Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and apparatus, which can be applied to an extended reality (XR) service. The method comprises: receiving indication information from a second network device, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that a first discard timer for low importance is configured for a terminal device, and the first discard timer for low importance is used for controlling the discarding of data having a low importance degree; and on the basis of a network state, sending first information, wherein the first information is used for determining whether to activate the first discard timer for low importance. In this way, when an access network device has a CU-DU separation architecture, normal operation of a discard timer for low importance is ensured, thereby alleviating the pressure of uplink or downlink data transmission.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 3, 2023, with application number 202311460536.7 and invention name “Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, extended reality (XR) is one of the 5G multimedia applications that is currently being considered in the industrial field.

[0004] In XR services, due to different encoding methods of applications, the same XR service quality (QoS) flow may contain protocol data unit sets (PDU sets) of different importance. In order to support XR services and reflect the different importance of XR services, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) rd The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) enhanced the packet loss mechanism of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) by configuring a low-importance discard timer for the PDCP entity of the UE. When network congestion occurs, the access network device activates the low-importance discard timer for the terminal device, allowing the terminal device to discard low-importance packets.

[0005] When the access network equipment is a network architecture with a separation of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), since the functions of the CU and DU for the low-importance discard timer are different, how to ensure the normal operation of the low-importance discard timer is an urgent problem to be solved in the case of a CU-DU separation architecture.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which ensure the normal operation of a low-importance discard timer when the access network device has a CU-DU separation architecture, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of uplink or downlink data.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a first network device, or by a module (e.g., a chip) of the first network device, or by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. The method includes: receiving indication information from a second network device, the indication information being used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, the first low-importance discard timer being used to control the discarding of low-importance data. Based on the network status, first information is sent, and the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0009] In the above technical solution, the first network device can obtain the configuration of the first low-importance discard timer of the terminal device on the second network device, can promptly detect the network status, and will send first information for determining whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer based on the network status. In this way, when the network is congested, the device maintaining the first low-importance discard timer can promptly discard low-importance data, thereby promptly alleviating network transmission pressure without affecting the transmission of important data.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate whether the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is in an activated state or in an inactivated state.

[0011] In this way, the first network device can learn the initial configuration of the first low-importance discard timer, which helps the first information sent by the first network device to be more reasonable. For example, when the first low-importance discard timer is initially configured to be in a deactivated state, the first network device can send first information to activate the first low-importance discard timer when it detects that the network is congested, thereby alleviating the network congestion. Alternatively, when the first low-importance discard timer is initially configured to be in an activated state, the first network device can send first information to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer when it detects that the network is not congested, thereby preventing low-importance data from being discarded prematurely.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate a first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to a first low-importance discard timer.

[0013] In some implementations, the indication information is specifically used to indicate a first PDCP entity corresponding to a first low-importance discard timer, wherein the first PCDP entity corresponds to a first DRB.

[0014] In this way, the first low-importance discard timer can be specific to certain DRBs, making the first low-importance discard timer more targeted and helping the first network device to further formulate a more reasonable packet loss method when the subsequent network is still congested. For example, when the first network device detects that the network is congested, it can send a first message to activate the first low-importance discard timer of some or all DRBs according to the severity of the congestion, thereby discarding the low-importance data packets corresponding to some or all DRBs, so that the network congestion can be alleviated to varying degrees.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0016] In this way, after the first network device sends the first information when the network is congested, it can timely estimate whether the use of the first low importance discard timer for the first DRB has alleviated the network congestion based on the duration of the first low importance discard timer, thereby helping the first network device to promptly further formulate a more reasonable packet loss method when the subsequent network is still congested. Alternatively, the first network device can determine the time when low-importance data can be used for air interface transmission based on the duration of the first low importance discard timer, thereby formulating a reasonable scheduling method.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device. Sending the first information according to the network status includes: sending the first information to the terminal device according to the network status.

[0018] In the above technical solution, the first network device obtains that the second network device has configured a first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device. The first network device can detect the network in a timely manner, and then send first information about the activation or deactivation of the first low-importance discard timer to the terminal device according to the network status, so that the terminal device can use the first low-importance discard timer in a timely manner, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of the uplink data.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before receiving the indication information, the method also includes: sending a first request information to the second network device, the first request information being used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data of the terminal device.

[0020] In this way, the second network device triggers the sending of the indication information through the first request information, so that the timing of sending the indication information is more reasonable and timely.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first request information is specifically used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to a first DRB of the terminal device.

[0022] In this way, the second network device configures the first low-importance discard timer configured for the terminal device for the first DRB based on the first request information, so that the discard granularity of subsequent low-importance data packets is smaller.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information is carried in an acceptance response message corresponding to the first request information.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, after sending the first information based on the network status, if the network status is still in a congested state, the method also includes: sending a second request information to the second network device, the second request information being used to request configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device.

[0025] In this way, when the network status is still in a congested state, the first network device requests the second network device to configure a second low-importance discard timer for the uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device, which can further make the packet loss method more reasonable.

[0026] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device. Sending the first information according to the network status includes: sending the first information to the second network device according to the network status.

[0027] In the above technical solution, the first network device obtains that the second network device has configured a first low-importance discard timer for the downlink data of the terminal device. The first network device can detect the network in a timely manner, and then send first information about the activation or deactivation of the first low-importance discard timer to the second network device according to the network status, so that the second network device can use the first low-importance discard timer in a timely manner, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of the downlink data.

[0028] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, sending the first information to the second network device based on the network status includes: when the network status is congested, sending the first information to the second network device, the first information being used to determine activation of a first low-importance discard timer; or, when the network status is not congested, sending the first information to the second network device, the first information being used to determine deactivation of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0029] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate, and protocol data unit set importance (PSI) recommendation information. The recommendation information is used to recommend whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer; the network congestion auxiliary information is used to indicate the degree of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; the expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface; and the PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0030] In this way, the second network device can directly activate or deactivate the first low importance discard timer based on the recommendation information, or the second network device can make a decision to activate or deactivate the first low importance discard timer based on other auxiliary information, so that the second network device maintains the first low importance discard timer in a more flexible way.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0032] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second network device, or by a module (e.g., a chip) of the second network device, or by a logical node, logical module, or software that implements all or part of the functions of the second network device. The method includes: generating indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, the first low-importance discard timer being used to control the discarding of low-importance data; and sending the indication information to the first network device.

[0033] It should be understood that the solution of the second aspect is similar to the solution of the first aspect. The beneficial effects produced by the solution of the second aspect can be referred to the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate whether the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is in an activated state or in an inactivated state.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate the first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0037] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device. Before generating the indication information, the method further includes: sending configuration information to the terminal device, where the configuration information is used to configure the first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, before generating the indication information, the method also includes: receiving first request information from the second network device, the first request information being used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data of the terminal device.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first request information is specifically used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to a first DRB of the terminal device.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information is carried in an acceptance response message corresponding to the first request information.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, after sending indication information to the first network device, the method also includes: receiving second request information from the first network device, the second request information being used to request configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving first information from a first network device, the first information being used to determine whether to activate a first low-importance discard timer, and activating or deactivating the first low-importance discard timer based on the first information.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate, and protocol data unit set importance (PSI) recommendation information. The recommendation information is used to recommend whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer; the network congestion auxiliary information is used to indicate the degree of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; the expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface; and the PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0046] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a first network device, or by a module (e.g., a chip) of the first network device, or by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. The method includes: receiving a third request message from a second network device, the third request message being used to request parameter information related to the network state. Sending a second message to the second network device, the second message being used to determine whether to activate a third low-importance discard timer, the third low-importance discard timer being used to control the discarding of low-importance data in downlink data.

