Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related apparatus. The communication method comprises: an AS sends a data stream, the data stream comprising at least two sub-streams, a first sub-stream among the at least two sub-streams carrying a first sub-stream identifier, the at least two sub-streams corresponding to the same quintuple, and the at least two sub-streams corresponding to different sub-stream identifiers; a UPF receives the data stream, and acquires the first sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream among the at least two sub-streams comprised in the data stream; and the UPF maps the first sub-stream to a first quality of service (QoS) flow indicated by a first QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier. According to the method, the sub-streams of the data stream corresponding to different QoS requirements can be mapped to different QoS flows by means of the sub-stream identifiers of the sub-streams of the data stream, and different QoS processing is performed on the sub-streams for the different QoS requirements, thereby guaranteeing the QoS of a network and avoiding waste of network resources.

Description

Communication methods and related devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311287517.9, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on September 28, 2023, entitled "Communication Method and Related Apparatus", and to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311871974.2, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on December 29, 2023, entitled "Communication Method and Related Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless local area network technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] In extended reality (XR) games, XR videos, and other similar scenarios, multiple modalities of data streams may exist, such as video, audio, and haptic streams. Within the same modal data stream, different types of data may also exist, such as I-frames (intra-coded frames) or P-frames (predicted frames) in a video stream, or base layers or enhancement layers. These different data streams have different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements.

[0004] In existing technologies, for Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), sub-streams of the same service data stream are transmitted together using the same 5-tuple. Without external information, the UPF (User Flow Framework) has difficulty identifying different sub-streams. This results in low efficiency in data stream processing and low utilization of network resources.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus that can perform QoS stream mapping on sub-streams of data streams that correspond to the same quintuple but have different QoS requirements, thereby enabling different QoS processing for sub-streams with different QoS requirements, ensuring network service quality while avoiding waste of network resources.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method applied to a User Plane Function Entity (UPF), comprising: receiving a data stream, the data stream comprising at least two sub-streams, the at least two sub-streams corresponding to the same 5-tuple, and each sub-stream in the at least two sub-streams corresponding to a different sub-stream identifier; obtaining a first sub-stream identifier of a first sub-stream from the at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; and mapping the first sub-stream to a first QoS stream indicated by a first Quality of Service (QoS) stream identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier.

[0008] This application embodiment obtains the correspondence between each sub-stream identifier and its corresponding QoS requirement based on the sub-stream identifier of the data stream and one or more QoS requirements associated with that sub-stream. It then obtains the correspondence between the sub-stream identifier and the QFI (Quality Flow Indicator). Furthermore, by using the sub-stream identifier, sub-streams with different QoS requirements within the data stream can be mapped to QoS streams indicated by different QFIs, thereby enabling the sub-streams of the data stream to receive corresponding QoS processing. This process ensures that different QoS processing matches the corresponding QoS requirements, thus avoiding the waste of network resources that might result from applying high QoS processing to sub-streams with low QoS requirements, and the substandard network service quality that might result from applying low QoS processing to sub-streams with high QoS requirements. This improves network resource utilization while ensuring network service quality.

[0009] In one possible implementation, before mapping the first sub-stream of at least two sub-streams to the QoS stream indicated by the QoS stream identifier QFI corresponding to the sub-stream identifier, the method further includes:

[0010] The mapping rules are received, including the correspondence between the first substream identifier and the first QFI;

[0011] Mapping the first sub-flow to the first QoS flow indicated by the first Quality of Service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-flow identifier includes: mapping the first sub-flow to the first QoS flow indicated by the first Quality of Service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-flow identifier according to the mapping rules.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: obtaining a second sub-stream identifier of the second sub-stream from at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; and mapping the second sub-stream to a second QoS stream indicated by a second QFI corresponding to the second sub-stream identifier.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Networking (HDN) connections.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the MoQ protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is the stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the QUIC protocol.

[0017] In this embodiment, the tracking identifier or stream identifier is used to identify video streams, audio streams, and haptic streams. These three different modal data streams typically have different QoS requirements. By mapping the sub-streams of the data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the tracking identifier, the three different modal data streams can receive corresponding QoS processing, effectively improving network utilization.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under the same data stream.

[0019] The sequence identifier in this application embodiment can be used to identify data sub-streams with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities under the three data streams: video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream. It can further divide the QoS requirements for the data stream under each mode. By mapping the sub-streams of the data stream to the QoS stream indicated by QFI according to the sequence identifier, the network utilization can be further improved, while the network ensures network quality.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priority under different data streams.

[0021] In this embodiment, the sub-streams indicated by the data sub-stream identifier correspond one-to-one with QoS requirements. Therefore, for each QoS requirement, regardless of whether the sub-stream is of the same mode, different modes, or different sub-streams under the same mode, as long as the QoS requirements are different, it can be mapped to a separate QoS stream. The scheduling of each QoS stream by the receiving end is to perform separate QoS processing on the sub-streams of the data stream corresponding to each QoS requirement. This can maximize the guarantee of network service quality.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the data substream identifier or sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

[0023] In this embodiment, extending the data substream identifier or sequence identifier into the metadata of the MoQ message facilitates decryption to obtain the data stream identifier or sequence identifier, while avoiding affecting the transmission security of the encrypted data payload.

[0024] In one possible implementation, when the first sub-flow includes multiple data sub-flows mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities, the first QoS flow also corresponds to the scheduling strategies of the multiple data sub-flows.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream are encapsulated in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) header of the first QoS stream.

[0026] In one possible implementation, before obtaining the substream identifier of the first substream from the data stream, the method further includes:

[0027] Receive first information, which indicates that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or indicates that the sub-stream identifier is obtained.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first information is at least one of the following: a protocol description field, a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol, an indication identifier for obtaining sub-stream identifiers, QoS parameters of the protocol data unit (PDU) set, or a PDU set granularity transmission indication.

[0029] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, comprising: receiving policy and charging control (PCC) rules, wherein the PCC rules include a correspondence between at least one quality of service (QoS) requirement of a first sub-stream and a first sub-stream identifier in at least two sub-streams of a data stream, and the first sub-stream identifier is a sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream; and transmitting mapping rules, wherein the mapping rules are generated according to the PCC rules, and the mapping rules include a correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and a first QoS stream identifier (QFI), wherein at least one QoS requirement of the first sub-stream corresponds to the first QFI.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Networking (HDN) connections.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the MoQ protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is the stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the QUIC protocol.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under the same data stream.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priority under different data streams.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending first information, the first information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of a substream identifier.

[0037] In one possible implementation, before sending the first information, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of a sub-stream identifier; the first information is generated based on the second information.

[0038] Thirdly, this application also provides a communication device, which can be a User Plane Function (UPF) entity or can be used for a UPF entity. The transmission device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be or can be deployed in a transceiver, transceiver antenna, input / output interface, or other unit or module capable of transmitting and receiving information. The processing unit can be or can be deployed in a processor. The transceiver unit is used to receive a data stream, which includes at least two sub-streams. The at least two sub-streams correspond to the same 5-tuple, and each sub-stream in the at least two sub-streams corresponds to a different sub-stream identifier. The processing unit is used to obtain a first sub-stream identifier from the at least two sub-streams included in the data stream. The processing unit is also used to map the first sub-stream to a first QoS stream indicated by a first Quality of Service (QoS) stream identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive mapping rules, the mapping rules including the correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and the first QFI; the processing unit is specifically configured to: map the first sub-stream to the first QoS flow indicated by the first QoS flow identifier QFI corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier according to the mapping rules.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to: obtain a second sub-stream identifier of the second sub-stream from at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; and map the second sub-stream to a second QoS stream indicated by a second QFI corresponding to the second sub-stream identifier.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive first information, the first information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Networking (HDN) connections.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the MoQ protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is the stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the QUIC protocol.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under the same data stream.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under different data streams.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the data substream identifier or sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

[0049] In one possible implementation, when the first sub-flow includes data sub-flows mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities, the first QoS flow also corresponds to the scheduling strategies of multiple data sub-flows.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream are encapsulated in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) header of the first QoS stream.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the first information is at least one of the following: a protocol description field, a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol, an indication identifier for obtaining sub-stream identifiers, QoS parameters of the protocol data unit (PDU) set, or a PDU set granularity transmission indication.

[0052] Fourthly, this application also provides a communication device, which can be a Session Management Function (SMF) entity or can be used with an SMF entity. The transmission device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be or can be deployed in units or modules capable of realizing information transmission and reception functions, such as transceivers, transceiver antennas, and input / output interfaces. The processing unit can be or can be deployed in a processor, including:

[0053] The transceiver unit is used to receive Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules, which include the correspondence between at least one Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of a sub-stream of the data flow and the sub-stream identifier of the sub-stream of the data flow; the processing unit is used to generate mapping rules according to the PCC rules; the transceiver unit is also used to send the mapping rules, which include the correspondence between the sub-stream identifier of the sub-stream of the data flow and the QoS Stream Identifier (QFI), and the QoS requirement corresponds to the QFI.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to: send first information, the first information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive second information, the second information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier; the first information is generated based on the second information.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Networking (HDN) connections.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the MoQ protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is the stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the QUIC protocol.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under the same data stream.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under different data streams.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the data substream identifier or sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

[0063] Fifthly, a communication method is provided for a User Plane Function (UPF) entity. The method includes: receiving a second data stream and flow identification information corresponding to the second data stream, wherein the flow identification information is used to identify the second data stream, and the flow identification information is information carried by a media MoQ protocol based on QUIC or information carried by a tunneling protocol; and mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identification information.

[0064] In this embodiment, the AF sends flow identification information to identify the second data stream. The UPF maps the corresponding second data stream to a QoS stream according to the flow identification information, so that the RAN can schedule the second data stream identified by each flow identification information, thus ensuring the orderliness and efficiency of scheduling.

[0065] In one possible implementation, the second data stream includes one or more sub-streams, each sub-stream corresponding to the same IP 5-tuple, and each sub-stream corresponding to a flow identifier. Mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier includes mapping each sub-stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier corresponding to each sub-stream.

[0066] In this embodiment, the flow identifier information of the second data stream can be a single flow identifier or multiple flow identifiers (in the case where the second data stream corresponds to multiple sub-streams). The UPF maps the sub-streams to the QoS streams corresponding to each flow identifier based on the flow identifier information, which can further improve the orderliness of RAN scheduling QoS streams.

