Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a related apparatus, relating to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: receiving first information from a first node or a donor node, and sending second information to the first node. The first information is used for requesting to establish a resource corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS), the second information is used for requesting to establish a second PDU session of a relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS. According to the present method, a data radio bearer (DRB) between the donor node and the relay node associated with the second PDU session can be established, and data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted by means of the DRB between the relay node and the donor node, thereby achieving the transmission of user plane data on a relay node of a 5G NR network layer.

Description

Communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 15, 2023, with application number 202311207862.7 and application name “Communication Methods and Related Devices”, 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 communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] Compared to the fourth-generation mobile communication system, the fifth-generation (5G) and future mobile communication systems impose even more stringent requirements on various network performance indicators. For example, 5G boasts a 1,000-fold increase in capacity compared to 4G, requiring wider coverage, ultra-high reliability, and ultra-low latency. Given the abundance of high-frequency carrier frequency resources, the use of high-frequency small cell networks is becoming increasingly popular in hotspots to meet the ultra-high capacity requirements of 5G. Due to the poor propagation characteristics of high-frequency carriers, severe attenuation due to obstruction, and limited coverage, a large number of small cells need to be deployed densely. However, providing fiber backhaul for these densely deployed small cells is costly and difficult to implement, necessitating the need for economical and convenient backhaul solutions. Furthermore, to meet the need for wide coverage, fiber deployment is challenging and expensive in remote areas, necessitating the design of flexible and convenient access and backhaul solutions. Relay technology provides a solution to the above two problems: the relay node (RN) has a complete control plane and user plane protocol stack, and its access link (access link) and backhaul link (backhaul link) both use wireless transmission solutions. This reduces the deployment of optical fibers and saves the cost of trenching and laying cables when deploying wired backhaul links in traditional base stations, while increasing deployment flexibility.

[0004] In a relay network, a relay node is analogous to an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node in an IAB architecture, providing wireless access services and forwarding service data for user equipment (UE). The UE's service data is transmitted by the relay node to a donor node (also known as a donor gNodeB (DgNB)) via a wireless backhaul link. A relay node consists of a mobile termination (MT) and a gNodeB (gNB). When facing its parent node, the relay node acts as a terminal device, namely, a relay-MT. When facing its child node (which may be another relay node or a UE), the relay node is considered a network device, namely, a relay-gNB. A donor base station (DgNB) can be an access network element with complete base station functionality, or it can be an access network element with a separate centralized unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU). The host base station is connected to the core network element (e.g., connected to the 5G core network) serving the UE and provides wireless backhaul functionality for the relay node.

[0005] Currently, user plane data transmission cannot be achieved in the relay network system of the 5G new radio (NR) network layer.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and related devices that can realize the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0009] receiving first information from a first node or a host node, where the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS);

[0010] Second information is sent to the first node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, wherein a relay node receives first information from a first node or a host node, and sends second information to the first node, wherein the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, and the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node. Through the first information and the second information, a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the second PDU session can be established between the relay node and the host node, and the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0012] The relay node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The relay node in the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal-side part facing the parent node and a network-side part facing the child node. For example, it may include MT and DU, or it may include MT and gNB. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Among them, the opposite device (such as CU) connected to the MT and the opposite device (such as UE) connected to the DU refer to logical connections, which do not mean that there is a physical direct connection. The MT of the relay node is connected to the host node, and the DU of the relay node is connected to the UE. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, the MT of the IAB node is connected to the host node, and the DU of the IAB node is connected to the UE.

[0013] The host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions. The host node in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the MT of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the host node can be connected to the MT of the IAB node.

[0014] The first node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. Specifically, the first node in the embodiment of the present application may be a functional network element of the core network, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), participating in the execution of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application to realize the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0015] It should be understood that the order of receiving the first information and sending the second information in the embodiments of this application is not limited by this application. Furthermore, the order of sending the first information and receiving the second information is not determined by the order in which they are written, but rather by the inherent logical relationship between the two.

[0016] Optionally, when the UE has incoming business, the relay node is triggered to establish a DRB with the host node. In this case, the relay node first receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session of the UE business requirements, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node, that is, generates and sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish a second PDU session of the relay node, and transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0017] Optionally, when the DRB between the relay node and the host node is pre-established, when the UE initiates a session establishment request, the PDU session can be established with less delay and the transmission of uplink and downlink data can be initiated. In this case, the relay node first sends a second message to the first node, requesting to establish a second PDU session of the relay node, and pre-establishes the DRB between the relay node and the host node. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE's business, it transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the pre-established DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user-plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session, and / or the first QoS is associated with the second QoS.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between a first PDU session and a second PDU session is provided, specifically, the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session, and / or the first quality of service (QoS) corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session. It can be understood that if the relay node supports the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session and has slice resources with exactly the same identifier, the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session. If the relay node does not support the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session, or does not have slice resources with exactly the same identifier, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first PDU session and the second PDU session, that is, the first QoS corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session. Optionally, the first QoS is associated with the first slice, and the second QoS is associated with the second slice. In an embodiment of the present application, a mapping relationship between the DRB associated with the first PDU session and the DRB associated with the second PDU session can be established through the same slice (i.e., the first slice and the second slice) or associated QoS (i.e., the first QoS and the second QoS), so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS is the same as or similar to the second QoS.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS and the second QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the same or similar to the second QoS, and the first QoS and the second QoS are similar, which can be understood as the difference between the values ​​of the first QoS and the second QoS is less than a preset threshold, and the preset threshold is not a fixed value, and can be adjusted according to different application scenarios to meet the need for establishing a mapping between the first PDU session associated DRB and the second PDU session associated DRB. In an embodiment of the present application, a mapping relationship between the first PDU session associated DRB and the second PDU session associated DRB can be established through the same or similar QoS (i.e., the first QoS and the second QoS), so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the second information includes session type information, where the session type information indicates that the second PDU session is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided. Specifically, the second information includes session type information, which indicates that the second PDU session is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node. It is understandable that the purpose of the second PDU session initiated by the relay node is only to trigger the core network element (AMF) to instruct the donor node to establish a DRB for the relay node. The relay node may not actually have established its own N3 tunnel. The core network can only see the UE's N3 tunnel. Therefore, in this case, the core network does not need to perform authentication / authorization procedures for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and directly triggers the donor node to establish the DRB for the relay node. Alternatively, the second PDU session initiated by the relay node may actually have established its own N3 tunnel. In this case, the core network needs to first perform authentication / authorization procedures for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and then trigger the donor node to establish the DRB for the relay node. In this case, it may also be necessary to maintain the mapping relationship between the relay node's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel to ensure normal transmission of uplink and downlink user plane data.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0025] After the first PDU session is established, third information is sent to the first node or the host node, where the third information is used to respond to the establishment request of the first PDU session.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method of responding to a request to establish a first PDU session is provided. Specifically, after resource configuration for the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends third information to the first node or the host node to respond to the request to establish the first PDU session. It is understandable that the corresponding relationship between the sending / receiving method of the first PDU session establishment request and the sending / receiving method of the response to the first PDU session establishment request is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the first node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session); optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the host node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the host node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session); optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the first node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the host node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session); optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the host node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session).

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is further used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information.

[0028] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first information and the second information is provided, specifically, the first information is also used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information. It can be understood that when the UE has a business, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node. In this case, the relay node first receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE business, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node, that is, generates and sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish a second PDU session of the relay node, and transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of a second slice is provided, specifically, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured. It can be understood that when the DRB between the relay node and the host node is pre-established, in this case, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured, and the relay node first sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish the second PDU session of the relay node, and pre-establishes the DRB between the relay node and the host node. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE service, it transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the pre-established DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby achieving the establishment of the PDU session with less delay and initiating the transmission of uplink and downlink data.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the third information includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice.

[0032] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the third information is provided, specifically, the third information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice. It can be understood that after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node or the host node to respond to the establishment request of the first PDU session. Since the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session is pre-configured, the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session does not necessarily match the slice type corresponding to the second PDU session. If the relay node finds that the slice type corresponding to the UE's first PDU session does not match the slice type associated with the DRB pre-established by the relay node, the slice ID (or slice type) can be carried in the first PDU session resource establishment request response message (i.e., the third information) to replace the indication information (i.e., the first indication information) to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice, thereby unifying the slice type in the actual UE-initiated PDU session establishment request with the slice type pre-configured when the relay node establishes the DRB.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0034] Establish a mapping relationship between the first data radio bearer DRB associated with the first PDU session and the second DRB associated with the second PDU session, the first DRB is the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second DRB is the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for establishing a DRB mapping relationship is provided, specifically, after completing the establishment of the first DRB associated with the first PDU session and the establishment of the second DRB associated with the second PDU session, a mapping relationship between the first DRB associated with the first PDU session and the second DRB associated with the second PDU session is established, so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted, and the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer can be realized.

[0036] In one possible embodiment, the slice corresponding to the first DRB is the same as the slice corresponding to the second DRB; and / or, the first DRB and the second DRB have the same or similar QoS information.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB is provided, specifically, the slice corresponding to the first DRB is the same as the slice corresponding to the second DRB, and / or the first DRB and the second DRB have the same or similar QoS information. It can be understood that if the relay node supports the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session and has slice resources with exactly the same identifier, the slice corresponding to the first DRB is the same as the slice corresponding to the second DRB. If the relay node does not support the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session, or does not have slice resources with exactly the same identifier, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB, that is, the first DRB and the second DRB have the same or similar QoS information. The QoS corresponding to the first DRB and the QoS corresponding to the second DRB are similar, which can be understood as the difference between the QoS corresponding to the first DRB and the QoS corresponding to the second DRB is less than a preset threshold. The preset threshold is not a fixed value and can be adjusted according to different application scenarios to meet the need for establishing a mapping between the first DRB and the second DRB. In an embodiment of the present application, a mapping relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB can be established through the same slice or associated (for example, the same or similar) QoS, so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0039] In the case where an N3 tunnel exists in the relay node, a mapping relationship is established between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for establishing a mapping relationship between the N3 tunnel of a relay node and the N3 tunnel of a terminal device is provided. Specifically, the purpose of the second PDU session initiated by the relay node to request establishment is only to trigger the core network network element (AMF) to let the host node establish a DRB for the relay node. The relay node may not actually establish its own real N3 tunnel, and the core network can only see the UE's N3 tunnel. Therefore, in this case, the core network does not need to perform authentication / authorization processes for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and directly triggers the host node to establish a DRB for the relay node, and there is no need to establish and maintain the mapping relationship between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device. Alternatively, the second PDU session initiated by the relay node may actually have established its own real N3 tunnel. In this case, the core network needs to first perform authentication / authorization processes for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and then trigger the host node to establish a DRB for the relay node. At this time, it may also be necessary to establish and maintain the mapping relationship between the relay node's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel to ensure normal transmission of uplink and downlink user plane data.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, when the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped one-to-one, the terminal device and the relay node share the N3 tunnel.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the mapping relationship between the N3 tunnel of a relay node and the N3 tunnel of a terminal device is provided. Specifically, when the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped one-to-one, the terminal device and the relay node share the N3 tunnel. It is understood that if the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped 1:1, the terminal device and the relay node can share one N3 tunnel; if the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped N:1, where N is an integer greater than 1, then for the same user plane function (UPF), the UE's logical N3 tunnel needs to complete the mapping between logical pipes with the relay node's logical N3 tunnel.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0044] determining the second QoS and / or third QoS according to the first QoS;

[0045] Among them, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0046] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method of QoS splitting is provided, specifically, the relay node determines the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node (i.e., the second QoS), and / or the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node (i.e., the third QoS), based on the end-to-end first QoS required by the UE (i.e., the QoS in the first PDU session). In an embodiment of the present application, the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node is guided by the service QoS information of the UE, and the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service are met by QoS splitting, so that the logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the end-to-end QoS of the UE service, the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node, and the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, wherein the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS need to meet the following requirements: the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS. Guiding the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node based on the division of the first QoS can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0050] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0051] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0052] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0053] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in this embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, allowing logical tunnels to be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in half-duplex mode.

[0055] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0056] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0057] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0058] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0059] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enable the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, and enable the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0060] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in full-duplex mode.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0062] The second QoS is sent to the first node.

[0063] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for sending a second QoS is provided, specifically, after determining the second QoS by dividing the first QoS, the relay node sends the second QoS to the first node. Optionally, the second QoS can also be carried in the second information. In this case, the relay node sends the second information to the first node, and the second information explicitly carries the parameter value of the second QoS, and / or the slice identifier carried by the second information is associated with the second QoS. Through the embodiment of the present application, the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node can be guided based on the second QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0064] In a possible implementation manner, the second information further includes an identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or an identifier of the terminal device (eg, a UE NGAP ID of the terminal device).

[0065] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided, specifically, the second information sent by the relay node to the first node also includes the identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the terminal device. It is understandable that when the first node performs QoS segmentation, the identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the terminal device carried in the second information can enable the first node to know the association relationship between the UE and the relay node, and then know that QoS segmentation is required.

[0066] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0067] Receive a third QoS from the first node or the host node, where the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node.

[0068] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for receiving a third QoS is provided. Specifically, when the first node performs QoS splitting, after the first node splits and obtains the third QoS, it sends the third QoS to the relay node, or forwards the third QoS to the relay node through the host node. Accordingly, the relay node receives the third QoS from the first node or the host node, and can then establish a DRB with the terminal device based on the third QoS.

[0069] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0070] Sending first information to a relay node or a donor node, where the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS);

[0071] Second information is received from the relay node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, wherein a first node sends first information to a relay node or a host node, and receives second information from the relay node, wherein the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, and the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node. Through the first information and the second information, a data radio bearer (DRB) can be established between the relay node and the host node associated with the second PDU session, and the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0073] The first node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or may be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. Specifically, the first node in the embodiment of the present application may be a functional network element of the core network, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), participating in the execution of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application to realize the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0074] The relay node in the embodiment of the present application may be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The relay node in the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal-side part facing the parent node and a network-side part facing the child node. For example, it may include MT and DU, or it may include MT and gNB. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Among them, the opposite device (such as CU) connected to the MT and the opposite device (such as UE) connected to the DU refer to logical connections, which do not mean that there is a physical direct connection. The MT of the relay node is connected to the host node, and the DU of the relay node is connected to the UE. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, the MT of the IAB node is connected to the host node, and the DU of the IAB node is connected to the UE.

