Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a session management network element receives first information, wherein the first information comprises information of an application, or a data network name and / or single-network slice selection assistance information, the data network name and / or the single-network slice selection assistance information correspond to a data connection session, and data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted by means of a media over quick user datagram protocol Internet connections (MoQ) transmission protocol; the session management network element acquires information of at least one MoQ relay on the basis of the first information, wherein the information of the at least one MoQ relay is used for establishing a connection between a user equipment and a first MoQ relay of the MoQ relay; the session management network element sends second information, wherein the second information comprises information sent to the at least one MoQ relay of the user equipment. By means of the method, the user equipment can acquire the information of the MoQ relay to establish a connection, thereby transmitting data on the basis of the connection.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311287384.5 and invention name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] The Media over QUIC (MoQ) transmission protocol architecture based on the Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) includes clients, relay nodes, and servers, and can provide end-to-end encryption support. The server sends media data and media metadata to the relay node, and the relay node can forward, cache, discard, and process the object based on the metadata of the received object. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the User Plane Function (UPF) is responsible for identifying media information. However, since the MoQ protocol uses end-to-end encryption, if UPF is used to process the data stream of the XR service transmitted based on MoQ, it is first necessary to establish a MoQ connection between the User Equipment (UE) and the UPF.

[0004] Therefore, how to enable user equipment to obtain MoQ relay information to establish a connection through additional means is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, whereby a user equipment can obtain information of an MoQ relay to establish a connection, thereby transmitting a data stream of an XR service based on the connection.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a session management network element. The session management network element here can refer to the session management network element itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system that implements the method in the session management network element, and this application does not limit this. The method includes:

[0008] The session management network element receives first information, where the first information includes application information, or the first information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and the data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted through a media transfer protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, where the information of the at least one MoQ relay is used to establish a connection between a user device and a first MoQ relay of the at least one MoQ relay; the session management network element sends second information, where the second information includes information of the at least one MoQ relay sent to the user equipment.

[0009] As an example but not a limitation, in the present application, the first information may be a data network name (DNN).

[0010] As an example and not limitation, in the present application, the first information may be single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

[0011] As an example but not limitation, in the present application, the first information may be a data network name and single network slice selection auxiliary information, wherein the data network name and the single network slice selection auxiliary information may be in the same information element or may not be in the same information element.

[0012] It should be understood that the first information may be included in a data connection session context establishment request message, in which case the first information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information. The data connection session may be a protocol data unit (PDU) session or other session, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0013] It should be understood that the data of the data connection session being transmitted based on the MoQ protocol can be understood as the data carried by the data connection session being transmitted through the MoQ relay.

[0014] It should be noted that the data of the application carried by the data connection session can be transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, or can be transmitted without being based on the MoQ protocol.

[0015] As an example but not a limitation, both application 1 and application 2 are carried in a data connection session, wherein data corresponding to application 1 is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, and data corresponding to application 2 may not be transmitted based on the MoQ protocol.

[0016] It should be understood that the first information including the application information can be understood as the first information being the application information.

[0017] It should be understood that the first information may be included in a domain name system context notification request message, and in this case, the first information includes information about the application.

[0018] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the application information. Exemplarily, the application information is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the application.

[0019] It should be understood that the application data is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, which can be understood as the business data corresponding to the application is transmitted through the MoQ relay.

[0020] It should be understood that the establishment of a connection between the user equipment and the MoQ relay may be understood as the establishment of a connection between an application in the user equipment and the MoQ relay.

[0021] It should be understood that the session management network element obtains information about at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, that is, the session management network element obtains information about at least one MoQ relay based on application information, or obtains information about at least one MoQ relay based on the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information.

[0022] Based on the above solution, the session management network element can select auxiliary information based on the application information in the first information, or the data network name and / or single network slice in the first information, obtain information of at least one MoQ relay, and return the information of the at least one MoQ relay through the second information, so that the user equipment can establish a connection with the first MoQ relay in the at least one MoQ relay based on the information of the at least one MoQ relay, and then transmit data corresponding to the application based on the connection.

[0023] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the first information includes application information, the session management network element determining, based on the application information, to select a MoQ relay for the user equipment accessing the application. When the first information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information, the session management network element determining, based on the data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information, to select a MoQ relay for the data connection session.

[0024] It should be understood that the session management network element can determine to select the MoQ relay for the data connection session corresponding to the user equipment accessing the application or the data network name and / or the single network slice selection auxiliary information before obtaining the MoQ relay information.

[0025] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the session management network element determines, based on the application information, to select MoQ relay support for the user equipment accessing the application.

[0026] As an example and not a limitation, the session management network element locally configures an information list of applications that require support for MoQ relay, and after receiving the first information, matches the application information carried in the first information with the list to confirm whether to select MoQ relay for the user equipment accessing the application.

[0027] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner in which the session management network element selects auxiliary information based on the data network name and / or single network slice, and determines to select the MoQ relay for the data connection session corresponding to the auxiliary information.

[0028] As an example and not a limitation, the session management network element locally configures a list of data network names that require support for MoQ relay, and after receiving the first information, matches the data network name carried in the first information with the list to determine whether to select MoQ relay for the data connection session corresponding to the data network name.

[0029] As an example and not a limitation, the session management network element locally configures a list of single network slice selection auxiliary information that requires support for MoQ relay, and after receiving the first information, matches the single network slice selection auxiliary information carried in the first information with the list to determine whether to select MoQ relay for the data connection session corresponding to the single network slice selection auxiliary information.

[0030] Based on the above solution, after receiving the first information, the session management network element may determine, based on the first information and local configuration, to select support for MoQ relay for the application or the data connection session requested to be established.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, including: the session management network element determines the information of the at least one MoQ relay based on a local configuration, where the local configuration includes the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

[0032] Based on the above solution, the local configuration of the session management network element includes information of at least one MoQ relay, so that after receiving the first information, the information of at least one MoQ relay can be determined according to the local configuration.

[0033] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, including: the session management network element determines information of at least one user plane network element based on a local configuration, where the local configuration includes information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element; and the session management network element determines information of the MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element based on the information of the at least one user plane network element.

[0034] It should be understood that in the present application, the MoQ relay is deployed in the user plane network element, which can be understood as the MoQ relay being integrated into the user plane network element, or the user plane network element supporting the MoQ relay.

[0035] Based on the above solution, the local configuration of the session management network element includes information of at least one user plane network element and information of the MoQ relay corresponding to the at least one user plane network element. Therefore, after receiving the first information, the local configuration can be used to determine the information of the at least one user plane network element, and then determine the information of the MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element.

[0036] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information about at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, including: the session management network element determines, based on a local configuration, information about at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed. The session management network element sends, based on the information about the at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed, third information to the at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed, the third information being used to request information about the at least one MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element. The session management network element receives fourth information, the fourth information including information about the at least one MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element.

[0037] It should be understood that the MoQ relay is deployed in the user plane network element, which can be understood as the MoQ relay being integrated into the user plane network element, or the user plane network element supporting the MoQ relay.

[0038] Based on the above solution, the local configuration of the session management network element includes information of at least one user plane network element that supports MoQ relay. Therefore, after receiving the first information, the session management network element can request the at least one user plane network element to provide information of the MoQ relay deployed on the corresponding user plane network element based on the information of the at least one user plane network element that supports MoQ relay.

[0039] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, including: the session management network element sends a first request message to a network storage function, the first request message including information indicating support for the MoQ relay, the network storage function being used to maintain information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the at least one MoQ relay, the at least one user plane network element corresponding to the at least one MoQ relay; and the session management network element receives a first response message from the network storage function, the first response message including information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the MoQ relay deployed in each of the at least one user plane network element.