[0067] In one possible implementation, before mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream, the method further includes: receiving a first rule, the first rule including flow identification information and its corresponding QFI; mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identification information, including: mapping the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the flow identification information according to the first rule.

[0068] In one possible implementation, the second data stream is transmitted via tunneling or via the MoQ protocol.

[0069] In one possible implementation, when the second data stream is transmitted via a tunnel, the stream identification information is the identification information carried by the tunnel protocol, and the second data stream and the stream identification information are carried in the tunnel protocol simultaneously.

[0070] In one possible implementation, when the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, the stream identification information is tracking identification information, which can be one or more of the following forms: identifier, name, string, etc.

[0071] In this embodiment of the application, the flow identification information can be an identifier, a name, or a string, thus expanding the meaning of the flow identification information.

[0072] Sixthly, a communication method is provided for use in a Session Management Function (SMF) entity. The method includes: receiving Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules, whereby the PCC rules include flow identification information and the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements corresponding to the flow identification information; the flow identification information is information carried by a QUIC-based Media MoQ protocol or information carried by a tunneling protocol; and sending mapping rules, whereby the mapping rules are generated according to the PCC rules, and the mapping rules include the flow identification information and the correspondence between the flow identification information and the first QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the flow identification information.

[0073] A seventh aspect provides a communication apparatus, which may be a User Plane Function (UPF) entity or an entity that can be used for a UPF. The apparatus includes: a transceiver unit for receiving a second data stream and flow identification information corresponding to the second data stream, the flow identification information being used to identify the second data stream, the flow identification information being information carried by a QUIC-based Media MoQ protocol or information carried by a tunneling protocol; and a processing unit for mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identification information.

[0074] In one possible implementation, the second data stream includes one or more sub-streams, each sub-stream corresponding to the same IP 5-tuple, and each sub-stream corresponding to a flow identifier. Mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier includes mapping each sub-stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier corresponding to each sub-stream.

[0075] In one possible implementation, before mapping the second data stream to the first QoS stream, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive a first rule, the first rule including flow identification information and its corresponding QFI; and map the second data stream to the QoS stream based on the flow identification information, including: mapping the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the flow identification information according to the first rule.

[0076] In one possible implementation, the second data stream is transmitted via tunneling or via the MoQ protocol.

[0077] In one possible implementation, when the second data stream is transmitted via a tunnel, the stream identification information is the identification information carried by the tunnel protocol, and the second data stream and the stream identification information are carried in the tunnel protocol simultaneously.

[0078] In one possible implementation, when the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, the stream identification information is tracking identification information, which can be one or more of the following forms: identifier, name, string, etc.

[0079] Eighthly, a communication apparatus is provided, which may be a Session Management Function (SMF) entity or may be applied to an SMF entity. The apparatus includes: a transceiver unit for receiving a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) first rule, the PCC first rule including flow identification information and a Quality of Service (QoS) requirement corresponding to the flow identification information; the flow identification information is information carried by a Media MoQ protocol based on QUIC or information carried by a tunneling protocol; the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first rule, the first rule being generated according to the PCC rule, the first rule including the flow identification information and a QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the flow identification information.

[0080] Ninthly, this application provides a communication device, which includes a processor coupled to a memory. When the processor executes a computer program or instructions in the memory, it causes the method of any embodiment of the first or second aspect to be executed, or causes the method of any embodiment of the fifth or sixth aspect to be executed.

[0081] Optionally, the device also includes a memory.

[0082] Optionally, the device also includes a communication interface, to which the processor is coupled.

[0083] Optionally, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0084] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be set up separately from the processor.

[0085] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter and a receiver.

[0086] In one implementation, the communication device is a UPF entity or an SMF entity. When the communication device is a UPF entity or an SMF entity, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0087] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. When the device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor can also be manifested as a processing circuit or logic circuit.

[0088] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a communication system comprising the transmission apparatus of the third aspect and the transmission apparatus of the fourth aspect described above. Alternatively, the communication system may comprise the transmission apparatus of the seventh aspect and the transmission apparatus of the eighth aspect described above.

[0089] In one aspect, this application provides a computer program product comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), which, when run, causes the computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above, or causes the computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the fifth or sixth aspect described above.

[0090] In a twelfth aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods of any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above, or to perform the methods of any possible implementation of the fifth or sixth aspect described above.

[0091] In a thirteenth aspect, this application also provides a circuit comprising: a processor and an interface, for executing a computer program or instructions stored in a memory, performing the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect described above, or performing the method in any possible implementation of the fifth or sixth aspect described above. Attached Figure Description

[0092] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture involved in the embodiments of this application;

[0093] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a data stream transmission process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 3A is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 3B is a schematic diagram of the structure of an object message provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0096] Figure 4A is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0097] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of the structure of an object message provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0098] Figures 5A to 11 are flowcharts of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0099] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0100] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0101] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0102] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0103] The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0104] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0105] "Multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0106] The following will use Figure 1 as an example to introduce the terminology involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0107] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of the 5th Generation Mobile Networks (5G) involved in the embodiments of this application. It includes two parts: a Radio Access Network ((R)AN, denoted as RAN) and a Core Network (CN). The (R)AN provides network access functionality for authorized user equipment in a specific area and can use transmission tunnels of different quality according to the user equipment's level and service requirements. For example, the (R)AN can manage radio resources, provide access services to user equipment, and thus complete the forwarding of control information and / or data information between the user equipment (UE) and the core network (CN). The CN mainly includes the following functional entities:

[0108] Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity: Its main functions include managing user registration, reachability detection, SMF node selection, and mobility state transition management.

[0109] The Session Management Function (SMF) entity's main functions are to control the creation, modification, and deletion of sessions, as well as the selection of user plane nodes.

[0110] User Plane Function (UPF) entity: Its main functions include packet routing and forwarding, mobility anchors, uplink classifiers to support routing traffic to the data network, and branch points to support multi-homed PDU sessions.

[0111] Policy Control Function (PCF) entity: Its main function is to act as a policy decision point, providing rules based on business data flow and application detection, gating, Quality of Service (QoS) and flow-based billing control.

[0112] Unified Data Management (UDM) functional entity: Its main function is to store user subscription data.

[0113] The Authentication Server Function (AUSF) entity's main function is to provide authentication services.

[0114] Application Function (AF) entity: Its main function is to interact with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) core network to provide services, and to influence service flow routing, access network capability opening, policy control, etc.

[0115] Network Exposure Function (NEF) entity: Securely exposes services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions, such as third parties, edge computing, and AF.

[0116] Data network (DN): such as carrier services, Internet access, or third-party services.

[0117] The Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) entity provides network data collection and analysis capabilities based on technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence.

[0118] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a data stream transmission process provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2, the process includes the following steps:

[0119] 1. QoS requirements for AF-transmitted service flows.

[0120] 2. The PCF receives the QoS requirements sent by the AF and sends Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules to the SMF. The PCC rules are generated based on the QoS requirements sent by the AF.

[0121] 3. The SMF receives the PCC rule, binds the QoS flow to the PCC rule, and assigns the QoS flow identifier QFI.

[0122] 4. SMF sends N4 rules, which include the bound QFI.

[0123] 5. SMF sends QFI and the corresponding QoS requirements.

[0124] 6. The Application Server (AS) sends the business flow.

[0125] 7. The UPF receives the N4 rule, receives the data stream, identifies the service stream based on the five-tuple, maps the service stream to the QoS stream indicated by the bound QFI, and sends the QoS stream.

[0126] 8. The RAN receives the QFI and the corresponding QoS requirements, receives the QoS stream, and schedules the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the QoS requirements.

[0127] In the above process, after each network function entity of the CN establishes (or modifies) a PDU session connection with the RAN, the SMF controls the creation of a QoS flow associated with the default QoS rule within each PDU session. Each QoS flow is configured with a corresponding QoS Flow Identifier (QFI). In the prior art, data flows corresponding to the same 5-tuple are called a service flow. Data flows with different QoS requirements within the same service flow (including different modal or different types of data flows such as video streams, audio streams, and haptic streams, or data flows mapped from datasets of different priorities or importance under the same modality, such as I-frames or P-frames, base layer or enhancement layer, etc.) are transmitted together. Without external information, the UPF usually maps data flows with the same 5-tuple to the same QoS flow and sends them to the RAN. However, for data streams of the same service encapsulated using QUIC or MoQ protocols (including at least two sub-streams such as audio streams, video streams, or haptic streams of the same service, or datasets of the same data stream with different types of PDU SETs, such as sub-streams composed of I-frames and P-frames, or sub-streams composed of PDU SETs of the base layer and enhancement layer), the RAN cannot perform differentiated QoS processing on the data corresponding to at least two sub-streams of the same service with different QoS requirements, which leads to the problem of low network resource utilization.

[0128] Based on this, please refer to Figure 3A, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 3A, the method includes the following steps:

[0129] 101. In at least two sub-streams of an AF-transmitted data stream, the correspondence between at least one Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of each sub-stream and the sub-stream identifier of each sub-stream. At least two sub-streams correspond to the same 5-tuple, and each sub-stream corresponds to a different sub-stream identifier.

[0130] The data streams in this embodiment are encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol. More specifically, they can be encapsulated and transmitted based on the Media over QUIC (MoQ) protocol, or based on other encrypted protocols, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). A 5-tuple, consisting of the source IP address, source port, destination IP address, destination port, and transport layer protocol, is a set that uniquely identifies a data stream, also known as a service stream. This data stream can include one or more sub-streams, such as video streams, audio streams, or haptic streams (or other data streams parallel to these three, which can be referred to as different modalities or different types of data streams) included under the same service; each sub-stream is itself a data stream. Therefore, the data stream sent by the AF can also be described as a collection of data streams. A sub-stream of a data stream can also refer to a data (sub)stream mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities within the same data stream (hereinafter referred to as a data sub-stream for distinction), such as I-frames or P-frames included in a video stream, or data sub-streams corresponding to the base layer or enhancement layer.

[0131] A data stream for the same service, including all its sub-streams, corresponds to the same 5-tuple. However, these sub-streams correspond to different sub-stream identifiers. For example, when a sub-stream of the data stream is a video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol, the sub-stream identifier can be a stream ID. When a sub-stream of the data stream is a video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream encapsulated and transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, the sub-stream identifier can be a track ID. Refer to Figure 3B, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an object message provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 3B, when transmitted using the MoQ protocol, the object message includes metadata and payload, where the metadata is unencrypted information recognizable by the UPF, and the payload is encrypted information. The metadata includes a track ID.