[0075] The host node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions. The host node in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the MT of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the host node can be connected to the MT of the IAB node.

[0076] It should be understood that the order of sending the first information and receiving the second information in the embodiments of the present application is not limited by this application. Moreover, the order of sending the first information and receiving the second information is not determined by the order of the text, but by the inherent logical relationship between the two.

[0077] Optionally, when the UE has incoming business, the relay node is triggered to establish a DRB with the host node. In this case, the first node first sends the first information to the relay node or the host node. Accordingly, the relay node first receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session of the UE business requirements, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node, that is, generates and sends the second information to the first node. Accordingly, the first node receives the second information from the relay node and requests to establish a second PDU session of the relay node. The data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0078] Optionally, when the DRB between the relay node and the host node is pre-established, when the UE initiates a session establishment request, the PDU session can be established with less delay and the transmission of uplink and downlink data can be initiated. In this case, the relay node first sends the second information to the first node. Accordingly, the first node first receives the second information from the relay node and requests to establish the second PDU session of the relay node. The DRB between the relay node and the host node is pre-established. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the first node sends the first information to the relay node or the host node. Accordingly, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE business, the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the pre-established DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0079] In a possible implementation, the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session, and / or the first QoS is associated with the second QoS.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between a first PDU session and a second PDU session is provided, specifically, the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session, and / or the first quality of service (QoS) corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session. It can be understood that if the relay node supports the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session and has slice resources with exactly the same identifier, the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session. If the relay node does not support the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session, or does not have slice resources with exactly the same identifier, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first PDU session and the second PDU session, that is, the first QoS corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session. Optionally, the first QoS is associated with the first slice, and the second QoS is associated with the second slice. In an embodiment of the present application, a mapping relationship between the DRB associated with the first PDU session and the DRB associated with the second PDU session can be established through the same slice (i.e., the first slice and the second slice) or associated QoS (i.e., the first QoS and the second QoS), so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted.

[0081] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS is the same as or similar to the second QoS.

[0082] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS and the second QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the same or similar to the second QoS, and the first QoS and the second QoS are similar, which can be understood as the difference between the values ​​of the first QoS and the second QoS is less than a preset threshold, and the preset threshold is not a fixed value, and can be adjusted according to different application scenarios to meet the need for establishing a mapping between the first PDU session associated DRB and the second PDU session associated DRB. In an embodiment of the present application, a mapping relationship between the first PDU session associated DRB and the second PDU session associated DRB can be established through the same or similar QoS (i.e., the first QoS and the second QoS), so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted.

[0083] In a possible implementation, the second information includes session type information, where the session type information indicates that the second PDU session is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node.

[0084] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided. Specifically, the second information includes session type information, which indicates that the second PDU session is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node. It is understandable that the purpose of the second PDU session initiated by the relay node is only to trigger the core network element (AMF) to instruct the donor node to establish a DRB for the relay node. The relay node may not actually have established its own N3 tunnel. The core network can only see the UE's N3 tunnel. Therefore, in this case, the core network does not need to perform authentication / authorization procedures for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and directly triggers the donor node to establish the DRB for the relay node. Alternatively, the second PDU session initiated by the relay node may actually have established its own N3 tunnel. In this case, the core network needs to first perform authentication / authorization procedures for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and then trigger the donor node to establish the DRB for the relay node. In this case, it may also be necessary to maintain the mapping relationship between the relay node's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel to ensure normal transmission of uplink and downlink user plane data.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0086] After the first PDU session is established, third information is received from the relay node or the host node, where the third information is used to respond to the establishment request of the first PDU session.

[0087] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method of responding to a request to establish a first PDU session is provided. Specifically, after resource configuration for the first PDU session is completed, the first node receives third information from the relay node or the host node for responding to the request to establish the first PDU session. It is understandable that the corresponding relationship between the sending / receiving method of the first PDU session establishment request and the sending / receiving method of the response to the first PDU session establishment request is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the first node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session); optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the host node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the host node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session); optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the first node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the host node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session); optionally, the relay node receives the first information (the request for establishing the first PDU session) from the host node, and after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node (in response to the request for establishing the first PDU session).

[0088] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is further used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information.

[0089] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first information and the second information is provided, specifically, the first information is also used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information. It can be understood that when the UE has a business, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node. In this case, the relay node first receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE business, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node, that is, generates and sends the second information to the first node, requests to establish a second PDU session of the relay node, and transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0090] In a possible implementation manner, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured.

[0091] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of a second slice is provided, specifically, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured. It can be understood that when the DRB between the relay node and the host node is pre-established, in this case, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured, and the relay node first sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish the second PDU session of the relay node, and pre-establishes the DRB between the relay node and the host node. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE service, it transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the pre-established DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby achieving the establishment of the PDU session with less delay and initiating the transmission of uplink and downlink data.

[0092] In a possible implementation, the third information includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice.

[0093] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the third information is provided, specifically, the third information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice. It can be understood that after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node or the host node to respond to the establishment request of the first PDU session. Since the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session is pre-configured, the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session does not necessarily match the slice type corresponding to the second PDU session. If the relay node finds that the slice type corresponding to the UE's first PDU session does not match the slice type associated with the DRB pre-established by the relay node, the slice ID (or slice type) can be carried in the first PDU session resource establishment request response message (i.e., the third information) to replace the indication information (i.e., the first indication information) to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice, thereby unifying the slice type in the actual UE-initiated PDU session establishment request with the slice type pre-configured when the relay node establishes the DRB.

[0094] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0095] Without initiating a request for the second PDU session to the core network function network element, fourth information is sent to the host node, where the fourth information is used to request the host node to establish the second PDU session with the relay node.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of sending the fourth information is provided. Specifically, without initiating a request for the second PDU session to the core network function element, the first node sends the fourth information to the donor node, requesting the donor node to establish the second PDU session with the relay node. It is understandable that after receiving the PDU session establishment request, the first node needs to initiate a request for the PDU session to the session management function (SMF) according to the normal process, and the SMF then initiates a request for the PDU session to the UPF to complete the authentication / authorization process of the PDU session. However, in this embodiment of the application, when the first node learns that the relay node initiates the second PDU session establishment request to establish the first PDU session of the UE and transmit the user plane data of the UE, the first node may not initiate a request to the core network function element (SMF), that is, skip the above-mentioned normal PDU session authentication / authorization process, and directly trigger the donor node to initiate an N2 PDU session request to the relay node, allowing the relay node to establish the second PDU session.

[0097] In a possible implementation manner, the second information further includes an identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or an identifier of the terminal device (eg, a UE NGAP ID of the terminal device).

[0098] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the second information is provided, specifically, the second information sent by the relay node to the first node also includes the identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the terminal device. It is understandable that when the first node performs QoS segmentation, the identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the terminal device carried in the second information can enable the first node to know the association relationship between the UE and the relay node, and then know that QoS segmentation is required.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0100] determining the second QoS and / or third QoS according to the first QoS;

[0101] Among them, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0102] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method of QoS splitting is provided, specifically, the first node determines the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node (i.e., the second QoS), and / or the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node (i.e., the third QoS), based on the end-to-end first QoS required by the UE (i.e., the QoS in the first PDU session). In an embodiment of the present application, the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node is guided by the service QoS information of the UE, and the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service are met by QoS splitting, so that the logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0103] In a possible implementation manner, the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

[0104] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the end-to-end QoS of the UE service, the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node, and the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, wherein the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS need to meet the following requirements: the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS. Guiding the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node based on the division of the first QoS can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0105] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0106] Sending the second QoS to the donor node or the relay node;

[0107] and / or, sending the third QoS to the relay node or the host node.

[0108] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for sending a second QoS and / or sending a third QoS is provided. Specifically, after determining the second QoS and / or third QoS by segmenting the first QoS, the first node sends the second QoS to the host node or relay node, and / or the first node sends the third QoS to the relay node or host node. Optionally, the second QoS may also be carried in a fourth message and sent to the host node. In this case, the first node sends the fourth message to the host node, and the slice identifier carried in the fourth message is associated with the second QoS. Optionally, the second QoS may also be carried in a first message and sent to the relay node. In this case, the first node sends the first message to the relay node, and the first message may carry a slice identifier associated with the second QoS, instructing the relay node to directly initiate a second PDU session establishment request based on the second QoS. Optionally, the third QoS may also be carried in a first message and sent to the relay node. In this case, the first node sends the first message to the relay node, and the first message may carry a slice identifier associated with the third QoS, instructing the relay node to establish a DRB with the terminal that meets the third QoS requirements. Through the embodiments of the present application, the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node can be guided based on the second QoS, and / or the establishment of a DRB between the UE and the relay node can be guided based on the third QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0109] In the implementation manner of the present application, the method of sending QoS can be implicitly indicated by explicitly carrying a QoS parameter value and / or by carrying a slice identifier associated with the QoS. This application does not limit this.

[0110] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0111] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0112] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0113] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0114] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in this embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, allowing logical tunnels to be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0115] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in half-duplex mode.

[0116] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0117] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0118] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0119] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0120] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enable the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, and enable the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0121] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in full-duplex mode.

[0122] It should be understood that the methods of "sending QoS" involved in this application can be implicitly indicated by explicitly carrying QoS parameter values ​​and / or by carrying slice identifiers associated with the QoS, and this will not be repeated later.

[0123] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0124] Determining a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first quality of service QoS;

[0125] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0126] In an embodiment of the present application, the relay node determines the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node (i.e., the second QoS), and / or the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node (i.e., the third QoS), based on the end-to-end first QoS required by the UE. In an embodiment of the present application, the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node is guided by the service QoS information of the UE, and the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service are met by QoS segmentation, so that the logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0127] In a possible implementation manner, the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

[0128] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the end-to-end QoS of the UE service, the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node, and the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, wherein the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS need to meet the following requirements: the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS. Guiding the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node based on the division of the first QoS can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0130] The second QoS is sent to the donor node.

[0131] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for sending a second QoS is provided. Specifically, after determining the second QoS by splitting the first QoS, the relay node sends the second QoS to the host node. Through this embodiment of the present application, the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node can be guided based on the second QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0132] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0133] Second information is sent to the first node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second protocol data unit (PDU) session of the relay node.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for sending the second information is provided, specifically, the relay node sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish a second PDU session of the relay node. Through the second information, a data radio bearer (DRB) between the relay node and the host node associated with the second PDU session can be established. The data of the end-to-end service required by the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0135] In a possible implementation manner, the second QoS is carried in the second information.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of a second QoS is provided, specifically, the second QoS can also be carried in the second information. In this case, the relay node sends the second information to the first node, and the slice identifier carried by the second information is associated with the second QoS. Through the embodiment of the present application, the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node can be guided based on the second QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0138] Based on the third QoS, a DRB is established with the terminal device.

[0139] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for establishing a DRB between a relay node and a terminal device is provided. Specifically, the relay node guides the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the terminal device based on the third QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service, so that a logical tunnel between the UE and the relay node can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node at the 5G NR network layer.

[0140] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0141] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0142] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0143] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0144] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in this embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, allowing logical tunnels to be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0145] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in half-duplex mode.

[0146] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0147] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0148] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0149] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0150] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enable the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, and enable the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0151] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in full-duplex mode.

[0152] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0153] receiving a first quality of service QoS from a first node;

[0154] Determining a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first QoS;

[0155] Alternatively, receiving the second QoS and / or the third QoS from the first node;

[0156] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present application, after the host node receives the first QoS from the first node, it determines the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node (i.e., the second QoS), and / or the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node (i.e., the third QoS) according to the end-to-end first QoS required by the UE. Alternatively, the host node receives the second QoS and / or the third QoS from the first node, and the second QoS and / or the third QoS are also obtained based on the end-to-end first QoS required by the UE. In an embodiment of the present application, the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node is guided by the service QoS information of the UE, and the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service are met by QoS segmentation, so that the logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0158] In a possible implementation manner, the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

[0159] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the end-to-end QoS of the UE service, the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node, and the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, wherein the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS need to meet the following requirements: the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS. Guiding the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node based on the division of the first QoS can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0160] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0161] Based on the second QoS, a DRB is established with the relay node.

[0162] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for establishing a DRB between a relay node and a host node is provided. Specifically, the host node guides the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node based on the second QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service, so that a logical tunnel between the relay node and the host node can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0163] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0164] The third QoS is sent to the relay node.

[0165] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation method for sending a third QoS is provided. Specifically, after determining the third QoS by dividing the first QoS, the host node sends the third QoS to the relay node. Through this embodiment of the present application, the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the terminal device can be guided based on the third QoS to meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0166] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0167] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0168] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0169] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0170] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in this embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, allowing logical tunnels to be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0171] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in half-duplex mode.

[0172] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0173] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0174] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0175] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0176] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enable the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, and enable the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0177] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in full-duplex mode.

[0178] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a communication device. The communication device can be a device, or a chip (system) or circuit for a device, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0179] Determining a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to a first quality of service QoS of the terminal device;

[0180] Sending the second QoS and / or the third QoS to a donor node;

[0181] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0182] In an embodiment of the present application, the first node determines the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node (i.e., the second QoS), and / or the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node (i.e., the third QoS) based on the end-to-end first QoS required by the UE. In an embodiment of the present application, the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node is guided by the service QoS information of the UE, and the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service are met by QoS segmentation, so that the logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element can be established, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0183] In a possible implementation manner, the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

[0184] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided, specifically, the first QoS is the end-to-end QoS of the UE service, the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node, and the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, wherein the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS need to meet the following requirements: the second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS. Guiding the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or the DRB between the relay node and the host node based on the division of the first QoS can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0185] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0186] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0187] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0188] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0189] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in this embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, allowing logical tunnels to be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0190] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in half-duplex mode.