[0040] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information about at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, including: the session management network element sends a first request message to a network storage function, the first request message including information indicating support for MoQ relays, the network storage function being configured to maintain information about the at least one user plane network element, the at least one user plane network element supporting MoQ relays; the session management network element receives a first response message from the network storage function, the first response message including information about the at least one user plane network element; the session management network element sends third information to the at least one user plane network element based on the information about the at least one user plane network element, the third information requesting information about the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element; and the session management network element receives fourth information including information about the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element.

[0041] It should be understood that the information for indicating support for MoQ relay can be understood as being used to indicate that the target user plane network element needs to support the MoQ relay function.

[0042] Based on the above solution, after receiving the first information, the session management network element may send a first request message to a network storage function that maintains information about at least one user plane network element, and include an identifier of support for the MoQ relay function in the request message. Based on the information, the network storage function may return a first response message to the session management network element that includes information about at least one user plane network element that supports MoQ relay and / or information about at least one MoQ relay. Furthermore, when the first response message includes only information about at least one user plane network element, the session management network element may request the at least one user plane network element for information about the at least one MoQ relay.

[0043] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the information of one of the MoQ relays in the information of the at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: an address of the MoQ relay, port information of the MoQ relay, or connection context information of the MoQ relay.

[0044] Based on the above solution, the information of the MoQ relay returned to the user equipment may include at least one of the address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, or the connection context information of the MoQ relay, so that the user equipment can establish a connection with the MoQ relay based on the information of the MoQ relay and transmit the data corresponding to the application through the connection.

[0045] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a network storage function. The network storage function here can refer to the session management network element itself, or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system that implements the method in the network storage function, which is not limited in this application. The method includes:

[0046] The network storage function receives a first request message including information indicating support for a Media Transport Protocol (MTP) over Fast User Datagram Protocol (MoQ) relay, and the network storage function is configured to maintain information about at least one user plane network element and / or at least one MoQ relay. The network storage function sends a first response message including information about at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed and / or information about the at least one MoQ relay.

[0047] It should be understood that the information for indicating support for MoQ relay can be understood as being used to indicate that the target user plane network element needs to support the MoQ relay function.

[0048] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the network storage function determines, based on the first request message, information about the at least one user plane network element on which the MoQ relay is deployed, and / or information about the at least one MoQ relay.

[0049] It should be understood that after receiving the first request message, the network storage function determines, from the local configuration, information about at least one user plane network element on which the MoQ relay is deployed, and / or information about at least one MoQ relay, based on the information indicating that the target user plane network element supports the MoQ relay function.

[0050] Based on the above solution, after receiving the first request message, the network storage function can determine user-plane network element information and / or MoQ relay information based on the network function information maintained by the network storage function, and return information about at least one user-plane network element supporting MoQ relays and / or information about at least one MoQ relay to the session management network element via a first response message. The session management network element can then determine the at least one MoQ relay information based on the first response message and ultimately return it to the user equipment, thereby enabling the user equipment to establish a connection with one of the MoQ relays based on the at least one MoQ relay information.

[0051] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the information of one of the MoQ relays in the information of the at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: an address of the MoQ relay, port information of the MoQ relay, or connection context information of the MoQ relay.

[0052] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a user equipment (UE). The UE here can refer to either the session management network element itself or a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the UE that implements the method, and this application does not limit this. The method includes:

[0053] The user equipment sends fifth information, where the fifth information includes application information, or the fifth information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection assistance information corresponds to a data connection session, and data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted via a Media Transport Protocol (MoQ) based on a Fast User Datagram Protocol. The user equipment receives sixth information, where the sixth information includes information of at least one MoQ relay. The user equipment establishes a connection with a first MoQ relay among the at least one MoQ relay based on the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

[0054] It should be understood that for application data and data connection session data, reference can be made to the relevant description of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0055] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on information of the application, the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information.

[0056] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the fifth information is included in a data connection session establishment request message, the data connection session is established based on the data connection session request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the data connection session.

[0057] Exemplarily, the data connection session may be a PDU session, and the data connection session establishment request message may be a PDU session establishment request message, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0058] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the fifth information is included in the domain name system query request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined for the application.

[0059] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the information of one of the MoQ relays in the information of the at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: an address of the MoQ relay, port information of the MoQ relay, or connection context information of the MoQ relay.

[0060] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive first information, where the first information includes application information, or the first information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and the data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted via a media transfer protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; the processing unit is used to obtain information of at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, where the information of the at least one MoQ relay is used to establish a connection between a user device and a first MoQ relay of the at least one MoQ relay; the transceiver unit is also used to send second information, where the second information includes information of the at least one MoQ relay sent to the user equipment.

[0061] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further used to: when the first information includes application information, the session management network element determines to select a MoQ relay for the user equipment accessing the application based on the application information; when the first information includes a data network name and / or a single network slice selection auxiliary information, the session management network element determines to select a MoQ relay for the data connection session based on the data network name and / or the single network slice selection auxiliary information.

[0062] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is specifically used to: determine the information of the at least one MoQ relay based on the first request message and the local configuration, and the local configuration includes the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

[0063] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the processing unit is further used to: determine information of at least one user plane network element according to a local configuration, the local configuration including information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element; and determine information of the MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element according to the information of the at least one user plane network element.

[0064] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the processing unit is further used to determine, according to the local configuration, information of at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed; the transceiver unit is further used to send third information to the at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed, based on the information of the at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed, where the third information is used to request information about the at least one MoQ relay; the transceiver unit is further used to receive fourth information, where the fourth information includes information about the at least one MoQ relay.

[0065] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the transceiver unit is further used to: send a first request message to a network storage function, the first request message including information indicating support for the MoQ relay, the network storage function being used to maintain information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the at least one MoQ relay, the at least one user plane network element corresponding to the at least one MoQ relay; and receive a first response message from the network storage function, the first response message including information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element.

[0066] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the transceiver unit is further used to send a first request message to a network storage function, the first request message including information indicating support for the MoQ relay, the network storage function being used to maintain information of at least one user plane network element, the at least one user plane network element supporting the MoQ relay; and receive a first response message from the network storage function, the first response message including information of the at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed; the processing unit is further used to send third information to the at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed, the third information being used to request information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element; and the transceiver unit is further used to receive fourth information, the fourth information including information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element.

[0067] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the information of one of the MoQ relays in the information of the at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: an address of the MoQ relay, port information of the MoQ relay, or connection context information of the MoQ relay.

[0068] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit, wherein the transceiver unit is used to receive a first request message, the first request message including information indicating support for a Media Transfer Protocol MoQ relay based on a Fast User Datagram Protocol, the network storage function being used to maintain information of at least one user plane network element, and / or information of at least one MoQ relay; the transceiver unit is also used to send a first response message, the first response message including information of the at least one user plane network element on which the MoQ relay is deployed, and / or information of the at least one MoQ relay.

[0069] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the apparatus further includes a processing unit configured to determine, based on the first request message, information about at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed, and / or information about the at least one MoQ relay.

[0070] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the information of one MoQ relay in the information of the at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: an address of the MoQ relay, port information of the MoQ relay, and connection context information of the MoQ relay.

[0071] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to send fifth information, where the fifth information includes application information, or the fifth information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and the data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted via a media transfer protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; the transceiver unit is also used to receive sixth information, where the sixth information includes information of at least one MoQ relay; the processing unit is used to establish a connection with a first MoQ relay among the at least one MoQ relay based on the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

[0072] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the information of the application, or the information data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined.

[0073] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the fifth information is included in a data connection session establishment request message, the data connection session is established based on the data connection session request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the data connection session.

[0074] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the fifth information is included in a domain name system query request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined for the application.

[0075] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the information of one MoQ relay in the information of the at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: an address of the MoQ relay, port information of the MoQ relay, and connection context information of the MoQ relay.

[0076] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor configured to implement the method described in any one of the first to third aspects, or any one of the implementations of the first to third aspects. The processor is coupled to a memory configured to store instructions and data. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in any one of the first to third aspects, or any one of the implementations of the first to third aspects, can be implemented.

