Data transmission method, terminal device and network device

Abstract

The present application provides a data transmission method, a terminal device, and a network device. The method comprises: a terminal device sends first information and / or second information to a network device, wherein the first information is associated with first data, the second information is associated with second data, the first data is processed by means of the network device, and the second data is forwarded by means of the network device.

Description

Data transmission method, terminal equipment and network equipment Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a data transmission method, a terminal device, and a network device. Background Art

[0002] Typically, data routing in communication systems is predefined by the protocol. For example, any parameter contained in any message type has a fixed routing rule. Improving the performance of data transmission methods, such as increasing their flexibility and reducing their scalability, is a challenge that needs to be addressed.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a data transmission method, a terminal device, and a network device. The following introduces various aspects of the present application.

[0005] In a first aspect, a data transmission method is provided, which includes: a terminal device sends first information and / or second information to a network device, wherein the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a data transmission method is provided, which includes: a network device receives first information and / or second information sent by a terminal device, the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

[0007] In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, which includes: a sending unit for sending first information and / or second information to a network device, wherein the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising: a receiving unit for receiving first information and / or second information sent by a terminal device, wherein the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the terminal device executes part or all of the steps in the method of the first aspect.

[0010] In the sixth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the network device executes part or all of the steps in the method of the second aspect.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned terminal device and / or network device. In another possible design, the system may also include other devices that interact with the terminal device or network device in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program enables a terminal device to execute part or all of the steps in the method of the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is operable to cause a terminal device to perform some or all of the steps of the method of the first or second aspect described above. In some implementations, the computer program product may be a software installation package.

[0014] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the processor can call and run a computer program from the memory to implement some or all of the steps described in the method of the first or second aspect above.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, by introducing information associated with data processed by a network device, such as the first information, or information associated with data that needs to be forwarded by the network device, such as the second information, the data to be transmitted is untied from the data transmission path, thereby helping to improve the performance of data transmission. For example, the second information may include the target node information of the data, and the network device may select the transmission path of the data based on the target node information, thereby helping to improve the flexibility of the data transmission path. For another example, the first information may include the functional entity that processes the data. When a network device, such as the RRC protocol layer, receives the first information, it does not need to decode all parameters, but can forward the information associated with the first data to the corresponding functional entity for processing, which helps to reduce the complexity of RRC protocol layer product development. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system used in an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] FIG2 is a flow chart of a data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Communication system architecture

[0023] 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, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, new radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR on unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) system, terrestrial networks (TN) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) system. system (UMTS), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless fidelity (WIFI), fifth-generation (5G) systems, etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to other communication systems, such as future communication systems, such as the sixth-generation mobile communication system, and satellite communication systems.

[0024] Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems will not only support traditional communications, but will also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0025] The communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and a standalone (SA) networking scenario.

[0026] The communication system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum can also be considered as a shared spectrum; or, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to an authorized spectrum, where the authorized spectrum can also be considered as a dedicated spectrum.

[0027] An important feature of communication system architecture (such as 5G system architecture) is that the communication system architecture can be a service-oriented architecture, that is, the network elements (service providers) in the core network can provide specific services and make them available to other network elements (consumers) through defined application programming interfaces (APIs).

[0028] FIG1 exemplarily shows a system architecture diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. Taking the communication system as a 5G system architecture as an example, the wireless communication system may include multiple network elements, nodes, or devices, such as terminal equipment, access network (AN) equipment, user plane function (UPF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, and application function (AF) network element. The wireless communication system may also include a data network (DN), etc.

[0029] The following is an illustrative description of the functions of each part or network element involved in the wireless communication system in the 5G network.

[0030] Terminal device: A terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user apparatus. In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device may refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user and can be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a vehicle equipment, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc.

[0031] Access network equipment: Access network equipment provides network access for authorized terminal devices in a specific area and can utilize transmission channels of varying quality based on the terminal device's level and service requirements. Access network equipment manages wireless resources, provides access services to terminal devices, and forwards control signals and data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0032] An access network device may be a device in a wireless network. An access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device or a network device. For example, an access network device may be a base station. The access network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station may broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), centralized unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), centralized unit-control plane (CU-CP), centralized unit-user plane (CU-UP), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip for being provided in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device to device D2D, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), a device that performs the base station function in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the base station function in future communication systems, and the like. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the access network equipment.

[0033] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0034] In some deployments, the access network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the access network device may include a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0035] The access network equipment and terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the access network equipment and terminal equipment are located.

[0036] UPF network element: UPF is the user plane function in the core network, which can be responsible for forwarding and receiving user data (such as business data flow) in the terminal device. UPF can be connected to the access network equipment (such as base station) and the external data network for data transmission. For example, UPF can receive user data from DN and transmit it to the terminal device through the access network equipment; or, UPF can also receive user data from the terminal device through the access network equipment and then forward it to DN. The transmission resources and scheduling functions in UPF that provide services to terminal devices are managed and controlled by SMF. In some embodiments, UPF can be divided into intermediate-UPF (I-UPF) and anchor UPF (A-UPF). Among them, I-UPF is connected to the access network, A-UPF is the UPF of the session anchor, and A-UPF can also be called PDU session anchor (PSA).

[0037] AMF network element: AMF is the mobility management function in the core network. It can be used to implement other functions of the mobility management entity (MME) in addition to session management, such as lawful interception or access authorization (or authentication). In some embodiments, in addition to performing mobility management for terminal devices, the AMF can also be responsible for forwarding session management related messages between terminal devices and SMF.

[0038] SMF network element: SMF is the session management function in the core network. It is mainly responsible for session management, Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management of terminal devices, selection of endpoints for manageable user plane functions, policy control, or charging function interfaces, downlink data notification, and configuration of routing information for user plane functions.

[0039] PCF network element: PCF is the policy management function in the core network, which is responsible for formulating policies related to mobility management, session management, billing, etc. for terminal devices. Specifically, PCF can provide policy rule information to functional network elements of the control plane (such as AMF and SMF network elements) to manage and control mobility management and session management of terminal devices.

[0040] AF network element: The AF primarily supports interaction with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing third-party services to the network. Alternatively, the AF can be primarily used to communicate application-side requirements to the network. In some embodiments, the AF can be an application within the operator, such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) technology. In some embodiments, the AF can be understood as a third-party server, such as an application server on the Internet, providing relevant service information, including providing service-related quality of service (QoS) requirement information to the PCF and sending service user plane data information to the A-UPF. In some embodiments, the AF can also be a service provider (content provider, CP). In some embodiments, if the AF is within the operator and is within the same trusted domain as other network functions (NFs), it can directly interact and access other NFs. If the AF is not within the trusted domain, it needs to access other NFs through other network elements (e.g., the NEF network element described below).

[0041] DN: A DN is a network used to transmit data. It can be a private network, such as a local area network (LAN), an external network not controlled by a carrier, such as the internet, or a proprietary network deployed jointly with carriers, such as the network that provides IMS services.

[0042] Optionally, the wireless communication system may also include a unified data management (UDM) network element, an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a network slice selection function (NSSF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a network data analysis function (NWDAF) network element, a network repository function (NF Repository Function, NRF) network element and other network elements, which are not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0043] The UDM network element is a subscription database in the core network. It can be used to generate and store user subscription data in the network (for example, 5G network), manage authentication data, and other functions. The UDM network element can support interaction with external third-party servers. The AUSF network element can be used to receive AMF requests for terminal device authentication, request keys from the UDM, and then forward the issued keys to the AMF for authentication processing. The NSSF network element can be used for network slice selection.

[0044] The NEF network element can be responsible for managing the network data opened to the outside world by 5G network elements. External non-trusted applications need to access the core network internal data through the NEF to ensure the security of the 3GPP network. In some embodiments, the NEF network element can also provide functions such as external application QoS capability exposure, event subscription, and AF request distribution. The NWDAF network element can collect data from various network elements and network management systems in the core network for big data statistics, analysis, or intelligent data analysis to obtain network-side analysis results or network-side prediction data, thereby assisting each network element to more effectively control terminal devices based on the data analysis results.

[0045] The NSSF network element is the network slice selection function in the core network. The functions it supports include: selecting the set of network slice instances serving the UE; determining the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI), and determining the mapping to the contracted single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) when necessary; determining the configured NSSAI, and determining the mapping to the contracted S-NSSAI when necessary; determining the AMF set that may be used to query the UE, or determining the list of candidate AMFs based on the configuration.

[0046] The AUSF network element can be used to receive the AMF's request for terminal identity authentication, request the key from the UDM, and then forward the issued key to the AMF for authentication processing.

[0047] NEF network elements can be used for capability exposure. That is, based on NEF, network capabilities can be exported to external networks. External, untrusted applications can access core network data through NEF to ensure network security. NEF can also provide external application QoS capability exposure, event subscription, and AF request distribution.

[0048] NRF network elements are used for core network element registration, management, and status monitoring, enabling automated management of core network elements. Upon startup, core network elements must register with the NRF before they can provide services. Registration information may include the core network element's type, address, and service list.

[0049] The NWDAF network element can collect data from various core network elements, network management systems, etc., and perform big data statistics, analysis, or intelligent data analysis to obtain network-side analysis or prediction data, thereby assisting various network elements to more effectively control terminal device access based on the data analysis results.

[0050] It should be understood that the above functional entities in the core network can also be referred to as network elements, and this application is not limited to this. For example, the UPF entity can also be referred to as a UPF network element, and the AMF entity can also be referred to as an AMF network element, etc.

[0051] It should also be understood that in some embodiments, the xx functional entity or xx network element may be directly referred to as xx. For example, the UPF entity (or UPF network element) may be referred to as UPF, and the AMF entity (or AMF network element) may be referred to as AMF. For the sake of convenience, xx (such as UPF, AMF, etc.) mentioned in the embodiments of this application may refer to the xx entity or xx network element, which will not be repeated hereafter.

[0052] In the communication system shown in Figure 1, various components or functional entities can communicate with each other through interfaces. For example, a terminal device can establish an access stratum (AS) connection with the AN via the Uu interface, exchanging AS messages and wireless data transmission. The terminal device can establish a non-access stratum (NAS) connection with the AMF via the N1 interface, exchanging NAS messages. The AN can connect to the AMF via the N2 interface to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network to the AN. The UPF can transmit data with the AN via the N3 interface and with the DN via the N6 interface. The interfaces connecting other components or functional entities can be found in Figure 1 and are not described here in detail.

