Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving first indication information used for indicating first alternative QoS configuration information, and determining a first RRC parameter on the basis of the first indication information and a first association relationship. It is equivalent to the terminal device being able to adjust an RRC parameter on the basis of the first alternative QoS configuration information, such that the RRC parameter can be adjusted in a more timely manner, thereby facilitating an improvement in air interface transmission quality.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 22, 2023, with application number 202311582413.0 and application name “A Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] In artificial intelligence (AI) services (such as cloud gaming, virtual reality (VR), etc.), terminal devices and application servers can collaborate to perform AI tasks to implement AI services. The terminal device can run an application (APP), and the terminal device can access the application server through the application and the network. The radio access network (RAN) in the network can decide the task splitting point between the terminal device and the cloud server based on dynamic quality of service (QoS / Qos) switching. The quality of service profile (QoS Profile) (or service quality parameter set) can be used to describe the communication QoS requirements of different task splitting points. In this way, the network side can determine the QoS file and notify the application layer of the terminal device or the application layer of the application server of the information of the determined QoS file to instruct the application layer to perform tasks according to the task splitting point corresponding to the QoS file.

[0005] The fifth generation system (5GS) introduces an alternative quality of service (QoS) mechanism. Under the alternative QoS mechanism, in addition to the normal QoS profile, one or more alternative QoS profiles can be provided for a QoS flow. When the RAN cannot meet the communication QoS requirements indicated by the normal QoS profile of the QoS flow, it can select a corresponding alternative QoS profile from one or more alternative QoS profiles to provide services for the corresponding QoS flow, and notify the AF and the terminal device of the selected alternative QoS profile index. In this way, the application layer corresponding to the terminal device and AF can adjust the corresponding task division mode or service traffic mode. After adjusting the task division mode or service traffic, it will cause changes in the service traffic characteristics. When the service traffic characteristics change, the application layer needs to indicate the change in service traffic characteristics to the RAN, so that the RAN adjusts the radio resource control (RRC) parameters between it and the terminal device so that the RRC parameters can adapt to the changes in service traffic, thereby ensuring service data transmission. However, with this approach, the RAN adjusts RRC parameters only after determining the task division model or service volume. Furthermore, the application layer's notification process to the RAN is lengthy, delaying the RAN's ability to adjust RRC parameters and preventing timely transmission based on the adjusted RRC parameters. In short, this approach reduces the timeliness of RRC parameter adjustment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for improving the timeliness of adjusting RRC parameters, thereby improving the reliability of air interface transmission.

[0007] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. For the sake of ease of description, the following description is given by taking the execution of the terminal device as an example. The method includes: receiving first indication information, and determining a first RRC parameter based on the first indication information and a first association relationship. The first indication information indicates first alternative quality of service configuration information, the first alternative quality of service configuration information indicates one or more communication indicators that the first quality of service flow needs to meet, and the first association relationship indicates an association relationship between one or more alternative quality of service configuration information and one or more RRC parameters, the one or more alternative quality of service configuration information includes the first alternative quality of service configuration information, and the one or more RRC parameters include the first RRC parameter.

[0008] It should be understood that the first alternative quality of service configuration information can be regarded as the quality of service configuration information re-determined during the transmission of the first quality of service flow, or as the adjusted quality of service configuration information. The first alternative quality of service configuration information may include an alternative quality of service configuration file or an alternative quality of service parameter set, etc. The first RRC parameter can be regarded as the RRC parameter adjusted with the adjustment of the quality of service configuration information, and can be regarded as the adjusted RRC parameter or the new RRC parameter, etc. The first RRC parameter can also be called the first RRC parameter group, which can be used for air interface transmission. The first RRC parameter may include one or more parameters, which is not limited. The first RRC parameter includes at least one of the following: semi-persistent scheduling (or semi-static scheduling) parameter, unweighted scheduling resource parameter, or discontinuous reception configuration parameter.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can trigger the adjustment of the RRC parameters after determining the first alternative service quality configuration information. The timing for the terminal device to adjust the RRC parameters is earlier, and the terminal device can determine (or adjust) the RRC parameters on its own. The triggering adjustment process does not need to involve a large number of transmission processes on the network side, so that the terminal device can adjust the RRC parameters earlier. In short, the RRC parameters can be determined more timely. In this way, the terminal device can communicate with the network side using the adjusted RRC parameters more promptly, which is conducive to improving the quality and effect of air interface transmission and enhancing the user experience.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be preconfigured or predefined with the first association relationship. This reduces the interaction between the terminal device and the network. Alternatively, the terminal device may receive second indication information from the access network device, where the second indication information indicates the first association relationship. The terminal device may obtain the first association relationship based on the second indication information. This allows the access network device to more flexibly indicate the first association relationship, thereby improving the accuracy of the first association relationship obtained by the terminal device.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may send data of a first quality of service flow to the access network device. The data of the first quality of service flow may indicate, carry, or include first associated information, the first associated information including experienced quality of service information and / or service characteristic information, the experienced quality of service information indicating the actual transmission parameters of the first quality of service flow within a historical time period. The service characteristic information indicates the attributes of the first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow, for example, the service characteristic information may be the importance (or priority) of the first quality of service data, etc. In this way, the access network device may determine the first QoS configuration information based on the first associated information, or may be described as the first associated information being used to determine the first QoS configuration information.

[0012] It should be understood that the historical time period (also known as the historical duration) can be any time period between the start time of generating the data of the first quality of service flow and the current time, without specific limitation. For example, it can be the period between the start time of generating the data of the first quality of service flow and the current time, or it can be the period between the start time of sending the data of the first quality of service flow and the time when the access network device receives the data of the first quality of service flow.

[0013] In the above embodiment, the accompanying information is carried in the data of the first service quality flow, which can relatively reduce the number of interactions between the terminal device and the access network device. In addition, the accompanying information reflects the attributes of the service and / or the actual transmission status of the data, which enables the access network device to determine the first alternative QoS configuration information based on the accompanying information to be more in line with actual business needs, which is conducive to improving the quality and / or effect of subsequent processing of the service.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may send auxiliary information of the terminal device to the access network device, where the auxiliary information indicates the resource usage status of the terminal device. In this way, the access network device may determine the first QoS configuration information based on the auxiliary information, or the auxiliary information may be used to determine the first QoS configuration information.

[0015] It should be understood that the auxiliary information may, for example, represent the usage status of hardware resources and / or software resources of the terminal device.

[0016] In the above implementation, the access network device can adjust the QoS configuration information corresponding to the service based on the actual situation of the terminal device indicated by the auxiliary information, thereby avoiding terminal device resource exhaustion while ensuring the effect of service processing.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: determining a first service parameter according to the first candidate quality of service configuration information, where the first service parameter is a parameter of a first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow.

[0018] In the above implementation, the terminal device can also determine the first service parameter based on the first candidate service quality configuration information, so that the terminal device can adjust the service parameter according to the candidate service quality configuration information in time to ensure the effect of executing the service.

[0019] In one possible implementation, a method for determining the first business parameter is: determining the first business parameter based on first alternative service quality configuration information and a second association relationship, the second association relationship indicating an association relationship between at least one alternative service quality configuration information and at least one business parameter, at least one alternative service quality configuration information includes the first alternative service quality configuration information, and at least one business parameter includes the first business parameter.

[0020] It should be understood that the second association relationship may be received by the terminal device from the network side (such as from the task management function (TMF), TMF may be deployed in the access network device or in the core network, or deployed relatively independently from the access network device, etc.), or may be pre-configured or pre-defined in the terminal device.

[0021] In the above embodiment, a method for determining the first service parameter is provided, which does not require the terminal device to perform a large amount of calculations and is relatively simple. Furthermore, different alternative quality of service configuration information may correspond to different service parameters. This facilitates the terminal device to determine service parameters that better match the first alternative quality of service configuration, thereby improving service performance.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first association relationship includes one or more identifiers and an association relationship with one or more radio resource control parameters, and the one or more identifiers are identifiers of one or more candidate quality of service configuration information.

[0023] It should be understood that the identifier of an alternative quality of service configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of a quality of service flow corresponding to the alternative quality of service configuration information, an index of the alternative quality of service configuration information, or an index of at least one communication indicator among one or more communication indicators indicated by the alternative quality of service configuration information. The index of at least one communication indicator among the one or more communication indicators indicated by the alternative quality of service configuration information can be the value of the at least one communication indicator or the range of values ​​to which the value of the at least one communication indicator belongs.

[0024] In the above implementation, the first association relationship can be represented by the identifier of the candidate quality of service configuration information and the radio resource control parameter, which can reduce the amount of data included in the first association relationship.

[0025] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by an access network device, or a hardware module (such as a chip) or a software module in the access network device, for example, the CU or DU of the access network device. For the convenience of description, the following description is made by taking the execution of the access network device as an example. The method includes: determining first alternative quality of service configuration information from at least one alternative quality of service configuration information of the first quality of service flow, wherein the first alternative quality of service configuration information is the quality of service configuration information re-determined for the first quality of service flow, and indicates one or more communication indicators that the first quality of service flow needs to meet; determining a first RRC parameter based on the first alternative quality of service configuration information and a first association relationship, the first association relationship indicating the association relationship between one or more alternative quality of service configuration information and one or more RRC parameters, the one or more alternative quality of service configuration information including the first alternative quality of service configuration information, and the one or more RRC parameters including the first RRC parameter; sending a first indication information, the first indication information indicating the first alternative quality of service configuration information.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates the first RRC parameter.

[0027] It should be understood that the third indication information and the first indication information may be carried in the same message or in different messages, without limitation. Furthermore, the order in which the access network device sends the third indication information and the first indication information may be arbitrary. For example, the access network device may send the first indication information and the third indication information simultaneously.

[0028] In the above implementation, the terminal device can directly obtain the first RRC parameter based on the third indication information, which can simplify the process of the terminal device determining the RRC parameter.

[0029] In one possible implementation, determining first alternative quality of service configuration information from at least one alternative quality of service configuration information of a first quality of service flow includes: receiving data of the first quality of service flow, the data of the first quality of service flow includes first associated information, the first associated information includes experienced quality of service flow information and / or service characteristic information, the experienced quality of service information indicates actual transmission parameters of the first quality of service flow within a historical time period, and the service characteristic information indicates attributes of the first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow; determining the first alternative quality of service configuration information based on the first associated information.

[0030] In one possible implementation, determining first alternative quality of service configuration information based on first associated information includes: determining the first alternative quality of service configuration information based on the first associated information and a third association relationship, wherein the third association relationship includes an association relationship between at least one alternative quality of service configuration information and at least one associated information, the at least one alternative quality of service configuration information includes the first alternative quality of service configuration information, and the at least one associated information includes the first associated information; or determining the first alternative quality of service configuration information based on the first associated information, network status information, and at least one alternative quality of service configuration information, wherein the network status information includes information on one or more communication indicators achieved or capable of being supported by the network.

[0031] In one possible implementation, determining first alternative quality of service configuration information from at least one alternative quality of service configuration information of a first quality of service flow includes: receiving auxiliary information of a terminal device, the auxiliary information indicating a resource usage status of the terminal device; determining first alternative quality of service configuration information based on the auxiliary information, network status information, and at least one alternative quality of service configuration information, the network status information including information on one or more communication indicators achieved or capable of being supported by the network.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the first association relationship includes one or more identifiers and an association relationship with one or more RRC parameters, and the one or more identifiers are identifiers of one or more candidate quality of service configuration information.

[0033] In one possible embodiment, an identifier of an alternative quality of service configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of a quality of service flow corresponding to an alternative quality of service configuration information; an index of an alternative quality of service configuration information; or an index of at least one communication indicator among one or more communication indicators indicated by an alternative quality of service configuration information.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the first RRC parameter includes at least one of the following: a semi-persistent scheduling parameter; a weight-free scheduling resource parameter; or a discontinuous reception configuration parameter.