[0132] In some cases, sub-streams of a data stream can be sub-streams mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities within the same data stream. For example, a sub-stream of a data stream might consist of I-frames and P-frames within a video stream. In this case, the sub-stream identifier can be a sequence identifier (when only a single video stream is included in the same service), a tracking identifier + sequence identifier (when multiple types of data streams, such as video, audio, or haptic streams, are included in the same service), or a stream identifier + sequence identifier. For instance, for a data stream encapsulated and transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, as shown in Figure 3B, its metadata includes a send order, which indicates the transmission order of the data stream; this send order is a type of sequence identifier.

[0133] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier can be a data sub-stream identifier. The data sub-stream identifier defined in this application embodiment is used to identify data sub-streams mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities within different data streams. For example, in a video stream, the data sub-stream identifier for an I-frame is 11xxx, and the data sub-stream identifier for an audio stream is 12xxx. The data sub-stream identifier can distinguish data streams of different modalities and their different importance or transmission order.

[0134] Furthermore, the data substream identifier can be extended in the metadata shown in Figure 3B above.

[0135] Different data streams have their own corresponding QoS requirements; for example, video streams or audio streams each have one or more corresponding QoS requirements. Therefore, a mapping can be established between the sub-stream identifier of each data stream and the QoS requirements of that sub-stream. See Table 1 for details.

[0136] Table 1

[0137] As shown in Table 1, the data stream consists of video and audio sub-streams. The video stream corresponds to stream identifier 1 and has QoS requirements aa and ab. Therefore, there exists a correspondence of (stream identifier 1, (QoS requirement aa, QoS requirement ab)). Similarly, there is also a correspondence of (stream identifier 2, QoS requirement b). AF or AS can send this correspondence.

[0138] 102. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two substreams of the data stream carries the identifier of the first substream.

[0139] The AS sends a data stream to the UPF. This data stream can carry one or more sub-stream identifiers, specifically by carrying a sub-stream identifier for each sub-stream within the data stream. For example, if the first sub-stream included in the sent data stream is a video stream, then the tracking identifier of the video stream can be included in the metadata of the MoQ message, or the stream identifier of the video stream can be included in the QUIC message.

[0140] Furthermore, in this application embodiment, the sub-stream identifier is carried in information that the UPF can decrypt in the data stream. For example, the tracking identifier is carried in the metadata, and the UPF can decrypt the metadata and read the tracking identifier. Therefore, the newly proposed data sub-stream identifier can also be extended to the metadata of the MoQ message, or other information that the UPF can decrypt; this application embodiment does not impose any limitations. This facilitates the UPF in obtaining the sub-stream identifier during data stream transmission and avoids security issues in encrypted data payload transmission that might arise from obtaining the sub-stream identifier from other encrypted information.

[0141] 103. The correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of each sub-stream and the identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0142] The PCF receives at least two sub-streams of a data stream sent by the AF and establishes a mapping between at least one QoS requirement for each sub-stream and its corresponding sub-stream identifier. Specifically, this mapping can be shown in Table 1. The PCF then generates Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules based on these mappings. That is, the PCC rule includes a mapping between at least one QoS requirement for each sub-stream and its corresponding sub-stream identifier. A PCC rule can be a single rule or multiple rules. For example, the mapping between the QoS requirements of all sub-streams of the data stream and their corresponding sub-stream identifiers generates one PCC rule. Alternatively, the mapping between the QoS requirements of some sub-streams of the data stream and their corresponding sub-stream identifiers generates another PCC rule, meaning all sub-streams of the data stream correspond to multiple PCC rules. Or, the mapping between the QoS requirements of a single sub-stream of the data stream and its corresponding sub-stream identifier generates a single PCC rule. The PCC rule sent by the PCF can also only address the mapping between some sub-streams of the data stream; this embodiment does not limit this.

[0143] 104. The SMF receives the PCC rules and sends the mapping rules. The mapping rules are generated based on the PCC rules and include the correspondence between the first sub-flow identifier and the first QoS flow identifier (QFI). At least one QoS requirement of the first sub-flow corresponds to the first QFI.

[0144] The PCF sends PCC rules to the SMF, which can then use them to generate QoS flows. Specifically, after receiving the PCC rules, the SMF determines the number of sub-flow identifiers based on the correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of a sub-flow and its sub-flow identifier. Based on this number of sub-flow identifiers, it generates QoS flows and assigns QoS Flow Identifiers (QFIs) to each QoS flow. This ensures that each sub-flow identifier corresponds to a different QFI, and this correspondence forms a mapping rule.

[0145] In this embodiment of the application, the PCC rule includes a correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of the first sub-flow and the first sub-flow identifier, and the generated mapping rule includes a correspondence between the first sub-flow identifier and the first QFI, as shown in Table 2:

[0146] Table 2

[0147] As shown in Table 2, taking Flow Identifier 1 as the first sub-flow identifier as an example, the SMF generates (or binds) two QoS flows based on the two flow identifiers, namely the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow. It assigns a first QFI (QFI1 in the table) to the first QoS flow and a second QFI (QFI2 in the table) to the second QoS flow, generating a correspondence between (Flow Identifier 1, QFI1) and (Flow Identifier 2, QFI2). Then, the SMF sends a mapping rule that includes this correspondence.

[0148] Alternatively, the PCF may also indicate to the SMF the correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of a sub-stream of the data stream and the sub-stream identifier through other information, rather than necessarily the PCC rule. This application embodiment does not impose specific limitations.

[0149] 105. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first substream identifier of the first substream from at least two substreams included in the data stream.

[0150] 106. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream.

[0151] The UPF receives the mapping rules and obtains the correspondence between the sub-stream identifiers of the data stream and the QFIs. Then, the UPF receives at least two sub-streams of the data stream sent by the AS and obtains the sub-stream identifier corresponding to the first sub-stream from the data stream. Further, the UPF determines the QoS stream to which the first sub-stream should be mapped based on the correspondence between the sub-stream identifier and the QFI in the mapping rules. For example, if the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream is obtained as Stream Identifier 1, the first sub-stream is mapped to the first QoS stream indicated by QFI1 according to the correspondence (Stream Identifier 1, QFI1) in the mapping rules. Finally, the UPF sends the first QoS stream to the RAN. Sending a QoS stream refers to sending the data carried by the QoS stream. Similarly, receiving a QoS stream also refers to receiving the data carried by the QoS stream, and scheduling a QoS stream also refers to scheduling the data carried by the QoS stream. This description applies to the following embodiments.

[0152] Optionally, the method further includes: the SMF sending first information, the first information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of a sub-stream identifier. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first information and obtains the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream from the data stream based on the first information.

[0153] In some cases, the UPF only needs to obtain the sub-stream identifiers corresponding to the sub-streams of the data stream upon receiving an indication message, and then maps each sub-stream identifier to a QoS stream. This reduces the overhead when it is not necessary to map the sub-streams of the data stream to QoS streams according to mapping rules. Therefore, before step 105, the SMF can also send first information to the UPF to indicate that the data stream is transmitted using the MoQ protocol (in the case of MoQ protocol transmission, the sub-stream identifiers may be included in the extended information of the metadata), or to indicate the acquisition of sub-stream identifiers. Upon receiving the first information, the UPF obtains the sub-stream identifiers corresponding to the sub-streams of the data stream and maps these sub-streams to QoS streams according to the correspondence between their sub-stream identifiers and QFIs.

[0154] Optionally, the first information is at least one of the following: a protocol described as MoQ protocol, a transmission indication using MoQ protocol, an indication identifier for detecting sub-stream identifiers, QoS parameters of a set of Protocol Data Units (PDUs), or a PDU set granularity transmission indication.

[0155] When the first information indicates that the data stream uses the MoQ protocol, the first information can be: a protocol description describing it as the MoQ protocol, or a transmission indication indicating that the data stream uses the MoQ protocol. The protocol description refers to the protocol description field sent by the SMF to the UPF, which describes it as the MoQ protocol. This allows the UPF to know that the data stream sent by the AF includes metadata, and the UPF can identify sub-stream identifiers from the metadata, such as the data sub-stream identifier, tracking identifier, transmission sequence, or sequence identifier described above. Similarly, when the first information is a transmission indication indicating that the data stream uses the MoQ protocol, the UPF can also detect or identify sub-stream identifiers from the metadata. The transmission indication for the MoQ protocol can be carried in a newly added field of the MoQ message.

[0156] When the first information is used to indicate the sub-stream identifier corresponding to the data stream, the first information can be: an indication identifier for detecting the sub-stream identifier, QoS parameters of the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) set, or a PDU set granularity transmission indication. If the first information is an indication for detecting the sub-stream identifier, the UPF can directly detect the sub-stream identifier based on the indication. This indication can be carried in a newly added field in a MoQ or QUIC message. If the first information is a QoS parameter of the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) set, such as network bandwidth, network latency, packet loss rate, or transmission reliability, the UPF obtains the QoS parameters of the PDU set. If the QoS parameters meet certain conditions, such as network bandwidth exceeding a preset threshold, it indicates that sub-streams with different QoS requirements can be mapped to different QoS streams. The UPF then detects the sub-stream identifier and performs subsequent mapping. If the first information is a PDU set granularity transmission indication, it indicates that the service stream is an XR service stream, and the UPF detects the sub-stream identifier.

[0157] The first information can also be a combination of the information described above. For example, the first information could be a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol and the QoS parameters of the PDU set. When the UPF simultaneously receives a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol and the QoS parameters of the PDU set are higher than a preset threshold, it detects the sub-stream identifier and performs subsequent mapping operations.

[0158] Optionally, the method further includes: the SMF receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate the protocol used by the data stream and / or to indicate the detection substream identifier. The SMF then sends first information based on the second information.

[0159] In other words, upon receiving the second information, the SMF generates the first information based on the second information. Alternatively, the first information can be the second information received and directly transmitted by the SMF. Similarly, the second information can be at least one of the aforementioned described information: a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol as described in the protocol description, an indication identifier for detecting sub-stream identifiers, QoS parameters of the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) set, or a PDU set granularity transmission indication. The second information received by the SMF can be sent spontaneously by the PCF, generated and sent by the PCF based on the AF information, or transmitted by the PCF through the AF. This application does not impose specific limitations on the embodiments.