[0077] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory. Optionally, the memory may be coupled to the processor. Optionally, the communication device may further include a communication interface, which is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, hardware circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface.

[0078] In one example, the communication device may be a session management network element, or may be a device, module, chip, etc. provided in the session management network element, or may be a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0079] In another example, the communication device may be a network storage function, or a device, module, chip, etc. provided in the network storage function, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the network device.

[0080] In another example, the communication device may be a user device, or may be a device, module, chip, etc. provided in the user device, or may be a device that can be used in conjunction with the terminal device.

[0081] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, including: a session management network element, used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect; a network storage function, used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect; and a user device, used to execute the method described in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect.

[0082] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, including a session management network element as described in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect, a network storage function as described in the fifth aspect or any implementation of the fifth aspect, and a user device as described in the sixth aspect or any implementation of the sixth aspect.

[0083] In the tenth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in any one of the implementations of the first to third aspects above, or the first to third aspects.

[0084] In the eleventh aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method described in any one of the above-mentioned first to third aspects, or the implementation of the first to third aspects.

[0085] In the twelfth aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any one of the implementation methods of the first to third aspects above, or the first to third aspects.

[0086] In the thirteenth aspect, the present application also provides a chip, which is used to read the computer program stored in the memory and execute the method described in any implementation of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects above; or, the chip includes a method for executing the method described in any implementation of the first to third aspects or the first to third aspects above.

[0087] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a device to implement the method described in any of the above-mentioned aspects 1 to 3, or any of the implementations of aspects 1 to 3. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing programs and data necessary for the device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0088] The technical effects of the solutions provided in the fourth to fourteenth aspects above can be referred to the corresponding descriptions of the first to third aspects and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0089] FIG1 is a schematic block diagram of an example wireless communication system architecture applicable to the present application;

[0090] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture or scenario for an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for service discovery;

[0092] Figure 4 is a diagram of the MoQ protocol architecture;

[0093] FIG5 is an exemplary flow chart of a method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] FIG6 is an exemplary flow chart of a method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2000 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip system 3000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0098] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0099] The technical solution provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, wireless local area network (WLAN) system, satellite communication system, future communication system, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system, or a fusion system of multiple systems.

[0100] The technical solution provided in this application can also be applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution technology for machine-to-machine communication (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network or other networks. Among them, IoT network can include, for example, Internet of Vehicles. Among them, the communication mode in the Internet of Vehicles system is collectively referred to as vehicle to other devices (vehicle to X, V2X, X can represent anything), for example, the V2X can include: vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle to network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0101] FIG1 is a schematic block diagram of an example wireless communication system architecture applicable to the present application. As shown in the figure, the system architecture may specifically include the following network elements:

[0102] 1. User equipment (UE): can be called terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device.

[0103] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data to users, for example, a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). The terminal equipment in the network (PLMN), etc., is not limited to this in the embodiments of the present application.

[0104] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0105] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0106] It should be noted that the terminal device and the access network device can communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology). The terminal devices can also communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology).

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal device can be the terminal device, or it can be a device that can support the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system or chip, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0108] 2. (Radio) Access Network (R)AN): This provides authorized users in a specific area with access to the communications network. This network can include wireless network equipment in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) networks and access points in non-3GPP networks. For ease of description, the term "AN" is used below.

[0109] AN equipment can adopt different wireless access technologies. There are currently two types of wireless access technologies: 3GPP access technology (for example, the wireless access technology used in the third generation (3rd generation, 3G), fourth generation (4G) or 5G systems) and non-3GPP (non-3GPP) access technology. 3GPP access technology refers to access technology that complies with 3GPP standard specifications. For example, the access network equipment in the 5G system is called the next generation Node Base station (gNB) or RAN equipment. Non-3GPP access technologies may include air interface technologies represented by access points (APs) in wireless fidelity (WiFi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), code division multiple access (CDMA), etc. AN equipment can allow terminal devices and the 3GPP core network to interconnect and communicate using non-3GPP technologies.

[0110] AN equipment is responsible for radio resource management, quality of service (QoS) management, data compression and encryption, etc. on the air interface side. AN equipment provides access services to terminal devices and forwards control signals and user data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0111] AN equipment may include, for example, but is not limited to: a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small station), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an AP in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It may also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G (e.g., NR) system, one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation communication 6G system. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the AN equipment.

[0112] 3. User Plane Function (UPF): This element is primarily responsible for receiving and forwarding user plane data. For example, the UPF can receive user plane data from the data network (DN) and send it to the terminal device via the AN. The UPF can also receive user plane data from the terminal device via the AN and forward it to the DN. The UPF directly connected to the DN via the N6 interface in a session is called the protocol data unit (PDU) session anchor (PSA).

[0113] 4. Data network (DN): Operator network that provides data services to UEs, such as the Internet, third-party service networks, and IP Multimedia Service (IMS) networks.

[0114] 5. Access and mobility management function (AMF): It is used for mobility management and access management. It can be used to implement other functions of the mobility management entity (MME) in addition to session management, such as lawful interception or access authorization / authentication.

[0115] 6. Session management function (SMF): It is mainly used for session management, allocation and management of Internet protocol (IP) addresses of terminal devices, selection of endpoints for manageable user plane functions, policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification.

[0116] 7. Network exposure function (NEF): Mainly used to securely open the services and capabilities provided by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network functions to the outside world.

[0117] 8. Policy control function (PCF): A unified policy framework used to guide network behavior and provide policy rule information to control plane functional network elements (such as AMF, SMF network elements, etc.).

[0118] 9. Application function (AF): used for data routing affected by applications, accessing network open function elements, and interacting with the policy framework for policy control.

[0119] In addition, the above network architecture also includes a network slice selection function (NSSF) for managing information related to network slicing; a network repository function (NRF) for storing descriptive information about network function entities and the services they provide, as well as supporting service discovery, network element entity discovery and other functions.

[0120] In this network architecture, the N2 interface is the interface between the RAN and AMF network elements, used for sending non-access stratum (NAS) messages, etc.; the N3 interface is the interface between the RAN and UPF network elements, used for transmitting user plane data, etc.; the N4 interface is the interface between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, used for transmitting information such as tunnel identification information of the N3 connection, data cache indication information, and downlink data notification messages.

[0121] It is understandable that the above-mentioned network elements or functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

[0122] For the convenience of explanation, this application will be explained later using the access management function network element as the AMF network element, the session management network element as the SMF network element, and the policy control network element as the PCF network element as an example.

[0123] Furthermore, the AMF network element can be abbreviated as AMF, the SMF network element can be abbreviated as SMF, and the PCF network element can be abbreviated as PCF. That is, the AMF described later in this application can be replaced by an access management function network element, the SMF can be replaced by a session management network element, and the PCF can be replaced by a policy control network element.

[0124] For the convenience of explanation, this application takes the device as an AMF entity, an SMF entity, and a PCF entity as an example to illustrate the method for information transmission. For the implementation method of the device being a chip within an AMF entity, a chip within an SMF entity, or a chip within a PCF entity, please refer to the specific description of the device being an AMF entity, an SMF entity, and a PCF entity, and no repetition will be given.

[0125] In the network architecture shown in Figure 1, the UE is connected to the AMF through the N1 interface, the RAN is connected to the AMF through the N2 interface, and the RAN is connected to the UPF through the N3 interface.

[0126] UPFs are connected to each other through the N9 interface, and UPFs are interconnected with the data network (DN) through the N6 interface.

[0127] SMF controls UPF through the N4 interface.

[0128] In Figure 1, N1, N2, N3, N4, etc. are interface serial numbers. The meanings of these interface serial numbers can be found in the current standard protocol definitions and are not limited here.

[0129] It should be understood that the above-mentioned network architecture applied to the embodiment of the present application is only an example of the network architecture described from the perspective of traditional point-to-point architecture and service-oriented architecture. The network architecture applicable to the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Any network architecture that can realize the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiment of the present application.

