Ran configuration for faster RRT adjustments

Abstract

Adjusting UL QFI based on RT delay measurement is described herein. RAN node actions for adjusting UL QFI based on RT delay measurement is described herein. The RAN Node may be configured to adjust RT based on DL traffic related information. The RAN Node may monitor RT latency for the UL and DL traffic. The RAN Node may determine that the RT latency may be adjusted. The RAN Node may determine the QFI for the DL flow. The RAN Node may determine, using the Association ID, QFI value for the DL flow and / or the QFI determination rule in the QoS Profile, the value of the QFI for the UL flow (e.g., UL QFI). The RAN Node may encapsulate a DL packet in an SDAP header which may include an AQF indication, the Association ID, and / or the QFI value for UL QFI, and may send it to the WTRU.

Description

RAN CONFIGURATION FOR FASTER RRT ADJUSTMENTSCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 619,779, filed January 11 , 2024, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.BACKGROUND

[0002] There may be a round trip (RT) requirement for a 5G system. The 5G system may perform uplink or downlink (UL / DL) policy control based on a round-trip latency requirement. In examples, the AF can introduce a RT latency requirement. The Application Function (AF) may request an AF session for a certain traffic and include a round trip latency indication. The PCF may receive the request from the AF (e.g., through the NEF). The PCF may determine, using the RT latency indication, a RT latency requirement (e.g., with value equal to the RT latency indication). The PCF may determine a DL packet delay budget (PDB) and / or UL PDB for the extended reality media service (XRM) traffic of interest (e.g., video traffic for DL direction and pose information for UL direction). The sum of DL PDB and / or UL PDB may be set to be less than the RT latency requirement value.

[0003] If data traffic is carried using different service data flows or have different QoS parameters, the PCF may generate PCC rules (e.g., two PCC rules). The PCC rules may be for DL traffic and / or for UL traffic. The PCF may send the PCC rules to the SMF which may generate corresponding N4 rules for the UPF, QoS profiles for the RAN, and / or QoS rules for the WTRU.SUMMARY

[0004] A network node (e.g., a RAN node) may comprise a processor configured to receive configuration information. The configuration information may comprise an indication to enable associated QoS flows (AQF). The processor may be configured to monitor traffic (e.g., XRM traffic) comprising an uplink (UL) traffic flow and a downlink (DL) traffic flow. The UL traffic flow and the DL traffic flow may be associated with a round trip (RT) latency requirement. The processor may be configured to monitor the RT latency of the traffic. The DL traffic flow and UL traffic flow may comprise an association ID. The processor may be configured to determine that the RT latency requirement needs to be adjusted based on a RT measurement associated with the UL traffic flow and the DL traffic flow (e.g., RT delay measurement), the RT latencyrequirement, and / or the configuration information. The processor may be configured to determine a DL QoS flow identifier (QFI) and an UL QFI based on the association ID, the configuration information, a RT measurement (e.g., RT delay measurement), and / or the RT latency requirement The processor may be further configured to send, to a WTRU, a DL message, for example, a DL packet. The DL packet may comprise an AQF indication, the association ID, and the UL QFI.

[0005] The network node may be associated with a radio access network (RAN). The configuration information may comprise a QoS profile or a QoS rule. The configuration information may comprise a RTT requirement, and the network node may determine that the RT latency needs to be adjusted based on the RTT requirement.

[0006] The DL packet may comprise a ratio or percentage value associated with consumption of the DL and UL flow RT latency. The DL packet may be a user plane DL packet from the DL flow, a DL monitoring packet for the DL flow of interest, or a packet constructed by the network node to notify the UE of RT latency adjustment.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0008] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0009] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0010] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a system flow diagram depicting an example of provisioning and enforcement of AQF at the WTRU.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a system flow diagram depicting an example of provisioning of AQF in the RAN.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a system flow diagram depicting an example of adjusting UL QFI based on DL traffic using AQF.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0016] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a basetransceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0017] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e. , one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0018] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0019] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0020] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0021] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0022] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0023] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e. , Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0024] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellularbased RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0025] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internetprotocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0026] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0027] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0028] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 mayinclude any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0029] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0030] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0031] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0032] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example.

[0033] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit).The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0034] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134 and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0035] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0036] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touchsensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0037] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WRTU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0038] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0039] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0040] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0041] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0042] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of theWTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0043] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0044] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0045] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit- switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0046] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0047] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0048] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) thesource and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0049] When using the 802.11 ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every ST A), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0050] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0051] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0052] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non- TVWS spectrum. According to a representativeembodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0053] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11 ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0054] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0055] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0056] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment.The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a,180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0057] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0058] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0059] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and MobilityManagement Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0060] The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0061] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non- 3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0062] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0063] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies,supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0064] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0065] In view of Figures 1A-1 D, and the corresponding description of Figures 1A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-ab, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0066] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may perform testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0067] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry(e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0068] A WTRU may indicate support for Associated QoS Flow (AQF) feature(s). The Application Function (AF) may request resources for an extended reality media (XRM) data session which may comprise includes uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) flows that may be bound by a round-trip (RT) requirement.

[0069] The Policy Control Function (PCF) may generate Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule(s) for the considered UL and DL traffic flows. The Session Management Function (SMF) may determine an Association ID for the linked UL and DL flows, and / or a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) determination Rule. The QFI determination Rule may comprise information about the QFI of the UL QoS Flow that carries the UL flow. The DL flow may be carried by a QoS flow identified by a DL QFI.

