Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: an access network device receiving configuration information of a QoS flow, wherein the configuration information of the QoS flow comprises a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter among M QoS parameters; and on the basis of a third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters, transmitting a data packet of the QoS flow, wherein a transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to a transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and is higher than or equal to a transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter. By using the method, the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters are configured for the access network device, so that the access network device can rapidly adjust a transmission requirement corresponding to the QoS flow, thereby rapidly adapting to different transmission conditions.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on November 3, 2023, with application number 202311461770.1 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] In mobile communication networks, operators can provide users with a wide range of services, including voice, data, and video. Different services have varying requirements for latency, bandwidth, and other factors. By introducing Quality of Service (QoS) solutions, these services can be differentiated, ensuring high-speed data services and enhancing the user experience. QoS solutions aim to provide network services with varying levels of quality of service, tailored to the needs of various services.

[0005] However, in some new business scenarios, such as end-to-end cloud collaboration, QoS flows have higher transmission requirements. When transmission conditions change, such as when access network equipment resources become scarce or the terminal device's channel deteriorates, these requirements may not be met. Therefore, QoS reconfiguration is necessary to adjust the transmission requirements of the QoS flows. Typically, the latency required for QoS reconfiguration is significant, making it difficult to quickly adapt to changing transmission conditions and impacting the user experience.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which configures a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters for an access network device, so that the access network device can quickly adjust the transmission requirements corresponding to the QoS flow, thereby facilitating rapid adaptation to different transmission conditions.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to an access network device or a module (such as a chip or circuit) in an access network device. Taking the application of this method to an access network device as an example, in this method, the access network device receives configuration information of a quality of service QoS flow from a core network device, where the configuration information of the QoS flow includes a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters; based on the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, a third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is determined; based on the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, a data packet of the QoS flow is transmitted; wherein, the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter.

[0009] By using the above method, by configuring the access network device with the first and second values ​​of each of the M QoS parameters, the access network device can flexibly determine the third value of each QoS parameter based on the first and second values ​​of each QoS parameter. Since the access network device can flexibly determine the third value of each QoS parameter, when the access network device changes due to transmission conditions, the access network device can adjust the third value of the QoS parameter between the first and second values ​​of the QoS parameter, without requiring the core network device to adjust the value of the QoS parameter through QoS reconfiguration. This allows for rapid adjustment of the transmission requirements corresponding to the QoS flow, facilitating rapid adaptation to different transmission conditions. For example, the access network device can transmit data packets of the QoS flow as closely as possible to the basic transmission requirements (each QoS parameter takes the first value). When the current transmission conditions cannot meet the basic transmission requirements, the data packets of the QoS flow can be transmitted in a relaxed manner, that is, the data packets of the QoS flow can be transmitted in a manner that is lower than the basic transmission requirements.

[0010] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

[0011] In this way, the access network device can flexibly update the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters without the need for the core network device to reconfigure QoS, thereby saving signaling overhead and improving the efficiency of adjusting the transmission requirements corresponding to the QoS flow.

[0012] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow also includes the first value of each QoS parameter among the N QoS parameters; transmitting the data packet of the QoS flow according to the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters includes: transmitting the data packet of the QoS flow according to the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters and the first value of each QoS parameter among the N QoS parameters.

[0013] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first QoS description information, which includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; or, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes second QoS description information and third QoS description information, where the second QoS description information includes the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second QoS description information includes the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0014] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet. The transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters. The second data packet is the data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet. The ratio of the number of the second data packets to the total number of data packets in the QoS flow is less than or equal to a threshold. This facilitates avoiding the impact on user experience caused by excessive data packets being unavailable for transmission.

[0015] In one possible design, the threshold is included in the configuration information of the QoS flow, or the threshold is preconfigured.

[0016] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission index of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is the data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the method further includes: determining a first ratio between the number of the first data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow, and / or a second ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow; and sending the first ratio and / or the second ratio to the core network device. In this way, the ratio of data packets transmitted according to different transmission requirements is notified to the core network device, facilitating differentiated billing.

[0017] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending configuration information of the data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the QoS flow to the terminal device, and the configuration information of the DRB is determined based on the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0018] In this way, since the core network device configures the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters for the access network device, the access network device can configure the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow according to the second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters, that is, configure the DRB according to the minimum transmission requirements, and avoid configuring the DRB according to the highest transmission requirements, which may result in the inability to relax transmission.

[0019] In one possible design, the configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packets of the QoS flow.

[0020] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving second indication information from a terminal device, the second indication information being used to indicate a third value of each of the M QoS parameters. For example, the terminal device may send the second indication information to the access network device based on the user's service experience perception information to improve the user experience.

[0021] In one possible design, the M QoS parameters include at least one of the following: transmission delay, transmission reliability, and transmission rate.

[0022] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a core network device or a module (such as a chip or circuit) in a core network device. Taking the application of this method to a core network device as an example, in this method, the core network device determines the configuration information of the QoS flow, and the configuration information of the QoS flow includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters; the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters are used to determine the third value of each QoS parameter, and the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters is used to transmit data packets of the QoS flow; the configuration information of the QoS flow is sent to the access network device and / or the terminal device; wherein, the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter.

[0023] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

[0024] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first QoS description information, which includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; or, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes second QoS description information and third QoS description information, where the second QoS description information includes the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second QoS description information includes the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0025] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is the data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the configuration information of the QoS flow includes a threshold, and the ratio of the number of the second data packets to the total number of data packets in the QoS flow is less than or equal to the threshold.

[0026] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the method also includes: receiving a first ratio between the number of the first data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow, and / or a second ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow.

[0027] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a terminal device or a module (such as a chip or circuit) in a terminal device. Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, in this method, the terminal device receives configuration information of a QoS flow from a core network device, and the configuration information of the QoS flow includes a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters; according to the configuration information of the QoS flow, it is determined that the data packet of the QoS flow supports relaxed transmission.

[0028] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a third value of at least one of the M recommended QoS parameters.

[0029] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving configuration information of a data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the QoS flow, wherein the configuration information of the DRB is determined based on a second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters.

[0030] In one possible design, the configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packets of the QoS flow.

[0031] It can be understood that the beneficial effects of the relevant technical features in the second and third aspects can be referred to the description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which has the ability to implement the functions involved in the first to third aspects above. For example, the communication device includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations involved in the first to third aspects above. The functions or units or means can be implemented through software, or through hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented through hardware.

[0033] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices, for example, the communication unit is used to send system information to a terminal. The processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the communication unit can correspond to the operations described in the first to third aspects above.

[0034] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first to third aspects described above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first to third aspects described above.

[0035] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first to third aspects described above. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design or implementation of the first to third aspects described above.

[0036] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design or implementation of the first to third aspects above.

[0037] It can be understood that in the fourth aspect above, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include a first network device, a second network device and a terminal; wherein the first network device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, the second network device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect, and the terminal is used to execute the method described in the third aspect.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-readable instructions are stored. When a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer executes the method in any possible design of the first to third aspects above.

[0040] Exemplarily, a computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable medium can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which, when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in any possible design of the first to third aspects above.