[0130] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture or scenario of an embodiment of the present application. The system can also be regarded as a system that can introduce support for edge computing (EC) in the above-mentioned network architecture.

[0131] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the present application, a brief introduction to the protocol data unit (PDU) session is first given.

[0132] A PDU session refers to the process of communication between a user equipment UE and a data network DN. After the PDU session is established, a data transmission channel between the UE and the DN is established. Each PDU session supports a PDU session type (for example: IPv4, IPv6, IPv4v6, Ethernet, Unstructured). A PDU session can have multiple PDU session anchors. In order to support the optional routing function to the DN and support service and session continuity (SSC) mode 3, the SMF can control the data routing of the PDU session so that the PDU session can have multiple N6 interfaces at the same time. The UPF of each N6 interface can be called a PDU session anchor (PSA). Multiple PSAs for a single PDU session can be implemented in the following two ways:

[0133] Method 1: Use an uplink classifier (UL CL) in a PDU session.

[0134] The SMF can insert an uplink classifier (UL CL) into the data transmission path of a PDU session. The UL CL functionality can be implemented within the UPF. Its purpose is to forward packets that meet service filtering criteria to a specified path, similar to the function of a routing table. The SMF controls the insertion and removal of UL CLs, which can operate on the UPF via the N4 interface. Of course, the SMF also considers the UPF's capabilities, specifically whether it supports UL CL. When a UL CL is inserted into a PDU session data channel, the PDU session has multiple PSAs, which provide different paths to the same DN. The UL CL forwards uplink service data to different PSAs based on filter requirements and consolidates downlink data from multiple PSAs for the UE.

[0135] Figure 2 illustrates a scenario where a PDU session has two PSAs. The uplink classifier (UL CL) is plugged into the UPF at the N3 interface termination point. The anchor points (PSA1) and PAS2 terminate at the N6 interface. Traffic between the uplink classifier UPF and the anchor UPF is transmitted over the N9 interface.

[0136] Method 2: Use IPv6 multi-homing in a PDU session;

[0137] A PDU session can be associated with multiple IPv6 prefixes, which is the so-called multi-host PDU session. A multi-host PDU session can access a data network DN through multiple PSAs. The data channels corresponding to each PSA will eventually converge on a common UPF. This common UPF has a "branching point" (BP) function, called a branching point UPF. The branching point UPF forwards uplink service packets to different PSAs and merges the data from each PSA downward. The branching point UPF can be used for billing statistics and rate control. The SMF controls the insertion or removal of branch points in the UPF through the N4 interface. Of course, it also depends on the capabilities of the UPF, that is, whether the UPF supports the branching point function.

[0138] Figure 2 can be seen as a scenario where a PDU session has two PSAs. The public UPF can transmit uplink data to different PSAs, for example, PSA1 and PSA2; the public UPF can also merge the data from each PSA.

[0139] In the system architecture described in Figure 2, UPF (UL CL / BP) can represent the UPF that provides UL CL function or a public UPF, that is, the UPF can transmit uplink data to different PSAs, for example, PSA1 and PSA2. The data channels corresponding to each PSA will eventually converge on the UPF and merge the downlink data to the UE.

[0140] In traditional mobile network architecture and deployment prior to 4G, user-plane equipment generally adhered to a tree topology. Uplink user packets passed through access network equipment and the backhaul network, ultimately connecting to the data network through centrally deployed anchor gateways. These anchor gateways were typically located higher in the network, such as in regional central equipment rooms. This relatively simple topology facilitated centralized service control and packet processing at the anchor points. However, with the explosive growth of mobile service traffic, this deployment approach became increasingly incapable of supporting the rapidly expanding mobile service traffic model. On the one hand, in networks with centralized anchor gateway deployment, the increasing traffic volume ultimately concentrated at the gateways and core equipment rooms, placing increasing demands on backhaul network bandwidth, equipment room throughput, and gateway specifications. On the other hand, the long backhaul network distances and complex transmission environment from access points to anchor gateways resulted in significant latency and jitter in user packet transmission.

[0141] Against this backdrop, the industry has proposed the concept of edge computing (EC). By moving UPF and service processing capabilities to the edge of the network, EC enables local processing of distributed service traffic, avoiding excessive traffic concentration. This significantly reduces the specification requirements for core equipment rooms and centralized gateways, reduces the end-to-end (E2E) latency and jitter of user messages, and enables the deployment of ultra-low-latency services.

[0142] In the EC deployment scenario, some services may be provided by multiple edge application servers (EAS) deployed in the edge data network (EDN). EAS can also be called application instance, edge application instance, MEC application (server), EAS function, etc. The edge application can specifically refer to an instance of a server application (for example, social media software, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR)) deployed and running on the EDN. An application can deploy one or more EAS in one or more EDNs. EASs deployed and running in different EDNs can be considered as different EASs of an application. They can share a domain name or use a different domain name from the application deployed on the cloud. The domain name can be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), can use an arbitrary Internet Protocol (IP) address, or can use different IP addresses.

[0143] The edge data network (EDN) can be a local data network. A local DN can also be understood as a data network access point close to the user's attachment point. A data network refers to a carrier or third-party service network that provides carrier services or internet services to user devices. The local DN can be identified by a data network access identifier (DNAI) and a data network name (DNN).

[0144] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard TS23.548 defines a new network element to assist in EAS discovery: the edge application server discovery function (EASDF). Its primary function is to process Domain Name System (DNS) messages according to the instructions of the SMF. This includes reporting DNS messages to the SMF, adding the extended mechanisms for the DNS-client-subnet option (ECS option) to DNS queries, forwarding DNS queries to the DNS server, and forwarding DNS responses to the UE.

[0145] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a service discovery method.

[0146] As shown in Figure 3, the UE can obtain the IP address of the EAS through the EASDF through the following steps:

[0147] S301, PDU session establishment process.

[0148] The PDU session establishment process includes establishing a session on the user plane path between the UE and the UPF. The specific process refers to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0149] S302: During the PDU session establishment process, SMF selects EASDF.

[0150] Exemplarily, this step can be triggered by the SMF receiving the Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request message from the AMF during the PDU session establishment process. The SMF selects the EASDF by referring to one or more of the following information: the DNN of the PDU session, single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), the address of the EASDF, the location of the EASDF, the address of the PSA UPF, DNAI, etc.

[0151] S303, SMF sends a DNS context creation request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Create Request) to the selected EASDF.

[0152] The DNS context creation request may include the UE's IP address, callback URI, and DNS message processing rules. EASDF may create a DNS context for the PDU session based on the request message and store the UE's IP address, callback URI, and DNS message processing rules in the context.

[0153] S304, EASDF sends a DNS context creation response to SMF.

[0154] After receiving the DNS context creation request message from SMF, EASDF sends a DNS context creation response to SMF.

[0155] In the PDU session establishment process, SMF can also send the address of EASDF as the address of the DNS server to the UE through AMF.

[0156] For example, the SMF may send the address of the EASDF to the AMF through the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message, and then the AMF forwards the address of the EASDF to the UE through the NAS message, wherein the AMF does not process it, that is, transparently forwards it.

[0157] Optionally, in S305 , the SMF sends a DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_UpdateRequest) message to the EASDF.

[0158] The update request message may be triggered by UE mobility, or the update request message may be triggered by the insertion or removal of a PSA. The update request message may include an EASDF context ID and a DNS message processing rule.

[0159] S306, EASDF sends a DNS context update response to SMF.

[0160] S310: The UE sends a DNS query message to the EASDF. The DNS query message may include the FQDN.

[0161] S320, EASDF sends a DNS message report to SMF by calling a DNS context notification request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Request).

[0162] If the FQDN in the DNS query message matches the DNS message processing rules, the EASDF sends the DNS message report to the SMF by calling the DNS context notification request.