[0070] The SMF may generate one or more QoS Rule(s) that may include the QFI determination rule and / or traffic identification information that helps identify the UL traffic (e.g., the Association ID and / or the traffic description of the DL flow). The SMF may generate N4 rules for the UPF and / or a QoS Profile for the RAN. The SMF may send (e.g., via a PDU session modification response message) the QoS rules to the WTRU, the N4 rules to the UPF, and / or the QoS Profile to the RAN. If there is uplink XRM traffic to be sent by the WTRU, the WTRU may use the Association ID of the UL flow to determine the QoS Rule. The WTRU then may use the QFI determination Rule in the QoS Rule to determine the QFI to send the UL traffic on.

[0071] A WTRU may be configured to adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic, as described herein. The WTRU may receive the DL Packet and / or the Association ID in the SDAP header of the DL packet. The WTRU may be triggered to check if the QoS Flow Assignment (e.g., QFI) of an UL Flow, which may be associated with the flow of the DL Packet, may be updated. The WTRU may use the Association ID to determine the UL packet filter that is associated with the downlink packet. The WTRU may use the QFI determination rule in the QoS Rule, which may correspond to the UL flow of interest, and / or the QFI of the downlink packet to the determine the QFI that should be assigned to the uplink traffic. The WTRU may receive UL traffic from higher layers, (e.g., an application hosted at WTRU). The WTRU may determine that the uplink traffic matches the UL traffic filter that is associated with the Association ID and send the uplink traffic in the QoS Flow that is associated with the QFI that the WTRU determined should be assigned to the uplink traffic. The WTRU may map the UL traffic to an UL QFI based on the UL trafficfilter matching and the QFI Determination Rule in the QoS Rule. The WTRU may send the uplink traffic in the QoS Flow that was determined.

[0072] SMF Actions are described herein. The SMF may receive an indication that a WTRU supports AQF feature(s) from the AMF. The SMF may receive PCC rules from the PCF. The PCC rules may indicate that an UL traffic flow and a DL traffic flow are associated. The PCC rules may include RT latency requirements of the UL and DL traffic flows. The SMF may determine an Association ID value that may identify an association between an UL and DL traffic flows, based on received PCC rules. The SMF may construct QoS rules for the WTRU, which may indicate that the AQF feature should be applied to certain traffic. The QoS rules may indicate the UL packet filter of the UL flow, the DL packer filter of the DL flow associated with the UL traffic of interest, and / or the Association ID derived. The SMF may generate a QFI determination Rule for the UL flow. The SMF may construct N4 rules for the PDU Session. The SMF may include in the N4 rules an indication that for the traffic matching DL traffic (e.g., video) and / or UL traffic (e.g., pose information), AQF may be used. The SMF may include the association ID in the derived N4 rules. The SMF may generate a QoS Profile, which may include an indication that AQF is enabled for the QoS flows carrying the UL and DL traffic flows. The SMF may trigger a PDU Session Modification procedure to send the N4 rules to the UPF, the QoS rules to the WTRU and the QoS profile to the RAN node. The QFI determination rule may be included in the QoS Rule.

[0073] RAN Node Actions are described herein. The RAN node may receive a DL packet from the UPF (e.g., in a GTP-U message). The GTP-U header and / or GTP-U extension header may include the association ID derived from the DL filter of this DL packet. The RAN node may encapsulate the DL packet in an SDAP header. The RAN node may include the Association ID value in the SDAP header.

[0074] Configuring a RAN node to Adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic is described herein. The RAN node may receive a QoS Profile from the SMF that may include an indication that the AQF feature is enabled for the QoS flows carrying the UL and DL Traffic flows. The QoS Profile may include The Association ID derived and / or the QFI determination Rule for the UL flow. The RAN node may receive a DL packet from the UPF in a GTP-U message. The GTP-U header and / or GTP-U extension header may include the association ID derived from the DL filter of this DL packet. The RAN node may identify the QoS flow ID (QFI) of the received DL packet. The RAN node may use QFI for the DL flow and / or the Association ID to determine that AQF should be used for the UL flow associated with the DL flow of interest. The RAN node may use the DL QFI, Association ID, and / or the AQF determination rule in the QoS Profile to determine the QFIfor the UL flow, which may be associated with the DL flow of interest The RAN node may encapsulate the DL packet in an SDAP header and may include: an indication that AQF is enabled (e.g., an AQF field of value 1 in the SDAP header), the Association ID, and / or the determined UL QFI. The RAN node may transmit the encapsulated DL packet to the WTRU. The RAN node may (e.g., if available) include a field with a UL DRB value in the SDAP header to indicate a value and / or identifier of an UL DRB the UL packet of interest to be mapped.

[0075] WTRU actions for configuring a RAN node to Adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic are described herein. The WTRU may receive a PDU session establishment / modification accept message from the SMF that includes an indication that AQF is enabled for a PDU session. The message may include an AQF timer for the QoS rules. The WTRU may receive the DL packet, an AQF indication (e.g., with value 1), the Association ID, QFI value of UL QFI, and / or a DRB value for the UL DRB (e.g., in the SDAP header of the DL packet). The WTRU may be triggered, based on the AQF indication, to check if the QoS Flow Assignment (e.g., QFI) of an UL Flow may be updated, which may be associated with the flow of the DL packet.

