Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus. In the method, when an access network device receives PDU set-based quality of service parameters configured by an SMF network element, on the basis of the quality of service processing capability of the access network device for a PDU set and the processing capability of a terminal for the PDU set, the SMF network element determines whether to support the PDU set-based quality of service parameters configured by the SMF network element; and the access network device reports to the SMF network element information about whether to support the PDU set-based quality of service parameters, thereby achieving uplink transmission based on the PDU set.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 7, 2024, with application number 202410175953.5 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] The development of fifth-generation mobile communication systems (5G) has driven exponential growth in media services. Video services have become mainstream, and emerging multimedia services such as 4K and 8K ultra-high-definition video and extended reality (XR) have emerged. These emerging multimedia services pose significant challenges to network transmission bandwidth, requiring improved network transmission efficiency to meet the demands of rapidly evolving services.

[0005] In the data stream transmission process, the concept of a protocol data unit (PDU) set has been proposed. A PDU set can include one or more PDU packets, each of which can carry application layer payloads, such as video frames or video slices. The transmission of PDU sets requires a certain level of capability upgrade for communication equipment. How access network equipment determines whether a corresponding terminal supports the scheduled transmission of PDU sets is a research topic. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus to enable an access network device to determine whether it supports the service quality parameters based on the PDU set configured by the core network network element, or to enable an access network device to determine whether it can meet or support the service quality processing based on the PDU set configured by the core network network element.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to uplink transmission based on a PDU set. The method can be performed by a first communication device, for example, an access network device, or a module (such as a chip or circuit) in the access network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software (such as a CU, DU, or RU) that fully or partially implements the functions of the access network device, and includes: receiving first configuration information from a session management function network element, the first configuration information including quality of service parameters for a first quality of service flow based on a protocol data unit (PDU) set; optionally, the first configuration information may also include legacy quality of service parameters based on the quality of service flow; determining first indication information based on the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal; and sending first indication information to the session management function network element, the first indication information indicating support or non-support of the quality of service parameters for the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured or sent by the session management function network element, or the first indication information indicating support or non-support of creation of the first quality of service flow, or the first indication information indicating support or non-support of processing that meets quality of service based on the PDU set. For example, supporting or not supporting the processing of the quality of service based on the PDU set that meets the core network network element configuration, etc. In the following description of the first aspect, "the first indication information is used to indicate whether the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are supported or not" is used as an example for explanation.

[0008] Through the above design, when the access network device receives the service quality parameters based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element, the access network device determines whether to support or not support the service quality parameters based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element based on the service quality processing capability of the access network device's PDU set and the processing capability of the terminal's PDU set, and the access network device sends the above support or non-support information to the session management function network element, so that the core network network element can determine whether the required uplink PDU set transmission can be achieved.

[0009] In one possible design, when the access network device supports service quality processing based on PDU sets and the terminal supports processing of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set that supports the configuration of the session management function network element; or, when the access network device does not support service quality processing based on PDU sets, and / or the terminal does not support processing of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set that does not support the configuration of the session management function network element.

[0010] In one possible design, the terminal's PDU set processing capability includes: the terminal's PDU set recognition capability and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set.

[0011] In one possible design, the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the access network device based on the PDU set and the processing capability of the terminal's PDU set, including: determining the first indication information based on the terminal's recognition capability of the PDU set and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set, and the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device.

[0012] In one possible design, when the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first service quality flow configured by the network element that does not support the session management function is based on the service quality parameters of the PDU set.

[0013] In one possible design, when the terminal supports identification of PDU sets and supports packet loss of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set that supports the configuration of the session management function network element.

[0014] In one possible design, the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: determining the first indication information based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device, the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal and the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set.

[0015] In one possible design, the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

[0016] In a possible design, it also includes: receiving second indication information from the terminal, the second indication information is used to indicate the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal.

[0017] In one possible design, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, it also includes: sending a third indication information to the session management function network element, and the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported.

[0018] In one possible design, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, it also includes: receiving second configuration information from the session management function network element, the second configuration information including updated service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow. In one possible design, the updated service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow include conventional service quality parameters (legacy QoS parameters) based on the service quality flow, and / or service quality parameters based on the PDU set. If the updated service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow include conventional service quality parameters based on the PDU set, then the updated service quality parameters based on the PDU set may be different from the service quality parameters based on the PDU set sent previously.

[0019] In one possible design, when the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set of the network element supporting the session management function, it also includes: sending third configuration information to the terminal, and the third configuration information is used to configure a timer for the terminal based on the PDU set packet loss.

[0020] In a second aspect, which is the opposite side corresponding to the first aspect, and for beneficial effects, see the description of the first aspect. A communication method is provided. The method is applied to uplink transmission based on PDU aggregation. The method is performed by a second communication device, which may be a session management function network element, or a module (e.g., a chip or circuit) within the session management function network element. The method comprises: sending first configuration information to an access network device, the first configuration information including quality of service parameters for a first quality of service flow based on a protocol data unit (PDU) set; and receiving first indication information from the access network device, the first indication information indicating support or non-support of the quality of service parameters for the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured or sent by the session management function network element, or indicating support or non-support of creation of the first quality of service flow, or indicating support or non-support of processing that satisfies quality of service based on PDU aggregation. For example, the first indication information indicating support or non-support of processing that satisfies quality of service based on PDU aggregation configured by a core network element is used for description below. In the following description of the second aspect, "the first indication information indicating support or non-support of quality of service parameters for the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element" is used as an example.

[0021] In one possible design, when the access network device supports service quality processing based on PDU sets and the terminal supports processing of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set that supports the session management function network element configuration; or, when the access network device does not support service quality processing of PDU sets, and / or the terminal does not support processing of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set that does not support the session management function network element configuration.

[0022] In one possible design, the terminal's PDU set processing capability includes: the terminal's PDU set recognition capability and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set.

[0023] In one possible design, the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: the first indication information is determined based on the terminal's recognition capability of the PDU set and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set, and the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device.

[0024] In one possible design, when the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first service quality flow configured by the network element that does not support the session management function is based on the service quality parameters of the PDU set.

[0025] In one possible design, when the terminal supports identification of PDU sets and supports packet loss of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set that supports the configuration of the session management function network element.

[0026] In one possible design, the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device, the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal and the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set.

[0027] In one possible design, the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

[0028] In one possible design, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, it also includes: receiving third indication information from the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported.

[0029] In one possible design, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, the further step includes: sending second configuration information to the access network device, where the second configuration information includes updated service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow. For example, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, the session management function network element sends updated quality of service rules and / or protocol description information to the terminal.

[0030] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to uplink transmission based on a PDU set. The method is performed by a third communication device, which may be a terminal or a module (e.g., a chip or circuit) located in the terminal, and includes: determining second indication information; and sending the second indication information to an access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal's protocol data unit (PDU) set processing capability.

[0031] Through the above design, the terminal can send the terminal's processing capability based on the PDU set to the access network device, so that when the access network device receives the service quality parameters based on the PDU set sent or configured by the session management function network element, it determines whether to support the service quality parameters based on the PDU set configured or sent by the session management function network element based on the processing capability based on the PDU set sent by the terminal, thereby realizing the terminal's uplink transmission based on the PDU set.

[0032] In one possible design, the terminal's PDU set processing capability includes: the terminal's PDU set recognition capability and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set.