[0163] S330, SMF sends a DNS context notification response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Response) to EASDF.

[0164] Optionally, at S340 , the SMF sends a DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request) to the EASDF.

[0165] The SMF may determine and return to the EASDF the "information required to determine the EDNS Client Subnet (ECS) option" (option A) or the address of the local DNS (L-DNS) server (option B) based on the FQDN and the location of the UE.

[0166] Among them, the ECS option is a DNS message extension defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to represent the UE's location to assist the DNS server in resolving the UE's local EAS IP address; L-DNS is a DNS server deployed locally on the UE. Even if the DNS Query message does not contain information representing the UE's location, the DNS will resolve the UE's local EAS IP address based on its own location.

[0167] S350, EASDF sends a DNS context update response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Response) to SMF.

[0168] S360, EASDF sends a DNS query message to the DNS server.

[0169] For option A, EASDF adds the ECS option to the DNS query or replaces the original ECS option in the DNS query and forwards it to the centralized DNS server. For option B, EASDF forwards the DNS query message to the L-DNS server.

[0170] S370: The DNS server sends a DNS response message to the EASDF.

[0171] The DNS response message may include the IP address of the EAS.

[0172] S380, EASDF sends a DNS message report to SMF by triggering a DNS context notification request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify request).

[0173] S390, SMF sends a DNS context notification response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Notify Response) to EASDF.

[0174] Optionally, at S3100 , SMF performs insertion of UL CL / BP.

[0175] Based on the IP address of the EAS received from the EASDF, the SMF can determine the DNAI and the N6 traffic routing information associated with the DNAI. The SMF performs the selection and insertion of the UL CL / BP and the local PSA to complete the establishment of the data plane path for the UE.

[0176] After the data plane path of the UE is established, S3110, the SMF sends a DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request) to the EASDF.

[0177] The update request message may include a DNS message processing rule.

[0178] S3120, EASDF sends a DNS context update response (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Response) to SMF.

[0179] S3130, EASDF sends a DNS response message to the UE.

[0180] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, some of the terms involved in this application are exemplified below. It is understandable that the terms given below are explained using the current NR system as an example, but it should be understood that in other communication systems (such as future sixth-generation communication systems), the following terms may have other names, and this application does not limit this.

[0181] 1. eXtended Reality (XR) Technology

[0182] The development of communication technology has further enhanced the experience of the new media industry. Video services have become the mainstream media form, and emerging multimedia services such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have emerged. For example, VR technology blocks the user's line of sight and brings their senses into an independent and new virtual space, providing users with an immersive and more immersive experience. The user's VR device (such as a wearable VR headset) captures the user's movement information, such as head movements, hand movements, squatting / standing up, etc., and sends it to the cloud server via a communication network (such as a 5G network). The cloud server renders the image based on the user's movement information and sends it to the user's device via the communication network for viewing.

[0183] Specifically, during downlink transmission, the server's encoder generates data content at a fixed frequency (e.g., 60Hz or 120Hz) and transmits it to the XR terminal via the core network and RAN. During uplink transmission, the XR terminal can capture images of the current scene through its built-in camera and continuously upload them to the server at a specific frequency (e.g., 60Hz or 120Hz).

[0184] 2. Media over QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connection) (MoQ)

[0185] MoQ is a QUIC-based media transport protocol that provides end-to-end encryption. The MoQ protocol transmits media at the granularity of objects (e.g., video frames), and accompanies each object with its corresponding metadata. Metadata is auxiliary information about the object (e.g., its sequence number, priority, and so on).

[0186] As shown in Figure 4, the MoQ protocol architecture includes a client, a relay node, and a server. The server sends media data and media metadata to the relay node, which can forward, cache, or discard the object based on the metadata corresponding to the received object.

[0187] In the 3GPP XR project, the UPF is responsible for identifying media information and transmitting it to the base station through the user plane of the GPRS Tunneling Protocol. The base station then schedules the media data based on the media information. In order to process XR service flows transmitted based on MoQ, the UPF needs to act as a relay node to process the media information. However, since MoQ uses end-to-end encryption, if the UPF needs to identify media information transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, a QUIC connection is established between the UE and the UPF.

[0188] Therefore, how the UE obtains the information of the UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function to establish a QUIC connection is a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

[0189] In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device, so that a UE can obtain information supporting MoQ Relay, thereby establishing a connection between the UE and the MoQ Relay.

[0190] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained:

[0191] First, in this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their internal logical relationships.

[0192] Second, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple, respectively.

[0193] Third, throughout this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical references (e.g., #1, #2, etc.) are used to distinguish between different messages for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they are used to distinguish between different messages, rather than to describe a specific order or precedence. It should be understood that the terms described in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate to describe scenarios beyond the embodiments of this application.

[0194] Fourth, in this application, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatuses.

[0195] Fifth, in this application, "used to indicate" can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain indication information indicates A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and it does not mean that the indication information must carry A.

[0196] The indication methods involved in the embodiments of this application should be understood to encompass various methods that enable the party to be indicated to obtain information to be indicated. 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 timing of these sub-information can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific transmission method.

[0197] In the embodiments of the present application, the "indication information" may be an explicit indication, i.e., a direct indication via signaling, or may be obtained based on parameters indicated by the signaling, in combination with other rules, other parameters, or by deduction. It may also be an implicit indication, i.e., based on a rule or relationship, or based on other parameters, or by deduction. This application does not impose specific limitations on this.

[0198] Sixth, in this application, "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, such as the 5G protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and this application does not limit this. "Predefined" may include pre-definition. For example, protocol definition. "Preconfiguration" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and this application does not limit its specific implementation method.

[0199] Seventh, in this application, "storage" may refer to storage in one or more memories. The one or more memories may be separate or integrated into an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The one or more memories may also be partially separate and partially integrated into a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The memory may be any type of storage medium and is not limited in this application.

[0200] Eighth, in this application, if there is no logical conflict, "report", "feedback" and "send" can be interchanged.

[0201] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1 above.

[0202] FIG5 is an exemplary flow chart of a method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 is exemplarily described below with reference to each step in FIG5 .

[0203] S501, UE sends information #1 (an example of the fifth information) to AMF, and correspondingly, AMF receives information #1.

[0204] The information #1 is carried in a data connection session establishment request message. The following description uses a PDU session as an example. In this case, the request message #1 may be a PDU Session Establishment Request message, which includes the DNN corresponding to the PDU session and the S-NSSAI.

[0205] It should be understood that the request message #1 is included in the NAS signaling message. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the request message #1 from the AMF.

[0206] S502, AMF sends information #2 (an example of the first information) to SMF, where information #2 includes the above-mentioned DNN information and / or S-NSSAI information. Wherein, information #2 can be carried in the PDU session SM context establishment request (Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext Request).

[0207] Specifically, after AMF selects SMF based on the DNN and S-NSSAI information in information #2, it sends information #2 to the SMF.

[0208] It should be noted that in this application, when information #2 includes DNN and S-NSSAI, the DNN and S-NSSAI can be in the same information element or in different information elements, and this is not limited to the comparison in the embodiment of this application.

[0209] It should be understood that based on step S502, the SMF can obtain information #2 corresponding to the PDU session requested to be established, which includes DNN and / or S-NASSI, to perform the following steps.

[0210] S503: The SMF determines whether it is necessary to select a MoQ Relay for the PDU session based on information #2.

[0211] Specifically, the SMF determines whether it is necessary to select a UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function for the PDU session based on the local configuration and the DNN information and / or S-NSSAI information carried in information #2. The local configuration of the SMF may include the MoQ Relay capability corresponding to the DNN and / or the MoQ Relay capability corresponding to the locally stored S-NSSAI.

[0212] As an example and not a limitation, the SMF may locally store a list of DNNs that require MoQ Relay capabilities, and upon receiving information #2, compare the DNNs therein with the locally stored DNN list to determine whether a UPF that supports MoQ Relay functionality needs to be allocated to the PDU session corresponding to the DNN.