[0191] In a possible implementation manner, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following:

[0192] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0193] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0194] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0195] In an embodiment of the present application, a possible specific implementation of the association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS is provided. Specifically, at least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. Optionally, both the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS. And / or, the sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS. And / or, the product of (1-packet error rate in the second QoS) and (1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS). The association relationship between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enable the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the donor node, and the donor node and the core network element, and enable the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0196] In a possible implementation manner, the relay node is in full-duplex mode.

[0197] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a unit for executing the method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0198] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0199] a communication unit, configured to receive first information from a first node or a host node, wherein the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, wherein the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS);

[0200] The communication unit is further used to send second information to the first node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

[0201] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0202] A processing unit is configured to generate the second information.

[0203] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the sixth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the first aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0204] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a unit for executing the method as described in any one of the second aspects.

[0205] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0206] A communication unit, configured to send first information to a relay node or a donor node, wherein the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS);

[0207] The communication unit is further configured to receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, where the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

[0208] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0209] A processing unit is configured to generate the first information.

[0210] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the seventh aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the second aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0211] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a unit for executing the method as described in any one of the third aspects.

[0212] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0213] a processing unit, configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first quality of service QoS;

[0214] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0215] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0216] A communication unit is configured to send the second QoS to the host node.

[0217] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the eighth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the third aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0218] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising a unit for executing the method as described in any one of the fourth aspects.

[0219] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0220] A communication unit, configured to receive a first quality of service QoS from a first node;

[0221] a processing unit, configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first QoS;

[0222] Alternatively, the communication unit is configured to receive the second QoS and / or the third QoS from the first node;

[0223] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0224] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the ninth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the fourth aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0225] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a unit for executing the method as described in any one of the fifth aspects.

[0226] In one possible design, the apparatus includes:

[0227] a processing unit, configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to a first quality of service QoS of a terminal device;

[0228] a communication unit, configured to send the second QoS and / or the third QoS to a donor node;

[0229] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0230] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the tenth aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the fifth aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0231] Optionally, in the communication device described in any one of the sixth to tenth aspects and any possible implementation manner:

[0232] In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a communication device. When the communication apparatus is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0233] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device. When the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device, the communication unit may be a communication interface (input / output interface), interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip (system) or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0234] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of any of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation methods described above. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

[0235] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a logic circuit and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive or send information; the logic circuit is configured to receive or send information via the communication interface, so that the communication device executes the method of any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0236] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions); when the computer program is run on a computer, the method of any one of the above-mentioned aspects from the first to the fifth aspect and any possible implementation method is implemented.

[0237] In the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions); when the computer program is run, it enables the computer to execute any one of the above-mentioned aspects 1 to 5 and any possible implementation method.

[0238] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor configured to execute instructions. When the processor executes the instructions, the chip performs the method of any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation manner described above. Optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface configured to receive or send signals.

[0239] In the sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes at least one communication device as described in the sixth aspect, or the communication device as described in the seventh aspect, or the communication device as described in the eighth aspect, or the communication device as described in the ninth aspect, or the communication device as described in the tenth aspect, or the communication device as described in the eleventh aspect, or the communication device as described in the twelfth aspect, or the chip as described in the fifteenth aspect.

[0240] In the seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes at least one of the following: a relay node, a first node, and a host node; the relay node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned first aspect, third aspect, and any possible implementation method, the first node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned second aspect, fifth aspect, and any possible implementation method, and the host node is used to execute the method of the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation method.

[0241] In addition, in the process of executing the method described in any one of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation methods, the process of sending information and / or receiving information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processor outputting information and / or the process of the processor receiving input information. When outputting information, the processor can output the information to the transceiver (or communication interface, or sending module) so that it can be transmitted by the transceiver. After the information is output by the processor, it may also need to undergo other processing before it reaches the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver (or communication interface, or sending module) receives the information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, the information may need to undergo other processing before it is input into the processor.

[0242] Based on the above principles, for example, the sending of information mentioned in the above method can be understood as the processor outputting information. For another example, the receiving of information can be understood as the processor receiving input information.

[0243] Optionally, for the operations such as transmission, sending and receiving involved in the processor, if there is no special explanation, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be more generally understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations.

[0244] Optionally, in the process of executing the method described in any aspect of the first to fifth aspects and any possible implementation method, the processor may be a processor specifically used to execute these methods, or a processor that executes these methods by executing computer instructions in a memory, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or may be separately provided on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0245] In a possible implementation, the at least one memory is located outside the device.

[0246] In yet another possible implementation, the at least one memory is located within the device.

[0247] In another possible implementation, part of the at least one memory is located inside the device, and another part of the memory is located outside the device.

[0248] In this application, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

[0249] In an embodiment of the present application, a data wireless bearer can be established between the relay node associated with the second PDU session and the host node, and the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0250] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0251] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an LTE relay network system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0252] FIG2A is a schematic diagram of a control plane protocol architecture of an LTE relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0253] FIG2B is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture of an LTE relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0254] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture of a 5G relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0255] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0256] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0257] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture in an L3 relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0258] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0259] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0260] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0261] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0262] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0263] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0264] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0265] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0266] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0267] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application.

[0268] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units that are not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units that are inherent to the process, method, product, or device.

[0269] The “embodiment” mentioned herein means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It can be understood explicitly and implicitly by those skilled in the art that in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified and there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0270] It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" 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, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0271] It should be noted that in this application, "indication" can include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0272] In this application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In specific implementations, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or an index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information is associated with the information to be indicated. Alternatively, only a portion of the information to be indicated can be indicated, while the rest of the information to be indicated is known or agreed upon in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-specified) order of the various information, thereby reducing indication overhead to a certain extent. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific transmission method is not limited in this application. The transmission period and / or transmission timing of these sub-information can be pre-defined, for example, according to a protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0273] It should be noted that in this application, "send" can be understood as "output" and "receive" can be understood as "input". "Send information to A", where "to A" only indicates the direction of information transmission, A is the destination, and does not limit "sending information to A" to direct transmission on the air interface. "Sending information to A" includes sending information directly to A, and also includes sending information indirectly to A through a transmitter, so "sending information to A" can also be understood as "outputting information to A". Similarly, "receiving information from A" indicates that the source of the information is A, including receiving information directly from A, and also including receiving information indirectly from A through a receiver, so "receiving information from A" can also be understood as "inputting information from A".

[0274] Before introducing the present application, some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are briefly explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0275] 1) Terminal side device is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal side device may be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal device, terminal, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. For example, the terminal side device may include a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a communication device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal side device can communicate with the core network via the radio access network (RAN) and exchange voice and / or data with the RAN.

[0276] Some examples of terminal-side devices include: mobile stations (MS), subscriber units, cellular phones, smart phones, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, tablet computers, wireless modems, handsets, laptop computers, machine type communication (MTC) terminals, wearable devices, and vehicle-mounted terminal devices. Terminal-side devices also include restricted devices, such as devices with low power consumption, limited storage capacity, or limited computing power. Terminal-side devices also include information sensing devices such as barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), and laser scanners.

[0277] The functions of the terminal-side device can be implemented by hardware components inside the terminal device, and the above-mentioned hardware components can be a processor and / or a programmable chip inside the above-mentioned terminal device. Optionally, the chip can be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD). The above-mentioned PLD can be any one of a complex programmable logical device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), and a system on a chip (SOC), or any combination thereof.

[0278] 2) Donor gNodeB, also known as the donor node, can access the core network through the donor node. In other words, the donor base station is a device in the communication system that connects the terminal side device to the core network. The donor base station is generally connected to the core network through a wired link (such as an optical fiber cable). The donor base station can be responsible for receiving data from the core network and forwarding it to the wireless backhaul device (such as an IAB node), or receiving data from the wireless backhaul device and forwarding it to the core network. The donor base station can generally be connected to the network via a wired connection.

[0279] As an example, the host base station may include a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or a home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), etc. It may also include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), or it may also include a next generation node B (gNB) in a fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) new radio (NR) system, etc.

[0280] As another example, a donor base station may include a centralized unit (CU) (referred to herein as a Donor-CU or gNB-CU) and a distributed unit (DU) (referred to herein as a Donor-DU or gNB-DU). The gNB-CU and gNB-DU are connected via an F1 interface, which may further include a control plane interface (F1-C) and a user plane interface (F1-U). The Donor-CU and the core network are connected via a next-generation (NG) interface. The gNB-CU or Donor-CU may also exist in a form with a separate user plane (UP) (referred to herein as CU-UP) and a separate control plane (CP) (referred to herein as CU-CP), i.e., the gNB-CU or Donor-CU consists of a CU-CP and a CU-UP. A gNB-CU may include one gNB-CU-CP and at least one gNB-CU-UP. Alternatively, a Donor-CU may include one Donor-CU-CP and at least one Donor-CU-UP.

[0281] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0282] The functions of the donor base station may be implemented by hardware components within the donor base station, such as a processor and / or programmable chip within the donor base station. For example, the chip may be implemented using an ASIC or a programmable logic device (PLD). The PLD may be any one of a CPLD, an FPGA, a GAL, and a SOC, or any combination thereof.

[0283] This application provides a communication method for use in the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network, to implement user-plane data transmission on a relay node in the 5G NR network layer. To more clearly describe the solution of this application, some knowledge related to the data transmission mechanism is introduced below in conjunction with Figures 1 to 3.

[0284] Please refer to FIG1 , which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an LTE relay network system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0285] Long-term evolution (LTE) introduced relay technology in Release 10 (LTE Release 10). This technology features relay nodes (RNs) with complete control and user plane protocol stacks. RNs connect to their serving donor eNBs (DeNBs) via a wireless link. The interface between the two is called the Un interface (an improvement to the E-UTRA air interface). The UE and RN connect via the Uu interface. Relay nodes offer wireless self-backhaul, saving the cost of trenching and laying cables required for traditional base station backhaul deployments while increasing deployment flexibility.

[0286] As shown in Figure 1, interfaces such as S1, X2, and Un terminate at the RN. The DeNB provides proxy functionality for the S1 and X2 interfaces for the RN to connect to other nodes, including but not limited to other eNBs, mobility management entities (MMEs), and serving gateways (S-GWs). The S1 and X2 proxy functions involve transferring UE-specific S1 and X2 signaling messages and general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) packets between the S1 and X2 interfaces associated with the RN and the S1 and X2 interfaces associated with other network nodes. The RN and DeNB also map signaling and data packets to the evolved packet system (EPS) bearer established for the RN (based on existing LTE QoS mechanisms). In addition, the Un interface supports the aggregation of data packets with the same QoS from different UEs. As an L3 relay, the RN has its own physical cell identifier (PCI), E-UTRAN cell global identifier (ECGI), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), system broadcast, etc. The RN is not transparent to the UE, and the UE can regard the RN as a cell under the DeNB.

[0287] LTE Relay has a complete control plane and user plane protocol stack, as shown in Figures 2A and 2B for details.

[0288] Please refer to FIG. 2A , which is a schematic diagram of a control plane protocol architecture of an LTE relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0289] As shown in Figure 2A, the LTE Relay control plane protocol stack includes:

[0290] Non-access stratum (NAS), radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer and physical layer (PHY), S1 application protocol (S1-AP) layer, stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) layer, internet protocol (IP) for interconnection between networks, and mobility management entity (MME) serving the UE (denoted as MME-UE in the figure).

[0291] As can be seen from the control plane protocol stack, the UE's RRC messages terminate at the RN, while the RN provides a proxy for S1 / X2 messages for the UE. The S1 interface is between the base station and the CN control plane entity, and the X2 interface is between the base station and RN, or between RNs. From the perspective of L3 Relay, the UE sees the DeNB as the MME.

[0292] Please refer to FIG. 2B , which is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture of an LTE relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0293] As shown in Figure 2B, the LTE Relay user plane protocol stack includes:

[0294] General packet radio service tunneling protocol-user plane (GTP-U) layer, user datagram protocol (UDP) layer, and serving gateway (SGW) / public data network gateway (PGW) serving the UE (denoted as SGW-UE / PGW-UE in the figure).

[0295] From the user plane protocol stack perspective, the RN can provide data radio bearer (DRB) transmission services for UEs and aggregate data from multiple UEs, forwarding it to the DeNB via the backhaul link. It's worth noting that establishing a DRB involves establishing the corresponding PDCP entity and configuring related security parameters, establishing and configuring the RLC entity, and establishing and configuring the DTCH logical channel.

[0296] For user plane data of multiple UEs carried in the same DRB, they are distinguished by GTP-U tunnels, for example, by different tunnel end identifers (TEIDs). For control plane S1AP messages carried by multiple UEs in the same DRB, they can be distinguished by the UE S1AP ID in the S1AP message. For the same DRB that carries both user plane data and S1AP messages, they can be distinguished by IP address, that is, different IP addresses are assigned to the user plane GTP-U tunnel and the control plane stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) connection.

[0297] From a bearer mapping perspective:

[0298] (1) For downlink:

[0299] S1 interface to Un interface: Based on the EPS bearer ID, the DeNB maps the GTP tunnel of the S1 interface per UE per bearer to the GTP tunnel of the Un interface per UE per bearer, and then maps the GTP tunnel to the DRB per RN per bearer.

[0300] Un interface to Uu interface: Based on the EPS bearer ID, the Relay (RN) maps the GTP tunnel of the S1 interface per UE per bearer to the DRB of the Uu interface per UE per bearer.

[0301] For downlink, the DeNB decides how to map the UE GTP tunnel to the RN DRB.

[0302] (2) For uplink:

[0303] Uu interface to Un interface: Based on the EPS bearer ID, the relay (RN) maps the Uu interface's per-UE per-bearer DRB to a per-UE per-bearer GTP tunnel. Based on the DRB ID, the relay obtains the QoS class identifier (QCI) corresponding to the service, adds a differentiated services code point (DSCP) tag to the IP header, and sends it to the uplink traffic flow template (TFT) for filtering, mapping the service to a per-RN per-bearer DRB.

[0304] Un interface to S1 interface: Based on the EPS bearer ID, the DeNB maps the GTP tunnel of the Un interface per UE per bearer to the GTP tunnel of the S1 interface per UE per bearer.

[0305] For the uplink, the operation and management (OAM) function configures how to map the UE GTP tunnel to the RN DRB, that is, OAM configures the QCI-to-DSCP (differentiated services code point) mapping relationship for the relay.