[0033] In one possible design, the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

[0034] In a possible design, it also includes: receiving third configuration information from the access network device, and the third configuration information is used to configure a timer based on PDU set packet loss for the terminal.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a device is provided that can implement the method of the first aspect. For example, the device includes means for executing the method of the first aspect. The device can be implemented through hardware, software, or hardware executing the corresponding software implementation.

[0036] In one possible design, the apparatus includes a unit for executing the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0037] In one possible design, the apparatus includes a processor configured to execute the method of the first aspect.

[0038] In one possible design, the device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other devices outside the device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other devices outside the device, and the processor is used to implement the method in the first aspect above through logic circuits or executing code instructions.

[0039] In one possible design, the device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the device implements the method of the first aspect above.

[0040] Optionally, the device may be a first communication device, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the first communication device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the first communication device.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, a device is provided that can implement the method of the second aspect. For example, the device includes means for executing the method of the second aspect. The device can be implemented in hardware, software, or by executing the corresponding software implementation in hardware.

[0042] In one possible design, the apparatus includes a unit for executing the second aspect described above.

[0043] In one possible design, the device includes a processor, which is used to execute the method of the second aspect above.

[0044] In one possible design, the device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other devices outside the device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other devices outside the device, and the processor is used to implement the method of the second aspect mentioned above through logic circuits or executing code instructions.

[0045] In one possible design, the device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the device implements the method of the second aspect above.

[0046] Optionally, the device can be a second communication device, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the second communication device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, or can be used in combination with the second communication device.

[0047] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided that can implement the method of the third aspect. For example, the device includes means for executing the corresponding method of the third aspect. The device can be implemented through hardware, software, or hardware executing the corresponding software implementation.

[0048] In one possible design, the apparatus includes a unit for executing the third aspect described above.

[0049] In one possible design, the device includes a processor, which is used to execute the method of the third aspect above.

[0050] In one possible design, the device includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other devices outside the device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other devices outside the device, and the processor is used to implement the method of the third aspect above through logic circuits or executing code instructions.

[0051] In one possible design, the device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the device implements the method of the third aspect above.

[0052] Optionally, the device can be a third communication device, or a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the third communication device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the third aspect, or can be used in combination with the third communication device.

[0053] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer implements the method of any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0054] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program or instructions, which enables the method of any one of the first to third aspects to be executed when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer.

[0055] In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, so that the chip implements the method of any one of the first to third aspects. Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory.

[0056] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a first communication device and a second communication device; wherein the first communication device is configured to implement the method of the first aspect, and the second communication device is configured to implement the method of the second aspect. Optionally, the system further comprises a third communication device configured to execute the method of the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG3 is another schematic diagram of a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG5 is another schematic diagram of the structure of the device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operation methods and functional descriptions in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments.

[0063] The various numbers and terms such as "first" and "second" used in the embodiments of this application are merely for convenience 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 indicate the order in which they are executed. The order in which the processes are executed should be determined by their functions and internal logic.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may 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. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; "including at least one of A, B or C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0065] FIG1 shows a possible, non-limiting system schematic diagram. As shown in FIG1 , a communication system 10 includes a terminal 100 , a radio access network (RAN) 200 , and a core network (CN) 300 .

[0066] The terminal 100 may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, head-mounted display device, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0067] RAN 200 includes at least one RAN node. Terminal 100 can be connected to the RAN node wirelessly. The RAN node is connected to core network 300 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 300 and the RAN nodes in RAN 200 can be separate physical devices, or they can be a single physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network device and the logical functions of a wireless access device.

[0068] RAN 200 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication system, a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system, such as a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system. RAN 200 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. RAN 200 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0069] In one possible scenario, the RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The RAN node may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in the embodiment of the present application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The RAN node in the embodiment of the present application may also be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the RAN node.

[0070] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0071] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0072] RAN nodes, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entities, or access nodes, constitute part of a communication system and are used to help terminals achieve wireless access. In the subsequent description of this application, "RAN" is used for description unless otherwise specified. The multiple RAN nodes in RAN200 can be nodes of the same type or different types. In the access network service-oriented architecture, "access network equipment" can also be replaced by access network function (ANF) network elements.

[0073] The core network 300 includes access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, user plane function (UPF) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, network exposure function (NEF) network elements and application function (AF) network elements.

[0074] Optionally, the communication system 10 also includes DN400. Terminals, access network equipment, UPF network elements and DNs are generally referred to as user plane functions and entities. The user's data stream can be transmitted through a protocol data unit (PDU) session established between the terminal and the DN. A PDU session includes one or more quality of service (QoS) flows. The user plane is used to carry business data. Other network elements in the communication system 10, such as SMF network elements and AMF network elements, can be called control plane functions and entities, which are mainly responsible for functions such as authentication and authorization, registration management, session management, mobility management, and policy control, so as to achieve reliable and stable transmission of user plane data streams. The control plane is used to carry signaling messages.

[0075] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal and the AMF network element can interact through the N1 interface, and the messages exchanged between the two can be called N1 messages. Similarly, the interfaces between the access network device and the AMF network element and the access network device and the UPF network element are N2 and N3 interfaces, respectively, and the messages exchanged therebetween can be called N2 messages and N3 messages, respectively. The interface between the UPF network element and the SMF network element is the N4 interface, and the interface between the UPF network element and the DN is the N6 interface, and the messages exchanged therebetween can be called N4 messages and N6 messages, respectively.

[0076] It is understandable that the names of the various network elements in the core network 300 are not restricted. For example, in the 5G communication system, the network element that implements the signaling processing part is called the AMF network element. In the 6G communication system, the network element that implements the above functions can also be called other names, etc., without limitation. In the subsequent description, the names of the various network elements in 5G are mainly used as examples to describe the scheme of the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the core network 300 may also include other network elements of control plane functions and entities. For example, management data analytics function (MDAF) and unified data management (UDM) network elements, etc.

[0077] It can be understood that terminals, access network equipment, and network elements in the core network can be referred to as communication devices. For example, access network equipment can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, terminals can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions, and network elements in the core network can be understood as devices with core network network element functions. For example, SMF can be understood as communication devices with SMF functions.

[0078] The concept of protocol data unit (PDU) set was proposed in 3GPP release 18 (R18). A PDU set includes one or more PDU data packets, which carry application layer payloads, such as video frames or video slices. In 3GPP R18, the main discussion is on downlink transmission based on PDU sets. In uplink transmission based on PDU sets, the SMF network element can configure quality of service (QoS) parameters based on PDU sets for the RAN, and the RAN can perform uplink transmission based on the PDU sets based on the QoS parameters based on PDU sets configured by the SMF network element. In uplink transmission based on PDU sets, not only the QoS processing capability of the RAN's PDU sets but also the processing capability of the terminal's PDU sets must be considered. How the RAN combines the capabilities of the above two to determine whether to support the QoS parameters configured or sent by the SM network element is a research direction.

[0079] In view of the above, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which: when the RAN receives the service quality parameters based on the PDU set sent by the SMF network element, the RAN determines whether to support or not support the service quality parameters based on the PDU set sent by the SMF network element based on the service quality processing capability of the RAN's PDU set and the processing capability of the terminal's PDU set; and the RAN sends the above-mentioned support or non-support information to the SMF network element.

