Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: an access network device receiving a data packet set from a user-plane function network element and first time information corresponding to the data packet set, and on the basis of the first time information and a receiving time at which the access network device receives the data packet set, determining a delay budget of the data packet set when same is transmitted in an access network. In this way, since an access network device can determine a delay budget of a data packet set when same is transmitted in an access network, the access network device can conveniently control the transmission of the data packet set in the access network, so as to guarantee an end-to-end stable low-delay transmission requirement of the data packet set.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311294737.4 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] With the continuous development of wireless communication systems, data transmission latency continues to decrease, and transmission capacity is increasing. Wireless communication systems are gradually infiltrating services that require high real-time performance and large data volumes, such as extended reality (XR). Extended reality (XR) refers to various environments that combine real and virtual reality, as well as human-computer interaction, generated by computing technologies and wearable devices. It includes the following typical forms: augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).

[0005] XR services are one of the multimedia services currently receiving significant attention in the industrial sector. For XR services, the actual impact on user experience is end-to-end transmission latency, which is the total transmission delay from the time a video frame is generated on the application server or terminal device to the time it is transmitted to the terminal device or application server.

[0006] Therefore, further research is needed to ensure the end-to-end stable and low-latency transmission requirements of XR services.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for ensuring stable and low-latency end-to-end transmission requirements of XR services.

[0009] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to an access network device, a processor, chip, or chip system (such as a system-on-a-chip (SoC)), or functional module in the access network device. Taking the application of this method to an access network device as an example, the access network device receives a data packet set and first time information corresponding to the data packet set from a user plane functional network element; and determines a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set on the access network based on the reception time of the data packet set by the access network device and the first time information.

[0010] By adopting the above method, since the access network device can determine the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network based on the reception time and first time information of the data packet set received by the access network device, it is convenient to control the transmission of the data packet set in the access network to ensure the end-to-end stable low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0011] In one possible design, the method also includes: determining the data radio bearer DRB or logical channel LCH corresponding to the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network; mapping the data packet set to the DRB or the LCH, and sending it to the terminal device.

[0012] In this way, the access network equipment can map the data packet set to the corresponding DRB or LCH according to the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network, so as to control the transmission of the data packet set in the access network, thereby ensuring the end-to-end stable and low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0013] In one possible design, the DRB or the LCH corresponds to a first delay range, and the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is within the first delay range.

[0014] In one possible design, the method further includes: determining the earliest time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer based on the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network; and sending second time information to the terminal device, wherein the second time information is used to indicate the earliest time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer.

[0015] In this way, the access network device sends the second time information to the terminal device, so that the access layer of the terminal device can deliver the data packet set according to the second time information, thereby reducing the problem of frequent adjustment of congestion control at the transport layer and speed regulation at the application layer.

[0016] In one possible design, the second time information is carried in the packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP header corresponding to the data packet in the data packet set; or, the second time information is carried in the service data adaptation SDAP header corresponding to the data packet.

[0017] In one possible design, the first time information is used to indicate a first delay, which is the delay of the data packet set in transmission over the data network or the delay budget of the data packet set in transmission over the access network and the core network; the delay budget of the data packet set in transmission over the access network is determined based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device and the first time information, including: receiving third time information from the user plane functional network element, the third time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the user plane functional network element; determining the delay of the data packet set in transmission over the core network based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device and the sending time of the data packet set sent by the user plane functional network element; determining the delay budget of the data packet set in transmission over the access network based on the delay of the data packet set in transmission over the core network and the first delay. The sending time of the data packet set sent by the above-mentioned user plane functional network element can be replaced by the receiving time of the data packet set received by the user plane functional network element.

[0018] In one possible design, the third time information is carried in a General Packet Radio Service Technology Tunneling Protocol User Plane GTP-U packet header corresponding to a data packet in the data packet set.

[0019] In one possible design, the first time information is used to indicate a first time, which is determined based on the sending time of the data packet set sent by the user plane functional network element, the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the data network, and the delay for the transmission of the data packet set in the data network; the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network is determined based on the receiving time of the data packet set received by the access network device and the first time information, including: determining the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network based on the receiving time and the first time of the data packet set received by the access network device. The sending time of the data packet set sent by the above-mentioned user plane functional network element can be replaced by the receiving time of the data packet set received by the user plane functional network element.

[0020] In one possible design, the first time information is carried in the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the data packet in the data packet set.

[0021] In one possible design, the first time information is used to indicate the sending time of the application server sending the data packet set, or the first time information is used to indicate the generation time of the application server generating the data packet set; based on the reception time of the access network device receiving the data packet set and the first time information, the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network is determined, including: based on the reception time of the access network device receiving the data packet set and the sending time or the generation time, the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network is determined.

[0022] In one possible design, the first time information is carried in a real-time transport protocol (RTP) packet header corresponding to a data packet in the data packet set; or, the first time information is carried in an internet protocol (IP) packet header corresponding to the data packet.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a user plane function network element, a processor or chip or chip system (such as SoC) or functional module in the user plane function network element. Taking the application of this method to the user plane function network element as an example, the user plane function network element receives a data packet set and fourth time information corresponding to the data packet set from an application server; based on the reception time of the data packet set by the user plane function network element and the fourth time information, a first delay is determined, where the first delay is the delay of the data packet set in the data network or the delay budget of the data packet set in the access network and the core network.

[0024] By adopting the above method, the user plane functional network element can determine the transmission delay of the data packet set in the data network based on the reception time of the data packet set by the user plane functional network element and the sending time of the data packet set by the application server, thereby more accurately determining the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network and the core network, thereby facilitating the control of the transmission of the data packet set within the 5G system to ensure the end-to-end stable and low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0025] In one possible design, the method further includes: determining a quality of service QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay; mapping the data packet set to the QoS flow or the QoS sub-flow, and sending it to the access network device.

[0026] In this way, the user plane functional network element can map the data packet set to the corresponding QoS flow or QoS sub-flow according to the first delay, so as to control the transmission of the data packet set within the core network, so as to ensure the end-to-end stable and low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0027] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving configuration information from a session management function network element, the configuration information being used to configure a second delay range corresponding to the QoS flow or the QoS sub-flow; wherein the first delay is within the second delay range.

[0028] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending first time information to the access network device; wherein the first time information is used to indicate the first delay or the third delay range, and the first delay is within the third delay range; or, the first time information is used to indicate a first time, and the first time is determined based on the sending time of the user plane functional network element to send the data packet set, the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the data network, and the delay for the transmission of the data packet set in the data network. The sending time of the above-mentioned user plane functional network element to send the data packet set can be replaced by the receiving time of the user plane functional network element to receive the data packet set.

[0029] In one possible design, the first time information is carried in the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the data packet in the data packet set.

[0030] In one possible design, the first time information includes an index value, where the index value is associated with the first delay or the third delay range.

[0031] In one possible design, the fourth time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server; or, the fourth time information is used to indicate the generation time of the data packet set generated by the application server.

[0032] In one possible design, the fourth time information is carried in the RTP packet header corresponding to the data packet in the data packet set; or, the fourth time information is carried in the IP packet header corresponding to the data packet.

[0033] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which has the ability to implement the functions involved in the first or second aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations involved in the first or second aspect above. The functions or units or means can be implemented through software, or through hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented through hardware.

[0034] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices, for example, the communication unit is used to send system information to a terminal. The processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit can correspond to the operations described in the first or second aspect above.

[0035] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first or second aspect. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0036] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the first or second aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first or second aspect.

[0037] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0038] It can be understood that in the third aspect above, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0039] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include an access network device and a user plane functional network element; wherein, the access network device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect above, and the user plane functional network element is used to execute the method described in the second aspect above.

[0040] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program (or computer-readable instructions) is stored. When a computer reads and executes part or all of the computer-readable instructions, the method in any possible design of the first or second aspect above is executed.

[0041] Exemplarily, a computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable medium can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0042] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the method in any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect to be executed.

[0043] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a chip (or chip system), which includes a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, and the memory stores a computer program; the processor is used to call part or all of the computer program in the memory, so that the method in any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect above is executed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG2 is an example diagram of a protocol layer structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of transmission of downlink data between layers according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a data packet structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an end-to-end delay budget provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of a flow chart corresponding to a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of a mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of a flow chart corresponding to a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of a mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the earliest time carried in the PDCP header according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG9A is a schematic diagram of a flow chart corresponding to a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG9B is a schematic diagram of a mapping provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG10 is an exemplary block diagram of a device involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments.

[0059] The terms "first," "second," and the like, as well as various other terminology labels, etc., in the specification and claims and drawings of this application (if any), are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequential sequence. It should be understood that the numbers used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0060] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems or other communication systems.

