Communication method, communication apparatus, and communication system

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system. The method comprises: a first device receives RDMA link establishment information of a second device from the second device, and sends RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device; and the first device establishes an RDMA link between the first device and the second device on the basis of the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device. The solution uses the RDMA technology to perform data transmission in a 5G network or a future communication network, so that CPU overhead of data transmission can be reduced, and requirements of services for high-throughput low-delay characteristics can be met.

Description

Communication method, communication device and communication system

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 25, 2023, with application number 202311806840.2 and invention name "Communication Method, Communication Device and Communication System", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] In the current fifth-generation (5G) user-plane data transmission, the data transmission method between different nodes requires the central processing unit (CPU) to participate heavily in the data transmission process. However, this data transmission scheme often encounters computer system bottlenecks caused by the speed mismatch between the CPU and memory, which is often referred to as the "memory wall." This is because CPU speeds are getting faster and faster, while memory speeds have not increased at the same pace. Data transmission between the CPU and memory takes time. When the CPU needs to read or write a large amount of data, it will have to wait for the memory, resulting in the CPU not being able to fully utilize its computing power, affecting the overall performance of the computer system. This data transmission method that requires heavy CPU participation is also called messaging passing through the kernel.

[0005] This data transmission method requires data to be transferred through the kernel, resulting in high data movement and copying overhead. Furthermore, this data transmission method may not meet the high throughput and low latency requirements of some services.

[0006] How to reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission in 5G networks or future networks and meet business requirements for high throughput and low latency characteristics remains to be solved.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a communication method, a communication device, and a communication system to reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission in 5G networks or future networks and meet business requirements for high throughput and low latency characteristics.

[0009] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be performed by a first device or a module (e.g., a chip) of the first device. The method includes: receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device from a second device; sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device; and establishing an RDMA link between the first device and the second device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0010] The above solution applies RDMA technology for data transmission in 5G networks or future communication networks, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission and meet the business requirements for high throughput and low latency.

[0011] In one possible implementation method, the receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device and the sending RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device include: receiving indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate the use of RDMA for data transmission; sending an RDMA link establishment request to the second device based on the indication information, where the RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the first device; and receiving an RDMA link establishment response from the second device, where the RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0012] In the above scheme, when the first device receives the indication information for indicating the use of RDMA for data transmission, it sends an RDMA link establishment request to the second device according to the indication information to attempt to establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device. This can achieve the establishment of an RDMA link based on needs, which helps to save overhead.

[0013] In one possible implementation method, the receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device and the sending RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device include: receiving an RDMA link establishment request from the second device, the RDMA link establishment request including the RDMA link establishment information of the second device; and sending an RDMA link establishment response to the second device, the RDMA link establishment response including the RDMA link establishment information of the first device.

[0014] In one possible implementation method, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a user plane network element; the receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device includes: receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through an interface between the first device and the second device; or receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through an interface between the first device and the mobility management network element, and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device is sent by the second device to the mobility management network element through the session management network element.

[0015] The above solution establishes an RDMA link between the access network device and the user plane network element, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission between the access network device and the user plane network element.

[0016] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element is an uplink splitter user plane network element or a bifurcation point user plane network element.

[0017] In one possible implementation method, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a mobility management network element; the receiving of RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device includes: receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through an interface between the first device and the second device.

[0018] The above solution establishes an RDMA link between the access network device and the mobility management network element, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission between the access network device and the mobility management network element.

[0019] In one possible implementation method, the first device is a user plane network element, and the second device is an access network device; sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the second device; or sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the session management network element, and the RDMA link establishment information of the first device is sent by the session management network element to the second device through the mobility management network element.

[0020] The above solution establishes an RDMA link between the access network device and the user plane network element, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission between the access network device and the user plane network element.

[0021] In one possible implementation method, the user plane network element is an uplink splitter user plane network element or a bifurcation point user plane network element; the method also includes: sending RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the anchor user plane network element, and receiving RDMA link establishment information of the anchor user plane network element from the anchor user plane network element; establishing an RDMA link between the anchor user plane network element and the first device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor user plane network element.

[0022] In one possible implementation method, the first device is a mobility management network element, and the second device is an access network device or a session management network element; sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0023] The above solution establishes an RDMA link between the mobility management network element and the access network device or session management network element, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission between the mobility management network element and the access network device or session management network element.

[0024] In one possible implementation method, the receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device and the sending RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device include: in a session establishment or modification process, receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device and sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device.

[0025] In one possible implementation method, the method further includes: receiving RDMA link disconnection information of the second device from a second device, and sending RDMA link disconnection information of the first device to the second device; and disconnecting the RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device and the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device.

[0026] The above solution releases the RDMA link when it is not needed, thereby saving resources.

[0027] In one possible implementation method, receiving RDMA disconnect information of the second device from a second device, and sending RDMA disconnect information of the first device to the second device, include: receiving an RDMA disconnect request from the second device, the RDMA disconnect request including the RDMA disconnect information of the second device; and sending an RDMA disconnect response to the second device, the RDMA disconnect response including the RDMA disconnect information of the first device.

[0028] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: judging whether to allow the RDMA link between the first device and the second device to be disconnected based on the RDMA disconnection information of the first device; and sending the RDMA disconnection response to the second device includes: sending the RDMA disconnection response to the second device if disconnection of the RDMA link between the first device and the second device is allowed.

[0029] In one possible implementation method, receiving RDMA disconnect information of the second device from a second device, and sending RDMA disconnect information of the first device to the second device, include: sending an RDMA disconnect request to the second device, the RDMA disconnect request including the RDMA disconnect information of the first device; and receiving an RDMA disconnect response from the second device, the RDMA disconnect response including the RDMA disconnect information of the second device.

[0030] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be performed by a third device or a module (e.g., a chip) of the third device. The method includes: determining to establish an RDMA link; and sending an indication to a fourth device, the indication indicating that data transmission is performed using RDMA.

[0031] In the above solution, when the third device determines to establish an RDMA link, it instructs the fourth device to establish an RDMA link, so that RDMA technology can be applied for data transmission in 5G networks or future communication networks, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission and meet the business requirements for high throughput and low latency characteristics.

[0032] In a possible implementation method, the third device is a session management network element, and the fourth device is an access network device, a user plane network element, or a mobility management network element.

[0033] In a possible implementation method, the third device is a mobility management network element, and the fourth device is an access network device, a user plane network element, or a session management network element.

[0034] In a possible implementation method, determining to establish the RDMA link includes: receiving a request message from a terminal device, where the request message is used to request to establish the RDMA link; and determining to establish the RDMA link according to the request message.

[0035] In a possible implementation method, determining to establish an RDMA link includes: receiving a QoS request, the QoS request including a QoS level, the data transmission mode corresponding to the QoS level being RDMA transmission; and determining to establish the RDMA link according to the QoS request.

[0036] The above solution can establish RDMA links based on the QoS requirements of the business, which can meet the business requirements for high throughput and low latency.

[0037] In a possible implementation method, the determining to establish the RDMA link includes: determining to establish the RDMA link according to local configuration information of the third device.

[0038] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a first device or a module (such as a chip) of the first device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the first aspect described above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0039] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a third device or a module (such as a chip) of a third device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the second aspect described above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0040] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects.

[0041] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and execute any of the implementation methods in the first to second aspects above. The processor comprises one or more.

[0042] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, the processor being configured to call a program to execute any of the implementation methods in the first to second aspects above. The processor may be one or more.

[0043] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory, which is coupled to the processor and may be located inside or outside the device.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor; when the device is running, the processor executes computer instructions to enable the device to execute any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects.

[0045] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing the computer instructions.

[0046] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects is executed.

[0047] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when run on a communication device, enables any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects to be executed.

[0048] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: a processor for executing any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects.

[0049] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, comprising a first device and a second device; the first device is configured to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from a second device, and to send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device; and to establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device; the second device is configured to receive RDMA link establishment information of the first device from the first device, and to send the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the first device; and to establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0050] In one possible implementation method, the communication system further includes a third device of any implementation method of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1(a) is a schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture based on service-oriented architecture;

[0052] Figure 1(b) is a schematic diagram of the 5G network architecture based on point-to-point interfaces;

[0053] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of memory access without DMA;

[0054] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of memory access with DMA;

[0055] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of memory access between different nodes in a traditional network;

[0056] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of memory access between different nodes when RDMA is enabled;

[0057] 6 to 15 are flowcharts of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] 16 and 17 are schematic diagrams of communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] To meet the challenges of wireless broadband technology and maintain the leading edge of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, the 3GPP standards group has developed a next-generation mobile communications network system architecture, known as the fifth-generation (5G) network architecture. This architecture not only supports access to the 5G core network (CN) using 3GPP-defined radio access technologies (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN)), but also supports access to the core network using non-3GPP access technologies via the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) or the next-generation packet data gateway (ngPDG).