[0076] The WTRU may be triggered, based on the AQF indication to check whether UL QFI to DRB mapping rule may be updated (e.g., at the SDAP layer). The WTRU may use the QFI value received and / or the UL DRB value to update the mapping QFI to DRB mapping for UL flow. The WTRU may determine based on the AQF indication that QoS rules may be created and / or updated. The UL filter Set for the QoS rule may include the Association ID value provided by the RAN. The QFI value in the QoS rule may be set to the UL QFI value received from the RAN (e.g., in the DL packet header). A timer associated with the QoS Rule may be started, having a duration set to the value of AQF timer received previously.

[0077] SMF actions for configuring a RAN node to Adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic are described herein. The SMF may receive an indication that WTRU support AQF feature from the AMF.

[0078] The SMF may receive PCC rules from the PCF. The PCC rules may indicate that the UL traffic flow and DL traffic flow are associated. The PCC rules may include RT latency associated with the UL and DL traffic flows. The SMF may determine, based on received PCC rules, an Association ID value that may identify an association between an UL and DL Traffic flows. The SMF may construct a QoS Profile for the RAN, which may indicate that the AQF feature is enabled for the QoS flows carrying the UL and DL Traffic flows. The QoS Profile may indicate the Association ID derived and / or the QFI determination Rule for the UL flow. The SMF may construct N4 rules for the PDU Session. The SMF may include in the N4 rule indication that the traffic matching DL video traffic or UL traffic, AQF may be used. The SMF may includethe association ID in the derived N4 rules. The SMF may send the QoS Profile to the RAN and / or the N4 rules to the UPF.

[0079] Adjusting UL QFI based on RT delay measurement is described herein. RAN node actions for adjusting UL QFI based on RT delay measurement are described herein. The RAN Node may be configured to adjust RT based on DL traffic. The RAN Node may monitor RT latency for the UL and DL traffic. The RAN Node may determine that the RT latency may be adjusted. The RAN Node may determine the QFI for the DL flow (e.g., based on information in the DL packets of the DL traffic). The RAN Node may determine, using the Association ID, QFI value for the DL flow and / or the QFI determination rule in the QoS Profile, the value of the QFI for the UL flow (e.g., UL QFI). The RAN Node may encapsulate a DL packet in an SDAP header which may include an AQF indication, the Association ID, and / or the QFI value for UL QFI, and may send it to the WTRU.

[0080] WTRU actions for adjusting UL QFI based on RT delay measurement are described herein. The WTRU may receive a DL packet with SDAP header including AQF indication, an Association ID, and / or a QFI value for UL flow. The WTRU may use the AQF indication, association ID, and / or QFI value to update the QoS Rule for the UL flow.

[0081] There may be a round trip (RT) requirement for a 5G system. The 5G system may perform UL / DL policy control based on a round-trip latency requirement. In examples, the AF can introduce a RT latency requirement. The Application Function (AF) may request an AF session for a certain traffic and include a round trip latency indication. The PCF may receive the request from the AF (e.g., through the NEF). The PCF may determine, using the RT latency indication, a RT latency requirement (e.g., with value equal to the RT latency indication). The PCF may determine a DL PDB and / or UL PDB for the XRM traffic of interest (e.g., video traffic for DL direction and pose information for UL direction). The sum of DL PDB and / or UL PDB is set to be less that the RT latency requirement value.

[0082] If data traffic is carried using different service data flows or have different QoS parameters, the PCF may generate PCC rules (e.g., two PCC rules). The PCC rules may be for DL traffic and / or for UL traffic. The PCF may send the PCC rules to the SMF which may generate corresponding N4 rules for the UPF, QoS profiles for the RAN, and / or QoS rules for the WTRU.

[0083] The 5GS may monitor the round-trip latency for the DL and UL traffic of interest, by monitoring the DL traffic and UL traffic separately and consolidating the result at the SMF. The SMF may provide this information to the PCF. The PCF may determine, depending on the RTmonitoring result, to update the DL PDB and / or UL PDB values, for example, to help ensure the RT latency meets the RT latency requirement.

[0084] The PCF may perform UL / DL policy control based on a round-trip latency requirement. The PCF may perform UL / DL policy control based on receiving independent QoS Monitoring reports for the UL flow and / or independent QoS Monitoring reports for the DL flow. The PCF may check if the sum of the UL and DL packet delays exceed the round-trip latency requirement. If the round-trip latency requirement is exceeded, then PCF may change the PDB of the UL flow and / or the DL flow. This change in PDB may result in the PCF generating new PCC rules. The PCC rules may be sent to the SMF. The SMF may use the PCC rules to generate new QoS rules for the UL flow. The new QoS rules may be sent to the WTRU. The WTRU may receive the new QoS rules (e.g., in a NAS message), and may apply the QoS rules to the UL flow. The SMF may use the PCC rules to generate new N4 rules for the DL flow and may send the new N4 rules to the UPF. The UPF may receive the new N4 rules (e.g., in a N4 message), and may apply the N4 rules to the DL flow.

[0085] Reflective QoS (RQoS) for a 5G system is described herein. Reflective QoS refers to features of the 5GS where a WTRU is configured to use information from a received DL packet to determine QoS marking for UL packets with the same identification information (e.g., packet filter information). The WTRU may indicate that it supports reflective QoS to the 5GS for a PDU session. The WTRU may indicate this support using a PDU session establishment and / or PDU session modification procedure. The WTRU may determine to revoke the RQoS support for the PDU session.