[0047] In the above technical solution, through the request and response regarding the network status between the first network device and the second network device, the second network device can be informed of whether the network status is congested or not, thereby helping the second network device to make a decision to activate or deactivate the third low-importance discard timer, so that the second network device can use the third low-importance discard timer in a timely manner, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of downlink data.

[0048] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second information includes at least one of the following: network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, and expected data volume or expected rate. The network congestion level auxiliary information indicates the level of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information indicates the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; and the expected data volume or expected rate indicates the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0050] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a second network device, or by a module (e.g., a chip) of the second network device, or by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device. The method includes: sending a third request message to the first network device, the third request message being used to request parameter information related to the network status. Receiving second information from the first network device, the second information being used to determine whether to activate a third low-importance discard timer, the third low-importance discard timer being used to control the discarding of low-importance data in downlink data.

[0051] It should be understood that the solution of the fourth aspect is similar to the solution of the third aspect. The beneficial effects produced by the solution of the fourth aspect can be referred to the third aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0052] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the second information includes at least one of the following: network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, and expected data volume or expected rate. The network congestion level auxiliary information indicates the level of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information indicates the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; and the expected data volume or expected rate indicates the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface.

[0053] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: activating or deactivating a first low-importance discard timer according to the second information.

[0054] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a first network device, a module (such as a chip) of the first network device, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. The device includes a transceiver unit: the transceiver unit is used to receive indication information from the second network device, the indication information is used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, and the first low importance discard timer is used to control the discard of low importance data. The transceiver unit is used to send first information according to the network status, and the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low importance discard timer.

[0056] It should be understood that the solution of the fifth aspect is similar to the solution of the first aspect. The beneficial effects produced by the solution of the fifth aspect can be referred to the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0057] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate whether the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is in an activated state or in an inactivated state.

[0058] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate the first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0059] In some implementations, the indication information is specifically used to indicate a first PDCP entity corresponding to a first low-importance discard timer, wherein the first PCDP entity corresponds to a first DRB.

[0060] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0061] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device. The transceiver unit is specifically used to send the first information to the terminal device according to the network status.

[0062] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, before receiving the indication information, the device also includes: sending a first request information to the second network device, the first request information being used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device.

[0063] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first request information is specifically used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to a first DRB of the terminal device.

[0064] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first indication information is carried in an acceptance response message corresponding to the first request information.

[0065] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, after sending the first information based on the network status, if the network status is still in a congested state, the transceiver unit is also used to send a second request information to the second network device, and the second request information is used to request the configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for the uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device.

[0066] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device. The sending unit is specifically used to send the first information to the second network device according to the network state.

[0067] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the sending unit is specifically configured to: when the network status is congested, send first information to the second network device, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer; or, when the network status is not congested, send the first information to the second network device, where the first information is used to determine whether to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0068] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate, and protocol data unit set importance PSI recommendation information. The recommendation information is used to recommend whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer; the network congestion auxiliary information is used to indicate the degree of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; the expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface; and the PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0069] In combination with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0070] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a second network device, a module (such as a chip) of the second network device, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device. The device includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is used to generate indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, and the first low importance discard timer is used to control the discard of low importance data. The transceiver unit is used to send indication information to the first network device.

[0071] It should be understood that the solution of the sixth aspect is similar to the solution of the fifth aspect. The beneficial effects produced by the solution of the sixth aspect can be referred to the fifth aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0072] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate whether the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is in an activated state or in an inactivated state.

[0073] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate the first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0074] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the indication information is further used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0075] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device. Before generating the indication information, the transceiver unit is further used to send configuration information to the terminal device, where the configuration information is used to configure the first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device.

[0076] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, before generating the indication information, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a first request information from the second network device, and the first request information is used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device.

[0077] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the first request information is specifically used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to a first DRB of the terminal device.

[0078] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the first indication information is carried in an acceptance response message corresponding to the first request information.

[0079] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, after sending the indication information to the first network device, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a second request information from the first network device, and the second request information is used to request the configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for the uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device.

[0080] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the indication information is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device.

[0081] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first information from a first network device, the first information being used to determine whether to activate a first low-importance discard timer. The processing unit is further configured to activate or deactivate the first low-importance discard timer based on the first information.

[0082] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the first information includes at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate, and protocol data unit set importance PSI recommendation information. The recommendation information is used to recommend whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer; the network congestion auxiliary information is used to indicate the degree of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the uplink or downlink air interface data transmission quality; the expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface; and the PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0083] In combination with the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0084] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be a first network device, a module (such as a chip) of the first network device, or a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. The device includes a transceiver unit: the transceiver unit is used to receive a third request information from the second network device, and the third request information is used to request parameter information related to the network status. The transceiver unit is used to send second information to the second network device, and the second information is used to determine whether to activate a third low-importance discard timer, and the third low-importance discard timer is used to control the discard of low-importance data in the downlink data.

[0085] It should be understood that the solution of the seventh aspect is similar to the solution of the third aspect. The beneficial effects produced by the solution of the seventh aspect can be referred to the third aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0086] In conjunction with the seventh aspect, in certain implementations of the seventh aspect, the second information includes at least one of the following: network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, and expected data volume or expected rate. The network congestion level auxiliary information indicates the level of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information indicates the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; and the expected data volume or expected rate indicates the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface.

[0087] In combination with the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0088] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a second network device, a module (such as a chip) of the second network device, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device. The device includes a transceiver unit: the transceiver unit is used to send a third request message to the first network device, and the third request message is used to request parameter information related to the network status. The transceiver unit is used to receive second information from the first network device, and the second information is used to determine whether to activate a third low-importance discard timer, and the third low-importance discard timer is used to control the discard of low-importance data in the downlink data.

[0089] It should be understood that the solution of the eighth aspect is similar to the solution of the seventh aspect. The beneficial effects produced by the solution of the eighth aspect can be referred to the seventh aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0090] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the second information includes at least one of the following: network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, and expected data volume or expected rate. The network congestion level auxiliary information indicates the level of network congestion; the air interface quality auxiliary information indicates the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission; and the expected data volume or expected rate indicates the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface.

[0091] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the device further includes a processing unit: the processing unit is used to activate or deactivate the first low-importance discard timer based on the second information.

[0092] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

[0093] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a memory for storing programs; a processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program or instructions stored in the memory are executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first or fourth aspects above.

[0094] In one implementation, the apparatus is a first network device or a second network device.

[0095] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit in a network device or a second network device.