[0042] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory and is configured to read and execute a software program stored in the memory to implement a method in any possible design of the first to third aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figures 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of two network architectures provided in embodiments of the present application;

[0044] FIG2 is an example diagram of a protocol layer structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between the number of transmissions, transmission reliability, and resource overhead provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is a possible exemplary block diagram of a device involved in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, such as new radio (NR) system, and future evolved communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system.

[0051] This application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features in the context of systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these aspects may also be used.

[0052] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplarily" and "such as" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as an "example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete way. In the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding, relevant" and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings to be expressed are consistent.

[0053] The communication system and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0054] Figures 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of two network architectures provided in an embodiment of the present application. Among them, the network architecture shown in Figure 1A is a network architecture of a 5G communication system based on a service-oriented interface, and the network architecture shown in Figure 1B is a network architecture of a 5G communication system based on a point-to-point interface. As shown in Figure 1A or Figure 1B, a terminal device can access a wireless network to obtain services of an external network (such as a data network (DN)) through the wireless network, or communicate with other devices through the wireless network. The wireless network can also be referred to as an operator network, and can include a (radio) access network ((R)AN) and a core network (CN), wherein the (R)AN (hereinafter described as RAN) is used to access the terminal device to the wireless network, and the CN is used to manage the terminal device and provide a gateway for communicating with the DN.

[0055] The following is a detailed description of the terminal equipment, RAN, CN, and DN respectively.

[0056] (1) Terminal equipment

[0057] Terminal equipment is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. Terminal equipment can also be called user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, terminal unit, terminal station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), wireless communication device, terminal agent, or terminal device.

[0058] For example, the terminal device may be a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or a vehicle with a communication function, a vehicle-mounted device (such as a vehicle-mounted communication device, a vehicle-mounted communication chip), etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving cars, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc.

[0059] Terminal devices can also be terminals in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the Internet through communications technology, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. IoT technology, for example, can achieve massive connectivity and deep coverage through narrowband (NB) technology.

[0060] It should be understood that the terminal device can be any device that can access the network. The terminal device and the access network device can communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology.

[0061] Alternatively, a terminal device can function as a base station. For example, a terminal device can act as a dispatching entity, providing sidelink signals between terminal devices in scenarios such as V2X or D2D. For example, a cell phone and a car can communicate with each other using sidelink signals. A cell phone and a smart home device can also communicate without relaying the communication signal through a base station.

[0062] (2)RAN

[0063] The RAN may include one or more access network elements (or access network devices). The interface between the access network device and the terminal device may be the Uu interface (or air interface). The access network device provides network access for authorized user devices in a specific area and can use transmission tunnels with different qualities of service based on the user device level and service requirements. The access network device manages radio resources, provides access services to terminal devices, and forwards control signals and data between the terminal device and the core network.

[0064] The access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The access network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN) or a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario. Optionally, the access network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network device in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0065] The access network device in this application may also be a logical node, logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the access network device. For example, the access 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 set separately, or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0066] (3)CN

[0067] The CN may include one or more core network elements (or core network devices), for example, the CN may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, a unified data management function (UDM) network element, and an application function (AF) network element.

[0068] AMF network element: Access and mobility management function network element is mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. It can be used to implement other functions of MME functions except session management, such as access authorization / authentication.

[0069] SMF network element: mainly used for session management, Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management of user equipment, selection of endpoints for manageable user plane functions, policy control and charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification.

[0070] UPF network element: used for packet routing and forwarding, as well as quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data.

[0071] PCF network element: A unified policy framework used to guide network behavior and provide policy rule information for control plane function network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.).

[0072] UDM network element: used to process UE identification, access authentication, registration and mobility management, etc.

[0073] AF network element: used for data routing affected by applications, open function network element of wireless access network, interacting with the policy framework for policy control, etc.

[0074] In addition, although not shown, the CN may also include other possible network elements, such as a unified data repository (UDR), a short message service function (SMSF) network element, an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, etc. Among them, the UDR is used to store user information and contract information, where user information can be understood as identification information of a terminal device, such as a permanent identification of a terminal device.

[0075] The network elements in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as entities or functional entities. For example, an AMF network element may also be referred to as an AMF entity or an AMF device, and an SMF network element may also be referred to as an SMF entity or an SMF device. The above network elements may be network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above network elements may be implemented by one device, or by multiple devices, or may be a functional module within a device, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0076] (4)DN

[0077] A DN, also known as a packet data network (PDN), is a network located outside the carrier network. It provides data transmission services to users, such as IP multi-media services (IMS) and the Internet. Application servers corresponding to various services can be deployed in the DN, providing a variety of possible services to terminal devices.

[0078] Specifically, data can be transmitted between the terminal device and the application server via a user-plane data transmission channel. The user-plane data transmission channel can be established through a control-plane signaling interaction process, where the control-plane signaling interaction process is, for example, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment process. The application server can send downlink data to the terminal via the user-plane data transmission channel. The transmission path for downlink data is: application server → UPF network element → access network device → terminal device. Similarly, the terminal device can send uplink data to the application server via the user-plane data transmission channel. The transmission path for uplink data is: terminal device → access network device → UPF network element → application server.

[0079] In addition, it can be understood that Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Namf, Nsmf, etc. in Figure 1A are service interfaces used to call corresponding service operations; N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, etc. in Figure 1A are interface serial numbers, and N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8, N10, N11, N25, etc. in Figure 1B are interface serial numbers. The meanings of these interface serial numbers can be found in the meanings defined in the relevant standard protocols.

[0080] The following first explains the relevant terms or concepts involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present application.

[0081] (1) Communications business

[0082] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication service refers to a service implemented by using a communication network architecture (such as the communication network architecture shown in Figure 1A or Figure 1B). For example, the communication service can be an end-cloud collaborative service or other possible services, which are not specifically limited. Among them, the end-cloud collaborative service refers to the completion of part of the processing functions of the terminal device by the cloud side with the assistance of the end side. Typical end-cloud collaborative services include cloud-based photo enhancement and cloud-based game enhancement (such as extended reality (XR)). XR refers to various environments that combine reality and virtuality generated by computing technology and wearable devices, as well as human-computer interaction, specifically including the following typical forms: augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).

[0083] Cloud-based photo enhancement: After taking a photo locally on a mobile phone, the phone typically performs local image processing to enhance image quality. Common image post-processing techniques include denoising, super-resolution, low-light enhancement, and beautification. Some of these processes require significant computing power, which limits local processing on the phone. Once the processing quality reaches a certain level, it's difficult to improve. Therefore, photos can be transferred to the cloud for processing. The cloud can deploy a large number of graphics processing units (GPUs) for image processing, resulting in superior processing quality compared to local storage. This method requires the user to take a photo, then upload it to the cloud. After processing in the cloud, the photo is returned to the phone and displayed to the user.

[0084] Cloud-based game enhancement: Usually, the rendering effect of mobile phones on games is limited by the rendering computing power. To achieve better rendering effects, the mobile phone can upload the 3D model data to be rendered, as well as information such as user location and rendering perspective, to the cloud side for rendering. The cloud side then returns the rendering results to the mobile phone, which performs post-processing and displays them to the user.