[0080] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the following communication terms are involved. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following communication terms are explained:

[0081] PDU set: A PDU set includes one or more PDU data packets. Optionally, the PDU data packet can be replaced by: PDU, or data packet, etc. In the following description, the PDU data packet is taken as an example. The one or more PDU data packets included in the PDU set have the same protocol. For example, for uplink transmission, the upper layer of the terminal (such as the application layer) can generate a PDU set, and the one or more PDU data packets corresponding to the PDU set have the same protocol. For example, the protocol can be the real-time transport protocol (RTP). If the terminal has the ability to identify the PDU set, the transport layer of the terminal can determine which PDU data packets sent by the upper layer belong to a PDU set based on the protocol description of the PDU set, and then the terminal and the RAN perform uplink transmission based on the PDU set. The one or more PDU data packets included in the PDU set are transmitted in a quality of service flow.

[0082] Quality of service flow: The quality of service flow corresponds to a property file, which can be called a profile. The property file includes at least one quality of service parameter of the PDU set (PDU Set QoS parameters). For example, the quality of service parameter of the PDU set can be the delay budget (PSDB) of the PDU set, the error rate (PSER) of the PDU set, or the joint processing information (PSIHI) of the PDU set. It can be understood that the property file can also include other quality of service parameters, such as the quality of service flow identifier (Qos flow indicator, QFI), etc., without limitation. In the following description, the property file of the quality of service flow is taken as the profile (Qos profile) of the quality of service flow as an example for explanation.

[0083] As shown in FIG2 , the embodiment of the present application provides a flow chart, including:

[0084] Step 210: The SMF network element sends first configuration information to the RAN, and the RAN receives the first configuration information from the SMF network element.

[0085] The first configuration information includes a PDU-set-based quality of service parameter for the first quality of service flow. Optionally, the PDU-set-based quality of service parameter for the first quality of service flow may be referred to as the PDU-set-based quality of service parameter. The PDU-set-based quality of service parameter is the quality of service parameter for the first quality of service flow, and the quality of service parameter is used to indicate parameter requirements for transmission in units of PDU sets. In the following description, the PDU-set-based quality of service parameter for the first quality of service flow and the PDU-set-based quality of service parameter are not differentiated and are interchangeable.

[0086] Step 220: The RAN determines first indication information according to the service quality processing capability of the RAN's PDU set and the processing capability of the terminal's PDU set.

[0087] The first indication information is used to indicate whether or not the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow configured or sent by the SMF network element are supported or not, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether or not the creation of the first quality of service flow is supported or not, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether or not the processing that satisfies the service quality based on the PDU set is supported or not. For example, the processing that satisfies the service quality based on the PDU set configured by the core network network element is supported or not. In the following description, "the first indication information is used to indicate whether or not the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element are supported or not based on the PDU set" is used as an example for explanation.

[0088] In one possible implementation, the first indication information can be implemented using 1 bit. For example, when the value of the first indication information is a first value (e.g., "1"), it is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element is supported based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set. Alternatively, when the value of the first indication information is a second value (e.g., "0"), it is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element is not supported based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set. For the process of the RAN determining the first indication information, please refer to the description in the process of Figure 3.

[0089] Step 230: The RAN sends first indication information to the SMF network element, and the SMF network element receives the first indication information from the RAN.

[0090] In one possible implementation, when the first indication information reported by the RAN is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the SMF network element are not supported, the SMF network element can also update the first service quality parameters configured for the RAN, for example, the SMF network element sends second configuration information to the RAN, and the RAN receives the second configuration information from the SMF network element, and the second configuration information includes the updated service quality parameters of the first service quality flow.

[0091] It can be understood that in the process of Figure 2, the first configuration information and the first indication information can be transmitted directly between the RAN and the SMF network element, or the first configuration information and the first indication information can be transmitted between the RAN and the SMF network element through the AMF network element.

[0092] It is understood that the solution of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the uplink communication process. For example, if the RAN supports the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the PDU set, the terminal can transmit uplink data to the RAN in units of PDU sets. It is understood that the PDU set is transmitted in the first quality of service flow. Alternatively, if the RAN does not support the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the PDU set, the SMF network element can update the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow through the second configuration information, and the terminal sends uplink data to the RAN based on the updated service quality parameters.

[0093] As shown in Figure 3, the embodiment of the present application provides a flow chart, which can be a specific application scenario of the flow chart of Figure 2. In addition to being applied to the application scenario shown in Figure 3, the flow chart of Figure 2 can also be applied to other scenarios. As shown in Figure 3, it includes:

[0094] Step 300: The terminal establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the RAN.

[0095] Step 310: The AF network element sends a first message to the NEF network element, and the NEF network element receives the first message from the AF network element.

[0096] For example, the first message may be a QoS create request, which is used to request the creation of a first QoS flow. The first message includes a protocol description and / or QoS parameters of a PDU set.

[0097] Optionally, in step 320 , the NEF network element authenticates the first message sent by the AF network element.

[0098] Step 330: The NEF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element, and the PCF network element receives the second message from the NEF network element.

[0099] For example, the second message may be a policy authorization create request, and the second message includes a protocol description and / or quality of service parameters of the PDU set. In one possible implementation, upon receiving the second message, the PCF network element generates a policy and charging control (PCC) rule based on the protocol description and quality of service parameters of the PDU set included in the second message, where the PCC rule includes information indicating the quality of service parameters and / or protocol description of the PDU set.

[0100] Step 340: The PCF network element sends a third message to the NEF network element, and the NEF network element receives the third message from the PCF network element.

[0101] For example, the third message may be a response to the second message. For example, the third message may be a policy authorization create response.

[0102] Step 350: The NEF network element sends a fourth message to the AF network element, and the AF network element receives the fourth message from the NEF network element.

[0103] For example, the fourth message may be a response to the first message, for example, the fourth message may be a quality of service creation response (Qos create response).

[0104] Optionally, step 340 and step 350 may be regarded as responses initiated by the PCF network element to the request (first request) of the AF network element.

[0105] Step 360: The PCF network element sends the fifth message to the SMF network element, and the SMF network element receives the fifth message from the PCF network element.

[0106] For example, the fifth message may be a session management policy association establishment (SM policy association establishment, session management, SM). In one possible implementation, the fifth message includes a PCC rule. For example, upon receiving the fifth message, the SMF network element obtains the PCC rule from the fifth message, and further obtains the quality of service parameters and protocol description of the PDU set from the PCC rule. The SMF network element generates a quality of service profile (QoS profile) based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set. The QoS profile includes the quality of service parameters of the PDU set. In step 360, the SMF network element sends a sixth message to the RAN including the QoS profile.

[0107] Furthermore, the SMF network element obtains the PCC rule in the fifth message and generates a quality of service rule (QoS rule) based on the PCC rule. Furthermore, the SMF network element obtains the protocol description in the PCC rule. The seventh message sent by the SMF network element to the terminal includes the quality of service rule and the protocol description.

[0108] Step 370: The SMF network element sends a sixth message to the RAN, and the RAN receives the sixth message from the SMF network element.

[0109] It can be understood that the SMF network element can send the sixth message directly to the RAN, or the SMF network element can send the sixth message to the RAN through the AMF network element.

[0110] For example, the sixth message includes a quality of service profile. In one possible implementation, the process of step 370 can be described as follows: the SMF network element sends first configuration information to the RAN, and the RAN receives the first configuration information from the SMF network element. For example, the first configuration information can be a quality of service profile, which can be a quality of service profile for a first quality of service flow. The quality of service profile for the first quality of service flow is used to configure quality of service parameters based on the first quality of service flow.