[0061] The following will illustrate the 5G system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable with reference to (a) in Figure 1 and (b) in Figure 1. It should be understood that the 5G system described herein is merely an example and does not constitute any limitation to this application. It should also be understood that certain network elements in the 5G system may communicate using a service-based interface or a point-to-point interface. The following will introduce the 5G system framework based on a point-to-point interface and the 5G system framework based on a service-based interface, respectively, in conjunction with (a) in Figure 1 and (b) in Figure 1.

[0062] As an exemplary illustration, FIG1(a) shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G system 100a to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. FIG1(a) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented interface. As shown in FIG1(a), the network architecture may include but is not limited to the following network elements (or referred to as functional network elements, functional entities, nodes, devices, etc.):

[0063] (Radio) access network (R)AN) equipment, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, application function (AF) network element, data network (DN), authentication server function (AUSF) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data repository (UDR), etc.

[0064] The following is a brief introduction to the network elements shown in (a) of Figure 1:

[0065] 1. User equipment (UE): This term may also be referred to as terminal equipment, terminal device, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. A terminal can be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to a user, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. At present, some examples of terminals may include: mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). terminals in network, PLMN, etc.

[0066] Furthermore, terminals can also be terminals in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the Internet through communications, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. IoT technology, for example, utilizes narrowband (NB) technology to achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals.

[0067] In addition, the terminal can also include smart printers, train detectors, etc. Its main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal equipment), receiving control information and downlink data from network equipment, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network equipment.

[0068] It should be understood that the terminal can be any device that can access the network. The terminal and the access network device can communicate with each other using some air interface technology.

[0069] Alternatively, a terminal can function as a base station. For example, a terminal can act as a dispatching entity, providing sidelink signals between terminals in V2X or D2D applications. For example, a cell phone and a car can communicate with each other using sidelink signals. A cell phone and a smart home device can also communicate without relaying the communication signal through a base station.

[0070] 2. (Wireless) access network equipment: referred to as access network equipment in the embodiments of this application, it is used to provide network access functions for authorized user devices in a specific area, and can use transmission tunnels with different service qualities according to the level of the user device, business requirements, etc.

[0071] Access network equipment can manage wireless resources, provide access services to user equipment, and then complete the forwarding of control signals and data between user equipment and the core network. Access network equipment can also be understood as base stations in traditional networks.

[0072] Exemplarily, the access network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario. Optionally, the access network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network device in this application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The access network device in this application may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0073] In one possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, and different access network devices respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the access network device can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0074] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0075] 3. UPF network element: used for packet routing and forwarding, as well as quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data.

[0076] 4. AMF network element: The access and mobility management function network element is mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. It can be used to implement other functions of MME except session management, such as access authorization / authentication.

[0077] 5. SMF network element: mainly used for session management, Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management of user equipment, selection of endpoints of manageable user plane functions, policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification.

[0078] 6. PCF network element: A unified policy framework used to guide network behavior and provide policy rule information for control plane functional network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.).

[0079] 7. AF network element: used for data routing affected by applications, open function network element of wireless access network, interacting with the policy framework for policy control, etc.

[0080] 8. UDM network element: used to process UE identification, access authentication, registration and mobility management, etc.

[0081] 9. AUSF network element: used for authentication services, generating keys to achieve two-way authentication of user devices, and supporting a unified authentication framework.

[0082] 10. UDR: used to store the contract information of UDM network elements, policy information of PCF network elements, etc.

[0083] 11. DN: DN is a network outside the operator network. The operator network can access multiple DNs. Application servers corresponding to various services can be deployed in D to provide a variety of possible services for terminal devices.

[0084] In FIG1(a), Nausf, Nnef, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface sequence numbers. The meanings of these interface sequence numbers can be found in the 3GPP standard protocol and are not limited here.

[0085] In the network architecture shown in (a) of Figure 1, each network element can communicate with each other through the interfaces shown in the figure. For example, the UE and AMF can interact through the N1 interface, and the interaction message can be called an N1 message (N1Message). The RAN and AMF can interact through the N2 interface, and the N2 interface can be used for sending non-access stratum (NAS) messages, etc. The RAN and UPF can interact through the N3 interface, and the N3 interface can be used to transmit user plane data, etc. The SMF and UPF can interact through the N4 interface, and the N4 interface can be used to transmit information such as tunnel identification information of the N3 connection, data cache indication information, and downlink data notification messages. The UPF and DN can interact through the N6 interface, and the N6 interface can be used to transmit user plane data, etc. The relationship between other interfaces and each network element is shown in (a) of Figure 1. For the sake of brevity, they are not described in detail here.

[0086] As shown in Figure 1(b), it is a schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture based on a point-to-point interface. The introduction of the functions of the network elements therein can refer to the introduction of the functions of the corresponding network elements in Figure 1(a), and will not be repeated here. The main difference between Figure 1(b) and Figure 1(a) is that the interface between the network elements in Figure 1(b) is a point-to-point interface, not a service-oriented interface. N1, N2, N4, N5, N7, N15, etc. in Figure 1(b) are all interface serial numbers. The meaning of these interface serial numbers can be found in the meaning defined in the 3GPP standard protocol and is not limited here.

[0087] The following first explains the relevant terms involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0088] (1) Data packet collection

[0089] The data packet set is, for example, a protocol data unit (PDU) set (PDU set), which includes one or more PDUs (ie, data packets) of a payload of an information unit generated by the application layer.

[0090] A data packet set can correspond to a data frame (that is, a data packet set can be replaced by a data frame), for example, a data packet set includes all data packets in a data frame; for example, a video frame generated by an XR application is large and is divided into 100 PDUs at the Internet Protocol (IP) layer. These 100 PDUs are called a PDU set. Alternatively, multiple data packet sets correspond to the same data frame, for example, data packet set 1 and data packet set 2 correspond to the same data frame, data packet set 1 includes a part of the data packets in the data frame, and data packet set 2 includes another part of the data packets in the data frame. Alternatively, a data packet set corresponds to multiple data frames, for example, a data packet set includes data packets from multiple data frames.

[0091] Compared with the packet delay budget (PDB) and packet error rate (PER) in traditional quality of service (QoS) parameters, the standard introduces the protocol data unit set delay budget (PSDB) and protocol data unit set error rate (PSER) for XR services. Taking downlink transmission as an example, for a PDU set, PSDB represents the delay budget from the time the UPF network element receives the first PDU of the PDU set until the last PDU in the PDU set is successfully transmitted to the terminal device; for uplink transmission, PSDB represents the delay budget from the time the AS layer of the terminal device receives the first PDU of the PDU set until the last PDU in the PDU set is successfully transmitted to the UPF network element. PSER represents the transmission success rate of the PDU set calculated at the PDU set granularity.

[0092] (2) End-to-end delay budget of data packet collection

[0093] In the network architecture shown in Figure 1, a user-plane data transmission channel can be established for a terminal device through a control-plane signaling interaction process (e.g., a PDU session establishment process). The terminal device can then communicate with an application server deployed in the data network through the user-plane data transmission channel. For example, an application server can send a data packet set to a terminal device, and the transmission path for the data packet set is: application server → UPF network element → access network device → terminal device; or another example, a terminal device can send a data packet set to an application server, and the transmission path for the data packet set is: terminal device → access network device → UPF network element → application server.

[0094] That is, the end-to-end (E2E) transmission path of a data packet set may include the data network portion (i.e., the portion between the application server and the UPF network element), the core network portion (i.e., the portion between the UPF network element and the access network device), and the access network portion (i.e., the portion between the access network device and the terminal device). Therefore, the end-to-end delay budget of a data packet set (which may be called E2E PSDB) may include the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the data network (which may be called DN PSDB), the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the core network (which may be called CN PSDB), and the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network (which may be called AN PSDB). Among them, the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network can also be described as the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the air interface.

[0095] For example, taking downlink transmission as an example, the duration from the application server generating or sending a data packet set to the successful sending of the data packet set from the application server to the UPF network element is the DN PSDB; the duration starts from the time the UPF network element receives a data packet from the application server until a data packet set is successfully sent from the UPF network element to the access network device, and the CN PSDB is the duration; the duration starts from the time the access network device receives a data packet from the UPF network element until a data packet set is successfully sent from the access network device to the terminal device, and the AN PSDB is the duration.

[0096] (3) Protocol layer structure

[0097] To achieve end-to-end transmission of data packet sets, each communication device needs to follow the corresponding protocol layer structure. Figure 2 is an example diagram of the protocol layer structure. As shown in Figure 2, the access network protocol layer structure can be followed between the terminal device and the access network device. The description of the access layer protocol layer structure is as follows. The protocol layer structure between the access network device and the UPF network element may include the L1 layer (i.e., physical layer), the L2 layer (i.e., data link layer), the user datagram protocol (UDP) layer, the IP layer, the general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) layer, etc. The protocol layer structure between the UPF network element and the application server may include the L1 layer and the L2 layer; the application server and the terminal device may also include a peer application layer, a transmission control protocol (TCP) / real-time transport protocol (RTP) layer, and a UDP / IP layer. The following description will use the RTP layer and IP layer in the terminal device and application server as an example.

