Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, relating to the technical field of communications, and capable of enabling data packets transmitted on a quality of service flow to satisfy synchronization requirements between data packets while ensuring the quality of service requirements of the data packets, so as to improve the communication performance. The method comprises: a user plane network element acquiring a first data packet; on the basis of the first data packet, determining that there are synchronization requirements between the first data packet and a second data packet; determining a quality of service flow corresponding to the first data packet; sending the first data packet to a network device on the basis of quality of service of the quality of service flow, wherein the quality of service of the quality of service flow satisfies the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on September 28, 2023, with application number 202311294545.3 and application name “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods and devices. Background Art

[0003] In a communication system, a communication device can forward data packets based on a Quality of Service (QoS) flow. For example, the communication device can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the data packet based on the QoS requirement of the data packet, and ensure that the transmission delay of the data packet transmitted on the QoS flow does not exceed the upper limit of the transmission delay corresponding to the QoS requirement.

[0004] However, the above method cannot meet the synchronization requirement between the data packets transmitted on the QoS flow and the data packets transmitted on another QoS flow.

[0005] Therefore, how to ensure that the data packets transmitted on the QoS flow meet the synchronization requirements between data packets while ensuring their own QoS requirements and improving communication performance has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can enable data packets transmitted on a QoS flow to meet the synchronization requirements between data packets while ensuring their own QoS requirements, thereby improving communication performance.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a user plane network element, or by a component of the user plane network element, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the user plane network element. It can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the user plane network element. The following takes the method executed by the user plane network element as an example. The method includes: the user plane network element obtains a first data packet; based on the first data packet, determines whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; determines the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet; and sends the first data packet to the network device based on the service quality of the QoS flow. The service quality of the QoS flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0009] Based on the first aspect, the user-side network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while ensuring its own QoS requirement, thereby improving communication performance.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first data packet includes first indication information, and the user-plane network element determines, based on the first indication information, that synchronization is required between the first data packet and the second data packet; or, when a time difference between arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user-plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, it is determined that synchronization is required between the first data packet and the second data packet. The first indication information is used to indicate that synchronization is required between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0011] Based on this possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the first indication information or the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element, providing two feasible solutions for determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; compared to determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the time difference, the first indication information can explicitly indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, which can improve the working efficiency of the user plane network element.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is also used to indicate the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; or, the user plane network element determines the synchronization delay information of the first data packet based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

[0013] Based on this possible implementation, the user-plane network element can determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information or the time difference, and can more accurately determine the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet. Furthermore, the user-plane network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirements with the second data packet while ensuring its own QoS requirements, thereby improving communication performance.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the QoS flow is determined based on the synchronization delay information.

[0015] Based on this possible implementation, the user-side network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization delay information; at the same time, the synchronization delay information can more finely divide the QoS flows corresponding to the data packets, so that data packets with the same synchronization delay information can be transmitted on the same QoS flow, which can improve communication performance.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the user plane network element determines the QoS flow based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of the following: source Internet Protocol address, destination Internet Protocol address, source port number, destination port number, or transport layer protocol number.

[0017] Based on this possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine the QoS flow according to the above method to meet the synchronization requirement of the first data packet and the second data packet, providing a feasible solution for determining the QoS flow.

[0018] In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user-side network element determines that there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet; and sends the third data packet to the network device based on the service quality of the QoS flow.

[0019] Based on this possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element can determine that there is a synchronization requirement for the third data packet and the second data packet, and the user plane network element can directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow without determining the synchronization requirement of the third data packet through the first indication information or the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element. This can improve the working efficiency of the user plane network element and reduce transmission overhead.

[0020] In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user-side network element determines that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; and sends the third data packet to the network device based on the service quality of the QoS flow.

[0021] Based on this possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element can determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet. The user plane network element can directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow without having to determine the synchronization delay information of the third data packet through the first indication information or the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element. This can improve the working efficiency of the user plane network element and reduce transmission overhead.

[0022] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a user-plane network element, or by a component of the user-plane network element, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the user-plane network element. The method can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the user-plane network element functions. The following uses the method executed by a user-plane network element as an example. The method includes: the user-plane network element obtains a first data packet; based on the first data packet, determines whether the first data packet needs to be synchronized with a second data packet; and sends the first data packet and second indication information to a network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate whether the first data packet needs to be synchronized with the second data packet.

[0023] Based on the second aspect, the user-side network element sends a first data packet and a second indication message to the network device, which can enable the network device to determine, based on the second indication message, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and then enable the network device to meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet as much as possible when forwarding the first data packet, thereby improving communication performance.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first data packet includes first indication information, and based on the first indication information, it is determined that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; or, based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-side network element being less than or equal to a first preset threshold, it is determined that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0025] Based on this possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the first indication information or the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element, providing two feasible solutions for determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; compared to determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the time difference, the first indication information can explicitly indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, which can improve the working efficiency of the user plane network element.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is also used to indicate the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; or, the user plane network element determines the synchronization delay information of the first data packet based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

[0027] Based on this possible implementation, the user-plane network element can determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information or the time difference, and can more accurately determine the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet. Furthermore, the user-plane network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirements with the second data packet while ensuring its own QoS requirements, thereby improving communication performance.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the user plane network element determines the second indication information based on the first indication information; or determines the second indication information based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

[0029] Based on this possible implementation, the user plane network element can determine the second indication information based on the first indication information and the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element, providing two feasible solutions for determining the second indication information; compared with the time difference, the user plane network element can explicitly determine the second indication information based on the first indication information, which can improve the working efficiency of the user plane network element.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the second indication information is also used to indicate synchronization delay information.

[0031] Based on this possible implementation, the second indication information indicates the synchronization delay information, which can enable the network device to more accurately determine the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet, and then enable the network device to meet the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet as much as possible when forwarding the first data packet, thereby improving communication performance.

[0032] In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user-plane network element determines that there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet; and sends the third data packet to the network device.

[0033] Based on this possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user-side network element can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet. When the user-side network element sends the third data packet to the network, it can not send the second indication information, which can reduce transmission overhead.

[0034] In one possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element determines that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; and sends the third data packet to the network device.

[0035] Based on this possible implementation, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user-plane network element can determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet. When the user-plane network element sends the third data packet to the network, it can not send the second indication information, which can reduce transmission overhead.

[0036] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by a component of the network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the network device, or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the network device function. The following takes the method being executed by a network device as an example, and the method includes: the network device receives a first data packet and a second indication information from a user plane function network element; according to the second indication information, determines the first logical channel (logical channel, LCH) / first data radio bearer (logical channel, DRB) corresponding to the first data packet; according to the first LCH / first DRB, sends the first data packet to the terminal device. The second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the first LCH / first DRB meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0037] Based on the third aspect, the network device can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the second indication information, and can determine the first LCH / first DRB based on the second indication information, and then transmit the first data packet on the first LCH / first DRB to meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, thereby improving communication performance.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the second indication information is also used to indicate synchronization delay information.

[0039] Based on this possible implementation, the second indication information indicates the synchronization delay information, and the network device can more accurately determine the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet, and then more accurately determine the first LCH / first DRB through the synchronization delay information to meet the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet, thereby improving communication performance.

[0040] In one possible implementation, when the second indication information is an index of synchronization delay information, the network device determines the synchronization delay information according to a first mapping relationship, and determines the first LCH / first DRB according to the synchronization delay information. The first mapping relationship includes the synchronization delay information and the index of the synchronization delay information.

[0041] Based on this possible implementation, the network device can determine the synchronization delay information according to the index of the synchronization delay information and the first mapping relationship, and then more accurately determine the first LCH / first DRB based on the synchronization delay information, providing a feasible solution to meet the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the first mapping relationship is predefined; or the first mapping relationship is received from a session management network element.

[0043] Based on this possible implementation, the first preset relationship can be predefined or come from a session management network element. Compared with the predefined relationship, the session management network element can determine the first mapping relationship according to the actual communication situation, which can make the first mapping relationship more flexible.

[0044] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device's functions. The following takes the method executed by a terminal device as an example. The method includes: the terminal device receiving third indication information from a network device; determining, based on the third indication information, a second LCH / second DRB corresponding to a fourth data packet; and sending a fourth data packet to the network device based on the second LCH / second DRB; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate one or more delay budgets and the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to each delay budget; and the fourth data packet requires synchronization with the fifth data packet.

[0045] Based on the fourth aspect, the terminal device can determine the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet according to the third indication information to ensure that the fourth data packet can meet the synchronization requirements of the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet when transmitted on the second LCH / second DRB, thereby improving communication performance.

[0046] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method of the first aspect. The communication device may be the user plane network element of the first aspect, or a device or component included in the user plane network element, such as a chip.

[0047] The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above-mentioned method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0048] In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Exemplarily, the processing module is used to obtain a first data packet; the processing module is also used to determine, based on the first data packet, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the processing module is also used to determine the service quality flow corresponding to the first data packet; wherein the service quality of the service quality flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the transceiver module is used to send the first data packet to the network device based on the service quality of the service quality flow.

[0049] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the fifth aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the above-mentioned related content.

[0050] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method in the second aspect. The communication device may be the user plane network element in the first aspect, or a device or component included in the user plane network element, such as a chip.

[0051] The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above-mentioned method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0052] In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Exemplarily, the processing module is used to obtain a first data packet; the processing module is also used to determine, based on the first data packet, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the sending module is used to send the first data packet and second indication information to the network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0053] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the sixth aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the above-mentioned related content.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method of the third aspect. The communication device may be the network device of the third aspect, or a device or component included in the network device, such as a chip.

[0055] The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above-mentioned method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0056] In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Exemplarily, the transceiver module is used to receive a first data packet and a second indication information from a user plane function network element; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the processing module is used to determine the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information; the transceiver module is also used to send the first data packet to the terminal device according to the first LCH / first DRB. wherein the first LCH / first DRB meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0057] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the seventh aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the above-mentioned related content.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the method of the fourth aspect. The communication device may be the terminal device of the fourth aspect, or a device or component included in the terminal device, such as a chip.