[0060] Figure 1(a) shows a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1(a) may include access network equipment and core network equipment. Terminal devices access the data network (DN) through the access network equipment and core network equipment. Among them, the core network equipment includes but is not limited to some or all of the following network elements: authentication server function (AUSF) network element (not shown in the figure), unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data repository (UDR) network element, network storage function (NRF) network element (not shown in the figure), network exposure function (NEF) network element (not shown in the figure), application function (AF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, binding support function (BSF) network element (not shown in the figure).

[0061] The terminal device can be user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal device, etc. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an urban air vehicle (such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, etc.), a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. For the sake of convenience, this application uses UE as an example of a terminal device for illustration, and any UE appearing in any subsequent position can be replaced by a terminal device.

[0062] Access network equipment can be wireless access network equipment or wired access network equipment. Wireless access network equipment includes 3GPP access network equipment, untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment, and trusted non-3GPP access network equipment. 3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs) in LTE, next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or modules or units that perform some of the functions of base stations, such as centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs). Untrusted non-3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, untrusted non-3GPP access gateways or N3IWFs, untrusted wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs), switches, and routers. Trusted non-3GPP access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, trusted non-3GPP access gateways, trusted WLAN APs, switches, and routers. Wired access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, wireline access gateways, fixed-line network equipment, switches, and routers. For ease of explanation, this application uses a base station as an example of an access network device, and any base station appearing at any subsequent location can be replaced by an access network device.

[0063] Base stations and UEs can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and UEs.

[0064] The AMF network element performs functions such as mobility management and access authentication / authorization. It is also responsible for transferring user policies between the UE and the PCF.

[0065] The SMF network element includes functions such as performing session management, executing control policies issued by the PCF network element, selecting the UPF network element, or allocating the UE's Internet Protocol (IP) address.

[0066] The UPF network element includes functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level billing statistics, or bandwidth limitation.

[0067] UDM network elements include functions such as executing and managing contract data or user access authorization.

[0068] UDR includes functions for accessing data such as contract data, policy data, or application data.

[0069] NEF network element is used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0070] The AF network element communicates application-side requirements to the network, such as QoS requirements or user status event subscriptions. The AF can be a third-party functional entity or an application service deployed by a carrier, such as the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice call service. AF network elements include those within the core network (i.e., the carrier's AF network element) and third-party AF network elements (such as an enterprise's application server).

[0071] The PCF network element includes policy control functions such as billing for sessions and service flow levels, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management, or UE policy decision-making. PCF network elements include access and mobility management policy control function (AM PCF) network element and session management policy control function (SM PCF) network element. Among them, the AM PCF network element is used to formulate AM policy and user policy for UE. The AM PCF network element can also be called a policy control network element that provides services for UE (PCF for a UE). The SM PCF network element is used to formulate session management policy (SMpolicy) for the session. The SM PCF network element can also be called a policy control network element that provides services for protocol data unit (PDU) sessions ((PCF for a PDU session))).

[0072] NRF network elements can be used to provide network element discovery functions, providing network element information corresponding to the network element type based on requests from other network elements. NRF network elements also provide network element management services, such as network element registration, update, deregistration, or network element status subscription and push.

[0073] BSF network element can provide BSF service registration / deregistration / update, connection detection with NRF network element, session binding information creation, UE information acquisition, session binding information query for duplicate IP addresses, etc.

[0074] The AUSF network element is responsible for authenticating users to determine whether users or devices are allowed to access the network.

[0075] A DN is a network located outside of a carrier network. A carrier network can connect to multiple DNs, and a variety of services can be deployed on the DN, providing UEs with data and / or voice services. For example, a DN is the private network of a smart factory. Sensors installed in the workshop can be UEs. The DN houses a control server for these sensors, which can provide services to the sensors. The sensors can communicate with the control server, receive instructions from the control server, and transmit collected sensor data to the control server based on the instructions. Another example is a DN that is a company's internal office network. An employee's mobile phone or computer can be a UE, allowing them to access information and data resources on the company's internal office network.

[0076] In Figure 1(a), Npcf, Nudr, Nudm, Naf, Namf, and Nsmf are the service-oriented interfaces provided by the PCF, UDR, UDM, AF, AMF, and SMF, respectively, for invoking corresponding service-oriented operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers, and their meanings are as follows:

[0077] 1) N1: The interface between the AMF network element and the UE, which can be used to deliver non-access stratum (NAS) signaling (such as QoS rules from the AMF network element) to the UE.

[0078] 2) N2: The interface between the AMF network element and the base station, which can be used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the base station.

[0079] 3) N3: The interface between the base station and the UPF network element, mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the base station and the UPF network element.

[0080] 4) N4: The interface between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, which can be used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including controlling the issuance of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. for the user plane and reporting information on the user plane.

[0081] 5) N6: The interface between UPF network element and DN, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data flows between UPF network element and DN.

[0082] Figure 1(b) is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on point-to-point interfaces. The functions of the network elements in Figure 1(a) can be referred to for the functions of the corresponding network elements, and will not be repeated here. The main difference between Figure 1(b) and Figure 1(a) is that the interfaces between the control plane network elements in Figure 1(a) are service-oriented interfaces, while the interfaces between the control plane network elements in Figure 1(b) are point-to-point interfaces.

[0083] In the architecture shown in Figure 1(b), the interface names and functions between the various network elements are as follows:

[0084] 1) For the meanings of the N1, N2, N3, N4 and N6 interfaces, please refer to the above description.

[0085] 2) N5: The interface between the AF network element and the PCF network element, which can be used to issue application service requests and report network events.

[0086] 3) N7: The interface between PCF network element and SMF network element, which can be used to issue PDU session granularity and service data flow granularity control strategy.

[0087] 4) N8: The interface between the AMF network element and the UDM network element, which can be used by the AMF network element to obtain access and mobility management related contract data and authentication data from the UDM network element, and for the AMF to register UE mobility management related information with the UDM.

[0088] 5) N9: User plane interface between UPF network elements, used to transmit uplink and downlink user data flows between UPF network elements.

[0089] 6) N10: The interface between the SMF network element and the UDM network element, which can be used by the SMF network element to obtain session management related contract data from the UDM network element, and the SMF network element to register UE session related information with the UDM.

[0090] 7) N11: The interface between the SMF network element and the AMF network element, which can be used to transmit PDU session tunnel information between the base station and the UPF network element, transmit control messages sent to the UE, transmit radio resource control information sent to the base station, etc.

[0091] 8) N15: The interface between the PCF network element and the AMF network element, which can be used to deliver UE policies and access control related policies.

[0092] 9) N35: The interface between the UDM network element and the UDR network element, which can be used by the UDM network element to obtain user contract data information from the UDR network element.

[0093] 10) N36: Interface between PCF network element and UDR network element, which can be used by PCF network element to obtain policy-related contract data and application data-related information from UDR network element.

[0094] It is understood that the above-mentioned network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above-mentioned network element or function can be implemented by a single device, or by multiple devices, or can be a functional module within a single device, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0095] The user plane network element, mobility management network element, and session management network element in this application can be the UPF network element, AMF network element, and SMF network element in Figure 1(a) or Figure 1(b), respectively, or can be a network element having the functions of the above-mentioned UPF network element, AMF network element, and SMF network element in future communications such as 6G networks. This application is not limited to this. In the embodiments of this application, an example is given in which the UPF network element, AMF network element, and SMF network element are respectively the user plane network element, the mobility management network element, and the session management network element, and the UPF network element, AMF network element, and SMF network element are respectively referred to as UPF, AMF, and SMF.

[0096] To facilitate understanding of the content of this application, the background technology involved in this application is first introduced below.

[0097] 1. Direct memory access (DMA)

[0098] DMA refers to the process of external devices reading and writing memory directly without the participation of the central processing unit (CPU).