[0098] The access network protocol layer structure between the access network device and the terminal device may include a control plane protocol layer structure and a user plane protocol layer structure. FIG2 above illustrates the user plane protocol structure as an example. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer (PHY); the user plane protocol layer structure may include a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a physical layer. In one possible implementation, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer. The SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer may also be collectively referred to as the access layer. As can be seen from FIG2 , the terminal device also includes a non-access layer, such as a PDU session layer and an application layer. For a detailed description of the protocol layers, reference may be made to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0099] When an access network device and a terminal device perform user-plane data transmission, the data needs to pass through the user-plane protocol layers, such as the SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer. For example, data is transmitted between the access network device and the terminal device by establishing at least one data radio bearer (DRB). Each DRB may correspond to a set of functional entities, such as a PDCP layer entity, at least one RLC layer entity corresponding to the PDCP layer entity, at least one MAC layer entity corresponding to at least one RLC layer entity, and at least one physical layer entity corresponding to at least one MAC layer entity.

[0100] Taking downlink data transmission as an example, Figure 3 illustrates the transmission of downlink data between various layers. As shown in Figure 3, from the perspective of an access network device, after the SDAP layer entity of the access network device obtains data, it can map the data to the PDCP layer entity of the corresponding DRB based on the data's QoS flow indicator (QFI). The PDCP layer entity can then transmit the data to at least one RLC layer entity corresponding to the PDCP layer entity. The at least one RLC layer entity then transmits the data to the corresponding MAC layer entity. The MAC layer entity then generates a transport block, which is then wirelessly transmitted via the corresponding physical layer entity to the terminal device.

[0101] Downlink data can be encapsulated accordingly at each layer of the access network device. Data received by a layer from the layer above it is considered a service data unit (SDU) of that layer. After layer encapsulation, it becomes a PDU and is then passed to the next layer. For example, data received by a PDCP layer entity from the SDAP layer can be called a PDCP SDU. After the PDCP layer entity encapsulates the PDCP SDU (for example, by adding a PDCP layer header), it obtains a PDCP PDU and sends it to the RLC layer. The PDCP PDU received by an RLC layer entity from the PDCP layer can be called an RLC SDU. After the RLC layer entity encapsulates the RLC SDU (for example, by adding an RLC layer header), it obtains an RLC PDU and sends it to the MAC layer. After receiving the RLC PDU, the MAC layer can encapsulate one or more RLC PDUs (and RLC PDU segments) into a MAC PDU, which is also called a transport block, and send the transport block to the physical layer. After receiving the transport block, the physical layer can add verification information, such as a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), to the transport block and then send it to the terminal device. Among them, data can be transmitted between different layers through corresponding channels. For example, data can be transmitted between the RLC layer entity and the MAC layer entity through a logical channel (LCH), and data can be transmitted between the MAC layer entity and the physical layer entity through a transport channel.

[0102] From the perspective of the terminal device, after the physical layer of the terminal device receives the transport block from the access network device, it can pass it from the physical layer to the upper layer in sequence, and each layer can perform the corresponding decapsulation. In other words, the processing performed by each layer in the terminal device can be the reverse process of the processing performed by each layer in the access network device.

[0103] (4) Data packet structure

[0104] Based on the protocol layer structure shown in FIG2 , the structure of a data packet transmitted between different network elements or devices is briefly described below, taking downlink transmission as an example.

[0105] As shown in (a) of Figure 4, the data packet sent by the application server to the UPF network element can be an IP data packet. Exemplarily, the IP data packet includes data generated by the application layer, an RTP header encapsulated by the RTP layer, and an IP header encapsulated by the IP layer (also called an inner IP header).

[0106] As shown in (b) of Figure 4, the data packet sent by the UPF network element to the access network device can be a GTP user plane (GTP-U) data packet. Exemplarily, the GTP-U data packet includes an IP data packet (data generated by the application layer, an RTP header encapsulated by the RTP layer, and an IP header encapsulated by the IP layer) and a GTP-U header. The GTP-U header includes a GTP header encapsulated by the GTP layer, a UDP header encapsulated by the UDP layer, and an IP header encapsulated by the IP layer (also referred to as an outer IP header).

[0107] As shown in (c) of Figure 4 , the data packet sent by the access network device to the terminal device can be a MAC PDU or a transport block. For example, the transport block includes an IP data packet (data generated by the application layer, an RTP header encapsulated by the RTP layer, an IP header encapsulated by the IP layer), an SDAP header encapsulated by the SDAP layer, a PDCP header encapsulated by the PDCP layer, an RLC header encapsulated by the RLC layer, and a MAC header encapsulated by the MAC layer.

[0108] It is understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the data packets in the data packet set may include data generated by the application layer, and optionally, further include an RTP header encapsulated by the RTP layer and / or an IP header encapsulated by the IP layer. Hereinafter, the description will be made using an example in which the data packets in the data packets are IP data packets (i.e., including data generated by the application layer, an RTP header encapsulated by the RTP layer, and an IP header encapsulated by the IP layer).

[0109] As described above, the end-to-end delay budget (E2E PSDB) for a packet aggregate includes the delay budget for the packet aggregate's transmission in the data network (DN PSDB), the delay budget for the packet aggregate's transmission in the core network (CN PSDB), and the delay budget for the packet aggregate's transmission in the access network (AN PSDB). Since data networks are typically IP networks, routing paths and transmission delays are uncontrollable and may experience significant jitter. Therefore, to ensure the end-to-end transmission delay requirements for packet aggregates, 5G communication systems need to conservatively estimate the transmission delay in the data network. For example, for XR services, the end-to-end delay budget for an XR packet aggregate is 25 milliseconds (ms). The 5G communication system estimates that the delay distribution of the packet aggregate's transmission in the data network has a 95% probability of falling within 10ms. Therefore, a conservative assumption is that the delay budget for the packet aggregate's transmission in the data network is 10ms, with the remaining 15ms allocated between the access network and the core network. As shown in (a) in Figure 5, the delay budget allocated to the access network equipment part is 10ms, and the delay budget allocated to the core network part is 5ms. That is, the delay budget for the transmission of a data packet set in the access network is 10ms, and the delay budget for the transmission of a data packet set in the core network is 5ms.

[0110] However, the above conservative delay budget division method is difficult to guarantee the stable low-latency transmission requirements of the end-to-end data packet set. For example, the above conservative delay budget division method may result in some data packet sets of XR services having a small end-to-end delay (far less than the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set), while some data packet sets have a large end-to-end delay (greater than the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set).

[0111] For example, when the delay of a data packet aggregate in data network transmission (i.e., the actual transmission delay) is less than the delay budget for the data packet aggregate in data network transmission, the actual delay budget for the remaining data packet aggregate in access network transmission may exceed the pre-allocated delay budget for the data packet aggregate in access network transmission. For example, as shown in Figure 5 (b), the data packet aggregate transmission delay is 2ms, and the core network transmission delay is 3ms. The actual remaining delay budget for the data packet aggregate in access network transmission is 25ms – 2ms – 3ms = 20ms, which is much greater than the pre-allocated delay budget for the data packet aggregate in access network transmission (i.e., 10ms). In this case, if the access network equipment guarantees the transmission of the data packet aggregate in the access network according to the pre-allocated delay budget of 10ms, it will result in over-guaranteed E2E PSDB (the end-to-end delay of the data packet aggregate is much less than the E2E PSDB), resulting in low transmission resource utilization. In addition, when air interface congestion occurs, if the data packet set has not been successfully transmitted when the AN PSDB (i.e., 10ms) arrives, it is easy to trigger active packet loss, resulting in a decrease in PSER.

[0112] For another example, when the delay of a packet set in the data network exceeds the delay budget for the packet set in the data network, the actual remaining delay budget for the packet set in the access network may be less than the pre-allocated delay budget for the packet set in the access network. For example, as shown in (c) of Figure 5, the delay of the packet set in the data network is 13ms, and the delay of the packet set in the core network is 5ms. The actual remaining delay budget for the packet set in the access network is 25ms – 13ms – 5ms = 7ms, which is less than the pre-allocated delay budget of 10ms for the packet set in the access network. In this case, if the access network equipment guarantees the transmission of the packet set in the access network according to the pre-allocated 10ms delay budget, it will result in insufficient E2E PSDB guarantees, causing the end-to-end delay of the packet set to exceed the E2E PSDB. Even if the packet is successfully transmitted, it may still violate the end-to-end delay budget requirement.

[0113] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application will study the implementation of the requirements for ensuring stable and low-latency transmission of data packets from end to end. For example, the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application may include three possible solutions, namely Solution 1, Solution 2, and Solution 3.