[0213] As an example and not a limitation, the SMF may locally store a list of S-NASSIs that do not require the MoQ Relay function, so that after receiving information #2, the S-NASSI therein is compared with the locally stored S-NASSI list to determine whether a UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function needs to be allocated to the PDU session corresponding to the S-NASSI.

[0214] It should be understood that the UPF supporting the MoQ Relay function in this application can be understood as the MoQ Relay function being integrated into the UPF, or the UPF supporting the MoQ Relay function.

[0215] It should be understood that the following description will be made using an example of selecting a UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function for a PDU session.

[0216] S504: SMF determines the information of MoQ Relay.

[0217] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific method in which the SMF determines the MoQ Relay information.

[0218] In one possible implementation, the local configuration of the SMF includes information about MoQ Relays. After determining in step S503 that a MoQ Relay is to be allocated for the PDU session, the SMF may determine information about at least one MoQ Relay based on the local configuration. (Not shown in the figure)

[0219] It should be understood that the MoQ Relay information includes the MoQ Relay Internet Protocol (IP) address, and optionally the MoQ Relay port number, and / or MoQ connection context information. The MoQ connection context information is used to assist the UE in establishing a secure connection with the MoQ Relay. Exemplarily, the MoQ connection context information may be security key information.

[0220] It should be understood that the above-mentioned MoQ Relay IP can be one of multiple IPs of UPF, or an IP independent of UPF, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0221] In another possible implementation, the SMF first determines the information of the UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function, and then determines the information of the MoQ Relay corresponding to the UPF. The following uses two methods as examples to illustrate the specific methods by which the SMF determines the information of the UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function.

[0222] Method 1

[0223] The local configuration of the SMF includes information about the UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function, so the SMF can determine information about at least one UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function (for example, the address of UPF#1) according to the local configuration.

[0224] Method 2

[0225] The SMF requests the NRF network element to provide information about the UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function. The specific steps include:

[0226] S505, SMF sends request message #1 (an example of the first request message) to NRF, and correspondingly, NRF receives request message #1.

[0227] Among them, the request message #1 is used to request the NRF network element to provide information about the UPF that supports at least one MoQ Relay function. The request message #1 includes information indicating MoQ relay capability information to indicate that the NRF needs to return information about at least one UPF that supports the MoQ Relay function.

[0228] It should be understood that the NRF is used to maintain one or more UPF profiles. Each UPF profile includes at least one of the following: UPF location information, UPF capability information, UPF load information, etc. Among them, the UPF capability information maintained by the NRF in this embodiment includes whether the UPF supports the MoQ Relay function.

[0229] S506, NRF returns a response message #1 (an example of a first response message) to SMF, and correspondingly, SMF receives the response message #1.

[0230] Before the NRF returns the response message #1, the NRF needs to determine at least one UPF that supports MoQ Relay based on the MoQ relay capability information carried in the request message #1, and carry the information of the at least one UPF in the response message #1.

[0231] Optionally, the UPF file maintained by the NRF also includes the information of the MoQ Relay corresponding to the UPF, that is, the NRF can also return the information of the MoQ Relay corresponding to at least one UPF to the SMF through the response message #1.

[0232] It should be understood that when the UPF file maintained by the NRF includes MoQ Relay information, the response message #1 may only include MoQ Relay information but not UPF information, so that the SMF does not need to perceive the UPF information corresponding to the at least one MoQ Relay.

[0233] When the local configuration of the SMF or the UPF file maintained by the NRF only includes information about the UPF that supports MoQ Relay, the SMF can perform the following steps based on the UPF information:

[0234] S507, SMF sends information #3 (an example of the third information) to at least one UPF, and correspondingly, at least one receives the information #3.

[0235] Among them, the information #3 is used to request the MoQ Relay information corresponding to each UPF in the at least one UPF, or to request the information of the MoQ Relay deployed in each UPF in the at least one UPF. The information #3 can be carried in the session establishment request (N4Session Establishment Request) message.

[0236] S508, at least one UPF returns information #4 (an example of the fourth information) to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the information #4.

[0237] The response message #4 includes the MoQ Relay information corresponding to each UPF in the at least one UPF, and the response message #4 may be an N4Session Establishment Response message.

[0238] Furthermore, after the SMF determines the MoQ Relay information based on the above possible implementation manner, it performs the following steps:

[0239] S509, SMF returns information #5 (an example of the second information) to AMF, and accordingly, AMF receives the information #5.

[0240] Specifically, the SMF carries the MoQ Relay information in the message #5 and sends it to the AMF. The message #5 can be carried in the message transfer (Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer) message.

[0241] S510, the AMF sends information #6 (an example of the sixth information) to the UE, where information #6 includes MoQ Relay information.

[0242] The AMF carries the MoQ Relay information in the NAS signaling and sends it to the UE through the RAN. Specifically, the MoQ Relay information may include the above-mentioned MoQ Relay IP, and optionally the MoQ Relay port number, and / or MoQ connection context information.

[0243] S511: Complete the subsequent steps of the PDU session establishment process. For details, please refer to the existing process and will not be repeated here.

[0244] S512: UE initiates an XR service.

[0245] S513: The UE establishes a secure connection to one of the MoQ Relays #1 (i.e., the first MoQ relay) according to the at least one MoQ Relay information included in the information #6, so that the XR service data carried by the PDU session can be transmitted through the secure connection.

[0246] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific manner in which the UE determines the MoQ Relay#1 from at least one MoQ Relay.

[0247] It should be understood that when the MoQ Relay information includes the MoQ connection context information, the UE also establishes a secure connection to the MoQ Relay according to the MoQ connection context information.

[0248] Based on the above method, the UE can obtain the information of MoQ Relay during the establishment of the PDU session, thereby establishing a connection between the UE and the MoQ Relay, so that the MoQ relay corresponding to the UPF can identify and process the XR service data carried by the PDU session.

[0249] FIG6 is an exemplary flow chart of a method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 600 is exemplarily described below with reference to each step in FIG6 .

[0250] S601, PDU session establishment process.

[0251] The PDU session establishment process includes establishing a session on the user plane path between the UE and the UPF. The specific process refers to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0252] S602, the UE sends information #7 (another example of the fifth information) to the EASDF, and correspondingly, the EASDF receives the information #7.

[0253] The information #7 may be carried in a DNS query request message, and the information #7 includes the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the application that the UE requests to access.

[0254] S603: The EASDF sends a DNS query message to the DNS server, and the DNS server receives the DNS query message.

[0255] S604: The DNS server sends a DNS response message to the EASDF. The DNS response message may include the IP address of the EAS.

[0256] S605, ESADF sends information #8 (another example of the first information) to SMF, and correspondingly, SMF receives information #8, which can be carried in the DNS context notification request message. In particular, information #8 includes the FQDN carried in information #7.

[0257] S606: The SMF determines whether it is necessary to select a MoQ Relay for the application based on information #8.

[0258] Specifically, the SMF determines whether to select the MoQ Relay function for the application based on the passive configuration and the FQDN carried in information #8. The local configuration of the SMF may include the MoQ Relay capability corresponding to the FQDN.

[0259] By way of example and not limitation, the SMF may locally store a list of FQDNs that require the MoQ Relay capability. Upon receiving request message #5, the SMF compares the FQDN in the request message with the locally stored FQDN list to determine whether MoQ Relay support should be assigned to the application corresponding to the FQDN. The following example illustrates the need to select MoQ Relay support for this session.

[0260] It should be understood that the UPF supporting the MoQ Relay function can be understood as deploying the MoQ Relay function on the UPF.

[0261] S607, SMF determines the information of UPF#1 and the MoQ Relay corresponding to UPF#1.

