Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. In the method, a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request received by a core network device carries first slice information and / or first indication information, and both the first slice information and the first indication information can reflect requesting the establishment of a PDU session of a mobile terminal (MT) of a relay device; and then the core network device allocates a common quality of service (QoS) suitable for the MT to the PDU session of the MT, thus avoiding the allocation of excessive high or excessive low QoS to MTs, which affects service transmission of terminal devices accessing the network by means of relay devices, thereby helping to improve the resource utilization rate.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on April 3, 2024, with application number 202410404573.4 and invention name “A communication method and communication device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Relay equipment is typically deployed in areas with poor signal coverage to expand or improve network coverage. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is discussing a new relay device: wireless access backhaul (WAB) equipment. WAB equipment includes next-generation node B (gNB) functionality (referred to as WAB-gNB) and mobile terminal (MT) functionality (referred to as WAB-MT). An air interface connection (e.g., a Un interface connection) exists between the UE portion of the WAB device (i.e., the WAB-MT) and the donor node (i.e., the donor-gNB). Communication interfaces (e.g., Xn interfaces and NG interfaces) exist between the gNB portion of the relay device (i.e., the WAB-gNB) and the donor node (i.e., the donor-gNB). The WAB-MT can establish protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with the core network using the core network's authorization protocol stack, and obtain quality of service (QoS) assigned by the core network.

[0004] When assigning QoS to a terminal device, core network equipment considers the terminal device's service requirements, enabling on-demand QoS allocation (for example, the QoS flow and QoS parameters for the PDU session). However, WAB-MTs lack autonomous service requirements, making it difficult for core network equipment to assign appropriate QoS. Therefore, configuring appropriate QoS for WAB-MTs has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device for enabling a core network device to configure appropriate QoS for a WAB-MT, and for enabling a core network device to configure appropriate QoS for a terminal device.

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a core network device (for example, a core network device of a relay device) or by a component of the core network device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). Taking the core network device as an example, the core network device receives a PDU session establishment request, and the PDU session establishment request includes first slice information and / or first indication information. The first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of a mobile terminal MT of the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device that initiates the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device. Then, the core network device sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the host node of the relay device, and the PDU session resource establishment request includes the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the MT determined by the core network device.

[0007] In this aspect, the PDU session establishment request received by the core network device carries the first slice information and / or the first indication information. Both the first slice information and the first indication information can reflect that a request is made to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device. Then, the core network device allocates a public QoS suitable for the MT to the PDU session of the MT, thereby avoiding the allocated QoS of the MT being too high or too low and affecting the service transmission of the terminal device accessing the network through the relay device, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, which is used to indicate a common (or public) type slice; or a default (or default) type slice; or a general (or common) type slice. A common type slice (or a default type slice, or a general type slice) indicates that the QoS of the PDU session established this time is not customized for a specific slice type, and multiple different types of services can be carried in this PDU session.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, which is used to indicate a dummy slice (also known as a meaningless slice or a fake slice). It can be understood that the first slice identifier carried by the PDU session request is a formal slice identifier without any actual slice meaning. For example, the first slice identifier can be a value that does not represent any valid slice type; or the first slice identifier can be a random value.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first slice information includes a second slice identifier, which is used to indicate the slice of the MT of the relay device. It can also be understood that a new slice identifier dedicated to WAB-MT is added, which is different from the slice identifier of the traditional terminal device. Since it is defined that only MT uses the second slice identifier and traditional terminal devices do not use the second slice identifier, the core network device can determine that the PDU session established this time is the PDU session of MT based on the received second slice identifier.

[0011] In this embodiment, by adding a slice identification method dedicated to WAB-MT, the accuracy and efficiency of the core network device in determining the initiator of the PDU session are improved, thereby prompting the core network device to determine the appropriate QoS for MT.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier. The PDU session establishment request in conventional technology has a bit for carrying a slice identifier, but in this implementation, the bit in the PDU session establishment request sent by the MT is left blank and does not carry a slice identifier. That is, the first slice information is implicitly represented by leaving the bit in the PDU session establishment request for carrying a slice identifier blank, thereby indicating to the core network device that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of the MT.

[0013] In this embodiment, without modifying the behavior of the relay device, the core network device can read the result of the bit carrying the slice identifier to determine whether the PDU session established this time is the PDU session of the MT. Therefore, it is beneficial to reduce the processing complexity of the relay device.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information. It can also be understood that the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the slice information in the PDU session establishment request. After the core network device receives the PDU session establishment request, the core network device does not check or use the slice information in the PDU session establishment request, or the core network device can obtain the first slice information in the PDU session establishment request, but the core network device does not query the MT's contract information based on the first slice information. Therefore, the second indication information can also be understood as being used to indicate that the core network device does not need to query the MT's contract information based on the first slice information, or the second indication information is used to indicate that the core network device does not need to query the MT's contract information based on the slice information in the PDU session establishment request.