[0099] Figure 2 illustrates memory access without DMA. Assuming the input / output (I / O) device is a standard network interface card (NIC), to retrieve the data to be sent from memory and then assemble the data packet to send to the physical link, the NIC needs to notify the CPU of its data request via the bus. Based on this data request, the CPU then copies the corresponding data from the memory buffer to its internal registers and then to the I / O device's storage space. If the data volume is large, the CPU will be busy moving data for a long time, unable to devote time to other tasks. The CPU's primary task is computation, not data copying. Therefore, this data copying wastes the CPU's computing power. To reduce the CPU's workload and allow it to focus on more meaningful tasks, the DMA mechanism was designed.

[0100] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of memory access with DMA. As can be seen, a DMA controller is attached to the bus, specifically for reading and writing memory. When the network card copies data from memory, the entire data copy process is completed by the DMA controller, except for some necessary control commands. This process is identical to the CPU copy shown in Figure 2, except that the DMA method copies the data from memory via the bus to registers within the DMA controller, and then to the storage space of the I / O device. The CPU, aside from monitoring the start and end of this process, can focus on other tasks. The DMA controller is typically located within the I / O device, meaning that the I / O device contains both a module responsible for data transmission and reception and a DMA module.

[0101] 2. Remote direct memory access (RDMA)

[0102] RDMA enables a local node to directly access the memory of a remote node. Direct access means that the local node can read and write to remote memory just like accessing local memory, bypassing the complex Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / IP network stack of traditional Ethernet. This process is invisible to the other end, and most of the work in this read and write process is performed by hardware rather than software.

[0103] Figure 4 illustrates memory access between different nodes in a traditional network. In a traditional network, "node A sending a message to node B" actually means "moving a piece of data from node A's memory to node B's memory via a network link." This process, both sending and receiving, requires CPU command and control, including network interface card (NIC) control, interrupt processing, packet encapsulation, and parsing. The data in user space memory on the left node in Figure 4 must be copied by the CPU to a kernel buffer before it can be accessed by the NIC. During this process, the data passes through the software-implemented TCP / IP protocol stack, with headers and checksums added to various layers, such as the TCP header and IP header. The NIC copies the kernel data to its internal buffer via DMA, processes it, and then sends it to the peer via a physical link. Upon receiving the data, the peer performs the reverse process: copying the data from the NIC's internal storage space to a kernel buffer via DMA. The CPU then parses the data through the TCP / IP protocol stack, extracts the data, and copies it to user space. As can be seen, even with DMA technology, this process still relies heavily on the CPU.

[0104] Figure 5 illustrates memory access between different nodes when RDMA is enabled. Similarly, copying a segment of data from local memory to peer memory requires minimal involvement of the CPUs on either end (only the control plane) when using RDMA. The local RDMA network card directly copies data from user-space memory to the RDMA network card's internal storage space via DMA. The hardware then assembles the packets at each layer and sends them to the peer RDMA network card via the physical link. After receiving the data, the peer RDMA network card strips off the headers and checksums from each layer and copies the data directly to user-space memory via DMA.

[0105] RDMA technology has the following advantages:

[0106] 1) 0 copy means that there is no need to copy data back and forth between user space and kernel space.

[0107] 2) Kernel Bypass: This means that the I / O data flow can bypass the kernel, that is, the data can be prepared at the user level and the hardware can be notified to prepare for sending and receiving, avoiding the overhead of system calls and context switches.

[0108] 3) CPU offloading: This allows the remote node's CPU to read and write memory without participating in the communication (of course, this requires the "key" to access the remote memory segment). This effectively moves message encapsulation and parsing into the hardware. In traditional Ethernet communication, both CPUs must participate in message parsing at all layers. If the data volume is large and the exchange is frequent, this will result in a significant CPU overhead, and these CPU computing resources could be used for more valuable work.

[0109] Therefore, RDMA technology can achieve high throughput and low latency in network transmission and reduce CPU load.

[0110] There are multiple versions of the RDMA protocol stack, which are, in chronological order, IB->RoCEv1->iWARP->RoCEv2. Among them, IB is the abbreviation of Infiniband, RoCE is the abbreviation of RDMA over converged ethernet, and iWARP is the abbreviation of internet wide area RDMA protocol. Among them, RoCE includes version 1 (v1) and version 2 (v2). It should be noted that the RDMA protocol here includes the IB protocol, RoCEv1 protocol, iWARP protocol and RoCEv2 protocol as an example. In actual applications, other types of protocols may also be included, and this application does not limit this.

[0111] RDMA uses work queues to queue a series of service requests for execution. Work queues are called queue pairs (QPs) in RDMA. One queue in the pair is for send operations, and the other queue is for receive operations. Generally speaking, the send work queue holds instructions that cause data to be transferred between the memory of a user and the memory of another user, while the receive work queue holds instructions on where to place data received from the other user. The other user is called the remote user, even though it may be located on the same node. RDMA supports both connection-oriented and datagram-oriented services. For connection-oriented services, each QP is associated with only one remote user. In this case, the QP context is configured to identify the queue pair of the remote user. The remote user is identified by a port and a queue pair number (QPN). The port is identified by a local ID (LID) or by a local ID and a global ID (GID).

[0112] RDMA includes but is not limited to the following four connection types:

[0113] 1) Reliable connection (RC): Provides message-oriented reliable transmission. The QPs at both ends of the communication are bound one-to-one. This is the most commonly used RDMA connection type.

[0114] 2) Unreliable connection (UC): provides message-oriented unreliable transmission, and the QPs at both ends of the communication are bound one by one.

[0115] 3) Unreliable Datagram (UD): This type of transport provides unreliable message-oriented transport, without a one-to-one binding between the two communicating peers. This transport type is very similar to the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0116] 4) Reliable Datagram (RD): Currently, most network card manufacturers do not support it.

[0117] 3. User Plane Data Transmission Mode

[0118] The user plane is an important component of the 5G network and is responsible for transmitting user data. It involves data transmission from the UE to the network and from the network to the UE.

[0119] The user plane interfaces are primarily the N3 and N9 interfaces. The N3 interface is the interface between the base station and the UPF, using the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) protocol for tunneling user data. The N3 interface is primarily used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the base station and the UPF. The N9 interface is the interface between different UPFs. In mobile scenarios, an intermediate UPF (I-UPF) can be inserted between the UE and the PDU Session Anchor (PSA) UPF for traffic forwarding. GTP-U is used between the two UPFs for user plane message transmission.

[0120] The GTP-U protocol is used to transmit user-plane data in mobile communication networks. It enables efficient data transmission between different network nodes by establishing tunnels and protocol encapsulation. The specific transmission mode used varies depending on the network version and network node.

[0121] In current 5G user-plane data transmission, the data transmission method between different nodes (such as a base station and UPF) is similar to the data transmission method shown in Figure 4, requiring significant CPU participation in the data transmission process. However, this data transmission scheme often encounters computer system bottlenecks caused by the mismatch between CPU and memory speeds, often referred to as the "memory wall." This is because CPU speeds are increasing, while memory speeds have not kept pace. Data transmission between the CPU and memory takes time. When the CPU needs to read or write large amounts of data, it waits for memory, resulting in the CPU being unable to fully utilize its computing power, affecting the overall performance of the computer system. This data transmission method, which requires significant CPU participation, is also known as messaging passing through the kernel. Because this data transmission method requires kernel transmission, it incurs high data movement and copying overhead. Furthermore, this data transmission method may not meet the high throughput and low latency requirements of certain services.

[0122] In order to reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission in 5G networks or future networks and meet the business requirements for high throughput and low latency characteristics, this application provides corresponding solutions.

[0123] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a first device or a module (such as a chip) of the first device, and a second device or a module (such as a chip) of the second device. The following description uses the first device and the second device as an example to illustrate the method.

[0124] The method comprises the following steps:

[0125] Step 601: A first device receives RDMA link establishment information of a second device from a second device, and sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device.

[0126] The RDMA link establishment information of the first device includes the port identifier and queue pair identifier of the first device. Optionally, the RDMA link establishment information of the first device also includes one or more of access permission information, source host address, destination host address, connection type, service level, protocol type, operation mode, or virtual memory address. Exemplarily, the port identifier of the first device includes a local identifier (LID), or includes a local identifier and a global identifier (GID). Exemplarily, the queue pair identifier can be a queue pair number (QPN). The port identifier and queue pair identifier of the first device can jointly indicate a QP address. Specifically, the port identifier indicates the port, and the queue pair identifier indicates the QP in the port. Exemplarily, the access permission information can be a key used to indicate permission to access the memory of the first device. The source host address is the IP address of the first device. The destination host address is the IP address of the second device. The connection type is a reliable connection, an unreliable connection, a reliable datagram, an unreliable datagram, or another connection type. The service level is primarily applied to the QoS requirements of the RDMA service. Different service levels are used in RDMA to reflect the priority of different services. The protocol type is IB, RoCEv1, iWARP, or RoCEv2. Operations include read, write, or send. The virtual memory address is the virtual address used by RDMA for communication in work requests. The channel adapter converts the virtual address into a physical address.