[0059] The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the above-mentioned method, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0060] In some possible implementations, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module may include a sending module and a transceiver module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in the above-mentioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Exemplarily, the transceiver module is used to receive third indication information from the network device; wherein, one or more delay budgets and the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to each delay budget; the processing module is used to determine the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet according to the third indication information; the transceiver module is also used to send a fourth data packet to the network device according to the second LCH / second DRB; wherein, there is a synchronization requirement between the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet.

[0061] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the eighth aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be found in the above-mentioned related content.

[0062] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor, the processor being configured to enable the communication device to execute any one of the above aspects or any possible implementation method of any one of the aspects by executing computer instructions stored in a memory or through a logic circuit. The communication device may be a user-plane network element in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a device or component included in the user-plane network element, such as a chip; or the communication device may be a user-plane network element in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or a device or component included in the user-plane network element, such as a chip; or the communication device may be a network device in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, or a device or component included in the network device, such as a chip; or the communication device may be a terminal device in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device or component included in the terminal device, such as a chip.

[0063] In some possible implementations, the communication device further includes a memory for storing computer instructions and / or configuration files of logic circuits. Optionally, the memory is integrated with the processor, or the memory is independent of the processor.

[0064] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is used to input and / or output signals; the processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions so that the communication device performs the method of any of the above aspects. The communication device can be a user-plane network element in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a device or component included in the user-plane network element, such as a chip; or the communication device can be a user-plane network element in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or a device or component included in the user-plane network element, such as a chip; or the communication device can be a network device in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, or a device or component included in the network device, such as a chip; or the communication device can be a terminal device in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device or component included in the terminal device, such as a chip.

[0065] In some possible implementations, the communication interface is an interface circuit for reading and writing computer instructions. For example, the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0066] In some possible implementations, the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0067] In some possible implementations, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system. When the device is a chip system, the chip system may include the chip, or may include the chip and other discrete devices.

[0068] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a logic circuit and an interface circuit; the interface circuit is used to input information and / or output information; the logic circuit is used to execute the method of any of the above aspects, process the input information and / or generate output information. The communication device can be a user-plane network element in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a device or component included in the user-plane network element, such as a chip; or the communication device can be a user-plane network element in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or a device or component included in the user-plane network element, such as a chip; or the communication device can be a network device in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, or a device or component included in the network device, such as a chip; or the communication device can be a terminal device in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, or a device or component included in the terminal device, such as a chip.

[0069] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method of any of the above aspects is executed.

[0070] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which, when executed by a processor, enables the method of any of the above aspects to be executed.

[0071] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fifth to eleventh aspects is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output information, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input information.

[0072] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any implementation method of the fifth to thirteenth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, and no further details will be given here.

[0073] In the fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the user-plane network element described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the communication system includes the user-plane network element described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the network device described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, and the terminal device described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a downlink service model provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a synchronization requirement for different data streams provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a QoS architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a synchronization requirement for different data streams provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG8 is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a synchronization requirement for different data streams provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of an interaction for determining a QoS flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of an interaction for determining a QoS flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG12 is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG13 is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG14 is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a user plane network element provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0092] The following describes in detail the implementation of the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0093] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0094] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0095] In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0096] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0097] It will be understood that the “embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It will be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application.

[0098] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects without relying on other features, such as the solutions on which they are based. They may also be combined with other features as needed in certain scenarios. Accordingly, the devices provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0099] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified and there is no logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships. The following description of the embodiments of this application does not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0100] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of the present application is first given as follows.

[0101] 1) Extended reality (XR)

[0102] XR refers to the combination of real and virtual environments, as well as human-machine interactions, generated by various computing technologies and wearable devices. XR can take the following forms: augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR).

[0103] XR is one of the fifth-generation (5G) multimedia applications that the industrial sector is focusing on.

[0104] Among them, the Rel-17 standard of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) modeled and analyzed the service characteristics of XR, that is, XR services usually generate data frames periodically at a certain frame rate.

[0105] For example, taking an AR service with a frame rate of 60 fps as an example, 60 frames of video images are generated per second, and one video frame appears approximately every 16.66 ms.

[0106] A video frame may be transmitted by multiple data packets, and the multiple data packets may be divided into one or more protocol data unit sets (PDU sets).

[0107] A PDU set is a collection of multiple data packets at the transport layer and represents the minimum granularity for data processing at the application layer. In some scenarios, the application layer can only correctly parse the corresponding data unit if it correctly receives all packets within a PDU set. In other scenarios, the application layer can only parse the corresponding data unit if it correctly receives a certain percentage of packets within the PDU set.

[0108] Optionally, 3GPP also defines data bursts, where a burst can be a group of PDUs (such as an XR service frame) generated and sent by a data network device within a very short period of time.

[0109] A data burst may contain one or more PDU sets.

[0110] 2) Data frame

[0111] The size of the data frame may vary, usually following a truncated Gaussian distribution.

[0112] Exemplarily, the mean of the truncated Gaussian distribution can be expressed as: mean=R / F. Taking F=60fps and R=20Mbps as an example, mean=41.67Kbytes. Therefore, in general, the size of the data frame is between 0.5*mean and 1.5*mean.

[0113] Among them, F is the frame rate and R is the rate of data flow.

[0114] Due to the different sizes of data frames, each frame may have a different encoding delay during encoding. At the same time, there are also different forwarding delays when forwarding XR data in the core network, resulting in jitter in the arrival time of the XR data at the air interface side in each cycle. That is, the data arrival time may be earlier or later than the expected cycle time, usually fluctuating within a few milliseconds.

[0115] 3) XR business

[0116] Among them, XR services usually have higher transmission latency requirements.

[0117] For example, in the case of uplink AR services, the typical packet delay budget (PDB) is 30ms. This means that the upper limit of the transmission delay between a data packet arriving at the user equipment (UE) access layer and the data packet arriving at the N6 interface of the user plane network element is 30ms. If a data packet is not successfully transmitted within the PDB time, it is considered to have timed out and lost its function.

[0118] Alternatively, the packet set delay budget (PSDB) can also be considered in XR services. Similar to the PDB, it defines the upper limit of the transmission delay for a group of data packets (a PDU set). Specifically, the PSDB can be defined as the upper limit of the transmission delay that a PDU set may experience between the UE and the N6 interface of the user-plane network element. In the uplink, the PSDB refers to the transmission delay from the first data packet in the PDU set being sent from the UE to the last data packet in the PDU set arriving at the N6 interface of the user-plane network element. In the downlink, the PSDB refers to the transmission delay from the first data packet in the PDU set being sent from the N6 interface of the user-plane network element to the last data packet in the PDU set arriving at the UE.

[0119] Therefore, data scheduling and transmission should be completed within the transmission delay budget to avoid data timeouts that affect the service experience. Figure 1 below shows a schematic diagram of the downlink service model for XR services provided by 3GPP. Taking video data packets as an example, the size of video data packets can follow a certain probability distribution. If the time interval between the kth video packet and the k+1th video packet is 1 / fps, the video packets can arrive at the receiving device at an average period of 1 / fps. If the kth video packet does not reach the receiving device within the PDB, it may cause data timeouts and affect the service experience.

[0120] Since the kth video data packet and the k+1th video data packet have different sizes, jitter may occur at the receiving device. The jitter at the arrival time of the video data packet may obey a certain probability distribution.

[0121] 4) Multimodal services

[0122] Optionally, XR services may also require synchronization between different data packets. Synchronization requirements often arise in multimodal services.

[0123] For example, when watching a movie in VR, there may be video data streams and audio data streams at the same time (that is, for a certain frame or a certain section of video, there is often corresponding audio).

[0124] For example, as shown in Figure 2 below, there are multiple video data packets on a video data stream, and there are multiple audio data packets on an audio data stream. The video data packets and audio data packets within a cycle (i.e., within the dotted box) are associated, and the time difference between the video data packets and audio data packets in each cycle arriving at the receiving device should not be too large.

[0125] For example, data network equipment can periodically generate video data packets. Within each period, one or more audio data packets may be related in content and require synchronous transmission (for example, users need to hear the corresponding sound while viewing the image to obtain a satisfactory viewing experience). If the corresponding video and audio data packets arrive at the user's player at a significant time difference, problems such as audio and video asynchrony may occur, seriously degrading the user experience.

[0126] 3GPP has conducted a preliminary analysis of the synchronization requirements between different data streams of multimodal services. Taking into account the human body's sensitivity to visual, auditory, tactile and other signals, it has given the synchronization time threshold requirements between different types of data.

[0127] Among them, for the synchronization time threshold requirement between audio and tactile, if the audio data packet arrives at the receiving device first, the corresponding tactile data packet should arrive at the receiving device within 12ms after the audio data packet; if the tactile data packet arrives at the receiving device first, the corresponding audio data packet should arrive at the receiving device within 25ms.

[0128] Among them, for the synchronization time threshold requirement between vision and touch, if the video data packet arrives at the receiving device first, the corresponding tactile data packet should arrive at the receiving device within 30ms; if the tactile data packet arrives at the receiving device first, the corresponding video data packet should arrive at the receiving device within 20ms.

[0129] Among them, for the synchronization time threshold requirement between video and audio, if the audio data packet arrives at the receiving device first, the corresponding video data packet should arrive at the receiving device within 20ms; if the video data packet arrives at the receiving device first, the corresponding audio data packet should arrive at the receiving device within 20ms.

[0130] 5) QoS flow

[0131] 5G mobile communication systems can forward and transmit data packets based on QoS flows, ensuring the quality of service for these packets. A schematic diagram of a 5G system based on QoS architecture is shown in Figure 3 below. In Figure 3, the core network device is the user plane network element, and the network device is the next generation node B (gNB).