[0086] The PCF may generate PCC rule(s) for traffic carried in a PDU session. The PCF may include in the PCC rule(s) an indication that RQoS is to be used for the traffic with an SDF template included in the PCC rule(s). A PCC rule with a match-all SDF template may comprise a RQoS indication disabled. The PCF may send the PCC rules to SMF. The SMF may derive N4 rules. The N4 rules may instruct the UPF that RQoS is enabled for traffic with a service data identifier included.

[0087] The SMF may generate a QoS profile for the QoS flow that carries the traffic of interest. The QoS profile may include the QoS flow ID (QFI) of the QoS flow that carries the traffic of interest. The QoS profile may include a Reflective QoS Attribute (RQA) to indicate that for this QoS flow the RQoS is enabled.

[0088] If the UPF receives a DL packet with a traffic identification information matching a PDR with RQoS enabled, the UPF may determine to set RQI field value to 1 in the GTP-U header and / or header extension of the DL packet and may send the packet to the RAN node. Thepacket (e.g., sent by the UPF) may include the QFI value of the QoS flow of interest The RAN may use the RQI value and / or QFI to include this indication to the WTRU.

[0089] If a WTRU receives a DL packet with an RQI field set to 1 and / or a QFI value, the WTRU may generate a new UL QoS rule or update an existing QoS rule. The packet filter for UL direction may be set as the packet filter determined from the received DL packet. The QFI of the QoS flow for this QoS rule may be set to the QFI value received in the DL packet header. A precedence value may be set (e.g., to 80). The WTRU may start a timer (e.g., called timer T3583) associated with this QoS rule. The timer value may be set to the RQ timer value last received by WTRU and / or a default value. If the WTRU receives a new DL packet with QFI and RQI, the timer (e.g., timer T3583) may be restarted, and the QoS rule update may be performed.

[0090] The UL traffic that uses the WTRU derived QoS Rule may have characteristics in common with the DL traffic that the QFI is obtained from. For example, when the DL traffic is TCP or UDP, the uplink traffic that the uses the WTRU derived QoS Rule may be TCP or UDP. For example, the destination port of the uplink traffic may be equal to the source port of the uplink traffic. For example, the source port of the uplink traffic may be equal to the destination port of the uplink traffic. For example, the destination IP address of the uplink traffic may be equal to the source IP address of the uplink traffic.

[0091] Reflective QoS at the SDAP layer is described herein. The SDAP layer is a user plane layer between a WTRU and a RAN node. The SDAP layer may comprise functionalities including: transfer of user plane data, mapping between QoS flow and / or DRB for DL and / or UL (e.g., both), QFI marking in DL and / or UL (e.g., both) packets, and / or reflective QoS flow to DRB mapping for the UL SDAP data PDUs.

[0092] The SDAP layer at the WTRU may be configured with an UL QoS flow to DRB mapping. If there is no UL QoS flow to DRB mapping rule for the QoS flow, the SDAP entity may construct an end-marker control PDU, map the end-marker PDU to the default DRB, and / or submit the end-marker to a lower layer.

[0093] If there is a previous UL QoS flow to DRB mapping rule stored, if the mapping is different, the SDAP entity may update the UL QoS flow to DRB mapping rule to the new one, construct and end-marker PDU and map it to the DRB according to the previous QoS flow to DRB mapping rule, and / or send the PDU to lower layers.

[0094] Reflective mapping may be enabled. For reflective mapping, if the SDAP entity at the WTRU receives a DL PDU with a RDI set (e.g., set to 1), the SDAP entity may process the QFI field in the SDAP header, determine the QoS flow, and / or determine the QoS flow to DRBmapping from the DL PDU. If the mapping rule is different from a stored QoS flow to DRIB mapping, the SDAP entity may generate an end-marker for the old mapping rule and may send it to lower layers. The SDAP entity may store the newly determined mapping. If the SDAP entity receives the DL PDU with a RQI field set to a value (e.g., 1) from the SDAP header of the DL PDU, the SDAP entity may provide the RQI and / or QFI to the NAS layer of the WTRU.

[0095] When the 5G system is performing UL / DL policy control based on a round-trip latency requirement and the PCF detects that the sum of the UL and DL packet delays exceed the on round-trip latency requirement, the PCF needs to perform an update to the PCC rules for the UL and / or DL traffic. Updating the PCC rules may trigger the SMF to generate new QoS rules for the UL traffic and / or new N4 rules for the DL traffic.

[0096] Updating QoS rules may comprise signaling the updated QoS Rule to the WTRU. If the PCF detects that PCC rules may be adjusted, there may be a delay in the adjustment being applied at the WTRU. The delay may cause more time to pass before the traffic handling can be adjusted. Implementations may be inefficient in scenarios with variance in the measured UL and DL delays, and frequent adjustments are needed. Inefficiency may arise, for example, because frequency changes in PCC rules trigger frequent changes in QoS rules, requiring additional over-the-air signaling to send the QoS rules to the WTRU. If there is more delay associated with the XRM traffic, it may be desirable for the concerned entities (e.g., the RAN and / or the WTRU) to react, using the user plane, in a fast way.

[0097] Methods, embodiments, and implementations described herein may relate to faster RTT adjustments. Traffic (e.g., XRM traffic) may be considered, which may include a RT constraint and / or requirements. For example, in downlink, video traffic may be sent from an application server to the WTRU. This traffic may be displayed in the WTRU and / or XRM device (e.g., XR headset). In uplink, the WTRU may send pose information traffic to the application server (e.g., via the 5GS) to inform the AS of new / updated pose information. The AS may use the pose information to determine the content (e.g., video) to send to the WTRU. In examples, the UL and DL traffic may comprise a RT latency requirement (e.g., a pose-to-potion requirement).