[0085] (2) QoS Flow

[0086] QoS flow in the 5G system is the finest QoS differentiation granularity in the PDU session. A PDU session may include one or more QoS flows, and each QoS flow may carry one or more communication services. The concept of QoS flow is not limited to the QoS flow in the 5G system. The QoS flow in the embodiment of the present application is a channel resource used to indicate the transmission of data packets with the same or similar QoS requirements. It can also be replaced by other names, such as service flow, bearer or service pipeline, without specific limitation.

[0087] In the network architecture illustrated in FIG1A or FIG1B , between the access network device and the core network element, the access network device and the core network element perform QoS control on the data packets of the communication service at the granularity of QoS flow. Specifically, during the transmission of downlink data, the UPF network element determines the QoS flow corresponding to the communication service based on the QoS requirements of the communication service. The UPF network element maps the downlink data of the communication service to the QoS flow corresponding to the communication service and sends the downlink data of the communication service to the access network device. During the transmission of uplink data, the access network device determines the QoS flow corresponding to the communication service based on the uplink data of the communication service received from the terminal device. The access network device maps the uplink data of the communication service to the QoS flow corresponding to the communication service and sends the uplink data of the communication service to the UPF network element.

[0088] (3) QoS parameters

[0089] QoS flows can include guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flows and non-guaranteed bit rate (Non-GBR) QoS flows. GBR QoS flows carry services with strict latency or rate requirements, requiring guaranteed transmission rates, such as conversational video services. Non-GBR QoS flows carry services with low rate requirements and do not require real-time rate guarantees, such as web browsing and file downloading.

[0090] Taking GBR QoS flow as an example, each GBR QoS flow can correspond to a set of QoS parameters, which may include 5G service quality identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI), guaranteed flow bit rate (guaranteed flow bit rate, GFBR), and maximum flow bit rate (maximum flow bit rate, MFBR).

[0091] The GFBR represents the bit rate guaranteed by the network to be provided to the QoS flow over an averaging window; the MFBR is used to limit the bit rate to the maximum bit rate expected by the QoS flow (for example, packets exceeding the MFBR may be dropped by the UE / RAN / UPF). The GFBR value can be the same in the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL), and the MFBR value can also be the same in the UL and DL.

[0092] 5QI is a scalar used to index the corresponding 5G QoS characteristics. 5QI is divided into standardized 5QI, pre-configured 5QI, and dynamically allocated 5QI. Among them, the standardized 5QI corresponds one-to-one with a set of standardized 5G QoS characteristics; the 5G QoS characteristic values ​​corresponding to the pre-configured 5QI can be pre-configured on the access network equipment; the 5G QoS characteristics corresponding to the dynamically allocated 5QI are sent by the core network equipment to the access network equipment.

[0093] Taking the standardized 5QI as an example, its corresponding 5G QoS features may include:

[0094] 1) Resource type, including GBR, delay-critical GBR, and Non-GBR. Non-GBR QoS flows can use the Non-GBR resource type. GBR QoS flows can use either the GBR resource type or the delay-critical GBR resource type.

[0095] 2) Priority level: This parameter indicates the resource scheduling priority between 5G QoS flows. This parameter is used to distinguish between QoS flows of a terminal device, and can also be used to distinguish QoS flows of different terminal devices. The smaller the value of this parameter, the higher the priority.

[0096] 3) Packet delay budget (PDB), which defines the upper limit of the delay for data packet transmission between the terminal device and the anchor UPF network element.

[0097] 4) Packet Error Rate (PER) defines an upper limit, which is the ratio of data packets that have been processed by the link layer (such as the RLC layer) of the transmitter but have not been submitted to the upper layer (such as the PDCP layer) by the corresponding receiver. The packet error rate can also be called the packet error rate or transmission reliability, and the two can be used interchangeably. It should be noted that for GBR QoS flows using delay-sensitive GBR resource types, if the data burst sent within the PDB period is less than the default maximum data burst size and the QoS flow does not exceed the guaranteed flow bit rate, then the data packets delayed by more than the PDB are counted as lost.

[0098] 5) The averaging window is defined for GBR QoS flows and is used by related network elements to calculate GFBR and MFBR statistics.

[0099] 6) Maximum data burst volume (MDBV), which indicates the maximum amount of data that the 5G access network needs to serve during a 5G access network PDB; each QoS flow of the delay-sensitive GBR resource type should be associated with an MDBV.

[0100] For example, when the standardized 5QI value is 82, the corresponding resource type is delay-sensitive GBR, the priority level is 19, the PDB is 10 milliseconds (ms), the PER is 10E-4, the MDBV is 255 bytes (byte), and the average window is 2000 ms.

[0101] (4) Protocol layer structure

[0102] To achieve data transmission, each communication device needs to follow the corresponding protocol layer structure. Figure 2 is an example diagram of the protocol layer structure. As shown in Figure 2, the access network protocol layer structure can be followed between the terminal device and the access network device. The description of the access layer protocol layer structure is referred to below. The protocol layer structure between the access network device and the UPF network element may include the L1 layer (i.e., physical layer), the L2 layer (i.e., data link layer), the user datagram protocol (UDP) layer, the IP layer, the general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) layer, etc. The protocol layer structure between the UPF network element and the application server may include the L1 layer and the L2 layer; the application server and the terminal device may also include a peer application layer, a transmission control protocol (TCP) / real-time transport protocol (RTP) layer, and a UDP / IP layer. The following description will take the RTP layer and the IP layer in the terminal device and the application server as an example.

[0103] The access network protocol layer structure between the access network device and the terminal device may include a control plane protocol layer structure and a user plane protocol layer structure. FIG2 above illustrates the user plane protocol structure as an example. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer (PHY); the user plane protocol layer structure may include a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a physical layer. In one possible implementation, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer. The SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer may also be collectively referred to as the access layer. As can be seen from FIG2 , the terminal device also includes a non-access layer, such as a PDU session layer and an application layer. For a detailed description of the protocol layers, reference may be made to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0104] When an access network device and a terminal device perform user-plane data transmission, the data needs to pass through the user-plane protocol layers, such as the SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer. For example, data is transmitted between the access network device and the terminal device by establishing at least one data radio bearer (DRB). Each DRB may correspond to a set of functional entities, such as a PDCP layer entity, at least one RLC layer entity corresponding to the PDCP layer entity, at least one MAC layer entity corresponding to at least one RLC layer entity, and at least one physical layer entity corresponding to at least one MAC layer entity.

[0105] (5) Relationship between resources and transmission requirements

[0106] Taking XR services as an example, XR services have high transmission requirements, such as the need to complete data transmission with a transmission reliability of 10E-6 within 3ms. Since the round-trip time (RTT) of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmission is generally greater than 3ms, this also means that the terminal device needs to complete data transmission with a transmission reliability of 10E-6 within one HARQ transmission time. Under normal circumstances, the transmission reliability of a HARQ transmission is 10%. If the transmission fails, the transmission reliability is guaranteed by retransmission. If data transmission with a transmission reliability of 10E-6 is to be completed within one HARQ transmission time, the access network equipment needs to be scheduled according to very conservative channel conditions, which means that the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for data transmission corresponds to a lower modulation order, and the corresponding resource overhead is greater.