[0306] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture of a 5G relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0307] As shown in Figure 3, this is the user plane protocol stack in the 5G system in the TS23.201 protocol.

[0308] As shown in Figure 3, the PDU layer corresponds to the PDU carried between the UE and the DN through the PDU Session. The GTP-U protocol supports tunnel transmission of user data on the N3 and N9 interfaces. GTP will encapsulate all user PDUs and provide per PDU session level encapsulation. The protocol will also carry associated QoS Flow. The UPF (indicated by the dotted line) of the non-UE PDU session anchor point in Figure 3 is optional; the non-UE PDU session anchor point UPF can be considered as a relay UPF that relays UE user plane data. The N9 interface can be intra-PLMN or inter-PLMN.

[0309] Currently, user plane data cannot be transmitted in the relay network system of the 5G NR network layer.

[0310] For the transmission of user-plane data for UE services, a default bearer is established in LTE, which can be understood as a default DRB existing between nodes. However, there is no default PDU session in the NR system, that is, the default PDU session (default PDU Session) and default DRB (default DRB) are not actively established in NR. Therefore, the LTE relay system focuses more on how to complete QoS mapping, rather than how to trigger the establishment of DRB. In the NR relay system, it is necessary to consider how to establish a UE PDU session through the L3 relay network when the UE initiates a service, including the NR L3 relay architecture, how to trigger the establishment of DRBs between the UE and the relay-gNB, between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, and related QoS mapping issues.

[0311] In view of this, in an embodiment of the present application, a new communication method is provided, which can establish a DRB between a relay node and a host node associated with the PDU session of the relay node, and transmit the data of the PDU session of the terminal device through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0312] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network, and includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0313] S401: A first node or a host node sends first information to a relay node. Correspondingly, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node.

[0314] S402: The relay node sends second information to the first node. Correspondingly, the first node receives the second information from the relay node.

[0315] It is understood that the relay node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. The relay node in the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal-side portion facing the parent node and a network-side portion facing the child node. For example, it can include an MT and a DU, or it can include an MT and a gNB. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present application, the internal structure of the relay node may not be clearly divided, but the functional part of the relay node may be clarified through the interface connection with the opposite device. For example, the functional part connected to the opposite device as a host node can be determined as the MT of the relay node (relay-MT), and the functional part connected to the opposite device as a UE can be determined as the DU of the relay node (relay-DU) or the gNB of the relay node (relay-gNB). Among them, the opposite device (such as CU) connected to the MT and the opposite device (such as UE) connected to the DU refer to logical connections and do not mean that there is a physical direct connection. The MT of the relay node is connected to the host node, and the gNB of the relay node is connected to the UE. Optionally, when the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node may be an IAB node, the MT of the IAB node is connected to the host node, and the DU of the IAB node is connected to the UE. Optionally, the relay node in this application may also be represented as a vehicle mounted relay (VMR).

[0316] It is understood that the host node in the embodiments of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions, or a processor / chip capable of executing computer-executable instructions. The host node in the embodiments of the present application is connected to the MT of the relay node. When the communication method in the embodiments of the present application is applied to an IAB network, the relay node can be an IAB node, and the host node can be connected to the MT of the IAB node.

[0317] It can be understood that the first node in the embodiment of the present application can be a device equipped with a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions, or it can be a processor / chip that can be used to execute computer-executable instructions. Specifically, the first node in the embodiment of the present application can be a functional network element of the core network, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), participating in the execution of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application to realize the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0318] Among them, the above-mentioned first information is used to request the establishment of resources corresponding to the first PDU session of the terminal device, and the above-mentioned second information is used to request the establishment of the second PDU session of the relay node. Through the first information and the second information, a DRB between the relay node and the host node associated with the second PDU session can be established, and the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0319] It should be understood that in the above step S401, the first node may send the first information to the relay node, and accordingly, the relay node receives the first information from the first node; or the first node may send the first information to the host node, and the host node forwards the first information to the relay node, and accordingly, the relay node receives the first information forwarded from the host node; the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0320] It should be understood that the order of receiving the first information and sending the second information in the embodiments of the present application is not limited by this application. The order of sending the first information and receiving the second information is not determined by the order of the text, but by the inherent logical relationship between the two. The specific possible situations include but are not limited to the following:

[0321] Optional, case 1:

[0322] When a service arrives at the UE, the relay node is triggered to establish a DRB with the host node.

[0323] In this case, the relay node first receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE service, it sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish the second PDU session of the relay node, and transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0324] In addition, optionally, in this case, the first information is also used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information.

[0325] It can be understood that when the UE has business incoming, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB between the host node. In this case, the relay node first receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session of the UE business requirements, it triggers the relay node to establish a DRB between the host node, that is, it generates and sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish a second PDU session of the relay node, and transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user-plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0326] Optional, case 2:

[0327] Regardless of whether the UE has incoming services, a DRB is pre-established between the relay node and the donor node.

[0328] In the second case, the relay node first sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish the second PDU session of the relay node, and pre-establishes the DRB between the relay node and the host node. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE's business, it transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the pre-established DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0329] In addition, optionally, in this case 2, the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session mentioned in the second information is pre-configured.

[0330] It can be understood that when the DRB between the relay node and the host node is pre-established, in this case, the second slice in the second information is pre-configured, and the relay node first sends the second information to the first node, requesting to establish the second PDU session of the relay node, and pre-establishes the DRB between the relay node and the host node. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the relay node receives the first information from the first node or the host node, and after learning the first PDU session required by the UE's business, it transmits the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device through the pre-established DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby achieving the establishment of the PDU session with less delay and initiating the transmission of uplink and downlink data.

[0331] Compared with the above situation 1, the DRB between the relay node and the host node in situation 2 is pre-established. When the UE initiates a session establishment request, the PDU session can be established with less delay and the transmission of uplink and downlink data can be initiated.

[0332] In a possible embodiment, the first PDU session mentioned in the first information and the second PDU session mentioned in the second information may have the following association relationship:

[0333] The first slice corresponding to the first PDU session and the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session are the same; and / or, the first QoS corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0334] It can be understood that in the scenario where the UE has business arrival that triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node, if the relay node supports the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session and has slice resources with exactly the same identifier, then the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session. If the relay node does not support the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session, or does not have slice resources with exactly the same identifier, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first PDU session and the second PDU session, that is, the first QoS corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0335] It can be understood that in a scenario where a DRB is pre-established between a relay node and a host node regardless of whether the UE has incoming services, if the first PDU session required by the UE's services matches the slice type corresponding to the pre-established second PDU session, and has slice resources with the same identifier as the slice corresponding to the second PDU session, then the first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session. If the first PDU session required by the UE's services does not match the slice type corresponding to the pre-established second PDU session, or does not have the same identifier as the slice corresponding to the second PDU session, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first PDU session and the second PDU session, that is, the first QoS corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session.

[0336] Optionally, the first QoS corresponding to the first PDU session is associated with the second QoS corresponding to the second PDU session. It can be understood that the first QoS is the same as or similar to the second QoS.

[0337] Among them, the approximation of the first QoS and the second QoS can be understood as the difference between the values ​​of the first QoS and the second QoS is less than a preset threshold. The preset threshold is not a fixed value and can be adjusted according to different application scenarios to meet the needs of establishing a mapping between the first PDU session associated DRB and the second PDU session associated DRB.

[0338] Through the embodiments of the present application, a mapping relationship between the first PDU session-associated DRB and the second PDU session-associated DRB can be established through the same slice (i.e., the first slice and the second slice) or associated (same or similar) QoS (i.e., the first QoS and the second QoS), so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted, and the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer can be realized.

[0339] In a possible embodiment, the second information may further include session type information.

[0340] The session type information indicates that the second PDU session requested to be established by the second information is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node.

[0341] It can be understood that the purpose of the second PDU session initiated by the relay node is only to trigger the core network network element (AMF) to let the host node establish a DRB for the relay node. The relay node may not actually establish its own real N3 tunnel. The core network can only see the UE's N3 tunnel. Therefore, in this case, the core network does not need to perform authentication / authorization processes for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and directly triggers the host node to establish a DRB for the relay node.

[0342] Alternatively, the second PDU session initiated by the relay node may actually have established its own real N3 tunnel. In this case, the core network needs to first perform authentication / authorization processes for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and then trigger the host node to establish a DRB for the relay node. At this time, it may also be necessary to maintain the mapping relationship between the relay node's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel to ensure normal transmission of uplink and downlink user plane data.

[0343] Optionally, without initiating a request for the second PDU session to the core network functional network element, the first node sends fourth information to the host node, requesting the host node to establish a second PDU session with the relay node.

[0344] It is understandable that after receiving the PDU session establishment request, the first node needs to initiate a request to the session management function (SMF) for the PDU session according to the normal process, and the SMF then initiates a request to the UPF for the PDU session to complete the authentication / authorization and other processes of the PDU session. However, in an embodiment of the present application, when the first node learns that the relay node initiates a second PDU session establishment request in order to establish the first PDU session of the UE and transmit the user plane data of the UE, the first node may not initiate a request to the core network function network element (SMF), that is, skip the above-mentioned normal PDU session authentication / authorization and other processes, and directly trigger the host node to initiate an N2 PDU session request to the relay node, allowing the establishment of the second PDU session of the relay node.

[0345] In a possible embodiment, after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information to the first node or the host node, and correspondingly, the first node receives the third information from the relay node or the host node.

[0346] The third information is used to respond to the request to establish the first PDU session.

[0347] It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node can send the third information to the first node, and accordingly, the first node receives the third information from the relay node; or the relay node can send the third information to the host node, and the host node forwards the third information to the relay node, and accordingly, the relay node receives the third information forwarded from the host node; the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0348] It is understandable that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the correspondence between the sending / receiving method of the first PDU session establishment request and the sending / receiving method of the first PDU session establishment request response. Specific possible situations include but are not limited to the following:

[0349] Optional, case 1:

[0350] The first node sends the first information (a request to establish the first PDU session) to the relay node, and accordingly, the relay node receives the first information from the first node; after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information (a response to the request to establish the first PDU session) to the first node, and accordingly, the first node receives the third information from the relay node.

[0351] Optional, case 2:

[0352] The first node sends the first information (a request to establish the first PDU session) to the relay node, and accordingly, the relay node receives the first information from the first node; after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information (a response to the request to establish the first PDU session) to the host node, and the host node forwards the third information to the first node, and accordingly, the first node receives the third information from the host node.

[0353] Optional, case three:

[0354] The first node sends the first information (a request to establish the first PDU session) to the host node, and the host node forwards the first information to the relay node. Accordingly, the relay node receives the first information from the host node; after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information (a response to the request to establish the first PDU session) to the first node. Accordingly, the first node receives the third information from the relay node.

[0355] Optional, case four:

[0356] The first node sends the first information (a request to establish the first PDU session) to the host node, and the host node forwards the first information to the relay node. Accordingly, the relay node receives the first information from the host node; after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends the third information (a response to the request to establish the first PDU session) to the host node, and the host node forwards the third information to the first node. Accordingly, the first node receives the third information from the host node.

[0357] In a possible embodiment, the third information further includes first indication information.

[0358] The first indication information is used to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice.

[0359] It is understandable that, in a scenario where a DRB is pre-established between the relay node and the host node regardless of whether the UE has incoming business, after the resource configuration of the first PDU session is completed, the relay node sends a third information to the first node or the host node to respond to the establishment request of the first PDU session. Since the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session is pre-configured, the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session required by the UE business does not necessarily match the slice type corresponding to the pre-established second PDU session, or there is no slice resource with exactly the same identifier as the slice corresponding to the second PDU session. If the relay node finds that the slice type corresponding to the UE's first PDU session does not match the slice type associated with the DRB pre-established by the relay node, or does not have slice resources with exactly the same identifier as the slice corresponding to the second PDU session, it can carry the slice ID (or slice type) replacement indication information (i.e., the first indication information) in the first PDU session resource establishment request response message (i.e., the third information) to indicate that the second slice is different from the first slice, thereby unifying the slice type in the actual UE-initiated PDU session establishment request with the slice type pre-configured when the relay node establishes the DRB, so as to establish a mapping relationship between the first PDU session-associated DRB and the second PDU session-associated DRB, and transmit uplink and downlink user plane data.

[0360] In a possible embodiment, the following steps are further performed:

[0361] Establish a mapping relationship between the first DRB associated with the first PDU session and the second DRB associated with the second PDU session.

[0362] It can be understood that after completing the establishment of the first DRB associated with the first PDU session and the second DRB associated with the second PDU session, a mapping relationship is established between the first DRB associated with the first PDU session and the second DRB associated with the second PDU session, so that the uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted, realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0363] Optionally, the slice corresponding to the first DRB is the same as the slice corresponding to the second DRB, and / or the first DRB and the second DRB have the same or similar QoS information.

[0364] It can be understood that in the scenario where the UE has a service arrival that triggers the relay node to establish a DRB with the host node, if the relay node supports the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session and has slice resources with exactly the same identifier, then the slice corresponding to the first DRB is the same as the slice corresponding to the second DRB. If the relay node does not support the slice type corresponding to the first PDU session, or does not have slice resources with exactly the same identifier, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB, that is, the first DRB and the second DRB have the same or similar QoS information.

[0365] It can be understood that in a scenario where a DRB is pre-established between a relay node and a host node regardless of whether the UE has incoming services, if the first PDU session required by the UE's services matches the slice type corresponding to the pre-established second PDU session, and has slice resources with the same identifier as the slice corresponding to the second PDU session, then the slice corresponding to the first DRB is the same as the slice corresponding to the second DRB. If the first PDU session required by the UE's services does not match the slice type corresponding to the pre-established second PDU session, or does not have the same identifier as the slice corresponding to the second PDU session, QoS is used to associate the relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB, that is, the first DRB and the second DRB have the same or similar QoS information.

[0366] Among them, the QoS corresponding to the first DRB and the QoS corresponding to the second DRB can be understood as the difference between the QoS corresponding to the first DRB and the QoS corresponding to the second DRB is less than a preset threshold. The preset threshold is not a fixed value and can be adjusted according to different application scenarios to meet the needs of establishing a mapping between the first DRB and the second DRB.