[0053] It should be understood that the network architecture shown above is only an exemplary illustration, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this. Any network architecture that can realize the functions of the above-mentioned functional entities is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0054] It should be understood that the access network equipment, AMF, SMF, UPF, and PCF shown in Figure 1 are just names, and the names do not limit the equipment themselves. In 5G networks and other future networks, the entities corresponding to the access network equipment, AMF, SMF, UPF, and PCF may also have other names, and this embodiment of the application does not specifically limit this.

[0055] It should be understood that the interface names between the functional entities shown in Figure 1 are only an example. In the specific implementation, the interface names between the functional entities can also be other names, such as the interface names between the functional entities in the 6G network. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0056] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0057] It should be understood that the network architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art will know that with the evolution of the network architecture, the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to similar technical problems.

[0058] Taking data transmission between a terminal device and an access network device as an example, a method for controlling data transmission in a communication system, such as the communication system shown in FIG1 , is introduced.

[0059] The data routing methods of the access network system are all predefined by the protocol, that is, any parameters contained in any type of message have fixed routing rules.

[0060] The fixed parameters contained in fixed messages all correspond to fixed transmission paths, which limits the data transmission path and is not flexible enough. For example, the interaction data between the terminal device and the newly defined network element node of the core network device must be forwarded through the AMF network element. In addition, the above data routing method requires the transmission data to be bound to the fixed message, which not only increases the workload of the standard, such as the need to define the message type that carries the newly introduced functional parameters, but also increases the workload of product development, such as product development needs to consider which message carries the newly introduced functional parameters, which is complex to implement.

[0061] In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission method, which unbinds the data to be transmitted from the data transmission path by introducing information associated with data processed by a network device, such as the first information, or information associated with data that needs to be forwarded by the network device, such as the second information, thereby helping to improve the performance of data transmission. For example, the second information may include the target node information of the data, and the network device may select the transmission path of the data based on the target node information, thereby helping to improve the flexibility of the data transmission path. For another example, the first information may include the functional entity that processes the data. When a network device, such as the RRC protocol layer, receives the first information, it does not need to decode all parameters, but forwards the information associated with the first data to the corresponding functional entity for processing, which helps to reduce the complexity of RRC protocol layer product development.

[0062] Figure 2 is a flow chart of the data transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 2 can be applied to data transmission between a terminal device and an access network device (i.e., a network device), and can also be applied to the data transmission process between a terminal device and other devices, such as a core network device, through a network device. Among them, the terminal device can be any of the terminal devices mentioned above, the network device can be any of the network devices mentioned above, and the core network device can be any of the core network devices mentioned throughout the text. The following will introduce the method shown in Figure 2 from the perspective of interaction between a terminal device and a network device.

[0063] The method shown in Figure 2 may include step S210. In step S210, the terminal device sends the first information and / or the second information to the network device. In other words, the network device receives the first information and / or the second information sent by the terminal device.

[0064] The above-mentioned first information is associated with the first data, such as the first information may include the first data and the control information associated with the first data. The first data is data processed by the network device, or the first data is data that needs to be processed by the network device. For example, the target node corresponding to the first data is the network device, or the target node corresponding to the first data is a functional entity in the network device. As an example, the target node of the first data may be the CU or DU in the network device, and the target node of the first data may also be the radio resource control protocol (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, physical layer (PHY), artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) functional entity in the network device.

[0065] The second information is associated with the second data. For example, the second information may include the second data and control information associated with the second data. The second data is data forwarded by the network device, or in other words, the second data is data that needs to be forwarded by the network device. For example, the destination node corresponding to the second data is a node other than the network device, such as a network element node in the core network.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information can be carried in different information domains of the same information. For example, the first information and the second information can both be carried in the twenty-fourth information, wherein the twenty-fourth information includes the first information domain and the second information domain, the first information can be carried by the first information domain in the twenty-fourth information, and the second information can be carried by the second information domain in the twenty-fourth information. Taking the twenty-fourth information as a type of RRC message as an example, the first information and / or the second information can be carried by different information domains of the same RRC message. In this way, the first information and the second information can be transmitted through the same process, which is simple to implement. However, in this case, there is a certain correlation between the decoding process of the first information and the decoding process of the second information. Therefore, when decoding the twenty-fourth information, it is necessary to consider the correlation between the decoding process of the first information and the decoding process of the second information.

[0067] During one transmission of the twenty-fourth information, the twenty-fourth information may include the first information and / or the second information. That is, during one transmission of the twenty-fourth information, the twenty-fourth information carries both the first information and the second information, or only carries one of the first information or the second information.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are independent of each other. That is, the information associated with the first data and the information associated with the second data can be carried by different information. The first information and the second information can be associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information can be associated with different message types, which can further separate the decoding process of the first information from the decoding process of the second information. In this way, the decoding process of the first information and the decoding process of the second information are completely independent, which helps to avoid the impact of the correlation between the decoding process of the first information and the decoding process of the second information.

[0069] The different transmission resources may include one or more of different logical channels, different signaling radio bearers (SRBs), and different radio bearers (RBs). Since the first information and the second information are carried by different resources, the decoding process of the first information and the decoding process of the second information are relatively independent.

[0070] For example, the first information and the second information are associated with different SRBs and different logical channels. For example, the first information can be associated with logical channel W (the logical channel identified as W) and SRB A, or in other words, logical channel W and SRB A can be used to carry the first information; while the second information can be associated with logical channel Z and SRB B, or in other words, logical channel Z and SRB B can be used to carry the second information. In this case, the resources used by the first information and the second information are completely independent, and therefore the processing of the first information and the processing of the second information are independent.

[0071] For another example, the first information and the second information may be associated with different RBs, such as different types of RBs. For example, the first information may be associated with an SRB, and the second information may be associated with a DRB. In this case, the processing of the first information and the processing of the second information are also independent of each other.

[0072] For another example, the first information and the second information can be associated with different message types. It should be noted that in this case, the first information and the second information can be associated with different transmission resources, or they can be associated with the same transmission resource. Taking the case where the first information and the second information are associated with the same transmission resource SRB A as an example, the message type associated with the first information can be RRC message 1 carried by SRB A, and the message type associated with the second information can be RRC message 2 carried by SRB A. Since the sending of RRC message 1 and the sending of RRC message 2 are independent of each other, the processing of RRC message 1 and RRC message 2 are also independent of each other. However, before processing RRC message 1 and RRC message 2, or after the RRC layer receives the data, it is first necessary to determine the message type of the currently received RRC message based on the RRC message type header. Thus, based on whether the type of the RRC message is RRC message 1 or RRC message 2, it is determined whether the received RRC message is information associated with the first data or information associated with the second data.

[0073] In some embodiments, one or more of the transmission resources associated with the first information, the transmission resources associated with the second information, the message type associated with the first information, and the message type associated with the second information can be configured in a variety of ways. For example, the configuration method may include one or more of a protocol predefined method, a preconfigured method, and a dynamic configuration method. For another example, the transmission resources associated with the first information, the transmission resources associated with the second information, the message type associated with the first information, and the message type associated with the second information can be configured in the same or different ways.

[0074] As an example, the logical channel and SRB associated with the first information can be configured in a protocol predefined or preconfigured manner; the logical channel and SRB associated with the second information can be configured in a protocol predefined or preconfigured manner. As another example, the first information is carried via an SRB, and the second information is carried via a DRB. In this case, the SRB associated with the first information can be configured in a protocol predefined or preconfigured manner; while the DRB associated with the second information can be configured through dynamic configuration, such as by a network device.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information may be distinguished by different identification parameters, for example, by using different values ​​of a bit to distinguish the first information and the second information.

[0076] To conserve resources occupied by identification parameters, the first and second information can be associated with different transmission resources and / or message types. This allows the network device to determine whether the received information is the first or second information based on the resource location of the received information. In other words, the network device can determine whether the information is the first or second information based on the resource carrying the information. Alternatively, the network device can determine whether the received information is the first or second information based on the received message type.

[0077] The information associated with the first data, ie, the first information, and the information associated with the second data, ie, the second information, will be introduced below.

[0078] First Information

[0079] As mentioned above, the first information is information associated with the first data that needs to be processed by the network device.

[0080] Since a network device is composed of multiple functional entities, the multiple functional entities included in the network device can be divided into different functional units, and each functional unit can include one or more functional entities. For example, the multiple functional entities of the network device can be divided into two functional units, CU and DU. For another example, the multiple functional entities of the network device can be divided into two functional units, RRC protocol layer and non-RRC protocol layer. For another example, the functional units of the network device can be divided into two functional units, Layer 3 (L3) functional entities and non-L3 functional entities. It should be noted that the division method of the functional units of the network device is not limited to this, and can also include the division method of the functional units of the future network device.

[0081] Therefore, the first information may include third information, and the third information may be used to indicate the functional unit that processes the first data. For example, the third information may be used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by the CU; whether the first data is processed by the DU; whether the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-L3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by the L3 protocol layer. As an example, the third information may indicate the functional unit that processes the first data through identification information of the functional unit, such as the third information may indicate through 00, 01, and 10, respectively, that the first data is processed by the CU, the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, and the first data is processed by the L3. As another example, the third information may indicate the functional unit that processes the first data through different values ​​of fixed bits. Taking the third information as a single bit as an example, when the bit is 1, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is a CU; when the bit is 0, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is a DU; alternatively, when the bit is 1, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is an RRC protocol layer; when the bit is 0, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is a non-RRC protocol layer; alternatively, when the bit is 1, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is an L3 protocol layer; when the bit is 0, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is a non-L3 protocol layer. It should be noted that the meanings represented by the above bit values ​​are merely exemplary and are not limited in this application. As another example, the third information can indicate the functional unit processing the first data via different message types, such as different RRC messages. For example, when the third information is RRC message 1, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is a CU; when the third information is RRC message 2, the third information indicates that the functional unit processing the first data is a DU.