[0096] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the method provided by any one of the implementation methods of the first to fourth aspects above. In the process of executing these methods, the process of sending the above information and obtaining / receiving the above information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processor outputting the above information, and the process of the processor receiving the input above information. When outputting the above information, the processor outputs the above information to the interface and transmits it through the interface. After being output by the processor, the above information may also need to undergo other processing before reaching the interface. Similarly, when the processor receives the input above information, the interface obtains / receives the above information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the interface receives the above information, the above information may need to undergo other processing before being input into the processor.

[0097] For the operations involved, such as transmission, sending, and acquisition / reception, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as output and reception, input and other operations, and can also be understood as transmission, sending and receiving operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit this.

[0098] During implementation, the processor may be a processor specifically configured to execute the methods, or may be a processor that executes computer programs or instructions in a memory to execute the methods, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or disposed on separate chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory or the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0099] In the eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, and the program code includes a method for executing any one of the implementation methods of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0100] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in any one of the implementations of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0101] In the thirteenth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in the memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0102] Optionally, as an implementation method, the chip may also include a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction stored in the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0103] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a first network device and a second network device, wherein the first network device is configured to execute the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the second network device is configured to execute the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. Alternatively, the first network device is configured to execute the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect, and the second network device is configured to execute the method of the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0104] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of CU-DU separation of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a coding model provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG6 is an interactive diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG7 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG8 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG9 is an interactive diagram of yet another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0116] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0117] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, Fifth Generation (5G) system or New Radio (NR), and future evolved communication systems.

[0118] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0119] As shown in Figure 1, a communication system using the solution of an embodiment of the present application may include an access network device, a terminal device, and a core network. The communication system can be used for information exchange between the access network device and the core network, for information exchange between the access network device and the terminal device, or for information exchange between terminal devices. For example, as shown in Figure 1, the access network device can communicate with the core network via the NG interface. The access network device and terminal device #1 can communicate directly via the NR Uu interface. Terminal device #1 and terminal device #2 communicate via a side link.

[0120] Terminal equipment, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, a terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a drone, a drone controller, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios. Terminal devices also include devices capable of sidelink communication, such as vehicle-mounted terminals, or handheld terminals capable of V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication.

[0121] Access network equipment refers to the radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal to the wireless network, which can also be called a base station. For example, it can be NR gNB, or various types of base stations such as LTE eNB. Among them, NR gNB can adopt an architecture with a centralized unit CU and a distributed unit DU separated, such as the access network equipment shown in Figure 1. The CU and DU are connected through the F1 interface for message transmission. Normally, the terminal device only maintains a data connection with one access network device at the same time; in a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, the terminal device can be connected to two access network devices at the same time, one of which serves as a control anchor point and provides the terminal with a control plane connection and a user plane connection, which is called a primary access network device, and the other access network device only provides a user plane connection for the terminal, which is called a secondary access network device. This application can be applied to DC scenarios or not.

[0122] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of CU-DU separation of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0123] RAN equipment includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. The baseband device can be implemented by a single node or multiple nodes. The radio frequency device can be implemented independently from the baseband device or integrated into the baseband device, or some functions can be integrated independently and some functions can be integrated into the baseband device. For example, in an LTE communication system, RAN equipment includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. The radio frequency device can be remotely located relative to the baseband device, such as an RRU, which is a remote radio unit located relative to the BBU.

[0124] The communication between RAN equipment and terminal equipment follows a certain protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical layer. The user plane protocol layer structure may include the functions of the PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer. In one possible implementation, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer.

[0125] RAN equipment can implement protocol layer functions such as RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC by a single node, or these protocol layer functions can be implemented by multiple nodes. For example, in an evolved architecture, RAN equipment can include a CU and a DU, and multiple DUs can be centrally controlled by a single CU. As shown in Figure 2, in a separate deployment scenario where the access network equipment includes a CU and a DU, the CU supports protocol layer functions such as the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, and the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer; the DU primarily supports protocol layer functions such as the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer protocol.

[0126] This protocol layer division is merely an example. Division can also be performed at other protocol layers, such as the RLC layer, where functions at and above the RLC layer are located in the CU, while functions at layers below the RLC layer are located in the DU. Alternatively, division can be performed within a specific protocol layer, such as where some functions at the RLC layer and functions at layers above the RLC layer are located in the CU, while the remaining functions at the RLC layer and functions at layers below the RLC layer are located in the DU. Furthermore, division can be performed in other ways, such as by latency, where functions that require processing time to meet latency requirements are located in the DU, while functions that do not require latency requirements are located in the CU.

[0127] In addition, the radio frequency device can be independently integrated and not placed in the DU, or it can be integrated in the DU, or part of it can be remotely located and part of it can be integrated in the DU. There is no limitation here.

[0128] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. Compared to the network architecture shown in Figure 2, Figure 3 can also separate the CP and UP of the CU and implement them as different entities, namely: CU CP entity and CU UP entity.

[0129] In the above network architecture, the signaling generated by the CU can be sent to the terminal device through the DU, or the signaling generated by the terminal device can be sent to the CU through the DU. The DU can directly encapsulate the signaling through the protocol layer and transparently transmit it to the terminal device or CU without parsing it. In the following embodiments, if the transmission of such signaling between the DU and the terminal device is involved, then the sending or receiving of the signaling by the DU includes this scenario. For example, the signaling of the RRC or PDCP layer will eventually be processed as the signaling of the PHY layer and sent to the terminal device, or converted from the received signaling of the PHY layer. Under this architecture, the signaling of the RRC or PDCP layer can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or sent by the DU and the RF loader.

[0130] The network architecture shown in Figures 1, 2 or 3 above can be applicable to communication systems of various radio access technologies (RAT), for example, it can be an LTE communication system, it can be a 5G communication system, it can be a transition system between the LTE communication system and the 5G communication system, and the transition system can also be called a 4.5G communication system, and of course it can also be a future communication system.

[0131] Core network equipment refers to the equipment in the core network (CN) that provides service support for the terminal. At present, some examples of core network equipment are: access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc., which are not listed here one by one. Among them, the AMF entity can be responsible for the access management and mobility management of the terminal; the SMF entity can be responsible for session management, such as user session establishment, etc.; the UPF entity can be a functional entity of the user plane, mainly responsible for connecting to the external network. It should be noted that the entity in this application can also be referred to as a network element or a functional entity. For example, the AMF entity can also be referred to as an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity. For another example, the SMF entity can also be referred to as an SMF network element or an SMF functional entity, etc.

[0132] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of communication network architectures and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are equally applicable to similar technical problems. For example, this application may be applicable to XR service scenarios.

[0133] It should be understood that the network architectures shown in Figures 1 to 3 are merely illustrative and do not have any limiting effect. The embodiments of this application may also be applicable to other network architectures, for example, without distinguishing between access network devices and core networks, i.e., the access network and the core network may belong to the same network device, and the communication between the network device and the terminal device; or the communication between the terminal devices, etc.

[0134] In order to facilitate understanding of the solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below.

[0135] 1.NR protocol architecture:

[0136] The NR protocol architecture involved in the embodiments of the present application can be divided into a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. The above two protocol stacks will be described below in conjunction with Figure 4.

[0137] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 describes the interaction between a terminal device and an access network device as an example. Figure 4 (a) shows the user plane protocol stack, and Figure 4 (b) shows the control plane protocol stack.