[0107] Figure 3 illustrates the relationship between the number of transmissions, transmission reliability, and resource overhead. Assuming a single transmission achieves 10% transmission reliability, and assuming the required resources are X, analysis shows that: A single transmission achieving 10E-6 transmission reliability requires 5X the resources (i.e., five times the resources are needed to achieve the same transmission reliability as a single transmission); a single transmission achieving 10E-4 transmission reliability requires 3X the resources; two transmissions achieving 10E-6 transmission reliability (one transmission achieving 10% transmission reliability, the other achieving 10E-5 transmission reliability) require 1.4X the resources; two transmissions achieving 10E-4 transmission reliability requires 1.2X the resources; and three transmissions achieving 10E-6 transmission reliability requires 1.13X the resources. This shows that appropriately relaxing the requirements for transmission reliability and latency can significantly reduce the required resource overhead.

[0108] In the 5G communication system, the PCF network element is responsible for the generation of QoS flow control policies, and the SMF network element is responsible for QoS configuration. For example, after the SMF network element receives a PDU session establishment request message or a PDU session modification request message from a terminal device, if it is determined that a new QoS flow needs to be established for the terminal device based on the data packet characteristics of the communication service to be transmitted (such as IP address, port number), the QoS description information of the QoS flow is sent to the access network device through the AMF network element. The QoS description information includes the values ​​of multiple QoS parameters of the QoS flow. Furthermore, the access network device can configure the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB based on the values ​​of multiple QoS parameters, and transmit the data packets of the QoS flow based on the values ​​of multiple QoS parameters.

[0109] The QoS description information can also be called a QoS profile or a QoS parameter set. The values ​​of multiple QoS parameters of a QoS flow are related to the service requirements of the communication service carried by the QoS flow. For example, entry-level VR service: the transmission rate is 50Mbps, the transmission delay is 20ms, and the transmission reliability is 10E-4; advanced VR service: the transmission rate is 150Mbps, the transmission delay is 8ms, and the transmission reliability is 10E-5; fully immersive VR service: the transmission rate is 500Mbps, the transmission delay is 3ms, and the transmission reliability is 10E-6.

[0110] Using the above approach, after the SMF network element sends the QoS description information for a QoS flow to the access network device, the access network device must transmit the data packet according to the transmission requirements corresponding to the values ​​of multiple QoS parameters in the QoS description information. If the values ​​of one or more QoS parameters need to be changed because the transmission requirements corresponding to these QoS parameters cannot be guaranteed, the SMF network element must reconfigure the QoS. For example, the SMF network element may configure the QoS description information for the access network device as follows: a transmission rate of 500Mbps, a transmission delay of 3ms, and a transmission reliability of 10E-6 (corresponding to fully immersive VR services). Due to the high transmission requirements of fully immersive VR services, these transmission requirements may not be met when the access network device has limited resources or the terminal device's channel degrades. In this case, if the SMF network element reconfigures the QoS to reduce the service assurance level, end-to-end notification of the core network, application server, and terminal device is required to update the QoS. This process requires a long delay, resulting in an inability to quickly adapt to the changing transmission conditions, affecting the user experience.

[0111] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which configures the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters for the access network device, so that the access network device can quickly adjust the transmission requirements corresponding to the QoS flow, thereby facilitating rapid adaptation to different transmission conditions.

[0112] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, "terminal device" may refer to the terminal device itself or a component in the terminal device, such as a chip or chip system; "access network device" may refer to the access network device itself or a component in the access network device, such as a chip or chip system; "core network device" may refer to the core network device itself or a component in the core network device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0113] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the method includes:

[0114] S401: The core network device sends QoS flow configuration information to the access network device; correspondingly, the access network device receives the QoS flow configuration information.

[0115] Exemplarily, a QoS flow corresponds to multiple QoS parameters, such as at least one of transmission latency (e.g., PDB), transmission reliability (e.g., PER), and transmission rate (e.g., GFBR). Optionally, the multiple QoS parameters also include other possible QoS parameters, as described above, and are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0116] The above-mentioned core network device can be an SMF network element. Taking the QoS flow as an example for carrying VR services, the SMF network element can receive the policy and charging control (PCC) rules of the VR service sent by the PCF network element, and then determine the configuration information of the QoS flow according to the PCC rules of the VR service. Among them, the PCC rules of the VR service can be obtained by the PCF network element based on the service demand information of the VR service.

[0117] (1) Describe the contents of the QoS flow configuration information.

[0118] The QoS flow configuration information includes a first value and a second value for each of M QoS parameters, where M is a positive integer. The M QoS parameters may include transmission delay and / or transmission reliability, and may also include other possible QoS parameters, such as transmission rate. In the embodiments of this application, the description will be based on an example in which the M QoS parameters include transmission delay and transmission reliability.

[0119] For the i-th QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters, the first and second values ​​of the i-th QoS parameter correspond to different transmission requirements, where i = 1, 2, ..., M. The transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of the i-th QoS parameter is higher than the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of the i-th QoS parameter. The transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of the i-th QoS parameter can be called the basic transmission requirement, and the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of the i-th QoS parameter can be called the relaxed transmission requirement. For example, if the i-th QoS parameter is transmission delay, the first value of transmission delay is 3ms, and the second value of transmission delay is 10ms. Alternatively, if the i-th QoS parameter is transmission reliability, the first value of transmission reliability is 10E-6, and the second value of transmission reliability is 10E-4.

[0120] The smaller the value of transmission delay, the higher the corresponding transmission requirement. For example, if the first value of transmission delay is 3ms, the corresponding transmission requirement is that the transmission delay is less than or equal to 3ms; if the second value of transmission delay is 10ms, the corresponding transmission requirement is that the transmission delay is less than or equal to 10ms. The smaller the value of transmission reliability, the higher the corresponding transmission requirement. For example, if the first value of transmission reliability is 10E-6, the corresponding transmission requirement is that the transmission reliability is not less than 10E-6; if the second value of transmission reliability is 10E-4, the corresponding transmission requirement is that the transmission reliability is not less than 10E-4. It is understandable that transmission requirement can also be replaced by QoS demand, QoS requirement, or other possible descriptions.

[0121] Optionally, the QoS flow configuration information also includes a first value for each of the N QoS parameters. None of the N QoS parameters have a second value, and the N QoS parameters are different from the M QoS parameters. For example, the N QoS parameters include a transmission rate, and the first value of the transmission rate is 500 Mbps; in this case, the M QoS transmission parameters do not include the transmission rate.

[0122] (2) Describe the form of QoS flow configuration information.

[0123] In the embodiments of the present application, the QoS flow configuration information can be expressed in various forms. The following describes two possible implementations, taking "QoS flow configuration information including the first and second values ​​of each of M QoS parameters, and the first value of each of N QoS parameters" as an example.

[0124] (2.1) Implementation method 1

[0125] The configuration information for a QoS flow includes a first QoS profile, which includes a first value and a second value for each of the M QoS parameters, and also includes a first value for each of the N QoS parameters. Table 1 shows an example of the configuration information for a QoS flow.