[0114] In solution one, after the UPF network element receives a data packet set from the application server, it can determine the delay of the data packet set in the data network transmission (that is, the UPF network element can perceive the delay of the data packet set in the data network transmission) or the delay budget of the data packet set in the access network and the core network transmission, so as to facilitate the control of the transmission of the data packet set in the core network with the data packet set as the granularity, thereby ensuring the end-to-end stable low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set, reducing the problem of low transmission resource utilization due to excessive protection of E2E PSDB or insufficient protection of E2EPSDB resulting in end-to-end delay timeout of the data packet set.

[0115] In solution 2, after the access network device receives the data packet set from the UPF network element, it can determine the delay budget for the data packet set to be transmitted in the access network (that is, the delay budget for the actual remaining data packet set to be transmitted in the access network), which facilitates the control of the transmission of the data packet set in the access network with the data packet set as the granularity, thereby ensuring the end-to-end stable low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set, reducing the problem of low transmission resource utilization due to excessive guarantee of E2E PSDB or the problem of end-to-end delay timeout of the data packet set due to insufficient guarantee of E2E PSDB.

[0116] In solution three, after receiving a data packet set from a terminal device, the access network device can determine the transmission delay of the data packet set in the access network, and control the transmission of the data packet set in the core network based on the transmission delay of the data packet set in the access network (for example, mapping the data packet set to a QoS flow or QoS sub-flow based on the transmission delay of the data packet set in the access network). This ensures the end-to-end stable and low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set, reduces the problem of low transmission resource utilization due to excessive guarantee of E2E PSDB, or the problem of end-to-end delay timeout of the data packet set due to insufficient guarantee of E2E PSDB.

[0117] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments 1 to 3.

[0118] Example 1

[0119] In the first embodiment, the first solution will be described in detail.

[0120] FIG6A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6A , the method includes:

[0121] S601, the application server sends a data packet set and the fourth time information corresponding to the data packet set to the UPF network element; accordingly, the UPF network element receives the data packet set and the fourth time information.

[0122] Exemplarily, the fourth time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server, or the fourth time information is used to indicate the generation time of the data packet set generated by the application server. For example, after the application server generates the data packet set, it can perform some possible processing on the data packet set, and then send the data packet set. Therefore, the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server can be equal to the generation time of the data packet set generated by the application server plus the processing duration. Among them, if the fourth time information indicates the generation time of the data packet set generated by the application server, the subsequent delay of the data packet set determined by the UPF network element in the data network transmission can include the processing duration. In the following, "the fourth time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server" will be described as an example.

[0123] There are many specific implementations of the fourth time information indicating the sending time of the data packet set by the application server. Two possible implementations are described below in conjunction with implementation 1a and implementation 2a.

[0124] (1) Implementation 1a

[0125] In implementation 1a, the fourth time information is carried in the RTP packet header corresponding to the first data packet in the data packet set. For example, if the first data packet is an IP data packet, the RTP packet header corresponding to the first data packet is the RTP packet header included in the first data packet. The first data packet can be the first data packet in the data packet set, or the last data packet, or other possible data packets, without specific limitation. For example, taking "the first data packet in the data packet set" as an example, the first data packet in the data packet set can refer to the first data packet sent when the application server sends the data packet set. The above-mentioned "the last data packet in the data packet set" can be handled with reference to this, and other similar points can also be handled with reference to this.

[0126] In one example, the fourth time information includes a first RTP timestamp, and a network time protocol (NTP) time corresponding to the first RTP timestamp is the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server. NTP is a standard Internet protocol for time synchronization on the Internet, such as universal time coordinated (UTC) or global positioning system (GPS) time.

[0127] In this case, after the UPF network element receives the fourth time information, it can determine the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server based on the first RTP timestamp. For example, the UPF network element can obtain RTP-related information from the application server through the AF. The RTP-related information includes the correspondence between the initial RTP timestamp and the NTP time, as well as the sampling frequency information of the RTP timestamp. Among them, when a session starts (or when the service starts to be transmitted), the RTP timestamp can be initialized to an initial value (i.e., the initial RTP timestamp); subsequently, even if no signal is sent, the value of the RTP timestamp will continue to increase over time, that is, continue to increase according to the preset sampling frequency. Therefore, the UPF network element can determine the NTP time corresponding to the first RTP time based on the correspondence between the initial RTP timestamp and the NTP time, the sampling frequency information of the RTP timestamp, and the first RTP timestamp. For another example, the UPF network element can determine the sampling frequency of the RTP timestamp based on the correspondence between the RTP timestamp and the NTP time carried in at least one RTCP data packet sent by the application server; further, the UPF can determine the NTP time corresponding to the first RTP timestamp. For example, the UPF network element receives two RTCP data packets, which carry RTP timestamp a corresponding to NTP time a', and RTP timestamp b corresponding to NTP time b', then the UPF can determine that the sampling frequency of the RTP timestamp is (b'-a') / (ba); when the UPF receives an RTP data packet carrying a timestamp of c, the UPF can deduce that the corresponding NTP time is a'+[(b'-a') / (ba)]*(ca).

[0128] For example, the initial RTP timestamp is 0, and the NTP time corresponding to the initial RTP timestamp is 10:0:0:0:0 milliseconds on September 25, 2023. The sampling frequency information of the RTP timestamp is once every 1 millisecond. If the first RTP timestamp is 5, the NTP time corresponding to the first RTP timestamp is 10:0:0:0:5 milliseconds on September 25, 2023.

[0129] For example, taking XR services as an example, upon receiving a set of XR service data packets, the UPF network element can send a request message to the application server through the AF. The request message is used to request RTP-related information. Correspondingly, after receiving the request message, the application server sends RTP-related information to the UPF network element through the AF. Alternatively, the application server can proactively send RTP-related information to the UPF network element through the AF when the XR service starts or is about to start transmission.

[0130] In another example, the fourth time information includes the sending time when the application server sends the data packet set, which may be NTP time. In this case, the UPF network element receives the fourth time information and can obtain the sending time when the application server sends the data packet set.

[0131] (2) Implementation 2a

[0132] In implementation 1a, the fourth time information is carried in the IP header corresponding to the first data packet in the data packet set. For example, if the first data packet is an IP data packet, the IP header corresponding to the first data packet is the IP header included in the first data packet. The first data packet may be the first data packet, the last data packet, or any other data packet in the data packet set, without limitation.

[0133] Exemplarily, the fourth time information includes the sending time when the application server sends the data packet set. In this case, the UPF network element receives the fourth time information and can obtain the sending time when the application server sends the data packet set.

[0134] In addition, it can be understood that the application server can send one fourth time information to the UPF network element, or it can also send multiple fourth time information. For example, the data packet set includes data packet 1, data packet 2 and data packet 3, and the multiple fourth time information sent by the application server to the UPF network element include fourth time information 1, fourth time information 2 and fourth time information 3. The fourth time information 1 is carried in the RTP header or IP header corresponding to data packet 1, the fourth time information 2 is carried in the RTP header or IP header corresponding to data packet 2, and the fourth time information 3 is carried in the RTP header or IP header corresponding to data packet 3. Among them, the fourth time information 1, the fourth time information 2 and the fourth time information 3 are the same information. Other similarities in the embodiments of the present application (such as the UPF network element sending the first time information or the third time information to the access network device) can be processed with reference to this.

[0135] S602: The UPF network element determines a first delay based on the time when the UPF network element receives the data packet set and the fourth time information, wherein the first delay is the delay of the data packet set being transmitted in the data network or the delay budget of the data packet set being transmitted in the core network and the access network.

[0136] Exemplarily, the UPF network element can determine the delay in transmission of the data packet set in the data network based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the UPF network element and the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server; the delay in transmission of the data packet set in the data network = the reception time of the data packet set received by the UPF network element - the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server.

[0137] For example, for the above implementation 1a, the UPF network element can synchronize with the NTP server in advance to obtain and maintain the NTP time. Furthermore, when the UPF network element receives a data packet set, it can record the time when the UPF receives the data packet set (for example, the receiving time is the NTP time), and according to the time when the UPF network element receives the data packet set (expressed as NTP time), receive time@UPF ) and the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server (expressed as NTP send time@server ), determine the delay of data packet transmission in the data network (expressed as δ1), δ1 is equal to NTP receive time@UPF and NTP send time@server The time interval between, that is, δ1 = NTP receive time@UPF -NTP send time@server .

[0138] For another example, with respect to the above-mentioned implementation method 2a, the UPF network element and the application server may negotiate in advance through the AF to synchronize to the same clock source. For example, the UPF network element obtains the clock source information of the application server through the SMF network element or the AF, and then synchronizes to the same clock source as the application server based on the clock source information of the application server. The clock source may be an NTP server or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) clock. Furthermore, when the UPF network element receives a data packet set, the reception time of the UPF receiving the data packet set may be recorded, and then the transmission delay of the data packet set in the data network may be determined based on the reception time of the UPF network element receiving the data packet set and the transmission time of the data packet set sent by the application server.