[0015] In this embodiment, the core network device determines based on the second indication information that the current PDU session is not related to a specific slice. In order to ensure the business needs of the initiator of the PDU session as much as possible, a public QoS is configured for the PDU session, which is conducive to the reasonable allocation of QoS resources and improved resource utilization.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the PDU session is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization, and the PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device. Optionally, the PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

[0017] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be performed by a relay device or by a component of the relay device (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the relay device as an example, the relay device sends a PDU session establishment request, the PDU session establishment request includes first slice information and / or first indication information, the first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device initiating the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device.

[0018] In this aspect, the PDU session establishment request sent by the relay device carries the first slice information and / or the first indication information. Both the first slice information and the first indication information can reflect that a request is made to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device, so that the core network device allocates a public QoS suitable for the MT to the PDU session of the MT, thereby avoiding the allocated QoS of the MT being too high or too low and affecting the service transmission of the terminal device accessing the network through the relay device, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the relay device receives the bearer configuration information of the MT sent by the host node, the bearer configuration information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS of the MT's PDU session and the MT's bearer, and the QoS of the MT's PDU session is the public QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an inactive slice.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a second slice identifier, where the second slice identifier is used to indicate a slice of the MT of the relay device.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the PDU session is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization, and the PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device. Optionally, the PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

[0025] It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this aspect are similar to some implementation methods in the first aspect above. Please refer to the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of the first aspect for details, and they will not be repeated here.

[0026] On the third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a core network device (for example, a core network device of a terminal device) or by a component of the core network device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). Taking the core network device as an example, the core network device receives a PDU session establishment request, and the PDU session establishment request includes third indication information and / or second slice information. The third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device that initiates the PDU session establishment request accesses the network through the relay device, and the second slice information is used to indicate the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device accessing the relay device. Then, the core network device sends a PDU session resource establishment request to the relay device, and the PDU session resource establishment request includes the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device determined by the core network device.

[0027] In this aspect, the terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device carries the second slice information and / or the third indication information in the PDU session establishment request, so that the core network device determines the fact that the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device and configures public slice transmission resources for the terminal device. Since the relay device needs to go through a one-hop wireless backhaul, the actual QoS requirements of the terminal device may be difficult to guarantee. Therefore, configuring a public QoS for the terminal device is conducive to ensuring that the basic service quality is provided to the terminal device. It is conducive to avoiding configuring an excessively high QoS for the terminal device while being limited by the QoS of the relay device, and is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the second slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an ineffective slice.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier. The PDU session establishment request in conventional technology has a bit for carrying a slice identifier, while the bit in the PDU session establishment request sent by the terminal device in this implementation is left blank and does not carry a slice identifier, that is, the second slice information is implicitly represented by leaving the bit used to carry the slice identifier in the PDU session establishment request blank, thereby indicating to the core network device that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of the terminal device. This is beneficial for the core network device to accurately determine the type of the terminal device (that is, the terminal device is a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device).

[0030] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information.

[0031] In this embodiment, the core network device determines that the current PDU session is not related to a specific slice based on the fourth indication information. In order to ensure the business needs of the initiator of the PDU session as much as possible, a public QoS is configured for the PDU session, which is conducive to the reasonable allocation of QoS resources and improved resource utilization.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device or by a component of the terminal device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the terminal device as an example, the terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request, and the PDU session establishment request includes third indication information and / or second slice information. The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device sending the PDU session establishment request to access the network through a relay device, and the second slice information is used to indicate the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device accessing the relay device.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving bearer configuration information of the terminal device sent by the relay device, where the bearer configuration information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the second slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices:

[0035] A slice of a common type; or, a slice of the default type; or, a slice that has no effect.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information.

[0038] It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this aspect are similar to some implementation methods in the third aspect above. Please refer to the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of the third aspect for details, and they will not be repeated here.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a relay device or by a component of the relay device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the relay device as an example, the relay device receives a first mapping relationship, which is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the service quality flow identifier QFI of the MT of the relay device and the quality of service QoS parameters of the MT; then, the relay device receives the bearer configuration information of the MT sent by the host node of the relay device, and the bearer configuration information of the MT includes a second mapping relationship, which is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the bearer of the MT; then, the relay device determines a third mapping relationship based on the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship, and the mapping rule of the QoS parameter, the mapping rule of the QoS parameter is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameter of the MT and the QoS parameter of the terminal device, and the third mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameter of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device.