[0126] Table 1: Example of QoS flow configuration information

[0127] In Table 1, a QoS flow corresponds to a QoS profile (i.e., a first QoS profile). The first QoS profile includes a first value of each QoS parameter among W (W=M+N) QoS parameters (i.e., basic transmission requirements), and also includes a second value of each QoS parameter among M QoS parameters (i.e., relaxed transmission requirements). As shown in Table 1, M=2 and N=1.

[0128] It can be understood that Table 1 is only a possible example, and the configuration information of the QoS flow can also be in other forms. For example, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes {500Mbps, 3ms, 10ms, 10E-6, 10E-4}, or {500Mbps, (3ms, 10ms), (10E-6, 10E-4)}, or {500Mbps}, {3ms, 10ms}, {10E-6, 10E-4}, or {500Mbps, 3ms, 10E-6}, {10ms, 10E-4}.

[0129] In addition, Table 1 illustrates a QoS flow corresponding to one QoS profile. In other examples, a QoS flow may correspond to multiple QoS profiles (e.g., QoS profile 1 and QoS profile 2). Table 2 shows another example of QoS flow configuration information.

[0130] Table 2: Example of QoS flow configuration information

[0131] In Table 2, the content included in QoS profile 1 and QoS profile 2 differs only in numerical values. In other examples, QoS profile 2 may include only the first value (i.e., the basic transmission requirement) of each QoS parameter among the W QoS parameters, i.e., each QoS parameter among the W QoS parameters does not have a second value. This is not specifically limited.

[0132] (2.2) Implementation method 2

[0133] The configuration information for the QoS flow includes a second QoS profile and a third QoS profile. The second QoS profile includes the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters and the first value of each QoS parameter in the N QoS parameters. The third QoS profile includes the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters and the first value of each QoS parameter in the N QoS parameters. Optionally, the second QoS profile and the third QoS profile belong to the same QoS profile group. See Table 3 for an example of the configuration information for the QoS flow. In the configuration shown in Table 3, M = 2 and N = 1.

[0134] Table 3: Example of QoS flow configuration information

[0135] It can be understood that Table 3 is only a possible example, and the configuration information of the QoS flow can also be in other forms. For example, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes {(second QoS profile: 500Mbps, 3ms, 10E-6), (third QoS profile: 500Mbps, 10ms, 10E-4)}.

[0136] Table 3 illustrates an example of a QoS flow corresponding to two QoS profiles. In other examples, a QoS flow can correspond to more QoS profiles (e.g., QoS profile 3, QoS profile 4, QoS profile 5, and QoS profile 6). Table 4 shows another example of QoS flow configuration information.

[0137] Table 4: Example of QoS flow configuration information

[0138] In Table 4, QoS profiles 3 and 4 correspond to a set of basic transmission requirements and relaxed transmission requirements, meaning they belong to the same QoS profile group. QoS profiles 5 and 6 correspond to a set of basic transmission requirements and relaxed transmission requirements, meaning they belong to the same QoS profile group. In other examples, the QoS flow configuration information may also include QoS profiles 3, 4, and 5, but not QoS profile 6. This is not a specific limitation.

[0139] With respect to the above-mentioned implementation manner 1 and implementation manner 2, the embodiments of the present application will be described below using the scenarios shown in Table 1 and Table 3 as examples. When the configuration information of the QoS flow includes QoS profile 1 and QoS profile 2 (as shown in Table 2), the access network device can select one of the QoS profiles, such as QoS profile 1, and execute S402 and S403 according to QoS profile 1; optionally, the access network device can also send the identifier of the QoS profile selected by the access network device to the core network device. When the configuration information of the QoS flow includes QoS profile 3 to QoS profile 6 (as shown in Table 4), the access network device can select one of the QoS profile groups, such as QoS profile group 2, and execute S402 and S403 according to QoS profile 3 and QoS profile 4; optionally, the access network device can also send the identifier of the QoS profile selected by the access network device or the identifier of the QoS profile group to the core network device.

[0140] S402: The access network device determines a third value of each of the M QoS parameters according to the first value and the second value of each of the M QoS parameters.

[0141] Here, the access network device can flexibly determine the third value of each QoS parameter based on the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters. For example, the access network device determines the third value of each QoS parameter based on the load condition and / or channel condition of the access network device. Specifically, the access network device can determine the specific transmission requirements for each data packet or all data packets in each transmission time period. For example, the access network device can try to transmit the data packets of the QoS flow in accordance with the basic transmission requirements (each Qos parameter takes the first value). When the basic transmission requirements cannot be met, the data packets of the QoS flow can be relaxed for transmission, that is, the data packets of the QoS flow are transmitted in accordance with the transmission requirements lower than the basic transmission requirements (the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of at least one Qos parameter are not met).

[0142] The transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter. For example, the M QoS parameters include transmission delay and transmission reliability. If the first value of transmission delay is 3ms and the second value of transmission delay is 10ms, then the third value of transmission delay can be greater than or equal to 3ms and less than or equal to 10ms; if the first value of transmission reliability is 10E-6 and the second value of transmission reliability is 10E-4, then the third value of transmission reliability can be greater than or equal to 3ms and less than or equal to 10ms.

[0143] The above S402 is an optional step. For example, the access network device may not execute S402, but instead transmit the data packets of the QoS flow according to the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; wherein the third value of the QoS parameter used to transmit the data packets of the QoS flow is between the first value and the second value.

[0144] S403: The access network device transmits the data packet of the QoS flow according to the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0145] For example, the access network device may use the third value of each of the M QoS parameters as the minimum guaranteed target for the current transmission. For example, if the third value of the transmission delay is 8 ms, the access network device will transmit the data packets of the QoS flow according to the resources required for the guaranteed target of 8 ms transmission delay to ensure that the transmission delay does not exceed 8 ms.

[0146] If the configuration information of the QoS flow also includes the first value of each QoS parameter in the N QoS parameters, the access network device may transmit the data packet of the QoS flow based on the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters and the first value of each QoS parameter in the N QoS parameters. Transmitting the data packet of the QoS flow by the access network device may mean: the access network device sends the data packet of the QoS flow to the terminal device (i.e., downlink transmission), or the access network device schedules the terminal device to send the data packet of the QoS flow (i.e., uplink transmission).

[0147] For example, taking the configuration information of the QoS flow shown in Table 1 as an example, at time point T1, if the access network device determines that the current resources support the transmission of data packets of the QoS flow according to the basic transmission requirements, the access network device can determine that the third value of the transmission delay is 3ms and the third value of the transmission reliability is 10E-6, and based on the third value of the transmission delay (3ms), the third value of the transmission reliability (10E-6) and the first value of the transmission rate (500Mbps), the data packets of the QoS flow are transmitted, that is, the transmission delay when transmitting the data packets is less than or equal to 3ms, the transmission reliability is not less than 10E-6, and the transmission rate is greater than or equal to 500Mbps.

[0148] After a period of time, at time point T2, if the access network device determines that the current resources cannot support the transmission of data packets of the QoS flow according to the basic transmission requirements (for example, due to resource constraints of the access network device and / or channel deterioration of the terminal device, etc., resulting in the current resources being unable to support the transmission of data packets of the QoS flow according to the basic transmission requirements), the access network device can relax the transmission, that is, reduce the transmission requirements corresponding to the transmission delay and / or transmission reliability, thereby quickly adjusting the transmission requirements corresponding to the QoS flow to facilitate rapid adaptation to different transmission conditions.