[0082] Taking the example of a network device where multiple functional entities can be divided into two functional units, CU and DU, if the third information indicates that the CU functional unit needs to process the first data, the first data is processed within the CU functional unit; if the third information indicates that the CU functional unit does not need to process the first data, the first data will be forwarded by the CU functional unit to the DU and then processed by the DU functional unit. Taking the example of a network device where multiple functional entities can be divided into two functional units, RRC protocol layer and non-RRC protocol layer, if the third information indicates that the RRC protocol layer needs to process the first data, the first data will be processed at the RRC protocol layer; if the third information indicates that the RRC protocol layer does not need to process the first data, the first data will be forwarded by the RRC protocol layer to the DU or PDCP protocol layer and then processed by the DU or PDCP protocol layer functional unit. Taking the example that multiple functional entities of a network device can be divided into two functional units, L3 functional entities and non-L3 functional entities, if the third information indicates that the L3 functional entity needs to process the first data, the first data is processed by the L3 functional entity; if the third information indicates that the L3 functional entity does not need to process the first data, the first data will be forwarded by the L3 functional entity to the DU or PDCP protocol layer, and then processed by the DU or PDCP protocol layer functional unit.

[0083] In this way, when the network device receives the first information, it can only decode the information related to the functional unit that processes the first data, such as the one-bit third information mentioned above. Furthermore, based on the decoding result, the network device can forward the information associated with the first data to the corresponding functional unit, thereby helping to reduce the complexity of the control unit of the network device, such as the CU.

[0084] In some embodiments, the third information may indicate information about a functional entity that processes the first data. For example, the functional entity that processes the first data may be indicated by a functional entity identifier, such as by indicating the aforementioned functional entities SDAP, RRC, PDCP, BAP, RLC, MAC, PHY, and AI / ML functional entities using different values ​​of three bits.

[0085] In some cases, such as when multiple functional entities can communicate directly with each other, the control unit of the network device, upon receiving the first information, may send information associated with the first data directly to the functional entity that processes the first data based on the third information. In other cases, such as when multiple functional entities cannot communicate directly with each other, the control unit of the network device, upon receiving the first information, may determine the functional unit that processes the first data based on the functional entity that processes the first data, and thereby send the information associated with the first data to the functional unit that processes the first data. In this case, the correspondence between the multiple functional entities and the functional units may be predefined or preconfigured by a protocol, such as the correspondence between functional entity identifiers and functional units may be predefined or preconfigured by a protocol.

[0086] In some embodiments, the third information may be used to indicate the functional entity that processes the first data and the functional unit that processes the first data. For example, the third information may include an identifier of the functional unit that processes the first data and an identifier of the functional entity that processes the first data within the functional unit. The identifier of the functional entity that processes the first data mentioned here may be a global identifier within the network device, or an independent identifier within each functional unit. Taking the functional unit that processes the first data as CU as an example, the third information may indicate that the functional entity that processes the first data is the RRC protocol layer through 01, and that the functional entity that processes the first data is the PDCP protocol layer through 10. Taking the functional unit that processes the first data as DU as an example, the third information may indicate that the functional entity that processes the first data is the RLC protocol layer through 01, and that the functional entity that processes the first data is the MAC protocol layer through 10.

[0087] It can be seen that indicating the functional entity that processes the first data through the third information helps to improve the flexibility of data transmission and the scalability of the system. For example, when a new functional entity is added to the network device, the identifier of the functional entity can be directly added.

[0088] Before forwarding the information associated with the first data, the control unit in the network device may decode part of the information associated with the first data, or may decode all of the information associated with the first data. For example, the network device may decode all of the information associated with the first data, thereby sending the first data or the decoding result and the first data to the functional entity that uses the first data, which simplifies implementation. For another example, the network device may only decode the information indicating the functional entity and / or functional unit that processes the first data, and then forward the information associated with the first data to the corresponding functional entity and / or functional unit for processing based on the information, thereby helping to reduce the complexity of the control unit of the network device, such as the CU, and simplifying the data transmission process. In this case, the functional entity that processes the first data may further decode the information associated with the first data.

[0089] If the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the Layer 3 protocol layer, the first information may further include one or more of the following: fourth information for indicating a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; fifth information for indicating a message type associated with the first data; sixth information for indicating a data type corresponding to the first data, or for indicating a data type and data format corresponding to the first data; seventh information for the first data; eighth information for indicating the amount of first data that share the first control information; and ninth information for indicating whether the transmission of the first data has ended. The fourth to ninth information will be introduced below respectively.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first information may include fourth information, wherein the fourth information may be used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data, such as CU, DU, SDAP, RRC, PDCP, BAP, RLC, MAC, PHY, and AI / ML functional entity, etc.

[0091] Based on the method mentioned above, the third information can indicate that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer by indicating the functional entity that processes the first data and / or the functional unit that processes the first data. If the functional unit that processes the first data indicated by the third information includes multiple functional entities, then the fourth information can be used to indicate the functional entity that processes the first data. The functional entity that processes the first data may, for example, refer to a functional entity that decodes information related to the first data. For example, when the third information indicates that the functional unit that processes the first data is the CU, the fourth information may indicate whether the functional entity that processes the first data is the RRC protocol layer, the SDAP protocol layer, or the PDCP protocol layer.

[0092] In some cases, the functional entity that processes the first data and the functional entity that uses the first data are not necessarily the same. Therefore, the fourth information can also be used to indicate the functional entity that uses the first data. For example, when the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU and the fourth information indicates that the first data requires processing by the RRC protocol layer, the fourth information can also indicate that the functional entity that uses the first data is the PDCP protocol layer. In this case, the RRC protocol layer can decode the information associated with the first data and send the decoded first data to the PDCP protocol layer.

[0093] For the same functional entity, multiple message types may exist. Because different message types contain different parameter types and / or parameter formats, the corresponding decoding methods for different message types may differ. For example, as mentioned above, different RRC message types correspond to different decoding rules. Based on this, the first information may include information indicating the message type associated with the first data, namely, fifth information. Taking the first data processed by the RRC protocol layer as an example, if the RRC protocol layer message types include nine uplink message types, the fifth information may indicate which of the nine message types the first data is associated with. In this way, the network device can determine the decoding rules for the information associated with the first data based on the message type associated with the first data. In other words, the network device can determine the parameter type and / or parameter format contained in the information associated with the first data based on the message type associated with the first data, and thus determine the decoding rules for the information associated with the first data based on the parameter type and / or parameter format. The correspondence between each message type and the parameter type and / or parameter format, or the parameter type and / or parameter format included in each message type, can be determined based on predefined information.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first information may include information indicating the length of the first data and / or information associated with the first data, i.e., sixth information. The sixth information may be used to determine a data boundary of the first data and / or information associated with the first data. The network device may process, such as decoding, the information associated with the first data based on the data boundary, or may forward the first data and / or information associated with the first data based on the data boundary.

[0095] When the network device receives the first information, the network device may need to forward the first data or information associated with the first data between different functional entities included in the network device. For example, as mentioned above, the functional entity that processes the first data-associated information needs to forward the first data to the functional entity that uses the first data. For another example, after receiving the first information, the RRC protocol layer may need to forward the first data or information associated with the first data to the functional unit or functional entity that processes the first data. The current functional entity, such as the RRC protocol layer, needs to determine the number of bits occupied by the first data or information associated with the first data, so as to correctly forward the first data or information associated with the first data, which helps to avoid data decoding failure caused by erroneous truncation of the first data or information associated with the first data. As an example, if the current functional entity is a CU, and the first data needs to be forwarded to a DU, then the CU needs to determine the information length of the first data, so as to forward the correct and complete first data to the DU.

[0096] The network device can determine the boundaries of the first data and / or information associated with the first data based on the sixth information, thereby correctly forwarding the first data or information associated with the first data, which helps improve information encapsulation. Furthermore, the current functional entity may not decode the information associated with the first data, but instead directly forward the information associated with the first data to the functional entity that processes the first data, thereby reducing the functional complexity of the functional entity that forwards the information associated with the first data.

[0097] In some embodiments, the sixth information may be used to indicate the data type associated with the first data. Because data types and data formats have a certain association, the network device can determine the data format of the first data based on the data type associated with the first data, thereby determining the number of bits occupied by the first data. In this case, the association between the data type and the data format, as well as the number of bits occupied by the data format, can be determined based on protocol predefined information or preconfigured information. Table 1 provides an example of an association between a data type and a data format.

[0098] Table 1

[0099] Referring to Table 1, data type identifiers 1 to n1 are associated with data formats 1 to n1 in a one-to-one correspondence, wherein n1 is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0100] If the network device knows the association between the data type and the data format as shown in Table 1, then the functional entity in the network device can determine the data format of the first data based on the data type associated with the first data indicated by the sixth information and the association in Table 1, thereby demodulating the first data content. Taking the protocol-predefined reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter corresponding to data type identifier 1, and the associated data format 1 indicating that this type of data occupies 8 bits as an example, if the sixth information indicates that the first data is RSRP type data, then the network device can determine that the first data occupies 8 bits, thereby intercepting the subsequent 8-bit decoding to obtain the corresponding RSRP value.

[0101] There may be more than one data format associated with the same data type. For example, the same data type may be associated with two data formats, and these two data formats correspond to different precision requirements of the data type. Therefore, the sixth information can be used to indicate the data type associated with the first data and the data format associated with the first data. When there is more than one data format associated with a data type, the network device can determine the format information of the first data based on the sixth information. It should be noted that the association relationship between the data type and the data format, as well as the number of bits occupied by the data format can be determined based on protocol predefined information or preconfigured information. Table 2 gives an example of the association relationship between another data type and a data format.

[0102] Table 2

[0103] Taking the protocol predefined RSRP parameter corresponding to data type identifier 1, the associated data format 11 indicates that this type of data occupies 8 bits, and the associated data format 12 indicates that this type of data occupies 16 bits as an example, if the sixth information indicates that the first data is RSRP type data and the data format is data format 12, then the network device can determine that the first data occupies 16 bits, and thus intercept the subsequent 16 bits to recover the corresponding RSRP value.

[0104] It should be noted that the protocol can define the association between data types and data formats in an explicit or implicit manner, such as the association shown in Table 1 and Table 2. This application does not limit the way in which the protocol predefines this association.

[0105] The length information of the first data or the data associated with the first data can be statically indicated based on the data type and / or data format associated with the first data. In some embodiments, the sixth information can also dynamically indicate the length information of the first data or the length information of the information associated with the first data. For example, the sixth information can be the length information of the first data, i.e., the number of bits occupied by the first data. A data receiver, such as a network device, can process the first data based on the number of bits occupied by the first data. For another example, the sixth information can be the length information of the information associated with the first data. A data forwarder, such as an RRC protocol layer, can forward the information associated with the first data to a functional entity that processes the first data based on the length information of the information associated with the first data.