[0262] The specific manner in which the SMF determines the information of UPF#1 and MoQ Relay#2 (another example of the first MoQ relay) corresponding to UPF#1 can be found in the relevant description of step S504 and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that in step S607, the SMF needs to perceive the UPF corresponding to the MoQ Relay. That is, when the SMF determines the information of MoQ Relay#2 based on the local configuration, it also needs to determine the information of UPF#1 that deploys MoQ Relay#2.

[0263] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific manner in which the SMF selects UPF#1 based on the information of at least one UPF and selects MoQ Relay#2 corresponding to UPF#1.

[0264] S608: local path establishment, based on UL CL offloading. Specifically, the SMF establishes a local path based on the selected UPF and configures UL CL for offloading.

[0265] S609, SMF sends information #9 (another example of the second information) to EASDF. Correspondingly, EASDF receives the information #9. The information #9 may be carried in a DNS context update request (Neasdf_DNSContext_Update Request) message.

[0266] The information #9 includes the MoQ Relay information obtained by the SMF in step S607, so as to instruct the EASDF to send the MoQ Relay information to the UE.

[0267] S610, the EASDF sends information #10 (another example of the sixth information) to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives information #10. The information #10 may be carried in a DNS response message.

[0268] Specifically, the EASDF sends a response message including the MoQ Relay information to the UE according to the received DNS context update request.

[0269] S611: UE initiates an XR service.

[0270] S612: The UE establishes a secure connection to the MoQ Relay according to the MoQ Relay information, so that the XR service data corresponding to the application can be transmitted through the secure connection.

[0271] It should be understood that when the MoQ Relay information includes the MoQ connection context information, the UE also establishes a secure connection to the MoQ Relay according to the MoQ connection context information.

[0272] Based on the above method, the UE can obtain the MoQ Relay information during the DNS query process, thereby establishing a connection between the UE and the MoQ Relay, so that the MoQ relay corresponding to the UPF can identify and process the XR service data corresponding to the application.

[0273] It should be understood that the specific examples shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the embodiments of the present application are only intended to help those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. It should also be understood that the order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily indicate the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0274] It should also be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0275] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, exemplary descriptions are mainly given using network elements in existing network architectures (such as AMF, SMF, NRF, EASDF, etc.). It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the network element. For example, network elements that can achieve the same function in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0276] The above description, in conjunction with Figures 1 to 6 , details the communication method embodiment of the present application. The following description, in conjunction with Figures 7 to 9 , details the communication device embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for portions not described in detail, reference can be made to the preceding method embodiment.

[0277] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the device 1000 may include a transceiver unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020. The transceiver unit 1010 can communicate with the outside world, and the processing unit 1020 is used to process data. The transceiver unit 1010 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver unit.

[0278] In one possible design, the device 1000 can implement steps or processes corresponding to those executed by the core network network elements (such as SMF, NRF, UPF, etc.) in the above method embodiments, wherein the processing unit 1020 is used to execute operations related to the processing of the core network network elements in the above method embodiments, and the transceiver unit 1010 is used to execute operations related to the transmission and reception of the core network network elements in the above method embodiments.

[0279] As an example but not a limitation, the apparatus 1000 may be used to execute the actions executed by the SMF in the above method embodiment.

[0280] The transceiver unit 1010 is configured to receive first information, where the first information includes application information, or the first information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and the data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted through MoQ; the processing unit 1020 is configured to obtain information of at least one MoQ relay based on the first information, where the information of the at least one MoQ relay is used to establish a connection between a user device and a first MoQ relay of the at least one MoQ relay; the transceiver unit 1010 is further configured to send second information, where the second information includes information of the at least one MoQ relay sent to the user equipment.

[0281] In another possible design, the device 1000 can implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the user equipment in the above method embodiments, wherein the transceiver unit 1010 is used to perform transceiver-related operations of the user equipment in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 1020 is used to perform processing-related operations of the user equipment in the above method embodiments.

[0282] The transceiver unit 1010 is used to send fifth information, where the fifth information includes application information, or the fifth information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and the data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted through MoQ; the transceiver unit 1010 is also used to receive sixth information, where the sixth information includes information of at least one MoQ relay; the processing unit 1020 is used to establish a connection with a first MoQ relay among the at least one MoQ relay based on the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

[0283] It should be understood that the device 1000 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a merging logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 1000 can be specifically the transmitting end in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the transmitting end in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or the device 1000 can be specifically the receiving end in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the receiving end in the above-mentioned method embodiment. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0284] The apparatus 1000 of each of the above-mentioned solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the transmitting end in the above-mentioned method, or the apparatus 1000 of each of the above-mentioned solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the receiving end in the above-mentioned method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0285] In addition, the above-mentioned transceiver unit can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it can include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit. In an embodiment of the present application, the device 1000 can be a receiving device or a transmitting device in the aforementioned embodiment, or it can be a chip or chip system in a receiving device or a transmitting device, such as a system on chip (SoC). Among them, the transceiver unit can be an input and output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit is a processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0286] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 2000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the device 2000 includes a processor 2010 and a transceiver 2020. The processor 2010 and the transceiver 2020 communicate with each other via an internal connection path. The processor 2010 is used to execute instructions to control the transceiver 2020 to send and / or receive signals.

[0287] Optionally, the apparatus 2000 may further include a memory 2030, which communicates with the processor 2010 and the transceiver 2020 via an internal connection path. The memory 2030 is used to store instructions, and the processor 2010 may execute the instructions stored in the memory 2030.

[0288] In one possible implementation, the device 2000 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the core network elements (such as SMF, NRF, UPF, etc.) in the above method embodiments.

[0289] In another possible implementation, the apparatus 2000 is used to implement various processes and steps corresponding to the user equipment in the above method embodiment.

[0290] It should be understood that the device 2000 can be specifically the transmitting end or receiving end in the above-mentioned embodiments, or can also be a chip or chip system. Correspondingly, the transceiver 2020 can be the transceiver circuit of the chip, which is not limited here. Specifically, the device 2000 can be used to perform the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the transmitting end or receiving end in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0291] Optionally, the memory 2030 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory may also store device type information. The processor 2010 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory. When the processor 2010 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 2010 is configured to perform the various steps and / or processes of the above-described method embodiments corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end.

[0292] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. 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 processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0293] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-described method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-described processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor in the embodiments of the present application can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or 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-described method.

[0294] It will be 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 but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory, dynamic random access memory, synchronous dynamic random access memory, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory, synchronous linked dynamic random access memory, and direct memory bus random access memory. 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.

[0295] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip system 3000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the chip system 3000 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 3010 and an input / output interface 3020 .

[0296] The logic circuit 3010 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 3000. The logic circuit 3010 may be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 3000 can implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 3020 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 3000, outputting information processed by the chip system 3000 or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 3000 for processing.

[0297] As a solution, the chip system 3000 is used to implement the operations performed by core network elements (such as SMF, NRF, UPF, etc.) in the above method embodiments.

[0298] As a solution, the chip system 3000 is used to implement the operations performed by the user equipment in the above various method embodiments.

[0299] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions are stored for implementing the methods executed by core network elements (such as SMF, NRF, UPF, etc.) and user equipment in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0300] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, comprising computer program code or instructions. When the computer program code or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer implements the methods executed by the core network element and the user equipment in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0301] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the aforementioned core network elements (such as SMF, NRF, UPF, etc.) and user equipment.

[0302] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0303] 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.

[0304] 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.

[0305] 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 only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, 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.

[0306] 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.

[0307] 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.