[0127] The RDMA link establishment information of the second device includes the port identifier and queue pair identifier of the second device. Optionally, the RDMA link establishment information of the second device also includes one or more of access permission information, source host address, destination host address, connection type, service level, protocol type, operation mode, or virtual memory address. Exemplarily, the port identifier of the second device includes a local identifier, or includes a local identifier and a global identifier. Exemplarily, the queue pair identifier may be a QPN. The port identifier and queue pair identifier of the second device may jointly indicate a QP address. Specifically, the port identifier indicates the port, and the queue pair identifier indicates the QP in the port. Exemplarily, the access permission information may be a key used to indicate permission to access the memory of the second device. The source host address is the IP address of the second device. The destination host address is the IP address of the first device. The connection type is a reliable connection, an unreliable connection, a reliable datagram, an unreliable datagram, or another connection type. The service level is primarily applied to the QoS requirements of the RDMA service. Different service levels are used in RDMA to reflect the priority of different services. The protocol type is IB, RoCEv1, iWARP, or RoCEv2. The operation mode is read, write or send, etc. The virtual memory address is the virtual address used by RDMA for communication in a work request, and the channel adapter can convert the virtual address into a physical address.

[0128] As an implementation method, step 601 specifically includes: a first device receives indication information, such as from an AMF or SMF, indicating that data transmission is performed using RDMA. Based on the indication information, the first device sends an RDMA link establishment request to the second device. The RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the first device. After receiving the RDMA link establishment request, the second device sends an RDMA link establishment response to the first device. The RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0129] As another implementation method, step 601 specifically includes: the second device receives indication information, such as from an AMF or SMF, indicating that data transmission is performed using RDMA. Based on the indication information, the second device sends an RDMA link establishment request to the first device. The RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the second device. After receiving the RDMA link establishment request, the first device sends an RDMA link establishment response to the second device. The RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the first device.

[0130] Step 602: The first device and the second device establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0131] The specific implementation process of step 602 may refer to the implementation process of establishing an RDMA link between two devices in the prior art, and will not be described in detail.

[0132] As an implementation method, the above steps 601 and 602 may be performed in the session establishment or modification process.

[0133] The above solution applies RDMA technology for data transmission in 5G networks or future communication networks, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission and meet the business requirements for high throughput and low latency.

[0134] Specific examples of the first device and the second device are introduced below.

[0135] Scenario 1: The first device is a base station, and the second device is a UPF.

[0136] Exemplarily, the UPF may be a branching point (BP) UPF or an uplink classifier (UL CL) UPF.

[0137] Based on scenario one, in one implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the first device receives the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device, and sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0138] Based on scenario one, in another implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the second device sends the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the SMF, the SMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the AMF, and the AMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the first device through the interface between the first device and the AMF; and the first device sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the AMF through the interface between the first device and the AMF, the AMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the SMF, and the SMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device.

[0139] Scenario 2: The first device is a base station and the second device is an AMF.

[0140] Based on the second scenario, in one implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the first device receives the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device, and sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0141] Scenario three: the first device is a UPF and the second device is a base station.

[0142] Exemplarily, the UPF may be a BP UPF or a UL CL UPF.

[0143] Based on scenario three, in one implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the first device receives the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device; and, sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0144] Based on scenario three, in another implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the second device sends the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the AMF through the interface between the second device and the AMF, the AMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the SMF, and the SMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the first device; and the first device sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the SMF through the interface between the first device and the SMF, the SMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the AMF, and the AMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device through the interface between the second device and the AMF.

[0145] Exemplarily, when the UPF in scenario three is a BP UPF or a UL CL UPF, the following operations may also be performed: the first device (i.e., the BP UPF or the UL CL UPF) sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the anchor UPF, and receives the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor UPF from the anchor UPF; the first device and the anchor UPF establish an RDMA link between the anchor UPF and the first device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor UPF. The anchor UPF is also called a protocol data unit session anchor (PSA) UPF.

[0146] Scenario 4: The first device is an AMF and the second device is a base station or SMF.

[0147] Based on scenario four, in one implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the first device receives the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device, and sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0148] Scenario 5: The first device is SMF and the second device is UPF.

[0149] Based on scenario five, in one implementation method, the above step 601 can be implemented in the following manner: the first device receives the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device, and sends the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0150] The above describes the process of establishing a link between a first device and a second device, as well as different specific examples of the first device and the second device. The following describes the process of disconnecting a link between the first device and the second device.

[0151] As an implementation method, a first device receives RDMA link disconnection information of the second device from a second device, and sends the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device to the second device. The first device and the second device disconnect the RDMA link between the first device and the second device based on the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device and the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device.

[0152] Exemplarily, a first device receives RDMA disconnect information of a second device from a second device, and sends the RDMA disconnect information of the first device to the second device, which may be: the second device sends an RDMA disconnect request to the first device, the RDMA disconnect request including the RDMA disconnect information of the second device; the first device, upon receiving the RDMA disconnect request, sends an RDMA disconnect response to the second device, the RDMA disconnect response including the RDMA disconnect information of the first device. Optionally, the first device receives the RDMA disconnect request and determines whether to allow the RDMA link between the first and second devices to be disconnected. If disconnection of the RDMA link between the first and second devices is allowed, the first device sends an RDMA disconnect response to the second device; if disconnection of the RDMA link between the first and second devices is not allowed, the first device does not send an RDMA disconnect response to the second device.

[0153] Exemplarily, the first device receives RDMA disconnect information of the second device from the second device, and sends the RDMA disconnect information of the first device to the second device. Alternatively, the first device sends an RDMA disconnect request to the second device, the RDMA disconnect request including the RDMA disconnect information of the first device; and the second device, upon receiving the RDMA disconnect request, sends an RDMA disconnect response to the first device, the RDMA disconnect response including the RDMA disconnect information of the second device. Optionally, the second device receives the RDMA disconnect request and determines whether to allow the RDMA link between the first and second devices to be disconnected. If disconnection of the RDMA link between the first and second devices is allowed, the second device sends an RDMA disconnect response to the first device; if disconnection of the RDMA link between the first and second devices is not allowed, the second device does not send an RDMA disconnect response to the first device.

[0154] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a third device or a module (such as a chip) of the third device, and a fourth device or a module (such as a chip) of the fourth device. The following description uses the third device and the fourth device as an example to illustrate the method.

[0155] The method comprises the following steps:

[0156] Step 701: The third device determines to establish an RDMA link.

[0157] In one implementation method, step 701 may be: the third device receives a request message from the UE, the request message being used to request establishment of an RDMA link, and the third device determines to establish the RDMA link according to the request message.

[0158] In another implementation method, step 701 may be: the third device receives a QoS request including a QoS level, the data transmission mode corresponding to the QoS level being RDMA transmission, and the third device determines to establish an RDMA link based on the QoS request.

[0159] In another implementation method, step 701 may be: the third device determines to establish an RDMA link according to local configuration information of the third device.

[0160] Step 702: The third device sends indication information to the fourth device. Correspondingly, the fourth device receives the indication information.

[0161] The indication information is used to indicate that data transmission is performed in an RDMA manner.

[0162] Exemplarily, the third device is an SMF, and the fourth device is a base station, a UPF or an AMF.

[0163] Exemplarily, the third device is an AMF, and the fourth device is a base station, a UPF, or an SMF.

[0164] In the above solution, when the third device determines to establish an RDMA link, it instructs the fourth device to establish an RDMA link, so that RDMA technology can be applied for data transmission in 5G networks or future communication networks, which can reduce the CPU overhead of data transmission and meet the business requirements for high throughput and low latency characteristics.

[0165] The embodiment of FIG. 6 and the embodiment of FIG. 7 may be implemented in combination or separately, and this application does not limit this.

[0166] The specific implementation method of combining the embodiment of FIG. 6 and the embodiment of FIG. 7 will be described below with reference to specific examples.