[0106] In some embodiments, the first information may include seventh information, where the seventh information is the first data. The target node or functional entity of the first data transmission may decode the first data based on the seventh information. For example, if the target functional entity of the first data transmission is a CU, the CU decodes the first data. If the target functional entity of the first data transmission is an RRC protocol layer, the RRC protocol layer decodes the first data.

[0107] The first information may include one or more types of first data, and each type of first data may need to be processed separately. In this case, after the network device has processed one type of first data, it may need to determine whether it needs to process the next type of first data. Therefore, the first information may include ninth information, which can be used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data has ended. Based on the ninth information, it can be determined whether all the first data included in the first information has been processed. For example, the ninth information can be associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence. Table 3 is an example of first information, wherein the first information shown in Table 3 includes the ninth information.

[0108] Table 3

[0109] Referring to Table 3, the first information includes three types of first data, and each type of first data corresponds to a ninth information. When the ninth information indicates that the transmission of the first data has not ended, that is, "No" in Table 3, the first data included in the first information has not been processed; when the ninth information indicates that the transmission of the first data has ended, that is, "Yes" in Table 3, the first data included in the first information has been processed. As shown in Table 3, the ninth information corresponding to the first type of first data and the second type of first data indicates "No", that is, after the first type of first data and the second type of first data, the first information also includes the first data, that is, the first data in the first information has not been processed; the ninth information corresponding to the third type of first data indicates "Yes", then after processing the third type of first data, the first data included in the first information has been processed, or the transmission of the information associated with the first data has ended.

[0110] If the first information includes multiple types of first data, the multiple types of first data may share the same control information (which may be referred to as first control information) or may use different control information. The control information mentioned here may be information used to process or decode the first data, such as one or more of the fourth information, fifth information, and sixth information mentioned above. In other words, the first control information associated with the first data may be associated with the first data in a one-to-one or one-to-many manner.

[0111] Table 4 is another example of first information, wherein the first control information associated with the first data in the first information shown in Table 4 is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0112] Table 4

[0113] As shown in Table 4, the first type of first data is associated with first control information 1, the second type of first data is associated with first control information 2, and the third type of first data is associated with first control information 3. In this case, before processing each piece of first data (i.e., the seventh information), it is necessary to first confirm the first control data associated with the first data. For example, before processing the first type of first data, it is necessary to first confirm first control information 1 associated with the first type of first data, and before processing the second type of first data, it is necessary to first confirm first control information 2 associated with the second type of first data. It can be seen that the one-to-one correspondence between the first control information associated with the first data helps reduce the decoding complexity of the first data and improves the flexibility of data transmission.

[0114] Table 5 is another example of first information, wherein the first control information associated with the first data in the first information shown in Table 5 is associated with the first data in a one-to-many correspondence.

[0115] Table 5

[0116] As shown in Table 5, the first type of first data, the second type of first data, and the third type of first data are all associated with the first control information 1. That is, the first type of first data, the second type of first data, and the third type of first data share the first control information 1. It can be seen that the first control information associated with the first data has a one-to-many correspondence with the first data, which helps save transmission resources.

[0117] If the first control information associated with the first data is associated with the first data in a one-to-many correspondence, then the association relationship between the first data and the first control information needs to be determined during data processing, that is, which first data is associated with which group of first control information.

[0118] In some embodiments, the multiple types of first data included in the first information may all be associated with the same set of first control information. For example, if no additional indication is provided in the first information, it indicates that the multiple types of first data included in the first information may all be associated with the same set of first control information, which helps save transmission resources. As an example, if the first information includes multiple types of first data but only one set of first control information, it indicates that the multiple types of first data included in the first information may all be associated with the same set of first control information.

[0119] In some embodiments, the various types of first data included in the first information can be associated with different first control information, thereby increasing the flexibility of the data transmission process. For example, the first information can include information indicating whether the transmission of first data using the same set of first control information has ended. For another example, the first information can include eighth information indicating the number of first data that share the same first control information. In this case, the ninth information can be omitted from the first information to conserve resources.

[0120] Table 6 is another example of first information, wherein the first information shown in Table 6 includes eighth information.

[0121] Table 6

[0122] Referring to Table 6, the eighth information associated with the first control information 1 is 3, that is, the number of first data sharing the first control information 1 is 3, that is, the first type of first data, the second type of first data and the third type of first data share the first control information 1.

[0123] The first control information may include one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information and the sixth information.

[0124] If the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the Layer 3 protocol layer, the first information may further include one or more of the following: tenth information, which is any one of information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, information associated with the first data processed by the DU, information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or information associated with the first data not processed by the Layer 3 protocol layer; and eleventh information, which is used to indicate the information length of the tenth information. The tenth and eleventh information are introduced below respectively.

[0125] If the first data is not processed by the CU, the CU needs to forward information associated with the first data, such as information associated with the first data not processed by the CU. If the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, the RRC protocol layer needs to forward information associated with the first data, such as information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer. If the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the layer 3 needs to forward information associated with the first data, such as information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3. Therefore, the first information may include the tenth information, and based on the tenth information, it can be determined that the CU, the RRC protocol layer, or the L3 needs to forward information.

[0126] As previously described, when a functional entity needs to forward information associated with the first data, it can forward it based on the boundaries of the information associated with the first data. This helps avoid data decoding failures caused by erroneous truncation of the first data or the information associated with the first data. It also helps avoid the additional complexity caused by the current functional entity decoding the information associated with the first data used by other functional entities. Therefore, the first information may also include eleventh information indicating the information length of the tenth information. Based on the eleventh information, the data boundaries of the tenth information can be determined.

[0127] In some embodiments, the tenth information may include the first data and / or control information associated with the first data. Forwarding the control information associated with the first data together with the first data to the corresponding functional entity helps avoid the complexity of additional decoding of the control information by the CU, RRC protocol layer, or L3.

[0128] For example, the tenth information may include one or more of the following: twelfth information, used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; thirteenth information, used to indicate a message type associated with the first data; fourteenth information, used to indicate a data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate a data type and a data format corresponding to the first data; fifteenth information, the first data; sixteenth information, used to indicate the quantity of first data that shares the second control information; and seventeenth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data has ended.

[0129] When the data recipient of the tenth information, such as a DU, includes multiple functional entities, the functional entity that processes the first data in the data recipient can be determined based on the twelfth information, such as the functional entity that decodes the control information associated with the first data contained in the tenth information, thereby forwarding the tenth information to the functional entity that processes the first data; the functional entity that uses the first data can also be determined based on the twelfth information, thereby forwarding the first data, or the first data and the decoding result, to the functional entity that uses the first data. As an example, when the first data is not processed by the CU, the CU can first forward the tenth information to the DU or to the functional entity that processes the first data in the DU indicated by the twelfth information. Then, the DU decodes the data and forwards the decoded data to the functional entity that uses the first data in the DU indicated by the twelfth information, or the functional entity indicated by the twelfth information directly decodes and uses the tenth information. The twelfth information can indicate one or more of the following functional entities: DU, RLC, BAP, MAC, PHY, and AI / ML functional entities.

[0130] As mentioned above, different message types may include different parameter types and / or parameter formats, and different parameter types or parameter formats may correspond to different decoding rules. Therefore, the first information may include thirteenth information, and based on the thirteenth information, the parameter type and / or parameter format included in the tenth information can be determined, thereby determining the decoding rule of the tenth information. The correspondence between each message type and the parameter type and / or parameter format, or in other words, the parameter type and / or parameter format included in each type of message, can be determined based on predefined information.

[0131] If the functional entity that processes the first data is different from the functional entity that uses the first data, the functional entity that processes the first data may send the processed first data to the functional entity that uses the first data. In this case, the functional entity that processes the first data sends the decoded first data to the functional entity that uses the first data, for example, the DU decodes the MAC layer configuration and sends it to the MAC protocol layer within the DU for use. Therefore, the tenth information may include the fourteenth information, the data type corresponding to the first data indicated by the fourteenth information, or the data type and data format corresponding to the first data indicated by the fourteenth information. In this manner, the regional center functional entity, for example, the DU, decodes one or more of the above-mentioned thirteenth information, fourteenth information, fifteenth information, sixteenth information and seventeenth information and sends the decoded information to the functional entity that uses the first data.

[0132] If the functional entity that processes the first data is the same as the functional entity that uses the first data, then after the DU receives the information associated with the first data forwarded by the CU, it first determines the target functional entity associated with the first data based on the twelfth information. The DU then forwards the information associated with the first data to the target functional entity associated with the first data. Finally, the target functional entity associated with the first data decodes and uses the first data. In this manner, the regional center functional entity, such as the DU, does not decode the first data of other functional entities, but is instead responsible for forwarding the first data. Ultimately, the target functional entity associated with the first data decodes one or more of the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth information and uses the decoded information.

[0133] There is a certain association between data types and data formats, such as one data type is associated with one data format, or one data type is associated with multiple data formats. If one data type is associated with one data format (as shown in Table 1), the information length of the first data can be determined based on the data type corresponding to the first data indicated by the fourteenth information and the association. If one data type is associated with multiple data formats (as shown in Table 2), the information length of the first data can be determined based on the data type and data format corresponding to the first data indicated by the fourteenth information.

[0134] It should be noted that the association between the data type and the data format, as well as the number of bits occupied by the data format can be determined based on protocol predefined information or preconfigured information.

[0135] In some embodiments, the fourteenth information may be length information of the first data, that is, the number of bits occupied by the first data.

[0136] In some embodiments, the tenth information may include fifteenth information, wherein the fifteenth information is the first data.

[0137] The tenth information may include one or more first data, and each type of first data may need to be processed separately. In this case, after the network device has processed one type of first data, it may need to determine whether the next type of first data needs to be processed. Therefore, the tenth information may include seventeenth information, and the seventeenth information can be used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data has ended. Based on the seventeenth information, it can be determined whether all the first data included in the first information has been processed. For example, the seventeenth information can be associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence. Table 7 is an example of the tenth information, wherein the tenth information shown in Table 7 includes the seventeenth information.