[0035] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method. The method can be executed by any device on the network side, such as an access network device or a core network device in a core network, or other network elements, such as a TMF, or a device or apparatus having TMF functions. The TMF can be deployed relatively independently from the access network device, or deployed in the access network or core network, without limitation. For ease of description, the following description uses TMF execution as an example. The method includes: receiving at least one alternative quality of service configuration information corresponding to a first quality of service flow, the alternative quality of service configuration information indicating one or more communication indicators that the first quality of service flow needs to meet; determining a third association relationship, wherein the third association relationship includes an association relationship between the at least one alternative quality of service configuration information and at least one associated information, wherein one associated information includes experienced quality of service flow information and / or service feature information, the experienced quality of service information indicating actual transmission parameters of the first quality of service flow within a historical time period, and the service feature information indicating attributes of a first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow; and sending fourth indication information, the fourth indication information indicating the third association relationship. The third association relationship may be used to determine or adjust QoS configuration information, for example, may be used by the access network device to determine the first candidate QoS configuration information.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present application, the association between the alternative service quality and the accompanying information can be pre-configured on the network side, so that the network can dynamically adjust the alternative service quality configuration in real time according to the detected accompanying information, so as to ensure the end-to-end service quality of the application business as much as possible, and can also relatively reduce the interaction between network-side devices.

[0037] In one possible implementation, one of the alternative quality of service configuration information includes at least one of an alternative quality of service parameter, an input data rate, and an output data rate corresponding to each of multiple subtasks, and the multiple subtasks belong to tasks included in the first business.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the terminal device in the first aspect above, or a hardware module or software module in the terminal device, or a device having the functions of the terminal device. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for performing the first aspect or any possible implementation method above. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0039] For example, the transceiver module is used to receive first indication information, and the processing module is used to determine the first RRC parameter according to the first indication information and the first association relationship.

[0040] Optionally, the communication device may also execute the content of any possible implementation of the first aspect above, which are not listed here.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the access network device in the second aspect above, or a hardware module or software module in the access network device, or a device having the functions of the access network device. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the second aspect above or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0042] For example, the processing module is used to determine the first alternative service quality configuration information from at least one alternative service quality configuration information of the first service quality flow, and determine the first RRC parameter according to the first alternative service quality configuration information and the first association relationship; the transceiver module is used to send the first indication information.

[0043] Optionally, the communication device may also execute the content of any possible implementation of the second aspect above, which are not listed here.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the TMF in the third aspect above, or a hardware module or software module in the TMF, or a device having the functions of the TMF. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the third aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit), and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit).

[0045] For example, the transceiver module is used to receive at least one candidate quality of service configuration information corresponding to the first quality of service flow; the processing module is used to determine the third association relationship; and the transceiver module is further used to send fourth indication information.

[0046] Optionally, the communication device may also execute the content of any possible implementation of the third aspect above, which are not listed here.

[0047] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect or any possible embodiment through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0048] In the specific implementation process, the communication device can be a chip, and the processor can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, and various logic circuits, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation method of the processor.

[0049] In one implementation, the communication device may be a wireless communication device, that is, a computer device that supports wireless communication functions. Specifically, the wireless communication device may be a terminal device such as a smartphone, or a wireless access network device such as a base station.

[0050] In another implementation, the communication device may be a component of a wireless communication device, such as an integrated circuit product such as a system chip or a communication chip. The system chip may also be referred to as a system on chip (SoC), or simply an SoC chip. The communication chip may include a baseband processing chip and a radio frequency processing chip. The baseband processing chip is sometimes also referred to as a modem or baseband chip. The radio frequency processing chip is sometimes also referred to as a radio frequency transceiver or radio frequency chip. In a physical implementation, some or all of the chips in the communication chip may be integrated within the SoC chip. For example, the baseband processing chip is integrated into the SoC chip, while the radio frequency processing chip is not integrated with the SoC chip. The interface circuit may be the radio frequency processing chip in the wireless communication device, and the processor may be the baseband processing chip in the wireless communication device. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0051] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions. When the communication device is running, the processor executes the one or more computer programs stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect, or any possible embodiment.

[0052] Optionally, the communication device further includes other components, such as an antenna, an input / output module, an interface, etc. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0053] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system. The chip system includes a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to call and execute instructions from the interface. When the processor executes the instructions, the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect, or any possible embodiment, is implemented.

[0054] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, implements the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect, or any possible embodiment.

[0055] In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, implements the method described in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect, or any possible implementation manner.

[0056] Regarding the beneficial effects of any technical solution in the above-mentioned second to eleventh aspects, reference can be made to the beneficial effects discussion of the corresponding technical solution in the first aspect, and the repeated parts will not be listed here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of another scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a process for adjusting RRC parameters;

[0060] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of another scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0072] To facilitate understanding, some terms involved in the embodiments of this application are introduced below with examples.

[0073] 1. QoS configuration information, serving QoS flows, is used to describe one or more communication indicators that the QoS flow needs to meet.

[0074] The QoS configuration information includes a QoS profile for a QoS flow. The QoS profile may indicate QoS parameters (or parameter sets) for the QoS flow. The QoS parameters for a QoS flow include at least one of a QoS profile index, a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), a guaranteed flow bit rate (GBR), a packet delay budget (PDB), a packet error rate (PER), an uplink / downlink (UL / DL) channel status, or a maximum data burst volume (MDBV). In this case, GFBR, PDB, PER, UL / DL, and MDBV may all be one or more communication metrics. It should be understood that in some cases (e.g., when the QoS configuration information only includes a QoS profile for a QoS flow), the QoS configuration information may also be referred to as a QoS profile, a QoS configuration parameter set, or a QoS parameter set.

[0075] In addition to including the QoS profile of the QoS flow, the QoS configuration information may also include QoS parameters corresponding to each of the multiple subtasks corresponding to a task, and the QoS parameters of a subtask may include at least one of the throughput, input data rate, and output data rate of the subtask. In this case, the throughput, input data rate, and output data rate corresponding to the subtask may also belong to one or more communication indicators. The input / output data rate or throughput represents the communication QoS requirement of the task input / output data, and can be further expanded to include the communication QoS parameter 5G QoS indicator (5G QoS identifier) ​​defined by NR, such as uplink / downlink (UL / DL) PDB, GFBR, and maximum data burst volume (MDBV).

[0076] The alternative QoS configuration information is optional QoS configuration file information, and the content of the alternative QoS configuration information can refer to the content of the QoS configuration information.

[0077] 2. RRC parameters, also known as RRC parameter groups, air interface transmission parameters, or air interface transmission configurations, are used for air interface transmission. Examples include semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) parameters, configured grant (CG) resource parameters, and discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration parameters. Discontinuous reception is also known as discontinuous reception.

[0078] CG includes time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources, etc. Time domain resources may include, for example, a grant-free period (which may be called a CG period), and frequency domain resources may include, for example, the number of CGs, specifically, the number of grant-free resource blocks (RBs). CG can be used for uplink transmission. The network side activates an uplink grant to the terminal device once. If the terminal device does not receive deactivation, it can always use the resources specified by the first uplink grant for uplink transmission. The terminal device can use these grant-free resources to send data on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The new radio (NR) protocol supports two types of CG resource configurations: one is to configure the time domain resources of CG through RRC signaling, including the period, offset, starting symbol and length of PUSCH, and number of repetitions of CG resources; the other is to configure the period and number of repetitions through RRC signaling (specifically, IE ConfiguredGrantConfig), and the remaining parameters are configured through downlink control information (DCI) signaling (IE ConfiguredGrantConfig), including indicating the activation and deactivation of uplink grant-free.

[0079] SPS is used to enable the same user to use the same time-frequency resources until they are released within a certain semi-static scheduling period (such as fixed at 20ms). For example, the downlink SPS parameters include the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (cs-RNTI), nrof Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)-Processes, harq-ProcID-Offset, and periodicity. cs-RNTI is used to receive the RNTI for activating / deactivating / retransmitting DCI, nrofHARQ-Processes is the number of HARQs that SPS can support, harq-ProID-Offset is used to determine the parameters for calculating the downlink SPS HARQ ID, and periodicity is the transmission period parameter of the downlink SPS. SPS parameters include, for example, the SPS period.

[0080] DRX is used for discontinuous reception of messages. After DRX is activated, the terminal device can suspend monitoring of the PDCCH and temporarily shut down the receiver when there is no service, thereby saving power. DRX configuration parameters include DRX entry and exit (such as DRX start point selection / DRX Start Offset), DRX cycle period (divided into long and short cycles), the number of subframes in the DRX cycle, and the number of repetitions of the DRX short cycle length (short cycle timer). DRX parameters include, for example, the DRX cycle.

[0081] 3. Network status information, also referred to as communication network status information or network status information, refers to information about one or more communication metrics that the network can achieve or support, or can be information about one or more actual communication metrics of the network. Network status information includes at least one of the following: uplink / downlink channel status, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), number of physical resource blocks (PRBs), network guaranteed bit rate, network packet delay budget, current network packet error rate, network transmission rate, network guaranteed transmission data size, network channel status information, network buffer status report information, or network congestion status information. Accordingly, the one or more communication metrics that the network status information can achieve or support include at least one of uplink / downlink channel status, MCS, number of PRBs, guaranteed bit rate, packet delay budget, packet error rate, transmission rate, guaranteed transmission data size, channel status information, buffer status report, or congestion status. Congestion status information can be information about the queue length of data packets buffered in the layer 1 or layer 2 protocol stack of the access network device, such as information related to the buffer status report (BSR). It should be understood that the network status information at different times may be different, and the network status information involved in the embodiments of the present application may be the current or present network status information measured or detected.

[0082] 4. Business parameters refer to some parameters related to the tasks corresponding to the business. Tasks belong to part or all of the tasks that need to be performed to implement the business. Business parameters may include one or more of the task implementation mode (such as the end-cloud collaboration mode), task splitting mode (task assigment), subtask splitting mode (subtask assigment) (which can be called the task allocation mode or scheduling mode) and parameters for transmitting business-related data. Parameters for transmitting business-related data include, for example, at least one of bit rate, frame size, resolution, or frame rate. The end-cloud collaboration mode can be regarded as a specific implementation of the task splitting mode. When the terminal device and the application server collaborate to implement the task, the content of the task splitting mode and the end-cloud collaboration mode can be the same. For example, the end-cloud collaboration mode or the task splitting mode can indicate the task division mode between the terminal device and the application server. For example, the end-cloud collaboration mode or the task splitting mode can indicate whether to turn on or off reflection rendering, turn on or off dynamic diffuse global illumination (DDGI) rendering function, etc.

[0083] 5. Protocol data unit (PDU) session is the carrier of PDU service. PDU session is used to connect the terminal device and the external data network (DN) to exchange service data packets. After a PDU session is established, a data transmission channel between the terminal device and the DN is established. The transmission process of the user plane tunnel of the PDU session includes processes such as the terminal device and the access network, the access network and the user plane function (UPF), and the UPF-DN. The PDU session in 5G includes attributes such as single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), data network name (DNN), PDU session type (type), service and session continuity mode (SSC Mode), PDU session ID, user plane security enforcement information, and at least one of the multi-access PDU connectivity service.

[0084] It should be understood that with the continuous evolution of standards, alternative QoS configuration information and RRC parameters may have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0085] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0086] AI services refer to services based on AI models, including cloud gaming, video rendering services such as VR, and services based on terminal visual cognition and augmented reality / mixed reality (AR / MR). AI tasks involved in AI services include, for example, smartphones, cars, robots, and other terminal devices collecting user behavior data such as images, videos, gestures, and voice, as well as surrounding environment data, through sensors such as radar, cameras, controllers, and microphones. These devices then use AI models to perform operations such as voice or image recognition and video processing.

[0087] AI tasks can be deployed in terminal devices, but this approach has high requirements on the computing power of the terminal devices. AI tasks can also be deployed in application servers, but this also has high requirements on the bandwidth of the network side. To this end, a method for terminal devices and application servers to jointly deploy AI tasks is proposed. Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a scenario applicable to an embodiment of the present application, or it can be regarded as a schematic diagram of a terminal device and an application server jointly deploying AI tasks. As shown in Figure 1, both the terminal device and the application server can be deployed with applications, and the applications in the terminal device and the application server can run AI models. The application is used to provide corresponding functions or services for the terminal device, and can be installed and deployed by the equipment manufacturer, operator or third party. The application can be an application, mini-program, sub-application or web page pre-installed in the device. The application server may include one or more physical servers or cloud servers, etc. The application server may also be called a cloud server, cloud or cloud platform.

[0088] The terminal device can determine the intermediate calculation results based on the AI ​​model and send them to the application server. The application server uses the AI ​​model and the intermediate calculation results to obtain the final calculation result (for example, the inference result of the AI ​​model) and feeds the final calculation result back to the terminal device.