[0111] Step 380: The SMF network element sends the seventh message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the seventh message from the SMF network element.

[0112] For example, the seventh message may be an SM message, and the seventh message includes a quality of service rule (QoS rule) and / or a protocol description.

[0113] Step 390: The terminal and the RAN exchange an eighth message.

[0114] For example, the terminal and the RAN may be in the process of establishing an access network-specific resource (AN-specfic resource). During this process, the terminal may send a message to the RAN, and the RAN may also send a message to the terminal. In this embodiment of the present application, the message sent by the terminal to the RAN may be referred to as the eighth message.

[0115] Step 3010: RAN sends the ninth message to the SMF network element, and the SMF network element receives the ninth message from RAN.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the ninth message may be a response to the sixth message, for example, the ninth message may be an N2 SM message response. The ninth message includes first indication information, which is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters configured by the SMF network element are supported, for example, the quality of service profile configured by the SMF network element in step 370 is supported. Alternatively, the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters configured by the SMF network element are not supported. For example, the quality of service profile configured by the SMF network element in step 370 is not supported.

[0117] In one possible implementation, the RAN may determine the first indication information based on the RAN's PDU aggregate quality of service processing capability and the terminal's PDU aggregate processing capability. For example, when the RAN supports PDU aggregate-based quality of service processing and the terminal supports PDU aggregate processing, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element supports the PDU aggregate-based quality of service parameters; or when the RAN does not support PDU aggregate quality of service processing and / or the terminal does not support PDU aggregate processing, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element does not support the PDU aggregate-based quality of service parameters.

[0118] It is understood that when the RAN supports the quality of service profile configured by the SMF network element in step 370, it can be considered that the RAN supports quality of service processing based on PDU aggregation. Alternatively, when the RAN does not support the quality of service profile configured by the SMF network element in step 370, it can be considered that the RAN does not support quality of service processing based on PDU aggregation.

[0119] Optionally, the terminal may report its PDU set processing capability to the RAN. For example, the terminal may send second indication information to the RAN, and the RAN may receive the second indication information from the terminal. The second indication information indicates the terminal's PDU set processing capability. For example, during the process of establishing an RRC connection between the terminal and the RAN, the terminal may report the second indication information to the RAN. For example, in step 300, the terminal may send an RRC message to the RAN, the RRC message including the second indication information indicating the terminal's PDU set processing capability. Alternatively, in step 390, the terminal may report the second indication information to the RAN. For example, the eighth message in step 390 includes the second indication information. Optionally, the terminal's PDU set processing capability includes: the terminal's PDU set identification capability and / or the terminal's PDU set-based packet loss capability. The terminal may report the PDU set identification capability and the PDU set-based packet loss capability to the RAN in a single message. Alternatively, the terminal may report both capabilities to the RAN in separate messages. In one possible implementation, the terminal may report the terminal's packet loss capability based on PDU sets to the RAN in the RRC message in step 300. For example, the RRC message in step 300 includes information indicating the terminal's packet loss capability based on PDU sets. The terminal may report the terminal's ability to identify PDU sets to the RAN in an eighth message in step 390. For example, the eighth message in step 390 includes information indicating the terminal's ability to identify PDU sets.

[0120] It is understood that regarding the terminal's reporting of its PDU set identification capability: when the terminal "supports" PDU set identification, the terminal may report to the RAN an indication indicating that it "supports" PDU set identification. Alternatively, when the terminal "does not support" PDU set identification, the terminal may no longer report information to the RAN. In other words, if the RAN does not receive an indication indicating that the terminal "supports" PDU set identification, the RAN may assume that the terminal "does not support" PDU set identification. Alternatively, the terminal may report to the RAN an indication indicating that it "does not support" PDU set identification. Similarly, regarding the terminal's capability to perform packet loss based on PDU sets: when the terminal "supports" PDU set-based packet loss, the terminal may report to the RAN an indication indicating that it "supports" PDU set-based packet loss. Alternatively, when the terminal "does not support" PDU set-based packet loss, the terminal may no longer report information to the RAN. If the RAN does not receive a terminal's report indicating that it "supports" PDU set-based packet loss, the RAN may assume that the terminal "does not support" PDU set-based packet loss. Alternatively, the terminal may report to the RAN that the packet loss based on the PDU aggregation is “not supported”.

[0121] In one possible implementation, the RAN may determine the first indication information based on the terminal's ability to identify the PDU set and / or the terminal's ability to handle packet loss based on the PDU set, and the RAN's ability to handle quality of service for the PDU set. For example, when the RAN supports quality of service processing for the PDU set: when the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the PDU set are not supported. Alternatively, when the terminal does not support packet loss based on the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the PDU set are not supported. Alternatively, when the terminal supports identification of the PDU set and the terminal supports packet loss of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the PDU set are supported. Alternatively, when the RAN does not support quality of service processing for the PDU set: the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the PDU set are not supported.

[0122] Optionally, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the SMF network element are not supported, the terminal may also report the reason for non-support to the RAN. For example, the reason may be that the terminal does not support the processing of the PDU set. Further, the terminal does not support the processing of the PDU set, which may include: the terminal does not support the identification of the PDU set and / or the terminal does not support packet loss based on the PDU set. Alternatively, the reason may be that the RAN does not support the service quality processing of the PDU set. In a possible implementation, the terminal may send a third indication information to the SMF network element, and the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the SMF network element are not supported. Optionally, the ninth message in step 3010 includes, in addition to the first indication information, the third indication information.

[0123] Step 3011: The SMF network element sends the tenth message to the AF network element, and the AF network element receives the tenth message from the SMF network element.

[0124] It can be understood that the SMF network element can send the tenth message directly to the AF network element, or the SMF network element can send the tenth message to the AF network element through the PCF network element and the NEF network element.

[0125] In one possible implementation, when the SMF network element receives the ninth message of step 3010, it may obtain the first indication information in the ninth message. The SMF network element generates a tenth message based on the first indication information. In step 3011, the tenth message sent by the SMF network element to the AF network element includes the first indication information. When the AF network element receives the tenth message, it may obtain the first indication information in the tenth message. Optionally, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the quality of service parameters of the data flow (e.g., the first quality of service flow) configured by the SMF network element: the AF network element may trigger an update of the quality of service parameters of the data flow. For example, the AF network element modifies the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow. For example, the AF network element updates the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow for the PDU set to legacy quality of service parameters (legacy QoS parameters). For example, the legacy quality of service parameters may be quality of service parameters for the quality of service flow, etc. Alternatively, the AF network element may modify the parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the reported reason of "not supported". For example, if the reason for reporting "not supported" is that the terminal does not support packet loss based on PDU sets, then the "related parameters based on packet loss based on PDU sets" may not be included in the quality of service parameters for the PDU sets configured in step 310. Alternatively, if the reason for reporting "not supported" is that the terminal does not support PDU set identification, then the quality of service parameters for the PDU sets configured in step 310 may be updated to conventional quality of service parameters.

[0126] Optionally, the process shown in FIG3 further includes:

[0127] Step 3012: The AF network element sends the eleventh message to the SMF network element, and the SMF network element receives the eleventh message from the AF network element.