[0139] Further optionally, the UPF network element obtains the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set, and determines the delay budget of the data packet set in the core network and the access network based on the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set and the delay of the data packet set in the data network. For example, the delay budget of the data packet set in the core network and the access network = the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set - the delay of the data packet set in the data network (i.e., E2E PSDB-δ1). There are multiple ways for the UPF network element to obtain the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set; for example, the UPF network element obtains the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set from the SMF network element, and another example is that the UPF network element obtains the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set from the application server through the AF.

[0140] Using the above method, since the UPF network element can determine the delay of the data packet set in the data network transmission based on the reception time of the data packet set by the UPF network element and the sending time of the data packet set by the application server, it can more accurately determine the delay budget of the data packet set in the access network and core network transmission (that is, the PSDB of the data packet set in the 5G system), thereby facilitating the control of the transmission of the data packet set in the 5G system to ensure the end-to-end stable and low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0141] Optionally, the above method also includes S603-a and / or S603-b. S603-a or S603-b may also be performed independently. When S603-a is performed independently, the UPF network element may determine the first delay according to the method described in S601 and S602 above, or may determine the first delay by other possible methods, without specific limitation. When S603-b is performed independently, the UPF network element may determine the first delay according to the method described in S601 and S602 above, or may determine the first delay by other possible methods, without specific limitation.

[0142] S603-a, the UPF network element determines the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay, and maps the data packet set to the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay, and sends it to the access network device (that is, the data packet set is sent to the access network device through the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay).

[0143] Here, the UPF network element can receive configuration information from the SMF network element, and the configuration information is used to configure the correspondence between the delay range of a set of data packets from an application (for example, corresponding to a specific five-tuple) and the QoS flow / QoS sub-flow. For example, the configuration information is used to configure the second delay range of the specified application to correspond to QoS flow 1 or QoS sub-flow 1; further, if the first delay is within the second delay range, the UPF network element can determine that the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay of the data packet set received from the application is QoS flow 1 or QoS sub-flow 1. Among them, the QoS flow can be represented by a QoS flow identifier (QoS flow ID, QFI), and the QoS sub-flow can be represented by the QFI and an additional sub-flow identifier.

[0144] The following describes the correspondence between the latency range and the QoS flow / QoS sub-flow in conjunction with Example 1 and Example 2.

[0145] (1) Example 1

[0146] Taking the first delay δ1 as an example, when δ1 belongs to (0, t1], it corresponds to QoS flow a; when δ1 belongs to (t1, t2], it corresponds to QoS flow b; when δ2 belongs to (t2, t3], it corresponds to QoS flow c. See Table 1, which shows an example of the correspondence between the delay range to which δ1 belongs and the QoS flow.

[0147] Table 1: Example of the correspondence between the delay range to which δ1 belongs and the QoS flow

[0148] Based on Table 1, as shown in Figure 6B, when the UPF network element receives a service data flow (including multiple data packet sets), it can map the multiple data packet sets to different QoS flows for transmission based on the mapping rules (i.e., the correspondence between the transmission delay of multiple data packet sets in the data network and the QoS flow). For example, if the UPF network element receives data packet set 1 and determines that the transmission delay of data packet set 1 in the data network is 4.2ms, then the data packet set 1 can be mapped to QoS flow b for transmission; if the UPF network element receives data packet set 2 and determines that the transmission delay of data packet set 2 in the data network is 6.2ms, then the data packet set 1 can be mapped to QoS flow c for transmission.

[0149] (2) Example 2

[0150] Taking the first delay E2E PSDB-δ1 as an example, see Table 2, which is an example of the correspondence between the delay range to which E2E PSDB-δ1 belongs and the QoS flow.

[0151] Table 2: Example of the correspondence between the latency ranges to which E2E PSDB-δ1 belongs and QoS flows

[0152] For example, for a service data flow, the UPF network element receives a data packet set. When the delay budget (i.e., E2E PSDB-δ1) for transmission of the data packet set in the core network and access network is 21ms, the data packet set can be mapped to QoS flow b for transmission.

[0153] QoS flow a, QoS flow b, QoS flow c, and QoS flow d in Table 1 or Table 2 above may correspond to different PDBs (the PDB is the delay budget for data transmission between the UPF network element and the terminal device), which are explained below:

[0154] Taking XR services as an example, the SMF network element can determine the QoS parameters of each QoS flow and the packet detection rule (PDR) corresponding to each QoS flow in multiple QoS flows used to transmit XR services; wherein the QoS parameters of the QoS flow may include the PDB corresponding to the QoS flow, and the packet detection rule corresponding to each QoS flow may include the latency range corresponding to each QoS flow. The above configuration information may include packet detection rules corresponding to multiple QoS flows.

[0155] For example, multiple QoS flows include QoS flow a, QoS flow b, QoS flow c, and QoS flow d. Taking the corresponding relationship in Table 1 as an example, assuming the end-to-end delay budget of the XR service is 25ms, the sum of the maximum value of the delay range corresponding to the QoS flow and the PDB corresponding to the QoS flow can be less than or equal to 25ms to ensure the end-to-end delay budget requirement. For example, when the delay range corresponding to QoS flow a is (0, 2ms], the PDB corresponding to QoS flow a can be 23ms; when the delay range corresponding to QoS flow b is (2ms, 5ms], the PDB corresponding to QoS flow b can be 20ms; when the delay range corresponding to QoS flow c is (5ms, 10ms], the PDB corresponding to QoS flow c can be 15ms; when the delay range corresponding to QoS flow d is greater than 10ms, the PDB corresponding to QoS flow d can be 10ms.

[0156] S603-b, the UPF network element sends the first time information corresponding to the data packet set to the access network device; accordingly, the access network device receives the first time information.

[0157] The first time information is described below in combination with implementation manner 1b and implementation manner 2b.

[0158] (1) Implementation 1b

[0159] In implementation manner 1b, the first time information is used to indicate the first delay or the third delay range, and the first delay is within the third delay range.

[0160] For example, the first time information includes a specific value of the first delay, and the unit of the first delay included in the first time information may be 1 microsecond, 1 microsecond, 100 microseconds, or 1 millisecond. For example, if the unit of the first delay included in the first time information is 1 millisecond, if the first delay determined by the UPF network element is 3.2 milliseconds, 3.2 milliseconds may be truncated to 3 milliseconds, that is, the specific value of the first delay included in the first time information is 3 milliseconds.

[0161] For another example, the first time information includes an index value, and the index value is associated with a first delay, or the index value is associated with a third delay range, and the first delay is within the third delay range. Taking the index value associated with the delay range as an example, multiple index values ​​and delay ranges associated with the multiple index values ​​can be preconfigured in the UPF network element and access network equipment. For example, if the first delay is δ1, see Table 3 for an example of multiple index values ​​and delay ranges associated with the multiple index values.

[0162] Table 3: Example of multiple index values ​​and associated latency ranges

[0163] For example, the first delay (δ1) determined by the UPF network element is 3.2 ms, then the first time information may include an index value of 3.

[0164] For implementation method 1b, the UPF network element can also send third time information to the access network device. The third time information is used to indicate the sending time of the UPF network element to send the data packet set or the receiving time of the UPF network element to receive the data packet set, so that the access network device can determine the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network based on the first time information and the third time information. The specific implementation can refer to the description in Example 2.

[0165] Illustratively, the third time information may be carried in the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the second data packet in the data packet set. For example, if the second data packet is an IP data packet, the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the second data packet is the GTP-U packet header of the GTP-U data packet containing the second data packet. The second data packet may be the first data packet, the last data packet, or any other possible data packet in the data packet set.

[0166] (2) Implementation 2b

[0167] In implementation 2b, the first time information is used to indicate the first time. The UPF network element can determine the first time based on the sending time of the data packet set sent by the UPF network element (expressed as tsend time@UPF), the pre-allocated delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set on the data network (expressed as DN PSDB), and the delay (δ1) for the transmission of the data packet set on the data network. For example, the first time = tsend time@UPF + (DN PDB – δ1). Optionally, another way for the UPF network element to determine the first time is to determine the first time based on the receiving time of the data packet set received by the UPF network element (expressed as treceive time@UPF), the pre-allocated delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set on the data network (expressed as DN PSDB), and the delay (δ1) for the transmission of the data packet set on the data network. For example, the first time = treceive time@UPF + (DN PDB – δ1). The UPF network element can obtain the pre-allocated delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set on the data network through various methods, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0168] For implementations 1b and 2b above, the first time information may be carried in the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the third data packet in the data packet set. For example, if the third data packet is an IP data packet, the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the third data packet is the GTP-U packet header of the GTP-U data packet containing the third data packet. The third data packet may be the first data packet, the last data packet, or any other possible data packet in the data packet set.