[0138] User plane protocol stack: The protocol suite used for user data transmission. As shown in FIG4(a), the user plane protocol stack may include five layers: the PHY layer, the MAC layer, the RLC layer, the PDCP layer, and the SDAP layer.

[0139] Control plane protocol stack architecture: This refers to the protocol suite used for system control signaling transmission. As shown in Figure 4(b), the control plane protocol stack may include the non-access stratum (NAS), RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

[0140] For example, the PHY layer may be responsible for processing one or more of encoding and decoding, modulation and demodulation, multi-antenna mapping, and other physical layer functions. For example, the MAC layer may be responsible for one or more of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), uplink scheduling, downlink scheduling, etc. For example, the RLC layer may be responsible for one or more of segmentation, reassembly, and retransmission processing. For example, the PDCP layer may be responsible for one or more of header compression / decompression, security (encryption function, integrity protection function), retransmission, and in-order delivery. For example, the RRC layer may be responsible for one or more of functions such as broadcasting, paging, RRC connection management, radio bearer control, mobility management, terminal device measurement reporting and control. For example, the NAS layer may be responsible for one or more of functions such as identity authentication, mobility management, and security control.

[0141] Compared with the LTE protocol stack, the NR protocol stack has an additional SDAP layer in the user plane protocol stack. However, the NR protocol stack is similar to the LTE protocol stack in the control plane protocol stack.

[0142] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, each layer in the protocol stack may be replaced by an entity. For example, the PDCP layer may be replaced by a PDCP entity, and the SDAP layer may be replaced by an SDAP entity. This is described uniformly here and will not be repeated here.

[0143] 2.PDU set

[0144] A collection of multiple data packets at the transport layer corresponds to the minimum granularity of data processing at the application layer. In some scenarios, the application layer can only correctly parse the corresponding data unit after correctly receiving all packets in a PDU set. In other scenarios, the application layer can only parse the corresponding data unit after correctly receiving a certain percentage of packets in the PDU set.

[0145] 3.XR business

[0146] Extended Reality (XR) refers to a variety of environments that combine real and virtual reality, as well as human-machine interactions, generated by computing technologies and wearable devices. XR specifically includes the following typical forms: AR, VR, and Mixed Reality (MR).

[0147] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Rel-17 modeled and analyzed XR service characteristics. XR services typically generate data frames periodically at a certain frame rate. For example, an AR service with a 60fps (frames per second) frame generates 60 frames per second, or approximately every 16.67ms. A single video frame may be transmitted across multiple data packets, which may be grouped into one or more PDU sets.

[0148] 4.PDU set importance (PSI)

[0149] In XR services, PDU sets of varying importance may appear in the same QoS stream. This is due to the application's encoding method. Taking XR video services as an example, when encoding data, the application may use inter-frame prediction coding for some video frames, thereby compressing the amount of data to be transmitted. Simply put, this type of encoding method takes advantage of the fact that most of the content in adjacent video images remains unchanged, and only transmits the data for the changed parts of the image. For the unchanged parts, the previous data is directly used. For example, in a live broadcast, the background usually does not change, so only the complete data needs to be transmitted when transmitting the first frame of video. Subsequent video frames only need to transmit the data of the changes in the foreground characters, and the background data does not need to be transmitted again. The receiving player can directly use the background data of the first frame to generate the images of subsequent video frames.

[0150] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a coding model provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5(a), a classic coding method is a coding model based on a group of picture (GOP). Specifically, a GOP includes several consecutive video frames. The first frame is called an intra-coded picture, or I-frame for short. It includes complete image information through intra-frame coding and can be independently encoded and decoded. The remaining frames in a GOP are called predictive-coded pictures, or P-frames for short. They only include partial image information through predictive coding. P-frames require the help of I-frames for encoding and decoding.

[0151] As shown in Figure 5(b), another slice-based coding model divides a video frame into multiple video slices. Some slices use intra-frame coding (called I-slices), and some use predictive coding (called P-slices). The encoding and decoding of the P-slices in the subsequent frames depends on the corresponding I-slices in the previous frames.

[0152] It should be understood that a frame or a slice may correspond to one or more PDU sets when transmitted in a wireless network.

[0153] The coding model of XR video reflects the unequal importance of data. Since the correct decoding of P frames or P-slices depends on the correct decoding of I frames or I-slices, I-frame or I-slice data has higher importance during data transmission. When the network is congested, the reliable transmission of I frames or I-slices should be prioritized to ensure the service experience. In 3GPP, the importance of different data is identified by PSI. PSI can include 16 levels, ranging from 0 to 15. The smaller the PSI value, the more important the PDU set.

[0154] For example, in an XR video stream, the PSI of the PDU set corresponding to an I-frame or I-slice may be smaller than the PSI of the PDU set corresponding to a P-frame or P-slice. This is because the encoding and decoding of the P-frame or P-slice depends on the I-frame or I-slice, so the I-frame or I-slice data has higher importance.

[0155] Specifically, for downlink transmission, the PSI of each PDU set is transmitted by the core network to the access network device; for uplink transmission, the PSI of each PDU set is identified by the terminal device itself.

[0156] Currently, 3GPP specifies the packet loss behavior of the PDCP layer. Specifically, when the PDCP layer at the transmitting end (e.g., access network equipment) receives a PDCP service data unit (SDU) from an upper layer (e.g., SDAP layer), it starts a discard timer (denoted as a discard timer) for the PDCP SDU. When the discard timer expires, the PDCP layer discards the PDCP SDU corresponding to the discard timer and the PDCP PDU corresponding to the PDCP SDU. If the PDCP PDU has been delivered to a lower layer (e.g., RLC layer), the PDCP layer will also notify the lower layer of the packet loss indication, and the lower layer will perform the corresponding packet loss operation.

[0157] The discard timer duration is configured by the network, specifically through RRC signaling. Each PDCP layer can be configured with a single duration, and the discard timer duration is the same for all packets processed by that PDCP layer. Typically, the network configures the discard timer based on the packet delay budget (PDB) or PDU set delay budget (PSDB).

[0158] In order to support XR services and reflect the unequal importance of data in XR services, 3GPP has enhanced the PDCP packet loss mechanism. That is, in addition to the above-mentioned discard timer, the access network device can also configure an additional discard timer for the PDCP layer of the terminal device. The additional discard timer can also be called a low-importance discard timer. When network congestion occurs, the access network device can send an indication message to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to activate the low-importance discard timer. After the low-importance discard timer of the terminal device is activated, if the PDCP layer of the terminal device receives a PDCP SDU from the upper layer, and the PDCP SDU is a low-importance data packet (for example, the PDCP SDU belongs to a PDU set with a larger PSI), the terminal device chooses to start a low-importance discard timer for the PDCP SDU instead of a traditional discard timer. When the low-importance discard timer times out, the PDCP SDU is discarded.