[0160] Furthermore, the UPF maps the sub-streams of the data stream to QoS streams according to the correspondence between sub-stream identifiers and QFIs, and then sends this mapping to the RAN. The RAN schedules the QoS streams according to the QoS requirements corresponding to the QoS streams. Specifically, the method includes step 107: the SMF sends the correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs of at least two sub-streams of the data stream, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI. Correspondingly, the RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs of each sub-stream, and then executes step 108: the RAN receives the first QoS stream sent by the SMF and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream. The RAN can determine the priority of scheduling the QoS stream indicated by the QFI (to the UE) according to the QoS requirements, as well as the conditions that need to be met to schedule the QoS indicated by the QFI. For example, if the QoS requirement corresponding to QFI1 is high, the RAN can schedule the QoS stream indicated by QFI1 when the network quality is better, etc. (These can also be referred to as QoS processing of the QoS stream).

[0161] Optionally, the method further includes: obtaining a second sub-stream identifier of the second sub-stream from at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; and mapping the second sub-stream to a second QoS stream indicated by a second QFI corresponding to the second sub-stream identifier.

[0162] Even if any sub-stream included in the data stream can be mapped to the corresponding QoS stream using the above-described processing procedure for the first sub-stream, this application embodiment will not elaborate further.

[0163] It should be noted that in this embodiment, mapping the first sub-stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream according to the mapping rules sent by the SMF is not a necessary step in implementing the embodiment of this application. That is to say, this embodiment may not include steps 103 and 104, and step 106 may be replaced by step 106a (not shown in the figure): the UPF maps the first sub-stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream. The method by which the UPF obtains the correspondence between the sub-stream identifier and the QFI is not limited in this embodiment.

[0164] As can be seen, this embodiment of the application obtains the correspondence between each sub-stream identifier and its corresponding QoS requirement based on the sub-stream identifier of the data stream and one or more QoS requirements corresponding to the sub-stream. It then obtains the correspondence between the sub-stream identifier and the QFI (Quality Flow Indicator). Furthermore, by using the sub-stream identifier, sub-streams with different QoS requirements in the data stream can be mapped to QoS streams indicated by different QFIs, thereby enabling the sub-streams of the data stream to receive corresponding QoS processing. This process ensures that different QoS processing matches the corresponding QoS requirements, thus avoiding the waste of network resources that might result from applying high QoS processing to sub-streams with low QoS requirements, and the substandard network service quality that might result from applying low QoS processing to sub-streams with high QoS requirements. This improves network resource utilization while ensuring network service quality.

[0165] It should be noted that the order of the above steps is not necessarily the execution order of the method, and the order described in this application should not restrict the implementation process of the method. For example, step 107 can be executed after step 103 and before step 106, and there is no specific order between it and steps 104 and 105.

[0166] This application provides a communication indication method (not shown in the figure), which includes the following steps:

[0167] 1001. SMF sends the first message, which indicates that the protocol used for data stream transmission is the MoQ protocol.

[0168] Consistent with the foregoing embodiments, the first information can be a protocol description field or a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol. In the case where the first information is a protocol description field, the protocol description field sent by the SMF to the UPF describes it as the MoQ protocol. In the case where the first information is a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol, the SMF can use a new field in the sent information to carry the transmission indication for the MoQ protocol transmission.

[0169] 1002. UPF receives the first message.

[0170] After receiving the first information, the UPF can, as described in the foregoing embodiments, receive the data stream sent by the AS, and obtain the sub-stream identifier corresponding to the sub-stream from the data stream to complete the mapping of the sub-stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the sub-stream identifier. Alternatively, it can identify PDU set information, etc. That is to say, the embodiments of this application can be combined with the embodiments of Figures 3A to 3B for the foregoing, or they can exist independently.

[0171] The MoQ protocol in this embodiment can also be replaced by the QUIC protocol. That is, the SMF sends a message to the UPF to indicate whether the data transmission process uses the QUIC or MoQ protocol, so that the data stream transmission between functional entities can adapt to the transmission conventions of that protocol.

[0172] The following describes the cases involving different sub-stream identifiers in the above embodiments.

[0173] Please refer to Figure 4A, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 4A, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a data sub-stream identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0174] 201. The correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the data sub-stream identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the AF data stream.

[0175] The data substream identifier is used to indicate the data substreams mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities within the same data stream. Specifically, it can be a data substream encapsulated and transmitted using QUIC or MoQ encapsulation and transmission. Referring to Figure 4B, which is a schematic diagram of an object message structure provided in an embodiment of this application, as shown in Figure 4B, taking a data stream encapsulated and transmitted using MoQ as an example, the data substream identifier (the exemplary substream ID in Figure 4B) can be extended information in the metadata. Furthermore, the data substream identifier can distinguish data streams of different modalities and data substreams of different importance or transmission order; therefore, the metadata may not include tracking identifiers or transmission sequences.

[0176] The data sub-stream identifier in this application embodiment is used to identify a data sub-stream. Typically, one data sub-stream corresponds to one QoS requirement. Therefore, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the data sub-stream identifier and the QoS requirement.

[0177] 202. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two substreams of the data stream carries a first data substream identifier.

[0178] For example, the data substream identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message for each modal datastream.

[0179] 203. The correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the data sub-stream identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0180] 204. The SMF receives the PCC rules and sends the mapping rules. The mapping rules are generated based on the PCC rules and include the mapping relationship between the first data sub-stream identifier and the first QFI, and the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream correspond to the first QFI.

[0181] 205. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first data substream identifier of the first substream from at least two substreams included in the data stream.

[0182] 206. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream.

[0183] 207. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFI of at least two sub-streams of the SMF data stream, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI.

[0184] 208. The RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream.

[0185] The above describes the execution steps of the communication method when the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier. For detailed descriptions, please refer to Figures 3A and 3B above. Because the sub-streams of the data stream indicated by the data sub-stream identifier in this method correspond one-to-one with QoS requirements, each sub-stream corresponding to a QoS requirement can be mapped to a separate QoS stream. The receiving end's scheduling of each QoS stream is equivalent to performing separate QoS processing on the sub-streams of the data stream corresponding to each QoS requirement. This maximizes the guarantee of network service quality.

[0186] Please refer to Figure 5A, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5A, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a tracking identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0187] 301. The correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of each sub-stream and the tracking identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the AF data stream.

[0188] The tracking identifier is used to indicate whether the data stream (substream) transmitted by MoQ encapsulation is a video stream, an audio stream, or a haptic stream. The substream of the data stream indicated by the same tracking identifier, such as a video stream, may include one QoS requirement or multiple QoS requirements; therefore, one tracking identifier can correspond to one or more QoS requirements.

[0189] 302. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two substreams of the data stream carries a first tracking identifier.

[0190] For example, tracking identifiers are carried in the metadata of MoQ messages in video streams, audio streams, or haptic streams.

[0191] 303. The correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the tracking identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0192] 304. The SMF receives the PCC rules and sends the mapping rules. The mapping rules are generated based on the PCC rules and include the mapping relationship between the first tracking identifier and the first QFI, and the QoS requirements of the first sub-flow correspond to the first QFI.

[0193] 305. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first tracking identifier of the first substream from at least two substreams included in the data stream.

[0194] 306. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream.

[0195] 307. In at least two sub-streams of the SMF data stream, the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI.

[0196] 308. The RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream.

[0197] The above describes the execution steps of the communication method when the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier. For detailed descriptions, please refer to Figures 3A and 3B above. In this method, the tracking identifier is used to identify the video stream, audio stream, and haptic stream during MoQ protocol encapsulation and transmission. These three different modal data streams typically have different QoS requirements. Mapping the sub-streams of the data stream to the QoS stream indicated by QFI based on the tracking identifier enables these three different modal data streams to receive corresponding QoS processing, effectively improving network utilization.

[0198] In some cases, when a data stream is encapsulated and transmitted using the MoQ protocol, the sub-streams of the data stream may be data stream sub-streams with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities under the same mode. Therefore, the sub-streams of the data stream can be further indicated by a tracking identifier + sequence identifier. Please refer to Figure 5B, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5B, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a tracking identifier + sequence identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0199] 401. In the AF data stream, which consists of at least two sub-streams, the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the correspondence between the tracking identifier and the sequence identifier of each sub-stream are specified.

[0200] The tracking identifier indicates whether the data stream (substream) transmitted via MoQ encapsulation is a video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream. The sequence identifier indicates the different transmission order, importance, or priority of the data substreams. Therefore, the tracking identifier + sequence identifier can be used to indicate different data substreams within the same data stream. Different data substreams typically correspond to a QoS requirement, thus there is a one-to-one correspondence between the tracking identifier + sequence identifier and the QoS requirement.

[0201] 402. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two sub-streams of the data stream carries a first tracking identifier + a first sequence identifier.

[0202] For example, the tracking identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message for the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream. The sequence identifier can be the transmission sequence and is also carried in the metadata of the MoQ message. Alternatively, it can be other sequence identifiers carried in other fields of the MoQ message. This application does not limit the scope of the embodiments.

[0203] 403. In at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the correspondence between the tracking identifier and sequence identifier of each sub-stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0204] 404. The SMF receives the PCC rule and sends the mapping rule. The mapping rule is generated based on the PCC rule and includes the mapping relationship between the first tracking identifier + the first sequence identifier and the first QFI. The QoS requirements of the first sub-stream correspond to the first QFI.

[0205] 405. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first tracking identifier + first sequence identifier of the first sub-stream from at least two sub-streams included in the data stream.

[0206] 406. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream.

[0207] 407. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs of at least two sub-streams in the SMF data stream, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI.

[0208] 408. The RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream.

[0209] The above describes the execution steps of the communication method when the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier + sequence identifier. For detailed descriptions, please refer to Figures 3A and 3B above. In this method, the tracking identifier + sequence identifier is used to identify data sub-streams of different transmission orders, importance levels, or priorities under the three data streams: video stream, audio stream, and haptic stream. This allows for further QoS requirement segmentation for each modality of the data stream. By mapping the data stream sub-streams to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI based on the tracking identifier + sequence identifier, network utilization can be further improved while ensuring network quality.