[0132] Among them, the user plane network element in Figure 3 (which is a 5G core network device) can establish one or more protocol data unit sessions (PDU sessions) for a terminal device. A QoS flow is a data flow with the same source and destination addresses and the same QoS requirements within a PDU session, and the QoS flow is based on the tunnel of the next generation (NG) interface user plane (user pannel) (i.e., NG-U Tunnel) for transmission.

[0133] Among them, in the downlink, the user plane network element maps data packets with the same characteristics to the same QoS flow by identifying the characteristics of the data packet, including the source Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number and transport layer protocol number of the data packet. That is, the QoS flow identification information (QoS flow identity, QFI) is carried in the data packet header to identify which QoS flow the data packet belongs to.

[0134] In the uplink, the user plane network element may explicitly or implicitly configure the mapping relationship between the above-mentioned data packet characteristics and QoS flows to the UE, and the UE maps the uplink data packets to be transmitted to different QoS flows.

[0135] It is understood that data packets transmitted on different QoS flows can be independent of each other when transmitted in a 5G mobile communication system. For each QoS flow, the user plane network element can send its QoS profile to the radio access network (RAN) to indicate the quality of service corresponding to each QoS flow.

[0136] For example, in a 5G mobile communication system, the quality of service expected for data packets transmitted on a QoS flow can be represented by PDB, packet error rate (PER), etc.

[0137] In the RAN of Figure 3, the gNB can establish one or more DRBs for a PDU session and map each data flow to these DRBs for air interface transmission.

[0138] For example, multiple data flows can be mapped to one DRB, but one data flow cannot be mapped to multiple DRBs. Typically, data flows with the same or similar quality of service will be mapped to the same DRB, thereby providing the same quality of service guarantee on the air interface.

[0139] For example, the gNB can map a data stream to a DRB and send the data stream to the terminal device through the DRB. The terminal device can determine the data packet based on the received data stream.

[0140] Optionally, data transmission and QoS assurance can be achieved according to QoS flow granularity.

[0141] For example, taking latency as an example, the gNB can ensure that the transmission delay of data packets transmitted on the QoS flow does not exceed the requirements of its PDB or PSDB according to the quality of service requirements.

[0142] However, the above delay guarantee method only considers the transmission delay upper limit of the data packets transmitted on the QoS flow, and does not take into account the correlation between the data packets transmitted on other QoS flows (for example, there is a synchronization requirement between different data packets of the same service).

[0143] Optionally, when generating data, the data network device may determine, based on the relevance of the data content, whether the data packet has a synchronization requirement with data packets transmitted on other QoS flows.

[0144] For example, in the time-frequency data packets and audio data packets in the same video screen, taking the audio data stream as an example, a part of the audio data packets in the audio data stream may be associated with one or some video data packets in the video data stream, that is, there is a synchronization requirement (that is, the sound of the characters speaking in the video screen should be synchronized with the characters' mouth movements to ensure a normal viewing experience); while another part of the audio data packets may not be associated with the video data packets in the video data stream (that is, the sound of the background music usually does not affect the viewing experience even if it is not strictly synchronized with the screen).

[0145] For example, taking transmission delay as an example, the two audio data packets mentioned above actually have different transmission delay requirements during data transmission. For audio data packets that do not have synchronization requirements, only their own transmission delay requirements (such as PDB) need to be considered; for audio data packets that have synchronization requirements, while meeting their own transmission delay requirements, synchronization requirements should also be considered to ensure that the time difference between them and the associated video data packets arriving at the receiving device does not exceed the synchronization threshold.

[0146] In a specific scenario, as shown in Figure 4 below, assume that XR services contain both audio and haptic packets, which are carried in different QoS flows. The PDB requirement for audio packets is 30ms, and the PDB requirement for haptic packets is 5ms.

[0147] The data network device can generate a set of haptic data packets and an audio data packet, as shown in the dashed box in Figure 4. These packets are content-related and therefore need to meet synchronization requirements. When transmitting these packets, only using the PDB to provide guarantees may result in the audio packet arriving at the user device after 30ms. Since the synchronization requirement for audio and haptic packets is 25ms, the user may experience a sound lag, affecting the user's immersive experience.

[0148] To meet synchronization requirements, the PDB requirements of the QoS flow can be adjusted. For example, in Figure 4 above, the PDB of the audio data stream can be set to 25ms to ensure that the transmission is completed within the synchronization time and thus meet the synchronization requirements. However, adjusting the PDB of the audio data stream may lead to excessive consumption of network resources. That is, the PDB applies to all data packets in the QoS flow. In the audio data stream containing the audio data packets in Figure 4, there may be some audio data packets that do not need to meet the synchronization requirements. For example, the audio data packets correspond to independent background music. In this case, if these audio data packets without synchronization requirements are also guaranteed to have a delay of 25ms, the network capacity can be reduced.

[0149] In summary, how to ensure that data packets transmitted through QoS flows meet the synchronization requirements between data packets while ensuring their own service quality requirements and improving communication performance has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0150] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: a user-plane network element obtaining a first data packet; determining, based on the first data packet, whether synchronization is required between the first data packet and a second data packet; determining a QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet; and sending the first data packet to a network device based on the quality of service of the QoS flow. The quality of service of the QoS flow satisfies the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0151] In an embodiment of the present application, the user-side network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, so that the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow can meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while ensuring its own QoS requirement, thereby improving communication performance; although adjusting the PDB requirements of the QoS flow can ensure the synchronization requirement between data packets, there may be some data packets in the QoS flow that do not need to meet the synchronization requirement. Therefore, the method of the present application can avoid excessive consumption of network resources as much as possible and improve communication capacity.

[0152] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be used in various communication systems, which may be 3GPP communication systems, for example, fourth generation (4G), long term evolution (LTE), 5G mobile communication systems, new radio (NR), or LTE and 5G hybrid networking systems, or non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, or sixth generation (6G) and other mobile communication systems evolved after 5G, vehicle to everything (V2X) systems, or device to device (D2D) communication systems, machine to machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), other next-generation communication systems, perception and communication integrated systems, satellite communication systems, etc. The communication system may also be a non-3GPP communication system, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) system such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), without limitation.

[0153] The communication system used in this application can be as shown in Figure 5 below. The communication system may include one or more terminal devices, network devices, core network devices, and data network devices.

[0154] The data network device in FIG. 5 may be used to generate a data frame, and the data frame may include one or more data packets.

[0155] Exemplarily, the data network device may be an application server.

[0156] Among them, the core network equipment in Figure 5 can include user plane network elements, mobility management network elements, session management network elements, application function network elements and other network elements without limitation.

[0157] The user plane network element mainly responds to session management network element requests and serves as a connection point between the RAN and the data network (DN).

[0158] Among them, the mobility management network element is mainly responsible for the access authentication of terminal devices, mobility management, signaling interaction between various functional network elements, and termination of non-access stratum (NAS) layer signaling security. For example, it manages the user's registration status, reachability status, N1 / N2 interface signaling transmission, access authentication and authorization, user connection status, user registration and network entry, tracking area update, cell switching user authentication, key security, etc.

[0159] The session management network element mainly provides session management for terminal device sessions (such as session establishment, modification, and release), network protocol (IP) address allocation and management, and user plane network element selection and control.

[0160] Among them, the application function network element mainly provides an intermediate functional entity for the interaction between the data network equipment in the DN and the network elements in the core network, conveying the requirements of the application side to the network side (for example, service quality requirements or user status event subscription, etc.). The data network equipment can use it to dynamically control the network service quality and billing, obtain the operating information of a certain network element in the core network, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the application function network element can be a functional entity deployed by the operator or a functional entity deployed by the service provider. The service provider can be a third-party service provider or a service provider within the operator, without limitation.

[0161] Exemplarily, the network element or entity corresponding to the user plane network element may be the user plane function (UPF) in the 5G communication system, the network element or entity corresponding to the mobility management network element may be the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the 5G communication system, the network element or entity corresponding to the session management network element may be the session management function (SMF) in the 5G communication system, the network element or entity corresponding to the application function network element may be the application function (AF) in the 5G communication system, etc.

[0162] Among them, the terminal device in Figure 5 can be located within the beam / cell coverage of the network device, and the network device can provide communication services for the terminal device.

[0163] This application can be applied to various communication scenarios, such as beam measurement, channel estimation, signal detection, etc.

[0164] The above-mentioned communication systems and communication scenarios applicable to the present application are merely examples. The communication systems and communication scenarios applicable to the present application are not limited thereto, and the above description does not impose any limitation on the solutions of the present application.

[0165] The terminal device in Figure 5 can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities or a chip or chip system that can be installed in the device, which can allow users to access the network and is used to provide voice and / or data connectivity to users. The terminal device can also be called a UE, subscriber unit, terminal, mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT).

[0166] Optionally, the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a user-side device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal. The terminal may be a UE, user unit, access terminal, terminal unit, terminal station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, wireless communication device, terminal agent, or terminal device in a 5G network or a public land mobile network (PLMN) evolved after 5G. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless data card, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a drone, a robot, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, customer-premises equipment (CPE) or a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in machine type communication (MTC), a wireless terminal in smart city, or a wireless terminal in industrial control. These include wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes (such as smart cameras, projectors, display screens, televisions, speakers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.), sensor nodes in smart cities (such as smart water meters, smart electricity meters, and smart air quality monitoring nodes), smart devices in smart offices (such as printers and projectors), and infrastructure in daily life (such as vending machines, self-service navigation kiosks in supermarkets, self-service checkout devices, and self-service ordering machines). Alternatively, terminals can be terminals with communication capabilities in the IoT, such as terminals in V2X (for example, connected vehicle devices), terminals in D2D communication, or terminals in M2M communication. Terminals can be mobile or fixed.