[0149] For example, the access network device updates the third value of the transmission delay to 8ms (to facilitate HARQ retransmission and ensure a transmission reliability of 10E-6 through two transmissions). The access network device can then transmit data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of the transmission delay (8ms), the third value of the transmission reliability (10E-6), and the first value of the transmission rate (500Mbps). That is, when transmitting data packets, the transmission delay is less than or equal to 8ms, the transmission reliability is not less than (10E-6), and the transmission rate is greater than or equal to 500Mbps. For another example, the access network device updates the third value of the transmission reliability to 10E-4. The access network device can then transmit data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of the transmission delay (3ms), the third value of the transmission reliability (10E-4), and the first value of the transmission rate (500Mbps). For another example, the access network device updates the third value of the transmission delay to 8ms, and updates the third value of the transmission reliability to 10E-4. Then, the access network device can transmit data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of the transmission delay (8ms), the third value of the transmission reliability (10E-4) and the first value of the transmission rate (500Mbps).

[0150] Optionally, the above method further includes:

[0151] S404, the core network device sends the configuration information of the QoS flow to the terminal device; accordingly, the terminal device receives the configuration information of the QoS flow.

[0152] For example, the core network device may send QoS flow configuration information to the terminal device through a PDU session-related message or a UE context-related message. The core network device may send QoS flow configuration information to the terminal device before or after sending the QoS flow configuration information to the access network device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution order.

[0153] S405: The terminal device determines, based on the configuration information of the QoS flow, whether the data packets of the QoS flow support relaxed transmission.

[0154] Here, since the configuration information of the QoS flow includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, the terminal device can determine that the data packets of the QoS flow support relaxed transmission based on the configuration information of the QoS flow.

[0155] S406, the terminal device sends a second indication message to the access network device, and the second indication message is used to indicate a third value of at least one of the M QoS parameters recommended. Specifically, the terminal device can determine whether it is necessary to adjust the relaxed transmission mode of the QoS flow based on the user's service experience perception information, and if it is determined that adjustment is required, it sends a second indication message to the access network device. Exemplarily, the service experience can be divided into multiple different levels, such as excellent, good, average, and poor; accordingly, the service experience perception information is used to indicate which level of the user's service experience is excellent, good, average, or poor. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific way in which the terminal device obtains the service experience perception information. For example, the access network device transmits data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of the transmission delay (8ms), the third value of the transmission reliability (10E-6), and the first value of the transmission rate (500Mbps). If the application layer of the terminal device determines that the user's service experience level is low (for example, the level is fair or poor), the service experience perception information can be transmitted to the access layer of the terminal device. The access layer of the terminal device can then send second indication information to the access network device, for example, the second indication information indicates that the third value of the recommended transmission delay is 3ms and the third value of the recommended transmission reliability is 10E-4. After receiving the second indication information, the access network device can adjust the third value of the corresponding QoS parameter based on the second indication information.

[0156] In addition, with respect to Table 2 in Implementation 1, the second indication information is further used to indicate a recommended QoS profile. For example, the access network device selects QoS profile 1 and transmits data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of transmission delay (8 ms), the third value of transmission reliability (10E-6), and the first value of transmission rate (500 Mbps). In this case, the terminal device may send second indication information to the access network device, indicating that the recommended QoS profile is QoS profile 2, the third value of recommended transmission delay is 12 ms, and the third value of recommended transmission reliability is 10E-5.

[0157] With respect to Table 4 in Implementation 2, the second indication information is also used to indicate a recommended QoS profile group. For example, the access network device selects QoS profile group 2 and transmits data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of transmission delay (8ms), the third value of transmission reliability (10E-6), and the first value of transmission rate (500Mbps). In this case, the terminal device may send second indication information to the access network device, indicating that the recommended QoS profile is QoS profile group 3, the third value of recommended transmission delay is 12ms, and the third value of recommended transmission reliability is 10E-5.

[0158] It can be understood that: (1) Since the configuration information of the QoS flow includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters, that is, the data packets of the QoS flow support relaxed transmission, therefore, when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, the access network device does not need to notify the core network device. For example, at time point T2 in the above example, the access network device updates the third value of the transmission delay from 3ms to 8ms, that is, the third value of the transmission delay changes, but since the transmission rate does not change, the application layer of the terminal device and the application server does not need to make corresponding adjustments (such as the resolution and frame rate used). Therefore, the access network device does not need to notify the core network device, nor does the core network device need to notify the terminal device and the application server.

[0159] As a possible implementation, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, which explicitly indicates that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device. Furthermore, the access network device can learn, based on the first indication information, that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, it does not notify the core network device. For example, for implementation method 2, the first indication information is associated with the second QoS profile and the third QoS profile. In this case, the first indication information is used to indicate that when the QoS profile used by the access network device switches between the second QoS profile and the third QoS profile, there is no need to notify the core network device.

[0160] As another possible implementation, the QoS flow configuration information may implicitly indicate that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device. For example, the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters may be included in the same QoS profile, as described in Implementation Method 1. Therefore, after receiving the QoS flow configuration information, the access network device may be informed that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

[0161] For another example, the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters are included in different QoS profiles. For example, the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is included in the second QoS profile, and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is included in the third QoS profile, as described in Implementation Method 2. Furthermore, if the core network device configures the second QoS profile and the third QoS profile to belong to the same QoS profile group, then after receiving the configuration information of the QoS flow, the access network device can learn that the third value of at least one QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters has changed, without notifying the core network device. Alternatively, if the transmission rate values ​​in the second QoS profile and the third QoS profile are the same, then after receiving the configuration information of the QoS flow, the access network device can learn that the third value of at least one QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters has changed, without notifying the core network device.

[0162] In addition, in the scenario shown in Table 2 of Implementation 1, when the QoS profile used by the access network device switches between QoS profile 1 and QoS profile 2, the access network device may notify the core network device, and further, the core network device may notify the terminal device and the application server, so that the application layers of the terminal device and the application server can make corresponding adjustments. Alternatively, in the scenario shown in Table 4 of Implementation 2, when the QoS profile group used by the access network device switches between different QoS profile groups, the access network device may notify the core network device, and further, the core network device may notify the terminal device and the application server, so that the application layers of the terminal device and the application server can make corresponding adjustments.

[0163] (2) Since the data packets of the QoS flow support relaxed transmission, the data packets of the QoS flow may include a first data packet and a second data packet. The first data packet is a data packet transmitted in accordance with the basic transmission requirements, for example, the transmission index (such as transmission delay, etc.) of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters; the second data packet may be a data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet, and the second data packet is a data packet with relaxed transmission, for example, the transmission index of the second data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters, and there is at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters, the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of the QoS parameter is less than the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of the QoS parameter.