[0167] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method is to establish an RDMA link for data transmission in the PDU session establishment process, and the UPF sends an RDMA link establishment request and the base station replies with an RDMA link establishment response. The method includes the following steps:

[0168] Step 801 is a pre-step of the PDU session establishment process.

[0169] This step 801 specifically includes steps 1 to 9 of the PDU session establishment process. For details, refer to the description of the PDU session establishment process in section 4.3.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS23.502.

[0170] Step 802: SMF determines to establish an RDMA link.

[0171] For the specific implementation of this step, please refer to step 701 of the embodiment of FIG. 7 .

[0172] Step 803: The SMF sends an N4 Session Establishment Request to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the N4 Session Establishment Request.

[0173] The N4 session establishment request includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that data transmission is performed in an RDMA manner.

[0174] The indication information may be carried in a fixed bit position of the N4 session establishment request and occupy a small number of bits or bytes.

[0175] In step 804, the UPF sends an N4 Session Establishment Response to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the N4 Session Establishment Response.

[0176] The N4 session establishment response includes an RDMA link establishment request, and the RDMA link establishment request includes RDMA link establishment information of the UPF.

[0177] Step 805: SMF sends a request message to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the request message.

[0178] The request message includes an RDMA link establishment request.

[0179] Exemplarily, the request message may be Namf_Communicaiton_N1N2MessageTransfer Request.

[0180] Step 806: AMF sends a response message to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the response message.

[0181] Exemplarily, the response message may be Namf_Communicaiton_N1N2MessageTransfer Response.

[0182] In step 807, the AMF sends an N2 session request to the base station. In response, the base station receives the N2 session request.

[0183] The N2 session request includes an RDMA link establishment request. The base station receives the RDMA link establishment request and obtains the UPF link establishment information from it.

[0184] Exemplarily, the N2 session request may be an N2 PDU Session Request.

[0185] Step 808: The base station exchanges specific signaling with the UE.

[0186] Specifically, during the access network specific resource establishment (AN-specific resource setup) process, the base station and the UE perform specific signaling exchanges. For detailed description, refer to Section 4.3.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS23.502.

[0187] In step 809, the base station sends an N2 session response to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the N2 session response.

[0188] The N2 session response includes an RDMA link establishment response, and the RDMA link establishment response includes RDMA link establishment information of the base station.

[0189] Exemplarily, the N2 session response may be an N2 PDU Session Response.

[0190] In step 810a, the AMF sends an RDMA link establishment response to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the RDMA link establishment response.

[0191] In step 810b, the SMF sends an RDMA link establishment response to the UPF. In response, the UPF receives the RDMA link establishment response.

[0192] The UPF obtains the RDMA link establishment information of the base station from the RDMA link establishment response.

[0193] Step 811: Establish an RDMA link between the base station and the UPF.

[0194] Exemplarily, the UPF and the base station establish a link with each other based on the RDMA link establishment information of the base station and the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF. For the specific implementation process of establishing the link, please refer to the relevant description of the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0195] In step 812, the base station and the UPF perform data transmission based on the established RDMA link.

[0196] In the above solution, an RDMA link is established between the base station and the UPF during the PDU session establishment process, so that data can be transmitted between the base station and the UPF using RDMA, which can meet the high throughput and low latency requirements of the business and reduce CPU overhead.

[0197] Figure 9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method is to establish an RDMA link for data transmission in the PDU session establishment process, and the base station sends an RDMA link establishment request and the UPF replies with an RDMA link establishment response. The method includes the following steps:

[0198] Step 901 is a pre-step of the PDU session establishment process.

[0199] This step 901 specifically includes steps 1 to 9 of the PDU session establishment process. For details, refer to the description of the PDU session establishment process in section 4.3.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS23.502.

[0200] Step 902: SMF determines to establish an RDMA link.

[0201] For the specific implementation of this step, please refer to step 701 of the embodiment of FIG. 7 .

[0202] Step 903: SMF sends a request message to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the request message.

[0203] The request message includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that data transmission is performed in an RDMA manner.

[0204] The indication information may be carried in a fixed bit position of the N4 session establishment request and occupy a small number of bits or bytes.

[0205] Exemplarily, the request message may be Namf_Communicaiton_N1N2MessageTransfer Request.

[0206] Step 904: AMF sends a response message to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the response message.

[0207] Exemplarily, the response message may be Namf_Communicaiton_N1N2MessageTransfer Response.

[0208] In step 905, the AMF sends an N2 session request to the base station. In response, the base station receives the N2 session request.

[0209] The N2 session request includes the above indication information.

[0210] Exemplarily, the N2 session request may be an N2 PDU Session Request.

[0211] Step 906: The base station exchanges specific signaling with the UE.

[0212] Specifically, during the access network specific resource establishment (AN-specific resource setup) process, the base station and the UE perform specific signaling exchanges. For detailed description, refer to Section 4.3.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS23.502.

[0213] In step 907, the base station sends an N2 session response to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the N2 session response.

[0214] The N2 session response includes an RDMA link establishment request, and the RDMA link establishment request includes RDMA link establishment information of the base station.

[0215] Exemplarily, the N2 session response may be an N2 PDU Session Response.

[0216] Step 908: AMF sends a request message to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the request message.

[0217] The request message includes an RDMA link establishment request.

[0218] Exemplarily, the request message may be Namf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext_Request.

[0219] In step 909, the SMF sends an N4 Session Establishment Request to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the N4 Session Establishment Request.

[0220] The N4 session establishment request includes an RDMA link establishment request.

[0221] In step 910, the UPF sends an N4 Session Establishment Response to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the N4 Session Establishment Response.

[0222] The N4 session establishment response includes an RDMA link establishment response, and the RDMA link establishment response includes RDMA link establishment information of the UPF.

[0223] Step 911: SMF sends a response message to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the response message.

[0224] The response message includes an RDMA link establishment response.

[0225] Exemplarily, the response message may be Namf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext_Response.

[0226] In step 912, the AMF sends an RDMA link establishment response to the base station. In response, the base station receives the RDMA link establishment response.

[0227] The base station receives the RDMA link establishment response and obtains the UPF link establishment information from it.

[0228] Step 913: Establish an RDMA link between the base station and the UPF.

[0229] Exemplarily, the UPF and the base station establish a link with each other based on the RDMA link establishment information of the base station and the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF. For the specific implementation process of establishing the link, please refer to the relevant description of the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0230] In step 914, the base station and the UPF perform data transmission based on the established RDMA link.

[0231] In the above solution, an RDMA link is established between the base station and the UPF during the PDU session establishment process, so that data can be transmitted between the base station and the UPF using RDMA, which can meet the high throughput and low latency requirements of the business and reduce CPU overhead.

[0232] Figure 10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method is to establish an RDMA link for data transmission in the PDU session modification process, and the UPF sends an RDMA link establishment request and the base station replies with an RDMA link establishment response. The method includes the following steps:

[0233] Step 1001: The UE sends a PDU Session Modification Request to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU Session Modification Request.

[0234] The PDU session modification request is used to request modification of a PDU session.

[0235] Step 1002: AMF sends a session management context request to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the session management context request.

[0236] The session management context request is used to request the SMF to modify corresponding information.

[0237] Exemplarily, the session management context request is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Request.

[0238] Step 1003: SMF determines to establish an RDMA link.

[0239] For the specific implementation of this step, please refer to step 701 of the embodiment of FIG. 7 .

[0240] Step 1004: The SMF sends a policy association modification request to the PCF. Correspondingly, the PCF receives the policy association modification request.

[0241] Exemplarily, the policy association modification request may be a PCF_initiated SM Policy Association Modification Request.

[0242] Step 1005: PCF sends a policy association modification response to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the policy association modification response.

[0243] Exemplarily, the policy association modification response may be a PCF_initiated SM Policy Association Modification Response.

[0244] Through the above steps 1004 and 1005, PCF and SMF exchange session management information.

[0245] Step 1006: The SMF sends an N4 Session Modification Request to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the N4 Session Modification Request.

[0246] The N4 session modification request includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that data transmission is performed in an RDMA manner.

[0247] The indication information may be carried in a fixed bit position of the N4 session establishment request and occupy a small number of bits or bytes.

[0248] Step 1007: UPF sends an N4 Session Modification Response to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the N4 Session Modification Response.

[0249] The N4 session modification response includes an RDMA link establishment request, and the RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF. For a description of the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF, refer to the aforementioned embodiment.