[0167] The network device in Figure 5 can be any device deployed in an access network that can communicate wirelessly with a terminal device. It can also be a chip or chip system that can be installed in the above-mentioned device. It can also be a logical node or logical module or a function implemented in software. It can be used to implement wireless physical control functions, resource scheduling and wireless resource management, wireless access control, mobility management, etc. Specifically, the network device can be a device that supports wired access or a device that supports wireless access.

[0168] Optionally, the network device in the embodiment of the present application is a device that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. The network device may be a node in a radio access network (RAN), or may be a base station, which may be referred to as a radio access network node (or device).

[0169] For example, the network device may include a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communication (GSM) or a code division multiple access (CDMA) network. Alternatively, the network device may include a NodeB in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) network. Alternatively, the network device may include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in an LTE system or an enhanced LTE (LTE-advanced, LTE-A) system, such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario. Alternatively, the network device may include a next generation node B (gNB) in an NR system. Alternatively, the network device may be a network device in a future evolved PLMN. Alternatively, the network device may include a transmission reception point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a baseband pool, or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP). Alternatively, the network device may include a base station in an NTN, which can be deployed on an aircraft or satellite. In the NTN, the network device may function as a Layer 1 (L1) relay, a base station, or an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. Alternatively, the network device may be a device that implements base station functions in the IoT, such as a device that implements base station functions in drone communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), device-to-device (D2D), or machine-to-machine (M2M). Alternatively, the network device may be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Alternatively, the network device may be a wearable device or an in-vehicle device.

[0170] A network device may also be a module or unit that implements some of the functions of a base station. For example, a network device may 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 may be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may 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).

[0171] 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, the network device may be a network device or a module of a network device in an open radio access network (open RAN, ORAN) system. In the ORAN system, CU may also be referred to as open (open, O)-CU, DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0172] Optionally, the base station in the embodiment of the present application may include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, APs, home base stations, TRPs, transmitting points (TPs), or mobile switching centers, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0173] For example, as shown in Figure 6 below, taking the 5G transmission network as an example, it is assumed that the network device is a gNB (including CU and DU, and the CU and DU can communicate with each other), the terminal device is an XR device, and the core network device is a user plane network element.

[0174] For example, in the downlink, the data network device can generate a data frame (the data frame may include one or more data packets) and send one or more data packets to the user plane network element through the N6 interface. The user plane network element can forward the received one or more data packets to the gNB through the N3 interface. Further, the gNB can send one or more data packets to the XR device through the Uu air interface.

[0175] For another example, in the uplink, the XR device generates a data frame (the data frame may include one or more data packets) and sends one or more data packets to the gNB through the Uu air interface. The gNB can forward the received one or more data packets to the user plane network element through the N3 interface. Further, the user plane network element can forward one or more data packets to the data network device through the N6 interface.

[0176] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0177] In specific implementations, the terminal devices, network devices, core network devices, and data network devices shown in Figures 5 and 6 may all adopt the structure shown in Figure 7, or include the components shown in Figure 7. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 70 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 70 may be a terminal device or a chip or system-on-chip in a terminal device; a network device or a chip or system-on-chip in a network device; a core network device or a chip or system-on-chip in a core network device; or a data network device or a chip or system-on-chip in a data network device.

[0178] As shown in FIG7 , the communication device 70 includes one or more processors 701. Furthermore, the communication device 70 may also include a communication bus 702 and at least one communication interface ( FIG7 is merely exemplary, illustrating the communication device 70 including a communication interface 704 and one processor 701). Optionally, the communication device 70 may also include a memory 707.

[0179] Processor 701 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application, or a processing core for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions). The processor can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor.

[0180] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 701 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 7 .

[0181] Communication bus 702 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, for example. Such buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, and control buses. For ease of illustration, FIG7 shows only one thick line, but this does not imply a single bus or type of bus. Communication bus 702 is used to connect the various components within communication device 70, enabling communication and interaction between the various components within communication device 70.

[0182] The communication interface 704 may be a transceiver module for communicating with other devices or a communication network, such as Ethernet, RAN, or wireless local area network (WLAN). For example, the communication interface 704 may be a device such as a transceiver or a transceiver. Alternatively, the communication interface 704 may be a transceiver circuit within the processor 701, for implementing signal input and output to the processor.

[0183] The memory 707 may be a device having a storage function. For example, it may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), 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, but is not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor via the communication bus 702. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0184] Exemplarily, the memory 707 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 701. The processor 701 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707, thereby implementing the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0185] Alternatively, optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the processor 701 may also perform processing-related functions in the method provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 704 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0187] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 70 may further include an output device 705 and an input device 706. The output device 705 communicates with the processor 701 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 705 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 706 communicates with the processor 701 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 706 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0188] It should be noted that the composition structure shown in Figure 7 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in Figure 7, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0189] The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device, network device, core network device, and data network device can perform some or all of the steps in the embodiment of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiment of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps can be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiment of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiment of the present application need to be performed.

[0190] As shown in Figure 8 below, it is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided by the present application. The communication method is illustrated by taking the interaction between the user plane network element and the network device as an example. Of course, the subject that executes the user plane network element action in the method can also be a device / module in the user plane network element, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the user plane network element; the subject that executes the network device action in the method can also be a device / module in the network device, such as a chip, processor, processing unit, etc. in the network device, and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this. The processing performed by a single execution subject (for example, a user plane network element or a network device) in the embodiment of the present application can also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects can be logically and / or physically separated. Exemplarily, referring to Figure 8, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0191] S801. A user-plane network element obtains a first data packet.

[0192] Optionally, the user plane network element may receive a first data packet from a data network device.

[0193] Exemplarily, the user plane network element may receive a first data packet from an application server.

[0194] S802: The user plane network element determines, based on the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0195] For example, in the following Figure 9, taking the data packets in the dotted box as an example in which there is a synchronization requirement, the data packets uploaded on the first data stream are first data packets 1-first data packets 16, and the data packets transmitted on the second data stream are second data packets 1 and second data packets 2. It can be seen from Figure 9 that some of the first data packets transmitted on the first data stream (such as first data packet 1-first data packet 8) and the second data packets transmitted on the second data stream (such as second data packet 1) have a synchronization requirement, while another part of the data packets transmitted on the first data stream (i.e., first data packet 9-first data packet 11) and the data packets transmitted on the second data stream (such as second data packet 1) do not have a synchronization requirement.

[0196] Based on the user plane network element determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, this application proposes two possible implementations:

[0197] In a first possible implementation, the first data packet may include first indication information, and the user-plane network element may determine, based on the first indication information, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0198] The first indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0199] The first indication information may be in the IP header of the first data packet or in the real-time transport protocol (RTP) header, without limitation.

[0200] In a first exemplary embodiment, the first indication information may be a single bit. When the bit value is 1, the first indication information may be used to indicate that synchronization requirements exist between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 0, the first indication information may be used to indicate that synchronization requirements do not exist between the first data packet and the second data packet. Alternatively, when the bit value is 0, the first indication information may be used to indicate that synchronization requirements exist between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 1, the first indication information may be used to indicate that synchronization requirements do not exist between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0201] For example, taking Figure 9 as an example, the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 can be 1 (indicating that there is a synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), and the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 can be 0 (indicating that there is no synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1); or, the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 can be 0 (indicating that there is a synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), and the bit value of the first indication information carried in the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 can be 1 (indicating that there is an asynchronous requirement with the second data packet 1).

[0202] In the second exemplary embodiment, the first indication information may be an optional field. When the first data packet carries the first indication information, the first indication information may be used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. When the first data packet does not carry the first indication information, it may indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0203] For example, taking Figure 9 as an example, the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 carries the first indication information (indicating that there is a synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1), and the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 does not carry the first indication information (there is no synchronization requirement with the second data packet 1).

[0204] In a second possible implementation, when the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, the user plane network element may determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0205] The first preset threshold may be determined according to actual communication scenarios or actual communication requirements.

[0206] Exemplarily, the user plane network element can distinguish whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on its own capabilities, that is, when the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, the user plane network element determines that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element is greater than the first preset threshold, the user plane network element determines that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0207] Based on the above two possible implementations, the user plane network element can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the first indication information or the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element, providing two feasible solutions for determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; compared to determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the time difference, the first indication information can explicitly indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, which can improve the working efficiency of the user plane network element.

[0208] S803: The user plane network element determines the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet.

[0209] The quality of service of the QoS flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0210] It should be noted that the user-side network element can identify the characteristics of the data packet based on one or more of the following: source Internet Protocol address, destination Internet Protocol address, source port number, destination port number, or transport layer protocol number, and then map data packets with the same characteristics to the same QoS flow (i.e., carrying the QFI of the QoS flow in the data packet header).

[0211] Optionally, the user-side network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and then can distinguish and process the data packets (that is, the data packets with synchronization requirements can be mapped to one QoS flow, and the data packets without synchronization requirements can be mapped to another QoS flow).

[0212] Exemplarily, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow based on the first indication information and one or more of the following: source Internet Protocol address, destination Internet Protocol address, source port number, destination port number, or transport layer protocol number; or, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet reaching the user plane network element and one or more of the following: source Internet Protocol address, destination Internet Protocol address, source port number, destination port number, or transport layer protocol number.

[0213] This application proposes a possible embodiment based on determining the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet. As shown in Figure 10 below, taking the first data packet including the first indication information as an example, the data network device can generate first data packets 1 to first data packets 8, and carry first indication information 1 on first data packets 1 to first data packets 4, and carry first indication information 2 on first data packets 5 to first data packets 8. After the user-plane network element receives the first data packet from the application service, it can map the first data packet to the corresponding QoS flow based on the carried first indication information.

[0214] For example, taking the example where the bit value of the first indication information 1 is 1 indicating that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the bit value of the first indication information 2 is 0 indicating that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, the user-plane network element can map the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 to QoS flow 1 according to the first indication information 1, and the user-plane network element can map the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 to QoS flow 2 according to the first indication information 2.