[0159] The above-mentioned access network device configures an additional discard timer for the PDCP layer of the terminal device, which can also be understood as the access network device configuring an additional discard timer duration for the PDCP layer of the terminal device, which is recorded as the low importance discard duration. When network congestion occurs, the access network device sends an indication message to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to activate the low importance discard timer. It can also be understood as the access network device sends an indication message to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to adjust the duration of the discard timer for low-importance data from the traditional configuration duration to the additionally configured low importance discard duration. In this way, when the PDCP layer of the terminal device receives a low-importance data packet from the upper layer, it still starts the existing discard timer, but its duration is the adjusted duration, that is, the low importance discard duration, rather than the duration of the original discard timer. For the sake of convenience, this discard timer with an adjusted duration can also be called a low importance discard timer.

[0160] When the duration of the low-importance discard timer is shorter than that of the traditional discard timer, the low-importance timer can be activated during network congestion to give priority to discarding low-importance data packets, which can give limited network resources to more important data and provide differentiated protection for data of different importance. After the network congestion is relieved and network resources are sufficient, the access network device can also instruct the terminal device to activate the low-importance discard timer, so that low-importance data and high-importance data use the same discard timer duration and are not treated differently.

[0161] For the normal operation of the above-mentioned low-importance discard timer, the access network device needs to first configure the low-importance discard timer (for example, through RRC signaling) and detect the congestion status of the network. When network congestion is detected, activation indication information is output to activate the low-importance discard timer (for example, through the medium access control control element (MAC CE)). For the CU-DU separated network architecture in the access network device, the configuration of the low-importance discard timer is the responsibility of the CU, specifically the RRC layer of the CU; the detection of network congestion or relief and the instructing the terminal device to activate or deactivate the low-importance discard timer is the responsibility of the DU, which can be implemented through the MAC CE of the MAC layer of the DU.

[0162] In a CU-DU separation architecture on access network equipment, due to the different division of labor between the CU and DU for running the low-importance discard timer, the DU may be unable to timely detect the network status and output activation or deactivation of the low-importance discard timer, which will cause the low-importance discard timer to fail to operate normally. Therefore, in the case of a CU-DU separation architecture on access network equipment, how to ensure the normal operation of the low-importance discard timer is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0163] In response to the above problems, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method and apparatus, which will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 6 to 12.

[0164] Figure 6 is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the present application uses the first network device and the second network device as an example to illustrate the corresponding method, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interactive diagram. For example, the method implemented by the first network device can also be implemented by a module of the first network device (such as a chip, a chip system or a processor), and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device. For another example, the method implemented by the second network device can also be implemented by a module of the second network device (such as a chip, a chip system or a processor), and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device.

[0165] S610, the second network device generates indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, and the first low-importance discard timer is used to control the discarding of low-importance data.

[0166] It can also be understood that the indication information is used to indicate that the second network device has configured a first low-importance discard timer for the transmission data of the terminal device.

[0167] Among them, low-importance data can be understood as a PDU set or a PDU contained in a PDU set whose PSI is greater than a preset PSI, wherein the preset PSI can be pre-defined by the protocol, or determined by the second network device or terminal device, or indicated by the second network device to the terminal device. Alternatively, low-importance data can be understood as a PDU set or a data burst whose sum of data volume is less than a preset data volume, wherein the sum of data volume of the PDU set refers to the sum of the sizes of all PDUs contained in the PDU set, and the sum of data volume of the data burst refers to the sum of the sizes of all data packets in the data burst, and the preset data volume can be pre-defined by the protocol, or determined by the second network device or terminal device, or indicated by the second network device to the terminal device. It should be understood that low-importance data refers to data of relatively low importance in the same data stream or the same PDCP entity. The second network device and the terminal device can use the above-mentioned method based on PSI or data volume to determine the relative importance of data, or can use other methods to determine the relative importance of data. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0168] The first discard timer for low importance may also be referred to as a PSI-based discard timer, that is, the discard timer is a discard timer based on the importance of the data.

[0169] As a possible implementation manner, the indication information may also be used to indicate whether the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is in an activated state or an inactivated state.

[0170] As a possible implementation manner, the indication information can be specifically used to indicate the first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0171] Among them, the first DRB corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer can also be understood as the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer, and the first DRB corresponds to the first PDCP entity.

[0172] In other words, the indication information can not only indicate that the first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, but also indicate which DRBs in the terminal device correspond to data for which the first low importance discard timer is configured. In this embodiment of the present application, there is no limit on the number of first DRBs.

[0173] As a possible implementation manner, the indication information may also be used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0174] The duration of the first low-importance discard timer may be the duration of the first low-importance discard timer for the first DRB of the terminal device.

[0175] It should be understood that the different contents indicated by the above-mentioned indication information can be carried in the same message or in different messages.

[0176] Specifically, the indication information is used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for the uplink data of the terminal device. At this time, the second network device configures the first low-importance discard timer for the terminal device, that is, the terminal device is used to maintain the first low-importance discard timer. Alternatively, the indication information is used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for the downlink data of the terminal device. At this time, the second network device is used to maintain the first low-importance discard timer for the downlink data of the terminal device. These two cases will be described in detail in Figures 7 and 8 respectively.

[0177] It should be understood that the second network device may be a network device that configures a first low-importance discard timer for transmission data of the terminal device. For example, the second network device may be a centralized unit CU in the access network device. For another example, if the CU has a CP-UP separation structure, the second network device may also be a CU-CP. The first network device may be a network device for detecting network status, for example, a distributed unit DU in the access network device.

[0178] S620: The second network device sends instruction information to the first network device, and the first network device receives the instruction information from the second network device.

[0179] In other words, when the second network device configures the first low-importance discard timer for any PDCP entity of the terminal device, the second network device can send the indication information to the first network device.

[0180] Specifically, the indication information may be carried in messages such as a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message and a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message.

[0181] S630: The first network device sends first information according to the network status, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate a first low-importance discard timer.

[0182] It should be understood that the network status may be congestion or non-congestion, wherein non-congestion may be understood as the network congestion being alleviated or the network not being congested.

[0183] Specifically, when the network is congested, the first information is sent, and the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer. Alternatively, when the network is not congested, the first information is sent, and the first information is used to determine whether to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0184] As a possible implementation manner, the first network device sends the first information to the terminal device according to the network status.

[0185] It should be understood that in this implementation, the indication information of S610 is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discarding timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device. The specific situation will be described in detail in FIG7 .

[0186] As a possible implementation manner, the first network device sends the first information to the second network device according to the network status.

[0187] It should be understood that in this implementation, the indication information of S610 is specifically used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device. The specific situation will be described in detail in FIG8 .

[0188] In the above technical solution, the first network device can obtain the configuration of the first low-importance discard timer of the terminal device on the second network device, can promptly detect the network status, and will send first information for determining whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer based on the network status. In this way, when the network is congested, the device maintaining the first low-importance discard timer can promptly discard low-importance data, thereby promptly alleviating network transmission pressure without affecting the transmission of important data.

[0189] FIG7 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The execution subject of FIG7 may include the second network device, the first network device, and the terminal device. For details, please refer to the relevant description of FIG6 and will not be repeated here.

[0190] S701, the second network device generates indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device, and the first low-importance discard timer is used to control the discarding of low-importance data.

[0191] It should be understood that part of the explanation about the indication information can be referred to S610 and will not be elaborated here.

[0192] S702: The second network device sends instruction information to the first network device, and the first network device receives the instruction information from the second network device.