[0089] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can also allow users to access the network. It has certain computing capabilities and can handle communication services such as AI and third-party application services such as AR. Terminal devices can be fixed devices, mobile devices, handheld devices, wearable devices, in-vehicle devices, or wireless devices built into any of the above devices (such as communication modules or chip systems). The terminal device is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios, including but not limited to the following scenarios: cellular communications, device-to-device communications (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, etc. For example, the terminal device can be VR glasses, etc. The terminal device may sometimes be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access station, UE station, remote station, wireless communication equipment, or user device, etc.

[0090] The following describes the process of transmitting data in the collaborative scenario of the terminal device and application server involved in Figure 1, in conjunction with the scenario diagram shown in Figure 2. In addition to illustrating the terminal device and application server, Figure 2 also illustrates the access network and core network (CN). The terminal device can communicate with the application server through the access network and the core network in turn. The application server can be located in the DN after the user plane function of the core network. The application server can exchange data with the user plane function of the core network through the N6 interface to provide computing services. The application server can be deployed with an application function (AF).

[0091] In Figure 2, applications can be deployed between the terminal device and the application server, and AI tasks can be implemented collaboratively through applications. For example, the terminal device uses the AI ​​model to perform local rendering. For example, the terminal device renders the foreground, such as a person kicking a ball. The application server uses the AI ​​model to perform server-side rendering and renders the background, such as rivers, ships, and egrets. The application server can transmit the rendered background to the terminal device through the core network user plane function, access network, etc., so that the terminal device can output the final rendering result (such as rivers, egrets, and a person kicking a ball, etc.) based on the background and foreground.

[0092] Among them, the access network may include one or more access network devices, and the access network device is a device with wireless transceiver functions for communicating with the terminal device. The access network device includes but is not limited to the base station (BTS, Node B, eNodeB / eNB, or gNodeB / gNB) in the above-mentioned communication system, the transmission reception point (TRP), the base station of the subsequent evolution of 3GPP, the access node in the wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, the wireless relay node, the wireless backhaul node, the satellite or drone, etc. The base station can be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, a relay station, etc. Multiple base stations can support the network of the same access technology mentioned above, or they can support the networks of the different access technologies mentioned above. The base station can include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission and reception points. The access network device can also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (CU), also called a convergence unit, and / or a distributed unit (DU) in the cloud radio access network (C(R)AN) scenario. The access network device may also be a server, a wearable device, or an in-vehicle device. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). The following description of the access network device takes a base station as an example. The multiple access network devices in the communication system may be base stations of the same type or different types. The base station may communicate with the terminal device or communicate with the terminal device through a relay station. The terminal device may communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies.

[0093] In a possible architecture of an access network device, the access network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and / or a distributed unit (DU). CU and DU can be understood as a division of the access network device from a logical functional perspective. Among them, CU and DU can be physically separated or deployed together, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. A CU can be connected to a DU, or multiple DUs can share a CU. The division of CU and DU can be based on the protocol stack. One possible way is to deploy the RRC, service data adaptation protocol stack (SDAP) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers in the CU, and the remaining radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer and physical layer in the DU. The embodiment of the present application does not completely limit the division of CU and DU according to the above-mentioned protocol stack method, and there can be other division methods, such as division according to service type.

[0094] Access network equipment may also refer to a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node or a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) node, or include both the CU-CP and the CU-UP. The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including RRC and PDCP-C. PDCP-C is primarily responsible for encryption and decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of control plane data. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including SDAP and PDCP-U. SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission of the data plane.

[0095] In different systems, CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU may also be referred to as O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP.

[0096] The core network is used to implement at least one of the following functions: mobility management, data processing, session management, policy and billing. The names of the devices implementing core network functions may vary in systems with different access technologies, and this is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The core network may also include one or more access network devices, such as a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), and a UPF.

[0097] Since most AI tasks are services with large burst traffic, different AI task division methods or service traffic patterns have different requirements for network transmission rate and transmission delay. Therefore, when the task division method or service traffic pattern between the application server and the terminal device changes, the access network can reconfigure the corresponding RRC parameters for the terminal device so that the terminal device can adapt to the corresponding AI service needs.

[0098] It should be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, the device for realizing the function of a certain device may be a device, or it may be a software module or hardware module (such as a chip) that can support the device to realize the function. For example, the device for realizing the function of a terminal device may be a terminal device, or it may be a software module or hardware module (such as a chip) that can support the terminal device to realize the function. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described by taking the device for realizing the function of a terminal device as an example of a terminal device. The device for realizing the function of an access network device may be an access network device, or it may be a software module or hardware module (such as a chip) that can support the access network device to realize the function. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described by taking the device for realizing the function of a network as an example of an access network device.

[0099] The following describes the method of adjusting RRC parameters in the background art in conjunction with the scenario shown in Figure 2. Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of adjusting RRC parameters in the background art. Figure 3 illustrates steps S301 to S311, which are described below.

[0100] S301: The access network device determines a selected candidate QoS configuration file.

[0101] When the access network device cannot meet the communication indicators in the normal QoS profile of the QoS flow, an alternative QoS profile can be selected from one or more alternative QoS profiles so that the selected alternative QoS profile can be used to provide services for the corresponding QoS flow.

[0102] The access network device may match one or more alternative QoS profiles one by one in descending order of priority. If the access network device determines that an alternative QoS profile can meet the specified communication indicator requirements such as GFBR, PDB, and PER, the access network device determines to use the alternative QoS profile to provide services for the corresponding QoS flow.

[0103] S302. The access network device sends the index of the candidate QoS profile to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the index of the candidate QoS profile from the access network device. Optionally, the access network device may include the index of the QoS profile in a notification control message. Sending the notification control message to the SMF is equivalent to sending the index of the candidate QoS profile to the SMF.

[0104] S303: The SMF sends the index of the candidate QoS configuration file to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the index of the candidate QoS configuration file from the SMF.

[0105] S304: The PCF sends the index of the candidate QoS configuration file to the application server. Correspondingly, the application server receives the index of the candidate QoS configuration file from the PCF.

[0106] For example, the PCF may send an index of an alternative QoS profile to the AF deployed by the application server.

[0107] S305. The SMF sends the index of the alternative QoS profile to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the index of the alternative QoS profile from the SMF. In this way, the terminal device can sense that the QoS profile to be used has changed (or altered, or updated) from the normal QoS profile to the alternative QoS profile indicated by the index of the alternative QoS profile, and accordingly, can sense that the QoS parameters to be used have changed.

[0108] S306: The application server determines a task division mode or a service traffic mode.

[0109] S307: The application server sends the task division pattern or the service flow pattern to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the task division pattern or the service flow pattern from the application server.

[0110] S308: The PCF sends the task division pattern or the service flow pattern to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the task division pattern or the service flow pattern from the PCF.

[0111] S309: The SMF sends the task division pattern or the service flow pattern to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the task division pattern or the service flow pattern from the SMF.

[0112] S310: The access network device adjusts RRC parameters.

[0113] Due to changes in the task division mode or service traffic pattern, the access network equipment can adjust the RRC parameters.

[0114] S311: The access network device sends the adjusted RRC parameters to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the adjusted RRC parameters from the access network device.

[0115] When the access network device can subsequently meet the communication indicators such as GFBR, PDB, and PER in the normal QoS profile of the QoS flow, the access network device can also resume using the normal QoS profile to provide services for the QoS flow. In addition, the access network device can also notify the SMF of the restoration information, and the SMF will notify the AF and / or UE step by step. The restoration information indicates the normal QoS profile, or indicates that the normal QoS profile will be resumed to provide services for the QoS flow.

[0116] As can be seen from Figure 3, the access network device needs to notify the application server of the selected alternative QoS configuration file and receive the task division mode or service traffic mode from the application server before determining the adjusted RRC parameters. That is, the timing of triggering the adjustment of the RRC parameters is relatively late. In addition, the path for the access network device to transmit the alternative QoS configuration file to the application server (specifically, the path includes: access network device → SMF → PCF → application server) and the path for receiving the task division mode or service traffic mode from the application server (specifically, the path includes: application server → PCF → SMF → access network device) are relatively long, which undoubtedly makes the access network device adjust the RRC parameters later. Therefore, the timeliness of the current adjustment of RRC parameters needs to be improved. Where "A→B" means from A to B.

[0117] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which, after determining the selected alternative Qos configuration information, the access network device may notify the terminal device of the selected alternative Qos configuration information, and the terminal device may directly determine the adjusted RRC parameters (such as the first RRC parameters) based on the selected alternative Qos configuration information and the first association relationship, and the first association relationship represents the association relationship between the alternative Qos configuration information and the RRC parameters. In this way, the timing of triggering the adjustment of the RRC parameters is earlier, and the terminal device can directly determine the RRC parameters based on the selected alternative Qos configuration information, which simplifies the process of triggering the adjustment of the RRC parameters and is conducive to the terminal device adjusting the RRC earlier. In short, this method can improve the timeliness of adjusting the RRC parameters.

[0118] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the scenario shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 above. In addition, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to other possible scenarios, which are introduced below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0119] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of another scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application. Alternatively, Figure 4 can also be regarded as a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system, for example, a schematic diagram of the architecture of a 5G communication system. As shown in Figure 4, the scenario includes a terminal device, a core network, an access network and an application server. Unlike Figure 2, Figure 4 also illustrates the 5G core network (5GC) control plane (which can be abbreviated as 5GC-C / 5GC-CP) and the user plane (user plane) of the 5G core network (which can be abbreviated as 5GC-U / 5GC-UP) included in the core network. 5GC-C can, for example, include a local network exposure function (NEF) (which can be abbreviated as L-NEF), SMF and PCF, etc. 5GC-U can, for example, include UPF. The terminal device deploys the application, and the terminal device also includes a modem for modulation and demodulation of the signal.

[0120] As shown in Figure 4, a terminal device can communicate with the 5GC-C, for example, requesting the 5GC-C to establish a session for the terminal device. The 5GC-C can also communicate with the RAN. Over-the-air communication is possible between the RAN and the terminal device. The RAN can communicate with the application server via the UPF, L-NEF, and other interfaces. The RAN can communicate with the UPF via the NG3 interface.

[0121] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of another scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. Alternatively, Figure 5 can also be viewed as a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system. This scenario illustrates a terminal device, access network equipment, a task management function (TMF), a computing execution entity (CEF), and a UPF. Unlike Figure 4, Figure 5 also illustrates the TMF and CEF.

[0122] The TMF can be deployed in the access network, for example, relatively independently deployed from the access network equipment, or embedded in the access network equipment, or embedded in the software module (such as CU or DU) in the access network equipment, or embedded in the hardware module of the access network equipment, or can be deployed in the core network (for example, as a functional network element of the core network). The TMF is responsible for accepting computing service requests and scheduling computing tasks. The CEF can be deployed in the application server of the data network, in the mobile edge computing (MEC) platform, in the UPF, or in the access network equipment.

[0123] As shown in Figure 5, terminal devices can communicate with the TMF and access network devices separately, and terminal devices and access network devices can communicate with each other. Access network devices can also communicate with the CEF through the UPF and other devices. Applications can be deployed on both terminal devices and CEF.

[0124] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 illustrates a core network device, a terminal device, and an access network device. The terminal device involved in Figure 6 is, for example, the terminal device involved in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 4, or Figure 5, the access network device is, for example, the access network device involved in Figure 2, Figure 4, or Figure 5, and the core network device is, for example, the core network device shown in Figure 2 or Figure 4. Figure 6 also illustrates the structure of an access network device. Devices in the communication system are connected through interfaces (such as NG, Xn) or air interfaces.

[0125] The access network device can serve as a separate RAN node or include multiple RAN nodes, for example, including a CU and a DU, and the CU and the DU can communicate with each other through the F1 interface. Optionally, the CU can also be split into a CU-CP and a CU-UP. At least one of the access network device, the core network device, the CU in the access network device, the DU in the access network device, the CU-CP in the access network device, or the CU-UP in the access network device involved in Figure 2 can be regarded as an example of the network device involved in Figure 1.

[0126] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the communication system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC), a terminal device, a core network device, and an access network device. The terminal device involved in Figure 7 is, for example, the terminal device involved in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 4, Figure 5, or Figure 6, the access network device is, for example, the access network device involved in Figure 2, Figure 4, Figure 5, or Figure 6, and the core network device is, for example, the core network device shown in Figure 2, Figure 4, or Figure 6. The access network device involved in Figure 7 can be considered as an access network device under the O-RAN architecture. RIC includes a near-real-time RIC (nrt-RIC) and a non-real-time RIC (non-RT RIC). The non-real-time RIC primarily processes non-real-time information, such as data that is not sensitive to latency, with a latency of seconds. The real-time RIC primarily processes near-real-time information, such as data that is relatively sensitive to latency, with a latency of tens of milliseconds. Optionally, the near real-time RIC and the non-real-time RIC can also be set up as separate network elements.