[0128] It can be understood that the AF network element can send the eleventh message directly to the SMF network element, or the AF network element can send the eleventh message to the SMF network element through the NEF network element and the PCF network element.

[0129] For example, the name of the eleventh message may be a Quality of Service Update Request (Qos update request), and the eleventh message includes the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow, which may be referred to as the updated quality of service parameters. Optionally, the eleventh message also includes a protocol description. It is understandable that if the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow are based on a PDU set, the eleventh message also includes a protocol description related to the PDU set, and the protocol description is used for the terminal to identify a PDU set in uplink transmission. Alternatively, if the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow are based on a PDU, the eleventh message may no longer include information such as a protocol description.

[0130] In one possible implementation, upon receiving the eleventh message from the AF network element, the SMF network element obtains updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow in the eleventh message. The SMF network element generates a twelfth message based on the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow. For example, the twelfth message includes the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow.

[0131] Step 3013: The SMF network element sends the twelfth message to the RAN, and the RAN receives the twelfth message from the SMF network element.

[0132] It can be understood that the SMF network element can send the twelfth message directly to the RAN, or the SMF network element can send the twelfth message to the RAN through the AMF network element.

[0133] For example, the twelfth message includes updated quality of service parameters for the first quality of service flow. In one description, the process of step 3013 is described as follows: the SMF network element sends second configuration information to the RAN, and the RAN receives the second configuration information from the SMF network element, where the second configuration information includes updated quality of service parameters for the first quality of service flow. In one possible implementation, the second configuration information may be the twelfth message in step 3013, and the twelfth message, or the second configuration information, includes the updated quality of service parameters.

[0134] Step 3014: The SMF network element sends the thirteenth message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the thirteenth message from the SMF network element.

[0135] It can be understood that the SMF network element can send the thirteenth message directly to the terminal, or the SMF network element can send the thirteenth message to the terminal via the AMF network element and the RAN.

[0136] For example, the name of the thirteenth message may be N2 SM message update (update). In one possible implementation, upon receiving the eleventh message of step 3012, the SMF network element obtains the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow in the eleventh message; the SMF network element generates an updated quality of service rule (QoS rule) based on the updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow. The thirteenth message sent by the SMF network element to the terminal includes the updated quality of service rule. Furthermore, if the updated quality of service rule is associated with a PDU set, or is described as: the updated quality of service rule is based on a PDU set, the thirteenth message may also include: a protocol description.

[0137] In one possible implementation, in the process of Figure 3: if the first indication information reported by the RAN is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow configured by the SMF network element are supported, the terminal can perform uplink transmission with the RAN based on the service quality rules and protocol description configured in the seventh message of step 380. For example, the terminal can send uplink data to the RAN based on the requirements of the service quality rules. Specifically, in the process of the terminal sending uplink data: the terminal can identify the PDU set based on the protocol description configured in step 380. Further, the terminal can perform packet loss based on the packet loss capability supported by the terminal. For the specific packet loss capability and the packet loss process, please refer to the description below. Alternatively, if the first indication information reported by the RAN is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow configured by the SMF network element are not supported, the terminal can perform uplink communication with the RAN based on the updated service quality rules configured by the SMF network element in step 3014.

[0138] It is understood that in the description of FIG3 , the phrase "supporting the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set" can be replaced with the phrase "supporting the creation of the first quality of service flow"; or the phrase "not supporting the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set" can be replaced with the phrase "not supporting the creation of the first quality of service flow." It is understood that if the first indication information reported by the RAN in the ninth message in step 3010 indicates that the creation of the first quality of service flow is not supported, then after step 3011, the process shown in FIG3 can be terminated, and subsequent steps 3012 to 3014 can be omitted.

[0139] In one possible implementation, in the process of determining the first indication information, the RAN may determine the first indication information based on the service quality processing capability of the RAN's PDU set, the processing capability of the terminal's PDU set, and the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set.

[0140] Optionally, the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set are configured by the SMF network element to the RAN in step 370. The quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set may be included in a configuration file of the first quality of service flow. The configuration file of the first quality of service flow includes the quality of service parameters of the PDU set. The quality of service parameters of the PDU set may include parameters related to the PDU set. For example, the quality of service parameters of the PDU set include a PSIHI, which is a parameter transmitted based on the integrity of the PDU set.

[0141] In one possible implementation, when the quality of service parameters of the PDU set configured by the SMF network element include parameters for integrity or partial transmission of the PDU set, it means that when the terminal sends the PDU set to the RAN in the corresponding quality of service flow, the terminal needs to perform integrity or partial transmission of the PDU set according to the relevant parameters. Alternatively, when the quality of service parameters of the PDU set configured by the SMF network element do not include relevant integrity or partial transmission parameters, it means that when the terminal sends the PDU set to the RAN in the corresponding quality of service flow, the terminal does not need to perform integrity or partial transmission of the PDU set according to the requirements of the relevant parameters. For example:

[0142] When the quality of service parameters of the PDU set configured by the SMF network element do not include parameters related to the integrity or partial transmission of the PDU set: When the terminal supports the identification of the PDU set, the RAN can determine the first indication information used to indicate "support". For example, taking the integrity packet loss of the PDU set as an example, the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element for the RAN does not include PSIHI in the quality of service parameters based on the PDU set. The RAN supports the identification of the PDU set according to the terminal, which is optional. However, if the terminal does not support the integrity packet loss of the PDU set, the first indication information reported by the RAN to the SMF network element can be "support". Or,

[0143] When the quality of service parameters of the PDU set configured by the SMF network element include parameters related to integrity or partial transmission: when the terminal supports the identification of the PDU set and the terminal supports packet loss based on the PDU set, the RAN may determine the first indication information used to indicate "support". Alternatively, when the terminal does not support the identification of the PDU set and / or the terminal does not support packet loss based on the PDU set, the RAN may determine the first indication information used to indicate "not supported". For example, taking the integrity packet loss of the PDU as an example, the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the SMF network element for the RAN based on the PDU set include PSIHI, but the terminal does not support the integrity packet loss of the PDU set, then the first indication information reported by the RAN to the SMF network element may be "not supported".

[0144] The following example illustrates the packet loss capability of a terminal based on a PDU set. It is understood that, in addition to the packet loss capability described in the embodiments of this application, the solutions of the embodiments of this application are also applicable to other packet loss capabilities. Application of the solutions of the embodiments of this application to other packet loss capabilities is also within the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application.

[0145] In one possible implementation, the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set in the embodiment of the present application includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance (PDU set importance, PSI) packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding (forward error correction, FEC) packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment (error concealment) packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

[0146] 1. Integrity packet loss capability based on PDU aggregation.

[0147] For example, each PDU set corresponds to a timer, which can be called a discard timer. During uplink transmission, when a terminal begins transmitting a data packet in a PDU set, it can start the timer corresponding to the PDU set. If the uplink transmission of a PDU set has not been completed by the time the timer corresponding to the PDU set expires, the transmission of the PDU set is considered to have timed out, and the entire PDU set is discarded.

[0148] In one possible implementation, a terminal's PDU aggregate-based integrity packet loss capability may be referred to as the Protocol Data Unit (PDU)-based discard-R18 capability. In one possible implementation, when a terminal supports PDU aggregate-based integrity packet loss, the terminal may report indication information corresponding to the PDU-based discard-R18 capability to the RAN; otherwise, the terminal may not report this information to the RAN. If the RAN does not receive indication information corresponding to the PDU-based discard-R18 capability reported by the terminal, it may assume that the terminal does not support PDU aggregate-based integrity packet loss.