[0164] In an embodiment of the present application, the access network device can control the proportion of relaxed transmission packets and / or the proportion of non-relaxed transmission packets in the QoS flow according to the first threshold value and / or the second threshold value. For example, the proportion of relaxed transmission packets is less than or equal to the first threshold value, that is, the ratio between the number of second packets and the total number of packets in the QoS flow (referred to as the second ratio) is less than or equal to the first threshold value, so as to avoid excessive relaxed transmission packets affecting the user experience. For another example, the proportion of non-relaxed transmission packets is greater than the second threshold value, that is, the ratio between the number of first packets and the total number of packets in the QoS flow (referred to as the first ratio) is greater than the second threshold value. Wherein, the sum of the first threshold value and the second threshold value is equal to 1; the first threshold value and / or the second threshold value can be included in the configuration information of the QoS flow, or the first threshold value and / or the second threshold value can also be pre-configured.

[0165] (3) The access network device may count the first ratio and / or the second ratio and send the first ratio and / or the second ratio to the core network device so that the core network device can perform billing based on the first ratio and / or the second ratio.

[0166] (4) The access network device may send configuration information of the DRB corresponding to the QoS flow to the terminal device. The configuration information of the DRB is determined based on the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters. For example, the access network device may send an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device. The RRC reconfiguration message includes the configuration information of the DRB.

[0167] Exemplarily, the configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packet of the QoS flow. The duration of the discard timer can be determined according to the second value of the transmission delay, such as the duration of the discard timer is equal to the second value of the transmission delay. The discard timer can be a timer set at the PDCP layer. The reason is: taking the uplink transmission as an example, after the PDCP layer of the terminal device receives the data packet from the QoS flow, it can start the discard timer. If the PDCP layer of the terminal device has not transmitted the data packet to the lower layer after the discard timer times out, the PDCP layer of the terminal device can discard the data packet. If the duration of the discard timer is equal to the first value of the transmission delay (3ms), when the transmission delay determined by the access network device is 8ms, when the access network device schedules the PDCP layer of the terminal device to transmit the data packet, the PDCP layer of the terminal device may have discarded the data packet, resulting in a transmission failure. Therefore, configuring the duration of the discard timer to be equal to the second value of the transmission delay facilitates the access network device to flexibly adjust the transmission delay to transmit the data packet of the QoS flow.

[0168] With respect to the embodiments of the present application, the above description focuses on the differences between different implementations or different examples. In addition to the differences, different implementations or different examples can refer to each other. In addition, different implementations or different examples can be partially implemented, combined, or partially combined, etc., and the embodiments of the present application will no longer list them one by one. The step numbers of the various flow charts described in the above embodiments are only an example of the execution process and do not constitute a restriction on the order in which the steps are executed. In the embodiments of the present application, the steps that do not have a timing dependency relationship with each other may not have a strict execution order. In addition, not all the steps shown in the various flow charts are steps that must be executed. Some steps can be added or deleted based on actual needs on the basis of each flow chart, or only some of the steps included in the above flow charts can be executed.

[0169] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of device interaction. It is understandable that, in order to implement the above functions, each device may include a hardware structure and / or software module that performs each function. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner 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.

[0170] In the embodiments of the present application, access network devices, core network devices, and terminal devices can be divided into functional units according to the above-mentioned method examples. For example, functional units can be divided according to different functions, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0171] In the case of adopting an integrated unit, Figure 5 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the device involved in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, the device 500 may include: a processing unit 502 and a communication unit 503. The processing unit 502 is used to control and manage the actions of the device 500. The communication unit 503 is used to support the communication between the device 500 and other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 503 is also called a transceiver unit, and may include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, which are used to perform receiving and sending operations respectively. The device 500 may also include a storage unit 501 for storing program code and / or data of the device 500.

[0172] (1) The apparatus 500 may be the access network device described in the above embodiments. The processing unit 502 may support the apparatus 500 in executing the actions of the access network device described in the above method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 502 may primarily execute internal actions of the access network device described in the method examples, and the communication unit 503 may support communication between the apparatus 500 and other devices.

[0173] In one embodiment, the communication unit 503 is used to: receive configuration information of a quality of service QoS flow from a core network device, the configuration information of the QoS flow including a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter among M QoS parameters; the processing unit 502 is used to: determine a third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters based on the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters; the communication unit 503 is also used to: transmit data packets of the QoS flow based on the third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters; wherein the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter.

[0174] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

[0175] In one possible design, the communication unit 503 is further used to transmit the data packet of the QoS flow according to the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters and the first value of each QoS parameter of the N QoS parameters.

[0176] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first QoS description information, which includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; or, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes second QoS description information and third QoS description information, where the second QoS description information includes the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second QoS description information includes the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0177] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is the data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow is less than or equal to a threshold.

[0178] In one possible design, the threshold is included in the configuration information of the QoS flow, or the threshold is preconfigured.

[0179] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the processing unit 502 is used to: determine a first ratio between the number of the first data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow, and / or a second ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow; the communication unit 503 is also used to: send the first ratio and / or the second ratio to the core network device.

[0180] In one possible design, the communication unit 503 is also used to: send configuration information of the data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the QoS flow to the terminal device, and the configuration information of the DRB is determined based on the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0181] In one possible design, the configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packets of the QoS flow.

[0182] In one possible design, the communication unit 503 is further used to: receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a third value of each of the M recommended QoS parameters.

[0183] In one possible design, the M QoS parameters include at least one of the following: transmission delay, transmission reliability, and transmission rate.

[0184] (2) The apparatus 500 may be a core network device in the aforementioned embodiments. The processing unit 502 may support the apparatus 500 in executing the actions of the core network device in the aforementioned method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 502 may primarily execute internal actions of the core network device in the method examples, and the communication unit 503 may support communication between the apparatus 500 and other devices.

[0185] In one embodiment, the processing unit 502 is used to: determine the configuration information of the QoS flow, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter of M QoS parameters; the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters are used to determine the third value of each QoS parameter, and the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters is used to transmit the data packet of the QoS flow; the communication unit 503 is used to: send the configuration information of the QoS flow to the access network device and / or the terminal device; wherein, the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter.

[0186] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that when the third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

[0187] In one possible design, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes first QoS description information, which includes the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; or, the configuration information of the QoS flow includes second QoS description information and third QoS description information, where the second QoS description information includes the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second QoS description information includes the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0188] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is the data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the configuration information of the QoS flow includes a threshold, and the ratio of the number of the second data packets to the total number of data packets in the QoS flow is less than or equal to the threshold.

[0189] In one possible design, the QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirements corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow other than the first data packet; the communication unit 503 is also used to: receive a first ratio between the number of the first data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow, and / or a second ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets in the QoS flow.

[0190] (3) The apparatus 500 may be a terminal device in the aforementioned embodiments. The processing unit 502 may support the apparatus 500 in executing the actions of the terminal device in the aforementioned method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 502 may primarily execute the internal actions of the terminal device in the method examples, and the communication unit 503 may support communication between the apparatus 500 and other devices.

[0191] In one embodiment, the communication unit 503 is used to: receive configuration information of the QoS flow from the core network device, the configuration information of the QoS flow including the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter among M QoS parameters; the processing unit 502 is used to: determine, based on the configuration information of the QoS flow, whether the data packet of the QoS flow supports relaxed transmission.