[0127] The near real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal device information from access network devices (e.g., at least one of CU, DU, and RU) and / or terminal devices. The access network devices involved in FIG7 are, for example, the access network devices involved in FIG2, FIG4, FIG5, or FIG6.

[0128] Optionally, the near-real-time RIC can process this information and send the results to the RAN node and / or terminal device. The nrt-RIC can communicate with the DU via the E2 interface. Optionally, processing results can be exchanged between the CU and DU, and / or between the DU and RU. For example, the near-real-time RIC can submit the processing results to the DU, which then sends them to the RU.

[0129] The non-real-time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from the wireless access device (e.g., at least one of the CU, DU, and RU) and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the non-real-time RIC can also process this information and send the processing results to the RAN node and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the processing results can be exchanged between the CU and DU, and / or between the DU and RU. For example, the non-real-time RIC can submit the processing results to the DU, which then sends them to the RU.

[0130] The near-real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be set up as separate network elements. Optionally, the near-real-time RIC and non-real-time RIC can also be part of other devices. For example, the near-real-time RIC is set up in access network equipment (e.g., CU, DU), while the non-real-time RIC is set up in OAM, cloud server, core network equipment, or other network equipment.

[0131] Figure 8 is a structural diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The access network device involved in Figure 8 can be regarded as another access network device under an O-RAN architecture. Relative to Figure 7, Figure 8 separates the CU into CU-CP and CU-UP. The relevant contents of the terminal device and core network device shown in Figure 8 can refer to the contents of the terminal device and core network device discussed in Figure 7 above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated. The terminal device involved in Figure 8 is, for example, the terminal device involved in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6 or Figure 7, the access network device is, for example, the access network device involved in Figure 2, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6 or Figure 7, and the core network device is, for example, the core network device shown in Figure 2, Figure 4, Figure 6 or Figure 7.

[0132] The following describes the method provided by the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application, all steps represented by dotted lines are optional steps. The terminal devices mentioned in the various embodiments of the present application may be, for example, any terminal device of Figures 1, 2, 4, 5 to 8 above, the access network device may be, for example, any access network device involved in Figures 2, 4 to 8 above, the core network device may be, for example, any core network device shown in Figures 2, 4, 6 to 8, the application server may be, for example, the application server involved in Figures 1, 2 or 4, or the CEF involved in Figure 5, and the TMF may be, for example, the TMF involved in Figure 5. If the technical solutions provided in the various embodiments of the present application are applied to other communication systems, the name and / or function of the device may change, and there is no limitation on this.

[0133] Please refer to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 9 illustrates steps S901 and S905, which are described below.

[0134] S901: The access network device determines first candidate QoS configuration information.

[0135] The first alternative Qos configuration information may be determined by the access network device, such as executed by the hardware module or software module of the access network device, specifically, for example, determined by the CU of the access network device, determined by the DU of the access network device, determined by the CU-CP of the access network device, or determined by the nrt-RIC, etc., which are not limited to this. The first alternative Qos configuration information indicates one or more communication indicators that need to be met by the first Qos flow. The first alternative Qos configuration information may, for example, include an alternative Qos configuration file for the first Qos flow, and the content of the alternative Qos configuration file for the first Qos flow may refer to the content discussed above. In addition to including the alternative Qos configuration file for the first Qos flow, the first alternative Qos configuration information may optionally also include at least one of the alternative Qos parameters, input data rate, and output data rate corresponding to each subtask in the multiple subtasks corresponding to the first service. The first service is the service corresponding to the first Qos flow, such as an AI service.

[0136] The first alternative QoS configuration information may be one of the at least one alternative QoS configuration information of the first QoS flow. The at least one alternative QoS configuration information of the first QoS flow may be pre-configured in the access network device, or may be indicated to the access network device by the core network device, for example, may be indicated to the access network device by the core network device corresponding to the control plane in the core network.

[0137] Exemplarily, before transmitting the first QoS stream, the terminal device and the access network device may pre-configure or pre-define a QoS configuration information (such as the initial QoS configuration information or the normal QoS configuration information). For example, the normal QoS configuration information may be pre-configured or pre-defined in the terminal device and the access network device through a protocol, or the normal QoS configuration information may be determined by negotiation between the access network device and the terminal device, and there is no limitation on this. When one or more communication indicators corresponding to the normal QoS configuration information cannot be met, the access network device may select the first alternative QoS configuration information from at least one alternative QoS configuration information. There are multiple ways for the access network device to determine the first alternative QoS configuration information, which are introduced below.

[0138] Method 1: The access network device determines the first candidate QoS configuration information according to the network status information.

[0139] Exemplarily, the access network device may sense network status information. The content of the network status information may refer to the above content and will not be listed here.

[0140] After the access network device determines the network status information, the candidate QoS configuration information that can match the network status information in the at least one candidate QoS configuration information can be determined as the first candidate QoS configuration information. In other words, the first candidate QoS configuration information can match the network status information.

[0141] The fact that the first alternative QoS configuration information can match the network status information can be understood as the network status information being able to reach or satisfy the first alternative QoS configuration information. Specifically, for example, some or all of the one or more communication indicators corresponding to the network status information can satisfy some or all of the one or more communication indicators indicated by the alternative QoS configuration information.

[0142] For example, the one or more communication indicators indicated by the network status information include GFBR, PDB, and PER, and the one or more communication indicators indicated by the first alternative QoS configuration information include GFBR, PDB, and PER. The first alternative QoS configuration information can match the network status information, and the GFBR indicated by the network status information can be greater than or equal to the GFBR indicated by the first alternative QoS configuration information, the PDB indicated by the network status information can be less than or equal to the PDB indicated by the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the PER indicated by the network status information can be less than or equal to the PER indicated by the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0143] Optionally, the access network device may match at least one alternative QoS configuration information in descending order of priority of the alternative QoS configuration information, and use the alternative QoS configuration information that is first determined to match the network status information as the first alternative QoS configuration information. The priority of at least one alternative QoS configuration information may be preconfigured or predefined in the access network device, for example, it may be preconfigured in the access network device through a protocol, or the priority of at least one alternative QoS configuration information may be obtained from the core network (such as a core network device, specifically, an SMF).

[0144] For example, at least one alternative QoS configuration information includes alternative QoS configuration information 1, alternative QoS configuration information 2, and alternative QoS configuration information 3. Alternative QoS configuration information 2 has a higher priority than alternative QoS configuration information 3, and alternative QoS configuration information 3 has a higher priority than alternative QoS configuration information 1. Alternative QoS configuration information 1 indicates a network packet error rate of 0.5%, alternative QoS configuration information 2 indicates a network packet error rate of 0.3%, and alternative QoS configuration information 3 indicates a packet error rate of 0.6%. The access network device determines that the current network packet error rate indicated by the network status information is 0.45%. The access network device first determines that alternative QoS configuration information 2 cannot match the network status information, and then determines that the packet error rate of alternative QoS configuration information 3 can match the network status information, and then determines that alternative QoS configuration information 3 is the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0145] Method 2: The access network device determines the first candidate QoS configuration information according to the network status information and the auxiliary information of the terminal device.

[0146] Exemplarily, the access network device may obtain auxiliary information of the terminal device from the terminal device, and the auxiliary information of the terminal device indicates the resource usage status of the terminal device (for example, it may be specifically the resource usage rate of the terminal device). For example, the auxiliary information of the terminal device may include overheating information of the terminal device, and the overheating information may indicate whether the terminal device is overheating or not. For example, the auxiliary information of the terminal device may also include computing load status information of the terminal device or the power level of the terminal device, etc. The computing load status information may indicate that the processor of the terminal device is in a light load (or resource idle) or heavy load (resource busy) state. For example, if the load of the processor of the terminal device is less than the first load, the terminal device determines that it is in a light load state, or if the load of the processor of the terminal device is greater than the second load, the terminal device determines that it is in a heavy load state. The first load is less than the second load, and the first load and the second load may be preconfigured or predefined in the terminal device, or may be configured to the terminal device by the access network device.

[0147] In this case, the access network device can determine the alternative Qos configuration information among at least one alternative QoS configuration information that can match the network status information and can conform to the auxiliary information of the terminal device as the first alternative QoS configuration information. In other words, the first alternative QoS configuration information can match the network status information and the auxiliary information of the terminal device.

[0148] The first alternative QoS configuration information can match the auxiliary information of the terminal device, which may mean that the resource utilization status of the terminal device can be optimized under the first alternative QoS configuration information. For example, when the resource utilization rate of the terminal device is less than or equal to the first resource utilization rate, the first alternative QoS configuration information may increase the resource utilization rate of the terminal device to a certain extent; when the resource utilization rate of the terminal device is greater than the second resource utilization rate, the first alternative QoS configuration information may reduce the resource utilization rate of the terminal device to a certain extent. The first resource utilization rate is lower than the second resource utilization rate, and the first resource utilization rate and the second resource utilization rate may be preconfigured or predefined in the access network device.

[0149] The access network equipment can adjust the alternative QoS configuration information according to the network status and the auxiliary information power (or power consumption) of the terminal device. In this way, the best QoS parameter set in the alternative QoS configuration information that the network can currently meet can be provided to the QoS flow, so as to minimize the impact on the service experience.

[0150] Method 3: The access network device determines the first candidate QoS configuration information according to the network status information and the first associated channel information.

[0151] The first associated information may be received by the access network device from the terminal device and / or from the application server. The manner in which the access network device receives the first associated information is not specifically limited. The first associated information may be carried in data of the first quality of service flow, thereby relatively reducing the transmission burden on the network.

[0152] The first associated information includes experienced QoS (flow) information and / or service feature information. The experienced QoS information indicates the actual transmission parameters of the first QoS flow within a historical time period. The historical time period may be from the moment when the first QoS flow is started to be received to the current moment, or may be from the moment when the first QoS flow is started to be generated to the current moment, or may be any period of time from the moment when the first QoS flow is started to be generated to the current moment, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. The actual transmission parameters may be, for example, the transmission delay (or duration) experienced by the data of the first QoS flow (also referred to as the experienced transmission delay), and / or the average data transmission rate experienced by the data of the first QoS flow. The transmission delay experienced by the data of the first QoS flow may be the sum of the transmission delays experienced by one or more data of the first QoS flow. The transmission delay experienced by the data may be, for example, the delay experienced from the start of data generation to the data transmission process, and the transmission delay experienced by the data may be, for example, the transmission delay of the data from the terminal device to the application server, or the transmission delay of the data from the application server to the terminal device. The average data transmission rate experienced by the data of the first QoS flow may also be the average data transmission rate of one or more data of the first QoS flow. The service characteristic information indicates the attributes of the first service corresponding to the first QoS flow, for example, may include the importance (or priority) of the first service and / or the importance of the data of the first QoS flow.

[0153] Exemplarily, the first associated information includes the transmission delay experienced by the data of the first QoS flow from its generation to the current state. If the access network device detects that the transmission delay experienced by the data of the first QoS flow is greater than a first threshold and the network status information indicates a good network state, the access network device may select alternative QoS configuration information with a smaller PDB that can be satisfied by the current network state as the first alternative QoS configuration information. The network state indicated by the network status information indicates the air interface transmission state, such as the communication state between the terminal device and the access network device. The first threshold may be preconfigured or predefined in the access network device. This ensures that the final end-to-end delay of the data of the first QoS flow is below a certain threshold. Alternatively, if the access network device detects that the transmission delay experienced by the data of the first QoS flow is less than a second threshold and the network status information indicates a poor network state, the access network device may select alternative QoS configuration information with a relatively larger PDB that can be satisfied by the current network state as the first alternative QoS configuration information. The second threshold may be preconfigured or predefined in the access network device. The second threshold value is less than or equal to the first threshold value. In this way, under the premise of ensuring that the end-to-end delay of the data packet is met, the occupation of network resources by the data of the first QoS flow is reduced.