[0040] In this aspect, the relay device can obtain the first mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI to MT's QoS parameters) and the second mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI to MT's bearer), and perform reasonable bearer mapping based on QoS relevance (i.e., QoS parameter mapping rules). This helps ensure that the uplink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the MT's bearer, and that the downlink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the terminal device's bearer. This helps improve the efficiency of data transmission for terminal devices that access the network through the relay device.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, the first mapping relationship is carried in a PDU session establishment accept message.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner, the PDU session establishment accept message includes an authorized QoS flow description information element, and the authorized QoS flow description information element carries the first mapping relationship.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the QoS parameter mapping rules include: ensuring that the MT's QoS parameters are not inferior to the terminal device's QoS parameters. In this implementation, since the terminal device accesses the network via a relay device, ensuring that the MT's QoS parameters are not inferior to the terminal device's QoS parameters is beneficial for ensuring the quality of service for the terminal device's services and avoiding resource waste caused by configuring overly high QoS parameters for the MT.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0045] The relay device obtains the QoS parameters of the terminal device; then, the relay device determines the QoS parameters of the MT based on the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters; then, the relay device determines the QFI of the MT based on the QoS parameters of the MT and the first mapping relationship; then, the relay device determines the bearer of the MT based on the QFI of the MT and the second mapping relationship; then, the relay device sends uplink data through the bearer of the MT.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0047] The relay device determines the QFI of the MT based on the bearer of the MT and the second mapping relationship; then, the relay device determines the QoS parameters of the MT based on the QFI of the MT and the first mapping relationship; then, the relay device determines the QoS parameters of the terminal device based on the QoS parameters of the MT and the mapping rules of the QoS parameters; then, the relay device determines the bearer of the terminal device based on the QoS parameters of the terminal device; then, the relay device receives downlink data through the bearer of the terminal device.

[0048] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a core network device (for example, a core network device of a relay device) or by a component of the core network device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the core network device as an example, the core network device receives a PDU session establishment request; when it is determined that the PDU session request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device, the core network device sends a first mapping relationship, and the first mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the QoS parameters of the MT. The first mapping relationship is used to determine a third mapping relationship in combination with the second mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, the second mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the bearer of the MT, the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate the association relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device, and the third mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT.

[0049] In one possible embodiment, the PDU session establishment request includes first slice information and / or first indication information, the first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device initiating the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an inactive slice.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a second slice identifier, where the second slice identifier is used to indicate a slice of the MT of the relay device.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information.

[0054] It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this aspect are similar to some implementation methods in the fifth aspect above. Please refer to the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of the fifth aspect for details, and they will not be repeated here.

[0055] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a host node (for example, a host node of a relay device) or by a component of the host node (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the host node as an example, the host node receives a fourth mapping relationship from the relay device, where the fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; the host node determines a sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters; wherein the fifth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT of the relay device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT; the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate an association relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device; the sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT; the host node sends the sixth mapping relationship to the relay device.

[0056] In this aspect, the relay device notifies the host node of the fourth mapping relationship, and the host node determines the sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, and sends the sixth mapping relationship to the relay device, so that the relay device determines the MT bearer corresponding to the uplink data packet, and the bearer of the terminal device corresponding to the downlink data packet. Therefore, it is beneficial to ensure that the uplink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the bearer of the MT, and to ensure that the downlink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the bearer of the terminal device. It is beneficial to improve the efficiency of data transmission of terminal devices that access the network through the relay device.

[0057] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a relay device (for example, a relay device of a relay device) or by a component of a relay device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). Taking the relay device as an example, the relay device sends a fourth mapping relationship to the host node of the relay device, where the fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; then, the relay device receives a sixth mapping relationship from the host node, where the sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT; the sixth mapping relationship is determined by the host node based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters; wherein the fifth mapping relationship is the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT of the relay device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT; the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate the association relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device.

[0058] This aspect is similar to the seventh aspect. Please refer to the beneficial effects of the seventh aspect for details.

[0059] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a relay device (for example, a relay device of a relay device) or by a component of a relay device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.). Taking the relay device as an example, the relay device receives a fifth mapping relationship from the host node of the relay device, where the fifth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT of the relay device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT; then, the relay device determines the sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, where the fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device; the sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT.

[0060] In this aspect, the donor node sends the fifth mapping relationship to the relay device, which generates the sixth mapping relationship. This helps ensure that uplink data from the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the MT's bearer, and that downlink data from the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the terminal device's bearer. This helps improve the efficiency of data transmission for terminal devices that access the network through the relay device.

[0061] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a host node (for example, a host node of a relay device) or by a component of the host node (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system). Taking the host node as an example, the host node sends a fifth mapping relationship to the relay device, where the fifth mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT of the relay device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT; wherein the fifth mapping relationship is used by the relay device to determine a sixth mapping relationship in conjunction with the fourth mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, where the fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device; the sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT.

[0062] This aspect is similar to the ninth aspect. Please refer to the beneficial effects of the ninth aspect for details.