[0250] Step 1008: SMF sends a session management context response to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the session management context response.

[0251] The session management context response includes an RDMA link establishment request.

[0252] Exemplarily, the session management context response is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Response.

[0253] In step 1009, the AMF sends an N2 message to the base station. Correspondingly, the base station receives the N2 message.

[0254] The N2 message includes an RDMA link establishment request. The base station receives the RDMA link establishment request and obtains the UPF link establishment information from it.

[0255] Step 1010: The base station exchanges specific signaling with the UE.

[0256] Specifically, during the process of establishing specific resources of the access network, the base station and the UE perform specific signaling exchanges. For detailed description, refer to Section 4.3.3.2-1 of 3GPP TS 23.502.

[0257] In step 1011, the base station sends an N2 message to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the N2 message.

[0258] The N2 message includes an RDMA link establishment response, which includes the RDMA link establishment information of the base station. For a description of the RDMA link establishment information of the base station, refer to the above embodiment.

[0259] Step 1012: AMF sends a session management context request to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the session management context request.

[0260] The session management context request includes an RDMA link establishment response.

[0261] Exemplarily, the session management context request is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Request.

[0262] Step 1013: SMF sends a session management context response to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the session management context response.

[0263] Exemplarily, the session management context response is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Response.

[0264] Step 1014: The SMF sends an N4 session modification request to the UPF. Accordingly, the UPF receives the N4 session modification request.

[0265] The N4 session modification request includes an RDMA link establishment response.

[0266] In step 1015, the UPF sends an N4 session modification response to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the N4 session modification response.

[0267] Step 1016: Establish an RDMA link between the base station and the UPF.

[0268] The UPF and the base station establish a link with each other based on the RDMA link establishment information of the base station and the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF. For the specific implementation process of establishing the link, please refer to the relevant description of the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0269] Step 1017: The base station and the UPF perform data transmission based on the established RDMA link.

[0270] In the above solution, an RDMA link is established between the base station and the UPF during the PDU session modification process, so that data can be transmitted between the base station and the UPF using RDMA, which can meet the high throughput and low latency requirements of the business and reduce CPU overhead.

[0271] Figure 11 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method is to establish an RDMA link for data transmission in the PDU session modification process, and the base station sends an RDMA link establishment request and the UPF replies with an RDMA link establishment response. The method includes the following steps:

[0272] Step 1101: The base station sends an N2 message to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the N2 message.

[0273] The N2 message includes an RDMA link establishment request, and the RDMA link establishment request includes RDMA link establishment information of the base station.

[0274] Step 1102: AMF sends a session management context request to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the session management context request.

[0275] The session management context request is used to request the SMF to modify corresponding information. The session management context request includes an RDMA link establishment request.

[0276] Exemplarily, the session management context request is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Request.

[0277] Step 1103: The SMF sends an N4 Session Modification Request to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the N4 Session Modification Request.

[0278] The N4 session modification request includes an RDMA link establishment request.

[0279] In step 1104, the UPF sends an N4 Session Modification Response to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the N4 Session Modification Response.

[0280] The N4 session modification response includes an RDMA link establishment response, and the RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF. For a description of the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF, refer to the aforementioned embodiment.

[0281] Step 1105: SMF sends a session management context response to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the session management context response.

[0282] The session management context response includes an RDMA link establishment response.

[0283] Exemplarily, the session management context response is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Response.

[0284] In step 1106, the AMF sends an N2 message to the base station. In response, the base station receives the N2 message.

[0285] The N2 message includes an RDMA link establishment response. The base station receives the RDMA link establishment response and obtains the UPF link establishment information from it.

[0286] Step 1107: Establish an RDMA link between the base station and the UPF.

[0287] The UPF and the base station establish a link with each other based on the RDMA link establishment information of the base station and the RDMA link establishment information of the UPF. For the specific implementation process of establishing the link, please refer to the relevant description of the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0288] Step 1108: The base station and the UPF perform data transmission based on the established RDMA link.

[0289] In the above solution, an RDMA link is established between the base station and the UPF during the PDU session modification process, so that data can be transmitted between the base station and the UPF using RDMA, which can meet the high throughput and low latency requirements of the business and reduce CPU overhead.

[0290] Figure 12 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method introduces the release process of the RDMA link, and the base station sends an RDMA link disconnection request, and the UPF replies with an RDMA link disconnection response. The method includes the following steps:

[0291] Step 1201: The UE sends a PDU session modification request to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session modification request.

[0292] The PDU session modification request is used to request the release of a PDU session.

[0293] Step 1202: AMF sends a session management context request to SMF. In response, SMF receives the session management context request.

[0294] The session management context request is used to request the SMF to modify corresponding information.

[0295] Exemplarily, the session management context request is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Request.

[0296] Step 1203: The SMF and PCF exchange session management policy association termination information (SM policy Association Termination).

[0297] In step 1204, the base station sends the N2 message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the N2 message.

[0298] The N2 message includes an RDMA disconnect request, which is used to request the release of the RDMA link. The RDMA disconnect request includes the base station's RDMA disconnect information, which includes the base station's port identifier and queue pair identifier. Optionally, the base station's RDMA disconnect information also includes access permission information and / or a virtual memory address. The virtual memory address is used to indicate the memory to be released.

[0299] Step 1205: AMF sends a session management context request to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the session management context request.

[0300] The session management context request includes an RDMA disconnect request.

[0301] Exemplarily, the session management context request is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Request.

[0302] Step 1206: The SMF sends an N4 session release request to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the N4 session release request.

[0303] The N4 session release request includes an RDMA disconnect request.

[0304] After receiving the RDMA disconnection request, the UPF determines whether to allow the disconnection based on the RDMA disconnection information of the base station in the disconnection request. If the disconnection is allowed, the following steps 1207 to 1210 are executed. If the disconnection is not allowed, the disconnection request is rejected.

[0305] In step 1207, the UPF sends an N4 session release response to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the N4 session release response.

[0306] The N4 session release response includes an RDMA disconnection response, which includes the UPF's RDMA disconnection information. The UPF's RDMA disconnection information includes the UPF's port identifier and queue pair identifier. Optionally, the UPF's RDMA disconnection information also includes access permission information and / or a virtual memory address. The virtual memory address is used to indicate the memory to be released.

[0307] Step 1208: SMF sends a session release request to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the session release request.

[0308] The session release request includes an RDMA disconnect response.

[0309] Exemplarily, the session release request is Nsmf PDUSession ReleaseSMcontext Request.

[0310] In step 1209, the AMF sends an N2 message to the base station. In response, the base station receives the N2 message.

[0311] The N2 message includes an RDMA disconnect response.

[0312] Step 1210: The RDMA link between the UPF and the base station is disconnected.

[0313] The UPF and the base station disconnect each other according to the RDMA disconnection information of the base station and the RDMA disconnection information of the UPF. For the specific implementation process of disconnection, please refer to the relevant description of the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0314] The above solution implements the release process of the RDMA link on the user plane, so that the link can be released in time when the RDMA link is no longer needed, thereby saving resources.

[0315] Figure 13 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method introduces the release process of the RDMA link, and the UPF sends an RDMA disconnection request and the base station replies with an RDMA disconnection response. The method includes the following steps:

[0316] Step 1301: The UE sends a PDU session modification request to the AMF. In response, the AMF receives the PDU session modification request.

[0317] The PDU session modification request is used to request the release of a PDU session.

[0318] Step 1302: AMF sends a session management context request to SMF. In response, SMF receives the session management context request.

[0319] The session management context request is used to request the SMF to modify corresponding information.

[0320] Exemplarily, the session management context request is Nsmf PDUSession UpdateSMcontext Request.

[0321] Step 1303: The SMF sends an N4 session release request to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the N4 session release request.

[0322] The N4 session release request includes indication information, where the indication information is used to instruct to disconnect the RDMA link.

[0323] Step 1304: UPF sends an N4 session release response to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the N4 session release response.

[0324] The N4 session release response includes an RDMA disconnect request, which includes the UPF's RDMA disconnect information. The UPF's RDMA disconnect information includes the UPF's port identifier and queue pair identifier. Optionally, the UPF's RDMA disconnect information also includes access permission information and / or a virtual memory address. The virtual memory address is used to indicate the memory to be released.

[0325] Step 1305: SMF sends a session release request to AMF. Correspondingly, AMF receives the session release request.

[0326] The session release request includes an RDMA disconnect request.