[0154] For example, please refer to Table 1 below, which shows a correspondence between first associated path information and alternative QoS configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0155] Table 1

[0156] Table 1 illustrates the example of a first threshold of 15ms and a second threshold of 5ms. As shown in Table 1, when the transmission delay experienced by the data of the first QoS flow is less than or equal to 5ms, the access network device can select the alternative QoS configuration of PDB = 20ms. Alternatively, when the transmission delay experienced by the data of the first QoS flow is greater than 15ms, the access network device can select the alternative QoS configuration of PDB = 10ms. In this way, while ensuring that the data transmission delay meets the requirements, the network resource occupation by the data is minimized.

[0157] For example, the first associated information includes the priority of the data of the first QoS flow. When the priority of the data of the first QoS flow is high and the network status is good, the access network device selects the alternative QoS with a smaller PDB or a larger GBR as the first alternative QoS configuration information. In this way, the data of the first QoS flow is guaranteed to obtain greater transmission resources and priority, thereby improving the success rate of transmitting the data of the first QoS flow. Alternatively, when the priority of the data of the first QoS flow is low and the network status is poor, the access network device selects the alternative QoS with a larger PDB or a smaller GBR as the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0158] For example, please refer to Table 2 below, which shows a correspondence between first associated path information and alternative QoS configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0159] Table 2

[0160] As shown in Table 2, when it is detected that the importance of the data of the first QoS flow is high, the access network device may select the alternative QoS configuration information with GBR = 20 Mbps as the first alternative QoS configuration information. Alternatively, when it is detected that the importance of the data of the first QoS flow is medium, the access network device may select the alternative QoS configuration information with GBR = 12 Mbps as the first alternative QoS configuration information. Alternatively, when it is detected that the importance of the data of the first QoS flow is low, the access network device may select the alternative QoS configuration information with GBR = 4 Mbps as the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the access network device may pre-store a third association relationship, or the access network device may also receive fourth indication information from other devices in the network other than the access network device (such as TMF or core network device), and the fourth indication information indicates the third association relationship. The access network device may determine the first alternative QoS configuration information based on the first associated information and the third association relationship. The third association relationship includes an association relationship between at least one alternative QoS configuration information and at least one associated information. At least one alternative QoS configuration information includes the first alternative QoS configuration information. At least one associated information includes the first associated information. In this way, after obtaining the first associated information, the access network device may determine the alternative QoS configuration information that matches the first associated information in the third association relationship as the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0162] Optionally, the third association relationship may be preconfigured or predefined in the access network device, or may be obtained by the access network device from the TMF, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0163] S902: The access network device determines a first RRC parameter.

[0164] Since the QoS configuration information changes, the access network device may re-determine the first RRC parameter. The content of the first RRC parameter can refer to the content of the RRC parameter above. The access network device may determine the first RRC parameter that matches the first candidate QoS configuration information based on the first candidate QoS configuration information.

[0165] Exemplarily, the access network device may be pre-configured or pre-defined with a first association relationship, and the first association relationship indicates an association relationship between one or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more RRC parameters. In this way, the access network device may determine the RRC parameter that matches the first alternative QoS configuration information in the first association relationship as the first RRC parameter. Of course, the one or more alternative QoS configuration information include the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the one or more RRC parameters include the first RRC parameter. The one or more alternative QoS configuration information may be the alternative QoS configuration information corresponding to the first QoS flow, or may also be the alternative QoS configuration information of multiple QoS flows, and these multiple QoS flows include the first QoS flow. It should be understood that the alternative QoS configuration information corresponding to one QoS flow in these multiple QoS flows may be exactly the same as, or partially the same as, or completely different from, the alternative QoS configuration information corresponding to another QoS flow in these multiple QoS flows, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0166] It should be understood that the one or more alternative QoS configuration information in the first association relationship and the one or more RRC parameters may be in a one-to-one correspondence, for example, each alternative QoS configuration information in the one or more alternative QoS configuration information in the first association relationship is associated with one RRC parameter in the one or more RRC parameters. Alternatively, the one or more alternative QoS configuration information in the first association relationship and the one or more RRC parameters may be in a many-to-one relationship, for example, multiple alternative QoS configuration information in the one or more alternative QoS configuration information in the first association relationship are associated with one RRC parameter in the one or more RRC parameters.

[0167] The following introduces the specific content of the first association relationship in combination with A1 to A3.

[0168] A1. The first association relationship includes an association relationship between one or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more RRC parameters. Please refer to Table 3 below for an example of a first association relationship. Table 3 uses the alternative QoS configuration information including GBR and the RRC parameter including CG period as an example.

[0169] Table 3

[0170] As shown in Table 3 above, if the first alternative QoS configuration information indicates that the GBR is 4Mbps, the access network device can determine the first RRC parameter based on the first association relationship shown in Table 3 above, and the CG period in the first RRC parameter is 11.1ms.

[0171] A2. The first association relationship includes one or more identifiers of candidate QoS configuration information and an association relationship between one or more RRC parameters.

[0172] The identifier of one of the one or more identifiers of alternative QoS configuration information may be at least one of an identifier / index of a QoS flow corresponding to an alternative QoS configuration information, an index / identifier of an alternative QoS configuration information, or an identifier / index of at least one communication indicator among one or more communication indicators indicated by an alternative QoS configuration information. The identifier of the QoS flow may be a combination of at least one of a data radio bearer identifier (DRB ID) of the air interface mapping where the QoS flow is located, a logical channel identifier (LCID), a protocol data unit (PDU) session ID, or a QoS flow ID. The identifier / index of at least one communication indicator may be a value identifier, number or sequence number of at least one communication indicator, which is not limited to this.

[0173] Please refer to Table 4 below, which is an example of a first association relationship. Table 4 takes the alternative QoS configuration information including the alternative QoS index and the RRC parameters including the number of CG resources as an example for introduction.

[0174] Table 4

[0175] As shown in Table 4 above, the number of CG resources included in the RRC parameter index corresponding to the alternative QoS configuration information 1 is 5 RBs, the number of CG resources included in the RRC parameter corresponding to the alternative QoS configuration information 2 is 10 RBs, and the number of CG resources included in the RRC parameter corresponding to the alternative QoS configuration information 3 is 15 RBs.

[0176] Please refer to Table 5 below, which is an example of a first association relationship. Table 5 is introduced by taking the alternative QoS configuration information including the alternative QoS index and the RRC parameters including the CG period as an example.

[0177] Table 5

[0178] As shown in Table 5 above, alternative QoS configuration information 1 includes a GBR of 4 Mbps, and the RRC parameters corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 1 include a CG period of 33.3 ms. Alternative QoS configuration information 2 includes a GBR of 12 Mbps, and the RRC parameters corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 2 include a CG period of 16.6 ms. Alternative QoS configuration information 3 includes a GBR of 20 Mbps, and the RRC parameters corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 3 include a CG period of 11.1 ms.

[0179] A3. The first association relationship includes an association relationship between identifiers of one or more candidate QoS configuration information and identifiers (or indexes) of one or more RRC parameters.

[0180] Please refer to Table 6 below for an example of a first association relationship.

[0181] Table 6

[0182] As shown in Table 6 above, there is a one-to-one mapping relationship between the alternative QoS configuration information supported by QoS flow 1, QoS flow 3, and QoS flow 4 and the identifier of the RRC parameter, and there is a many-to-one mapping relationship between the index of the alternative QoS configuration information supported by QoS flow 2 and the identifier of the RRC parameter. QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2, QoS flow 3, and QoS flow 4 can be mapped to different RRC parameter identifiers.

[0183] As shown in Table 6 above, QoS flow 1 corresponds to QoS configuration information 1, QoS configuration information 2, and QoS configuration information 3. QoS configuration information 1 corresponds to RRC parameters SPS1, CG1, or DRX1. QoS configuration information 2 corresponds to RRC parameters SPS2, CG2, or DRX2. QoS configuration information 3 corresponds to RRC parameters SPS3, CG3, or DRX3. QoS flow 2 corresponds to QoS configuration information 4 and QoS configuration information 5. QoS configuration information 4 and QoS configuration information 5 correspond to RRC parameters SPS4, CG4, or DRX4. QoS flow 3 corresponds to QoS configuration information 6. QoS configuration information 6 corresponds to RRC parameters SPS5, CG5, or DRX5. QoS flow 4 corresponds to QoS configuration information 7. QoS configuration information 7 corresponds to RRC parameters SPS6, CG6, or DRX6.

[0184] After determining the first RRC parameter, the access network device may activate the first RRC parameter. For example, the access network device may activate the corresponding CG configuration based on the mapping relationship between the GBR corresponding to the first alternative QoS configuration information and the number / period of CG resources. For example, as shown in Table 5 above, the access network device determines that the CG period is switched to 16.6 ms.

[0185] S903: The access network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the access network device. The first indication information indicates first candidate QoS configuration information.

[0186] Exemplarily, the first indication information may include an identifier for the first alternative QoS configuration information. The content of the identifier for the first alternative QoS configuration information may refer to the content of the identifier for the alternative QoS configuration information discussed above. The access network device sending the identifier for the first alternative QoS configuration information to the terminal device is equivalent to indicating the first alternative QoS configuration information. For example, the identifier for the first alternative QoS configuration information may be an identifier for the first QoS flow and / or at least one of an index, PDB, uplink GFBR, downlink GFBR, or PER of the first QoS configuration information.

[0187] For example, when each QoS flow only supports one alternative QoS configuration information or one or more alternative Qos configuration information supported by each QoS flow is only mapped to a set of RRC parameters, that is, the association relationship between the identifier / index of one or more QoS flows and one or more RRC parameters is a one-to-one relationship, then the access network device only needs to carry the identifier / index of a QoS flow in the first indication information, and then the terminal device can determine which set of RRC parameters the access network device activates based on the first association relationship.

[0188] Alternatively, the first indication information may also directly include part or all of the information in the first candidate QoS configuration information.

[0189] There are many ways for the access network device to send the first indication information to the terminal device, for example, any of the ways shown in B1 to B3 below.

[0190] B1. The access network device may directly send the first indication information to the terminal device.

[0191] In this embodiment, the first indication information may be a DCI or a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) control PDU, or an RRC message.

[0192] The structure of the access network device is different, the module for determining the first alternative QoS configuration information is different, and the implementation method of the first indication information is different. Therefore, the process of transmitting the first indication information within the access network device may also be different. The following examples are introduced with reference to the situations shown in C1 to C4.

[0193] C1. The access network device is a device with a CU / DU separation architecture. The CU of the access network device determines the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the first indication information can be carried in the DCI or MAC CE. Then the CU can notify the DU of the first indication information through the F1 interface.

[0194] C2. The access network device is a device with a CU / DU separation architecture. The DU of the access network device determines the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the first indication information can be carried in an RRC message or PDCP control PDU. Then the DU can notify the CU of the first indication information through the F1 interface.

[0195] In the case where the CU of the access network device is further separated into CU-CP and CU-UP, the CU-CP determines the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the first indication information can be carried in the PDCP control PDU, then the CU-CP needs to further inform the CU-UP of the indication information.

[0196] C3. The access network device is an O-RAN architecture device. The nrt-RIC determines the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the first indication information can be carried in the DCI or MAC CE. Then the nrt-RIC can notify the DU of the first indication information through the E2 interface.

[0197] C4. The access network device is an O-RAN architecture device. The nrt-RIC determines the first alternative QoS configuration information, and the first indication information can be carried in an RRC message or a PDCP control PDU. Then the nrt-RIC can notify the CU of the first indication information. If the CU is further separated into CU-CP and CU-UP, the nrt-RIC can notify the CU-CP or CU-UP of the first indication information respectively, and then the CU-CP or CU-UP respectively carries the first indication information through an RRC message or a PDCP control PDU.

[0198] B2. The access network device can also send the first indication information to the terminal device through 5GC control.

[0199] Exemplarily, the access network device may carry the first indication information through a PDU session resource notification message. For example, the current QoS parameter set index information element (current QoS parameters set index IE) in the PDU session resource notification message carries the first indication information. The access network device may send the PDU session resource notification message carrying the first indication information to the SMF through the AMF. The SMF may carry the first indication information through NAS signaling and send the NAS signaling to the terminal device. Optionally, the SMF may forward the first indication information to the PCF, and the PCF may send the first indication information to the AF of the application server.

[0200] B3. The access network device may notify the terminal device of the first indication information by means of user-side porting.