[0138] Table 7

[0139] Referring to Table 7, the tenth information includes three types of first data, each corresponding to one seventeenth information. When the seventeenth information indicates that the transmission of the first data has not yet completed (i.e., "No" in Table 7), the first data included in the tenth information has not been processed. When the seventeenth information indicates that the transmission of the first data has completed (i.e., "Yes" in Table 7), the first data included in the tenth information has been processed. As shown in Table 7, if the seventeenth information corresponding to the third type of first data indicates "Yes", then after processing the third type of first data, the first data included in the tenth information has been processed, or the transmission of the information associated with the first data has been completed.

[0140] If the tenth information includes multiple types of first data, then the multiple types of first data can share the same control information (which can be called second control information) or use different control information. That is, the second control information associated with the first data can be associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence or a one-to-many correspondence. The second control information mentioned here can be information used to process or decode the first data, such as one or more of the twelfth information, thirteenth information, and fourteenth information mentioned above. The one-to-one correspondence between the second control information associated with the first data and the first data helps to improve the flexibility of data transmission, while the one-to-many correspondence between the second control information associated with the first data and the first data helps to save transmission resources.

[0141] Table 8 is another example of the tenth information, wherein the second control information associated with the first data in the tenth information shown in Table 8 is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0142] Table 8

[0143] As shown in Table 8, the first type of first data is associated with second control information 1, the second type of first data is associated with second control information 2, and the third type of first data is associated with second control information 3. In this case, before processing each first data (i.e., the fifteenth information), it is necessary to first confirm the second control data associated with the first data.

[0144] Table 9 is another example of the tenth information, wherein the second control information associated with the first data in the tenth information shown in Table 9 is associated with the first data in a one-to-many correspondence.

[0145] Table 9

[0146] As shown in Table 9, the first type of first data, the second type of first data, and the third type of first data are all associated with the second control information 1. That is, the first type of first data, the second type of first data, and the third type of first data share the second control information 1. It can be seen that the second control information associated with the first data has a one-to-many correspondence with the first data, which helps save transmission resources.

[0147] If the second control information associated with the first data is associated with the first data in a one-to-many correspondence, then the association relationship between the first data and the second control information needs to be determined during data processing, that is, which first data is associated with which group of second control information.

[0148] In some embodiments, the multiple types of first data included in the tenth information may all be associated with the same set of second control information. For example, if no additional indication is provided in the tenth information, it indicates that the multiple types of first data included in the tenth information may all be associated with the same set of second control information, which helps save transmission resources. As an example, if the tenth information includes multiple types of first data but only one set of second control information, it indicates that the multiple types of first data included in the tenth information may all be associated with the same set of second control information.

[0149] In some embodiments, the various first data included in the tenth information may be associated with different second control information, thereby helping to improve the flexibility of the data transmission process.

[0150] For example, the tenth information may include information indicating whether transmission of first data using the same set of second control information has ended. As an example, each type of first data may be associated with one indication information, which indicates whether transmission of the first data using the same set of second control information has ended. Alternatively, only the last set of first data using the same set of second control information may be associated with one indication information, which indicates the end of transmission of the first data using the same set of second control information, thereby saving transmission resources.

[0151] For another example, the tenth information may include sixteenth information, indicating the amount of first data that shares the second control information. The second control information may include one or more of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth information. In this case, the seventeenth information may be omitted from the tenth information to conserve resources.

[0152] Table 10 is another example of the tenth information, wherein the tenth information shown in Table 10 includes the sixteenth information.

[0153] Table 10

[0154] Referring to Table 10, the sixteenth information associated with the second control information 1 is 2, that is, the number of first data sharing the second control information 1 is 2, that is, the first type of first data and the second type of first data share the second control information 1.

[0155] From the above analysis, it can be seen that the data transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application helps to sink the data centralized processing process in the network device, such as the data centralized processing process of the CU, to multiple functional entities, thereby helping to save CU resources and avoid excessive complexity in CU function development, thereby contributing to the healthy operation of the system.

[0156] Second information

[0157] The second information may be associated with second data, where the second data is data that needs to be forwarded by the network device. The second information may include one or more of the following: eighteenth information indicating information associated with a transmission path for the second data; nineteenth information indicating QoS information associated with the second data; twentieth information indicating the length of the second data; twenty-first information representing the second data; twenty-second information indicating the amount of second data that shares the third control information; and twenty-third information indicating whether transmission of the second data has ended.

[0158] The second data is data that needs to be forwarded by the network device but does not need to be processed by the access network device. Therefore, in order for the network device to successfully complete the data forwarding task, the second information may include the eighteenth information, that is, the information associated with the transmission path of the second data. In some embodiments, the eighteenth information may include the transmission path of the second data. For example, the transmission path of the second data is sent from the terminal device to the network device, sent by the network device to the AMF, and then sent by the AMF to the network element A of the core network. In some embodiments, the eighteenth information may include the intermediate node (also referred to as the forwarding node) for transmitting the second data and / or the target node (also referred to as the transmission termination point) for transmitting the second data. For example, the second data forwarding node can transmit the data to the final destination based on at least the target node. In this way, the transmission path of the second data can be selected based on the intermediate node and / or the target node, avoiding binding the second data to a fixed path, helping to improve the flexibility of the data transmission path, and helping to increase the robustness of information transmission.

[0159] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information may indicate the target node and / or the intermediate node through one or more of the following: node category information; node identification information; and node address information.

[0160] The node identifier is to assist in information transmission routing, and each node identifier can point to a functional node. In order to achieve flexible data transmission, the communication system can uniformly number multiple functional nodes, and each number value corresponds to a node identifier. For example, the functional nodes include one or more of the following: location management function (LMF) network element, network slice selection function, authentication server function, unified data management, access and mobility management function, session management function, policy control function, user plane function, sensing control function (SF), network data analysis network element, AI function management entity, operation administration and maintenance function entity (OAM), OTT (over the top) server.

[0161] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information may indicate the target node and / or intermediate node through node identification information. For example, the eighteenth information may be an overall information field, that is, the eighteenth information does not distinguish sub-information fields. For example, '1111' is used to indicate an AMF function node, '1110' is used to indicate an LMF function node, '1101' is used to indicate an NWDAF function node, '1100' is used to indicate an OAM function node, '1011' is used to indicate an AI function management entity node, '1010' is used to indicate an OTT server node, etc.

[0162] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information may indicate the target node and / or intermediate node through node category information and node identification information. For example, the eighteenth information may include at least two information fields. For example, the eighteenth information may include information field M and information field N, wherein information field M is used to indicate the node category (for example, the category includes core network node category, network management node category, server node category), and information field N is used to indicate a specific functional node under the same node category (for example, LMF node under the core network node category, data collection node under the network management node category, server A under the server node category).

[0163] Node address information can assist in the information transmission process. For example, the second information can be transmitted to the target node based on the target node's address information. The association between the node and the corresponding node address information is predefined or preconfigured. The node address information can be obtained through the protocol default method or obtained from the core network device during the terminal device registration process.

[0164] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information may directly indicate address information of the target node and / or the intermediate node.

[0165] Based on the information associated with the transmission path of the second data, one or more transmission paths for the second data may be determined. If the determination result includes only one transmission path for the second data, the second data is transmitted based on that transmission path. If the determination result includes multiple transmission paths for the second data, a transmission path for the second data may be randomly selected or selected in combination with other information.

[0166] For example, the transmission path for the second data may be selected based on the congestion level or idleness level of the transmission path, such as selecting an idle transmission path or a transmission path with less congestion to transmit the second data, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0167] For example, the transmission path of the second data can be determined based at least on the QoS information associated with the second data. For example, the data transmission QoS requirements associated with the second data will assist the network device in determining which transmission paths better meet the data forwarding requirements, thereby filtering out some data transmission paths that do not meet the data forwarding requirements.

[0168] Based on this, the second information may include nineteenth information for indicating quality of service (QoS) information associated with the second data, such as QoS requirement information for the second data transmission. The QoS information associated with the second data may include one or more of the following: data bit error rate; data packet delay; data packet loss rate; and data priority.

[0169] As an example, the first transmission path, the second transmission path, and the third transmission path can all be used to transmit second data, wherein the first transmission path preferentially forwards data with data priorities of 1 and 2, the second transmission path preferentially forwards data with data priorities of 3 and 4, and the third transmission path forwards data with remaining data priorities. During a data forwarding process, if the data priority associated with the second data is 3, the network device preferentially forwards this type of second data through the second path.

[0170] As another example, the transmission path of the second data can be determined based on QoS information associated with the second data and other information, such as the congestion level of the transmission path. For example, if both the first and second transmission paths can be used to transmit the second data, the first transmission path prioritizes forwarding data with data priorities of 1 and 2, while the second transmission path prioritizes forwarding data with data priorities of 3 and 4. If the priority of the second data is 2, and the first transmission path is congested and the second transmission path is idle, the second transmission path can be used to transmit the second data.

[0171] The data priority level may be associated with the QoS requirement of data transmission. Therefore, in some embodiments, the nineteenth information may also directly indicate the priority level of the second data.

[0172] In some embodiments, the second information may include twenty-first information, ie, second data.

[0173] In some embodiments, the network device may forward the second data or information associated with the second data. For example, the network device may decode the entire second information and forward the decoded second data to a target node or a data forwarding intermediate node associated with the second data. In another example, the network device may decode only part of the second information, such as information associated with the transmission path of the second data (e.g., next node information), and then forward information associated with the second data, such as other information in the second information, to the next node.

[0174] Therefore, the second information may include twentieth information for indicating the length of the second data and / or the length of information associated with the second data. The network device may determine the boundary of the second data and / or the information associated with the second data based on the twentieth information, thereby correctly forwarding the second data or the information associated with the second data, thereby improving information encapsulation.

[0175] The second information may include one or more types of second data, and each type of second data may need to be processed separately. In this case, after processing one type of second data, it may be necessary to determine whether the next type of second data needs to be processed. Therefore, the second information may include twenty-third information, and the twenty-third information may be used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data has ended. Based on the twenty-third information, it can be determined whether all the second data included in the second information has been processed. For example, the twenty-third information can be associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence. Table 11 is an example of second information, wherein the second information shown in Table 11 includes the twenty-third information.