[0367] Through the embodiments of the present application, a mapping relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB can be established through the same slice (i.e., the first slice and the second slice) or associated (same or similar) QoS (i.e., the first QoS and the second QoS), so that uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted, and the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer can be realized.

[0368] In a possible embodiment, the following steps are further performed:

[0369] A mapping relationship is established between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device.

[0370] It can be understood that the purpose of the second PDU session initiated by the relay node is only to trigger the core network network element (AMF) to let the host node establish a DRB for the relay node. The relay node may not actually establish its own real N3 tunnel. The core network can only see the UE's N3 tunnel. Therefore, in this case, the core network does not need to perform authentication / authorization processes for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session. It directly triggers the host node to establish a DRB for the relay node, and there is no need to perform this step, that is, to establish and maintain the mapping relationship between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device.

[0371] Alternatively, the second PDU session initiated by the relay node may actually have established its own real N3 tunnel. In this case, the core network needs to first perform authentication / authorization processes for the request initiated by the relay node to establish the second PDU session, and then trigger the host node to establish a DRB for the relay node. At this time, this step needs to be executed, that is, to establish and maintain the mapping relationship between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the UE, so as to normally transmit uplink and downlink user plane data.

[0372] Optionally, when the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped one-to-one, the terminal device and the relay node share the N3 tunnel.

[0373] It can be understood that if the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped 1:1, the terminal device and the relay node can share one N3 tunnel; if the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device are mapped N:1, N is an integer greater than 1, then for the same UPF, the logical N3 tunnel of the UE needs to complete the mapping between the logical pipelines with the logical N3 tunnel of the relay node.

[0374] Optionally, the mapping relationship between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device can be established by the relay node or by the host node, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0375] In a possible embodiment, when establishing a mapping relationship between the first DRB and the second DRB, the QoS requirements of the UE service need to be considered. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application further performs the following steps:

[0376] According to the first QoS, a second QoS and / or a third QoS is determined.

[0377] Among them, the first QoS is the end-to-end QoS required by the UE service (that is, the QoS in the first PDU session mentioned above), the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node (that is, the QoS in the second PDU session mentioned above), and the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node.

[0378] Optionally, the first QoS may be divided based on information such as air interface resources between the relay-gNB and the UE, and / or air interface resources between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0379] Optionally, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy the following relationship:

[0380] The second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

[0381] The establishment of a DRB between the UE and the relay node, and / or a DRB between the relay node and the host node is guided based on the first QoS segmentation, which can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service.

[0382] Optionally, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS meet at least one of the following conditions:

[0383] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0384] The guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0385] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0386] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0387] The guaranteed bit rate is the Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate in the QoS parameters of the protocol, the packet delay budget is the Packet Delay Budget in the QoS parameters of the protocol, and the packet error rate is the Packet Error Rate in the QoS parameters of the protocol.

[0388] It can be understood that when the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS meet at least one of the above items, the relay node can be in half-duplex mode, that is, the MT function and the gNB function of the relay node do not support simultaneous operation (relay-MT receives or sends at the same time as relay-gNB receives or sends).

[0389] The association between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service, so that logical tunnels can be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0390] Optionally, the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS meet at least one of the following conditions:

[0391] At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0392] The guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS are not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS;

[0393] The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS;

[0394] (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

[0395] The guaranteed bit rate is the Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate in the QoS parameters of the protocol, the packet delay budget is the Packet Delay Budget in the QoS parameters of the protocol, and the packet error rate is the Packet Error Rate in the QoS parameters of the protocol.

[0396] It can be understood that when the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS meet at least one of the above items, the relay node can be in full-duplex mode, that is, the MT function and the gNB function of the relay node support simultaneous operation (relay-MT receives or sends at the same time as relay-gNB receives or sends).

[0397] The association between the first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS in the embodiment of the present application can meet the end-to-end QoS requirements of the UE service, so that logical tunnels can be established between the UE and the relay node, the relay node and the host node, and the host node and the core network element, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data on the relay node in the 5G NR network layer.

[0398] It is understandable that the second QoS and / or third QoS obtained based on the first QoS division can be performed by the relay node, the host node, or the first node. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Specific possible situations include but are not limited to the following:

[0399] Optional, case 1:

[0400] The terminal device sends service-related QoS information (ie, the first QoS) to the relay node, and correspondingly, the relay node receives the QoS information (ie, the first QoS) from the terminal device.

[0401] The relay node determines the second QoS and / or the third QoS based on the first QoS.

[0402] Among them, the relevant descriptions about the first QoS, the second QoS and the third QoS can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0403] The relay node sends the second QoS to the donor node, and correspondingly, the donor node receives the second QoS from the relay node.

[0404] The donor node triggers establishment of a DRB with the relay node based on the second QoS.

[0405] The relay node initiates establishment of a DRB with the terminal device based on the third QoS.

[0406] Optional, case 2:

[0407] The terminal device sends service-related QoS information (ie, the first QoS) to the relay node, and correspondingly, the relay node receives the QoS information (ie, the first QoS) from the terminal device.

[0408] The relay node determines the second QoS and / or the third QoS based on the first QoS.

[0409] Among them, the relevant descriptions about the first QoS, the second QoS and the third QoS can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0410] The relay node sends the second QoS to the first node, and correspondingly, the first node receives the second QoS from the relay node.

[0411] Optionally, the second QoS can also be carried in the above-mentioned second information (PDU session establishment request). In this case, the relay node sends the second information to the first node, and the slice identifier carried by the second information is associated with the second QoS.

[0412] Optionally, when the relay node initiates a PDU session establishment request to the first node, it may also indicate that the request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node, so that the first node can skip some authentication / certification processes.

[0413] The first node sends the second QoS to the host node, and correspondingly, the host node receives the second QoS from the first node.

[0414] The donor node triggers establishment of a DRB with the relay node based on the second QoS.

[0415] The relay node initiates establishment of a DRB with the terminal device based on the third QoS.

[0416] Optional, case three:

[0417] The terminal device sends service-related QoS information (ie, first QoS) to the first node, and correspondingly, the first node receives the QoS information (ie, first QoS) from the terminal device.

[0418] Optionally, the first QoS can also be carried in a PDU session establishment request. In this case, the relay node sends a PDU session establishment request to the first node, and the slice identifier carried in the PDU session establishment request is associated with the first QoS.

[0419] Alternatively, optionally, the first node may generate a first QoS based on the UE's slice and other subscription information, and the PDU session establishment request sent by the UE does not carry the first QoS. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0420] Optionally, when the terminal device initiates a PDU session establishment request to the first node, it can also indicate that the request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node, so that the first node can skip some authentication / authentication processes.

[0421] The first node sends the first QoS to the host node, and correspondingly, the host node receives the first QoS from the first node.

[0422] The donor node determines the second QoS and / or the third QoS based on the first QoS.

[0423] Among them, the relevant descriptions about the first QoS, the second QoS and the third QoS can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0424] The donor node triggers establishment of a DRB with the relay node based on the second QoS.

[0425] The host node sends the third QoS to the relay node, and correspondingly, the relay node receives the third QoS from the host node.

[0426] The relay node initiates establishment of a DRB with the terminal device based on the third QoS.

[0427] Optional, case four:

[0428] The terminal device sends service-related QoS information (ie, first QoS) to the first node, and correspondingly, the first node receives the QoS information (ie, first QoS) from the terminal device.

[0429] Optionally, the first QoS can also be carried in a PDU session establishment request. In this case, the relay node sends a PDU session establishment request to the first node, and the slice identifier carried in the PDU session establishment request is associated with the first QoS.

[0430] Alternatively, optionally, the first node may generate a first QoS based on the UE's slice and other subscription information, and the PDU session establishment request sent by the UE does not carry the first QoS. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0431] Optionally, when the terminal device initiates a PDU session establishment request to the first node, it can also indicate that the request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay node and the host node, so that the first node can skip some authentication / authentication processes.

[0432] Optionally, the relay node may also initiate a PDU session establishment request to the first node, and the PDU session establishment request carries the identifier of the PDU session of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the terminal device, so as to enable the first node to know the association relationship between the relay node and the terminal device, and thus know that QoS segmentation needs to be performed.

[0433] The first node determines a second QoS and / or a third QoS based on the first QoS.

[0434] Among them, the relevant descriptions about the first QoS, the second QoS and the third QoS can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0435] The first node sends the second QoS to the host node, and correspondingly, the host node receives the second QoS from the first node.

[0436] Optionally, the second QoS may be carried in the fourth information above.

[0437] The donor node triggers establishment of a DRB with the relay node based on the second QoS.

[0438] The first node sends the third QoS to the relay node, and correspondingly, the relay node receives the third QoS from the first node.

[0439] Or, optionally, the first node may send the third QoS to the host node, the host node forwards the third QoS to the relay node, and correspondingly, the relay node receives the third QoS from the host node.

[0440] The relay node initiates establishment of a DRB with the terminal device based on the third QoS.

[0441] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be considered as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiment in Figure 4 above; alternatively, it is understood that the communication method in the embodiment of the present application can also be considered as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and this application does not limit this. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0442] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the AMF involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0443] The communication method in the embodiments of the present application is applied to a scenario where a relay node is triggered to establish a DRB with a donor node when a service arrives at the UE. When discussing the transmission of UE user plane data, it is assumed that the control plane pipe has been established in the L3 (layer 3) relay network. When the relay-gNB wants to establish an NG interface based on the DRB of the relay-MT, from the perspective of the relay-gNB, the donor-gNB may be a core network element similar to the AMF.

[0444] The communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0445] S501: The UE sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request from the UE.

[0446] When the UE needs to initiate a PDU session establishment with the core network for user plane data transmission, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF (for example, carrying a new PDU session ID). Optionally, a non-access stratum (NAS) message can be used to carry the PDU session establishment request, which can carry a slice ID, such as single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI);

[0447] S502 (Option 1): The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the AMF. The donor-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the donor-gNB.

[0448] S502 (Option 2): The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the AMF.

[0449] It is understandable that after receiving the PDU session establishment request, the core network will perform a series of processing procedures (the specific procedures can be referred to section 4.3.3 of the protocol TS23.502, such as PDU session authentication / authorization, PCF selection, UPF selection, N4 session establishment, etc., which are not described in detail here), and then send a PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB. Optionally, the PDU session resource establishment request carries a slice ID, and the slice ID can be the same as the slice ID in the PDU session establishment request initiated by the UE.

[0450] Since the architecture may have the following scenarios: 1) the AMF can only see / perceive the donor-gNB but not the relay-gNB (the donor-gNB can see the relay-gNB); or 2) the AMF can see both the donor-gNB and the relay-gNB. Therefore, S502 also has two different solutions:

[0451] Option 1 corresponding to scenario 1: The AMF sends the PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB, which then sends it to the relay-gNB.

[0452] Option 2 corresponding to Case 2: The AMF directly sends the PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB.

[0453] Among them, the PDU session resource establishment request message may carry slice ID information, and the slice ID corresponds to the slice ID carried when the UE initiates the PDU session establishment request in the above S501.

[0454] S503: Trigger the establishment of the MT's DRB.

[0455] The relay-gNB triggers the relay-MT to initiate a PDU session establishment request to the same AMF as the UE initiated the PDU session establishment request, with the purpose of establishing the relay-MT's DRB for transmitting UE user plane data.

[0456] S504: The relay-MT sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request from the relay-MT.

[0457] The PDU session establishment request carries the same slice ID as in step S501 or S502 or similar QoS identification information.

[0458] In addition, a new PDU type information is added to the PDU session establishment request, indicating that the PDU session establishment request is for transmitting UE user plane data. It can be understood that if there is no slice ID that is exactly the same, QoS is used to associate the DRB. That is, if the relay-MT does not support the slice type in the received PDU session establishment request message, then another slice with similar QoS is selected. Here, the DRB also needs to be associated with the PDU session.

[0459] Optionally, the relay-MT initiates the PDU session establishment request only to trigger the AMF to let the donor-gNB establish a DRB for it. The relay-MT may not actually establish its own real N3 tunnel. The core network can only see the UE's N3 tunnel. In this case, the core network's authentication / certification process may be skipped.

[0460] Optionally, the relay-MT initiates the PDU session establishment request, and the relay-MT can also establish its own real N3 tunnel. At this time, the core network's authentication / authentication process may not be skipped, and it may be necessary to maintain the mapping relationship between the relay-MT's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel.

[0461] S505 (optional): AMF skips the authentication / authorization process.

[0462] The core network finds that the relay-MT initiates a PDU session establishment request to establish the UE's PDU session and transmit the UE's UP data. Therefore, the core network skips the PDU session authentication / authorization process described in step S502 and directly triggers the donor-gNB to initiate an N2 PDU session request to the relay-MT, allowing the relay-MT's PDU to be established.

[0463] S506: The AMF sends an N2 PDU session request to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the N2 PDU session request from the AMF.

[0464] S507: Establish a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB.

[0465] Optionally, it can be considered that the establishment of the DRB is for transmitting the PDU data of the UE.

[0466] Optionally, the process of establishing the air interface resources is completed based on RRC signaling.

[0467] S508: The donor-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the donor-gNB.

[0468] After the DRB is established, the donor-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF, which can be understood as a response to the N2 PDU session request message in step S506 above, indicating that the air interface bearer resources between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB have been established.

[0469] S509: AMF sends a PDU session establishment consent to relay-MT. Correspondingly, relay-MT receives the PDU session establishment consent from AMF.

[0470] Optionally, the PDU session establishment consent may be carried in a NAS message.

[0471] S510: Establish a DRB between the relay-gNB and the UE.

[0472] After the relay-MT learns that its PDU session is established, the air interface bearer resources are established between the relay-gNB and the UE.

[0473] S511 (Option 1): The relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the relay-gNB. The donor-gNB forwards the PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the donor-gNB.

[0474] S511 (Option 2): The relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the relay-gNB.

[0475] It is understandable that the relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF, similar to the description in step S502 above, and correspondingly there may be two different reply modes:

[0476] Option 1: The relay-gNB only sees the donor-gNB and sends the PDU Session Resource Establishment Response message to the donor-gNB, which then forwards it to the AMF.