[0149] 2. Packet loss capability based on the importance of PDU sets.

[0150] For example, based on the importance information of the PDU data packet, different packet loss timers with different timing durations can be set for PDU sets of different importance. For example, for a PDU set of high importance, the packet loss timer set has a longer timing duration. For a PDU set of low importance, the packet loss timer set has a shorter timing duration. Optionally, the timing duration of a timer can also be referred to as the timer's running time.

[0151] For a PDU set, when the terminal sends the PDU set to the RAN, a packet loss timer corresponding to the PDU set may be started. If the terminal has not completed the transmission of the PDU set when the packet loss timer expires, the PDU set is discarded and not transmitted again.

[0152] In one possible implementation, a terminal's PDU aggregate-based importance packet loss capability may be referred to as PDU aggregate-based importance packet loss-R18 (psi-based discard-r18) capability. In one possible implementation, when a terminal supports PDU aggregate-based importance packet loss, the terminal reports psi-based discard-r18 indication information to the RAN; otherwise, the terminal does not report information to the RAN. If the RAN does not receive an indication corresponding to the psi-based discard-r18 capability reported by the terminal, it may assume that the terminal does not support PDU aggregate-based importance packet loss.

[0153] 3. FEC packet loss capability based on PDU aggregation.

[0154] FEC involves the transmitter adding redundant error-correcting codewords to transmitted codewords. Under certain conditions, the receiver can use these redundant error-correcting codewords to automatically correct any transmitted errors, thereby reducing the error rate of received codewords.

[0155] For example, when the FEC content ratio of a PDU set is equal to 75, when the transmission of 75% of the PDU data packets in the PDU set is completed, the PDU transmission is considered completed, and the remaining 25% of the PDU data packets can be discarded and no longer transmitted.

[0156] In one possible implementation, a packet loss timer can be set for each PDU packet in a PDU set based on the FEC content ratio of the PDU set. Continuing with the above example, a packet loss timer with a longer duration can be set for 75% of the PDU packets in the PDU set. A packet loss timer with a shorter duration can be set for the remaining 25% of the PDU packets in the PDU set.

[0157] In one possible implementation, packet loss timers can be set for PDU packets in a PDU set based on the different types of packets in the FEC. Continuing with the above example, a packet loss timer with a longer duration can be set for critical packets in the PDU set. A packet loss timer with a shorter duration can be set for protected packets in the PDU set. Critical packets in a PDU set are the packets that comprise the PDU set, while protected packets in the PDU set are FEC protection packets, which, in one possible implementation, can be considered redundant FEC packets.

[0158] In one possible implementation, a terminal's capability to handle FEC packet loss based on PDU aggregation is referred to as forward error correction coding-based packet loss (FEC-based discard) capability. If a terminal reports indication information corresponding to the FEC-based discard capability to the RAN, it indicates that the terminal supports FEC packet loss based on PDU aggregation. Alternatively, if the terminal does not report indication information corresponding to the FEC-based discard capability to the RAN, it indicates that the terminal does not support FEC packet loss based on PDU aggregation.

[0159] Optionally, in the process of FIG. 3 above, when FEC packet loss is applied to the terminal based on the PDU set, step 310 may also include FEC indication information. Furthermore, the messages in steps 330 to 370 may also include FEC indication information. For example, the FEC indication information may be an FEC enable indication or FEC content ratio information.

[0160] In one possible implementation, when the terminal obtains FEC indication information in the seventh message, such as an FEC enable indication or an EFC content ratio, the terminal reports the FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set to the RAN in the eighth message of step 390. The FEC packet loss capability of the PDU set can be at the granularity of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow, that is, for each QoS flow, the terminal reports the FEC packet loss capability of the terminal corresponding to the QoS flow to the RAN. Alternatively, the FEC packet loss capability of the PDU set can be at the granularity of a PDU set, that is, for each PDU set, the terminal reports the FEC packet loss capability of the terminal corresponding to the QoS flow to the RAN.

[0161] Optionally, in step 300 or step 390 of the process in FIG3 , the terminal may also report the FEC capability of the terminal to the RAN. For example, the FEC capability of the terminal may be that the terminal supports FEC encoding, or that the terminal does not support FEC encoding. When determining the first indication information, the RAN may consider the FEC capability of the terminal:

[0162] When the terminal does not support FEC coding, the RAN determines the first indication information for indicating "not supported". Alternatively, when the terminal supports FEC coding, PDU identification, and PDU-based FEC packet loss, the RAN determines the first indication information for indicating "supported".

[0163] Furthermore, when the first indication information is used to indicate "not supported", the reason for not supporting may include, in addition to the description in the process of FIG3 , that the terminal does not support FEC encoding. In one possible implementation, the terminal supporting FEC encoding indicates that the terminal supports constructing FEC data packets in accordance with the FEC method.

[0164] 4. Error concealment and packet loss capability based on PDU aggregation.

[0165] For a PDU set, the sender can send PDU packets to the RAN according to the serial number (SN) corresponding to the PDU packets. For example, the sender can send PDU packets to the receiver in ascending SN order. For example, if a PDU set includes 10 PDU packets with SNs 0 to 9, the sender can send these 10 PDU packets to the receiver in SN order 0 to 9.

[0166] When a terminal supports PDU-based error concealment, if one or more PDU packets are lost, subsequent PDU packets in that PDU set will not be transmitted. For example, if a PDU packet with SN equal to 2 is lost, then PDU packets with SNs equal to 3 to 9 in the PDU set will not be transmitted.

[0167] In one possible implementation, a packet loss timer can be configured for a PDU set. In the uplink transmission scenario, when the terminal starts the transmission of the PDU set, the corresponding packet loss timer is started. During the operation of the packet loss timer, the terminal sends PDU data packets to the RAN in sequence according to the size of the SN. At the end of the packet loss timer, the remaining PDU data packets in the PDU set are discarded and no longer transmitted. For example, a PDU set includes 100 PDU data packets. During the operation of the timer, the terminal successfully transmits 80 PDU data packets from SN0 to SN79 to the RAN in order of SN from small to large. The remaining 20 PDU data packets in the PDU set are discarded and no longer transmitted.

[0168] In one possible implementation, the PDU set-based error concealment and packet loss capability reported by the terminal to the RAN may be specifically: indication information of error concealment based on the PDU set, or indication information corresponding to error concealment-based packet loss (error concealment based discard). The indication information may be represented by 1 bit. For example, when the indication information is a first value, it indicates that the terminal supports error concealment and packet loss based on the PDU set. Alternatively, when the indication information is a second value, it indicates that the terminal does not support error concealment and packet loss based on the PDU set. Of course, in the case where the terminal does not support error concealment and packet loss based on the PDU set, the terminal may not report the information to the RAN without restriction.

[0169] Optionally, in the process of FIG. 3 above, when the terminal applies error concealment of packet loss based on a PDU set: step 310 may also include error concealment indication information, for example, the error concealment indication information may be an error concealment enable indication. Similarly, the messages in steps 330 to 370 may also include error concealment indication information.