[0193] When the first network device is a DU and the second network device is a CU, the indication information may be sent directly from the CU to the DU. Alternatively, when the CU adopts a CP-UP separation structure, the indication information may be sent from the CU-CP to the DU.

[0194] S703: The first network device sends first information to the terminal device according to the network status, and the terminal device receives the first information.

[0195] Specifically, the first network device monitors the network and, when the network status is congested, sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer. Alternatively, the first network device monitors the network and, when the network status is not congested, sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to determine whether to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0196] When the indication information is not used to indicate the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer, the first network device may default the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer to an inactive state (in other words, the first network device defaults the initial state of the first low-importance timer corresponding to the first DRB to an inactive state), and the first network device monitors the network and sends first information to the terminal device when the network state is congested, and the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer. The inactive state can also be called a deactivated state, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0197] When the indication information is not used to indicate the initial state of the first low importance discard timer, the first network device may default the initial state of the first low importance discard timer to the activated state (in other words, the first network device defaults the initial state of the first low importance timer corresponding to the first DRB to the activated state), and the first network device monitors the network and sends first information to the terminal device when there is no congestion in the network status. The first information is used to determine to deactivate the first low importance discard timer.

[0198] Accordingly, the terminal device can activate or deactivate the first low-importance discard timer based on the first information.

[0199] Specifically, the terminal device can directly accept the information of activating or deactivating the first low importance discard timer determined by the first information and perform the corresponding operation, or the terminal device can also determine whether to activate the first low importance discard timer based on its own situation, such as whether there is low importance data and the amount of low importance data.

[0200] The following steps may also be included before S701.

[0201] Optionally, in S704, the first network device sends first request information to the second network device, where the first request information is used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data of the terminal device.

[0202] That is, the sending of the indication information in S701 may be triggered by the first request information in S704.

[0203] As a possible implementation method, the first request information can be specifically used to request the configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to the first DRB of the terminal device.

[0204] As a possible implementation manner, the first request information may also be used to request an initial state of the first low-importance discard timer, and the initial state may be an activated state or an inactivated state.

[0205] As a possible implementation manner, the first request information may also be used to request the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0206] Optionally, the first network device may send the first request information to the second network device when detecting network congestion.

[0207] The first network device may detect the network when receiving other request information related to the network status. Alternatively, the first network device may detect the network status periodically.

[0208] Optionally, in S705 , the second network device may send configuration information to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the configuration information from the second network device, where the configuration information is used to configure a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data of the terminal device.

[0209] Optionally, the configuration information may include the duration of the first low-importance discard timer. The configuration information may also include an initial state of the first low-importance discard timer, where the initial state is an activated state or an inactivated state.

[0210] Accordingly, the terminal device may obtain a first low-importance discard timer that is independent of the discard timer, or the terminal device may update the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the low-importance data to the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

[0211] Optionally, the second network device may further send a response message to the first network device regarding the first request information, where the response message is used to instruct the second network device to accept or reject the first request information.

[0212] Specifically, when the response message is used to instruct the second network device to accept the first request information, the response message may also be referred to as an acceptance response message.

[0213] Optionally, the indication information may be carried in the acceptance response message.

[0214] When the response message is used to instruct the second network device to reject the first request information, the response message may also be referred to as a rejection response message.

[0215] After S703 , the following steps may be performed.

[0216] Optionally, S706, the first network device sends a second request message to the second network device, where the second request message is used to request configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device.

[0217] It should be understood that after S703, the first network device detects that the network is still in a congested state, that is, the first low-importance discard timer is configured for the uplink data related to the first DRB as requested by the first request information in S704, and if, after the first information in S703 is used to determine the activation of the first low-importance discard timer, the terminal device discards the uplink data related to the first DRB, the congestion state of the network is not alleviated, at this time, S706 can be executed.

[0218] The first low-importance discard timer and the second low-importance discard timer correspond to different DRBs, that is, to different PDCP entities.

[0219] In the above technical solution, the first network device obtains that the second network device has configured a first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device. The first network device can detect the network in a timely manner, and then send first information about the activation or deactivation of the first low-importance discard timer to the terminal device according to the network status, so that the terminal device can use the first low-importance discard timer in a timely manner, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of the uplink data.

[0220] FIG8 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The execution subject of FIG8 may include a second network device and a first network device. For details, please refer to the relevant description of FIG6 and will not be repeated here.

[0221] S801, the second network device generates indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that a first low-importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device, and the first low-importance discard timer is used to control the discarding of low-importance data.

[0222] That is, the second network device is configured to maintain a first low-importance discard timer.

[0223] It should be understood that part of the explanation about the indication information can be referred to S610 and will not be elaborated here.

[0224] S802: The second network device sends instruction information to the first network device, and the first network device receives the instruction information from the second network device.

[0225] When the first network device is a DU and the second network device is a CU, the indication information may be sent directly from the CU to the DU. Alternatively, when the CU adopts a CP-UP separation structure, the indication information may be sent from the CU-CP to the DU.

[0226] When the second network device is a CU and the CU is a CP-UP separated architecture, as shown in Figure 3, optionally, before S801, the CU-CP sends first configuration information to the CU-UP, and the first configuration information is used to configure a first low-importance discard timer for the CU-UP.

[0227] Specifically, the first configuration information may be carried in a bearer context setup request message (BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST) or a bearer context modification request message (BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST). More specifically, it may be carried in the PDCP configuration information in the above messages.

[0228] Optionally, the first configuration information may include a duration of the first low-importance discard timer. The first configuration information may also include an initial state of the first low-importance discard timer, where the initial state is an activated state or an inactivated state.

[0229] Accordingly, the CU-UP may obtain a first low importance discard timer independent of the discard timer, or the CU-UP may update the duration of the discard timer corresponding to the low importance data to the duration of the first low importance discard timer.

[0230] S803: The first network device sends first information to the second network device according to the network status, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate a first low-importance discard timer.

[0231] As a possible implementation, the first network device monitors the network and, when the network status is congested, sends first information to the second network device, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate a first low-importance discard timer. Alternatively, the first network device monitors the network and, when the network status is not congested, sends first information to the second network device, where the first information is used to determine whether to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0232] When the indication information is not used to indicate the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer, the first network device may default the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer to an inactive state (in other words, the first network device defaults the initial state of the first low-importance timer corresponding to the first DRB to an inactive state), and the first network device monitors the network and sends the first information to the second network device when the network state is congested. The first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer. The inactive state can also be called a deactivated state, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0233] When the indication information is not used to indicate the initial state of the first low importance discard timer, the first network device may default the initial state of the first low importance discard timer to the activated state (in other words, the first network device defaults the initial state of the first low importance timer corresponding to the first DRB to the activated state), and the first network device monitors the network, and when there is no congestion in the network state, sends the first information to the second network device, and the first information is used to determine to deactivate the first low importance discard timer.

[0234] The first information is at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate, and protocol data unit set importance (PSI) recommendation information.