[0063] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communications device, which may be a core network device in the aforementioned embodiments, or a chip within the core network device. The communications device may include a module, unit, or means for executing the method in any one of the first, third, sixth, or ninth aspects. The communications device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communications device is a core network device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver. The core network device may further include a storage module, which may be a memory. The storage module is configured to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to cause the core network device to execute the method in any one of the first, third, sixth, or ninth aspects. When the communications device is a chip within the core network device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input / output interface, pin, or circuit, etc. The processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to cause the core network device to execute the method in any one of the first, third, sixth, or ninth aspects. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip (eg, a register, a cache, etc.), or a storage module within the core network device that is located outside the chip (eg, a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0064] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a relay device in the aforementioned embodiment, or a chip within the relay device. The communication device may include a module, unit, or means for executing the method in any one of the embodiments of the second, fifth, or eighth aspects. The communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communication device is a relay device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver; the relay device may further include a storage module, which may be a memory; the storage module is used to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module so that the relay device executes the method in any one of the embodiments of the second, fifth, or eighth aspects. When the communication device is a chip within a relay device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc.; the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module so that the relay device executes the method in any one of the embodiments of the second, fifth, or eighth aspects. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip (eg, a register, a cache, etc.), or a storage module within the relay device that is located outside the chip (eg, a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0065] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a host node in the aforementioned embodiment, or a chip within the host node. The communication device may include a module, unit, or means for executing the method in any one of the embodiments of the seventh or tenth aspects. The communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communication device is a host node, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver; the host node may further include a storage module, which may be a memory; the storage module is used to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to enable the host node to execute the method in any one of the embodiments of the seventh or tenth aspects. When the communication device is a chip within the host node, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input / output interface, pin, or circuit, etc.; the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to enable the host node to execute the method in any one of the embodiments of the seventh or tenth aspects. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip (e.g., a register, a cache, etc.), or a storage module within the host node located outside the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0066] In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment, or a chip within the terminal device. The communication device may include a module, unit, or means for executing the method in any one of the embodiments in the fourth aspect. The communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. When the communication device is a terminal device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be a transceiver; the terminal device may further include a storage module, which may be a memory; the storage module is used to store instructions, and the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to cause the terminal device to execute the method in any one of the embodiments in the fourth aspect. When the communication device is a chip within the terminal device, the processing module may be a processor, and the transceiver module may be an input / output interface, pin, or circuit; the processing module executes the instructions stored in the storage module to cause the terminal device to execute the method in any one of the embodiments in the fourth aspect. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip (e.g., a register, cache, etc.), or a storage module within the terminal device located outside the chip (e.g., a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0067] In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an integrated circuit chip. The integrated circuit chip may include modules, units, or means for executing the method described in any of the aforementioned various embodiments. The integrated circuit chip includes a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory, which is used to store programs or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device executes the method described in any of the aforementioned various embodiments.

[0068] In the sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the aforementioned aspects.

[0069] In the seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the embodiments in the previous aspects.

[0070] In the eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a core network device that executes the aforementioned first aspect and any one of the implementations of the first aspect, and a relay device that executes the aforementioned second aspect and any one of the implementations of the second aspect.

[0071] In the nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a core network device that executes the aforementioned third aspect and any one of the implementations of the third aspect, and a terminal device that executes the aforementioned fourth aspect and any one of the implementations of the fourth aspect.

[0072] In the twentieth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a relay device executing the aforementioned fifth aspect and any one of the implementations of the fifth aspect, and a core network device executing the aforementioned sixth aspect and any one of the implementations of the sixth aspect.

[0073] In aspect 21, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a host node executing the aforementioned aspect 7 and any one of the implementations of the aspect 7, and a relay device executing the aforementioned aspect 8 and any one of the implementations of the aspect 8. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] FIG1A is an exemplary diagram of the system architecture of the communication method provided in this application;

[0075] FIG1B is another exemplary diagram of the system architecture of the communication method provided in this application;

[0076] FIG1C is another exemplary diagram of the system architecture of the communication method provided in this application;

[0077] FIG1D is an example diagram of a QoS architecture for a 5G network;

[0078] FIG2 is a flow chart of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0079] FIG3 is another flow chart of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0080] FIG4 is another flow chart of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0081] FIG5 is another flow chart of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0082] FIG6 is another flow chart of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0083] FIG7 is another flow chart of the communication method provided by the present application;

[0084] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0085] FIG9 is another schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0086] FIG10 is another schematic diagram of the communication device provided by the present application;

[0087] FIG11 is another schematic diagram of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0088] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.

[0089] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like (if any) in the specification and claims of this application and in the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequential sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0090] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be single or multiple. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. In addition, "at least one of the following" or similar expressions in this article is used to represent any combination of the listed items; for example, at least one of A, B and (or) C can represent the following six situations: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, and A, B and C exist at the same time, where A, B, and C can be single or multiple.

[0091] It should be understood that the “selection” in this application can be understood as “determination”, and the “selection” in this application can be replaced by “determination”.

[0092] For ease of understanding, the following first introduces the system architecture and application scenarios of the communication method proposed in this application:

[0093] The communication method proposed in this application can be applied to 5G NR (5G New Radio) systems, the 6th generation mobile communication technology (6G) systems and subsequent evolutionary standards, and this application is not limited to this.

[0094] As shown in FIG1A , the communication system includes at least a terminal device 01 , a relay device 02 , a host node 03 and a core network device 04 .

[0095] Terminal device 01 refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. For example, terminal device 01 includes a handheld device with wireless connection capability or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device 01 can communicate with a core network (e.g., a 5G core network (5th generation core, 5GC)) via a radio access network (RAN) and can exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. The terminal device 01 may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), wireless terminal device, mobile terminal (MT) device, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station (MS), mobile station (mobile), remote station (remote station), access point (AP), remote terminal device (remote terminal), access terminal device (access terminal), user terminal device (user terminal), user agent (user agent), or user equipment (user device), etc. In addition, the terminal device 01 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. It should be understood that the terminal device 01 in this application can be any of the above devices or chips. In this embodiment and subsequent embodiments, the terminal device is used as an example for description.

