitoring device.

[0246] The present application also provides a circuit, which is coupled to a memory and is used to execute the method shown in the above embodiment. The circuit may include a chip circuit.

[0247] When the above-mentioned service quality monitoring device is a module applied to an access network device, the access network device module implements the functions of the access network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The access network device module receives information from other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the core network network element to the access network device; or, the access network device module sends information to other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the core network network element. The access network device module here can be a baseband chip of the access network device, or it can be a CU, DU or other module, or it can be a device under the O-RAN architecture, such as an open CU, open DU and other devices.

[0248] It should be noted that the above units or one or more of the units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of the two. When any of the above units or units is implemented by software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow.

[0249] In this application, a processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application may be directly executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0250] When the above units or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0251] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the chip system executes the method in any of the above method embodiments. Optionally, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0252] The memory in the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of realizing a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data. A memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. For example, the memory can be a non-volatile memory, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM).

[0253] It should be understood that in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B; where A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural. In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different. In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0254] As used in the following description of this application, the terms "including," "having," and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements but may optionally include other steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0255] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.

[0256] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0257] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

[0258] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0259] The components in the device of the embodiment of the present application can be merged, divided, or deleted according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can combine or combine the different embodiments and features of the different embodiments described in this specification.

[0260] In this application, under the premise of no logical contradiction, the examples can reference each other, for example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can reference each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples can reference each other.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The access network device receives first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, where the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode; The access network device monitors a first delay in transmitting a first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the indicated service quality monitoring method; The access network device sends a second data packet to the user plane function network element, where the second data packet includes the first delay.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first indication information is determined by the application function network element according to the service.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in control plane signaling.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first indication information is carried in the first data.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first service quality monitoring method is to calculate the average value of the delays of multiple data packets, and the second service quality monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The indicated service quality monitoring method is the second service quality monitoring method, and the second data packet also includes a first correspondence relationship, which is used to indicate the correspondence between the second delay and the first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane functional network element and the access network device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first correspondence includes the correspondence between the user-plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U sequence number and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user-plane functional network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the user plane functional network element and the first delay.

9. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The user plane function network element receives a second data packet from the access network device, where the second data packet includes a first delay for transmitting the first data packet between the access network device and the terminal, where the first delay is obtained by monitoring by the access network device according to the indicated service quality monitoring method; The user plane function network element acquires a second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; The user plane function network element acquires, according to the first delay and the second delay, a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal; The user plane functional network element reports the third delay.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: The user plane function network element receives a first request, where the first request is used to request service quality monitoring, where the first request includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, where the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode; The user plane function network element sends the first data packet to the access network device, where the first data packet includes the first indication information.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first indication information is determined by the application function network element according to the service.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The first service quality monitoring method is to calculate the average value of the delays of multiple data packets, and the second service quality monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The indicated service quality monitoring mode is the second service quality monitoring mode, the second data packet also includes a first corresponding relationship, and the first corresponding relationship is used to indicate the corresponding relationship between the second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device and the first delay; The user plane function network element acquiring, according to the first delay and the second delay, a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal, including: The user plane function network element determines, according to the first corresponding relationship, the first delay corresponding to the second delay; The user plane function network element obtains the third delay according to the first delay and the second delay.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first correspondence includes the correspondence between the user-plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U sequence number and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user-plane functional network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the user plane functional network element and the first delay.

16. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The session management function network element receives first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, where the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode; The session management function network element sends the first indication information.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first indication information is determined by the application function network element according to the service.

18. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The access network device monitors the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to the first service quality monitoring mode and the second service quality monitoring mode respectively, to obtain the first delay and the second delay; The access network device sends a second data packet to the user plane function network element, where the second data packet includes the first information and the second information; The first information includes the first delay and first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method; The second information includes the second delay and second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first service quality monitoring method is to calculate the average value of the delays of multiple data packets, and the second service quality monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The second information also includes a first corresponding relationship, where the first corresponding relationship is used to indicate a corresponding relationship between a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device and the second delay.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first correspondence includes the correspondence between the user-plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U sequence number and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP sequence number, wherein the GTP-U sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the user-plane functional network element and the access network device, and the PDCP sequence number is used to identify the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first corresponding relationship includes the corresponding relationship between the time when the first data packet arrives at the access network device from the user plane functional network element and the second delay.

23. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The user plane function network element receives a second data packet from the access network device, where the second data packet includes first information and second information; wherein, The first information includes a first delay and first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring the delay of a first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to a first quality of service monitoring method; the second information includes a second delay and second indication information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to a second quality of service monitoring method; The user plane function network element obtains a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; The user plane function network element calculates the sum of the first delay, the second delay and the third delay respectively to obtain a fourth delay and a fifth delay; The user plane function network element sends third information and fourth information, the third information includes the fourth delay and fourth indication information, and the fourth information includes the fifth delay and fifth indication information; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the fourth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method; and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the fifth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein: The first service quality monitoring method is to calculate the average value of the delays of multiple data packets, and the second service quality monitoring method is to calculate the delay of a single data packet.

25. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The session management function network element receives first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service quality monitoring mode, where the indicated service quality monitoring mode includes a first service quality monitoring mode or a second service quality monitoring mode; The session management function network element sends the first indication information; The access network device monitors a first delay in transmitting a first data packet between the access network device and the terminal according to the indicated service quality monitoring method; The access network device sends a second data packet to the user plane function network element, where the second data packet includes the first delay; The user plane function network element acquires a second delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; The user plane function network element acquires, according to the first delay and the second delay, a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the terminal; The user plane functional network element reports the third delay.

26. A method for monitoring service quality, characterized in that: The method comprises: The access network device monitors the delay of the first data packet transmitted between the access network device and the terminal according to the first service quality monitoring mode and the second service quality monitoring mode respectively, to obtain the first delay and the second delay; The access network device sends a second data packet to the user plane function network element, where the second data packet includes the first information and the second information; The first information includes the first delay and first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method; The second information includes the second delay and second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the second delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method; The user plane function network element obtains a third delay for transmitting the first data packet between the user plane function network element and the access network device; The user plane function network element calculates the sum of the first delay, the second delay and the third delay respectively to obtain a fourth delay and a fifth delay; The user plane function network element sends third information and fourth information, the third information includes the fourth delay and fourth indication information, and the fourth information includes the fifth delay and fifth indication information; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the fourth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the first quality of service monitoring method; and the fifth indication information is used to indicate that the fifth delay is obtained by monitoring according to the second quality of service monitoring method.

27. A service quality monitoring device, characterized in that: The service quality monitoring device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-24.

28. A service quality monitoring device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, wherein the memory is used to store instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

29. A service quality monitoring system, characterized in that: The method comprises an access network device, a user plane function network element and a session management function network element, wherein the access network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the user plane function network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, and the session management function network element is used to execute the method according to claim 16 or 17.

30. A service quality monitoring system, characterized in that: It comprises an access network device and a user plane function network element, the access network device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 18-22, and the user plane function network element is used to execute the method as described in claim 23 or 24.

31. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the service quality monitoring device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24 is implemented.

32. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24 is implemented.

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