[0235] Specifically, the suggestion information is used to suggest whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer. Alternatively, the suggestion information is used to suggest whether the first low-importance discard timer should be activated. For example, when the first network device detects network congestion, it can send a suggestion information to the second network device to activate the first low-importance discard timer; accordingly, when the first network device detects that the network is not congested (for example, the network is relieved from the congestion state), the first network device can send a suggestion information to the second network device to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0236] The network congestion auxiliary information is used to indicate the congestion level of the network. Specifically, the first network device can measure the downlink or uplink congestion status and report the congestion level to the second network device. For example, 100% indicates extreme network congestion, 50% indicates moderate network congestion, and 0% indicates no network congestion at all.

[0237] Air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission. Specifically, the first network device measures the quality of uplink or downlink air interface data transmission and reports relevant information to the second network device. For example, 0 indicates extremely poor air interface quality, 10 indicates excellent air interface quality, or the first network device directly reports statistical information reflecting air interface quality, such as the uplink or downlink average channel quality indicator (CQI), the uplink or downlink average number of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmissions, etc.

[0238] The expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface. Specifically, the first network device can estimate how much data the air interface can normally transmit over the next period of time based on network resource consumption, and send the estimated result, for example, the total number of bytes expected to be received over the period of time, to the second network device.

[0239] The PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the low importance drop timer. Specifically, the first network device can combine the congestion situation and the PSI distribution of the data to be transmitted to infer which PSI levels (i.e., PSI thresholds) correspond to data that cannot be transmitted in a timely manner. For example, if the first network device believes that data with a PSI greater than 10 cannot be transmitted in a timely manner, it sends this information to the second network device, and then the second network device can activate it for data with a PSI greater than 10 when activating the downlink low importance drop timer.

[0240] It should be understood that the first information may also be the first information corresponding to the first DRB corresponding to the first low-importance discard timer.

[0241] When the first network device is a DU, the second network device is a CU, and the CU is a CP-UP separated architecture, as shown in Figure 3, the DU can directly send the first information to the CU-UP. In this case, the first information can be carried in the header of the uplink data packet sent by the DU to the CU-UP, for example, in the general packet radio system tunneling protocol user (GTP-U) extension header of the data packet.

[0242] The DU may also send the first information to the CU-CP, and the CU-CP may then send the first information to the CU-UP. At this time, when the DU sends the first information to the CU-CP, the first information may be carried in messages such as a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message, a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message, or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message. When the CU-CP sends the first information to the CU-UP again, the first information may be carried in a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message.

[0243] S804: The second network device activates or deactivates the first low-importance discard timer according to the first information.

[0244] As a possible implementation, when the first information includes suggestion information, the second network device may directly activate or deactivate the first low-importance discard timer based on the suggestion in the suggestion information. Alternatively, the second network device may determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer based on its own circumstances, such as whether there is low-importance data and the amount of low-importance data.

[0245] As a possible implementation, when the first information includes one or more of network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate, and PSI recommendation information, the second network device may determine whether to activate or deactivate the first low-importance discard timer with the assistance of the first information. That is, the first network device provides auxiliary information about the network status, thereby enabling the second network device to make a decision to activate or deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

[0246] In the above technical solution, the first network device obtains that the second network device has configured a first low-importance discard timer for the downlink data of the terminal device. The first network device can detect the network in a timely manner, and then send first information about the activation or deactivation of the first low-importance discard timer to the second network device according to the network status, so that the second network device can use the first low-importance discard timer in a timely manner, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of the downlink data.

[0247] FIG9 is an interactive diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The execution subject of FIG9 may include a second network device and a first network device. For details, please refer to the relevant description of FIG6 and will not be repeated here.

[0248] S901: The second network device sends third request information to the first network device, and the first network device receives the third request information from the second network device. The third request information is used to request parameter information related to the network status.

[0249] As a possible implementation manner, the third request information may be request information requesting a congestion level.

[0250] As a possible implementation manner, the third request information may be request information for requesting air interface quality.

[0251] As a possible implementation manner, the third request information may be request information requesting an expected data volume or an expected rate.

[0252] S902, the first network device sends second information to the second network device, and the second network device receives the second information from the first network device, where the second information is used to determine whether to activate a third low importance discard timer, which is used to control the discarding of low importance data in downlink data.

[0253] It should be understood that for the explanation of the low importance data, reference may be made to S610 , and for the third low importance discard timer, reference may be made to the description of the first low importance discard timer in S610 , which will not be elaborated here.

[0254] The second information may include at least one of the following information: network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, and expected data volume or expected rate.

[0255] It should be understood that the detailed explanation of these information can be referred to S803 and will not be repeated here.

[0256] As a possible implementation, the first network device is a DU and the second network device is a CU. Specifically, the detailed transmission process between the first network device and the second network device in S901 and S902 can refer to the relevant description of S802 and S803, which will not be repeated here.

[0257] S903: The second network device activates or deactivates a third low-importance discard timer according to the second information.

[0258] Specifically, when the second information includes one or more of network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, and expected data volume or expected rate, the second network device can determine whether to activate or deactivate the third low-importance discard timer with the assistance of the second information. In other words, the first network device provides the auxiliary information of the network status, so that the second network device can make the decision to activate or deactivate the third low-importance discard timer.

[0259] In the above technical solution, through the request and response regarding the network status between the first network device and the second network device, the second network device can learn whether the network status is congested or not, or whether the network transmission capacity is sufficient or insufficient, thereby helping the second network device to make a decision to activate or deactivate the third low-importance discard timer, so that the second network device can use the third low-importance discard timer in a timely manner, thereby alleviating the transmission pressure of downlink data.

[0260] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to Figures 6 to 9. It is understood that in order to implement the above functions, it includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to executing each function.

[0261] Those skilled in the art should be aware that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for specific applications, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0262] The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 to 12. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some contents are not repeated here.

[0263] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 1000 may include a transceiver unit 1010, which may implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 1010 may also be referred to as a communication interface, a communication unit, or an interface unit. Optionally, the device 1000 may further include a processing unit 1020, which is used to perform data processing. It should be understood that for the operations such as sending and receiving involved in this application, if there is no special explanation, or if it does not conflict with its actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, it can be more generally understood as operations such as output and input, rather than sending and receiving operations directly performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna.

[0264] Optionally, the device 1000 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 1020 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0265] The device 1000 can be used to execute the actions performed by the first network device in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 1000 can be a communication device or a component that can be configured in a communication device. The transceiver unit 1010 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations of the first network device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1020 is used to execute the processing-related operations of the first network device in the above method embodiment.

[0266] As a design, the apparatus 1000 is configured to execute the actions performed by the first network device during the terminal device handover process in the method embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 8 above. The execution subject may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first network device in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of the first network device.

[0267] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1010 is configured to receive indication information from the second network device, the indication information being used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, the first low importance discard timer being used to control discarding of low importance data, and send first information based on a network state, the first information being used to determine whether to activate the first low importance discard timer.

[0268] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0269] As a design, the communication device 1000 is used to execute the actions performed by the second network device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 8 above. The execution subject can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the second network device in implementing the corresponding method, or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device.

[0270] Specifically, the processing unit 1020 is configured to generate indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, the first low importance discard timer being used to control discarding of low importance data. The transceiver unit 1010 is configured to send the indication information to the first network device.