[0176] Table 11

[0177] As shown in Table 11, the second information includes three types of second data, each type of second data corresponds to a piece of twenty-third information. When the twenty-third information indicates that the transmission of the second data has not yet been completed, that is, "No" in Table 11, the second data included in the second information has not been processed. When the twenty-third information indicates that the transmission of the second data has been completed, that is, "Yes" in Table 11, the second data included in the second information has been processed.

[0178] If the second information includes multiple types of second data, then the multiple types of second data can share the same control information (which can be called third control information) or use different control information. That is, the third control information associated with the second data can be associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence or a one-to-many correspondence. The third control information mentioned here can be information used to process or decode the second data, such as one or more of the eighteenth information, nineteenth information, and twentieth information mentioned above. The third control information associated with the second data is associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence, which helps to improve the flexibility of data transmission, while the third control information associated with the second data is associated with the second data in a one-to-many correspondence, which helps to save transmission resources.

[0179] Table 12 is another example of second information, wherein the third control information associated with the second data in the second information shown in Table 12 is associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0180] Table 12

[0181] As shown in Table 12, the first type of second data is associated with third control information 1, the second type of second data is associated with third control information 2, and the third type of second data is associated with third control information 3. In this case, before processing each second data (i.e., the 21st information), it is necessary to first confirm the third control data associated with the second data.

[0182] Table 13 is another example of second information, wherein the third control information associated with the second data in the second information shown in Table 13 is associated with the second data in a one-to-many correspondence.

[0183] Table 13

[0184] As shown in Table 13, the first, second, and third types of second data are all associated with third control information 1. That is, the first, second, and third types of second data share third control information 1. As can be seen, the third control information associated with the second data has a one-to-many correspondence with the second data, which helps save transmission resources.

[0185] If the third control information associated with the second data is associated with the second data in a one-to-many correspondence, the association relationship between the second data and the third control information needs to be determined during data processing, that is, which second data is associated with which group of third control information.

[0186] In some embodiments, the multiple types of second data included in the second information may all be associated with the same set of third control information. For example, the absence of an additional indication in the second information indicates that the multiple types of second data included in the second information may all be associated with the same set of third control information, which helps conserve transmission resources. As an example, if the second information includes multiple types of second data but only one set of third control information, then the multiple types of second data included in the second information may all be associated with the same set of third control information.

[0187] In some embodiments, the various second data included in the second information may be associated with different third control information, thereby helping to improve the flexibility of the data transmission process.

[0188] For example, the second information may include information indicating whether transmission of second data using the same set of third control information has ended. As an example, each type of second data may be associated with one indication information, which indicates whether transmission of the second data using the same set of third control information has ended. Alternatively, only the last type of second data using the same set of third control information may be associated with one indication information, which indicates the end of transmission of the second data using the same set of third control information, thereby saving transmission resources.

[0189] For another example, the second information may include information 22, indicating the amount of second data that shares the third control information. The third control information may include one or more of the aforementioned information 18, information 19, and information 20. In this case, information 23 may be omitted from the second information to conserve resources.

[0190] Table 14 is another example of second information, wherein the second information shown in Table 14 includes twenty-second information.

[0191] Table 14

[0192] Referring to Table 14, the twenty-second information associated with the third control information 1 is 2, that is, the number of second data sharing the third control information 1 is 2, that is, the first type of second data and the second type of second data share the third control information 1.

[0193] As mentioned above, the first information and the second information can be carried in different information fields included in the twenty-fourth information. In some embodiments, the twenty-fourth information may include one or more of the following: twenty-fifth information indicating whether the twenty-fourth information includes the first information or first data; twenty-sixth information indicating whether the twenty-fourth information includes the second information or second data; and twenty-seventh information indicating whether the currently processed data is the first information or the second information, or indicating whether the currently processed data is the first data or the second data.

[0194] The twenty-fifth information can be understood as switch indication information for processing the first information or first data related information. If the twenty-fifth information indicates that the twenty-fourth information does not contain the first information or first data, the network device does not need to process the first information or first data related information; if the twenty-fifth information indicates that the twenty-fourth information contains the first information or first data, the network device needs to process the first information or first data related information.

[0195] In some embodiments, the twenty-fifth information is defined in an explicit manner. For example, the twenty-fourth information definition explicitly includes a twenty-fifth information parameter. The value of the twenty-fifth information determines whether the first information or first data related information needs to be processed.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first information or first data-related information in the twenty-fourth information definition is an optional parameter. An additional bit (such as a parameter annotation) in the optional parameter definition determines whether the associated first information or first data-related information appears. In this case, the twenty-fifth information can be implicitly expressed using this additional bit, thereby saving parameter resources.

[0197] Accordingly, the twenty-sixth information can be understood as switch indication information for processing the second information or second data related information. If the twenty-sixth information indicates that the twenty-fourth information does not include the second information or second data, the network device does not need to process the second information or second data related information; if the twenty-sixth information indicates that the twenty-fourth information includes the second information or second data, the network device needs to process the second information or second data related information.

[0198] In some embodiments, the twenty-sixth information is defined in an explicit manner. For example, the twenty-fourth information definition explicitly includes a twenty-sixth information parameter. The value of the twenty-sixth information determines whether the second information or second data-related information needs to be processed.

[0199] In some embodiments, the second information or second data-related information in the twenty-fourth information definition is an optional parameter. An additional bit (such as a parameter annotation) in the optional parameter definition determines whether the associated second information or second data-related information appears. In this case, the twenty-sixth information can be implicitly expressed using this additional bit, thereby saving parameter resources.

[0200] During a data transmission process, the twenty-fourth information may include only the first information, only the second information, or both the first information and the second information. Therefore, the twenty-fourth information may include the twenty-seventh information, indicating whether the currently processed data is the first information or the second information, or indicating whether the currently processed data is the first data or the second data. For example, each type of information may be associated with the twenty-seventh information in a one-to-one correspondence, e.g., each type of first information may be associated with one piece of twenty-seventh information, and each type of second information may be associated with one piece of twenty-seventh information.

[0201] Table 15 is an example of the twenty-fourth information, wherein the first information and / or the second information in the twenty-fourth information shown in Table 15 is associated with the twenty-seventh information in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0202] Table 15

[0203] As shown in Table 15, the first "27th information" indicates that the data being processed is the first information. The second "27th information" indicates that the data being processed is the second information. The third "27th information" indicates that the data being processed is the first information. Furthermore, each type of first information or second information is associated with a corresponding "27th information."

[0204] It should be noted that the positions of the multiple information in the 24th information shown in Table 15 are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not limited in this application. For example, the positions of the 27th information and the associated first information or second information can be swapped, that is, the 27th information can be located after the first information or after the second information.

[0205] It should be noted that the examples of the first information, second information, tenth information, and twenty-fourth information given in the embodiments of the present application (such as Tables 3 to 15) are only for ease of understanding, and the above information may include less or more information than given in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the first information in Table 3 may also include the sixth information mentioned above, as shown in Table 16.

[0206] Table 16

[0207] The embodiment of the present application unbinds the data to be transmitted from the data transmission path, that is, focuses on the transmitted data itself and the data transmission endpoint, and does not strictly limit the intermediate process of data transmission. In the information transmission dynamic routing mechanism introduced in the embodiment of the present application, the network device can decide how to route the data to be transmitted based on the dynamic and flexible instruction information sent by the terminal device (such as the identification information and / or address information of the node), thereby realizing a flexible data transmission path, avoiding binding the information to be transmitted with a fixed message or transmission path, and increasing the information transmission robustness of the network device. At the same time, the flexible data transmission path helps to reduce the workload when the standard introduces new transmission information.

[0208] Furthermore, in embodiments of the present application, data transmission intermediate nodes can simply forward data without decoding the data to be forwarded. Instead, the destination node decodes the corresponding data, achieving efficient encapsulation of transmitted information. For example, a network device can determine the amount of data to forward based on the data length indication sent by a terminal device, avoiding decoding of unused information, thereby simplifying the functionality of the RRC protocol layer.

[0209] In some embodiments, any of the information mentioned above can be carried by any of the following message types, or any of the messages mentioned above can be any of the following messages: NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) message, long-term evolution positioning protocol (LTE positioning protocol, LPP) message, non-access stratum (NAS) message, radio resource control protocol (RRC) message, media access control control element (MAC CE) message, downlink control information (DCI) message, uplink control information (UCI) message, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) message, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) message, inter-node message, Xn interface message, F1 interface message, E1 interface message, NG interface message, core network service architecture-based message or AI dedicated message.

[0210] In some embodiments, any of the information mentioned above can be carried by any of the following message types, or any of the messages mentioned above can be any of the following messages: unicast message, multicast message or broadcast message. Among them, the source can transmit unicast messages through a unicast channel, and only terminal devices that are allocated corresponding unicast resources can attempt to receive the unicast message. Unicast messages can also be called dedicated signaling. The source can transmit multicast messages through a multicast channel, and terminal devices that are within the coverage of the multicast signal and are group members can attempt to receive the multicast message. When a terminal device joins a group, it will obtain multicast channel-related resources. The source can transmit broadcast messages through a broadcast channel, and any terminal device within the coverage of the broadcast signal can attempt to receive the broadcast message.

[0211] The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2. The device embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 3 to 5. It should be understood that the description of the method embodiment corresponds to the description of the device embodiment. Therefore, for parts not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiment.

[0212] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 300 may include a sending unit 310.

[0213] The sending unit 310 is used to send first information and / or second information to the network device, where the first information is associated with first data and the second information is associated with second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

[0214] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information are associated with different message types.

[0215] In some embodiments, the different transmission resources include one or more of the following: different logical channels; different signaling radio bearers (SRBs); and different radio bearers (RBs).

[0216] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields contained in the same information.

[0217] In some embodiments, the first information includes third information, and the third information is used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by a centralized unit CU; whether the first data is processed by a distributed unit DU; whether the first data is processed by a radio resource control RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-layer 3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by a layer 3 protocol layer.

[0218] In some embodiments, if the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: fourth information, used to indicate the functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; fifth information, used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; sixth information, used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; seventh information, the first data; eighth information, used to indicate the quantity of the first data that shares the first control information; and ninth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first control information includes one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the sixth information.