[0327] Exemplarily, the session release request is Nsmf PDUSession ReleaseSMcontext Request.

[0328] In step 1306, the AMF sends a resource release request to the base station. In response, the base station receives the resource release request.

[0329] The resource release request includes an RDMA disconnect request.

[0330] After receiving the RDMA disconnection request, the base station determines whether to allow the disconnection based on the UPF RDMA disconnection information in the disconnection request. If the disconnection is allowed, the following steps 1307 to 1310 are executed. If the disconnection is not allowed, the disconnection request is rejected.

[0331] In step 1307, the base station sends a resource release response to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the resource release response.

[0332] The resource release response includes an RDMA disconnection response, which includes the RDMA disconnection information of the base station. The RDMA disconnection information of the base station includes the port identifier and queue pair identifier of the base station. Optionally, the RDMA disconnection information of the base station also includes access permission information and / or a virtual memory address. The virtual memory address is used to indicate the memory to be released.

[0333] In step 1308, the AMF sends a session release response to the SMF. Accordingly, the SMF receives the session release response.

[0334] The session release response includes an RDMA disconnect response.

[0335] Exemplarily, the session release response is Nsmf PDUSession ReleaseSMcontext Response.

[0336] Step 1309: The SMF sends an RDMA disconnect response to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the RDMA disconnect response.

[0337] Step 1310: The RDMA link between the UPF and the base station is disconnected.

[0338] The UPF and the base station disconnect each other according to the RDMA disconnection information of the base station and the RDMA disconnection information of the UPF. For the specific implementation process of disconnection, please refer to the relevant description of the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0339] The above solution implements the release process of the RDMA link on the user plane, so that the link can be released in time when the RDMA link is no longer needed, thereby saving resources.

[0340] FIG14 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is for RDMA-based data transmission in a BP / ULCL splitting scenario. The method includes the following steps:

[0341] Step 1401, the UE has established a PDU session with UPF1.

[0342] This UPF1 is a PSA UPF, referred to as PSA UPF1.

[0343] Step 1402, the UE has established a PDU session with UPF2.

[0344] This UPF2 is a PSA UPF, referred to as PSA UPF2.

[0345] Step 1403, SMF is inserted into UPF3.

[0346] The UPF3 is a BP UPF or a UL CL UPF.

[0347] In step 1404 , UPF1 and UPF3 exchange RDMA link establishment information, and establish an RDMA link according to the exchanged RDMA link establishment information.

[0348] Specifically, UPF1 sends RDMA link establishment information of UPF1 to UPF3, and UPF3 sends RDMA link establishment information of UPF3 to UPF1. For the specific content of the link establishment information, please refer to the description of the above embodiment.

[0349] UPF1 and UPF3 can exchange RDMA link establishment information through the N9 interface, or exchange RDMA link establishment information through SMF forwarding.

[0350] In step 1405 , UPF2 and UPF3 exchange RDMA link establishment information, and establish an RDMA link according to the exchanged RDMA link establishment information.

[0351] Specifically, UPF2 sends RDMA link establishment information of UPF2 to UPF3, and UPF3 sends RDMA link establishment information of UPF3 to UPF2. For the specific content of the link establishment information, please refer to the description of the above embodiment.

[0352] UPF2 and UPF3 can exchange RDMA link establishment information through the N9 interface, or exchange RDMA link establishment information through SMF forwarding.

[0353] In step 1406, the base station and UPF3 exchange RDMA link establishment information, and establish an RDMA link according to the exchanged RDMA link establishment information.

[0354] Specifically, the base station sends the RDMA link establishment information of the base station to UPF3, and UPF3 sends the RDMA link establishment information of UPF3 to the base station. For the specific content of the link establishment information, reference may be made to the description of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0355] The base station and UPF3 can exchange RDMA link establishment information through the N3 interface, or exchange RDMA link establishment information through forwarding between AMF and SMF.

[0356] In the above solution, in the BP UPF / ULCL UPF offload scenario, RDMA links are established in segments, that is, RDMA links are established between the base station and UPF3, RDMA links are established between UPF3 and UPF1, and RDMA links are established between UPF3 and UPF2. This can realize RDMA-based data transmission in the BP UPF / ULCL UPF offload scenario, thereby meeting the high throughput and low latency requirements of the business and reducing CPU overhead.

[0357] FIG15 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is for data transmission based on RDMA in a user data message scenario of the chain internet of things (CIoT). The method includes the following steps:

[0358] Step 1501: The UE establishes an RRC connection.

[0359] Step 1502: The UE sends uplink information to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the uplink information.

[0360] The uplink information may be an initial UE message or an uplink NAS message.

[0361] Step 1503: AMF determines to establish an RDMA link.

[0362] For the specific implementation of this step, please refer to step 701 of the embodiment of FIG. 7 .

[0363] In step 1504, the base station and the AMF exchange RDMA link establishment information and establish an RDMA link based on the exchanged RDMA link establishment information.

[0364] Specifically, the base station sends the RDMA link establishment information of the base station to the AMF, and the AMF sends the RDMA link establishment information of the AMF to the base station. For the specific content of the link establishment information, please refer to the description of the previous embodiment.

[0365] Step 1505: AMF and SMF exchange RDMA link establishment information, and establish an RDMA link based on the exchanged RDMA link establishment information.

[0366] Specifically, AMF sends RDMA link establishment information of AMF to SMF, and SMF sends RDMA link establishment information of SMF to AMF. For the specific content of the link establishment information, please refer to the description of the above embodiment.

[0367] In step 1506, the SMF and the UPF exchange RDMA link establishment information, and establish an RDMA link according to the exchanged RDMA link establishment information.

[0368] Specifically, SMF sends RDMA link establishment information of SMF to UPF, and UPF sends RDMA link establishment information of UPF to SMF. For the specific content of the link establishment information, please refer to the description of the above embodiment.

[0369] After the above three segment links are established, uplink and downlink information can be transmitted.

[0370] Step 1507: AMF sends uplink information to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the uplink information.

[0371] Specifically, AMF sends the uplink information received in step 1502 or the uplink information received through other steps to SMF through the RDMA link between AMF and SMF.

[0372] Step 1508: The SMF sends uplink information to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the uplink information.

[0373] Specifically, SMF sends the received uplink information to UPF through the RDMA link between SMF and UPF.

[0374] Through the above process, uplink information is sent from the base station to the UPF through the RDMA link.

[0375] Step 1509: UPF sends downlink information to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the downlink information.

[0376] Specifically, UPF sends the downlink information to SMF through the RDMA link between SMF and UPF.

[0377] Step 1510: The SMF sends downlink information to the AMF. Correspondingly, the AMF receives the downlink information.

[0378] Specifically, SMF sends the downlink information to AMF through the RDMA link between SMF and AMF.

[0379] In step 1511, the AMF sends downlink information to the base station. Correspondingly, the base station receives the downlink information.

[0380] Specifically, the AMF sends the downlink information to the base station through the RDMA link between the base station and the AMF.

[0381] Through the above process, downlink information is sent from the UPF to the base station through the RDMA link.

[0382] In the above solution, in the CIOT user data message scenario, RDMA links are established in segments, that is, RDMA links are established between the base station and AMF, RDMA links are established between AMF and SMF, and RDMA links are established between SMF and UPF. This can realize RDMA-based data transmission under CIOT user data messages, thereby meeting the high throughput and low latency characteristics of the business and reducing CPU overhead.

[0383] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the first device, the second device, or the third device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example 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 the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0384] Figures 16 and 17 are schematic diagrams of the structures of the communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first device, the second device, or the third device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the first device, the second device, or the third device, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to the first device, the second device, or the third device.

[0385] The communication device 1600 shown in Figure 16 includes a processing unit 1610 and a transceiver unit 1620. The communication device 1600 is used to implement the functions of the first device, the second device, or the third device in the above method embodiment.

[0386] When the communication device 1600 is used to implement the function of the first device in the above method embodiment, the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device; the processing unit 1610 is used to establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0387] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from a second device, and send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: receiving indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate the use of RDMA for data transmission; sending an RDMA link establishment request to the second device based on the indication information, where the RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the first device; and receiving an RDMA link establishment response from the second device, where the RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

[0388] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: receiving an RDMA link establishment request from the second device, the RDMA link establishment request including the RDMA link establishment information of the second device; and sending an RDMA link establishment response to the second device, the RDMA link establishment response including the RDMA link establishment information of the first device.