[0201] Exemplarily, the access network device may carry the selected first indication information through one or more GPRS tunneling protocol user plane part (GTP-U) headers of uplink data via the NG3 interface, and notify the UPF of the GPRS tunneling protocol user plane part header carrying the first indication information. The UPF may send the first indication information to the application server. For example, the UPF may send the first indication information to the application server in an on-link manner. After receiving the first indication information, the application server may send the first indication information to the terminal device. For example, the first indication information may be carried in an application layer message and sent to the terminal device. The one or more uplink data may be uplink data of a QoS flow that supports the alternative QoS configuration information, or may be dummy uplink data generated by the access network device to transmit the first indication information, and there is no limitation on this.

[0202] The structure of the access network device is different, the module for determining the first alternative QoS configuration information is different, and the implementation method of the first indication information is different. Therefore, the process of transmitting the first indication information within the access network device may also be different. The following examples are introduced with reference to the situations shown in D1 to D4.

[0203] D1. If the access network device belongs to a CU / DU separated access network device architecture, and the first QoS configuration information is determined by the DU, the DU may notify the CU of the first indication information through the F1 interface.

[0204] If the CU is further separated into CU-CP and CU-UP, the CU-CP needs to further notify the CU-UP of the first indication information, or the DU needs to notify the CU-UP of the first indication information through the F1-u interface (for example, the first indication information is carried in the GTP-u header of the uplink data on the F1-u interface).

[0205] D2. If the access network device is an O-RAN architecture access network device, and the first indication information is determined by the nrt-RIC, the nrt-RIC may notify the CU of the first indication information. If the CU is further separated into a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the nrt-RIC needs to notify the CU-UP of the first indication information.

[0206] Optionally, the access network device may further send fifth indication information to the application server. Accordingly, the application server receives the fifth indication information. The fifth indication information indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information. For example, while the access network device sends the fifth indication information to the terminal device, the access network device may also send the fifth indication information to the application server.

[0207] For example, the access network device may directly send the fifth indication information to the application server, or the access network device may send the fifth indication information to the application server via the 5GC control plane, or the access network device may send the fifth indication information to the UPF via user plane path-borne transmission, and the UPF forwards the fifth indication information to the application server. The specific process of the access network device sending the fifth indication information to the application server can refer to the content of the access network device sending the fifth indication information to the terminal device above, and the repeated parts are not listed here.

[0208] It should be understood that the order in which the access network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device and the fifth indication information to the application server can be arbitrary. For example, the access network device can simultaneously send the first indication information to the terminal device and the fifth indication information to the application server; or the access network device can first send the first indication information to the terminal device and then send the fifth indication information to the application server; or the access network device can first send the fifth indication information to the application server and then send the first indication information to the terminal device. There is no specific limitation on this. The fifth indication information can be the same as the first indication information, or the fifth indication information can be generated based on the first indication information.

[0209] S904: The terminal device determines the first RRC parameter according to the first indication information and the first association relationship. S904 is a first implementation manner in which the terminal device determines the first RRC parameter.

[0210] After receiving the first indication information, the terminal device may determine the first alternative QoS configuration information and, based on the first alternative QoS configuration information and the first association relationship, determine the first RRC parameter. For example, the RRC parameter that matches the first alternative QoS configuration information in the first association relationship may be used as the first RRC parameter. Subsequently, the terminal device may activate the first RRC parameter, for example, using the first RRC parameter for air interface transmission with the access network device.

[0211] The terminal device may receive second indication information from the access network device, where the second indication information indicates the first association relationship. The manner in which the access network device sends the second indication information to the terminal device may refer to the aforementioned manner in which the access network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, and is not further detailed here. Alternatively, the terminal device may be preconfigured or predefined with the first association relationship, for example, may be preconfigured or predefined with the first association relationship by a protocol.

[0212] For example, the second indication information may be carried in an RRC message. For example, with the first association relationship being the content shown in Table 6 above, and the first indication information indicating that the index of the first alternative QoS configuration information is 2, the terminal device may determine that the first RRC parameter is SPS2, CG2, or DRX2 based on the index of the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0213] It should be understood that the first indication information and the second indication information may be carried in the same message or in different messages.

[0214] In addition, the order in which the access network device sends the first indication information and the second indication information to the terminal device can also be arbitrary. For example, the access network device sends the first indication information and the second information to the terminal device at the same time, or the access network device first sends the first indication information to the terminal device and then sends the second indication information to the terminal device, or the access network device first sends the second indication information to the terminal device and then sends the first indication information to the terminal device.

[0215] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may also obtain a second association relationship (for example, from an access network device or TMF), or pre-configure or pre-define a second association relationship, and the second association relationship indicates an association relationship between one or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more service parameters. The second association relationship may include an association relationship between one or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more service parameters, or an association relationship between the identifiers of one or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more service parameters, or an association relationship between one or more alternative QoS configuration information and the identifiers of one or more service parameters, or an association relationship between the identifiers of one or more alternative QoS configuration information and the identifiers of one or more service parameters. Among them, the identifiers of one or more alternative QoS configuration information can refer to the content discussed above, and the repetitions will not be listed again. The identifiers of one or more service parameters may be represented by the values ​​of some or all parameters of one or more service parameters, or the value range to which the values ​​of some or all parameters of one or more service parameters belong, etc., and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0216] One or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more service parameters may be in a one-to-one correspondence, or may be a one-to-many relationship, or may be a many-to-one relationship, and there is no specific limitation on this. One or more service parameters also include service parameters corresponding to the first service. The service corresponding to the first Qos flow may be referred to as the first service, and the one or more tasks required to implement the first service may be referred to as the first task. The first task may be an AI task, for example, a computing task in a scenario where a terminal device and an application server collaborate, or a computing task in a mid-end collaboration scenario in a home / industrial IoT scenario, etc., and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0217] Please refer to Table 7 below, which is an example of a second association relationship provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0218] Table 7

[0219] As shown in Table 7 above, the second association relationship also includes one or more service parameters associated with one or more alternative QoS configuration information, for example, the 1K frame corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 1, the 2K frame corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 2, and the 4K frame corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 3.

[0220] Please refer to Table 8 below, which is an example of a second association relationship provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0221] Table 8

[0222] As shown in Table 8 above, the second association relationship includes one or more service parameters associated with one or more alternative QoS configuration information, for example, the frame rate of 30FPS corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 1, the frame rate of 60FPS corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 2, and the frame rate of 90FPS corresponding to alternative QoS configuration information 3.

[0223] In one possible design, the terminal device may further determine the first service parameter based on the first alternative QoS configuration information and the second association relationship, and perform the first task based on the first service parameter. For example, while the terminal device activates the first RRC parameter, the terminal device may further determine the first service parameter based on the first alternative QoS configuration information and the second association relationship, and perform the first task based on the first service parameter.

[0224] S905: The access network device sends third indication information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the access network device. The third indication information indicates the first RRC parameter. S905 is a second implementation manner in which the terminal device determines the first RRC parameter.

[0225] After the terminal device determines the first RRC parameter based on the third indication information, the first RRC parameter may be activated. The third indication information may include an index / identifier of the first RRC parameter, which is equivalent to the third indication information indicating the first RRC parameter through the index / identifier of the first RRC parameter. The index / identifier of the first RRC parameter may be implemented by the index / identifier of some or all parameters in the first RRC parameter. Alternatively, the third indication information may also directly include the first RRC parameter, for example, the third indication information includes the values ​​of each parameter in the first RRC parameter, etc.

[0226] The third indication information and the first indication information may be carried in different messages, or the third indication information and the first indication information may be carried in the same message. For example, the first indication information and the third indication information may both be carried in the DCI or the MAC CE, which is not limited thereto.

[0227] Under the implementation method shown in S905, optionally, the access network device may also send one or more RRC parameters and the index / identifier of each RRC parameter in the one or more RRC parameters to the terminal device before S905. In this way, the third indication information may only indicate the index / identifier of the first RRC parameter, and the terminal device may determine the first RRC parameter from the one or more RRC parameters based on the index / identifier of the first RRC parameter.

[0228] For example, the access network device determines that the first RRC parameter includes a CG period of 26.6ms or a number of CG resources of 10 RBs, then the access network device can send a third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates that the CG period is 26.6ms, or indicates that the number of CG resources is 10 RBs, or indicates an index / identifier that the CG period is 26.6ms, or indicates an index / identifier that the number of CG resources is 10 RBs.

[0229] In the implementation manner shown in S905, after receiving the third indication information, the terminal device can parse the third indication information to determine the first RRC parameter.

[0230] It should be understood that the execution order of S903 and S905 can be arbitrary. For example, S903 and S905 can be executed simultaneously, or S903 can be executed first and then S905, or S905 can be executed first and then S903. There is no limitation on this.

[0231] It should be understood that S905 and S904 are two implementation methods for the terminal device to determine the first RRC parameter. In one possible embodiment, only S904 may be executed, and in another possible implementation, only S905 may be executed.

[0232] In an embodiment of the present invention, the access network device can notify the terminal device of the adjusted Qos configuration information after adjusting the Qos configuration information. In this way, the terminal device can adjust the RRC parameters in a timely manner based on the adjusted Qos configuration information, thereby improving the timeliness of adjusting the RRC parameters and facilitating improving the air interface transmission effect between the terminal device and the access network device.

[0233] Below, taking the case where the access network device adopts the above-mentioned method 2 (that is, the access network device determines the first alternative QoS configuration information based on the network status information and the auxiliary information of the terminal device), and taking the embodiment of the present application applicable to the scenario shown in Figure 4 as an example, the interaction process between the various devices involved in the communication method shown in Figure 9 is introduced by way of example.

[0234] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 10 illustrates steps S1001 to S1008, which are described below.

[0235] S1001: The terminal device sends a session establishment request to the 5GC-C. In response, the 5GC-C receives the session establishment request from the terminal device.

[0236] The session establishment request message may include relevant information of the PDU session, such as the ID of the PDU session, the ID of the terminal device, the media access control (MAC) address or the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal device, at least one of the DNN or S-NSSAI, etc. 5GC-C identifies a PDU session based on the relevant information of the PDU session, and confirms whether there is a QoS flow in the PDU session that supports more than one alternative QoS configuration information. For a QoS flow that supports more than one alternative QoS configuration information, 5GC-C obtains each alternative QoS configuration information locally or from AF. In the embodiment of the present application, an example is given in which a QoS flow that supports more than one alternative QoS configuration information includes a first QoS flow. Under this assumption, 5GC-C can obtain at least one alternative Qos configuration information corresponding to the first QoS flow from the local or AF.

[0237] Optionally, each alternative QoS configuration information corresponds to a task division mode between a terminal device and an application server, or a QoS requirement for a bit rate of a service, a resolution of a service, or a frame rate of a service. For example, the task division mode between the terminal device and the application server includes turning on or off reflection rendering and / or DDGI rendering functions on the application server side, or the task division mode between the terminal and the application server includes turning on or off reflection rendering and / or DDGI rendering functions on the terminal device.

[0238] S1002: 5GC-C sends a session resource establishment request to the access network device. In response, the access network device receives the session establishment request from 5GC-C.

[0239] 5GC-C sends a session resource establishment request to the access network device. The session resource establishment request may carry at least one alternative QoS configuration information. Optionally, when 5GC-C configures at least one alternative QoS configuration information to the access network device, it may also send notification control information (or may be called active adjustment indication information). The notification control information may also be carried in the session resource establishment request notification to the access network device. The notification control information indicates that after the access network device adjusts the QoS configuration information of the first QoS flow service, it needs to notify the 5GC-C or UPF or terminal device of the adjusted QoS configuration information. It should be understood that after the access network device obtains at least one alternative QoS configuration information, the content of the at least one alternative QoS configuration information transmitted internally by the access network device can refer to the content of the first indication information transmitted internally by the access network device in the previous text, and will not be listed here.

[0240] In another possible implementation, at least one alternative QoS configuration information may be carried in a session resource establishment adjustment message. Optionally, the session resource establishment adjustment message also includes notification control information (or may be referred to as active adjustment indication information). The session resource establishment adjustment message is used to adjust session resources and may be sent by the 5GC-C to the access network device during the session resource establishment adjustment between the 5GC-C and the access network device.

[0241] After S1002, the access network device can map the QoS flow to the data radio bearer (DRB) and perform air interface signaling interaction related to the DRB configuration with the terminal device. The QoS flow is a QoS flow that supports at least one alternative QoS configuration information, including a first QoS flow. Accordingly, the DRB can also support the configuration of at least one alternative QoS configuration information, or it can be understood that the DRB can also transmit data based on the Qos configuration information selected by the access network device. In this way, the RRC parameters between the terminal device associated with the DRB and the access network device can be updated according to the selected QoS configuration information (such as the first Qos configuration information).