[0169] It is understandable that in other implementations, the first time information may be the fourth time information. That is, after the UPF network element receives the fourth time information from the application server, it forwards the fourth time information to the access network device. Since the fourth time information is carried in the RTP packet header or IP packet header, the access network device needs to parse the RTP packet header or IP packet header to obtain the fourth time information, and then obtain the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server (or the generation time of the data packet set generated by the application server). The specific implementation of "the access network device obtains the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server" can refer to the description of "the UPF network element obtains the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server".

[0170] Using the above method, the UPF network element can map the data packet set to the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay based on the first delay. For example, if the delay of the data packet set in the data network transmission is large, the data packet set can be mapped to a QoS flow or QoS sub-flow with a smaller PDB. If the delay of the data packet set in the data network transmission is small, the data packet set can be mapped to a QoS flow or QoS sub-flow with a larger PDB, thereby ensuring the end-to-end stable low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set. In addition, the UPF network element can also send the first time information to the access network device so that the access network device can determine the delay budget for the data packet set to be transmitted in the access network.

[0171] Example 2

[0172] In the second embodiment, the second solution will be described in detail.

[0173] FIG7A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7A , the method includes:

[0174] S701, the UPF network element sends a data packet set and the first time information corresponding to the data packet set to the access network device; accordingly, the access network device receives the data packet set and the first time information.

[0175] Exemplarily, the implementation of the UPF network element sending the first time information to the access network device can refer to the description in S603-b in Example 1.

[0176] S702: The access network device determines a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network according to the reception time of the data packet set and the first time information of the data packet set received by the access network device.

[0177] For example, the access network device and the UPF network element can perform clock synchronization. For example, the UPF network element and the access network device can perform clock synchronization using the generalized precision time protocol (gPTP); or the UPF network element and the access network device can be synchronized to the same clock source, such as a GNSS clock.

[0178] For example, in the above implementation 1b, the first time information is used to indicate the first delay, and the UPF network element may also send third time information to the access network device, and the third time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the UPF network element. In this case, when the access network device receives the data packet set, the receiving time of the data packet set received by the access network device may be recorded, and the receiving time of the data packet set received by the access network device (expressed as treceive time@RAN) and the sending time of the data packet set sent by the user plane function network element (expressed as t send time@UPF ), determine the transmission delay of the data packet set in the core network (expressed as δ2), δ2 = treceive time@RAN–tsend time@UPF. Optionally, the three time information is used to indicate the reception time of the data packet set received by the UPF network element from the data network, in this case δ2 = treceive time@RAN–t receive time@UPF . treceive time@UPF is the time when the UPF network element receives the data packet set.

[0179] Furthermore, if the first delay is the delay of the data packet set transmitted in the data network, the access network device can determine the delay budget (expressed as AN PSDB') for the data packet set transmitted in the access network based on the delay (δ2) of the data packet set transmitted in the core network, the delay (δ1) of the data packet set transmitted in the data network, and the end-to-end delay budget (E2EPSDB) of the data packet set, where AN PSDB' = E2E PSDB – δ2 – δ1. If the first delay is the delay budget (i.e., E2E PSDB – δ1) of the data packet set transmitted in the access network and the core network, the access network device can determine the delay budget (i.e., AN PSDB') for the data packet set transmitted in the access network based on the delay (δ2) of the data packet set transmitted in the core network and the delay budget (i.e., E2EPSDB – δ1), where AN PSDB' = E2E PSDB – δ2 – δ1.

[0180] There are multiple ways for the access network device to obtain the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set. For example, the access network device can obtain the end-to-end delay budget of the data packet set from the SMF network element.

[0181] It can be understood that the above takes the first time information as an example of indicating the first delay. In other examples, if the first time information is used to indicate a third delay range (the first delay is within the third delay range), then in this case, the access network device can determine the range of the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network.

[0182] For example, in the above-mentioned implementation method 2b, the first time information is used to indicate the first time. In this case, when the access network device receives a data packet set, the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device can be recorded, and based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device (i.e., treceive time@RAN), the first time (i.e., tsend time@UPF+(DN PDB–δ1), or treceive time@UPF+(DN PDB–δ1)) and the pre-allocated delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set between the access network device and the core network (expressed as 5GS PSDB), the delay budget (i.e., AN PSDB') for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network is determined, AN PSDB'=5GS PSDB–{treceive time@RAN–[tsend time@UPF+(DN PDB–δ1)]}, or AN PSDB'=5GS PSDB–{treceive time@RAN–[treceive time@UPF+(DN PDB–δ1)]}.

[0183] For another example, the first time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server (or the generation time of the data packet set generated by the application server). In this case, when the access network device receives the data packet set, it can record the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device and determine the delay budget (i.e., AN PSDB') for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device (i.e., treceive time@RAN) and the sending time of the data packet set sent by the application server (i.e., tsend time@server), where AN PSDB' = treceive time@RAN – tsend time@server. The access network device and the application server can be synchronized to the same clock source.

[0184] By adopting the above method, since the access network device can determine the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network based on the reception time and first time information of the data packet set received by the access network device, it is convenient to control the transmission of the data packet set in the access network to ensure the end-to-end stable low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0185] Optionally, the above method also includes S703-a and / or S703-b. Among them, S703-a or S703-b can also be executed separately. When S703-a is executed separately, the access network device can determine the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network according to the method described in S701 and S702 above, or it can also determine the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network by other possible methods, without specific limitation. When S703-b is executed separately, the access network device can determine the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network according to the method described in S701 and S702 above, or it can also determine the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network by other possible methods, without specific limitation.

[0186] S703-a, the access network device determines the DRB or LCH corresponding to the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network, and maps the data packet set to the corresponding DRB or logical channel, and sends it to the terminal device.

[0187] (1) Describe the specific implementation of the DRB corresponding to the delay budget of a data packet set transmitted in the access network determined by the access network device.

[0188] Taking XR service as an example, as a possible implementation, if the SMF network element configures the XR service to correspond to a QoS flow, the access network device can configure the QoS flow to correspond to multiple DRBs, and configure the correspondence between multiple DRBs and the delay range to which AN PSDB' belongs.

[0189] Table 4 shows an example of the correspondence between the delay ranges to which the DRB and the AN PSDB' belong.

[0190] Table 4: Example of the correspondence between the delay range to which the AN PSDB belongs and the DRB

[0191] Based on Table 4, as shown in Figure 7B, when an access network device receives multiple data packet sets, it can map the multiple data packet sets to different DRBs for transmission based on the mapping rules (i.e., the correspondence between the delay budgets of multiple data packet sets transmitted on the access network and the DRBs). For example, if the access network device receives data packet set 1 and determines that the delay of data packet set 1 transmitted on the data network is 4.2ms, it can map data packet set 1 to DRBb for transmission; if the UPF network element receives data packet set 2 and determines that the delay of data packet set 2 transmitted on the data network is 6.2ms, it can map data packet set 1 to DRBc for transmission.

[0192] When an access network device receives a data packet set through a QoS flow and determines that the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is 4.2ms, the SDAP layer of the access network device can map the data packet set to the DRBb corresponding to the QoS flow for transmission. In Table 4, different DRBs from DRBa to DRBd can meet different delay guarantees. For example, different DRBs correspond to different priorities, maximum hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission times, and semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configurations. This allows differentiated scheduling of data packet sets from different AN PSDB's in the same QoS flow over the air interface to ensure the stable, low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set from end to end.

[0193] As another possible implementation, if the SMF network element configures the XR service to correspond to multiple QoS flows (for example, see S603-a in Example 1), the access network device can configure these multiple QoS flows to correspond to multiple DRBs (for example, QoS flow a corresponds to DRBa to DRBd, QoS flow b corresponds to DRBa to DRBd, and QoS flow c corresponds to DRBa to DRBd), and configure the correspondence between multiple DRBs and the delay range to which AN PSDB' belongs, as shown in Table 4.

[0194] In this case, for example, if the access network device receives a data packet set through QoS flow a and determines that the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is 4.2ms, the SDAP layer of the access network device can map the data packet set to DRBb for transmission. If the access network device receives a data packet set through QoS flow a and determines that the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is 5.5ms, the SDAP layer of the access network device can map the data packet set to DRBc for transmission. If the access network device receives a data packet set through QoS flow b and determines that the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is 6.2ms, the SDAP layer of the access network device can map the data packet set to DRBc for transmission.

[0195] It can be understood that in other examples, if the SMF network element configures XR services to correspond to multiple QoS flows, the access network equipment can configure these multiple QoS flows to correspond to different DRBs respectively. For example, each QoS flow corresponds to multiple DRBs, and different QoS flows correspond to different DRBs. The implementation in this case can refer to the above and will not be repeated.

[0196] (2) Describe the specific implementation of the LCH corresponding to the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network by the access network device.