[0192] In one possible design, the communication unit 503 is further used to: send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a third value of at least one of the M recommended QoS parameters.

[0193] In one possible design, the communication unit 503 is further used to: receive configuration information of the data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the QoS flow, and the configuration information of the DRB is determined based on the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

[0194] In one possible design, the configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packets of the QoS flow.

[0195] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Moreover, the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; or they can all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, called by a certain processing element of the device and execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through the processing element.

[0196] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor that can call a program. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0197] The above-mentioned receiving unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above-mentioned sending unit is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0198] As another possible product form, the communication device described in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to Figure 6, which is a structural diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 600 includes a processor 601 and a transceiver 602. The communication device 600 can be an access network device or a core network device or a terminal device, or a chip or chip system therein. Figure 6 only shows the main components of the communication device 600. In addition to the processor 601 and the transceiver 602, the communication device 600 may further include a memory 603, and an input and output device (not shown in the figure).

[0199] Optionally, the processor 601 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. The memory 603 is primarily used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 602 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. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user.

[0200] Optionally, the processor 601 , the transceiver 602 , and the memory 603 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0201] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 601 can read the software program in the memory 603, 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 601 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent 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 through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 601. The processor 601 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0202] 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.

[0203] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the above-mentioned communication device 500 may take the form of the communication device 600 shown in FIG. 6 .

[0204] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing unit 502 in FIG5 can be implemented by the processor 601 in the communication device 600 shown in FIG6 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 603. The functions / implementation process of the communication unit 503 in FIG5 can be implemented by the transceiver 602 in the communication device 600 shown in FIG6.

[0205] As another possible product form, the terminal device in the present application may 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 700 provided in the present application.

[0206] As shown in FIG7 , a communication device 700 includes at least one processor 701. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface 702.

[0207] When the program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 701, the apparatus 700 can implement the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof. Alternatively, the processor 701 implements the method provided in any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0208] The communication interface 702 may be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor. Alternatively, the communication interface 702 may be used for the communication device 700 to communicate with other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and / or service data. Exemplarily, the communication interface 702 may be used to receive signals from devices other than the communication device 700 and transmit them to the processor 701, or to send signals from the processor 701 to other communication devices other than the communication device 700.

[0209] Optionally, the communication interface 702 may be a code and / or data read / write interface circuit, or the communication interface 702 may be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a pin of a chip.

[0210] Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include at least one memory 703, which may be used to store required program instructions and / or data. It should be noted that the memory 703 may exist independently of the processor 701 or may be integrated with the processor 701. The memory 703 may be located within the communication device 700 or outside the communication device 700, without limitation.

[0211] Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include a power supply circuit 704, which may be used to supply power to the processor 701. The power supply circuit 704 may be located in the same chip as the processor 701, or in another chip other than the chip where the processor 701 is located.

[0212] Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include a bus 705 , and various parts of the communication device 700 may be interconnected via the bus 705 .

[0213] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may conceive that the communication device 500 shown in FIG. 5 may take the form of the communication device 700 shown in FIG. 7 .

[0214] As an example, the functions / implementation process of the processing unit 502 in FIG5 can be implemented by the processor 701 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7 calling the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 703. The functions / implementation process of the communication unit 503 in FIG5 can be implemented by the communication interface 702 in the communication device 700 shown in FIG7.

[0215] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG7 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine or separate certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0216] Optionally, the processor in the present application may be a CPU, other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, etc.

[0217] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC, and "at least one of A, B and C" can also be understood to include A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0218] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0219] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0220] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0221] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0222] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive configuration information of a quality of service QoS flow from a core network device, where the configuration information of the QoS flow includes a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters, where M is a positive integer; Determine a third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters according to the first value and the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; Transmitting a data packet of the QoS flow according to a third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; Among them, the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that when a third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The configuration information of the QoS flow also includes a first value of each QoS parameter in the N QoS parameters; Transmitting a data packet of the QoS flow according to a third value of each of the M QoS parameters, comprising: The data packet of the QoS flow is transmitted according to the third value of each QoS parameter of the M QoS parameters and the first value of each QoS parameter of the N QoS parameters.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The configuration information of the QoS flow includes first QoS description information, and the first QoS description information includes a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; or, The configuration information of the QoS flow includes second QoS description information and third QoS description information, the second QoS description information includes a first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second QoS description information includes a second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow except the first data packet; A ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets of the QoS flow is less than or equal to a threshold.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The threshold is included in the configuration information of the QoS flow, or the threshold is pre-configured.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow except the first data packet; The method further comprises: Determine a first ratio between the number of the first packets and the total number of packets of the QoS flow, and / or a second ratio between the number of the second packets and the total number of packets of the QoS flow; Send the first ratio and / or the second ratio to the core network device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: The configuration information of the data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the QoS flow is sent to the terminal device, and the configuration information of the DRB is determined according to the second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packet of the QoS flow.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a third value of each of the M QoS parameters recommended.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The M QoS parameters include at least one of the following: Transmission delay, transmission reliability, and transmission rate.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine the configuration information of the QoS flow, wherein the configuration information of the QoS flow includes each QoS in the M QoS parameters The first value and the second value of the parameter; the first value and the second value of each of the M QoS parameters are used to determine a third value of each of the M QoS parameters, and the third value of each of the M QoS parameters is used to transmit the data packet of the QoS flow; Sending configuration information of the QoS flow to an access network device and / or a terminal device; Among them, the transmission requirement corresponding to the third value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters is lower than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter, and higher than or equal to the transmission requirement corresponding to the second value of each QoS parameter, and M is a positive integer.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The configuration information of the QoS flow includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that when a third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M QoS parameters changes, there is no need to notify the core network device.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The configuration information of the QoS flow includes first QoS description information, and the first QoS description information includes a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters; or, The configuration information of the QoS flow includes second QoS description information and third QoS description information, the second QoS description information includes a first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second QoS description information includes a second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow except the first data packet; The configuration information of the QoS flow includes a threshold, and a ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets of the QoS flow is less than or equal to the threshold.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that The QoS flow includes a first data packet and a second data packet, the transmission indicator of the first data packet meets the transmission requirement corresponding to the first value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters, and the second data packet is a data packet in the QoS flow except the first data packet; The method further comprises: A first ratio between the number of the first data packets and the total number of data packets of the QoS flow and / or a second ratio between the number of the second data packets and the total number of data packets of the QoS flow is received.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive configuration information of a QoS flow from a core network device, where the configuration information of the QoS flow includes a first value and a second value of each QoS parameter in M ​​QoS parameters, where M is a positive integer; According to the configuration information of the QoS flow, it is determined that the data packets of the QoS flow support relaxed transmission.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate a third value of at least one QoS parameter among the M recommended QoS parameters.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Configuration information of a data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the QoS flow is received, where the configuration information of the DRB is determined according to a second value of each QoS parameter in the M QoS parameters.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The configuration information of the DRB includes the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the data packet of the QoS flow.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, and a computer program is stored in the memory; the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the communication device executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes an access network device, a core network device and a terminal device; wherein the access network device is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 11, the core network device is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 12 to 16, and the terminal device is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 17 to 20.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

Images