[0210] In some cases, when data streams are encapsulated and transmitted using the MoQ protocol, sub-streams of data streams with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities under the same mode are not separately indicated by sub-stream identifiers. In this case, the sub-streams of the data stream can be indicated by tracking identifiers, and then differentiated QoS processing can be performed on different data sub-streams under the sub-streams indicated by the tracking identifiers by encapsulating scheduling instructions. Please refer to Figure 5C, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5C, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a tracking identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0211] 501. In at least two sub-streams of an AF-transmitted data stream, the correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of each sub-stream and the tracking identifier of each sub-stream.

[0212] 502. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two substreams of the data stream carries a first tracking identifier.

[0213] 503. The correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the tracking identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0214] 504. The SMF receives the PCC rule and sends the mapping rule. The mapping rule is generated based on the PCC rule and includes the mapping relationship between the first tracking identifier and the first QFI, and the QoS requirements of the first sub-flow correspond to the first QFI.

[0215] 505. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first tracking identifier of the first substream from at least two substreams included in the data stream.

[0216] 506. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream. The first QoS stream also encapsulates the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream.

[0217] In this embodiment, the first sub-stream indicated by the same tracking identifier is mapped to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI. The first sub-stream can be a different modality or type of stream, such as a video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream. Furthermore, the first sub-stream can include multiple data stream sub-streams with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities. For example, a video stream can also include data sub-streams corresponding to I-frames or P-frames. This means that the first QoS stream also corresponds to different QoS requirements of multiple data sub-streams, and the data of these data sub-streams with different QoS requirements corresponds to different scheduling strategies. To enable the RAN to perform corresponding scheduling processing on data with different QoS requirements in the first QoS stream, the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers can be encapsulated in the QoS stream. After obtaining the first QoS stream, the RAN can further schedule the data packets of different data sub-streams in the first QoS stream according to the encapsulated QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers. For example, QoS requirement 1 is encapsulation information encapsulated in the data packet corresponding to data sub-stream 1. After obtaining the data packet corresponding to data sub-stream 1 in the first QoS stream, the RAN obtains the encapsulation information from it and schedules the data packet corresponding to data sub-stream 1 according to the scheduling strategy corresponding to QoS requirement 1.

[0218] Optionally, the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream are encapsulated in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunnel transmission protocol (GTP-U) header of the first QoS stream. After receiving the QoS stream, the RAN first reads the encapsulation information in the GTP-U header, and then obtains the data packet scheduling policy based on the encapsulation information. This ensures that the data packets in the entire QoS stream are scheduled completely according to the encapsulation information, avoiding errors and omissions in the scheduling process.

[0219] 507. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs of at least two sub-streams in an SMF-transmitted data stream, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI.

[0220] 508. The RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the QoS requirements of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream.

[0221] After receiving the mapping between QFI and QoS requirements, and receiving the QoS stream, the RAN can schedule the QoS stream indicated by the QFI to the UE according to the QoS requirements. Taking the first sub-stream of the data stream as an example, assuming that the data packets in the first QoS stream mapped to the first sub-stream do not encapsulate additional QoS requirements, the RAN can schedule all data packets of the first QoS stream at once. Assuming that the data packets of the first QoS stream encapsulate additional QoS requirements, the RAN will perform scheduling processing corresponding to the additional QoS requirements for the data packets with additional QoS requirements, or perform scheduling processing that satisfies both the additional QoS requirements and the QoS requirements of the first QoS stream. The remaining data packets without additional QoS requirements will be scheduled according to the QoS stream itself.

[0222] The above describes the execution steps of the communication method when the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream indicated by the tracking identifier includes multiple data sub-streams. For detailed descriptions, please refer to Figures 3A and 3B above. In this method, the tracking identifier is used to identify video streams, audio streams, or haptic streams. If there are data sub-streams with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities, the scheduling strategy and QoS processing are differentiated through the encapsulation information encapsulated in the QoS stream. This process only applies to data sub-streams that require differentiated QoS processing, not all data sub-streams. This can improve network utilization while reducing the overhead in the data stream processing.

[0223] Please refer to Figure 6A, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6A, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a stream identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0224] 601. In at least two sub-streams of an AF-transmitted data stream, the correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of each sub-stream and the flow identifier of each sub-stream.

[0225] Stream identifiers are used to indicate whether the data stream (substream) transmitted by QUIC encapsulation is a video stream, an audio stream, or a haptic stream. The substream of the data stream indicated by the same stream identifier, such as a video stream, may include one QoS requirement or multiple QoS requirements; therefore, one stream identifier can correspond to one or more QoS requirements.

[0226] 602. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two substreams of the data stream carries a first stream identifier.

[0227] For example, the stream identifier is carried in the data packet of a QUIC message for a video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream.

[0228] 603. The correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the flow identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0229] 604. The SMF receives PCC rules and sends mapping rules. The mapping rules are generated based on the PCC rules and include the mapping relationship between the first flow identifier and the first QFI, and the QoS requirements of the first sub-flow correspond to the first QFI.

[0230] 605. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first stream identifier of the first substream from at least two substreams included in the data stream.

[0231] 606. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream.

[0232] 607. In at least two sub-streams of the SMF data stream, the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI.

[0233] 608. The RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream.

[0234] The above describes the execution steps of the communication method when the sub-stream identifier is a stream identifier. For detailed descriptions, please refer to Figures 3A and 3B above. In this method, the stream identifier is used to identify video streams, audio streams, and haptic streams during QUIC protocol encapsulation and transmission. These three different modal data streams typically have different QoS requirements. Mapping the sub-streams of the data stream to the QoS stream indicated by QFI based on the stream identifier enables these three different modal data streams to receive corresponding QoS processing, effectively improving network utilization.

[0235] In some cases, when data streams are transmitted using the QUIC encapsulation protocol, sub-streams of the same mode with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities are not separately indicated by sub-stream identifiers. In this situation, the sub-streams of the data stream can be indicated by flow identifiers, and then differentiated QoS processing can be performed on different data sub-streams under the sub-streams indicated by the flow identifiers through encapsulation scheduling instructions. Please refer to Figure 6B, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6B, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a flow identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0236] 701. In at least two sub-streams of an AF-transmitted data stream, the correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of each sub-stream and the flow identifier of each sub-stream.

[0237] 702. AS sends a data stream, wherein the first of at least two substreams of the data stream carries a first stream identifier.

[0238] 703. The correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the flow identifier of each sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the PCF received data stream, and the transmission policy control and charging PCC rules.

[0239] 704. The SMF receives PCC rules and sends mapping rules. The mapping rules are generated based on the PCC rules and include the mapping relationship between the first flow identifier and the first QFI, and the QoS requirements of the first sub-flow correspond to the first QFI.

[0240] 705. The UPF receives a data stream and obtains the first stream identifier of the first substream from at least two substreams included in the data stream.

[0241] 706. The UPF receives the mapping rules, maps the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the mapping rules, and sends the first QoS stream. The first QoS stream also encapsulates the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream.

[0242] 707. In at least two sub-streams of the SMF data stream, the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, including the correspondence between the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream and the first QFI.

[0243] 708. The RAN receives the correspondence between the QoS requirements of each sub-stream and the QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the QoS requirements of the first sub-stream.

[0244] The above sub-stream identifier is a stream identifier, and when the sub-stream of the data stream indicated by the stream identifier includes multiple data sub-streams, the execution steps of the communication method are as follows. For detailed descriptions, please refer to Figures 3A, 3B, and 5C above. In this method, the stream identifier is used to identify video streams, audio streams, or haptic streams. If it also includes data sub-streams with different transmission orders, different importance levels, or different priorities, the scheduling strategy and QoS processing are differentiated through the encapsulation information encapsulated in the QoS stream. This process only applies to data sub-streams that require differentiated QoS processing, not all data sub-streams. This can improve network utilization while reducing the overhead in the data stream processing.

[0245] In some cases, the AF can directly carry the QoS requirements of the sub-streams of the data stream in the sub-streams and send them, so that the UPF can directly map the sub-streams of the data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the QoS requirements. Please refer to Figure 7, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 7, the sub-stream identifier in this method is a stream identifier, and the method includes the following steps:

[0246] 801. QoS requirements for AF data stream transmission.

[0247] 802. The PCF receives the QoS requirements sent by the AF and sends PCC rules to the SMF. The PCC rules are generated based on the QoS requirements sent by the AF.

[0248] 803. The SMF receives the PCC rule, binds the QoS flow to the PCC rule, and assigns the flow identifier QFI.

[0249] In other words, the SMF determines the number of QFIs allocated based on the number of QoS requirements in the PCC rules.

[0250] 804. SMF sends N4 rule, which includes the bound QFI.

[0251] 805. SMF sends QFI and corresponding QoS requirements.

[0252] 806. AF sends a sub-stream of the data stream, and the sub-stream of the data stream carries QoS requirements.

[0253] Substreams of a data stream carry QoS requirements. For example, if a data stream is encapsulated and transmitted using the MoQ protocol, the QoS requirements can be extended in the metadata. After receiving a substream of the data stream, the UPF reads the corresponding QoS requirements from the metadata.

[0254] 807. The UPF receives N4 rules, receives sub-streams of the data stream and identifies the QoS requirements carried by the sub-streams of the data stream, and maps the sub-streams of the data stream to the QoS streams indicated by the bound QFI according to the QoS requirements.

[0255] UPF determines the binding relationship between QoS requirements and QFIs based on the received N4 rules, and obtains the corresponding QoS requirements from the sub-streams of the data stream. Therefore, it can know how to map the sub-streams of the data stream to the QFIs bound to its own QoS requirements, thus realizing the mapping of sub-streams with different QoS requirements to different QoS streams.

[0256] 808. When the UPF sends a QoS stream, the RAN receives the QFI and the corresponding QoS requirements, receives the QoS stream, and schedules the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the QoS requirements.

[0257] After receiving the QFI and corresponding QoS requirements sent by the SMF, the RAN determines the QoS processing for the QoS flow indicated by the QFI based on the level of the QoS requirements.

[0258] In this method, the AF carries the QoS requirements of the sub-streams of the data stream and sends them together with the sub-streams. After receiving the sub-streams of the data stream, the UPF can directly read the QoS requirements corresponding to each sub-stream. Then, it can map the sub-streams to the QoS streams indicated by the QFI according to their own QoS requirements and the binding relationship between them. This enables sub-streams with different QoS requirements to be mapped to different QoS streams, allowing the RAN to perform QoS processing according to the QoS requirements corresponding to each QoS stream, thereby improving network utilization and ensuring network service quality.