[0197] Taking XR services as an example, as a possible implementation, if the SMF network element configures an XR service corresponding to a QoS flow, the access network device can configure the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow (one QoS flow corresponds to one DRB), the correspondence between the DRB and multiple LCHs, and the correspondence between multiple LCHs and the latency ranges to which the AN PSDB' belongs. Table 5 shows an example of the correspondence between LCHs and the latency ranges to which the AN PSDB' belongs.

[0198] Table 5: Example of the correspondence between the delay range to which AN PSDB' belongs and LCH

[0199] For example, after an access network device receives a data packet set through a QoS flow, the SDAP layer of the access network device maps the data packet set to the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow. If the delay budget for the data packet set to be transmitted in the access network is 4.2ms, the PDCP layer of the access network device can map the data packet set to the corresponding LCHb associated with the DRB for transmission. In Table 5, different LCHs from LCHa to LCHd can meet different delay guarantees. For example, different LCHs correspond to different priorities, maximum HARQ retransmission times, SPS configurations, etc., thereby enabling differentiated scheduling of data packet sets in different AN PSDB's in the same DRB over the air interface to ensure stable, low-latency transmission requirements for the data packet set from end to end.

[0200] As another possible implementation, if the SMF network element configures XR services to correspond to multiple QoS flows, the access network equipment can configure multiple QoS flows to correspond to multiple DRBs (one QoS flow corresponds to one DRB), each of the multiple DRBs corresponds to multiple LCHs, and the correspondence between the delay ranges to which the multiple LCHs and AN PSDB' belong. The specific implementation can be referred to above.

[0201] S703-b, the access network device sends second time information to the terminal device, where the second time information is used to indicate the earliest time when the access layer of the terminal device delivers a set of data packets to the upper layer; accordingly, the terminal device receives the second time information.

[0202] Here, the upper layer of the terminal device may refer to the protocol layer above the access layer of the terminal device, such as the PDU session layer, RTP layer, IP layer and application layer (referred to as the earliest time for ease of description).

[0203] Exemplarily, the access network device may determine the earliest time based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device and the delay budget of the data packet set in the air interface. For example, if the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device is T, and the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the access network is 5ms, then the earliest time may be T+5ms. Optionally, the access network device also determines the earliest time based on other possible parameters, such as the processing time required for the upper layer of the terminal device to process the data packet set. For example, in the previous example, if the processing time required for the upper layer of the terminal device to process the data packet set is 2ms, then the earliest time may be T+5ms-2ms (i.e., T+3ms).

[0204] Taking into account the large uncertainty in air interface scheduling and transmission, for example, even if the delay budget for the transmission of a data packet set in the access network is 10ms, the actual delay of the data packet set in the air interface transmission may be only 2ms. Normally, after the access layer of the terminal device receives the data packet set in sequence, it can be submitted to the upper layer after parsing. If the delays of different data packet sets in air interface transmission are different, it may cause the end-to-end RTT perceived by the transport layer to change frequently, which may easily cause the transport layer to frequently adjust congestion control and the application layer to adjust speed. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, the access network device can determine the earliest time and send it to the terminal device, so that the access layer of the terminal device can submit the data packet set to the upper layer at the earliest time (or after the earliest time), thereby reducing the problem of frequent adjustment of congestion control and application layer speed regulation by the transport layer.

[0205] For example, the delay budget for data packet set 1 transmitted in the access network is 10ms, and the actual delay for data packet set transmission in the air interface is 2ms. In this case, assuming that the earliest time corresponding to data packet set 1 is T1+10ms, if the access network of the terminal device completes the parsing of data packet set 1 at T1+4ms, it can wait until T1+10ms before submitting data packet set 1 to the upper layer instead of submitting it to the upper layer. For example, the access layer of the terminal device can set a timer (deliverTimer) with data packet set granularity, and the duration of the timer = the time difference between the earliest time and the current time. After the DeliverTimer times out, the terminal device can submit the data packet set to the upper layer.

[0206] For another example, assuming that the earliest time corresponding to data packet set 2 is T2+8ms, the access network of the terminal device completes the parsing of data packet set 2 at T2+9ms. Since T2+9ms is later than T2+8ms, the terminal device can immediately submit data packet set 2 to the upper layer.

[0207] That is to say, when the time when the access layer of the terminal device completes the parsing of the data packet set is earlier than or equal to the earliest time corresponding to the data packet set, the earliest time corresponding to the data packet set can be the time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer (i.e., the submission time); when the time when the access layer of the terminal device completes the parsing of the data packet set is later than the earliest time corresponding to the data packet set, the time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer (i.e., the submission time) can be later than the earliest time corresponding to the data packet set.

[0208] Exemplarily, the second time information may be a GPS time / UTC time, or the second time information may include one or more of a system frame number (SFN), a slot index, and a symbol index. The second time information may be carried in an access layer header corresponding to a fourth data packet in the data packet set, such as a PDCP header or an SDAP header. The fourth data packet may be the first data packet in the data packet set, or the last data packet, or other possible data packets. FIG8 shows a possible form of the PDCP header carrying the earliest time.

[0209] Example 3

[0210] In the third embodiment, the third solution will be described in detail.

[0211] FIG9A is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9A , the method includes:

[0212] S901, the terminal device sends a data packet set to the access network device; correspondingly, the access network device receives the data packet set.

[0213] S902 , the access network device determines a second delay, where the second delay is a transmission delay of a data packet set in the access network, a delay budget of a data packet set in the core network, or a transmission delay budget of a data packet set in the core network and the data network.

[0214] Exemplarily, the terminal device may also send fifth time information to the access network device, where the fifth time information is used to indicate the sending time of the data packet set sent by the terminal device, and then the access network device determines the delay of the data packet set transmitted in the access network based on the sending time of the data packet set sent by the terminal device and the receiving time of the data packet set received by the access network device.

[0215] Alternatively, the access network device may obtain the arrival period of the service corresponding to the data packet set and the arrival time of the first data packet set of the service; and then, based on the arrival period and the arrival time of the first data packet set of the service, determine the arrival time of the data packet set (i.e., the time when the terminal device generates the data packet set, or the time when the terminal device sends the data packet set). Furthermore, the access network device determines the transmission delay of the data packet set in the access network based on the arrival time of the data packet set and the reception time of the data packet set by the access network device.

[0216] Optionally, the access network device can determine the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the core network based on a pre-assigned delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set between the access network device and the core network (expressed as 5GS PSDB) and the delay of the data packet set in the access network (expressed as δ3). That is, the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the core network = 5GS PSDB – δ3.

[0217] Optionally, the access network device can determine the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the core network and data network based on the end-to-end delay budget (E2E PSDB) of the data packet set and the delay of the data packet set in transmission on the access network (i.e., δ3). The delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the core network and data network = E2E PSDB – δ3.

[0218] S903, the access network device maps the data packet set to the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the second delay, and sends it to the UPF network element.

[0219] Exemplarily, the access network device can receive configuration information from the SMF network element, and the configuration information is used to configure the correspondence between the delay range to which the second delay belongs and the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow. The specific implementation can refer to the description of S603-a in Example 1.

[0220] For example, as shown in Figure 9B, the access network device receives multiple data packet sets of the XR service, and these multiple data packet sets correspond to the same QFI (for example, the access layer of the terminal device maps these multiple data packet sets to the same QoS flow). The access network device can map these multiple data packets to different QoS flows according to the mapping rules (that is, the correspondence between the second delay and the QoS flow) and send them to the UPF network element.

[0221] Using the above method, the access network device can map the data packet set to the QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the second delay based on the second delay. For example, if the delay of the data packet set transmitted in the access network is large, the data packet set can be mapped to a QoS flow or QoS sub-flow with a smaller PDB. If the delay of the data packet set transmitted in the data network is small, the data packet set can be mapped to a QoS flow or QoS sub-flow with a larger PDB, thereby ensuring the end-to-end stable low-latency transmission requirements of the data packet set.

[0222] With respect to the above-mentioned embodiments 1 to 3, it can be understood that:

[0223] (1) The above-mentioned embodiments 1 to 3 can be implemented separately or in combination. For example, embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 can be implemented in combination, or some or all of the steps in embodiment 1 can be implemented in combination with some or all of the steps in embodiment 2. The above content focuses on describing the differences between embodiments 1 to 3. In the absence of mutual contradiction, embodiments 1 to 3 can refer to each other. In addition, in the same embodiment, different implementations or different examples can also refer to each other.

[0224] (2) The step numbers in the flowcharts described in Examples 1 to 3 are merely examples of the execution process and do not limit the order in which the steps are executed. In the embodiments of this application, there is no strict execution order for steps that have no temporal dependencies. Furthermore, not all steps shown in the flowcharts are mandatory steps, and steps may be added or deleted based on actual needs.