[0096] The relay device 02, also known as a relay node (RN), is generally deployed in areas with poor signal coverage to expand or improve network coverage. The relay device 02 in this application mainly includes an MT module 021 and a gNB module 022. Among them, the MT module 021 has the functions of an ordinary terminal device, that is, the MT module 021 has the protocol stack of an ordinary terminal device, so that the relay device with the MT module 021 can access the host node, obtain authorization from the core network, and establish a PDU session like a terminal device according to the protocol stack of the terminal device. The gNB module 022 can implement at least one layer 3 function (for example, a radio resource control (RRC) layer function), and one or more layer 2 functions (for example, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer function, a radio link control (RLC) layer function, a media access control (MAC) layer function, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer function, etc.). Exemplarily, the gNB module 022 is a gNB, or a combination of a centralized unit (CU) (also referred to as a control unit) and a distributed unit (DU). In addition, the relay device 02 also includes a RU module 023. The RU module 023 is used to process intermediate frequency signals or radio frequency signals and can perform amplification and forwarding operations on received radio frequency signals. The RU module 023 can be configured to be independent of the antenna device (e.g., antenna line device (ALD) (also known as antenna linear device)), or integrated with the antenna device. For example, in a 5G NR system, the RU module 023 can be an active antenna unit (AAU), that is, a processing unit that integrates a remote radio unit (RRU) (or remote radio head (RRH)) and an antenna device. It should be understood that the various functional modules in the relay device 02 (e.g., the MT module 021, gNB module 022, and RU module 023 shown in Figure 1A) can be modules implemented by hardware or logical modules implemented by software, and this application is not limited. In this application, a relay device 02 that can implement at least one layer 3 function is referred to as a layer 3 relay device. Exemplarily, the layer 3 relay device can be a wireless access backhaul (WAB) device.The communication method provided in this application can be applied to WAB and other relay devices that include gNB functions and UE functions. In the subsequent embodiments, WAB is mainly used as an example.

[0097] Donor node 03 is connected to relay device 02 and to the core network (e.g., 5GC) network element serving relay device 02, providing wireless backhaul functionality for relay device 02. Donor node 03 can be any device with wireless transceiver functionality and can be responsible for air interface-related functions, such as radio link maintenance, radio resource management, and some mobility management functions. Furthermore, donor node 03 is also configured with a baseband unit (BBU) that has baseband signal processing capabilities. Donor node 03 can be an access network device. Currently, some common examples of access network devices include: Node B (NB), evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB) in 5G new radio (NR) systems, and nodes in 6G systems (e.g., xNodeB). Furthermore, a donor node can also be a device that includes a centralized unit (CU) (also known as a control unit) and / or a distributed unit (DU). The CU of the donor node is called a donor-CU, and the DU of the donor node is called a donor-DU. The RAN equipment including the CU and the DU splits the protocol layer of the gNB in ​​the NR system, centrally controls some of the protocol layer functions in the CU, and distributes some or all of the remaining protocol layer functions in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. Multiple DUs can share one CU. The division of the CU and DU can be based on the protocol stack. For example, as shown in Figure 1A, one possible approach is to deploy the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers in the CU, and the remaining radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical layer (PHY) in the DU. The CU and DU are connected via the F1 interface. CU represents a gNB connected to the core network via the NG interface, and CU represents a gNB connected to other gNBs via the Xn interface. CU can also represent a gNB connected to other host nodes (e.g., other gNBs or eNBs) via the X2 interface to perform dual connectivity. It should be understood that the host node 03 in this application can be any of the above-mentioned devices or chips. In this embodiment and subsequent embodiments, the host node is used as an example.

[0098] The core network device 04 refers to the device in the core network (CN) that provides service support for the relay device 02. At present, some common examples of the core network device 04 are: access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc., which are not listed here one by one. Among them, the AMF entity can be responsible for the access management and mobility management of the relay device 02; the SMF entity can be responsible for session management, such as user session establishment, etc.; the UPF entity can be a functional entity of the user plane, mainly responsible for connecting to the external network. It should be noted that the entities in this application can also be referred to as network elements or functional entities. For example, the AMF entity can also be referred to as an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity; for another example, the UPF entity can also be referred to as a UPF network element or a UPF functional entity, etc. It should be noted that the core network devices in this application include at least an AMF entity.

[0099] It should be understood that the communication method provided in this application can also be applied to the Open RAN (O-RAN) architecture shown in Figure 1B. As shown in Figure 1B, the O-RAN architecture primarily includes a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), a gNB-CU supporting O-RAN functions, and a gNB-DU supporting O-RAN functions. The RIC is responsible for collecting network information and performing necessary optimization tasks. The RIC communicates with the gNB-CU via the E2 interface, and the RIC communicates with the gNB-DU via the E2 interface. The RIC can control the gNB-DU directly or through the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU supporting O-RAN functions includes the donor-CU and the WAB-CU, while the gNB-DU supporting O-RAN functions includes the donor-DU and the WAB-DU. The donor-CU and donor-DU constitute the donor node, while the WAB-MT, WAB-CU, and WAB-DU constitute the relay device.