[0215] Among them, the QoS file (the QoS file is a configuration file sent by the user plane network element to the network device, and may include delay requirement information corresponding to each QoS flow) may include the PDB of each QoS flow. For example, the PDB of QoS flow 1 is PDB1, and the PDB of QoS flow 2 is PDB2, and PDB1 < PDB2. Then, the user plane network element may map the first data packet with a synchronization requirement to QoS flow 1, and can尽可能保障 the synchronization requirements of the first data packet 1 - the first data packet 4.

[0216] S804. The user plane network element sends the first data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the QoS flow; correspondingly, the network device receives the first data packet from the user plane network element.

[0217] Among them, the user plane network element may ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to the quality of service of the QoS flow.

[0218] Exemplarily, the quality of service of the QoS flow may be PDB or PSDB.

[0219] Optionally, after receiving the first data packet, the network device may map the data packet to LCH or DRB and send the first data packet to the terminal device.

[0220] Based on the network device directly transmitting the first data packet on the QoS flow, the network device may not perform other processing on the first data packet and directly forward the first data packet to the terminal device, which can improve the transmission effectiveness of the first data packet. At the same time, it can reduce the load of the network device and improve the working efficiency of the network device.

[0221] Based on the communication method shown in FIG. 8, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, which can enable the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow to meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while ensuring its own QoS requirement, and can improve the communication performance; although adjusting the PDB requirement of the QoS flow can ensure the synchronization requirement between data packets, there may be some data packets in the QoS flow that do not need to meet the synchronization requirement. Therefore, adopting the method of this application can尽可能避免 excessive consumption of network resources and can improve the communication capacity.

[0222] Based on S802 in FIG. 8 above, the first indication information may also be used to indicate the synchronization delay information, and the user plane network element may determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information; or, the user plane network element may determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the time difference between the arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element.

[0223] The synchronization delay information can more accurately indicate the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0224] Optionally, the synchronization delay information may be a transmission delay budget (eg, PDB or PSDB), or may be other parameters representing a data transmission delay budget.

[0225] For example, as shown in Figure 9 above, there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 transmitted on the first data stream and the second data packet 1 transmitted on the second data stream, and the generation time of the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 is different and there is a sequence. Therefore, the transmission delay requirements (such as PDB) of the first data packet 1-first data packet 8 are different.

[0226] For example, assume that the second data stream and the first data stream have the following synchronization requirements: when the first data packet transmitted on the first data stream arrives at the terminal device later than the second data packet transmitted on the second data stream, the PDB of the first data packet must be at most 20ms; otherwise, the synchronization experience will be affected. If the generation time of packets 1-4 is close to that of packet 1, the PDB of packets 1-4 can be larger; whereas if the generation time of packets 5-8 is farther from that of packet 1, the PDB of packets 5-8 can be smaller. That is, when packets 1-4 are generated at most 5ms later than packet 1, the PDB of packets 1-4 can be less than or equal to 15ms; and when packets 5-8 are generated at most 5ms later than packet 1, the PDB of packets 5-8 can be less than or equal to 10ms.

[0227] Based on determining the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, this application proposes two possible embodiments:

[0228] In a first possible embodiment, the user plane network element may determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information. The first indication information may be implemented as follows:

[0229] In a first possible implementation, the first indication information may not only indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, but may also add additional information to indicate the synchronization delay information of the first data packet. In this possible implementation, the synchronization delay information is PDB as an example.

[0230] In the first exemplary embodiment, taking the first indication information represented by 5 bits as an example, it is assumed that the first bit indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last four bits indicate the PDB of the first data packet. When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it can be indicated that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. Then, when the bit value of the last four bits is 0001, it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is 1ms. When the bit value of the last four bits is 0010, it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is 2ms. Similarly, when the bit value of the last four bits is 1111, it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms. When the bit value of the first bit is 0, it can be indicated that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. The last four bits can be any value or reserved.

[0231] Alternatively, when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it can indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. Then, when the bit value of the last four bits is 0001, it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 1ms. When the bit value of the last four bits is 0010, it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 2ms. And so on, when the bit value of the last four bits is 1111, it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms. When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it can indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last four bits can be any value or reserved.

[0232] For example, taking the case where the bit value of the first bit is 1 and there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, when the bit value of the first indication information is 11111, the user plane network element can determine that the PDB of the first data packet is 15ms based on the first indication information, then the user plane network element can map the first data packet to the QoS flow with a PDB of 15ms.

[0233] In the second exemplary embodiment, taking the first indication information represented by 3 bits as an example, it is assumed that the first bit indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last two bits indicate the interval index of the synchronization delay. When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it can be indicated that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. When the bit value of the last two bits is 00 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 0), it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5ms; when the bit value of the last two bits is 01 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 1), it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 10ms; when the bit value of the last two bits is 10 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 2), it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 15ms; when the bit value of the last two bits is 11 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 3), it can be indicated that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 20ms. When the bit value of the first bit is 0, it can be indicated that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last two bits can be any value or reserved.

[0234] Alternatively, when the first bit value is 0, it can indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the second two bits value is 00 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 0), it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5ms; when the second two bits value is 01 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 1), it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 10ms; when the second two bits value is 10 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 2), it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 15ms; when the second two bits value is 11 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 3), it can indicate that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 20ms. When the first bit value is 1, it can indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the second two bits can be any value or reserved.

[0235] For example, taking the case where the bit value of the first bit is 1 and there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, when the bit value of the first indication information is 101, the user plane network element can determine that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5ms based on the first indication information, then the user plane network element can map the first data packet to a QoS flow with a PDB of 5ms.

[0236] In the third exemplary embodiment, taking the first indication information represented by 3 bits as an example, it is assumed that the first bit indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last two bits indicate the relative size of the PDB. Assume that the data network device determines three PDBs (such as PDB1, PDB2, and PDB3) for the user plane network element. <PDB2<PDB3)。

[0237] When the bit value of the first bit is 1, it can indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; then, when the bit value of the last two bits is 01, it can indicate that the PDB value of the first data packet is the smallest (that is, the PDB is PDB1); when the bit value of the last two bits is 10, it can indicate that the PDB value of the first data packet is the middle value (that is, the PDB is PDB2); when the bit value of the last two bits is 11, it can indicate that the PDB value of the first data packet is the largest (that is, the PDB is PDB3); when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it can indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last two bits can be any value or reserved.

[0238] Alternatively, when the bit value of the first bit is 0, it can indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; then, when the bit values ​​of the last two bits are 01, it can indicate that the PDB value of the first data packet is the smallest (that is, the PDB is PDB1); when the bit values ​​of the last two bits are 10, it can indicate that the PDB value of the first data packet is an intermediate value (that is, the PDB is PDB2); when the bit values ​​of the last two bits are 11, it can indicate that the PDB value of the first data packet is the largest (that is, the PDB is PDB3); when the bit value of the first bit is 1, it can indicate that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the last two bits can be any value or reserved.

[0239] For example, taking the case where the first bit value is 1 and there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, when the bit value of the first indication information is 101, the user-plane network element can determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1 based on the first indication information, that is, the PDB required by the first data packet is the smallest, and the user-plane network element can map the first data packet to the QoS flow corresponding to PDB1; similarly, when the bit value of the first indication information is 111, the user-plane network element can determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB3 based on the first indication information, that is, the PDB required by the first data packet is the largest, and the user-plane network element can map the first data packet to the QoS flow corresponding to PDB3.

[0240] The second possible implementation is that in the first possible implementation, the first indication information can indicate both the existence of a synchronization requirement and the synchronization delay information, while in the second possible implementation, the first indication information indicates the synchronization delay information of the first data packet through the value of a bit, and can further implicitly indicate whether there is a synchronization requirement. In this possible implementation, the synchronization delay information is PDB as an example.

[0241] First exemplary, taking the case where the first indication information is represented by 4 bits as an example, when the bit value is 0000, it indicates that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 0001, it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is 1 ms; when the bit value is 0010, it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is 2 ms; and so on. When the bit value is 1111, it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is 15 ms.

[0242] Second exemplary, the first indication information can be the interval index of the synchronization delay. Taking 2 bits as an example, when the bit value is 00 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 0), it indicates that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 01 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 1), it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 5 ms; when the bit value is 10 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 2), it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 10 ms; when the bit value is 11 (i.e., the interval index of the synchronization delay is 3), it indicates that the PDB of the first data packet is less than or equal to 15 ms.

[0243] Third exemplary, the first indication information can represent the relative size of the PDB. Assume that the data network device determines three PDBs (such as PDB1, PDB2, PDB3, and PDB1 < PDB2 < PDB3) for the user plane network element. Taking the case where the first indication information is represented by 2 bits as an example, when the bit value is 00, it indicates that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 2, it can indicate that the value of the PDB of the first data packet is the smallest (i.e., the PDB is PDB1). When the bit value is 10, the value of the PDB of the first data packet is the middle value (i.e., the PDB is PDB2). When the bit value is 11, the value of the PDB of the first data packet is the largest (i.e., the PDB is PDB1).

[0244] For example, taking the bit value of the first indication information associated with the first data packet 1 as 10 and the bit value of the first indication information associated with the first data packet 2 as 11 as an example, the user plane network element can determine that the value of the PDB of the first data packet 1 is the smallest. The user plane network element can map the first data packet to the QoS flow corresponding to PDB1 and map the first data packet 2 to the QoS flow corresponding to PDB2 to respectively meet the synchronization requirements of the first data packet 1 and the first data packet 2.

[0245] Based on the above description of the first indication information indicating the synchronization delay information, as shown in Figure 11 below, taking the first data packet including the first indication information as an example, the data network device can generate the first data packet 1 - the first data packet 11, and carry the first indication information 1 on the first data packet 1 - the first data packet 4, carry the first indication information 2 on the first data packet 5 - the first data packet 8, and carry the first indication information 3 on the first data packet 9 - the first data packet 11. After receiving the first data packet from the application service, the user plane network element can map the first data packet to the corresponding QoS flow according to the carried first indication information.