[0225] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between network elements or devices. It can be understood that in order to realize the above functions, the above network elements or devices may include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0226] In the embodiments of the present application, the user plane functional network element and the access network device can be divided into functional units according to the above method examples. For example, different functional units can be divided according to different functions, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0227] In the case of adopting an integrated unit, Figure 10 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the device involved in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the device 1000 may include: a processing unit 1002 and a communication unit 1003. The processing unit 1002 is used to control and manage the actions of the device 1000. The communication unit 1003 is used to support the communication between the device 1000 and other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 1003 is also called a transceiver unit, and may include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, which are used to perform receiving and sending operations respectively. The device 1000 may also include a storage unit 1001 for storing program code and / or data of the device 1000.

[0228] (1) The apparatus 1000 may be the access network device described in the aforementioned embodiments (e.g., embodiments 1 to 3). The processing unit 1002 may support the apparatus 1000 in executing the actions of the access network device described in the aforementioned method embodiments. Alternatively, the processing unit 1002 may primarily execute the internal actions of the access network device described in the method embodiments, and the communication unit 1003 may support communication between the apparatus 1000 and other devices.

[0229] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1003 is used to: receive a data packet set and first time information corresponding to the data packet set from a user plane functional network element; the processing unit 1002 is used to: determine the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network based on the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device and the first time information.

[0230] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is also used to: determine the data radio bearer DRB or logical channel LCH corresponding to the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network; map the data packet set to the DRB or the LCH, and send it to the terminal device through the communication unit 1003.

[0231] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is further used to: determine the earliest time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer based on the delay budget for the transmission of the data packet set in the access network; the communication unit 1003 is further used to: send second time information to the terminal device, and the second time information is used to indicate the earliest time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer.

[0232] (2) The apparatus 1000 may be the user plane function network element in the above embodiments (e.g., embodiments 1 to 3). The processing unit 1002 may support the apparatus 1000 in executing the actions of the user plane function network element in each of the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the processing unit 1002 may primarily execute the internal actions of the user plane function network element in the method embodiments, and the communication unit 1003 may support communication between the apparatus 1000 and other devices.

[0233] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1003 is used to: receive a data packet set and fourth time information corresponding to the data packet set from an application server; the processing unit 1002 is used to: determine a first delay based on the reception time of the data packet set by the user plane functional network element and the fourth time information, wherein the first delay is the delay of the data packet set in the data network or the delay budget of the data packet set in the access network and the core network.

[0234] In one possible design, the processing unit 1002 is also used to: determine the quality of service QoS flow or QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay; map the data packet set to the QoS flow or the QoS sub-flow, and send it to the access network device through the communication unit 1003.

[0235] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is also used to: receive configuration information from a session management function network element, the configuration information being used to configure a second delay range corresponding to the QoS flow or the QoS sub-flow; wherein the first delay is within the second delay range.

[0236] In one possible design, the communication unit 1003 is also used to: send first time information to the access network device; wherein the first time information is used to indicate the first delay or the third delay range, and the first delay is within the third delay range; or, the first time information is used to indicate the first time, and the first time is determined based on the sending time of the data packet set by the user plane functional network element, the delay budget of the data packet set transmitted in the data network, and the delay of the data packet set transmitted in the data network.

[0237] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Moreover, the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; or they can all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, called by a certain processing element of the device and execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through the processing element.

[0238] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital singnal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a SoC.

[0239] The above-mentioned receiving unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above-mentioned sending unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0240] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device. Referring to FIG11 , the communication device 1100 may include a processor 1101. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a memory 1102. The memory 1102 may be disposed inside the communication device 1100 or outside the communication device 1100. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a transceiver (not shown in FIG11 ).

[0241] Specifically, the processor 1101 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor 1101 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0242] The processor 1101 and the memory 1102 are interconnected. Optionally, the processor 1101 and the memory 1102 are interconnected via a bus 1103; the bus 1103 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG11 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0243] In an optional embodiment, the memory 1102 is used to store programs, etc. Specifically, the programs may include program code, which includes computer operating instructions. The memory 1102 may include RAM, or may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as one or more disk storage devices. The processor 1101 executes the application stored in the memory 1102 to implement the above functions, thereby realizing the functions of the communication device 1100.

[0244] Exemplarily, the communication device 1100 may be the terminal device in the above embodiment; or may be the network device in the above embodiment.

[0245] In one embodiment, when the communication device 1100 implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, the transceiver may implement the transceiver operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment; and the processor 1101 may implement other operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment in addition to the transceiver operations. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0246] In another embodiment, when the communication device 1100 implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment, the transceiver may implement the transceiver operations performed by the network device in the above method embodiment; and the processor 1101 may implement other operations performed by the network device in the above method embodiment in addition to the transceiver operations. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0247] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes at least one of the terminal device, access network device, user plane function network element and application server involved in the above embodiment.

[0248] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0249] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0250] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0251] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0252] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0253] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to an access network device or a chip in the access network device, and the method includes: Receiving a data packet set and first time information corresponding to the data packet set from a user plane function network element; Determine a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network according to the reception time of the data packet set by the access network device and the first time information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine a data radio bearer DRB or a logical channel LCH corresponding to a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in an access network; The data packet set is mapped to the DRB or the LCH and sent to the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The DRB or the LCH corresponds to a first delay range, and the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is within the first delay range.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determining the earliest time for the access layer of the terminal device to submit the data packet set to the upper layer according to the delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network; Sending second time information to the terminal device, where the second time information is used to indicate the earliest time when the access layer of the terminal device submits the data packet set to the upper layer.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second time information is carried in a packet data convergence layer protocol PDCP header corresponding to a data packet in the data packet set; or, the second time information is carried in a service data adaptation SDAP header corresponding to the data packet.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first time information is used to indicate a first delay, where the first delay is a delay in transmitting the data packet set in a data network or a delay budget in transmitting the data packet set in an access network and a core network; Determining a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network according to the receiving time of the data packet set by the access network device and the first time information, including: receiving third time information from the user plane function network element, where the third time information is used to indicate a sending time at which the user plane function network element sends the data packet set; Determine the transmission delay of the data packet set in the core network according to the reception time of the data packet set received by the access network device and the sending time of the data packet set sent by the user plane function network element; A delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network is determined based on the delay for transmission of the data packet set in the core network and the first delay.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The third time information is carried in a General Packet Radio Service Technology Tunneling Protocol User Plane GTP-U packet header corresponding to a data packet in the data packet set.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first time information is used to indicate a first time, and the first time is determined according to a sending time of the data packet set sent by the user plane function network element, a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the data network, and a delay for transmission of the data packet set in the data network; Determining a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network according to the receiving time of the data packet set by the access network device and the first time information, including: Determine a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network according to a reception time of the data packet set by the access network device and the first time.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The first time information is carried in the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the data packet in the data packet set.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first time information is used to indicate a sending time when the application server sends the data packet set, or the first time information is used to indicate a generation time when the application server generates the data packet set; Determining a delay budget for transmission of the data packet set in the access network according to the receiving time of the data packet set by the access network device and the first time information, including: Determine the time when the access network device receives the data packet set and the sending time or the generation time. The delay budget for a set of data packets to be transmitted in the access network.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first time information is carried in a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) packet header corresponding to a data packet in the data packet set; or, the first time information is carried in an Internet Protocol (IP) packet header corresponding to the data packet.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a user plane function network element or a chip in the user plane function network element, and the method includes: Receiving a data packet set and fourth time information corresponding to the data packet set from an application server; A first delay is determined based on the reception time of the data packet set by the user plane functional network element and the fourth time information, where the first delay is the delay of the data packet set in transmission in the data network or the delay budget of the data packet set in transmission in the access network and the core network.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine a quality of service QoS flow or a QoS sub-flow corresponding to the first delay; The data packet set is mapped to the QoS flow or the QoS sub-flow, and sent to the access network device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive configuration information from a session management function network element, where the configuration information is used to configure a second delay range corresponding to the QoS flow or the QoS sub-flow; wherein the first delay is within the second delay range.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first time information to access network equipment; The first time information is used to indicate the first delay or the third delay range, and the first delay is within the third delay range; or The first time information is used to indicate a first time, which is determined based on the sending time of the data packet set by the user plane functional network element, the delay budget of the data packet set in the data network transmission, and the delay of the data packet set in the data network transmission.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The first time information is carried in the GTP-U packet header corresponding to the data packet in the data packet set.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The first time information includes an index value, and the index value is associated with the first delay range or the third delay range.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that The fourth time information is used to indicate the sending time when the application server sends the data packet set; or, the fourth time information is used to indicate the generation time when the application server generates the data packet set.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that The fourth time information is carried in an RTP packet header corresponding to a data packet in the data packet set; or, the fourth time information is carried in an IP packet header corresponding to the data packet.

20. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes an access network device and a user plane function network element, the access network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and the user plane function network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: It comprises a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, and a computer program is stored in the memory; the processor is used to call part or all of the computer program in the memory so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 is executed.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program, and when part or all of the computer program is executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 is executed.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 is executed.

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