[0477] Option 2: The relay-gNB can also see the AMF. In this case, the relay-gNB can send the PDU Session Resource Establishment Response message directly to the AMF.

[0478] Optionally, the above step S510 may occur simultaneously with step S507, that is, the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay-gNB does not need to wait until the PDU of the relay-MT is established; optionally, the above step S510 and step S507 may not occur at the same time, and this embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0479] S512: AMF sends a PDU session establishment consent to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives a PDU session establishment consent from the AMF.

[0480] At this point, it can be considered that the UE's PDU session is established on the relay-MT's PDU session bearer, or that the UE's PDU is established on the relay-MT's DRB.

[0481] S513: Establish DRB mapping.

[0482] Specifically, the DRB mapping can be completed through the same slice ID / slice type, and the uplink and downlink user plane data can be transmitted.

[0483] Optionally, if the relay-MT does not support the slice type, another slice with similar QoS is selected.

[0484] Similar to the description in step S504 above, when considering establishing a real N3 tunnel for the relay-MT, it is necessary to maintain the mapping relationship between the relay-MT's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel. If the relay-MT's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel are mapped 1:1, the UE and relay-MT can share one N3 tunnel. If the relay-MT's N3 tunnel and the UE's N3 tunnel are mapped N:1, where N is an integer greater than 1, then (for the same UPF) the UE's logical N3 tunnel must complete the mapping between logical pipes with the relay-MT's logical N3 tunnel.

[0485] After the establishment of air interface bearer resources between the UE and relay-gNB, and between the relay-gNB and donor-gNB (via the DRB of the relay-MT), the transmission of UE uplink and downlink (user plane) data can be completed.

[0486] Specifically, for the description of establishing the DRB mapping in the above step S513, please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol architecture in an L3 relay network provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0487] As shown in Figure 6, if there is no UPF for the relay-MT (i.e., the UE and relay-MT share a UPF), then after the UE's data reaches the donor-gNB, it can be thrown into the UE's N3 tunnel and sent to the UE's UPF. If the relay-MT has its own UPF (i.e., the UE and relay-MT correspond to different UPFs), the relay-MT's UPF needs to maintain at least the following two mapping relationships:

[0488] (1) The mapping relationship between the UE's UPF and the relay-MT's UPF on the N9 interface, for example, how UE data reaches the UE's UPF from the relay-MT's UPF;

[0489] (2) The mapping relationship between the GTP-U tunnels between the relay-gNB and the UPF of the relay-MT.

[0490] Therefore, two different architectures are embodied here: the relay node for user plane data is at the (donor-gNB) base station (UE data can be thrown into the UE's N3 tunnel and sent to the UE's UPF after arriving at the donor-gNB); or the relay node for user plane data is at the UPF (mainly for the case where the relay-MT and UE have their own UPF).

[0491] In summary, the embodiments of the present application propose:

[0492] (1) In the L3 relay network, when a UE receives a service, the relay-MT (co-located with the relay-gNB) is triggered to establish a DRB with the donor-gNB for transmitting the UE PDU data.

[0493] (2) When the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request sent by the core network (the architecture distinguishes between the two cases where the AMF can see / cannot see the relay-gNB), it triggers the co-located relay-MT to establish a DRB, associates the DRB to be established with the slice ID in the PDU session establishment request initiated by the UE, and adds a new PDU type indication information;

[0494] (3) The relay-MT initiates the PDU session establishment only to establish the DRB, and the core network authentication / certification process can be skipped;

[0495] (4) Mapping of related DRBs is completed based on the same slice. If the same slice is not supported, mapping of related DRBs is completed using other slices with similar QoS;

[0496] (5) In the case of relay-MT / UE UPF separation, the relay-MT UPF maintains the N9 interface mapping relationship with the UE UPF, as well as the GTP-U tunnel mapping relationship between the relay-MT and the relay-gNB, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0497] In the embodiment of the present application, when a UE has incoming services in the L3 relay network, the establishment of a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB is triggered, and the corresponding QoS mapping relationship is maintained. This enables the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and the relay-gNB, the relay-gNB and the donor-gNB, and the donor-gNB and the CN, thereby enabling the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0498] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiments of the present application can be considered as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiments in Figures 4 or 5 above; alternatively, it is understood that the communication method in the embodiments of the present application can also be considered as an independently executable embodiment, and this application does not limit this. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is applicable to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0499] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the AMF involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0500] The communication method in the embodiments of the present application is applied to a scenario where a DRB is pre-established between a relay node and a donor node regardless of whether the UE has incoming services. When discussing the transmission of UE user plane data, it is assumed that the control plane pipe has been established in the L3 (layer 3) relay network. When the relay-gNB wants to establish an NG interface based on the DRB of the relay-MT, from the perspective of the relay-gNB, the donor-gNB may be a core network element similar to the AMF.

[0501] It is understood that the main difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in Figure 5 is that in this embodiment, the relay-MT co-located with the relay-gNB is pre-configured in advance, and a DRB connection (reserved resources) is pre-established between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, similar to the (default) EPS bearer establishment in LTE. This may consume certain resources, but when the UE initiates a session establishment request, the PDU session can be established with minimal latency and uplink and downlink data transmission can be initiated.

[0502] The communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0503] S701: The relay-MT sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request from the relay-MT.

[0504] Among them, the slice ID carried in the PDU session establishment request is pre-configured and can indicate that the PDU session established now is for the transmission of UE user plane data that may arrive in the future (and establish DRB).

[0505] In addition, a new PDU type information is added to the PDU session establishment request, indicating that the PDU session establishment request is used to transmit UE user plane data.

[0506] Optionally, the relay-MT can associate a slice type when establishing a DRB. In the future, when a UE initiates a PDU session establishment request with a slice type, the slice type may match or mismatch the slice type associated with the relay-MT when pre-establishing the DRB. If the slice type does not match or the relay-MT does not support the slice type, it will switch to another slice with similar QoS.

[0507] Similar to the description in step S504 of the embodiment shown in Figure 5 above, if the relay-MT initiates the establishment of a PDU session only to establish a DRB, then skipping the core network authentication / authentication process in the following step S702 is feasible; however, if the relay-MT wants to establish a real PDU session or to establish a real relay-MT N3 tunnel, then the core network authentication / authentication process in the following step S702 cannot be skipped.

[0508] S702 (optional): AMF skips the authentication / authorization process.

[0509] After receiving the PDU Session Establishment Request from the relay-MT, the core network skips core network authentication and authorization procedures if it detects that the relay-MT is initiating this PDU Session Establishment only to establish a (default) DRB for future UE user plane data transmission. However, if the legacy PDU Session Establishment procedure is reused, core network authentication and authorization procedures may not be skipped. The AMF then sends an N2 PDU Session Establishment Request message to the donor-gNB, allowing the relay-MT to establish the PDU Session (or, in other words, allowing the relay-MT to establish a DRB with the donor-gNB using the PDU Session Establishment procedure).

[0510] S703: The AMF sends an N2 PDU session request to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the N2 PDU session request from the AMF.

[0511] This is consistent with step S506 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0512] S704: Establish a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB.

[0513] This is consistent with step S507 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0514] S705: The donor-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the donor-gNB.

[0515] This is consistent with step S508 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0516] S706: AMF sends a PDU session establishment consent to relay-MT. Correspondingly, relay-MT receives the PDU session establishment consent from AMF.

[0517] This is consistent with step S509 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0518] S707: The UE sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request from the UE.

[0519] This is consistent with step S501 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0520] At this time, the slice ID carried in the PDU session establishment request is required.

[0521] S708 (Option 1): The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the AMF. The donor-gNB forwards the PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the donor-gNB.

[0522] S708 (Option 2): The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the AMF.

[0523] This is consistent with step S502 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0524] S709: Establish a DRB between the relay-gNB and the UE.

[0525] This is consistent with step S510 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0526] S710 (Option 1): The relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the relay-gNB. The donor-gNB forwards the PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the donor-gNB.

[0527] S710 (Option 2): The relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the relay-gNB.

[0528] This is consistent with step S511 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0529] Optionally, if the relay-gNB finds that the slice type in the UE's PDU session establishment request message does not match the slice type associated with the DRB pre-established by the relay-MT, it can carry slice ID (or slice type) replacement indication information in the PDU session resource establishment response message, and unify the slice type in the actual UE-initiated PDU session establishment request with the slice type pre-configured when the relay-MT establishes the DRB.

[0530] S711: AMF sends a PDU session establishment consent to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives a PDU session establishment consent from the AMF.

[0531] This is consistent with step S512 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0532] At this point, it can be considered that the UE's PDU session is established on the relay-MT's PDU session bearer, or that the UE's PDU is established on the relay-MT's DRB.

[0533] S712: Establish DRB mapping.

[0534] This is consistent with step S513 in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , and will not be described again here.

[0535] In summary, the embodiments of the present application propose:

[0536] (1) In the L3 relay network, a DRB is pre-established between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, and the established DRB is associated with the pre-configured slice ID / type, and a new PDU type indication information is added;

[0537] (2) The AMF sends the PDU session resource establishment request message directly to the relay-gNB (the relay-gNB is visible to the AMF) or forwards it through the donor-gNB (the relay-gNB is invisible to the AMF);

[0538] (3) After the DRB is established between the UE and the relay-gNB, if the relay-gNB finds that the slice type in the UE's PDU session establishment request message does not match the slice type associated with the DRB pre-established by the relay-MT, it can carry the slice ID (or slice type) replacement indication information in the PDU session resource establishment response message to enable the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0539] In the embodiment of the present application, by pre-configuring and establishing the DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB (co-located with the relay-gNB) in the L3 relay network, and maintaining the corresponding QoS mapping relationship, when the UE has incoming services, the logical tunnels between the UE and the relay-gNB, the relay-gNB and the donor-gNB, and the donor-gNB and the CN are opened, enabling the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0540] Compared with the embodiment shown in Figure 5 above, the embodiment of the present application pre-establishes a DRB connection between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB (reserved resource concept), so that when the UE initiates a session establishment request, the PDU session can be established with less delay and the transmission of uplink and downlink data can be initiated.

[0541] The QoS segmentation will be described below with reference to FIG8 to FIG12.

[0542] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiments in Figures 4, 5, or 7 above; or, it is understood that the QoS segmentation method in the embodiment of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and the present application does not limit this. The QoS segmentation method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0543] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0544] In the embodiments of this application, DRBs are established between the UE and the relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB based on the UE service QoS requirements. This naturally involves QoS splitting.

[0545] The following example illustrates QoS segmentation. For example, consider latency segmentation. A UE service has a 5-second QoS latency requirement. The transmission latency between the relay-gNB and the UE is 2 seconds (determined by the base station's ability to schedule resources for the service), while the latency between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB is 3 seconds. Assuming there is no latency between the relay-gNB and the relay-MT, once the relay-gNB knows the air interface latency between itself and the UE (for example, when maximum resources are scheduled), combined with the total latency, it can infer the latency of the other segments. The original 5-second latency (QoS1) can then be segmented into a first segment of 2 seconds (QoS2) and a second segment of 3 seconds (QoS3). This embodiment also assumes that the control plane channel has been established.

[0546] The QoS segmentation method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0547] Step 1: The UE sends a first QoS to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the first QoS from the UE.

[0548] It can be understood that when a service arrives, the UE reports the service-related QoS information (first QoS) to the relay-gNB (through RRC signaling).

[0549] Step 2: The relay-gNB divides the first QoS into two parts and obtains the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0550] It can be understood that after the relay-gNB obtains the QoS information (first QoS) reported by the UE, it completes the division of the first QoS based on some conditions (such as the air interface resources between the relay-gNB and the UE, and / or the air interface resources between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB), and obtains the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0551] Step 3: The relay-MT sends the second QoS to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the second QoS from the relay-MT.

[0552] It can be understood that after the relay-MT obtains the QoS information (i.e., the second QoS) allocated between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB after the first QoS split from the relay-gNB for guiding DRB establishment, the relay-MT sends the second QoS to the donor-gNB.

[0553] Optionally, the second QoS may be sent based on RRC signaling.

[0554] Step 4: Establish a DRB based on the second QoS.

[0555] After receiving the second QoS from the relay-MT, the donor-gNB triggers the establishment of a DRB with the relay-MT based on the second QoS.

[0556] Step 5: Establish a DRB based on the third QoS.

[0557] The relay-gNB initiates DRB establishment between the relay-gNB and the UE (based on RRC signaling) based on the QoS information (i.e., the third QoS) allocated between the relay-gNB and the UE after the first QoS segmentation for guiding DRB establishment.

[0558] Optionally, there is no strict order between step 5 and steps 3 and 4. For example, step 5 may also occur before step 3. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this. In theory, step 5 can be executed after the relay-gNB completes the first QoS split.

[0559] The QoS segmentation process described above guides the establishment of DRBs between the UE and relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and donor-gNB, based on the UE's service QoS information. This QoS segmentation meets the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enabling the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and relay-gNB, between the relay-gNB and donor-gNB, and between the donor-gNB and CN. This enables the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0560] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flowchart of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements to the embodiments in Figures 4, 5, 7, or 8 above; or, it is understood that the QoS segmentation method in the embodiment of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and the present application does not limit this. The QoS segmentation method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication in an IAB network.

[0561] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the AMF involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0562] In the embodiments of this application, DRBs are established between the UE and the relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, based on the UE service QoS requirements. This naturally involves QoS splitting.

[0563] The following example illustrates QoS segmentation. For example, consider latency segmentation. A UE service has a 5-second QoS latency requirement. The transmission latency between the relay-gNB and the UE is 2 seconds (determined by the base station's ability to schedule resources for the service), while the latency between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB is 3 seconds. Assuming there is no latency between the relay-gNB and the relay-MT, once the relay-gNB knows the air interface latency between itself and the UE (for example, when maximum resources are scheduled), combined with the total latency, it can infer the latency of the other segments. The original 5-second latency (QoS1) can then be segmented into a first segment of 2 seconds (QoS2) and a second segment of 3 seconds (QoS3). This embodiment also assumes that the control plane channel has been established.