[0242] It should be understood that the above S1001 and S1002 are an example of establishing a PDU session. In fact, there are many ways to establish a PDU session. For example, 5GC-C may initiate the PDU session establishment process. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0243] In one possible design, when 5GC-C configures at least one alternative QoS configuration information to the access network device, it can also configure the priority information of at least one alternative QoS configuration information to the access network device. For example, a session resource establishment request or a session resource establishment adjustment message carries at least one alternative QoS configuration information, as well as information on the priority of at least one alternative QoS configuration information.

[0244] S1003. The access network device sends second indication information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the access network device. The content of the second indication information may refer to the content of the second indication information discussed above in FIG. 9 , and any repetitions are not repeated here. For example, the content of the second indication information sent by the access network device to the terminal device may also refer to the content of the second indication information sent discussed above in FIG. 9 , and any repetitions are not repeated here. In the case where the access network device directly sends the second indication information to the terminal device, the access network device may send the second indication information to the terminal device.

[0245] S1004: The access network device determines first QoS configuration information.

[0246] The access network device selects a suitable QoS configuration information based on the perceived network status information and auxiliary information from the terminal device. In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device selects the first QoS configuration information as an example.

[0247] S1005: The access network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the access network device.

[0248] The content of the first indication information can refer to the content of the first indication information involved in Figure 9 above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated. S1005 can be implemented in multiple ways, for example, through S1005a (that is, the access network device directly sends the first indication information to the terminal device), S1005b (that is, the access network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device through 5GC-C) or S1005c (that is, the access network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device through UPF). The contents of these three implementation methods can refer to the contents discussed in Figure 9 above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated. In the case where the access network device directly sends the first indication information to the terminal device, the access network device can send the first indication information to the terminal device.

[0249] S1006. The terminal device determines a first RRC parameter.

[0250] The terminal device may determine the first RRC parameter based on the first indication information and the first association. Alternatively, the access network device may send third indication information to the terminal device, and the terminal device may determine the first RRC parameter based on the third indication information. The content of the first association relationship, the content of the third indication information, and the content of the terminal device determining the first RRC parameter can all refer to the content discussed in Figure 9 above, and repeated parts are not listed here.

[0251] S1007. The application server obtains fifth indication information. The fifth indication information indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information. The manner in which the fifth indication information indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information can be referred to as the manner in which the first indication information indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information, and is not further detailed here. The relevant contents of the fifth indication information can be referred to as the contents of the fifth indication information discussed in FIG. 9 , and any repetitions are not repeated here.

[0252] S1007 can be implemented in multiple ways, for example, through S1007a (i.e., the application server receives the fifth indication information from the access network device through 5GC-C), S1007b (i.e., the application server receives the fifth indication information from the access network device through L-NEF) or S1007c (i.e., the application server receives the fifth indication information from the access network device through UPF), which are introduced below.

[0253] In S1007a, after S1005c or after the access network device indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information to the UPF, the UPF detects GTP-U header information of the uplink data, obtains the first indication information, and notifies the application server of the fifth indication information through the NEF or L-NEF in an application programming interface (API);

[0254] In S1007b, after S1005c or after the access network device indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information to the UPF, the UPF may also carry fifth indication information to the application server via a real-time transport protocol (RTP) packet header. In addition, if the uplink data stream uses a transport layer protocol such as Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) or Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP), the UPF may also modify the corresponding QUCI or RTCP packet header to carry the fifth indication information.

[0255] In S1007c, after S1005b, or after the access network device indicates the first alternative QoS configuration information to the 5GC-C, the 5GC-C may send fifth indication information to the application server.

[0256] In another possible implementation, after S1005b, the access stratum (AS) of the terminal device delivers the first alternative QoS configuration information indicated by the received first indication information to the application of the terminal device. The terminal device can indicate the fifth indication information to the application server through the application. Optionally, the terminal device can carry the fifth indication information in the metadata (meta data) of the application to notify the application server.

[0257] S1008. The terminal device and / or the application server determines a first service parameter.

[0258] The terminal device may determine the first service parameter based on the first alternative QoS configuration information indicated by the first indication information and the second association relationship. Optionally, the terminal device AS delivers the first alternative QoS configuration information indicated by the received first indication information to the terminal device application, and the terminal device application determines the first service parameter based on the first alternative QoS configuration information and the second association relationship. And / or, the application server determines the first service parameter based on the first alternative QoS configuration information and the second association relationship indicated by the fifth indication information.

[0259] S1008 may be executed by the terminal device, or by the application server, or by the terminal device and the application server in collaboration.

[0260] Exemplarily, the application in the terminal device or application server can determine the first service parameter based on the change of the newly selected QoS configuration information (such as the first alternative QoS configuration information) compared to the originally selected QoS configuration information, such as the change of the PDB or GBR corresponding to the two selected QoS configuration information exceeds a certain threshold, and adjust the task division mode, application bit rate, resolution or frame rate between the corresponding terminal and the cloud server. Adjusting the task division mode between the corresponding terminal and the cloud server can be that the terminal device or application server turns on or off the reflection rendering and / or DDGI rendering function. For example, if the GBR corresponding to the selected QoS configuration information is greater than a certain threshold or the PDB is less than a certain threshold, the terminal device or application server can turn on the reflection rendering or DDGI rendering function, or increase it to the corresponding bit rate or frame rate or resolution.

[0261] For example, in an end-cloud collaborative AR rendering scenario, in order to adjust the cloud processing task volume, the access network device can send a first indication message to the terminal device, and then the terminal device determines that the cloud processing task volume needs to be adjusted based on the first alternative QoS configuration information, and notifies the application server through meta data to make corresponding processing task volume adjustments, such as turning off DDGI rendering. Similarly, the access network device can also first notify the application server of the selected fifth indication message, and then the application server notifies the terminal device of the first alternative QoS configuration information through meta data, so that the terminal device can adjust the uplink service based on the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0262] It should be understood that the above S1001-S1003 and S1007-S1008 are all optional steps.

[0263] In an embodiment of the present application, the access network device can adjust the corresponding air interface transmission configuration parameters based on dynamic QoS switching, select appropriate alternative QoS configuration information according to the current network status information, and at the same time instruct the application to adjust the corresponding service parameters, and the access network device can promptly trigger the adjustment of RRC parameters to the terminal device, so that the air interface transmission can immediately adapt to the changes in the traffic size and period of the application service, thereby ensuring the successful transmission of service data and saving air interface resources and power of the terminal device.

[0264] Below, the interaction process between the various devices involved in the communication method shown in Figure 9 is introduced by taking the case where the access network device adopts the above-mentioned method three (that is, the access network device determines the first alternative QoS configuration information based on the first accompanying information and network status information), and taking the embodiment of the present application as an example applicable to the scenario shown in Figure 5 above.

[0265] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 11 illustrates steps S1101 to S1113, which are described below.

[0266] S1101: The terminal device sends a computing service request to the TMF. Correspondingly, the TMF receives the computing service request from the terminal device.

[0267] The computing service request may carry computing service identification information and / or one or more alternative QoS configuration information corresponding to the task. The task includes a first task corresponding to a first QoS flow, so the one or more alternative QoS configuration information also includes at least one alternative QoS configuration information corresponding to the first QoS flow. The at least one alternative QoS configuration information of the first task may also include QoS parameters for each of the one or more subtasks included in the first task. The QoS parameters of one of the subtasks may include QoS parameters such as input / output data rate or throughput.

[0268] In the case that the computing service request does not carry one or more alternative QoS configuration information, the TMF may negotiate with the core network function (such as PCF) to obtain one or more alternative QoS configuration information according to the service identification information of the computing service request.

[0269] S1102. TMF senses network status information.

[0270] The TMF perceives the network status information between the UE and the gNB, or the TMF can obtain network status information from the access network equipment. The content of the network status information can be referred to in the previous section, and the repeated parts are not repeated here.

[0271] S1103: The TMF sends a sixth indication message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the sixth indication message from the TMF. The sixth indication message indicates a second association relationship. The details of the second association relationship can be found in FIG. 9 above, and any repetitions are omitted.

[0272] Exemplarily, TMF may determine an association relationship between one or more alternative QoS configuration information and one or more business parameters (hereinafter referred to as a second association relationship). The business parameters include a task splitting mode, which indicates a plurality of subtasks in a first task to be performed by the CEF and the terminal device respectively. Taking the DDGI or reflection rendering function in cloud games as an example of a computing task, one or more business parameters may include: business parameter 1 (CEF turns on the DDGI or reflection rendering function, and the terminal device turns off the execution of the DDGI or reflection rendering function), and business parameter 2 (CEF turns off the DDGI or reflection rendering function, and the terminal device turns on the DDGI or reflection rendering function.) TMF may send a sixth indication information indicating the second association relationship to the terminal device.

[0273] S1104: The TMF sends sixth indication information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the sixth indication information from the TMF.

[0274] The TMF sends the sixth indication information indicating the second association relationship to the access network device, or the TMF may directly send one or more alternative QoS configuration information to the access network device. Figure 11 illustrates the example of the TMF sending the sixth indication information to the access network device.

[0275] Optionally, the TMF determines the sixth indication information according to the network status information and the computing service request message.

[0276] Optionally, the TMF may also send policy information (or conditional information) to the access network device for adjusting the alternative QoS. This policy information may be predetermined or preconfigured in the TMF, or determined by the TMF itself. For example, the policy information may be one or more QoS adjustment thresholds. When the access network device detects that the deviation between the actual transmission capacity of the network and the current QoS configuration information is greater than or less than one of the set thresholds, it adjusts the currently selected QoS configuration to an alternative QoS configuration with a higher or lower transmission capacity.

[0277] Taking PDB as an example, TMF sets the adjustment threshold to 5ms and -5ms. When the access network device detects that the deviation between the actual packet transmission delay and the PDB delay requirement in the current QoS configuration information is greater than 5ms, the currently selected QoS configuration is adjusted to an alternative QoS with a larger PDB gear. When the access network device detects that the deviation between the actual packet transmission delay and the PDB delay requirement in the current QoS parameters is less than -5ms, the currently selected QoS configuration information is adjusted to an alternative QoS configuration information with a smaller PDB gear.

[0278] S1105: TMF sends sixth indication information to CEF. Correspondingly, CEF receives the sixth indication information from TMF. The content of the sixth indication information can refer to the content of the sixth indication information involved in S1103 above, and the repeated parts are not listed again.

[0279] S1106: The access network device sends second indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the access network device.

[0280] After receiving one or more candidate QoS configurations, the access network device can determine the first association relationship and indicate the first association relationship to the terminal device through the second indication information item. The content of the first association relationship can refer to the content of the first association relationship involved in Figure 9 above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0281] S1107: The terminal device sends data of the first quality of service flow to the CEF. In response, the CEF receives the data of the first quality of service flow from the terminal device. The data of the first quality of service flow may include part or all of the first associated path information. The content of the first associated path information can be found in the discussion of FIG. 9 above, and any repetitions are omitted.

[0282] S1108. The CEF terminal device sends data of the first quality of service flow to the CEF. Accordingly, the terminal device receives data of the first quality of service flow from the CEF. The data of the first quality of service flow may include part or all of the first associated information. The content of the first associated information can refer to the content discussed in Figure 9 above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated. Step S1108 may occur when step S1107 does not occur, or step S1107 may occur when step S1108 does not occur. The non-occurrence of a certain step can be understood as the non-execution of a certain step, and the occurrence of a certain step can be understood as the execution of a certain step. For example, the occurrence of S1008 can refer to the execution of S1008.

[0283] Optionally, the TMF may also determine a third association relationship, where the third association relationship represents an association relationship between one or more associated information and one or more alternative QoS configuration information. The TMF may send fourth indication information to the access network device to indicate the third association relationship. Optionally, the fourth indication information and the sixth indication information sent to the access network device may be carried in the same message, or may be carried in different messages. In addition, the order in which the TMF sends the sixth indication information and the fourth indication information to the access network device may be arbitrary and is not specifically limited. For examples of the third association relationship, refer to the examples shown in Table 1 or Table 2 above.

[0284] S1109: The access network device determines the first candidate QoS configuration information.

[0285] If the TMF indicates the third association to the access network device, the access network device may determine the first candidate QoS configuration information based on the third association and the first associated path information. Alternatively, the access network device may determine the first candidate QoS configuration information based on the first associated path information and network status information. For details on determining the first candidate QoS configuration information, refer to the third method described in Figure 9 above.