[0259] In some cases, data streams can be identified by stream identification information. Please refer to Figure 8, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 8, the method includes the following steps:

[0260] 901. AF sends the flow identifier information of the second data stream, as well as the QoS requirements of the second data stream.

[0261] In this embodiment, the second data stream refers to the form in which data is transmitted between different components. The service stream sent by the service running on the application server can be called the second data stream, such as the video stream corresponding to a video service, or the audio stream corresponding to an audio service.

[0262] Optionally, the second data stream includes one or more sub-streams, each sub-stream corresponding to a stream identifier.

[0263] The second data stream may include, for example, video streams, audio streams, or haptic streams (or other data streams parallel to these three, which can be referred to as different modalities or different types of data streams). Video streams may also include I-frames or P-frames, data streams corresponding to the base layer or enhancement layer, etc. These data streams can be called sub-streams. Each sub-stream corresponds to a stream identifier. In this case, each sub-stream may correspond to the same IP 5-tuple or IP triplet. The IP 5-tuple refers to the source IP address, source port, destination IP address, destination port, and transport layer protocol. Therefore, the identifier information of the second data stream sent by the AF can be a single stream identifier (without sub-stream division, or including only one or a type of sub-stream), or multiple stream identifiers (the second data stream includes multiple sub-streams).

[0264] When the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, the stream identification information is information carried by the MoQ protocol. Specifically, this can be track identification information, which can be a track ID, such as a numeric identifier (e.g., 213134), a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), or a uniform resource locator (URL). Alternatively, the track identification information can be a track name, such as hd-video, audio, abc / audio, etc. It can also be other information that can identify a track, or a track alias. The aforementioned track identification information can be represented as a string. The track identification can be transmitted as part of the stream description information, or it can be independent of the stream description information; this application does not impose specific limitations on this embodiment.

[0265] Alternatively, when the second data stream is transmitted based on a tunneling protocol, the flow identification information can be information carried by the tunneling protocol. Tunneling protocols include, for example, the Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) protocol, or the aforementioned GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP). Specifically, this can include identification information carried within the tunnel that can be used to identify the service flow, such as the tunnel identifier (id), the tunnel name, or strings carried within the tunnel to represent relevant information. The information carried by the tunneling protocol here does not include the information carried by the IP packets encapsulated within the tunnel (e.g., the IP 5-tuple information in the IP header).

[0266] While sending the flow identifier information for the second data stream, the AF also sends the QoS requirements corresponding to the second data stream. The correspondence between the flow identifier information and the QoS requirements for the second data stream includes the following:

[0267] a. One-to-one relationship, meaning that the number of data flow identification information and QoS requirements is 1, and the two correspond to each other.

[0268] bN to N relationship, where the number of data flow identifiers and the number of QoS requirement types are both N, and each data flow identifier identifies a sub-flow corresponding to a QoS requirement;

[0269] cM to N relationship, where M is the number of flow identifiers and N is the number of QoS requirement types, N < M, which means the case where multiple flow identifiers identify a sub-flow that corresponds to the same QoS requirement.

[0270] 902. AS sends a second data stream and the stream identifier information of the second data stream.

[0271] The second data stream sent by the AS can carry stream identifier information.

[0272] Assuming the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, as described above, stream identification information (e.g., tracking identification information) can be carried in the metadata.

[0273] Assuming the second data stream is transmitted based on a tunneling protocol, the second data stream and the stream identifier information can be carried in the tunneling protocol simultaneously.

[0274] 903. The PCF receives the QoS requirements and flow identification information of the second data stream, and sends the Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules containing the QoS requirements and flow identification information.

[0275] 904. The SMF receives the PCC rule and sends the first rule. The first rule is generated based on the PCC rule and includes the mapping relationship between the flow identifier information and the QFI.

[0276] In this embodiment, after receiving the PCC rule, the SMF learns the QoS requirements and flow identification information of the second data stream. It then generates a mapping between the flow identification information and the QFI (Quality Flow Information). This allows the second data stream to be mapped to a QoS stream according to the flow identification information. Multiple flow identification information can correspond to the same QFI or different QFIs. Assuming the second data stream includes multiple sub-streams, and each sub-stream corresponds to one flow identification information, each sub-stream can be mapped to a QoS stream indicated by a QFI, and multiple sub-streams can be mapped to the same QoS stream indicated by the same QFI.

[0277] Specifically, SMF can include the mapping between flow identifiers and QFIs (the first rule) in the packet detection rule (PDR) (or the first rule is PDR) and send it to UPF.

[0278] 905. The UPF receives the second data stream and obtains the stream identifier information from the second data stream.

[0279] As described above, the second data stream sent by the AS carries flow identification information, and the UPF can also obtain the flow identification information from the received second data stream. Assuming the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, tracking identification information (flow identification information) can be obtained from the original data.

[0280] Furthermore, UPF can first identify data streams based on the IP 5-tuple, and then distinguish them using data stream identification information.

[0281] Assuming the second data stream is transmitted based on a tunneling protocol, the stream identification information can be obtained from the tunneling protocol.

[0282] 906. The UPF receives the first rule, maps the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the first rule, and sends the second data stream. The sent second data stream includes the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI.

[0283] UPF maps the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the correspondence between the flow identifier information in the first rule (e.g., PDR) and the QFI.

[0284] In this application, mapping the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI can be understood as inserting QFI information into the tunnel protocol header carrying the second data stream.

[0285] Alternatively, it can be said that the second data stream is mapped to the QoS stream based on the flow identification information. Mapping the second data stream to the QoS stream can be understood as inserting the QFI information corresponding to the QoS stream into the tunnel protocol header carrying the second data stream.

[0286] In the foregoing description, flow identification information corresponds to QFI. However, the second data stream or sub-stream identified by the same flow identification information may correspond to one QoS requirement, multiple QoS requirements, or multiple sub-streams identified by flow identification information may correspond to the same QoS requirement. Therefore, the following situations may be included:

[0287] 1) Within the same QFI-indicated QoS flow, a subflow with a QoS requirement is mapped.

[0288] For example, in QoS flow 1 indicated by QFI1, subflow 1 is mapped, and subflow 1 corresponds to QoS requirement 1. That is, there is a correspondence: (QoS flow 1, subflow 1, QoS requirement 1).

[0289] 2) Multiple QoS requirement sub-streams are mapped in the same QFI-indicated QoS stream.

[0290] For example, in QoS flow 2 indicated by QFI2, subflow 21 is mapped, corresponding to QoS requirement 21, and subflow 22 is also mapped, corresponding to QoS requirement 22. That is, there is a correspondence: (QoS flow 2, (subflow 21, QoS requirement 21), (subflow 22, QoS requirement 22)).

[0291] 3) Multiple sub-streams with the same QoS requirements are mapped to different QoS streams.

[0292] For example, in QoS flow 3 indicated by QFI3, subflow 3 is mapped, corresponding to QoS requirement 3; in QoS flow 4 indicated by QFI4, subflow 4 is mapped, corresponding to QoS requirement 3; in QoS flow 5 indicated by QFI5, subflow 5 is mapped, corresponding to QoS requirement 3. That is, a correspondence exists:

[0293] (QoS flow 3, sub-flow 3, QoS requirement 3);

[0294] (QoS flow 4, sub-flow 4, QoS requirement 3);

[0295] (QoS flow 5, sub-flow 5, QoS requirement 3).

[0296] 907. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs for the second data stream sent by the SMF, including the correspondence between the first QoS requirements and the first QFI.

[0297] 908. The RAN receives the correspondence between QoS parameters (generated based on QoS requirements, or corresponding to QoS requirements) and QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the first QoS requirements.

[0298] The RAN can determine the order in which QoS flows indicated by QFI are scheduled (to the UE) based on QoS requirements, as well as the conditions that must be met for scheduling the QoS flows indicated by QFI. For example, if the QoS requirement corresponding to QFI1 is high, the RAN can schedule the QoS flow indicated by QFI1 when the network quality is better. This achieves differentiated scheduling of the second data flow.

[0299] As can be seen in this embodiment, the flow identification information sent by the AF to identify the second data stream can be a single flow identification information or multiple flow identification information. The UPF maps the corresponding second data stream to a QoS stream according to the flow identification information, so that the RAN can schedule the second data stream or sub-stream identified by each flow identification information, ensuring the orderliness and efficiency of scheduling. The flow identification information can be an identifier, a name, or a string, etc., expanding the meaning of the flow identification information.

[0300] In some cases, data streams can be identified by stream identification information and other metadata. Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9, the method includes the following steps:

[0301] 011. AF sends the flow identifier information and metadata information of the second data stream, as well as the QoS requirements of the second data stream.

[0302] The AF sends the QoS requirements corresponding to the second data stream along with the flow identification information. The correspondence between the flow identification information and the QoS requirements includes the following:

[0303] The relationship between N and M is defined as follows: N is the number of stream identifiers, and M is the number of QoS requirement types. N < M, which means that a sub-stream identified by the same stream identifier corresponds to multiple QoS requirements (for example, a video stream corresponds to the same stream identifier, but its I-frames and P-frames correspond to different QoS requirements).

[0304] In this scenario, relying solely on flow identifier information to differentiate between sub-streams may not adequately separate sub-streams with varying QoS requirements. Therefore, a combination of flow identifier information and metadata information can be used to more fully separate the second data stream.

[0305] 012. AS sends a second data stream, along with the stream identifier information and metadata information of the second data stream.

[0306] 013. The PCF receives the QoS requirements, flow identification information, and metadata information of the second data stream, and sends the Policy Control and Accounting (PCC) rules containing the QoS requirements, flow identification information, and metadata information.

[0307] 014. The SMF receives the PCC rule and sends the first rule. The first rule is generated based on the PCC rule and includes the mapping relationship between flow identification information and metadata information and QFI (i.e., binding the PCC rule to the QoS flow). The first rule can be included in the PDR, or the first rule is the PDR.

[0308] 015. The UPF receives the second data stream and obtains the stream identifier information and metadata information from the second data stream.

[0309] 016. The UPF receives the first rule, maps the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the first rule, and sends the second data stream. The second data stream includes the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI.

[0310] 017. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs for the second data stream sent by the SMF, including the correspondence between the first QoS requirements and the first QFI.