[0564] The QoS segmentation method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0565] Step 1: The UE sends a first QoS to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the first QoS from the UE.

[0566] Same as step 1 in the embodiment shown in FIG8 .

[0567] Step 2: The relay-gNB divides the first QoS into two parts and obtains the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0568] Same as step 2 in the embodiment shown in FIG8 .

[0569] Step 3: The relay-MT sends a PDU session establishment request (second QoS) to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request (second QoS) from the relay-MT.

[0570] It can be understood that after learning about the second QoS, the relay-MT initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, and the PDU session establishment request message carries the second QoS (for example, in the form of a container, or represented by a slice identifier associated with the second QoS).

[0571] Step 4 (optional): AMF skips the authentication / authorization process.

[0572] When the relay-MT initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, it can also indicate that the PDU session establishment request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, so that the core network can skip some authentication / authentication steps.

[0573] Step 5: The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request (second QoS) to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the AMF.

[0574] It can be understood that after receiving the PDU session establishment request from the relay-MT, the AMF initiates a PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB, and carries the second QoS in the PDU session resource establishment request message.

[0575] Step 6: Establish a DRB based on the second QoS.

[0576] After the donor-gNB obtains the second QoS, it triggers the establishment of a DRB with the relay-MT based on the second QoS.

[0577] Step 7: Establish a DRB based on the third QoS.

[0578] The relay-gNB initiates the establishment of a DRB between the relay-gNB and the UE based on the third QoS.

[0579] Similarly, there is no strict order between step 7 and steps 3 to 6. For example, step 7 may also occur before step 3. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this. In theory, step 7 can be executed after the relay-gNB completes the first QoS split.

[0580] The QoS segmentation process described above guides the establishment of DRBs between the UE and relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and donor-gNB, based on the UE's service QoS information. This QoS segmentation meets the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enabling the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and relay-gNB, between the relay-gNB and donor-gNB, and between the donor-gNB and CN. This enables the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0581] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flowchart of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements of the embodiments in Figures 4 or 5 or 7 or 8 or 9 above; or, it is understandable that the QoS segmentation method in the embodiment of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and the present application does not limit this. The QoS segmentation method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication of an IAB network.

[0582] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the AMF involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0583] In the embodiments of this application, DRBs are established between the UE and the relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB based on the UE service QoS requirements. This naturally involves QoS splitting.

[0584] The following example illustrates QoS segmentation. For example, consider latency segmentation. A UE service has a 5-second QoS latency requirement. The transmission latency between the relay-gNB and the UE is 2 seconds (determined by the base station's ability to schedule resources for the service), while the latency between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB is 3 seconds. Assuming there is no latency between the relay-gNB and the relay-MT, once the relay-gNB knows the air interface latency between itself and the UE (for example, when maximum resources are scheduled), combined with the total latency, it can infer the latency of the other segments. The original 5-second latency (QoS1) can then be segmented into a first segment of 2 seconds (QoS2) and a second segment of 3 seconds (QoS3). This embodiment also assumes that the control plane channel has been established.

[0585] The QoS segmentation method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0586] Step 1: The UE sends a PDU session establishment request (first QoS) to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request (first QoS) from the UE.

[0587] It is understandable that when a service arrives, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, and the request message carries the service QoS information (for example, carried in the NAS message of the PDU session establishment request in the form of a container).

[0588] Optionally, in addition to being carried in the PDU session establishment request sent to the AMF, the first QoS can also be generated by the core network side based on the UE's slice and other subscription information. The UE's NAS message does not carry the first QoS. In this case, step 1 is an optional step and is not limited to this in the embodiment of the present application.

[0589] Step 2 (optional): AMF skips the authentication / authorization process.

[0590] When the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, it can also indicate that the PDU session establishment request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, so that the core network can skip some authentication / authentication steps.

[0591] Step 3: The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request (first QoS) to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request (first QoS) from the AMF.

[0592] It can be understood that after receiving the PDU session establishment request from the relay-MT, the AMF initiates a PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB, and the PDU session resource establishment request message carries the service QoS information reported by the UE, that is, the first QoS.

[0593] Step 4: The donor-gNB divides the first QoS into two parts to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0594] It can be understood that after obtaining the first QoS, the donor-gNB completes the first QoS segmentation based on some conditions (such as the air interface resources between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, and / or the air interface resources between the relay-gNB and the UE) to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0595] Step 5: Establish a DRB based on the second QoS.

[0596] After dividing the first QoS, the donor-gNB triggers the establishment of a DRB with the relay-MT based on the second QoS.

[0597] Step 6: The donor-gNB sends the third QoS to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the third QoS from the donor-gNB.

[0598] It is understandable that after the donor-gNB divides the first QoS, it sends the third QoS to the relay-gNB.

[0599] Optional, there is no strict order between step 5 and step 6.

[0600] Step 7: Establish a DRB based on the third QoS.

[0601] After obtaining the third QoS, the relay-gNB initiates the establishment of a DRB between the relay-gNB and the UE based on the third QoS.

[0602] The QoS segmentation process described above guides the establishment of DRBs between the UE and relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and donor-gNB, based on the UE's service QoS information. This QoS segmentation meets the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enabling the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and relay-gNB, between the relay-gNB and donor-gNB, and between the donor-gNB and CN. This enables the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0603] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a flowchart of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements of the embodiments in Figures 4 or 5 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 above; or, it is understandable that the QoS segmentation method in the embodiment of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and the present application does not limit this. The QoS segmentation method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication of an IAB network.

[0604] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the AMF involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0605] In the embodiments of this application, DRBs are established between the UE and the relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB based on the UE service QoS requirements. This naturally involves QoS splitting.

[0606] The following example illustrates QoS segmentation. For example, consider latency segmentation. A UE service has a 5-second QoS latency requirement. The transmission latency between the relay-gNB and the UE is 2 seconds (determined by the base station's ability to schedule resources for the service), while the latency between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB is 3 seconds. Assuming there is no latency between the relay-gNB and the relay-MT, once the relay-gNB knows the air interface latency between itself and the UE (for example, when maximum resources are scheduled), combined with the total latency, it can infer the latency of the other segments. The original 5-second latency (QoS1) can then be segmented into a first segment of 2 seconds (QoS2) and a second segment of 3 seconds (QoS3). This embodiment also assumes that the control plane channel has been established.

[0607] The QoS segmentation method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0608] Step 1: The UE sends a PDU session establishment request (first QoS) to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request (first QoS) from the UE.

[0609] It is understandable that when a service arrives, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, and the request message carries the service QoS information (for example, carried in the NAS message of the PDU session establishment request in the form of a container).

[0610] Optionally, in addition to being carried in the PDU session establishment request sent to the AMF, the first QoS can also be generated by the core network side based on the UE's slice and other subscription information. The UE's NAS message does not carry the first QoS. In this case, step 1 is an optional step and is not limited to this in the embodiment of the present application.

[0611] Step 2: AMF divides the first QoS into two parts to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0612] It can be understood that after obtaining the first QoS, the AMF completes the first QoS segmentation based on some conditions (such as the air interface resources between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, and / or the air interface resources between the relay-gNB and the UE) to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0613] Step 3 (optional): AMF skips the authentication / authorization process.

[0614] When the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, it can also indicate that the PDU session establishment request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, so that the core network can skip some authentication / authentication steps.

[0615] Step 4: The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request (second QoS, third QoS) to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request (second QoS, third QoS) from the AMF.

[0616] It can be understood that after receiving the PDU session establishment request from the relay-MT, the AMF initiates a PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB. The PDU session resource establishment request message carries QoS information for guiding the establishment of the DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB (i.e., the second QoS), and QoS information for guiding the establishment of the DRB between the UE and the relay-gNB (i.e., the third QoS).

[0617] Step 5: Establish a DRB based on the second QoS.

[0618] After obtaining the second QoS, the donor-gNB triggers the establishment of a DRB with the relay-MT based on the second QoS.

[0619] Step 6: The donor-gNB sends the third QoS to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the third QoS from the donor-gNB.

[0620] It is understandable that after obtaining the third QoS, the donor-gNB forwards the third QoS to the relay-gNB.

[0621] Optional, there is no strict order between step 5 and step 6.

[0622] Step 7: Establish a DRB based on the third QoS.

[0623] After obtaining the third QoS, the relay-gNB initiates the establishment of a DRB between the relay-gNB and the UE based on the third QoS.

[0624] The QoS segmentation process described above guides the establishment of DRBs between the UE and relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and donor-gNB, based on the UE's service QoS information. This QoS segmentation meets the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enabling the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and relay-gNB, between the relay-gNB and donor-gNB, and between the donor-gNB and CN. This enables the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0625] Please refer to Figure 12, which is a flowchart of a QoS segmentation process provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the steps in the embodiment of the present application can be regarded as reasonable variations or supplements of the embodiments in Figures 4 or 5 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 above; or, it is understandable that the QoS segmentation method in the embodiment of the present application can also be regarded as an embodiment that can be executed independently, and the present application does not limit this. The QoS segmentation method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied to the field of communication technology, such as communication of an IAB network.

[0626] It can be understood that the relay (including relay-MT and relay-gNB) involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the relay node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the donor-gNB involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the host node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, the AMF involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the first node in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, and the UE involved in the QoS split method provided in the embodiment of the present application can refer to the terminal device in the communication method shown in Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0627] In the embodiments of this application, DRBs are established between the UE and the relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB based on the UE service QoS requirements. This naturally involves QoS splitting.

[0628] The following example illustrates QoS segmentation. For example, consider latency segmentation. A UE service has a 5-second QoS latency requirement. The transmission latency between the relay-gNB and the UE is 2 seconds (determined by the base station's ability to schedule resources for the service), while the latency between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB is 3 seconds. Assuming there is no latency between the relay-gNB and the relay-MT, once the relay-gNB knows the air interface latency between itself and the UE (for example, when maximum resources are scheduled), combined with the total latency, it can infer the latency of the other segments. The original 5-second latency (QoS1) can then be segmented into a first segment of 2 seconds (QoS2) and a second segment of 3 seconds (QoS3). This embodiment also assumes that the control plane channel has been established.

[0629] The QoS segmentation method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0630] Step 1: The relay-MT sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU session identifier of the UE and / or the identifier of the UE) to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the PDU session establishment request (PDU session identifier of the UE and / or the identifier of the UE) from the relay-MT.

[0631] It can be understood that when a service arrives, the UE triggers the relay-MT to initiate a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. The request message carries the UE's PDU session identifier and / or the UE identifier, which is used to let the AMF know the association relationship between the UE and the relay-MT, and then know that QoS segmentation is required.

[0632] Optionally, the UE sends service QoS information (first QoS) to the AMF, and accordingly, the AMF receives the service QoS information (first QoS) from the UE.

[0633] For example, the first QoS can be carried in the form of a container in the NAS message of the PDU session establishment request, or the slice identifier associated with the first QoS can be carried in the NAS message of the PDU session establishment request.

[0634] In addition to being carried in the PDU session establishment request sent to the AMF, the first QoS can also be generated by the core network side based on the UE's slice and other subscription information. The first QoS is not carried in the UE's NAS message, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0635] Step 2 (optional): AMF skips the authentication / authorization process.

[0636] When the relay-MT initiates a PDU session establishment request to the AMF, it can also indicate that the PDU session establishment request message is only for triggering the establishment of a DRB between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, so that the core network can skip some authentication / authentication steps.

[0637] Step 3: AMF divides the first QoS into two parts to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0638] It can be understood that after obtaining the first QoS, the AMF completes the first QoS segmentation based on some conditions (such as the air interface resources between the relay-MT and the donor-gNB, and / or the air interface resources between the relay-gNB and the UE) to obtain the second QoS and / or the third QoS.

[0639] Step 4: The AMF sends an N2 PDU Session Request (second QoS) to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the N2 PDU Session Request (second QoS) from the AMF.

[0640] Step 5: Establish a DRB based on the second QoS.

[0641] After obtaining the second QoS, the donor-gNB triggers the establishment of a DRB with the relay-MT based on the second QoS.

[0642] Step 6: The donor-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the donor-gNB.

[0643] Step 7 (optional): AMF sends PDU session establishment consent to relay-MT. Correspondingly, relay-MT receives PDU session establishment consent from AMF.

[0644] Step 8 (Option 1): The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request (third QoS) to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request (third QoS) from the AMF. The donor-gNB forwards the PDU session resource establishment request (third QoS) to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request (third QoS) from the donor-gNB.

[0645] Step 8 (Option 2): The AMF sends a PDU session resource establishment request (third QoS) to the relay-gNB. In response, the relay-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment request (third QoS) from the AMF.

[0646] Since the architecture may have two different scenarios: 1) the AMF can only see / perceive the donor-gNB but not the relay-gNB (the donor-gNB can see the relay-gNB); or 2) the AMF can see both the donor-gNB and the relay-gNB. Therefore, there are two different solutions for step 8:

[0647] Option 1 corresponding to scenario 1: The AMF sends the PDU session resource establishment request to the donor-gNB, which then forwards it to the relay-gNB.

[0648] Option 2 corresponding to Case 2: The AMF directly sends the PDU session resource establishment request to the relay-gNB.

[0649] The PDU session resource establishment request message may carry the third QoS.

[0650] Step 9: Establish a DRB based on the third QoS.

[0651] After obtaining the third QoS, the relay-gNB initiates the establishment of a DRB between the relay-gNB and the UE based on the third QoS.

[0652] Step 10 (Option 1): The relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the donor-gNB. In response, the donor-gNB receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the relay-gNB. The donor-gNB forwards the PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the donor-gNB.

[0653] Step 10 (Option 2): The relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session resource establishment response from the relay-gNB.

[0654] It is understandable that the relay-gNB sends a PDU session resource establishment response to the AMF, similar to the description in step 8 above, and correspondingly there are two different reply methods:

[0655] Option 1: The relay-gNB only sees the donor-gNB and sends the PDU Session Resource Establishment Response message to the donor-gNB, which then forwards it to the AMF.

[0656] Option 2: The relay-gNB can also see the AMF. In this case, the relay-gNB can send the PDU Session Resource Establishment Response message directly to the AMF.