[0286] S1110: The access network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the access network device. The content of the first indication information can refer to the content of the first indication information involved in FIG. 9 above, and the repeated parts are not repeated here.

[0287] S1111: The access network device determines a first RRC parameter. The content of the access network device determining the first RRC parameter can refer to the content of the access network device determining the first RRC parameter in FIG9 discussed above, and the repeated parts are not listed again.

[0288] S1112: The terminal device determines the first RRC parameter. The content of the terminal device determining the first RRC parameter can refer to the content of the terminal device determining the first RRC parameter in FIG9 discussed above, and the repeated parts are not listed again.

[0289] S1113. The terminal device and / or CEF determines a first service parameter.

[0290] The content of determining the first service parameter can refer to the content of determining the first service parameter discussed in FIG9 above, and the repeated parts are not listed again. For example, the terminal device can determine the first service parameter based on the first candidate QoS configuration information and the second association relationship.

[0291] It should be understood that the above S1101-S1108 and S1113 are all optional steps.

[0292] In the embodiments of the present application, a process is provided in which the network dynamically switches QoS and activates the RRC parameter group based on the associated information. The access network device can select appropriate alternative QoS configuration information based on the associated information and the current network status information, and notify the terminal device to activate the corresponding RRC parameters. The terminal device and CEF can execute the subtask corresponding to the alternative QoS configuration information, so that the service can be matched with the air interface transmission configuration in real time, which not only ensures application data transmission, but also improves air interface resource utilization and enhances user experience.

[0293] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, some message names that have been used in the 3GPP NR system are adopted, but in actual implementation, the message names may change, and there is no specific limitation on this. In the various embodiments of the present application, the alternative QoS configuration information is described at the granularity of QoS flow, but it is not limited to the granularity of QoS flow, and can also be applied to the granularity of PDU session, slice or task, etc., and there is no limitation here. In the various embodiments of the present application, the access network device is used as an example to make a decision to select the first alternative QoS configuration information. In fact, the network element in the 5GC can also determine the first alternative QoS configuration information.

[0294] It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0295] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a possible communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the above method embodiment, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiment. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal device as shown in any of Figures 1, 2, 4, 5 to 8, or it can also be an access network device involved in any of Figures 2, 4 to 8, or it can also be the TMF involved in Figure 5, or it can also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device, access network device or TMF.

[0296] As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 includes a processing module 1210 and a transceiver module 1220. The communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device, access network device or TMF in the method embodiments shown in Figures 9, 10 or 11 above.

[0297] In the first embodiment, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 .

[0298] For example, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 9. In this case, the transceiver module 1220 can receive the first indication information and the third indication information under the processing of the processing module 1210. Alternatively, the transceiver module 1220 can receive the first indication information under the processing of the processing module 1210, and the processing module 1210 can execute the step S904.

[0299] Alternatively, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 10. In this case, the transceiver module 1220 can receive the first indication information, and the processing module 1210 can be used to perform step S1006. Optionally, the transceiver module 1220 can also be used to receive the second indication information, send auxiliary information, and send a session establishment request, and the processing module 1210 can also be used to determine the first service parameter, etc.

[0300] Alternatively, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 11. In this case, the transceiver module 1220 can receive the first indication information, and the processing module 1210 can execute the step S1112. Optionally, the transceiver module 1220 is further used to send a computing service request, send data of the first quality of service flow, receive the second indication information and the fifth indication information, etc.

[0301] In the second embodiment, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the access network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 .

[0302] For example, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the access network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 9. In this case, the transceiver module 1220 can be used to send the first indication information and the third indication information, and the processing module 1210 can perform steps S901 and S902. Alternatively, the transceiver module 1220 can send the first indication information under the processing of the processing module 1210, and the processing module 1210 can perform steps S901 and S902.

[0303] Alternatively, the communication device 1200 is configured to implement the functions of the access network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG10 . In this case, the transceiver module 1220 may send the first indication information, and the processing module 1210 may be configured to execute step S1004. Optionally, the transceiver module 1220 may also be configured to send the second indication information, receive auxiliary information, and receive a session resource establishment request.

[0304] Alternatively, the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the access network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 11. In this case, the transceiver module 1220 can send the first indication information, and the processing module 1210 can execute steps S1109 and S1111. Optionally, the transceiver module 1220 is further used to send the second indication information, send network status information, and receive the fifth indication information.

[0305] In a third embodiment, communication device 1200 is used to implement the TMF functionality of the method embodiment shown in FIG11 . In this case, processing module 1210 is used to determine the third association relationship, and transceiver module 1220 is used to send fourth indication information, etc. Optionally, transceiver module 1220 is further used to receive a computing service request and send sixth indication information, etc.

[0306] The specific contents of the various information and steps involved can be referred to the contents discussed in Figures 9 to 11 above, and the repeated parts will not be listed again.

[0307] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and an interface circuit 1320. The processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1320 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1320 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a memory 1330 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1310, or storing input data required by the processor 1310 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1310 executes instructions.

[0308] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement any of the methods shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 , the processor 1310 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 1210 , and the interface circuit 1320 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver module 1220 .

[0309] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal device, the terminal device chip implements the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the terminal device; or the terminal device chip sends information to other modules in the terminal device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the access network device.

[0310] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to an access network device, the access network device module implements the functions of the access network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The access network device module receives information from other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal device to the access network device; or, the access network device module sends information to other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the terminal device. The access network device module here can be a baseband chip of the access network device, or it can be a DU or other module. The DU here can be a DU under the open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0311] An embodiment of the present application provides another example of a communication device, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being coupled, the at least one memory being used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the communication device executes the method in the above embodiment. Taking the communication device including a processor and a memory as an example, as shown in the structural diagram of the communication device shown in Figure 14, as shown in Figure 14, the communication device 1400 includes a processor 1410 and a memory 1420. The processor 1410 and the memory 1420 are coupled, and the memory 1420 stores instructions. When the instructions stored in the memory 1420 are executed by the processor 1410, the communication device 1400 executes the method executed by the network device in the above embodiment.

[0312] It is understood that the processor involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. In addition, the memory involved in the various embodiments of the present application may include volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM). The memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD).

[0313] The method steps in each embodiment of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0314] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0315] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, comprising: a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is configured to call and execute instructions from the interface, and when the processor executes the instructions, implements any of the aforementioned communication methods, such as the communication methods shown in any of Figures 9 to 11 .

[0316] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, implements any of the communication methods described above, such as the communication method shown in any of Figures 9 to 11 .

[0317] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, implements any of the aforementioned communication methods, such as the communication method shown in any of FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 .

[0318] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0319] It should be understood that the various numbers used in the various embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device, the method comprises: receiving first indication information, where the first indication information indicates first candidate quality of service configuration information, where the first candidate quality of service configuration information indicates one or more communication indicators that the first quality of service flow needs to satisfy; A first wireless resource control parameter is determined based on the first indication information and a first association relationship, wherein the first association relationship indicates an association relationship between one or more alternative quality of service configuration information and one or more wireless resource control parameters, the one or more alternative quality of service configuration information include the first alternative quality of service configuration information, and the one or more wireless resource control parameters include the first wireless resource control parameter.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second indication information is received from an access network device, where the second indication information indicates the first association relationship.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Send data of the first quality of service flow to an access network device, wherein the data of the first quality of service flow includes first associated information, wherein the first associated information includes experienced quality of service information and / or service characteristic information, wherein the experienced quality of service information indicates actual transmission parameters of the first quality of service flow within a historical time period, and the service characteristic information indicates attributes of a first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Auxiliary information of the terminal device is sent, where the auxiliary information indicates a resource usage status of the terminal device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A first service parameter is determined according to the first candidate quality of service configuration information, where the first service parameter is a parameter of a first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Determining a first radio resource control parameter according to the first indication information and the first association relationship includes: The first business parameter is determined based on the first alternative service quality configuration information and the second association relationship, wherein the second association relationship indicates an association relationship between at least one alternative service quality configuration information and at least one business parameter, the at least one alternative service quality configuration information includes the first alternative service quality configuration information, and the at least one business parameter includes the first business parameter.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The first association relationship includes one or more identifiers and an association relationship with the one or more radio resource control parameters, and the one or more identifiers are identifiers of the one or more candidate quality of service configuration information.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that An identifier of a candidate quality of service configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of a quality of service flow corresponding to the one candidate quality of service configuration information; An index of the candidate quality of service configuration information; or An index of at least one communication indicator among the one or more communication indicators indicated by the candidate quality of service configuration information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The first radio resource control parameter includes at least one of the following: Semi-continuous scheduling parameters; Free from weighted scheduling resource parameters; or, Discontinuous reception configuration parameters.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine first candidate quality of service configuration information from at least one candidate quality of service configuration information of the first quality of service flow, wherein the first candidate quality of service configuration information is the quality of service configuration information re-determined for the first quality of service flow and indicates one or more communication indicators that the first quality of service flow needs to meet; Determine a first radio resource control parameter according to the first candidate quality of service configuration information and a first association relationship, the first association relationship indicating an association relationship between one or more candidate quality of service configuration information and one or more radio resource control parameters, the one or more candidate quality of service configuration information including the first candidate quality of service configuration information, and the one or more radio resource control parameters including the first radio resource control parameter; Sending first indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first candidate quality of service configuration information.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that Send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates the first wireless resource control parameter.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: Determining first candidate quality of service configuration information from at least one candidate quality of service configuration information of the first quality of service flow includes: Receive data of a first quality of service flow, the data of the first quality of service flow includes first associated information, the first associated information includes experienced quality of service flow information and / or service characteristic information, the experienced quality of service information indicates actual transmission parameters of the first quality of service flow in a historical time period, and the service characteristic information indicates attributes of a first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow; The first candidate quality of service configuration information is determined according to the first associated path information.

13. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: Determining the first candidate quality of service configuration information according to the first associated path information includes: determining the first candidate service quality configuration information according to the first associated information and a third association relationship, wherein the third association relationship includes an association relationship between at least one candidate service quality configuration information and at least one associated information, the at least one candidate service quality configuration information includes the first candidate service quality configuration information, and the at least one associated information includes the first associated information; or, The first candidate service quality configuration information is determined according to the first associated information, network status information and at least one candidate service quality configuration information, wherein the network status information includes information on the one or more communication indicators achieved or capable of being supported by the network.

14. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: Determining first candidate quality of service configuration information from at least one candidate quality of service configuration information of the first quality of service flow includes: Receiving auxiliary information of a terminal device, wherein the auxiliary information indicates a resource usage status of the terminal device; The first candidate quality of service configuration information is determined based on the auxiliary information, network status information, and at least one candidate quality of service configuration information, wherein the network status information includes information on the one or more communication indicators achieved or capable of being supported by the network.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that: The first association relationship includes one or more identifiers and an association relationship with the one or more radio resource control parameters, and the one or more identifiers are identifiers of the one or more candidate quality of service configuration information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that An identifier of a candidate quality of service configuration information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of a quality of service flow corresponding to the one candidate quality of service configuration information; An index of the candidate quality of service configuration information; or An index of at least one communication indicator among the one or more communication indicators indicated by the candidate quality of service configuration information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: The first radio resource control parameter includes at least one of the following: Semi-continuous scheduling parameters; Free from weighted scheduling resource parameters; or, Discontinuous reception configuration parameters.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving at least one candidate quality of service configuration information corresponding to a first quality of service flow, wherein the candidate quality of service configuration information indicates one or more communication indicators that the first quality of service flow needs to meet; Determine a third association relationship, wherein the third association relationship includes an association relationship between at least one candidate quality of service configuration information and at least one associated path information, wherein one associated path information includes experienced quality of service flow information and / or service characteristic information, the experienced quality of service information indicates an actual transmission parameter of the first quality of service flow in a historical time period, and the service characteristic information indicates an attribute of a first service corresponding to the first quality of service flow; Send fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information indicates the third association relationship.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that One of the candidate service quality configuration information includes at least one of a candidate service quality parameter, an input data rate, and an output data rate corresponding to each subtask in a plurality of subtasks, and the plurality of subtasks belong to tasks included in the first service.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9; A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17; or, Module for performing the method of claim 18 or 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, or the method according to claims 18 or 19 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

22. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the instruction is executed by the communication device, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, or the method according to claim 18 or 19.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, or the method according to claim 18 or 19 is implemented.

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