[0389] In one possible implementation method, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a user plane network element; the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, specifically including: receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device; or receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through the interface between the first device and the mobility management network element, and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device is sent by the second device to the mobility management network element through the session management network element.

[0390] In a possible implementation method, the user plane network element is an uplink splitter user plane network element or a bifurcation point user plane network element.

[0391] In one possible implementation method, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a mobility management network element; the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, specifically including: receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0392] In one possible implementation method, the first device is a user plane network element, and the second device is an access network device; the transceiver unit 1620 is used to send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the second device; or sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the session management network element, and the RDMA link establishment information of the first device is sent by the session management network element to the second device through the mobility management network element.

[0393] In one possible implementation method, the user plane network element is an uplink splitter user plane network element or a bifurcation point user plane network element; the transceiver unit 1620 is further used to send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the anchor user plane network element, and receive the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor user plane network element from the anchor user plane network element; the processing unit 1610 is further used to establish an RDMA link between the anchor user plane network element and the first device based on the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor user plane network element.

[0394] In one possible implementation method, the first device is a mobility management network element, and the second device is an access network device or a session management network element; the transceiver unit 1620 is used to send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

[0395] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and to send RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: receiving RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device in the session establishment or modification process, and sending RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device.

[0396] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 1620 is further used to receive RDMA link disconnection information of the second device from the second device, and to send RDMA link disconnection information of the first device to the second device; the processing unit 1610 is further used to disconnect the RDMA link between the first device and the second device based on the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device and the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device.

[0397] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA disconnection information of the second device from a second device, and send the RDMA disconnection information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: receiving an RDMA disconnection request from the second device, the RDMA disconnection request including the RDMA disconnection information of the second device; and sending an RDMA disconnection response to the second device, the RDMA disconnection response including the RDMA disconnection information of the first device.

[0398] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1610 is further used to determine whether to allow the RDMA link between the first device and the second device to be disconnected based on the RDMA disconnection information of the first device; the transceiver unit 1620 is used to send an RDMA disconnection response to the second device, specifically including: sending the RDMA disconnection response to the second device when disconnection of the RDMA link between the first device and the second device is allowed.

[0399] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 1620 is used to receive RDMA disconnection information of the second device from a second device, and send the RDMA disconnection information of the first device to the second device, specifically including: sending an RDMA disconnection request to the second device, the RDMA disconnection request including the RDMA disconnection information of the first device; and receiving an RDMA disconnection response from the second device, the RDMA disconnection response including the RDMA disconnection information of the second device.

[0400] When the communication device 1600 is used to implement the function of the third device in the above method embodiment, the processing unit 1610 is used to determine to establish an RDMA link; the transceiver unit 1620 is used to send indication information to the fourth device, where the indication information is used to indicate that data transmission is performed in an RDMA manner.

[0401] In a possible implementation method, the third device is a session management network element, and the fourth device is an access network device, a user plane network element, or a mobility management network element.

[0402] In a possible implementation method, the third device is a mobility management network element, and the fourth device is an access network device, a user plane network element, or a session management network element.

[0403] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1610 is configured to determine the establishment of an RDMA link, specifically including: receiving a request message from a terminal device through the transceiver unit 1620, the request message being used to request the establishment of an RDMA link; and determining the establishment of the RDMA link according to the request message.

[0404] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 1610 is used to determine the establishment of an RDMA link, specifically including: receiving a QoS request through the transceiver unit 1620, the QoS request including a QoS level, and the data transmission method corresponding to the QoS level is RDMA transmission; and determining the establishment of an RDMA link based on the QoS request.

[0405] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 1610 is configured to determine whether to establish an RDMA link, specifically including: determining whether to establish an RDMA link according to the local configuration information of the third device.

[0406] A more detailed description of the processing unit 1610 and the transceiver unit 1620 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0407] The communication device 1700 shown in Figure 17 includes a processor 1710 and an interface circuit 1720. The processor 1710 and the interface circuit 1720 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1720 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1700 may also include a memory 1730 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1710, or storing input data required by the processor 1710 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1710 executes instructions.

[0408] When the communication device 1700 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 1710 is used to implement the functions of the above processing unit 1610 , and the interface circuit 1720 is used to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 1620 .

[0409] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), 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.

[0410] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which 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. Of course, 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 an access network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist in the access network device or the terminal device as discrete components.

[0411] 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, an access network device, a terminal 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.

[0412] 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.

[0413] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. 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. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next related objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next related objects are in a "division" relationship.

[0414] It is understood that the various numbers used in the 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 first device or a module of the first device, the method includes: Receiving remote direct memory access (RDMA) link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device; Establishing an RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: Receiving indication information for indicating data transmission in an RDMA manner; Sending an RDMA link establishment request to the second device according to the indication information, where the RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the first device; Receiving an RDMA link establishment response from the second device, where the RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: Receiving an RDMA link establishment request from the second device, where the RDMA link establishment request includes the RDMA link establishment information of the second device; Sending an RDMA link establishment response to the second device, where the RDMA link establishment response includes the RDMA link establishment information of the first device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first device is an access network device, and the second device is a user plane network element; The receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device includes: Receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through an interface between the first device and the second device; or, Receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through an interface between the first device and a mobility management network element, where the RDMA link establishment information of the second device is sent by the second device to the mobility management network element through a session management network element.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The user plane network element is an uplink shunt user plane network element or a fork point user plane network element.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first device is an access network device, and the second device is a mobility management network element; The receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device includes: Receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device through an interface between the first device and the second device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first device is a user plane network element, and the second device is an access network device; The sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: Sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through an interface between the first device and the second device; or, Sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through an interface between the first device and a session management network element, where the RDMA link establishment information of the first device is sent by the session management network element to the second device through a mobility management network element.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The user plane network element is an uplink shunt user plane network element or a fork point user plane network element; the method further includes: Sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the anchor user plane network element, and receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor user plane network element from the anchor user plane network element; Establishing an RDMA link between the anchor user plane network element and the first device according to the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the anchor user plane network element.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first device is a mobility management network element, and the second device is an access network device or a session management network element; The sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: Sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device through the interface between the first device and the second device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device and sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device includes: Receiving the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device and sending the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device in the session establishment or modification process.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device from the second device, and sending the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device to the second device; Disconnecting the RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device and the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The receiving the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device from the second device and sending the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device to the second device includes: Receiving an RDMA link disconnection request from the second device, where the RDMA link disconnection request includes the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device; Sending an RDMA link disconnection response to the second device, where the RDMA link disconnection response includes the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The method further includes: Judging whether to allow disconnecting the RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device; The sending the RDMA link disconnection response to the second device includes: Sending the RDMA link disconnection response to the second device when it is allowed to disconnect the RDMA link between the first device and the second device.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein The receiving the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device from the second device and sending the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device to the second device includes: Sending an RDMA link disconnection request to the second device, where the RDMA link disconnection request includes the RDMA link disconnection information of the first device; Receiving an RDMA link disconnection response from the second device, where the RDMA link disconnection response includes the RDMA link disconnection information of the second device.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a third device or a module of a third device, the method includes: Determining to establish a Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) link; Send indication information to a fourth device, where the indication information is used to indicate data transmission in the RDMA manner.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The third device is a session management network element, and the fourth device is an access network device, a user plane network element, or a mobility management network element.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein The third device is a mobility management network element, and the fourth device is an access network device, a user plane network element, or a session management network element.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that, The determination of establishing an RDMA link includes: Receive a request message from a terminal device, where the request message is used to request the establishment of an RDMA link; Determine to establish an RDMA link according to the request message.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that, The determination of establishing an RDMA link includes: Receive a Quality of Service (QoS) request, where the QoS request includes a QoS level, and the data transmission manner corresponding to the QoS level is RDMA transmission; Determine to establish an RDMA link according to the QoS request.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The determination of establishing an RDMA link includes: Determine to establish an RDMA link according to the local configuration information of the third device.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, Include a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or performing the method according to any one of claims 15 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Include a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 20.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes instructions, and when the instructions run on a processor, the processor is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, or perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 20.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instructions are stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 15 to 20 is implemented.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, Include: A first device, configured to receive the RDMA link establishment information of the second device from the second device, and send the RDMA link establishment information of the first device to the second device; Establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device; The second device, configured to receive the RDMA link establishment information of the first device from the first device, and send the RDMA link establishment information of the second device to the first device; Establish an RDMA link between the first device and the second device according to the RDMA link establishment information of the first device and the RDMA link establishment information of the second device.

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