[0246] For example, taking the second example in the above second possible implementation as an example, assuming that the first indication information 1 is 01, the first indication information 2 is 10, and the third indication information 3 is 11, the QoS flow file can include the PDB of each QoS flow (e.g., the PDB of QoS flow 1 is PDB1, the PDB of QoS flow 2 is PDB2, the PDB of QoS flow 3 is PDB3 and PDB1 < PDB2 < PDB3). The user plane network element can map the first data packet 1 - the first data packet 4 to QoS flow 1 corresponding to PDB1 according to the first indication information 1, the user plane network element can map the first data packet 5 - the first data packet 8 to QoS flow 2 corresponding to PDB2 according to the first indication information 2, and the user plane network element can map the first data 9 - the first data packet 11 to QoS flow 3 corresponding to PDB3 according to the first indication information 3.

[0247] In the second possible embodiment, the user plane network element can determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the time difference between the arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element.

[0248] Exemplarily, when the time difference is 5 ms, the PDB of the first data packet can be 10 ms; when the time difference is 10 ms, the PDB of the first data packet can be 5 ms; or, when the time difference is 5 ms, the PDB of the first data packet can be less than or equal to 10 ms; when the time difference is 10 ms, the PDB of the first data packet can be less than or equal to 5 ms.

[0249] Based on the above determination of the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, the user plane network element can determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the first indication information or the time difference, can more accurately determine the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. Further, the user plane network element can more precisely determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information, which can enable the first data packet transmitted on the QoS flow to meet the synchronization requirement with the second data packet while ensuring its own QoS requirement, and can improve the communication performance.

[0250] Optionally, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information.

[0251] Exemplarily, the user plane network element may determine the QoS flow based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of the following: source Internet Protocol address, destination Internet Protocol address, source port number, destination port number, or transport layer protocol number.

[0252] Therefore, the user-side network element can more accurately determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization delay information; at the same time, the synchronization delay information can more finely divide the QoS flow corresponding to the data packet, so that data packets with the same synchronization delay information can be transmitted on the same QoS flow, which can improve communication performance.

[0253] Optionally, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in a data packet set, the user plane network element may determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and then the third data packet also has a synchronization requirement with the second data packet.

[0254] Optionally, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the user plane network element may determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet.

[0255] Furthermore, the user plane network element may send a third data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the QoS flow.

[0256] This application proposes two possible embodiments based on the fact that the first data packet and the third data packet are in one data packet set:

[0257] In a possible embodiment, when multiple data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and multiple third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., multiple data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the first data packet carries first indication information, all third data packets in the data packet set have synchronization requirements with the second data packet. The third data packets do not need to carry the first indication information, thereby reducing the number of data packets carrying the first indication information and reducing transmission overhead.

[0258] Alternatively, when multiple data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and multiple third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., multiple data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the user-plane network element determines that the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, there is synchronization perception between the first data packet and the second data packet, and all third data packets in the data packet set have synchronization requirements with the second data packet. The user-plane network element does not need to determine the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element, which can improve the working efficiency of the user-plane network element.

[0259] Based on this possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the third data packet may have a synchronization requirement with the second data packet, and the user-plane network element can directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow without determining the synchronization requirement of the third data packet through the first indication information or the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element. This can improve the working efficiency of the user-plane network element and reduce transmission overhead.

[0260] In another possible embodiment, when multiple data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and multiple third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., multiple data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the first data packet carries first indication information (the first indication information is used to indicate synchronization delay information), the synchronization delay information of all third data packets in the data packet set is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the third data packets do not need to carry the first indication information, thereby reducing the number of data packets carrying the first indication information and reducing transmission overhead.

[0261] Alternatively, when multiple data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and multiple third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., multiple data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), the user-plane network element determines the synchronization delay information of the first data packet based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element, the synchronization delay information of all third data packets in the data packet set is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet. The user-plane network element does not need to determine the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element, which can improve the working efficiency of the user-plane network element.

[0262] Based on this possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the synchronization delay information of the third data packet can be the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet. The user-plane network element can directly transmit the third data packet on the QoS flow without having to determine the synchronization delay information of the third data packet through the first indication information or the time difference between the third data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element. This can improve the working efficiency of the user-plane network element and reduce transmission overhead.

[0263] It can be understood that the communication method shown in Figures 8 to 11 is a way for the user-plane network element to determine the QoS flow by modifying the mapping rules (that is, mapping the first data packet to the QoS flow based on the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet). The present application also proposes a communication method, as shown in Figure 12 below, the user-plane network element can also indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet through the second indication information. The second indication information can determine multiple synchronization delay parameters for the same QoS flow without changing the mapping rules, and can meet the synchronization requirements of different data packets. This method has little impact on the architecture and can avoid the transmission of data packets of the same data flow through multiple QoS flows in the RAN as much as possible, which is convenient for maintenance and management. Furthermore, the network device can determine the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet based on the second indication information. The specific steps are as follows:

[0264] S1201. A user-plane network element obtains a first data packet.

[0265] Among them, S1201 is consistent with the above S801 and will not be repeated here.

[0266] S1202: The user-plane network element determines, based on the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0267] The method for determining whether the first data packet and the second data packet need to be synchronized in S1202 is the same as the method for determining whether the first data packet and the second data packet need to be synchronized in S802 above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0268] S1203. The user plane network element sends a first data packet and second indication information to the network device; correspondingly, the network device receives the first data packet and second indication information from the user plane network element.

[0269] The second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0270] In an exemplary embodiment, taking the second indication information as 1 bit, when the bit value is 1, the network device can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 0, the network device can determine that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet. Alternatively, when the bit value is 0, the network device can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 1, the network device can determine that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0271] Another exemplary case is that when the user plane network element sends the second indication information to the network device, the network device can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the user plane network element does not send the second indication information to the network device, the network device can determine that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0272] Among them, the second indication information can be sent alone, or carried in the first data packet for sending, or carried in the control information for sending, without limitation.

[0273] For example, when the second indication information is carried in the first data packet, it can be on the general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol - user plane (GTP-U) extension header of the first data packet header, which can ensure that the network device can identify the second indication information.

[0274] Optionally, different from the user plane network element providing one delay requirement information for one QoS flow in FIG. 8 above, the user plane network element can provide multiple delay requirement information for the QoS flow where the first data packet is located.

[0275] Among them, the delay requirement information can be the transmission delay budget (such as, PDB or PSDB), or other parameters representing the data transmission delay budget. In this application, taking PDB as an example, two possible embodiments are proposed:

[0276] In one possible embodiment, the user plane network element can provide two PDBs (i.e., PDB1 and PDB2, and PBD1 < PDB2) for a QoS flow to the network device. The network device can determine the PDB corresponding to the first data packet through the second indication information, thereby ensuring the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0277] Exemplarily, taking the second indication information as 1 bit, where the bit value of 1 indicates that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and PBD1 < PDB2 as an example, when the bit value is 1, the network device can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and can determine that the PDB corresponding to the first data packet is PDB1, and then ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet according to PDB1; when the bit value is 0, the network device can determine that there is no synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and can determine that the PDB corresponding to the first data packet is PDB2.

[0278] In another possible embodiment, the user-side network element can provide a default PDB (PDB1) and an additional PDB (i.e., PDB2) to the network device (PDB1>PDB2), and the network device can determine the PDB corresponding to the first data packet through the second indication information, thereby ensuring the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0279] For example, when the user-side network element does not send the second indication information to the network device, the network device can directly determine that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1; when the user-side network element sends the second indication information to the network device, the network device can determine that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the second indication information, and can determine that the PBD of the first data packet is PDB2, and then ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on PDB2.

[0280] S1204. The network device determines the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the second indication information.

[0281] For example, taking the second indication information as 1 bit, the bit value of 1 indicating that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, and the PDB of the first LCH1 is smaller than the PDB of the first LCH2, when the bit value is 1, the network device can transmit the first data packet through the first LCH1 to ensure the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the bit value is 0, the network device can transmit the first data packet through the first LCH2.

[0282] It should be noted that in the O-RAN architecture, when the network device is CU-DU, the CU can receive the first data packet and the second indication information from the user plane network element, and further, the CU can send the first data packet and the second indication information to the DU.

[0283] The second indication information may be carried in the GTP-U extension header of the first data packet and transmitted through the F1 interface.

[0284] It should be noted that in a dual-connection architecture (i.e., the network devices are a primary base station and a secondary base station), the primary base station can receive a first data packet and a second indication information from a user-plane network element, and further, the primary base station can send a first data packet and a second indication information to the secondary base station.

[0285] The second indication information may be carried in the GTP-U extension header of the first data packet and transmitted through the Xn interface.

[0286] S1205. The network device sends a first data packet to the terminal device according to the first LCH / first DRB; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first data packet from the network device.

[0287] Optionally, the network device may also determine different transmission configuration parameters for the first data packet according to the second indication information.

[0288] Exemplarily, the transmission configuration parameters may be a discard timer, a maximum number of retransmissions, and the like.

[0289] For example, taking the timer as an example, the network device can determine a shorter discard timer for the first data packet. The network device can send the first data packet in advance to avoid the discard timer from timing out as much as possible to ensure the synchronization requirements between the first data packet and the second data packet; when the timer times out, the first data packet becomes invalid.

[0290] Based on the communication method shown in FIG12 above, the user-side network element sends a first data packet and a second indication information to the network device, which can enable the network device to determine, based on the second indication information, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet, thereby enabling the network device to meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet as much as possible when forwarding the first data packet, thereby improving communication performance. Although adjusting the PDB requirements of the QoS flow can ensure the synchronization requirement between data packets, there may be some data packets in the QoS flow that do not need to meet the synchronization requirement. Therefore, the method of the present application can avoid excessive consumption of network resources as much as possible and improve communication capacity.