[0098] The DL traffic and UL traffic comprising a RT requirement may be carried using different service data flows and may be carried via different QoS flows in the user plane. The UL and DL traffic may be carried using the same service data flow, and the same QoS flow may apply, which is clarified. In examples, if the DL traffic is video traffic and the UL traffic is pose information, the protocols used to the carry the UL and DL traffic may be different (e.g., audio traffic). The UL traffic may be sent to a destination IP address and / or port number combination that is different than the source IP address and / or port number combination of the DL traffic.

[0099] The WTRU may be made aware of the fact that an uplink flow is linked and / or associated with, a downlink flow that may have different characteristics (e.g., uses a different protocol) than the uplink flow. The WTRU may be made aware of how to map the uplink flow to a QoS Flow based on the QoS Flow that was used (e.g., by the base station) to transmit a packet of the downlink flow. In examples, the uplink QoS Flow and downlink QoS may have different requirements or parameters (e.g., different PDB). The WTRU may be configured to determine resources (e.g., QoS Flow, DRB, and / or Logical Channel) to transmit an uplink packet based on the network resources that were used to transmit a downlink packet. This capability may be called Associated QoS Flows (AQF).

[0100] AQF may enable the WTRU to create and / or update QoS flow information for UL traffic (e.g., pose information), for example, when this traffic is linked to a DL traffic (e.g., video) and / or bound to a RT requirement in the 5GS.

[0101] In examples, an AQF indication may be used to adjust parameters in order to meet a RTT requirement. Implementations of reflective QoS feature(s) in the 5G System may not provide this functionality, for example, if the reflective QoS feature indicates for the uplink traffic and downlink traffic to use the same protocol, and / or is associated with the same QoS requirements (e.g., PDB).

[0102] The WTRU may indicate to the network that that it supports AQF feature(s). This indication may be provided to the SMF during PDU Session Establishment. The SMF may indicate to the PCF that the WTRU supports the AQF feature for the PDU Session. If UUDL policy control based on a round-trip latency requirement is utilized, the PCF may use the support indication from the WTRU to determine whether to use the AQF feature, whether to monitor the uplink and / or downlink QoS Flows, and / or adjust the associated PCC rules as needed.

[0103] Configuring the WTRU to adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic is described herein. FIG. 2 is a system flow diagram depicting provisioning and enforcement of AQF at the WTRU at 200.At 202, the WTRU, SMF, AMF PCF, and / or UPF may participate in a PDU session establishment procedure. The WTRU may send to the network an indication that it supports AQF feature(s). The indication may be sent in the PDU session establishment request and / or in the NAS message that carries the PDU Session Establishment request. The SMF may receive from the AMF the indication that the WTRU supports AQF feature(s). The SMF may provide the indication that the WTRU supports AQF feature(s) to the PCF that serves the PDU Session.

[0104] At 204, the AF may invoke an NEF API (e.g., Nnef_AfsessionWithQoS service) to request services for the XRM traffic. The AF may include a RT latency indication and / or a RTLatency Requirement in the request. The request message may comprise traffic flow descriptions for the DL traffic (e.g., video traffic) and / or UL traffic (e.g., pose information). The NEF may authorize the AF request and / or provide the RT Latency Indication, the RT Latency Requirement, UL Traffic Flow Descriptor, and / or DL Traffic Flow Descriptor to the PCF at 206.

[0105] At 208, the PCF may utilize information provided by the AF (e.g., via the NEF) to generate PCC rules for the XRM traffic. Based on receiving a RT Latency Requirement from the AF and based on receiving an indication that the WTRU supports the AQF feature, the PCF may determine to use AQF. The PCF may generate PCC rules (e.g., QER part of the PCC rule) which may indicate that the UL traffic flow and DL traffic flow are associated, and / or the RT latency requirements of the UL and DL Traffic Flows. At 210, the PCF may send the PCC rules to the SMF.

[0106] At 212, the SMF may generate QoS rules, N4 rules, and / or a QoS Profile. The SMF may construct QoS rules for the WTRU. The QoS rules may indicate that AQF should be applied for traffic that matches an UL packet filter. The QoS rules may indicate a DL flow that the UL packet filter is associated with. The QoS rules may indicate which DL flow is associated with the UL packet filter by describing the DL packet filter that is associated with the DL Flow. Alternatively or additionally to providing a DL packet filter that describes the associated DL flow, the QoS rules may comprise an Association ID associated with the DL Flow. The Association ID may be a value sent to the WTRU, for example, when the WTRU receives some packets of the DL flow. The WTRU may use the DL packet filter and / or the Association ID to detect that the DL packet is associated with the UL packet filter.

[0107] The SMF may determine the Association ID value, for example, when new PCC rules are received. The value may be unique within the PDU Session and may identify an association between an UL flow and DL flow. If the QoS rules indicate that AQF should be applied for traffic that matches an UL packet filter, the WTRU may be sent a QFI determination rule for the UL Flow. The QFI determination rule for the UL Flow will indicate to the WTRU how to derive the QFI of the UL Flow based on the QFI of the DL Flow. For example, the QFI determination rule may indicate that if the QFI of a downlink packet of an associated flow is X, then QFI of the uplink packets should be Y. In examples, the network may configure the WTRU to use a QFI that is associated with a relatively small PDB in the uplink when a QFI that is associated with a relatively large PDB is used in the downlink. The QFI determination rule may be part of the QoS Rule.