[0311] 018. The RAN receives the correspondence between QoS parameters (corresponding to QoS requirements) and QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the first QoS requirements.

[0312] The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment corresponding to Figure 8 is that the second data stream (a sub-stream) is identified by stream identification information and additional metadata information. The additional metadata information can be one or more pieces of information from the media over QUIC transport (MOQT) metadata, specifically, for example, a group sequence, an object sequence, or an object send order (as shown in Figure 3B). Alternatively, it can be other information added to the metadata. Similar to the description in Figure 8, the stream identification information + metadata information can be part of the stream description information, or it can be independent of the stream description information.

[0313] Using stream identifier information plus metadata information to identify sub-streams of the second data stream can further differentiate sub-streams with the same stream identifier information. For example, for a video stream, it may correspond to the same tracking identifier information, but its I-frames and P-frames may correspond to different object transmission orders. Using stream identifier information plus metadata information can further differentiate the sub-streams of the second data stream, allowing sub-streams with different QoS requirements to be mapped to different QoS streams, further improving the effectiveness of RAN in differentiating and scheduling QoS streams.

[0314] In some cases, the data stream sent by the AS can be carried through a tunnel. Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the method includes the following steps:

[0315] 111. The AF sends the flow identification information of the second data stream, as well as the QoS requirements of the second data stream.

[0316] 112. AS sends a second data stream and the stream identifier information of the second data stream through the tunnel.

[0317] 113. The PCF receives the QoS requirements and flow identification information of the second data stream, and sends the Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rules containing the QoS requirements and flow identification information.

[0318] 114. The SMF receives the PCC rule and sends the first rule. The first rule is generated based on the PCC rule and includes the mapping relationship between the flow identifier information and the QFI. The first rule can be included in the PDR, or the first rule is the PDR.

[0319] 115. The UPF receives the second data stream and obtains the stream identifier information from the second data stream.

[0320] UPF acts as a tunnel endpoint, acquiring the second data stream within the tunnel and identifying the stream identifier information of the second data stream.

[0321] 116. The UPF receives the first rule, maps the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the first rule, and sends the second data stream. The sent second data stream includes the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI.

[0322] UPF obtains the flow identification information from the first rule (which may be PDR), matches the flow identification information with the flow identification information identified from the second data stream, and transmits the matched second data stream (sub-stream) through the QoS stream indicated by the corresponding QFI.

[0323] 117. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs for the second data stream sent by the SMF, including the correspondence between the first QoS requirements and the first QFI.

[0324] 118. The RAN receives the correspondence between QoS parameters (corresponding to QoS requirements) and QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the first QoS requirements.

[0325] This application describes the case where the second data stream is transmitted via a tunnel. Stream identification information (such as the track ID described above) can also be included in the tunnel header. Since a tunnel segment between two network elements is uniquely identified through the tunnel endpoints during tunnel transmission, using a tunnel for the second data stream transmission improves both transmission efficiency and security. Furthermore, including the stream identification information in the tunnel header does not affect the efficiency of obtaining this information. Overall, this enhances the security and reliability of the second data stream mapping process.

[0326] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the second data stream is transmitted via a tunnel, and can be applied to any of the embodiments corresponding to Figures 3A to 9 (i.e., the sub-stream identifier can be any of those mentioned in the aforementioned embodiments), which will not be elaborated further here. Besides transmitting the second data stream via a tunnel, the above embodiments can also transmit the second data stream via data packets, which will also not be elaborated further here.

[0327] In some cases, data streams can be identified by priority information. Please refer to Figure 11, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the method includes the following steps:

[0328] 211. The AF sends the priority information of the second data stream, as well as the QoS requirements of the second data stream.

[0329] In this embodiment, the second data stream or its sub-streams are identified by priority information. The same priority information can identify one or more sub-streams. For example, for audio and haptic streams (whose QoS requirements can be the same or different), they can correspond to the first priority information; for video streams, they can correspond to the second priority information. Alternatively, for I-frames in a video stream, the first priority information is used; for P-frames in a video stream, the second priority information is used.

[0330] 212. AS sends a second data stream and its priority information.

[0331] The AS can send the second data stream via data packets or via a tunnel.

[0332] 213. The PCF receives the QoS requirements and priority information of the second data stream, and sends policy control and charging (PCC) rules containing the QoS requirements and priority information of the second data stream.

[0333] 214. The SMF receives the PCC rule and sends the first rule. The first rule is generated based on the PCC rule and includes the mapping relationship between priority information and QFI. The first rule can be included in the PDR, or the first rule is the PDR.

[0334] 215. The UPF receives the second data stream and obtains the priority information of the second data stream from it.

[0335] 216. The UPF receives the first rule, maps the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI according to the first rule, and sends the second data stream. The sent second data stream includes the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI.

[0336] 217. The correspondence between the QoS requirements and QFIs for the second data stream sent by the SMF, including the correspondence between the first QoS requirements and the first QFI.

[0337] 218. The RAN receives the correspondence between QoS parameters (corresponding to QoS requirements) and QFI, receives the first QoS stream, and schedules the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI according to the first QoS requirements.

[0338] This application describes a scenario where a second data stream or a sub-stream of a second data stream is identified by priority information. In this embodiment, the sub-streams of the second data stream can be divided at any granularity, meaning that sub-streams with different QoS requirements can be split or combined for identification. This improves the flexibility of differentiated QoS flow mapping of the sub-streams of the second data stream based on flow identification information and further ensures the reliability of QoS flow scheduling.

[0339] As shown in Figure 12, a schematic diagram of the communication device structure, this application also provides a communication device 1100, which can be a UPF entity or can be used in a UPF entity. The communication device 1100 includes a transceiver unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102. The transceiver unit 1101 can be or can be deployed in a transceiver, transceiver antenna, input / output interface, or other unit or module capable of realizing information transmission and reception functions. The processing unit 1102 can be or can be deployed in a processor.

[0340] Transceiver unit 1101 is used to receive a data stream, the data stream including at least two sub-streams, the at least two sub-streams corresponding to the same 5-tuple, and each sub-stream in the at least two sub-streams corresponding to a different sub-stream identifier;

[0341] Processing unit 1102 is configured to obtain the first sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream from at least two sub-streams included in the data stream;

[0342] The processing unit 1102 is further configured to map the first sub-stream to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QoS stream identifier QFI corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier.

[0343] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to: receive mapping rules, the mapping rules including the correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and the first QFI; the processing unit is specifically configured to: map the first sub-stream to the first QoS flow indicated by the first QoS flow identifier QFI corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier according to the mapping rules.

[0344] Optionally, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to: obtain a second sub-stream identifier of the second sub-stream from at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; and map the second sub-stream to the second QoS stream indicated by the second QFI corresponding to the second sub-stream identifier.

[0345] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to: receive first information, the first information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier.

[0346] Optionally, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Networking (HDN) connections.

[0347] Optionally, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

[0348] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the MoQ protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0349] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the QUIC protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0350] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or different priorities under the same data stream.

[0351] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or different priorities under different data streams.

[0352] Optionally, the data substream identifier or sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

[0353] Optionally, the first sub-flow includes data sub-flows mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities, and the first QoS flow also corresponds to the scheduling strategies of multiple data sub-flows.

[0354] Optionally, the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream are encapsulated in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) header of the first QoS stream.

[0355] Optionally, the first information is at least one of the following: a protocol description field, a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol, an indication identifier for obtaining sub-stream identifiers, QoS parameters of the protocol data unit (PDU) set, or a PDU set granularity transmission indication.

[0356] Where possible, the communication device 1100 may also include:

[0357] The transceiver unit 1101 is used to receive a second data stream and the stream identification information corresponding to the second data stream. The stream identification information is used to identify the second data stream. The stream identification information is information carried by the media MoQ protocol based on QUIC or information carried by the tunneling protocol.

[0358] Processing unit 1102 is used to map a second data stream to a first QoS stream based on flow identifier information.

[0359] Optionally, the second data stream includes one or more sub-streams, the one or more sub-streams correspond to the same IP 5-tuple, each sub-stream corresponds to a flow identifier, and mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier includes: mapping each sub-stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier corresponding to each sub-stream.

[0360] Optionally, before mapping the second data stream to the first QoS stream, the transceiver unit is further configured to: receive a first rule, the first rule including flow identification information and its corresponding QFI, and map the second data stream to the QoS stream based on the flow identification information, including: mapping the second data stream to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the flow identification information according to the first rule.

[0361] Optionally, the second data stream is transmitted via tunnel or via the MoQ protocol.

[0362] Optionally, when the second data stream is transmitted via a tunnel, the stream identification information is the identification information carried by the tunnel protocol, and the second data stream and the stream identification information are carried in the tunnel protocol at the same time.

[0363] Optionally, when the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, the stream identification information is tracking identification information, which can be one or more of the following forms: identifier, name, or string.

[0364] As shown in Figure 13, a schematic diagram of the communication device structure, this application also provides a communication device 1200. This transmission device can be, but is not limited to, an SMF entity, or can be used with, but is not limited to, an SMF entity. The communication device may include a transceiver unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202. The transceiver unit 1201 can be, or can be deployed in, a transceiver antenna, input / output interfaces, or other units or modules capable of transmitting and receiving information. The processing unit 1202 can be, or can be deployed in a processor.

[0365] The transceiver unit 1201 is used to receive policy and charging control (PCC) rules. The PCC rules include the correspondence between at least one quality of service (QoS) requirement of the first sub-stream and the identifier of the first sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the data stream. The identifier of the first sub-stream is the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream.

[0366] Processing unit 1202 is used to generate mapping rules according to PCC rules;

[0367] The transceiver unit 1201 is also used to send mapping rules, which include the correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and the first QoS stream identifier (QFI), and at least one QoS requirement of the first sub-stream corresponds to the first QFI.

[0368] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1201 is further configured to: send first information, the first information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier.

[0369] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1201 is further configured to: receive second information, the second information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier; the first information is generated based on the second information.

[0370] Optionally, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Networking (HDN) connections.

[0371] Optionally, the data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

[0372] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the MoQ protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0373] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when the QUIC protocol is encapsulated and transmitted.

[0374] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or different priorities under the same data stream.

[0375] Optionally, the sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or different priorities under different data streams.

[0376] Optionally, the data substream identifier or sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

[0377] Optionally, when the same data stream includes data sub-streams mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities, the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the sub-stream identifier also corresponds to the scheduling policies of multiple data sub-streams.