[0291] Optionally, the second indication information may also be used to indicate synchronization delay information. This application proposes several possible implementations:

[0292] In a first possible implementation, when the second indication information is an index of synchronization delay information, the network device may determine the synchronization delay information corresponding to the second indication information according to the first mapping relationship.

[0293] The first mapping relationship may be an index of synchronization delay information and synchronization delay information corresponding to the index of synchronization delay information.

[0294] The first mapping relationship may be predefined or may be a first mapping relationship received by the network device from a session management function network element, without limitation.

[0295] For example, taking the synchronization delay information as PDB as an example, the first mapping relationship can be that the synchronization delay information index is 0 corresponding to PDB1, and the synchronization delay information index is 1 corresponding to PDB2. When the index of the synchronization delay information is 0, the network device can determine from the first mapping relationship that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1; when the index of the synchronization delay information is 1, the network device can determine from the first mapping relationship that the PDB of the first data packet is PDB1.

[0296] Further, the network device may determine a first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information.

[0297] It can be understood that the network device may determine the synchronization delay parameter according to the comparison index and the first mapping relationship, and then may more accurately determine the first LCH / first DRB according to the synchronization delay parameter, providing a feasible solution to meet the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0298] In a second possible implementation, when the first indication information indicates the synchronization delay information, the user plane network element may determine the synchronization delay information corresponding to the second indication information according to the first indication information.

[0299] In a possible embodiment, taking the synchronization delay information as PBD, the first indication information is 2 bits, and the PBD corresponding to the bit value 00 < the PBD corresponding to the bit value 01 < the PBD corresponding to the bit value 10 < the PBD corresponding to the bit value 11.

[0300] Exemplarily, taking the user plane network element providing two PDBs (PDB1 and PDB2, PDB1 < PDB2) to the network device as an example, when the bit value of the first indication information is 00 or 01, the bit value of the second indication information may be 0, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1; when the bit value of the first indication information is 10 or 11, the bit value of the second indication information may be 1, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2. Or, when the bit value of the first indication information is 00 or 01, the bit value of the second indication information may be 1, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1; when the bit value of the first indication information is 10 or 11, the bit value of the second indication information may be 0, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2.

[0301] In another example, taking the user plane network element providing four PDBs (PDB1, PDB2, PDB3, and PDB4, PDB1 < PDB2 < PDB3 < PDB4) to the network device as an example, when the bit value of the first indication information is 00, the bit value of the second indication information may be 00, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1; when the bit value of the first indication information is 01, the bit value of the second indication information may be 01, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2; when the bit value of the first indication information is 10, the bit value of the second indication information may be 10, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB3; when the bit value of the first indication information is 11, the bit value of the second indication information may be 11, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB4.

[0302] Further, the network device may determine a first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet according to the synchronization delay information.

[0303] In a third possible implementation, the user plane network element may determine the synchronization delay information corresponding to the second indication information according to the time difference between the arrival of the first data packet and the second data packet at the user plane network element.

[0304] Exemplarily, taking the user plane network element providing two PDBs (PDB1 and PDB2, PDB1 < PDB2) to the network device as an example, when the time difference is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, the bit value of the second indication information may be 1, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1; when the time difference is greater than the first preset threshold, the bit value of the second indication information may be 0, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2. Alternatively, when the time difference is less than or equal to the first preset threshold, the bit value of the second indication information may be 0, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB1; when the time difference is greater than the first preset threshold, the bit value of the second indication information may be 1, and the PDB indicated by the second indication information is PDB2. ​​​​​​​​​​For example, taking the PDB indicated by the second indication information 1 as PDB2 and the PDB indicated by the second indication information 2 as PDB3, the network device can determine that the PDB of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 is PDB2 based on the second indication information 1, and the transmission delay of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 is less than or equal to 10ms; the network device can determine that the PDB of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is PDB3 based on the second indication information 2, and the transmission delay of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is less than or equal to 5ms; since the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 does not carry the second indication information, the network device can determine that the PDB of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 is PDB1, and the transmission delay of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 is less than or equal to 20ms.

[0309] Furthermore, the network device may determine the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization delay information.

[0310] In a possible embodiment, as shown in Figure 13 above, the network device can determine that the PDB of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 is PDB2 based on the second indication information 1, and then determine the first LCH1 corresponding to the first data packet 1-first data packet 4 based on PDB2 to ensure the transmission delay of the first data packet 1-first data packet 4; the network device can determine that the PDB of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 is PDB3 based on the second indication information 2, and then determine the first LCH2 corresponding to the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 based on PDB3 to ensure the transmission delay of the first data packet 5-first data packet 8; since the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 does not carry the second indication information, the network device can determine that the PDB of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11 is PDB1, and then determine the first LCH3 corresponding to the first data packet 5-first data packet 8 based on PDB3 to ensure the transmission delay of the first data packet 9-first data packet 11.

[0311] It is understandable that the network device can more accurately determine the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization delay information to meet the transmission delay requirement of the first data packet.

[0312] Optionally, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet; or, when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet.

[0313] Furthermore, the user plane network element may send a third data packet to the network device.

[0314] In a possible embodiment, when multiple data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and multiple third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., multiple data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the user-side network element sends a first data packet and a second indication message to a network device, all third data packets in the data packet set have synchronization requirements with the second data packet, and the user-side network element can directly send the third data packet to the network device without sending the second indication message.

[0315] Based on this possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, and there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet, the user-side network element may not send the second indication information when sending the third data packet to the second network, thereby reducing transmission overhead.

[0316] In another possible embodiment, when multiple data packets (e.g., including a first data packet and multiple third data packets) belong to the same data packet set (e.g., multiple data packets have the same PDU set sequence number), and the user-side network element sends a first data packet and a second indication message to the network device (the second indication information is used to indicate synchronization delay information), the synchronization delay information of all third data packets in the data packet set is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user-side network element can directly send the third data packet to the network device without sending the second indication message.

[0317] Based on this possible embodiment, if the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet, and the user-side network element may not send the second indication information when sending the third data packet to the second network, thereby reducing transmission overhead.

[0318] It should be noted that the user-plane network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization requirements, and the network device directly forwards the first data packet; or, the user-plane network element can send the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, and the network device determines the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet based on the second indication information; or, the user-plane network element can determine the QoS flow corresponding to the first data packet based on the synchronization requirements, and further, the network device can determine the first LCH / first DRB of the first data packet based on the synchronization requirements without restriction.

[0319] The communication method shown in FIGS. 8-13 above is applied to the downlink, that is, the data network device transmits the first data packet to the terminal device. In the uplink, that is, when the terminal device transmits the fourth data packet to the data network device, the user plane network element and the network device can pre-configure one or more transmission delay budgets and the corresponding second LCH / second DRB for each transmission delay budget for the terminal device. After the terminal device generates the data packet, it can determine the transmission delay budget that can meet the synchronization delay information from the third indication information according to the synchronization delay information between the data packets, and transmit the data packet through the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to the transmission delay budget, as shown in FIG. 14 below:

[0320] S1401. The network device sends the third indication information to the terminal device; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the network device.

[0321] Among them, the third indication information is used to indicate one or more transmission delay budgets and the corresponding second LCH / second DRB for each transmission delay budget.

[0322] Exemplarily, taking the transmission delay budget as PDB, the third indication information can indicate PDB1 and PDB2, and PDB1 < PDB2, PDB1 corresponds to the second LCH1, and PDB2 corresponds to the second LCH2.

[0323] S1402. The terminal device determines the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet according to the third indication information.

[0324] Among them, there is a synchronization requirement between the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet.

[0325] Exemplarily, taking the transmission delay budget as PDB, PDB1 corresponds to the second LCH1, PDB2 corresponds to the second LCH2, and PDB1 < PDB2 as an example, when the fourth data packet has a synchronization requirement, the terminal device can determine that the second LCH corresponding to the fourth data packet is the second LCH1; when the fourth data packet has no synchronization requirement, the terminal device can determine that the second LCH corresponding to the fourth data packet is the second LCH2.

[0326] S1403. The terminal device sends the fourth data packet to the network device according to the second LCH / second DRB; correspondingly, the network device receives the fourth data packet from the terminal device.

[0327] Optionally, different from determining the second LCH / second DRB according to the third indication information, the terminal device can also determine a timer according to the third indication information, and then send the fourth data packet in advance according to the duration of the timer to meet the synchronization requirement of the fourth data packet; if the timer expires, the fourth data packet is invalid.

[0328] It should be noted that the network device can forward the received fourth data packet to the user plane network element. Further, the user plane network element can forward the fourth data packet to the data network device, that is, the network device and the user plane network element do not perform any other processing on the fourth data packet.

[0329] Based on the communication method shown in Figure 12, the terminal device can determine the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet according to the third indication information to ensure that the fourth data packet can meet the synchronization requirements of the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet when it is transmitted on the second LCH / second DRB, thereby improving the communication performance and providing a feasible solution for meeting the synchronization requirements of the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet.

[0330] It should be noted that the various embodiments of this application can be implemented independently or in combination, without limitation. Unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions of the different embodiments provided in this application are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0331] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0332] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by this application from the perspective of interaction between various devices. Accordingly, this application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods described above. The communication device can be the terminal device involved in the above method embodiments, or a device including the terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device; or the communication device can be the network device involved in the above method embodiments, or a device including the network device, or a component that can be used for the network device; or the communication device can be the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the above terminal device, or a component that can be used for the terminal device.

[0333] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, 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.

[0334] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0335] In the first implementation scenario, taking the communication device as the user plane network element in the above method embodiment as an example, FIG15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a user plane network element 150. The user plane network element 150 includes a processing module 1501 and a transceiver module 1502.

[0336] In some embodiments, the user plane network element 150 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 15 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0337] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1502, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 1502 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0338] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1502 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the user-plane network element in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described in this document; the processing module 1501 may be used to execute the processing steps (such as determination, generation, etc.) performed by the user-plane network element in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described in this document.