[0108] The SMF may construct N4 rules for the PDU Session. The N4 rule(s) (e.g., constructed by the SMF) may comprise an indication that for the traffic matching DL video traffic or ULtraffic, AQF may be used. The N4 rule(s) (e.g., derived by the SMF) may comprise the association ID. In examples, the PDR for the DL and / or UL traffic may (e.g., in addition) include the association ID value. The N4 rule(s) may indicate that DL traffic matches an SDF and / or packet filter associated with an association ID. Alternatively or additionally, the SMF may create a QoS Profile for the PDU Session. At 214, the SMF may trigger a PDU session modification procedure to send: the N4 rules to the UPF, the QoS rules to the WTRU, and / or the QoS profile to the RAN node.

[0109] At 216, the application server may send downlink traffic (e.g., video) to the UPF. At 218, the UPF may determine that the DL packet matches an N4 rule associated with an association ID. The UPF may detect that the DL packet matches an SDF and / or packet filter (e.g., indicated by the SMF) that is associated with an association ID. The UPF may detect that the AQF feature applies for this DL packet. At 220, the UPF may send the GTP-U message comprising the data packet and / or association ID to the RAN Node. The GTP-U header and / or GTP-U extension header (e.g., of the message from the UPF) may comprise a field that is includes the association ID derived from the DL filter of the DL packet.

[0110] At 222, the RAN node may encapsulate the DL packet in an SDAP header and may include the Association ID value in the SDAP header.

[0111] At 224, in the SDAP layer, the WTRU may receive the DL Packet and / or the Association ID. Reception of the association ID may trigger the WTRU to check if the QoS Flow Assignment (e.g., QFI) of an UL Flow, which is associated with the flow of the DL Packet, should be updated. At 224, the WTRU may use the association ID to determine the UL packet filter that is associated with the downlink packet. The WTRU may use the association ID to determine which uplink traffic is associated with the DL packet. The WTRU may use the QFI determination rule and / or the QFI of the downlink packet to the determine the QFI that should be assigned to the uplink traffic. The uplink QoS treatment may be adjusted based on the downlink QoS treatment. The adjustment may be such that a shorter PDB is associated with the uplink when a relatively larger PDB is associated with the downlink. The WTRU may have received the QFI determination rule in the PDU Session Modification Command at 214.

[0112] At 226, the WTRU may receive UL traffic from higher layers (e.g., an application hosted at WTRU). The uplink traffic may match the UL traffic filter that is associated with the association ID. The WTRU may send the uplink traffic in the QoS Flow that was determined at 224.

[0113] Configuring the RAN to adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic is described herein. Alternatively or additionally to configuring the WTRU adjust UL QFI based on DL traffic, thenetwork may send the QFI Determination rules to the RAN node. If the RAN node receives a DL packet with an association ID from the UPF, the RAN Node may use the QFI of the DL Packet and / or the QFI determination rule to determine the QFI for the associated UL packet The RAN may send the DL Packet, association ID, and / or the determined UL QFI to the WTRU. The association ID and / or determined UL QFI may be included in the SDAP header. An example of procedure is shown in FIG. 3.

[0114] FIG. 3 is a system flow diagram depicting provisioning of AQF in the RAN at 300. Steps 302 through 310 may be similar to steps 202 through 210 as described in FIG. 2. The WTRU may have indicated support for AQF in a PDU session establishment or modification procedure in step 302.

[0115] At 304 and 306, the AF may request to reserve a session for the XRM traffic, and may include an UL traffic descriptor, a DL traffic descriptor, and / or a RT latency indication and / or RT latency requirement. The request may be sent to the PCF (e.g., via the NEF).

[0116] At 308, the PCF may use the RT latency indication and / or RT latency requirement to generate PCC rules for the UL flow and DL flow. At 310, the PCF may send the PCC rules to the SMF.

[0117] At 312, the SMF may generate N4 rule(s) and / or a QoS Profile. In examples, the SMF may construct a QoS profile for the PDU session. The constructed QoS profile may comprise information about the QoS flows for the PDU session. The QoS profile may comprise a QFI determination rule. The QFI determination rule may indicate that, for a DL flow carried in a QoS flow with ID QFI X, the ID of the QoS flow for the UL flow that is associated to this DL flow should be of QFI Y. The QoS profile may comprise the association ID that identifies the link between the DL flow and UL flow of interest. The QoS profile may comprise an indication that AQF should be applied for the QoS flow of interest and / or for the DL flow and UL flow that are linked through the provided association ID. Based on information included in the QoS Profile, the RAN node may determine that it should provide information regarding the UL flow associated to the DL flow, in the header of the DL packet. If AQF is not enabled (e.g., AQF field has value 0), the RAN node may not include information regarding UL flow associated with DL flow, in the header of the DL packet.

[0118] The SMF may construct N4 rules for the PDU Session. The SMF may include in the N4 rule indication that for the traffic matching DL video traffic or UL traffic, TRQI may be used. The SMF may include the association ID in the derived N4 rules. For example, the PDR for the DL and UL traffic of interest may comprise the association ID value. The N4 rules may indicate thatDL traffic that matches a certain SDF and / or packet filter, is associated with a certain association ID.

[0119] At 314, the SMF may send the QoS profile to the RAN node and may send the N4 rules to the UPF at 316. At 318, the application server may send downlink traffic (e.g., video) to the UPF. At 320, the UPF may detect that AQF applies, and may generate a DL packet including an AQF indication and / or an association ID. At 322, the UPF may send the DL packet to the RAN node.