[0100] As shown in Figure 1C, taking the Layer 3 relay device as a WAB device as an example, an air interface connection (e.g., a Un interface connection) exists between the UE portion of the WAB device (i.e., the WAB-MT) and the donor node (donor-gNB); an air interface connection (e.g., a Un interface connection) exists between the gNB portion of the relay device (i.e., the WAB-gNB) and the terminal device (i.e., the UE); and a communication interface (e.g., an Xn interface and an NG interface) exists between the gNB portion of the relay device (i.e., the WAB-gNB) and other donor nodes (i.e., other-gNB). The WAB-MT communicates with the MT's core network equipment (e.g., the MT's UPF, MT's AMF, etc.) through the donor-gNB. The donor-gNB is connected to the MT's UPF via the N3 interface, and the donor-gNB is connected to the MT's AMF via the N2 interface. The UE communicates with the UE's core network equipment (for example, the UE's UPF, the UE / WAB's AMF, etc.) through the WAB-gNB. The WAB-gNB is connected to the UE's UPF through the N3 interface, and the WAB-gNB is connected to the UE / WAB's AMF through the N2 interface.

[0101] Figure 1D shows the QoS architecture of a 5G network. As shown in Figure 1D, when a service arrives at the UE, the UE initiates a PDU session establishment request to the core network. The PDU session establishment request carries a slice identifier (e.g., single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI)). The core network determines how many QoS flows the UE needs to establish for this session based on the UE's subscription information (including the slice identifier and the corresponding QoS requirements (QoS parameter requirements)), and determines the QoS parameters for each QoS flow (e.g., 5G QoS Indicator (5QI)). The core network then sends a PDU session resource setup request message to the gNB, which carries the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) related to the UE's service and the QoS parameter requirements for each QoS flow (i.e., 5QI). After receiving the PDU SESSION RESOURCE SETUP REQUEST, the gNB allocates a DRB for each QoS flow based on air interface resource availability (each QoS flow can only be allocated one DRB, but a DRB can carry multiple QoS flows) for air interface transmission. Furthermore, the gNB establishes an NG-U Tunnel for this PDU Session and determines the NG-U Tunnel endpoint number for transmission between the gNB and the core network. The gNB sends the DRB identifier and indicates the QoS flow (QFI) for this DRB to the UE via the DRB-ToAddMod information element in the RRC message. For example, in the example shown in Figure 1D, the gNB maintains three QoS flows (QFI0, QFI1, and QFI2). The QoS parameter (5QI) corresponding to QFI0 is 1, the QoS parameter (5QI) corresponding to QFI1 is 1, and the QoS parameter (5QI) corresponding to QFI2 is 2. The QoS flows indicated by QFI0 and QFI1 are carried on DRB1, and the QoS flow indicated by QFI2 is carried on DRB2. In subsequent uplink transmissions, the UE first maps the service data packet to the QoS flow based on the URSP criteria, determines the QFI, and then determines the DRB to transmit the service data packet based on the configuration in DRB-ToAddMod. After receiving the data packet from the DRB, the gNB obtains the QFI of the data packet and transmits it to the core network via the corresponding NG-U tunnel.In downlink transmission, after receiving the data packet from the NG-U Tunnel, the gNB obtains the QFI and then transmits it through the corresponding DRB.

[0102] As can be seen from the example corresponding to Figure 1D, the core network equipment in traditional technology will refer to the UE's slice identifier when allocating QoS to the UE, and allocate QoS to the UE based on the slice identifier in the UE's subscription information (for example, the QoS flow (QoS flow) and QoS parameters of the PDU session, etc.). Since the terminal part of the relay device (for example, WAB-MT) can implement the protocol stack of an ordinary terminal device, theoretically, WAB-MT can refer to the process of establishing a PDU session and obtaining QoS of an ordinary terminal device, establish a PDU session between WAB-MT and the core network, and obtain the QoS assigned to WAB-MT by the core network, etc. However, WAB-MT does not have spontaneous business needs, and WAB-MT does not have slice information. Therefore, it is not easy for the core network equipment to allocate appropriate QoS to WAB-MT.

[0103] In this regard, the present application provides a communication method and a communication device for enabling a core network device to configure appropriate QoS for a WAB-MT.

[0104] The communication method provided by this application is introduced below with reference to FIG2 :

[0105] As shown in Figure 2, it is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The communication method is explained by taking the interaction between the relay device, the host node and the core network device as an example. Of course, the subject that executes the host node action in the method can also be a device or module in the host node; the subject that executes the core network device action in the method can also be a device or module in the core network device; the subject that executes the relay device action in the method can also be a device or module in the relay device, and this embodiment does not make specific limitations on this. For example, as shown in Figure 2, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0106] Step 201: The relay device sends a PDU session establishment request; correspondingly, the core network device receives the PDU session establishment request.