[0339] In an exemplary embodiment, a processing module 1501 is used to obtain a first data packet; the processing module 1501 is also used to determine, based on the first data packet, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the processing module 1501 is also used to determine the service quality flow corresponding to the first data packet; wherein the service quality of the service quality flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the transceiver module 1502 is used to send the first data packet to the network device based on the service quality of the service quality flow.

[0340] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is also used to determine, when the first data packet includes first indication information, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the first indication information; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the processing module 1501 is also used to determine, when the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0341] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is also used to indicate the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; or, the processing module 1501 is also used to determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

[0342] In a possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine the quality of service flow according to the synchronization delay information.

[0343] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further configured to determine the quality of service flow based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of the following: source Internet Protocol address, destination Internet Protocol address, source port number, destination port number, or transport layer protocol number.

[0344] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is also used to determine whether there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set; the transceiver module 1502 is also used to send the third data packet to the network device based on the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

[0345] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further used to determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set; the transceiver module 1502 is further used to send the third data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

[0346] Another exemplary embodiment is that the processing module 1501 is used to obtain a first data packet; the processing module 1501 is also used to determine, based on the first data packet, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the transceiver module 1502 is used to send the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0347] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is also used to determine, when the first data packet includes first indication information, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet based on the first indication information; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the processing module 1501 is also used to determine, when the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user-plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

[0348] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is also used to indicate the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; or, the processing module 1501 is also used to determine the synchronization delay information of the first data packet based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

[0349] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further used to determine the second indication information based on the first indication information; the processing module 1501 is further used to determine the second indication information based on the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

[0350] In a possible implementation, the second indication information is also used to indicate synchronization delay information.

[0351] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further used to determine whether there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set; the transceiver module 1502 is further used to send the third data packet to the network device.

[0352] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1501 is further used to determine that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet when the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set; the transceiver module 1502 is further used to send the third data packet to the network device.

[0353] In this application, the user plane network element 150 is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to an ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0354] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the user plane network element 150 may take the form of the communication device 70 shown in FIG. 7 .

[0355] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 1501 in FIG15 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 70 shown in FIG7 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 1502 in FIG15 can be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 70 shown in FIG7.

[0356] In some embodiments, when the user-side network element 150 in Figure 15 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1502 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 1501 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0357] Since the user plane network element 150 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0358] In the second implementation scenario, taking the communication device as the network device in the above method embodiment as an example, FIG16 shows a schematic structural diagram of a network device 160. The network device 160 includes a processing module 1601 and a transceiver module 1602.

[0359] In some embodiments, the network device 160 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 16 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0360] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1602, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 1602 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0361] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1602 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the network device in the above method embodiments, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein; the processing module 1601 may be used to execute the processing steps (such as determination, generation, etc.) performed by the network device in the above method embodiments, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0362] In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver module 1602 is used to receive a first data packet and a second indication information from a user plane functional network element; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the processing module 1601 is used to determine the first LCH / first DRB corresponding to the first data packet based on the second indication information; wherein the first LCH / first DRB meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; the transceiver module 1602 is also used to send the first data packet to the terminal device based on the first LCH / first DRB.

[0363] In a possible implementation, the second indication information is also used to indicate synchronization delay information.

[0364] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1601 is also used to, when the second indication information is an index of the synchronization delay information, the network device determines the synchronization delay information according to the first mapping relationship; the processing module 1601 is also used to determine the first LCH / first DRB according to the synchronization delay information; wherein the first mapping relationship includes the synchronization delay information and the index of the synchronization delay information.

[0365] In a possible implementation, the first mapping relationship is predefined; or, the transceiver module 1602 is further configured to receive the first mapping relationship from a session management network element.

[0366] In this application, the network device 160 is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to an ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0367] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the network device 160 may take the form of the communication device 70 shown in FIG. 7 .

[0368] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 1601 in FIG16 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 70 shown in FIG7 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 1602 in FIG16 can be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 70 shown in FIG7.

[0369] In some embodiments, when the network device 160 in Figure 16 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1602 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 1601 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0370] Since the network device 160 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0371] In the third implementation scenario, taking the communication device as the terminal device in the above method embodiment as an example, FIG17 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 170. The terminal device 170 includes a processing module 1701 and a transceiver module 1702.

[0372] In some embodiments, the terminal device 170 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 17 ) for storing program instructions and data.

[0373] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement a transmitting and / or receiving function. The transceiver module 1702 may be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0374] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1702 may include a receiving module and a sending module, which are respectively used to execute the receiving and sending steps performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein; the processing module 1701 may be used to execute the processing steps (such as determination, generation, etc.) performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and / or used to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0375] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1702 is used to receive third indication information from the network device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate one or more delay budgets and the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to each delay budget; the processing module 1701 is used to determine the second LCH / second DRB corresponding to the fourth data packet based on the third indication information; wherein there is a synchronization requirement between the fourth data packet and the fifth data packet; the transceiver module 1702 is also used to send the fourth data packet to the network device according to the second LCH / second DRB.

[0376] In this application, the terminal device 170 is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. The "module" here can refer to an ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0377] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the terminal device 170 may take the form of the communication device 70 shown in FIG. 7 .

[0378] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing module 1701 in FIG17 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 70 shown in FIG7 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 707. The functions / implementation process of the transceiver module 1702 in FIG17 can be implemented by the communication interface 704 in the communication device 70 shown in FIG7.

[0379] In some embodiments, when the terminal device 170 in Figure 17 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1702 can be implemented through the input and output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 1701 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0380] Since the terminal device 170 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0381] As a possible product form, the data network device, user-plane network element, terminal device or network device described in the embodiments of the present application can also be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits that can perform the various functions described throughout this application.

[0382] As another possible product form, the data network device, user plane network element, terminal device, or network device described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using a general bus architecture. For ease of illustration, refer to Figure 18, which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 180 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 180 includes a processor 1801 and a transceiver 1802. The communication device 180 can be a data network device, or a chip or module therein; the communication device 180 can be a user plane network element, or a chip or module therein; the communication device 180 can be a terminal device, or a chip or module therein; or the communication device 180 can be a network device, or a chip or module therein. Figure 8 only shows the main components of the communication device 180. In addition to the processor 1801 and the transceiver 1802, the communication device can further include a memory 1803.

[0383] Optionally, processor 1801 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Memory 1803 is primarily used to store software programs and data. Transceiver 1802 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0384] Optionally, the processor 1801 , the transceiver 1802 , and the memory 1803 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0385] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1801 can read the software program in the memory 1803, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves via the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal via the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1801. The processor 1801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0386] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be remotely arranged independent of the communication device.

[0387] In some embodiments, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device, comprising a processor, configured to implement the method in any of the above method embodiments. The communication device may be a data network device, a user plane network element, a terminal device, or a network device in the above method embodiments.

[0388] As a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, and the processor may invoke the instructions in the computer program stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to perform any of the above-described method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be located in the communication device.

[0389] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, and the interface circuit is used to receive computer execution instructions (computer execution instructions are stored in a memory, may be read directly from the memory, or may pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0390] As another possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, where the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0391] It can be understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0392] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0393] The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0394] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0395] It is understood that the systems, devices, and methods described in this application may also be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0396] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the objectives of this embodiment as needed.

[0397] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0398] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes (or functions) described in the embodiments of the present application are implemented. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more media that can be integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)). In the embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the aforementioned device.

[0399] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0400] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Get a first data packet; Determining, according to the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; Determine a quality of service flow corresponding to the first data packet; wherein the quality of service of the quality of service flow meets the synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; The first data packet is sent to a network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The determining, according to the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet includes: The first data packet includes first indication information, and according to the first indication information, it is determined that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; or When the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, it is determined that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first indication information is further used to indicate synchronization delay information of the first data packet; or, Determine synchronization delay information of the first data packet according to the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The quality of service flow is determined according to the synchronization delay information.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The quality of service flow is determined based on the synchronization delay information and one or more of the following: a source Internet Protocol address, a destination Internet Protocol address, a source port number, a destination port number, or a transport layer protocol number.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet; The third data packet is sent to the network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, determining that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; The third data packet is sent to the network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Get a first data packet; Determining, according to the first data packet, that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; The first data packet and second indication information are sent to a network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet includes: The first data packet includes first indication information, and according to the first indication information, it is determined that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; or When the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element is less than or equal to a first preset threshold, it is determined that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The first indication information is further used to indicate synchronization delay information of the first data packet; or, The synchronization delay information is determined according to the time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: determining the second indication information according to the first indication information; or, The second indication information is determined according to a time difference between the first data packet and the second data packet arriving at the user plane network element.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second indication information is also used to indicate synchronization delay information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, determining that there is a synchronization requirement between the third data packet and the second data packet; The third data packet is sent to the network device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the third data packet and the first data packet are in the same data packet set, determining that the synchronization delay information of the third data packet is the same as the synchronization delay information of the first data packet; The third data packet is sent to the network device.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing module, configured to obtain a first data packet; The processing module is further used to determine, based on the first data packet, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; The processing module is further configured to determine a quality of service flow corresponding to the first data packet; wherein the quality of service of the quality of service flow satisfies a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; The transceiver module is used to send the first data packet to the network device according to the quality of service of the quality of service flow.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing module, configured to obtain a first data packet; The processing module is further used to determine, based on the first data packet, whether there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet; The transceiver module is used to send the first data packet and the second indication information to the network device, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that there is a synchronization requirement between the first data packet and the second data packet.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor; the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction, or to use a logic circuit to enable the communication device to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-7, or to enable the communication device to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 8-14.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs, which, when executed on a computer, enable the communication device to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or enable the communication device to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 8 to 14.

19. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are executed, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is executed, or the communication method according to any one of claims 8 to 14 is executed.

20. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a user plane network element; wherein the user plane network element is used to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-7, and the user plane network element is used to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 8-14.

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