[0120] At 324, the RAN node may identify the QoS flow ID (QFI) of the received DL packet. The RAN node may use QFI for the DL flow and / or the association ID to determine that AQF should be used for the UL flow associated with the DL. The RAN node may use the DL QFI, association ID, and / or the AQF determination rule in the QoS profile to determine the QFI for the UL flow associated with the DL flow of interest. The RAN node may encapsulate the DL packet in an SDAP header, which may include an indication that AQF is enabled (e.g., an AQF field of value 1 in the SDAP header), the Association ID, and / or the determined UL QFI. The RAN may include a field with a UL DRB value to indicate a value and / or identifier of an UL DRB the UL packet of interest should be mapped to. Based on this, the WTRU may create and / or update the QoS flow to DRB mapping rule for the UL traffic of interest. At 326, the RAN node may send the DL packet to the WTRU.

[0121] In step 328, in the SDAP layer, the WTRU will receive the DL Packet, together with an AQF indication (e.g., AQF field of value 1), the Association ID, and / or the value of QFI for UL QFI (e.g., and eventually a value of DRB for the UL DRB). Reception of the AQF indication of value 1 will trigger the WTRU to check if QoS Flow Assignment (e.g., QFI) an UL Flow, which is associated with the flow of the DL Packet, needs to be updated.

[0122] WTRU may determine, using the value of AQF of 1 that the UL QFI to DRB mapping rule needs to be updated. WTRU may use the UL QFI value and optionally the UL DRB value to update the mapping QFI to DRB mapping for UL flow. If no DRB value is provided for the UL DRB, the WTRU may determine to use the DRB value of the received DL packet.

[0123] At the NAS layer, WTRU may receive the packet from the SDAP layer. The WTRU may determine, based on the AQF indication (e.g., having the value 1), that QoS rules should be created / updated. If no previous QoS rule was created for the UL traffic with UL filter with Association ID, the WTRU may determine to create a new QoS rule. The UL filter Set for the QoS rule may comprise the association ID value provided to the WTRU from the RAN Node. The QFI value for the QoS rule may be set to the value UL QFI value (e.g., received from the RAN in the DL packet header). Based on this, UL traffic comprising a UL filter matching theassociation ID for the rule, may be carried on / marked with the QoS flow of the considered PDU session, with QoS flow ID of value UL QFI. The WTRU may set a precedence value for the QoS rule (e.g., with a low precedence value indicating high priority of the QoS rule). The WTRU may start a timer associated with the QoS rule. The timer duration may be set using an AQF timer value (e.g., provided by the network), or using a default value. If a QoS rule for the UL traffic filter already exists, and it includes a QFI value different from the value UL QFI received from the RAN in the DL packet, the WTRU may update the QoS Rule, for example, by changing the QFI value to the received UL QFI value. The WTRU may re-start the timer associated to this QoS rule.

[0124] At 330, the WTRU may receive UL traffic from higher layers (e.g., an application hosted at WTRU). The uplink traffic may match the UL traffic filter that is associated with the association ID. The WTRU may send the uplink traffic in the QoS Flow that was determined at 328.

[0125] Adjusting UL QFI based on DL traffic is described herein. FIG. 4 is a system flow diagram depicting adjusting UL QFI based on DL traffic using AQF at 400.

[0126] At 402, a PDU session may be established between the WTRU and a PSA UPF. XRM traffic may be exchanged between the WTRU and an AS. The XRM traffic may comprise DL flow and UL flow, which may be bound to a RT latency requirement. The RT latency requirement may be configured in the 5GS. There may be a RT latency indication from the AF (e.g., at 402). The PCF may generate PCC rules (e.g., two, for uplink and downlink traffic). The PCC rules may be generated after determining an UL PDB and a DL PDB to meet the RT latency requirement. The PCC rules may include an indication to enable AQF.

[0127] At 404, the RAN node may monitor the RT delay for the XRM traffic. Based on the RT delay monitoring measurements determined and / or received (e.g., from UPF), in examples, the RAN node may determine that the RT delay measurement exceeds a RT latency threshold value. The RAN node may determine to adjust RTT using AQF capabilities.

[0128] The RAN Node may determine the association ID of the DL flow and UL flow based on information from the monitored packets. For example, the RAN Node may use DL packet used for RT delay monitoring from the DL flow or UL flow of interest, which may include the association ID in the packet header. The RAN may use this information to identify the association ID value. The RAN node may store the association ID that links the UL flow and DL flow associated with the RAN performing RT delay monitoring for the pair of flows. At 406, the RAN may use the association ID and / or the RT monitoring result to determine a QFI value for the DL flow.

[0129] Alternatively or additionally, the RAN may receive an indication from the UPF that the RT latency may be adjusted. This indication may include an RT latency monitoring result and / or a QFI recommendation for DL flow.

[0130] The RAN node may use the association ID, RT monitoring result, the QFI for DL flow, and / or the determination rule to determine at the RAN (e.g., in a QoS Profile), to determine the value of UL QFI for the UL flow of interest. The QFI (e.g., new) value for the QFI of the UL traffic (e.g., pose information) may have a UL PDB value that may reduce the total RT latency. The RAN may also include, for example, in a DL packet comprising the determined QFI, a ratio or percentage value the DL or UL path has consumed from the RT latency requirement. The RAN may also include a ratio, percentage, and / or value of UL delay desired for the UL QoS flow path.