[0308] 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 to the prior art, 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 a number of instructions for enabling a computer device 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, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0309] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The session management network element receives first information, where the first information includes information of the application, or the first information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted through a media transmission protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; The session management network element acquires information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, where the information of the at least one MoQ relay is used to establish a connection between the user equipment and a first MoQ relay of the at least one MoQ relay; The session management network element sends second information, where the second information includes information of the at least one MoQ relay sent to the user equipment.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the first information includes information of an application, the session management network element determines, according to the information of the application, to select a MoQ relay for a user equipment accessing the application; When the first information includes a data network name and / or a single network slice selection auxiliary information, the session management network element determines to select a MoQ relay for the data connection session based on the data network name and / or the single network slice selection auxiliary information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The session management network element acquires information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, including: The session management network element determines the information of the at least one MoQ relay according to a local configuration, wherein the local configuration includes the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, including: The session management network element determines, according to a local configuration, information of at least one user plane network element, wherein the local configuration includes information of the at least one user plane network element and information of a MoQ relay deployed by each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element; The session management network element determines, according to the information of the at least one user plane network element, the information of the MoQ relay deployed by each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, including: The session management network element determines, according to the local configuration, information of at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed; The session management network element sends third information to the at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed according to the information of the at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed, where the third information is used to request to obtain the information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element; The session management network element receives fourth information, where the fourth information includes information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, including: The session management network element sends a first request message to the network storage function, the first request message includes information for indicating support for MoQ relay, the network storage function is used to maintain information of at least one user plane network element and information of the at least one MoQ relay, the at least one user plane network element corresponds to the at least one MoQ relay; The session management network element receives a first response message from the network storage function, where the first response message includes information about the at least one user plane network element and information about a MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element.

7. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the session management network element obtains information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, including: The session management network element sends a first request message to the network storage function, the first request message includes information for indicating support for MoQ relay, the network storage function is used to maintain information of at least one user plane network element, and the at least one user plane network element supports MoQ relay; The session management network element receives a first response message from the network storage function, where the first response message includes information of the at least one user plane network element; The session management network element sends third information to the at least one user plane network element according to the information of the at least one user plane network element, where the third information is used to request information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element; The session management network element receives fourth information, where the fourth information includes information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The information of at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: The address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, or the connection context information of the MoQ relay.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The network storage function receives a first request message, wherein the first request message includes information indicating support for a media transmission protocol MoQ relay based on a fast user datagram protocol, and the network storage function is used to maintain information of at least one user plane network element and / or information of at least one MoQ relay; The network storage function sends a first response message, where the first response message includes information of at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed, and / or information of the at least one MoQ relay.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The information of one MoQ relay in the at least one MoQ relay information includes at least one of the following: The address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, and the connection context information of the MoQ relay.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The user equipment sends fifth information, where the fifth information includes information of the application, or the fifth information includes a data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information, where the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information corresponds to a data connection session, and data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted through a media transmission protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; The user equipment receives sixth information, where the sixth information includes information of at least one MoQ relay; The user equipment establishes a connection with a first MoQ relay among the at least one MoQ relay according to the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the information of the application, or the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The fifth information is included in a data connection session establishment request message, the data connection session is established based on the data connection session request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined for the data connection session.

14. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The fifth information is included in the domain name system query request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined for the application.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that The information of at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: The address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, or the connection context information of the MoQ relay.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to receive first information, where the first information includes information of an application, or the first information includes a data network name and / or auxiliary information for selecting a single network slice, where the data network name and / or the auxiliary information for selecting a single network slice corresponds to a data connection session, and data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted via a media transmission protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; a processing unit, configured to acquire information of at least one MoQ relay according to the first information, wherein the information of the at least one MoQ relay is used to establish a connection between a user equipment and a first MoQ relay of the at least one MoQ relay; The transceiver unit is further used to send second information, where the second information includes information of the at least one MoQ relay sent to the user equipment.

17. The device according to claim 16, characterized in that The processing unit is also used for: When the first information includes information of an application, the session management network element determines, according to the information of the application, to select a MoQ relay for a user equipment accessing the application; When the first information includes a data network name and / or a single network slice selection auxiliary information, the session management network element determines to select a MoQ relay for the data connection session based on the data network name and / or the single network slice selection auxiliary information.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to: Determine information of the at least one MoQ relay according to a local configuration, wherein the local configuration includes information of the at least one MoQ relay information.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the processing unit is further configured to: Determine information of at least one user plane network element according to a local configuration, wherein the local configuration includes information of the at least one user plane network element and information of a MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element; According to the information of the at least one user plane network element, information of a MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element is determined.

20. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The MoQ relay is deployed in the user plane network element. The processing unit is further configured to determine, according to the local configuration, information of at least one user plane network element in which the MoQ relay is deployed; The processing unit is further configured to, according to the information of the at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed, send third information to the at least one user plane network element where the MoQ relay is deployed, where the third information is used to request to obtain the information of the at least one MoQ relay; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive fourth information, where the fourth information includes information of the at least one MoQ relay.

21. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The MoQ relay is deployed in a user plane network element, and the transceiver unit is further used for: Sending a first request message to a network storage function, the first request message including information for indicating support for MoQ relay, the network storage function being used to maintain information of the at least one user plane network element and information of the at least one MoQ relay, the at least one user plane network element corresponding to the at least one MoQ relay; A first response message is received from the network storage function, where the first response message includes information about the at least one user plane network element and information about a MoQ relay deployed in each user plane network element in the at least one user plane network element.

22. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The MoQ relay is deployed in the user plane network element. The transceiver unit is further used to send a first request message to the network storage function, the first request message includes information for indicating support for MoQ relay, the network storage function is used to maintain information of at least one user plane network element, and the at least one user plane network element supports MoQ relay; as well as receiving a first response message from the network storage function, wherein the first response message includes information of the at least one user plane network element; The processing unit is further configured to, according to the information of the at least one user plane network element, send third information to the at least one user plane network element, wherein the third information is used to request information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element; The transceiver unit is further used to receive fourth information, where the fourth information includes information of the MoQ relay deployed in the corresponding user plane network element.

23. The device according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that The information of at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: The address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, or the connection context information of the MoQ relay.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first request message, wherein the first request message includes information indicating support for a media transmission protocol MoQ relay based on a fast user datagram protocol, wherein the network storage function is configured to maintain information of at least one user plane network element and / or information of at least one MoQ relay; The transceiver unit is further used to send a first response message, where the first response message includes information of at least one user plane network element deployed with the MoQ relay and / or information of the at least one MoQ relay.

25. The device according to claim 24, characterized in that The information of at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: The address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, or the connection context information of the MoQ relay.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver unit, configured to send fifth information, where the fifth information includes information of an application, or the fifth information includes a data network name and / or auxiliary information for selecting a single network slice, where the data network name and / or the auxiliary information for selecting a single network slice corresponds to a data connection session, and data of the application or the data connection session is transmitted through a media transmission protocol MoQ based on a fast user datagram protocol; The transceiver unit is further used to receive sixth information, wherein the sixth information includes information of at least one MoQ relay; The processing unit is configured to establish a connection with a first MoQ relay in the at least one MoQ relay according to the information of the at least one MoQ relay.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the information of the application, or the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined based on the data network name and / or single network slice selection auxiliary information.

28. The device according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that The fifth information is included in a data connection session establishment request message, the data connection session is established based on the data connection session request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined for the data connection session.

29. The device according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that The fifth information is included in the domain name system query request message, and the information of the at least one MoQ relay is determined for the application.

30. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that The information of at least one MoQ relay includes at least one of the following: The address of the MoQ relay, the port information of the MoQ relay, or the connection context information of the MoQ relay.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to call computer program instructions stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method according to claim 9 or 10, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

32. A chip, characterized in that: It comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive data and / or information and transmit the received data and / or information to the processor, and the processor processes the data and / or information to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method according to claim 9 or 10, or the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, or cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in claim 9 or 10, or cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15.

34. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, or cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in claim 9 or 10, or cause the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15.

35. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A session management network element, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8; A network storage function, used to execute the method according to claim 9 or 10; A user equipment, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

36. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises the communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 23, the communication device according to claim 24 or 25, or the communication device according to any one of claims 26 to 30.

Images