[0170] It is understood that the aforementioned terminal's PDU aggregate-based packet loss capability may require the use of a timer to implement corresponding packet loss. This timer may be predefined, such as specified by a protocol, or configured by the RAN for the terminal. For example, the RAN sends third configuration information to the terminal, and the terminal receives the third configuration information from the RAN. The third configuration information is used to configure a timer for the terminal's PDU aggregate-based packet loss capability. For example, in the above description, the terminal may report second indication information to the RAN, where the second indication information indicates the terminal's PDU aggregate processing capability. For example, this capability includes the terminal's ability to identify PDU aggregates and / or its PDU aggregate-based packet loss capability. Upon receiving the second indication information, if the second indication information indicates that the terminal supports PDU aggregate processing, the RAN configures a corresponding timer for the terminal. More specifically, upon receiving the terminal's support for PDU aggregate-based packet loss capability, the RAN configures a corresponding timer for the terminal. For example, the terminal may report its PDU aggregate-based packet loss capability to the RAN via the eighth message in step 390 of the process in FIG. 3 . When the terminal reports the packet loss of the supported PDU set in the eighth message, the RAN can configure the corresponding timer for the terminal. In one possible implementation method, the RAN can configure the corresponding timer for the terminal through the access network-specific resource establishment process corresponding to the eighth message. Of course, for different packet loss capabilities, the names of the corresponding timers may be different. For example, the timer corresponding to integrity packet loss is named: integrity-based (PSIHI_based) timer. The timer corresponding to importance packet loss can be named: importance-based (PSI_based) timer. The timer corresponding to FEC packet loss is named: FEC-based (FEC based) timer. The timer corresponding to error concealment is named: error concealment based timer.

[0171] In addition to scheduling the transmission of a PDU set by configuring a timer, other methods can also be used to schedule the transmission of a PDU set. In one possible implementation, the RAN and the terminal can send a radio link control (RLC) layer status report at the PDU set granularity to indicate the transmission status of the PDU set, such as the transmission success status or transmission failure status of the data packets in the PDU set. The terminal determines whether the transmission of the PDU set meets the complete / partial transmission requirements through the RLC layer status report at the PDU set granularity. If the corresponding transmission requirements are not met, one possible method is for the terminal to retransmit the corresponding data packets in the PDU set.

[0172] It can be understood that the above description is described as follows: "The SMF network element sends first configuration information to the access network device, and the first configuration information includes service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the protocol data unit PDU set; the access network device determines the first indication information according to the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal; the access network device sends the first indication information to the SMF network element." The embodiment of the present application also provides a solution, including: the SMF network element determines the first indication information according to the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal. For the first indication information, please refer to the above description.

[0173] Through the above design, during uplink transmission, the RAN can determine whether to support the service quality parameters of the PDU set configured by the SMF network element based on the service quality processing capability of the RAN's PDU set and the processing capability of the terminal's PDU set, so that the service quality parameters of the PDU set configured by the SMF network element can meet the uplink transmission between the terminal and the RAN.

[0174] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application:

[0175] 1. In addition to focusing on describing the differences between different processes, the descriptions of different processes can refer to each other.

[0176] 2. In each process, the order of different steps is not limited. In addition, each process may include fewer steps or more steps than the flowchart or text description.

[0177] 3. In the processes of Figures 2 and 3, the SMF network element, access network equipment and terminal are used as examples for description as the execution entities. It can be understood that in each process, the function of the terminal can be implemented by the terminal, or by a module in the terminal (such as a chip or circuit, etc.). The function of the access network device can be implemented by the access network device, or by a module in the access network device (such as a chip or circuit, etc.), or by a logical node (such as CU, DU or RU, etc.), a logical module or software that can fully or partially implement the function of the access network device. The function of the SMF network element can be implemented by the SMF network element, or by a module in the SMF network element (such as a chip or circuit, etc.).

[0178] 4. In the embodiments of the present application, "(such as an access network device) receives information from (such as an SMF network element)" can be understood as the source of the information being the SMF network element and the destination being the access network device, which may include the access network device directly or indirectly receiving information from the SMF network element. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0179] In the embodiments provided in the present application, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal, the access network device and the SMF network element. In order to implement the various functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal, the access network device or the SMF network element, etc., may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a certain function among the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the design constraints of the specific application of the technical solution.

[0180] Figures 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can implement one or more corresponding functions in the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, the functions implemented by SMF network elements or access network devices may achieve the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be an access network device in RAN200 as shown in Figure 1, or an SMF network element in the core network 300, or a module (such as a chip or circuit, etc.) applied to the access network device or SMF network element.

[0181] As shown in Figure 4, the communication device 4000 includes a processing unit 410 and a transceiver unit 420. The communication device 4000 is used to implement the functions of the access network device or SMF network element in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 3 above.

[0182] Alternatively, the transceiver unit 420 may also be referred to as an output unit, an interface unit, or a communication unit. In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 includes at least one of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be integrated together or may be two independent units.

[0183] When the communication device 4000 is used to implement the functions of the access network device in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 , specifically:

[0184] The transceiver unit 420 is used to receive first configuration information from the session management function network element, where the first configuration information includes quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the protocol data unit PDU set; the processing unit 410 is used to determine first indication information based on the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal; the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send first indication information to the session management function network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are supported or not.

[0185] In one possible implementation, supporting the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element includes: supporting the creation of the first service quality flow; or not supporting the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element includes: not supporting the creation of the first service quality flow.

[0186] In one possible implementation, when the access network device supports quality of service processing based on PDU sets and the terminal supports processing of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set that supports the configuration of the session management function network element; or, when the access network device does not support quality of service processing of the PDU set, and / or the terminal does not support processing of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set that does not support the configuration of the session management function network element.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the PDU set processing capability of the terminal includes: the terminal's ability to identify the PDU set and / or the terminal's ability to handle packet loss based on the PDU set.

[0188] In one possible implementation, when the processing unit 410 determines the first indication information based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, it is specifically used to: determine the first indication information based on the terminal's recognition capability of the PDU set and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set, and the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device.

[0189] In a possible implementation, when the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element is not supported and is based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set.

[0190] In a possible implementation, when the terminal supports identification of PDU sets and supports packet loss of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the network element supporting the session management function based on the PDU set.

[0191] In one possible implementation, when the processing unit 410 determines the first indication information based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, it is specifically used to: determine the first indication information based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device, the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal and the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

[0193] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 420 is further configured to receive second indication information from the terminal, where the second indication information is used to indicate a processing capability of the terminal for the PDU set.

[0194] In one possible implementation, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send third indication information to the session management function network element, and the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported.

[0195] In one possible implementation, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive second configuration information from the session management function network element, and the second configuration information includes the updated service quality parameters of the first service quality flow.

[0196] In one possible implementation, when the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set of the network element supporting the session management function configuration, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send third configuration information to the terminal, and the third configuration information is used to configure a timer for the terminal based on the PDU set packet loss.

[0197] When the communication device 4000 is used to implement the functions of the SMF network element in Figure 2 or Figure 3, specifically: the processing unit 410 is used to generate first configuration information; the transceiver unit 420 is used to send the first configuration information to the access network device, the first configuration information including the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the protocol data unit PDU set; the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive first indication information from the access network device, the first indication information is used to indicate whether the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are supported or not, and the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal.

[0198] In one possible implementation, supporting the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element includes: supporting the creation of the first service quality flow; or not supporting the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element includes: not supporting the creation of the first service quality flow.