[0107] When the terminal device part of the relay device (for example, WAB-MT) has a need to establish a PDU session, the MT of the relay device sends a PDU session establishment request (PDU Session Establishment Request) to the core network device of the MT (for example, the AMF of the MT) through the host node; accordingly, the core network device of the MT receives the PDU session establishment request through the host node. It should be noted that when the core network device just receives the PDU session establishment request, the core network device cannot determine whether the PDU session establishment request is a request from the MT of the relay device to establish a PDU session or a request from an ordinary terminal device (for example, UE) to establish a PDU session. The core network device needs to determine whether it is a request to establish a PDU session for the MT or a PDU session for the UE based on the content carried in the PDU session establishment request.

[0108] In this embodiment, the PDU session establishment request includes the first slice information and / or the first indication information. In one implementation, the PDU session establishment request includes only the first indication information; in another implementation, the PDU session establishment request includes only the first slice information; in another implementation, the PDU session establishment request includes both the first slice information and the first indication information.

[0109] Among them, the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device initiating the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device. It can also be understood that the first indication information is used to indicate the type of the communication device, that is, the communication device is a relay device type. After the core network device obtains the first indication information in the PDU session establishment request, the core network device can determine that the communication device initiating this PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device, rather than a traditional terminal device, and then the core network device determines the resources (for example, QoS resources, etc.) suitable for the PDU session of the MT for this special communication device.

[0110] Exemplarily, the first indication information may be information indicating the type of the relay device MT, for example, the type identifier of the WAB-MT; or, the first indication information may be the identifier of an authorized MT, for example, the identifier of the MT provided to the core network when the core network authorizes the MT; or, other information that enables the core network device to determine that the communication device is an MT, which are not listed here one by one.

[0111] It should be understood that the first indication information is a newly defined field in the PDU session establishment request, which can be used to indicate the MT type by adding at least one bit in the traditional PDU session establishment request. In one example, 1 bit is added to the PDU session establishment request, where "0" represents a traditional terminal device and "1" represents a WAB-MT. In another example, 2 bits are added to the PDU session establishment request, where "00" represents a traditional terminal device, "01" represents a WAB-MT, "10" represents an integrated access and backhaul (IAB), and "11" represents a network controlled repeater (NCR). In actual applications, other methods can also be used to indicate the MT type, which will not be described here.

[0112] Among them, the first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device. It can be understood that the first slice information can directly or indirectly reflect that the PDU session established this time is the MT's. After the core network device obtains the first slice information in the PDU session establishment request, the core network device can determine that the PDU session currently being established is the PDU session of the MT of the relay device, rather than the PDU session of the traditional terminal device, and then the core network device determines the resources suitable for the MT's PDU session for the MT's session (for example, QoS resources, etc.).

[0113] In this embodiment, multiple implementations of the first slice information are provided, which are described below:

[0114] In one possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, and the first slice identifier is used to indicate a common (common / public) type of slice; or, a default (default) type of slice; or, a general (general / common) type of slice. Among them, a common type of slice (or a default type of slice, or a general type of slice) indicates that the QoS of the PDU session established this time is not customized for a specific slice type, and a variety of different types of services can be carried in this PDU session. In this case, the PDU session establishment request can carry a first slice identifier to indicate a common type of slice (or a default type of slice, or a general type of slice).

[0115] In one implementation, compared to the existing slice types in traditional technologies, a new slice type of "public" type (or "default" type, or "universal" type) is defined, and the newly defined value is used to represent the first slice identifier. Since the first slice identifier is the identifier of the newly defined slice type, the core network device can determine that the PDU session is the PDU session of the MT based on the difference between the first slice identifier and the slice identifier of the traditional terminal device. It should be noted that in this application, descriptions such as "public", "default" and "universal" about the slice type can be interchangeable, and the following text mainly uses the description of "public" as an example for introduction.

[0116] In another implementation, a common type slice or a default type slice multiplexes a slice type that can cover a wide range of QoS requirements in traditional technologies, and the first slice identifier multiplexes a traditional slice identifier that can cover a wide range of QoS requirements. For example, the first slice identifier multiplexes a traditional enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) type slice identifier. In this implementation, the PDU session establishment request needs to carry both the first slice identifier and the first indication information, so that the core network device determines that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of the MT based on the first slice identifier and the first indication information.

[0117] In another possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, which is used to indicate a dummy slice (also called a meaningless slice or a fake slice). It can be understood that the first slice identifier carried by the PDU session request is a formal slice identifier without actual slice meaning. For example, the first slice identifier can be a value that does not represent any valid slice type; or, the first slice identifier is a random value. After receiving the PDU session establishment request, the core network device finds that the first slice identifier carried in the PDU session establishment request does not represent any valid slice type, then the core network device determines that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of MT.