[0220] In some embodiments, the ninth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0221] In some embodiments, if the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: tenth information, which is any one of information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, information associated with the first data processed by the DU, information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer; and eleventh information, used to indicate the information length of the tenth information.

[0222] In some embodiments, the tenth information includes one or more of the following: twelfth information, used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; thirteenth information, used to indicate a message type associated with the first data; fourteenth information, used to indicate a data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate a data type and a data format corresponding to the first data; fifteenth information, the first data; sixteenth information, used to indicate a quantity of the first data that shares the second control information; and seventeenth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

[0223] In some embodiments, the second control information includes one or more of the twelfth information, the thirteenth information, and the fourteenth information.

[0224] In some embodiments, the seventeenth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0225] In some embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following: eighteenth information, used to indicate information associated with the transmission path of the second data; nineteenth information, used to indicate quality of service QoS information associated with the second data; twentieth information, used to indicate the length of the second data; twenty-first information, which is the second data; twenty-second information, used to indicate the number of the second data sharing the third control information; and twenty-third information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data has ended.

[0226] In some embodiments, the third control information includes one or more of the eighteenth information, the nineteenth information, and the twentieth information.

[0227] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information is used to indicate a target node for transmitting the second data and / or an intermediate node for transmitting the second data.

[0228] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information indicates the target node and / or the intermediate node through one or more of the following: node category information; node identification information; and node address information.

[0229] In some embodiments, the transmission path of the second data is determined based at least on QoS information associated with the second data.

[0230] In some embodiments, the QoS information associated with the second data includes one or more of the following: data bit error rate; data packet delay; data packet loss rate; and data priority level.

[0231] In some embodiments, the twenty-third information is associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0232] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are carried in different information domains contained in the twenty-fourth information, and the twenty-fourth information includes one or more of the following: twenty-fifth information, used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the first information; twenty-sixth information, used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the second information; and twenty-seventh information, used to indicate that the data currently being processed is the first information or the second information.

[0233] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device 400 may include a receiving unit 410 .

[0234] The receiving unit 410 is used to receive the first information and / or second information sent by the terminal device, where the first information is associated with the first data and the second information is associated with the second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

[0235] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information are associated with different message types.

[0236] In some embodiments, the different transmission resources include one or more of the following: different logical channels; different signaling radio bearers (SRBs); and different radio bearers (RBs).

[0237] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields contained in the same information.

[0238] In some embodiments, the first information includes third information, and the third information is used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by a centralized unit CU; whether the first data is processed by a distributed unit DU; whether the first data is processed by a radio resource control RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-layer 3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by a layer 3 protocol layer.

[0239] In some embodiments, if the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: fourth information, used to indicate the functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; fifth information, used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; sixth information, used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; seventh information, the first data; eighth information, used to indicate the quantity of the first data that shares the first control information; and ninth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

[0240] In some embodiments, the first control information includes one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the sixth information.

[0241] In some embodiments, the ninth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0242] In some embodiments, if the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: tenth information, which is any one of information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, information associated with the first data processed by the DU, information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer; and eleventh information, used to indicate the information length of the tenth information.

[0243] In some embodiments, the tenth information includes one or more of the following: twelfth information, used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; thirteenth information, used to indicate a message type associated with the first data; fourteenth information, used to indicate a data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate a data type and a data format corresponding to the first data; fifteenth information, the first data; sixteenth information, used to indicate a quantity of the first data that shares the second control information; and seventeenth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

[0244] In some embodiments, the second control information includes one or more of the twelfth information, the thirteenth information, and the fourteenth information.

[0245] In some embodiments, the seventeenth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second information includes one or more of the following: eighteenth information, used to indicate information associated with the transmission path of the second data; nineteenth information, used to indicate quality of service QoS information associated with the second data; twentieth information, used to indicate the length of the second data; twenty-first information, which is the second data; twenty-second information, used to indicate the number of the second data sharing the third control information; and twenty-third information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data has ended.

[0247] In some embodiments, the third control information includes one or more of the eighteenth information, the nineteenth information, and the twentieth information.

[0248] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information is used to indicate a target node for transmitting the second data and / or an intermediate node for transmitting the second data.

[0249] In some embodiments, the eighteenth information indicates the target node and / or the intermediate node through one or more of the following: node category information; node identification information; and node address information.

[0250] In some embodiments, the transmission path of the second data is determined based at least on QoS information associated with the second data.

[0251] In some embodiments, the QoS information associated with the second data includes one or more of the following: data bit error rate; data packet delay; data packet loss rate; and data priority level.

[0252] In some embodiments, the twenty-third information is associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0253] In some embodiments, the first information and the second information are carried in different information domains contained in the twenty-fourth information, and the twenty-fourth information includes one or more of the following: twenty-fifth information, used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the first information; twenty-sixth information, used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the second information; and twenty-seventh information, used to indicate that the data currently being processed is the first information or the second information.

[0254] In an optional embodiment, the transmitting unit 310 and the receiving unit 410 described above may be a transceiver 530. The terminal device 300 and the network device 400 may further include a processor 510 and a memory 520, as specifically shown in FIG5 .

[0255] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed lines in Figure 5 indicate that the unit or module is optional. The device 500 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The device 500 may be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0256] The device 500 may include one or more processors 510. The processor 510 may support the device 500 to implement the method described in the method embodiment above. The processor 510 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0257] The apparatus 500 may further include one or more memories 520. The memories 520 store programs that can be executed by the processor 510, causing the processor 510 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 520 may be independent of the processor 510 or integrated into the processor 510.

[0258] The apparatus 500 may further include a transceiver 530. The processor 510 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 530. For example, the processor 510 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 530.

[0259] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal or network device provided in the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0260] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to a terminal or network device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0261] The present application also provides a computer program that can be applied to a terminal device or network device provided in the present application, and enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0262] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0263] In the embodiments of this application, the term "indication" may refer to a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" may refer to a direct indication of B, e.g., B can obtain information through A; it may refer to an indirect indication of B, e.g., A indicates C, e.g., B can obtain information through C; or it may refer to an association between A and B.

[0264] In the embodiments of this application, the term "include" can refer to direct inclusion or indirect inclusion. Alternatively, the term "include" in the embodiments of this application can be replaced with "indicates" or "is used to determine." For example, "A includes B" can be replaced with "A indicates B" or "A is used to determine B."

[0265] In the embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0266] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0267] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device and a network device). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-definition may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0268] In the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the communications field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0269] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0270] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0271] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that 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.

[0272] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0273] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0274] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, 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 described in 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 device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0275] 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 this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, characterized in that, it includes: A terminal device sends first information and / or second information to a network device, where the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data. Among them, the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first information and the second information are associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information are associated with different message types.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, the different transmission resources include one or more of the following: different logical channels; different signaling radio bearers (SRBs); and different radio bearers (RBs).

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the same information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, the first information includes third information, and the third information is used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by a central unit (CU); whether the first data is processed by a distributed unit (DU); whether the first data is processed by a radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-layer 3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by a layer 3 protocol layer.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, when the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: fourth information, used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; fifth information, used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; sixth information, used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; seventh information, which is the first data; eighth information, used to indicate the quantity of the first data sharing the first control information; and ninth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is ended.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, the first control information includes one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the sixth information.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, the ninth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

9. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, when the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: The tenth information is any one of the information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, the information associated with the first data processed by the DU, the information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer; And The eleventh information is used to indicate the information length of the tenth information.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The tenth information includes one or more of the following: The twelfth information is used to indicate the functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; The thirteenth information is used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; The fourteenth information is used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or is used to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; The fifteenth information is the first data; The sixteenth information is used to indicate the quantity of the first data sharing the second control information; And The seventeenth information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The second control information includes one or more of the twelfth information, the thirteenth information, and the fourteenth information.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, The seventeenth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein, The second information includes one or more of the following: The eighteenth information is used to indicate the information associated with the transmission path of the second data; The nineteenth information is used to indicate the quality of service QoS information associated with the second data; The twentieth information is used to indicate the length of the second data; The twenty-first information is the second data; The twenty-second information is used to indicate the quantity of the second data sharing the third control information; And The twenty-third information is used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data is completed.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The third control information includes one or more of the eighteenth information, the nineteenth information, and the twentieth information.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein, The eighteenth information is used to indicate the target node for transmitting the second data and / or the intermediate node for transmitting the second data.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The eighteenth information indicates the target node and / or the intermediate node through one or more of the following: Node category information; Node identification information; and Node address information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13-16, wherein, The transmission path of the second data is determined at least based on the QoS information associated with the second data.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, The QoS information associated with the second data includes one or more of the following: Data error rate; Packet delay; Data packet loss rate; and Data priority level.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13-18, wherein, the twenty-third information is in one-to-one correspondence and association with the second data.

20. The method according to any one of claims 4-19, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the twenty-fourth information, and the twenty-fourth information includes one or more of the following: the twenty-fifth information, which is used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the first information; the twenty-sixth information, which is used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the second information; and the twenty-seventh information, which is used to indicate that the data being currently processed is the first information or the second information.

21. A data transmission method, wherein, it includes: A network device receives the first information and / or the second information sent by a terminal device, the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data, wherein the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein, the first information and the second information are associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information are associated with different message types.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, the different transmission resources include one or more of the following: different logical channels; different signaling radio bearers (SRBs); and different radio bearers (RBs).

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the same information.

25. The method according to any one of claims 21-24, wherein, the first information includes third information, and the third information is used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by a central unit (CU); whether the first data is processed by a distributed unit (DU); whether the first data is processed by a radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-layer 3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by a layer 3 protocol layer.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein, when the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: fourth information, which is used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; fifth information, which is used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; sixth information, which is used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or is used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data and the data format; seventh information, which is the first data; eighth information, which is used to indicate the quantity of the first data sharing the first control information; and The ninth piece of information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein, the first control information includes one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the sixth information.