[0199] In one possible implementation, when the access network device supports quality of service processing based on PDU sets and the terminal supports processing of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set that supports the configuration of the session management function network element; or, when the access network device does not support quality of service processing of the PDU set, and / or the terminal does not support processing of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set that does not support the configuration of the session management function network element.

[0200] In a possible implementation, the PDU set processing capability of the terminal includes: the terminal's ability to identify the PDU set and / or the terminal's ability to handle packet loss based on the PDU set.

[0201] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: the first indication information is determined based on the terminal's recognition capability of the PDU set and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set, and the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device.

[0202] In a possible implementation, when the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element is not supported and is based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set.

[0203] In a possible implementation, when the terminal supports identification of PDU sets and supports packet loss of PDU sets, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the network element supporting the session management function based on the PDU set.

[0204] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: the first indication information is determined based on the service quality processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device, the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal and the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set.

[0205] In one possible implementation, the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

[0206] In one possible implementation, when the first indication information is used to indicate that the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to receive third indication information from the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported.

[0207] In one possible implementation, when the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first service quality flow based on the PDU set configured by the network element that does not support the session management function, the transceiver unit 420 is also used to send second configuration information to the access network device, and the second configuration information includes the updated service quality parameters of the first service quality flow.

[0208] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 410 and the transceiver unit 420, reference may be made to the description in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0209] It is understood that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the various functional units in the embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a physical device (for example, a processor), or each functional unit can be a separate physical device, or two or more units can be integrated into a unit for implementation. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0210] As shown in Figure 5, communication device 500 includes a processor 510 and an interface circuit 520. Processor 510 and interface circuit 520 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 520 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 500 may also include a memory 530 for storing instructions executed by processor 510, input data required by processor 510 to execute instructions, or data generated after processor 510 executes instructions.

[0211] When the communication device 500 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 , the processor 510 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 410 , and the interface circuit 520 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 420 .

[0212] When the communication device is a chip used in an access network device, the chip implements the functions of the access network device in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information sent by the SMF network element to the access network device through other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna); or the chip sends information to other modules in the access network device (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the SMF network element.

[0213] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to an SMF network element, the module implements the functions of the SMF network element in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The module receives information from other modules in the SMF network element (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the access network device to the SMF network element; or the module sends information to other modules in the SMF network element (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the SMF network element to the access network device.

[0214] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0215] The memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

[0216] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC.

[0217] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory are coupled, and the processor is used to implement the functions of the access network device or SMF network element in Figure 2 or Figure 3.

[0218] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, including a processor, which is used to implement the functions of the access network device or SMF network element in Figure 2 or Figure 3.

[0219] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which may also be referred to as a computer program, computer program code, etc. The instructions are executed on a computer, causing the computer to perform the functions of the access network device or SMF network element in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 in the above method embodiment.

[0220] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the method of the access network device or SMF network element in Figure 2 or Figure 3 is implemented.

[0221] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which includes a processor, which is coupled to a memory, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the functions of the access network device or SMF network element in Figure 2 or Figure 3 are implemented.

[0222] The present application also provides a communication system including a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device and the second communication device can be used to implement the functions of the access network device or SMF network element in Figure 2 or Figure 3, respectively. Furthermore, the system also includes a third communication device for implementing the functions of the terminal in Figure 3.

[0223] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0224] 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.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving first configuration information from a session management function network element, the first configuration information including quality of service parameters of a first quality of service flow based on a protocol data unit (PDU) set; Determining first indication information according to a quality of service processing capability of a PDU set of the access network device and a processing capability of a PDU set of the terminal; The first indication information is sent to the session management function network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the quality of service parameter of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element is supported or not.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The supporting the session management function network element configuration of the first quality of service flow based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set includes: supporting the creation of the first quality of service flow; or, The not supporting the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element includes: not supporting the creation of the first quality of service flow.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: When the access network device supports quality of service processing of the PDU set and the terminal supports processing of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the network element supporting the session management function based on the PDU set; or, When the access network device does not support the quality of service processing of the PDU set, and / or the terminal does not support the processing of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element is not supported and is based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal includes: the identification capability of the terminal for the PDU set and / or the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The determining the first indication information according to the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal includes: The first indication information is determined according to the terminal's recognition capability of the PDU set and / or the terminal's packet loss capability based on the PDU set, and the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein When the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein When the terminal supports identification of the PDU set and supports packet loss of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set that supports configuration of the session management function network element.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The determining the first indication information according to the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal includes: The first indication information is determined according to the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device, the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, and the quality of service parameter of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that The packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that Also includes: Second indication information is received from the terminal, where the second indication information is used to indicate a processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that When the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element does not support the quality of service parameters based on the PDU set, the method further includes: Sending third indication information to the session management function network element, where the third indication information is used to indicate a reason why the quality of service parameter based on the PDU set of the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element is not supported.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that When the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element does not support the quality of service parameters based on the PDU set, the method further includes: Second configuration information is received from the session management function network element, where the second configuration information includes updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that When the first indication information is used to indicate the service quality parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the network element supporting the session management function, the method further includes: Send third configuration information to the terminal, where the third configuration information is used to configure a timer for the terminal based on packet loss of the PDU set.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first configuration information to the access network device, where the first configuration information includes quality of service parameters of a first quality of service flow based on a protocol data unit (PDU) set; Receive first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element supports or does not support the quality of service parameters of the PDU set, and the first indication information is determined based on the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The supporting the session management function network element configuration of the first quality of service flow based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set includes: supporting the creation of the first quality of service flow; or, The not supporting the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element includes: not supporting the creation of the first quality of service flow.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that When the access network device supports quality of service processing of the PDU set and the terminal supports processing of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow configured by the network element supporting the session management function based on the PDU set; or, When the access network device does not support the quality of service processing of the PDU set, and / or the terminal does not support the processing of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element is not supported and is based on the quality of service parameters of the PDU set.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that The processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal includes: the identification capability of the terminal for the PDU set and / or the packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first indication information is determined based on the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: The first indication information is determined based on the terminal's ability to identify the PDU set and / or the terminal's ability to handle packet loss based on the PDU set, and the access network device's quality of service processing capability for the PDU set.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein When the terminal does not support identification of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate that the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element are not supported.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein When the terminal supports identification of the PDU set and supports packet loss of the PDU set, the first indication information is used to indicate the quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set that supports configuration of the session management function network element.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that The first indication information is determined based on the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device and the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, including: The first indication information is determined according to the quality of service processing capability of the PDU set of the access network device, the processing capability of the PDU set of the terminal, and the quality of service parameter of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set includes at least one of the following: the integrity packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the importance packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, the forward error correction coding FEC packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set, or the error concealment packet loss capability of the terminal based on the PDU set.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22, characterized in that When the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element does not support the quality of service parameters based on the PDU set, the method further includes: Receive third indication information from the access network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate a reason why the quality of service parameter of the first quality of service flow based on the PDU set configured by the session management function network element is not supported.

24. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 23, wherein When the first indication information is used to indicate that the first quality of service flow configured by the session management function network element does not support the quality of service parameters based on the PDU set, the method further includes: Second configuration information is sent to the access network device, where the second configuration information includes updated quality of service parameters of the first quality of service flow.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 14 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are coupled, and the processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or implement the method according to any one of claims 14 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and the instructions are executed on a computer to enable the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or to perform the method according to any one of claims 14 to 24.

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