[0657] Step 11: AMF sends PDU session establishment consent to UE. Correspondingly, UE receives PDU session establishment consent from AMF.

[0658] At this point, it can be considered that the UE's PDU session is established on the relay-MT's PDU session bearer, or that the UE's PDU is established on the relay-MT's DRB.

[0659] The QoS segmentation process described above guides the establishment of DRBs between the UE and relay-gNB, and between the relay-MT and donor-gNB, based on the UE's service QoS information. This QoS segmentation meets the end-to-end QoS requirements of UE services, enabling the establishment of logical tunnels between the UE and relay-gNB, between the relay-gNB and donor-gNB, and between the donor-gNB and CN. This enables the transmission of UE user plane data in the L3 relay network.

[0660] The above describes in detail the methods of the embodiments of the present application. The following provides an apparatus for implementing any method in the embodiments of the present application. For example, an apparatus is provided that includes units (or means) for implementing each step performed by the device in any of the above methods.

[0661] As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 130 may include a communication unit 1301 and a processing unit 1302. The communication unit 1301 and the processing unit 1302 may be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0662] The communication unit 1301 can implement a sending function and / or a receiving function, and can also be described as a transceiver unit. The communication unit 1301 can also be a unit that integrates an acquisition unit and a transmission unit, wherein the acquisition unit is used to implement the receiving function and the transmission unit is used to implement the transmission function. Optionally, the communication unit 1301 can be used to receive information sent by other devices, and can also be used to send information to other devices.

[0663] In one possible design, the communication device 130 may correspond to the relay node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above, for example, the communication device 130 may be a relay node or a chip in a relay node. The communication device 130 may include a unit for executing the operations performed by the relay node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above, and each unit in the communication device 130 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the relay node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above. The description of each unit is as follows:

[0664] A communication unit 1301 is configured to receive first information from a first node or a donor node, where the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS);

[0665] The communication unit 1301 is further configured to send second information to the first node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, where the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

[0666] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0667] The processing unit 1302 is configured to generate the second information.

[0668] In another possible design of the communication device 130 shown in FIG13 , the communication device 130 may correspond to the first node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , for example, the communication device 130 may be the first node or a chip in the first node. The communication device 130 may include a unit for performing the operations performed by the first node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , and each unit in the communication device 130 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 . The description of each unit is as follows:

[0669] A communication unit 1301 is configured to send first information to a relay node or a donor node, where the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device;

[0670] The communication unit 1301 is further configured to receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node.

[0671] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0672] The processing unit 1302 is configured to generate the first information.

[0673] In another possible design of the communication device 130 shown in FIG13 , the communication device 130 may correspond to the relay node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , for example, the communication device 130 may be a relay node or a chip in a relay node. The communication device 130 may include a unit for performing the operations performed by the relay node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , and each unit in the communication device 130 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the relay node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 . The description of each unit is as follows:

[0674] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first quality of service QoS;

[0675] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0676] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0677] The communication unit 1301 is configured to send the second QoS to the donor node.

[0678] In another possible design of the communication device 130 shown in FIG13 , the communication device 130 may correspond to the host node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , such as the communication device 130 may be a host node or a chip in the host node. The communication device 130 may include a unit for performing the operations performed by the host node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , and each unit in the communication device 130 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the host node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 . The description of each unit is as follows:

[0679] The communication unit 1301 is configured to receive a first quality of service (QoS) from a first node;

[0680] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first QoS;

[0681] Alternatively, the communication unit 1301 is configured to receive the second QoS and / or the third QoS from the first node;

[0682] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0683] In another possible design of the communication device 130 shown in FIG13 , the communication device 130 may correspond to the first node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , for example, the communication device 130 may be the first node or a chip in the first node. The communication device 130 may include a unit for performing the operations performed by the first node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 , and each unit in the communication device 130 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first node in the method embodiments shown in FIG4 , FIG5 , FIG7 , and FIG8 to FIG12 . The description of each unit is as follows:

[0684] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first quality of service QoS of the terminal device;

[0685] The communication unit 1301 is configured to send the second QoS and / or the third QoS to a donor node;

[0686] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0687] The methods executed by the processing unit 1302 and the communication unit 1301 can refer to the methods corresponding to the above Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12, and will not be repeated here.

[0688] Regarding the technical effects brought about by any of the above designs and any possible implementation methods, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the corresponding methods in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0689] Optionally, in the communication device described in any of the foregoing designs and any of the possible implementations:

[0690] In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a communication device. When the communication apparatus is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0691] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device. When the communication device is a chip (system) or circuit used in a communication device, the communication unit may be a communication interface (input / output interface), interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip (system) or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0692] According to an embodiment of the present application, each unit in the device shown in Figure 13 can be separately or all merged into one or several other units to constitute, or a certain (some) unit therein can also be split into multiple smaller units to constitute, which can achieve the same operation without affecting the realization of the technical effects of the embodiments of the present application. The above-mentioned units are divided based on logical functions. In practical applications, the function of a unit can also be implemented by multiple units, or the function of multiple units can be implemented by one unit. In other embodiments of the present application, other units can also be included based on electronic equipment. In practical applications, these functions can also be implemented with the assistance of other units, and can be implemented by collaboration of multiple units.

[0693] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit may also refer to the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown in the above-mentioned Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12.

[0694] In the communication device 130 described in Figure 13, a data wireless bearer can be established between the relay node associated with the second PDU session and the host node, and the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0695] Please refer to FIG14 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0696] It should be understood that the communication device 140 shown in Figure 14 is only an example. The communication device of the embodiment of the present application may also include other components, or include components with similar functions to the various components in Figure 14, or not include all the components in Figure 14.

[0697] The communication device 140 includes a communication interface 1401 and at least one processor 1402 .

[0698] The communication device 140 may correspond to any node or device among a relay node, a first node, and a host node. The communication interface 1401 is used to send and receive signals, and at least one processor 1402 executes program instructions so that the communication device 140 implements the corresponding process of the method executed by the corresponding device in the above method embodiment.

[0699] In one possible design, the communication device 140 may correspond to the relay node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above. For example, the communication device 140 may be a relay node or a chip in a relay node. The communication device 140 may include components for performing the operations performed by the relay node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the relay node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it may be as follows:

[0700] A communication interface 1401 is configured to receive first information from a first node or a donor node, where the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS);

[0701] The communication interface 1401 is further used to send second information to the first node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

[0702] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0703] Processor 1402 is configured to generate the second information.

[0704] In another possible design, the communication device 140 may correspond to the first node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above. For example, the communication device 140 may be the first node or a chip in the first node. The communication device 140 may include components for performing the operations performed by the first node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, the following may be shown:

[0705] The communication interface 1401 is configured to send first information to a relay node or a host node, where the first information is used to request establishment of resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device;

[0706] The communication interface 1401 is further configured to receive second information from the relay node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node.

[0707] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0708] Processor 1402 is configured to generate the first information.

[0709] In another possible design, the communication device 140 may correspond to the relay node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above. For example, the communication device 140 may be a relay node or a chip in a relay node. The communication device 140 may include components for performing the operations performed by the relay node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the relay node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it may be as follows:

[0710] Processor 1402, configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first quality of service QoS;

[0711] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0712] In one possible implementation, the device further includes:

[0713] The communication interface 1401 is configured to send the second QoS to the host node.

[0714] In another possible design, the communication device 140 may correspond to the host node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above. For example, the communication device 140 may be a host node or a chip in the host node. The communication device 140 may include components for executing the operations performed by the host node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the host node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it may be as follows:

[0715] Communication interface 1401, configured to receive a first quality of service QoS from a first node;

[0716] Processor 1402, configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to the first QoS;

[0717] Alternatively, the communication interface 1401 is configured to receive the second QoS and / or the third QoS from the first node;

[0718] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0719] In another possible design, the communication device 140 may correspond to the first node in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above. For example, the communication device 140 may be the first node or a chip in the first node. The communication device 140 may include components for performing the operations performed by the first node in the above method embodiments, and each component in the communication device 140 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first node in the above method embodiments. Specifically, it may be as follows:

[0720] Processor 1402, configured to determine a second QoS and / or a third QoS according to a first quality of service QoS of a terminal device;

[0721] Communication interface 1401, configured to send the second QoS and / or the third QoS to a donor node;

[0722] Among them, the first QoS is the QoS information corresponding to the service of the terminal device, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the data radio bearer DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

[0723] The methods executed by the processor 1402 and the communication interface 1401 can refer to the methods corresponding to the above Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12, and will not be repeated here.

[0724] Regarding the technical effects brought about by any of the above designs and any possible implementation methods, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the corresponding methods in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0725] In the communication device 140 described in Figure 14, a data wireless bearer can be established between the relay node associated with the second PDU session and the host node, and the data of the first PDU session of the terminal device is transmitted through the DRB between the relay node and the host node, thereby realizing the transmission of user plane data on the relay node of the 5G NR network layer.

[0726] It should be understood that when the communication device 140 is a relay node / host node, it includes a CU and a DU. The CU may include a communication interface, a processor, and optionally a memory. The communication interface may be used to communicate with the CU of the host node or the DU of the IAB node. The DU may also include a communication interface, a processor, and a memory, as well as a bus connecting the communication interface, the processor, and the memory. The communication interface is used to communicate with the MT of the IAB node.

[0727] For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic structural diagram of the chip shown in FIG15 .

[0728] As shown in Figure 15 , chip 150 includes a processor 1501 and an interface 1502. There may be one or more processors 1501, and there may be multiple interfaces 1502. It should be noted that the functions of processor 1501 and interface 1502 may be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, without limitation.

[0729] Optionally, the chip 150 may further include a memory 1503 , which is used to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0730] In the present application, the processor 1501 may be configured to call from the memory 1503 an implementation program for the communication method provided in one or more embodiments of the present application on one or more devices or nodes in the relay node, the first node, or the host node, and execute the instructions contained in the program. The interface 1502 may be configured to output the execution results of the processor 1501. In the present application, the interface 1502 may be specifically configured to output various messages or information from the processor 1501.

[0731] Regarding the communication method provided by one or more embodiments of the present application, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0732] The processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0733] The memory in the embodiments of the present application is used to provide storage space, in which data such as an operating system and computer programs can be stored. The memory includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0734] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program runs on one or more processors, the method shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 can be implemented.

[0735] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program runs on a processor, it can implement the methods shown in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 above.

[0736] An embodiment of the present application also provides a system, which includes at least one communication device 130 or communication device 140 or chip 150 as described above, and is used to execute the steps executed by the corresponding device in any of the embodiments of Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12 described above.

[0737] An embodiment of the present application also provides a system, which includes at least one of a relay node, a first node, and a host node. The relay node is used to execute the steps executed by the relay node in any of the above-mentioned embodiments of Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12. The first node is used to execute the steps executed by the first node in any of the above-mentioned embodiments of Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12. The host node is used to execute the steps executed by the host node in any of the above-mentioned embodiments of Figures 4, 5, 7, 8 to 12.

[0738] An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0739] It should be understood that the above-mentioned processing device can be a chip. For example, the processing device can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, a system on chip (SoC), a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chip. The various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0740] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0741] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may 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 may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disc (SSD)).

[0742] The units in the above-mentioned various apparatus embodiments completely correspond to the electronic devices in the method embodiments, and the corresponding modules or units perform the corresponding steps. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiments, and other steps except sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, there can be one or more processors.

[0743] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the electronic device can perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps can be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0744] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0745] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0746] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0747] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0748] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0749] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0750] The above is only a specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with this technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in this application, which should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving first information from a first node or a host node, where the first information is used to request to establish resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS); Send second information to the first node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session, and / or the first QoS is associated with the second QoS.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first QoS is the same as or similar to the second QoS.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The second information includes session type information, and the session type information indicates that the second PDU session is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first information is also used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: In the case where the relay node has an N3 tunnel, a mapping relationship is established between the N3 tunnel of the relay node and the N3 tunnel of the terminal device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine the second QoS and / or third QoS according to the first QoS; Among them, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following: At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than twice the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS; The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS; (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The relay node is in half-duplex mode.

11. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The first QoS, the second QoS, and the third QoS satisfy at least one of the following: At least one of the guaranteed bit rate in the second QoS and the guaranteed bit rate in the third QoS is not less than the guaranteed bit rate in the first QoS; The sum of the packet delay budget in the second QoS and the packet delay budget in the third QoS is not greater than the packet delay budget in the first QoS; (1-packet error rate in the second QoS)×(1-packet error rate in the third QoS) is not less than (1-packet error rate in the first QoS).

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The relay node is in full-duplex mode.

13. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second QoS is sent to the first node.

14. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that The second information also includes an identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or an identifier of the terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a third QoS from the first node or the host node, where the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first information to a relay node or a host node, where the first information is used to request to establish resources corresponding to a first protocol data unit (PDU) session of a terminal device, where the first PDU session corresponds to a first quality of service (QoS); Second information is received from the relay node, where the second information is used to request establishment of a second PDU session of the relay node, and the second PDU session corresponds to a second QoS.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first slice corresponding to the first PDU session is the same as the second slice corresponding to the second PDU session, and / or the first QoS is associated with the second QoS.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The first QoS is the same as or similar to the second QoS.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The second information includes session type information, and the session type information indicates that the second PDU session is used to transmit data of a terminal device accessing the relay node.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The first information is also used to trigger the generation and sending of the second information.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: Without initiating a request for the second PDU session to the core network function network element, fourth information is sent to the host node, where the fourth information is used to request the host node to establish the second PDU session with the relay node.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The second information also includes an identifier of the first PDU session of the terminal device and / or an identifier of the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine the second QoS and / or third QoS according to the first QoS; Among them, the third QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the terminal device and the relay node, and the second QoS is the QoS corresponding to the DRB between the relay node and the host node.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The second QoS is different from the first QoS; and / or the third QoS is different from the first QoS.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending the second QoS to the host node or the relay node; And / or, sending the third QoS to the relay node or the host node.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 25.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a processor for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 25.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; The interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information, and the logic circuit is used for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 25.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 25 is performed.

30. A communication system, characterized in that: include: Relay node, first node; The relay node is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, and the first node is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 16 to 25.

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