[0271] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0272] As a design, the communication device 1000 is used to execute the actions performed by the first network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 9 above. The execution subject can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first network device to implement the corresponding method, or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network device.

[0273] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1010 is configured to receive third request information from the second network device, the third request information being used to request parameter information related to the network state, and to send second information to the second network device, the second information being used to determine whether to activate a third low-importance discard timer, the third low-importance discard timer being used to control discarding of low-importance data in downlink data.

[0274] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0275] As a design, the communication device 1000 is used to execute the actions performed by the second network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 9 above. The execution subject can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the second network device to implement the corresponding method, or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network device.

[0276] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1010 is configured to send third request information to the first network device, the third request information being used to request parameter information related to the network state. The transceiver unit 1010 is configured to receive second information from the first network device, the second information being used to determine whether to activate a third low-importance discard timer, the third low-importance discard timer being used to control the discarding of low-importance data in downlink data. For details not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0277] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0278] The processing unit 1020 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuit. The transceiver unit 1010 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit. The storage unit can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0279] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0280] As shown in Figure 11, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100. The device 1100 includes a processor 1110, which is coupled to a memory 1120. The memory 1120 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 1110 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions and / or data stored in the memory 1120, so that the method in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0281] Optionally, the device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110.

[0282] Optionally, as shown in FIG11 , the device 1100 may further include a memory 1120 .

[0283] Optionally, the device 1100 may include one or more memories 1120 .

[0284] Optionally, the memory 1120 may be integrated with the processor 1110 or provided separately.

[0285] Optionally, as shown in Figure 11 , the apparatus 1100 may further include a transceiver 1130, which is configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 1110 is configured to control the transceiver 1130 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0286] As a solution, the apparatus 1100 is used to implement the operations performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0287] For example, the processor 1110 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver 1130 is used to implement the sending and receiving-related operations performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0288] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1200 provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 12. The chip system 1200 (or it can also be called a processing system) includes a logic circuit 1210 and an input / output interface (input / output interface) 1220. The logic circuit is used to couple with the input interface and transmit data parameters through the input / output interface to execute the method in the above method embodiment. The device installed with the chip system 1200 can implement the method and function of the embodiment of the present application. For example, the logic circuit 1210 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1200, which realizes the control of the device installed with the chip system 1200, and can also be coupled to a storage unit to call the instructions in the storage unit so that the device can implement the method and function of the embodiment of the present application. The input / output interface 1220 can be an input and output circuit in the chip system 1200, which outputs the information processed by the chip system 1200, or inputs the data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1200 for processing.

[0289] As a solution, the chip system 1200 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device (such as the first network device or the second network device) in the above method embodiment.

[0290] For example, the logic circuit 1210 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment, and the input / output interface 1220 is used to implement the sending and receiving-related operations performed by the first network device or the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0291] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the communication device (such as the first network device or the second network device) in the above method embodiment.

[0292] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the communication device (such as the first network device or the second network device) in the above method embodiment.

[0293] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by the communication device (such as the first network device or the second network device) in the above method embodiment.

[0294] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned first network device and second network device.

[0295] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0296] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0297] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM may include the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0298] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0299] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0300] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of protection of this application.

[0301] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0302] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to implement the solutions provided in this application based on actual needs.

[0303] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0304] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium may include, but is not limited to, various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0305] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a first network device, comprising: Receiving indication information from a second network device, the indication information being used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, the first low importance discard timer being used to control discarding of low importance data; According to the network status, first information is sent, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The indication information is also used to indicate that the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is an activated state or an inactivated state.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The indication information is specifically used to indicate the first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the first low importance discard timer.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The indication information is also used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The indication information is specifically used to indicate that the first low-importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device; The sending of the first information according to the network state includes: The first information is sent to the terminal device according to the network status.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Before receiving the indication information, the method further includes: Send a first request message to the second network device, where the first request message is used to request configuration of the first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first request information is specifically used to request configuration of a first low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to the first DRB of the terminal device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that After sending the first information according to the network state, if the network state is still in a congested state, the method further includes: Send a second request message to the second network device, where the second request message is used to request configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to the second DRB of the terminal device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The indication information is specifically used to indicate that the first low-importance discard timer is configured for downlink data of the terminal device; The sending of the first information according to the network state includes: The first information is sent to the second network device according to the network status.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The sending the first information to the second network device according to the network state includes: When there is congestion in the network state, sending the first information to the second network device, where the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low-importance discard timer; or, When there is no congestion in the network state, the first information is sent to the second network device, where the first information is used to determine to deactivate the first low-importance discard timer.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate and protocol data unit set importance PSI recommendation information; Among them, the recommendation information is used to recommend whether to activate the first low importance discard timer; the network congestion level auxiliary information is used to indicate the congestion level of the network; the air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the uplink or downlink air interface data transmission quality; the expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface; the PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the first low importance discard timer.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a second network device, comprising: Generate indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that a first low importance discard timer is configured for the terminal device, where the first low importance discard timer is used to control the discarding of low importance data; The indication information is sent to the first network device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The indication information is also used to indicate that the initial state of the first low-importance discard timer is an activated state or an inactivated state.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The indication information is specifically used to indicate the first data radio bearer DRB corresponding to the first low importance discard timer.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that The indication information is also used to indicate the duration of the first low-importance discard timer.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that The indication information is specifically used to indicate that the first low-importance discard timer is configured for uplink data of the terminal device; Before generating the indication information, the method further includes: Configuration information is sent to the terminal device, where the configuration information is used to configure the first low-importance discard timer for uplink data of the terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that Before generating the indication information, the method further includes: Receive first request information from the second network device, where the first request information is used to request configuration of the first low-importance discard timer for the uplink data of the terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first request information is specifically used to request configuration of the first low importance discard timer for uplink data related to the first DRB of the terminal device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 19, characterized in that After sending the indication information to the first network device, the method further includes: Receive second request information from the first network device, where the second request information is used to request configuration of a second low-importance discard timer for uplink data related to a second DRB of the terminal device.

21. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that The indication information is specifically used to indicate that the first low-importance discard timer is configured for the downlink data of the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving first information from the first network device, wherein the first information is used to determine whether to activate the first low importance discard timer; The first low importance discard timer is activated or deactivated according to the first information.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following information: recommendation information, network congestion level auxiliary information, air interface quality auxiliary information, expected data volume or expected rate and protocol data unit set importance PSI recommendation information; Among them, the recommendation information is used to recommend whether to activate the first low importance discard timer; the network congestion level auxiliary information is used to indicate the congestion level of the network; the air interface quality auxiliary information is used to indicate the uplink or downlink air interface data transmission quality; the expected data volume or expected rate is used to indicate the expected data volume or expected data transmission rate of the air interface; the PSI recommendation information is used to indicate the PSI of the data corresponding to the first low importance discard timer.

24. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 23, characterized in that The first network device is a distributed unit DU, and the second network device is a centralized unit CU.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 24.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program or instructions, the processor being used to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory, so that the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, or the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 24.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, or enables the computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 24.

29. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is coupled to a memory and is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, or to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 24.

30. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a first network device and a second network device, wherein the first network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, and the second network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 13 to 24.

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