[0131] The RAN may encapsulate the DL packet in an SDAP header which may comprise: an AQF indication (e.g., with value 1 to mean AQF feature is enabled), the Association ID of the DL flow and UL flow of interest, and / or the value of the UL QFI to be used by the WTRU for the UL flow of interest. The DL packet may be, for example, a user plane DL packet from the DL flow, a DL monitoring packet for the DL flow of interest, or packet constructed by the RAN Node to notify the WTRU of the adjustment to adopt.

[0132] The RAN may determine a new value for the UL DRB for the UL traffic of interest, with value or identifier UL DRB. In examples, this determination may be based on the RT monitoring results determined by the RAN, received by UPF, a QFI recommendation received from UPF, and / or determined by RAN. In examples, the RAN may determine to include the new UL DRB value in the SDAP encapsulation header of the DL packet to be sent to the WTRU. At 408, the RAN may send the DL packet to the WTRU.

[0133] At 410, the WTRU may use information received in the header of the DL packet to determine that AQF may be used and / or that a QoS Rule for the UL flow of interest may be updated. The WTRU may determine the UL QFI value to be the UL QFI value received from the RAN in the SDAP header of the DL packet.

[0134] At the SDAP layer, the WTRU may use the AQF indication value (e.g., a value of 1) to determine that QoS flow to DRB mapping for UL may be updated (e.g., at the SDAP layer) using the DL information. If the RAN includes an UL DRB value in the SDAP header of the DL packet, the WTRU may determine to use this value for the new UL DRB value. If the RAN hasn’t provided such a value in the DL packet SDAP header, the WTRU may determine to use the DL packet DRB information (e.g., value and / or identifier) to be used for the UL DRB.

[0135] The WTRU may determine the QoS rule to be updated using the Association ID, UL QFI value, and / or AQF indication provided by the RAN in the DL packet SDAP header and may use this information to update the QoS Rule.

[0136] At 412, the WTRU may receive an UL packet for the XRM traffic, from higher layers (e.g., an application hosted at the WTRU). The WTRU may use the association ID and / or UL packet filter ID to match it against a packet filter of QoS rules and may determine the QoS rule to be applied for this UL packet.

[0137] The WTRU may determine a QoS rule with packet filter matching the packet filter information of the UL packet (e.g., having the same association ID value). The WTRU may use the QoS Rule to determine the QFI value for the uplink packet. At the SDAP layer, the WTRU may use the QFI to DRB mapping to determine which DRB to send the UL packet on. The WTRU may mark the UL packet with the QFI field UL QFI, and may send the UL packet to the AS.

Claims

CLAIMS:What is claimed is:

1. A radio access network (RAN) node comprising a processor configured to: monitor round trip latency for extended reality and media (XRM) traffic associated with a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the XRM traffic comprising uplink traffic and downlink traffic; determine a quality-of-service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) for the uplink traffic using an association identifier (ID) of the downlink traffic and a QFI of the downlink traffic; and send a message to the WTRU, the message indicating the determined QFI for the uplink traffic.

2. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic, based on monitoring the round trip latency for the XRM traffic associated with the WTRU.

3. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic, based on a round trip delay measurement exceeding a round trip latency threshold value.

4. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic, based on receiving an indication to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic.

5. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the downlink traffic comprises a set of downlink packets, and wherein the processor is configured to: determine the association ID of the downlink traffic and the QFI of the downlink traffic based on information comprised in the set of downlink packets.

6. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: encapsulate the message that is sent to the WTRU in a service data application protocol (SDAP) header.

7. The RAN node of claim 1 , wherein the message that is sent to the WTRU comprises an associated QoS flows (AQF) indicator, or the association ID of the downlink traffic.

8. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine the QFI for the uplink traffic based on a packet delay budget (PDB) associated with the QFI of the downlink traffic or a round trip latency requirement.

9. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a percentage value that the downlink traffic has consumed from a round trip latency requirement.

10. The RAN node of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to monitor the round trip latency for the XRM traffic associated with the WTRU, based on receiving an indication enabling associated QoS flows (AQF).

11. A method for use by a radio access network (RAN) node, the method comprising: monitoring round trip latency for extended reality and media (XRM) traffic associated with a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the XRM traffic comprising uplink traffic and downlink traffic; determining a quality-of-service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) for the uplink traffic using an association identifier (ID) of the downlink traffic and a QFI of the downlink traffic; and sending a message to the WTRU, the message indicating the determined QFI for the uplink traffic.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: determining to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic, based on monitoring the round trip latency for the XRM traffic associated with the WTRU.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: determining to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic, based on a round trip delay measurement exceeding a round trip latency threshold value.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:determining to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic, based on receiving an indication to adjust the QFI for the uplink traffic.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the downlink traffic comprises a set of downlink packets, the method further comprising: determining the association ID of the downlink traffic and the QFI of the downlink traffic based on information comprised in the set of downlink packets.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: encapsulating the message that is sent to the WTRU in a service data application protocol (SDAP) header.

17. The method node of claim 11, wherein the message that is sent to the WTRU comprises an associated QoS flows (AQF) indicator or the association ID of the downlink traffic.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: determining the QFI for the uplink traffic based on a packet delay budget (PDB) associated with the QFI of the downlink traffic or a round trip latency requirement.

19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: determining a percentage value that the downlink traffic has consumed from a round trip latency requirement.

20. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: monitoring the round trip latency for the XRM traffic associated with the WTRU, based on receiving an indication enabling associated QoS flows (AQF).

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