28. The method according to claim 26 or 27, wherein, the ninth piece of information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

29. The method according to claim 25, wherein, when the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: The tenth piece of information, which is information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, information associated with the first data processed by the DU, information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer; and The eleventh piece of information, used to indicate the information length of the tenth piece of information.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein, the tenth piece of information includes one or more of the following: The twelfth piece of information, used to indicate the functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; The thirteenth piece of information, used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; The fourteenth piece of information, used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; The fifteenth piece of information, which is the first data; The sixteenth piece of information, used to indicate the quantity of the first data sharing the second control information; and The seventeenth piece of information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein, the second control information includes one or more of the twelfth information, the thirteenth information, and the fourteenth information.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein, the seventeenth piece of information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

33. The method according to any one of claims 21 - 32, wherein, the second information includes one or more of the following: The eighteenth piece of information, used to indicate information associated with the transmission path of the second data; The nineteenth piece of information, used to indicate the quality of service (QoS) information associated with the second data; The twentieth piece of information, used to indicate the length of the second data; The twenty-first piece of information, which is the second data; The twenty-second piece of information, used to indicate the quantity of the second data sharing the third control information; and The twenty-third piece of information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data is completed.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein, the third control information includes one or more of the eighteenth information, the nineteenth information, and the twentieth information.

35. The method according to claim 33 or 34, wherein, The eighteenth information is used to indicate the target node for transmitting the second data and / or the intermediate node for transmitting the second data.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein, the eighteenth information indicates the target node and / or the intermediate node by one or more of the following: node category information; node identification information; and node address information.

37. The method according to any one of claims 33-36, wherein, the transmission path of the second data is determined at least based on the QoS information associated with the second data.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein, the QoS information associated with the second data includes one or more of the following: data error rate; packet delay; data packet loss rate; and data priority level.

39. The method according to any one of claims 33-38, wherein, the twenty-third information is associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence.

40. The method according to any one of claims 24-39, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the twenty-fourth information, and the twenty-fourth information includes one or more of the following: twenty-fifth information, used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the first information; twenty-sixth information, used to indicate whether the twenty-fourth information includes the second information; and twenty-seventh information, used to indicate that the data being currently processed is the first information or the second information.

41. A terminal device, wherein, comprising: a sending unit, configured to send the first information and / or the second information to a network device, where the first information is associated with first data, and the second information is associated with second data, wherein, the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

42. The device according to claim 41, wherein, the first information and the second information are associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information are associated with different message types.

43. The device according to claim 42, wherein, the different transmission resources include one or more of the following: different logical channels; different signaling radio bearers (SRBs); and different radio bearers (RBs).

44. The device according to claim 41, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the same information.

45. The device according to any one of claims 41-44, wherein, the first information includes third information, and the third information is used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by a central unit (CU); whether the first data is processed by a distributed unit (DU); whether the first data is processed by a radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-layer 3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by a layer 3 protocol layer.

46. The device according to claim 45, wherein, when the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: Fourth information, for indicating the functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; Fifth information, for indicating the message type associated with the first data; Sixth information, for indicating the data type corresponding to the first data, or for indicating the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; Seventh information, being the first data; Eighth information, for indicating the quantity of the first data sharing the first control information; and Ninth information, for indicating whether the transmission of the first data is ended.

47. The device according to claim 46, wherein, the first control information includes one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the sixth information.

48. The device according to claim 46 or 47, wherein, the ninth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

49. The device according to claim 45, wherein, when the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: Tenth information, being any one of the information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, the information associated with the first data processed by the DU, the information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer; and Eleventh information, for indicating the information length of the tenth information.

50. The device according to claim 49, wherein, the tenth information includes one or more of the following: Twelfth information, for indicating the functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; Thirteenth information, for indicating the message type associated with the first data; Fourteenth information, for indicating the data type corresponding to the first data, or for indicating the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; Fifteenth information, being the first data; Sixteenth information, for indicating the quantity of the first data sharing the second control information; and Seventeenth information, for indicating whether the transmission of the first data is ended.

51. The device according to claim 50, wherein, the second control information includes one or more of the twelfth information, the thirteenth information, and the fourteenth information.

52. The device according to claim 50 or 51, wherein, the seventeenth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

53. The device according to any one of claims 41 - 52, wherein, the second information includes one or more of the following: The eighteenth information, which is used to indicate the information associated with the transmission path of the second data; The nineteenth information, which is used to indicate the quality of service (QoS) information associated with the second data; The twentieth information, which is used to indicate the length of the second data; The twenty - first information, which is the second data; The twenty - second information, which is used to indicate the quantity of the second data sharing the third control information; And The twenty - third information, which is used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data is completed.

54. The device according to claim 53, wherein, the third control information includes one or more of the eighteenth information, the nineteenth information, and the twentieth information.

55. The device according to claim 53 or 54, wherein, the eighteenth information is used to indicate the target node for transmitting the second data and / or the intermediate node for transmitting the second data.

56. The device according to claim 55, wherein, the eighteenth information indicates the target node and / or the intermediate node through one or more of the following: Node category information; Node identification information; and Node address information.

57. The device according to any one of claims 53 - 56, wherein, the transmission path of the second data is determined at least based on the QoS information associated with the second data.

58. The device according to claim 57, wherein, the QoS information associated with the second data includes one or more of the following: Data error rate; Packet delay; Data packet loss rate; and Data priority level.

59. The device according to any one of claims 53 - 58, wherein, the twenty - third information is associated with the second data in a one - to - one correspondence.

60. The device according to any one of claims 44 - 59, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the twenty - fourth information, and the twenty - fourth information includes one or more of the following: The twenty - fifth information, which is used to indicate whether the twenty - fourth information includes the first information; The twenty - sixth information, which is used to indicate whether the twenty - fourth information includes the second information; And The twenty - seventh information, which is used to indicate that the data being currently processed is the first information or the second information.

61. A network device, wherein, it includes: A receiving unit, which is used to receive the first information and / or the second information sent by a terminal device, the first information is associated with first data, the second information is associated with second data, wherein, the first data is processed by the network device, and the second data is forwarded by the network device.

62. The device according to claim 61, wherein, the first information and the second information are associated with different transmission resources, and / or the first information and the second information are associated with different message types.

63. The device according to claim 62, wherein, the different transmission resources include one or more of the following: Different logical channels; Different signaling radio bearers (SRBs); and Different radio bearers (RBs).

64. The device according to claim 61, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the same information.

65. The device according to any one of claims 61-64, wherein, the first information includes third information, and the third information is used to indicate any one of the following: whether the first data is processed by a central unit CU; whether the first data is processed by a distributed unit DU; whether the first data is processed by a radio resource control RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-RRC protocol layer; whether the first data is processed by a non-layer 3 protocol layer; or whether the first data is processed by a layer 3 protocol layer.

66. The device according to claim 65, wherein, when the third information indicates that the first data is processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: fourth information, used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; fifth information, used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; sixth information, used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or used to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; seventh information, which is the first data; eighth information, used to indicate the quantity of the first data sharing the first control information; and ninth information, used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data ends.

67. The device according to claim 66, wherein, the first control information includes one or more of the fourth information, the fifth information, and the sixth information.

68. The device according to claim 66 or 67, wherein, the ninth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

69. The device according to claim 65, wherein, when the third information indicates that the first data is not processed by the CU, or the first data is processed by the DU, or the first data is not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or the first data is not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer, the first information includes one or more of the following: tenth information, which is information associated with the first data not processed by the CU, information associated with the first data processed by the DU, information associated with the first data not processed by the RRC protocol layer, or information associated with the first data not processed by the layer 3 protocol layer; and eleventh information, used to indicate the information length of the tenth information.

70. The device according to claim 69, wherein, the tenth information includes one or more of the following: twelfth information, used to indicate a functional entity that processes and / or uses the first data; thirteenth information, used to indicate the message type associated with the first data; The fourteenth information, which is used to indicate the data type corresponding to the first data, or to indicate the data type and data format corresponding to the first data; The fifteenth information, which is the first data; The sixteenth information, which is used to indicate the quantity of the first data sharing the second control information; And The seventeenth information, which is used to indicate whether the transmission of the first data is completed.

71. The device according to claim 70, wherein, the second control information includes one or more of the twelfth information, the thirteenth information, and the fourteenth information.

72. The device according to claim 70 or 71, wherein, the seventeenth information is associated with the first data in a one-to-one correspondence.

73. The device according to any one of claims 61 - 72, wherein, the second information includes one or more of the following: The eighteenth information, which is used to indicate the information associated with the transmission path of the second data; The nineteenth information, which is used to indicate the quality of service (QoS) information associated with the second data; The twentieth information, which is used to indicate the length of the second data; The twenty - first information, which is the second data; The twenty - second information, which is used to indicate the quantity of the second data sharing the third control information; And The twenty - third information, which is used to indicate whether the transmission of the second data is completed.

74. The device according to claim 73, wherein, the third control information includes one or more of the eighteenth information, the nineteenth information, and the twentieth information.

75. The device according to claim 73 or 74, wherein, the eighteenth information is used to indicate the destination node for transmitting the second data and / or the intermediate node for transmitting the second data.

76. The device according to claim 75, wherein, the eighteenth information indicates the destination node and / or the intermediate node through one or more of the following: Node category information; Node identification information; and Node address information.

77. The device according to any one of claims 73 - 76, wherein, the transmission path of the second data is determined at least based on the QoS information associated with the second data.

78. The device according to claim 77, wherein, the QoS information associated with the second data includes one or more of the following: Data error rate; Packet delay; Data packet loss rate; and Data priority level.

79. The device according to any one of claims 73 - 78, wherein, the twenty - third information is associated with the second data in a one-to-one correspondence.

80. The device according to any one of claims 64 - 79, wherein, the first information and the second information are carried in different information fields included in the twenty - fourth information, and the twenty - fourth information includes one or more of the following: The twenty - fifth information, which is used to indicate whether the twenty - fourth information includes the first information; The twenty - sixth information, which is used to indicate whether the twenty - fourth information includes the second information; And The twenty-seventh piece of information, which is used to indicate that the data being currently processed is the first piece of information or the second piece of information.

81. A terminal device, characterized in that it includes a memory and a processor, the memory is used to store programs, and the processor is used to call the programs in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20.

82. A network device, characterized in that it includes a memory and a processor, the memory is used to store programs, and the processor is used to call the programs in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 21-40.

83. A device, characterized in that it includes a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20 or claims 21-40.

84. A chip, characterized in that it includes a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory so that the device installed with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1-20 or claims 21-40.

85. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a program is stored thereon, and the program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20 or claims 21-40.

86. A computer program product, characterized in that it includes a program, and the program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20 or claims 21-40.

87. A computer program, characterized in that the computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-20 or claims 21-40.

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