[0378] Optionally, the QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the same data stream are encapsulated in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) header of the data stream's QoS stream.

[0379] Where possible, the communication device 1100 may also include:

[0380] The transceiver unit 1201 is used to receive policy and charging control (PCC) rules. The PCC rules include flow identification information and the quality of service (QoS) requirements corresponding to the flow identification information. The flow identification information is either information carried by the media MoQ protocol based on QUIC or information carried by the tunneling protocol.

[0381] The transceiver unit 1201 is also used to send a first rule, which is generated according to the PCC rule. The first rule includes flow identification information and the QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the flow identification information.

[0382] Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device 1300 according to an embodiment of this application. The structure of communication device 1100 or communication device 1200 can refer to the structure shown in Figure 14. Communication device 1300 includes: a processor 111 and a transceiver 112, wherein the processor 111 and the transceiver 112 are electrically coupled.

[0383] The processor 111 is configured to execute some or all of the computer program instructions in the memory, and when the some or all of the computer program instructions are executed, the device performs the method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0384] The transceiver 112 is used to communicate with other devices; for example, a network device sends first information and second information to a terminal, and the terminal receives the first information and second information sent by the network device.

[0385] Optionally, the device may also include a memory 113 for storing computer program instructions. Optionally, the memory 113 (memory #1) may be located within the device, the memory 113 (memory #2) may be integrated with the processor 111, or the memory 113 (memory #3) may be located outside the device.

[0386] It should be understood that the communication device 1300 shown in Figure 14 can be a chip or circuit. For example, it can be a chip or circuit located within a terminal device or communication device. The transceiver 112 described above can also be a communication interface. The transceiver includes a receiver and a transmitter. Furthermore, the communication device 1300 can also include a bus system.

[0387] The processor 111, memory 113, and transceiver 112 are connected via a bus system. The processor 111 executes the instructions stored in the memory 113 to control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals, thus completing the steps of the transmitting or receiving end in the implementation method of this application. The memory 113 can be integrated into the processor 111 or it can be set separately from the processor 111.

[0388] As one implementation, the transceiver 112's functionality can be implemented using transceiver circuitry or a dedicated transceiver chip. The processor 111 can be implemented using a dedicated processing chip, processing circuitry, processor, or general-purpose chip. The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor may further include hardware chips or other general-purpose processors. The aforementioned hardware chip can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The aforementioned PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), and other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0389] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be 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 (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous DRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memories described in this application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0390] This application provides a computer storage medium storing a computer program, which includes methods for performing the above embodiments applied to a sending end or a receiving end.

[0391] This application provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described above for use at a sending end or a receiving end.

[0392] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply 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 this application.

[0393] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples 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 implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0394] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0395] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0396] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. 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 the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0397] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0398] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as 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 this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0399] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a User Plane Function (UPF) entity, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a data stream, the data stream comprising at least two sub-streams, the at least two sub-streams corresponding to the same 5-tuple, and each sub-stream in the at least two sub-streams corresponding to a different sub-stream identifier; Obtain the first sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream from the at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; Map the first sub-flow to the first QoS flow indicated by the first Quality of Service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-flow identifier.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before mapping the first sub-flow of the at least two sub-flows to the QoS flow indicated by the QoS flow identifier QFI corresponding to the sub-flow identifier, the method further includes: Receive mapping rules, the mapping rules including the correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and the first QFI; Mapping the first sub-flow to the first QoS flow indicated by the first Quality of Service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-flow identifier includes: According to the mapping rules, the first sub-stream is mapped to the first QoS stream indicated by the first QFI corresponding to the first sub-stream identifier.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Network (FIN) connections.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the MoQ protocol.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the QUIC protocol.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or different priorities under the same data stream.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under different data streams.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The data substream identifier or the sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

10. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, When the first sub-flow includes multiple data sub-flows mapped from datasets of different importance or priorities, the first QoS flow also corresponds to the scheduling strategy of the multiple data sub-flows.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The QoS requirements or QoS requirement identifiers of multiple data sub-streams under the first sub-stream are encapsulated in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) header of the first QoS stream.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, Before obtaining the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream from the data stream, the method further includes: Receive first information, which is used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information is at least one of the following: The protocol description field includes a transmission indication using the MoQ protocol, an indication identifier for obtaining the sub-stream identifier, QoS parameters for the protocol data unit (PDU) set, or a PDU set granularity transmission indication.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the second sub-stream identifier of the second sub-stream from the at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; Map the second sub-stream to the second QoS stream indicated by the second QFI corresponding to the second sub-stream identifier.

15. A communication method applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, characterized in that, The method includes: The receiving policy and charging control (PCC) rules include a correspondence between at least one QoS requirement of the first sub-stream and the identifier of the first sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the data stream, wherein the first sub-stream identifier is the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream. Send mapping rules, which are generated according to the PCC rules. The mapping rules include the correspondence between the first sub-flow identifier and the first QoS flow identifier (QFI), and at least one QoS requirement of the first sub-flow corresponds to the first QFI.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC protocol for Fast User Datagram Network (FIN) connections.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The data stream is encapsulated and transmitted based on the QUIC media MoQ protocol.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a tracking identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the MoQ protocol.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the video stream, audio stream, or haptic stream under the same service when encapsulated and transmitted using the QUIC protocol.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15-18, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a sequence identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or different priorities under the same data stream.

21. The method according to claims 15-17, characterized in that, The sub-stream identifier is a data sub-stream identifier, and the sub-stream of the data stream corresponds to the data sub-stream mapped to datasets of different importance or priorities under different data streams.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The data substream identifier or the sequence identifier is carried in the metadata of the MoQ message containing the data stream.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15-22, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first message, which is used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate that the sub-stream identifier is obtained.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, Before sending the first information, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier; the first information is generated based on the second information.

25. A communication method applied to a User Plane Function (UPF) entity, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a second data stream and corresponding stream identifier information for the second data stream. The stream identifier information is used to identify the second data stream. The stream identifier information is information carried by the media MoQ protocol based on QUIC or information carried by the tunneling protocol. The second data stream is mapped to a QoS stream based on the stream identifier information.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The second data stream includes one or more sub-streams, the one or more sub-streams correspond to the same IP 5-tuple, each sub-stream corresponds to a flow identifier, and mapping the data stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier includes: mapping each sub-stream to a QoS stream based on the flow identifier corresponding to each sub-stream.

27. The method according to claim 25 or 26, characterized in that, Before mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream, the method further includes: Receive a first rule, the first rule including the flow identification information and its corresponding QFI, the QFI being used to identify the QoS flow; The step of mapping the second data stream to a QoS stream based on the stream identifier information includes: The second data stream is mapped to the QoS stream indicated by the QFI corresponding to the stream identifier information according to the first rule.

28. The method according to any one of claims 25-27, characterized in that, The second data stream is transmitted via tunneling or via the MoQ protocol.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, When the second data stream is transmitted via a tunnel, the stream identification information is the identification information carried by the tunnel protocol, and the second data stream and the stream identification information are carried together in the tunnel protocol.

30. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, When the second data stream is transmitted based on the MoQ protocol, the stream identification information is tracking identification information, which can be one or more of the following forms: identifier, name, or string.

31. A communication method applied to a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, characterized in that, The method includes: The receiving policy and charging control (PCC) rules include flow identification information and the corresponding Quality of Service (QoS) requirements; the flow identification information is information carried by the media MoQ protocol based on QUIC or information carried by the tunneling protocol. Send a first rule, which is generated based on the PCC rule. The first rule includes flow identification information and the QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the flow identification information.

32. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: A transceiver unit is used to receive a data stream, the data stream comprising at least two sub-streams, the at least two sub-streams corresponding to the same 5-tuple, and each sub-stream in the at least two sub-streams corresponding to a different sub-stream identifier; A processing unit is configured to obtain a first sub-stream identifier of a first sub-stream from the at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; The processing unit is further configured to map the first sub-flow to the first QoS flow indicated by the first Quality of Service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-flow identifier.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also used for: Receive mapping rules, the mapping rules including the correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and the first QFI; The processing unit is specifically used to: map the first sub-flow to the first QoS flow indicated by the first QoS flow identifier (QFI) corresponding to the first sub-flow identifier according to the mapping rule.

34. The apparatus according to claim 32 or 33, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also used for: Receive first information, which is used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier.

35. The apparatus according to any one of claims 32-34, characterized in that, The processing unit is also used for: Obtain the second sub-stream identifier of the second sub-stream from the at least two sub-streams included in the data stream; Map the second sub-stream to the second QoS stream indicated by the second QFI corresponding to the second sub-stream identifier.

36. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: The transceiver unit is used to receive policy and charging control (PCC) rules, wherein the PCC rules include a correspondence between at least one quality of service (QoS) requirement of the first sub-stream and the identifier of the first sub-stream in at least two sub-streams of the data stream, and the first sub-stream identifier is the sub-stream identifier of the first sub-stream. Processing unit, used to generate mapping rules according to the PCC rules; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a mapping rule, the mapping rule including the correspondence between the first sub-stream identifier and the first QoS stream identifier (QFI), wherein at least one QoS requirement of the first sub-stream corresponds to the first QFI.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is also used for: Send a first message, which is used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate that the sub-stream identifier is obtained.

38. The apparatus according to claim 37, characterized in that, The transceiver unit is further configured to: receive second information, the second information being used to indicate that the protocol used by the data stream is the MoQ protocol and / or to indicate the acquisition of the sub-stream identifier; the first information is generated based on the second information.

39. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes a method for performing any one of claims 25-30, or a method for performing the method of claim 31.

40. A wireless communication functional entity, characterized in that, The device includes a processor coupled to a memory for storing computer instructions, the processor executing the computer instructions such that the entity performs the method of any one of claims 1-14, or performs the method of any one of claims 15-24, or performs the method of any one of claims 25-31.

41. A communication system, characterized in that, The system includes the transmission device according to any one of claims 32-35 and the transmission device according to any one of claims 36-38.

42. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that instruct the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-14, or the computer instructions that instruct the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 15-24, or the computer instructions that instruct the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 25-31.

43. A circuit, characterized in that, include: A processor and an interface for executing a computer program or instructions stored in memory, performing the method of any one of claims 1-14, or performing the method of any one of claims 15-24, or performing the method of any one of claims 25-31.

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