[0118] In another possible implementation, the first slice information includes a second slice identifier, which is used to indicate the slice of the MT of the relay device. It can also be understood that a new slice identifier dedicated to WAB-MT is added, which is different from the slice identifier of a traditional terminal device. Since it is defined that only the MT uses the second slice identifier and the traditional terminal device does not use the second slice identifier, the core network device can determine that the PDU session established this time is the PDU session of the MT based on the received second slice identifier.

[0119] In another possible implementation, the first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier. The PDU session establishment request in conventional technology has a bit for carrying a slice identifier, while the bit in the PDU session establishment request sent by the MT in this implementation is left blank and does not carry a slice identifier, that is, the first slice information is implicitly represented by leaving the bit used to carry the slice identifier in the PDU session establishment request blank, thereby indicating to the core network device that the PDU session established this time is the PDU session of the MT. After receiving the PDU session establishment request, when the core network device reads that the bit originally carrying the slice identifier is empty, the core network device can determine that the PDU session established this time is the PDU session of the MT, rather than the PDU session of an ordinary terminal device.

[0120] It should be understood that in actual applications, the relay device can implement the first slice information using any of the aforementioned implementations. It should also be noted that the slice indicated by the first slice information in this embodiment does not follow the UE route selection policy (URSP) principle, which is the basis for the terminal device to select a slice identifier in traditional technology. It can be understood that the MT in this embodiment does not determine the slice identifier according to the traditional URSP principle.

[0121] Optionally, the PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information. It can also be understood that the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the slice information in the PDU session establishment request. After the core network device receives the PDU session establishment request, the core network device does not check or use the slice information in the PDU session establishment request, or the core network device can obtain the first slice information in the PDU session establishment request, but the core network device does not query the MT's contract information based on the first slice information. Therefore, the second indication information can also be understood as being used to indicate that the core network device does not need to query the MT's contract information based on the first slice information, or the second indication information is used to indicate that the core network device does not need to query the MT's contract information based on the slice information in the PDU session establishment request.

[0122] It should be understood that the contract information of the MT in this embodiment refers to the contract information stored on the core network side when the MT signs up for the network. For example, the contract information of the MT stored in the unified data management function (UDM), or the contract information of the MT obtained from the UDM and stored locally in the AMF. The contract information includes the services that the operator promises to provide to the MT. For example, the contract information of the MT includes information such as the MT's identifier, the MT's contract data, and the MT's authentication data. In traditional technology, the contract information of the MT includes slice information such as the MT's slice identifier. In this embodiment, whether the contract information of the MT includes the MT's slice identifier is not limited, and it mainly emphasizes that the core network device does not query the contract information of the MT in the process of determining the QoS of the MT's PDU session.

[0123] In step 202, the core network device sends a PDU session resource establishment request; accordingly, the donor node receives the PDU session resource establishment request.

[0124] Among them, the PDU session resource setup request includes the public QoS of the PDU session of the MT determined by the core network device. Optionally, the public QoS can be a QoS that can meet the service requirements of multiple types, or a QoS that can meet the service requirements of multiple slice types. Optionally, the public QoS includes at least one public QoS flow and public QoS parameters corresponding to the public QoS flow. It should be noted that in this application, the description of "public QoS" can be replaced with "default QoS" or "general QoS", and the following text mainly uses the description of "public QoS" as an example for introduction.

[0125] After receiving the PDU session establishment request, the core network device will determine the QoS of the PDU session to be established. Specifically, the core network device can determine the QoS of the PDU session by any of the following implementation methods:

[0126] In a possible implementation, the core network device determines that the PDU session of the MT uses public QoS directly based on the fact that the initiator of the PDU session is the MT, not based on the slice information (eg, the first slice information).

[0127] In one implementation of this embodiment, the core network device determines that the initiator of the PDU session is the MT rather than an ordinary terminal device based on the first indication information in the PDU session establishment request, and then the core network device determines that the PDU session of the MT uses a common QoS. In this implementation, the core network device can determine that the initiator of the PDU session is the MT rather than an ordinary terminal device based on the first indication information without obtaining the first slice information, thereby determining a suitable common QoS for the PDU session of the MT. The MT does not need to carry slice information (for example, the first slice information) in the PDU session establishment request, and only carries the first indication information in the PDU session establishment request, which helps to reduce the processing complexity of the MT.

[0128] In another implementation of this embodiment, the MT requesting to establish a PDU session is an MT that has been authorized on the core network side. If the core network device establishing the PDU session is the same core network device that authorized the MT, then the core network device establishing the PDU session can determine that the initiator of the PDU session is an authorized MT. The core network device then determines that the PDU session of the MT uses common QoS based on the fact that the initiator of the PDU session is an authorized MT. Optionally, the PDU session establishment request includes identification information of the MT. The core network device determines that the communication device sending the PDU session is an authorized MT based on the identification information of the MT used in the authorization process for the MT and the identification information of the MT in the PDU session establishment request. For example, the MT obtains authorization from AMF1, and the MT sends a PDU session establishment request to AMF1. AMF1 determines that the MT is an authorized MT based on the identification information of the MT in the PDU session establishment request. Then, AMF1 determines that the PDU session of the MT uses common QoS. In this implementation, the core network device can determine that the initiator of the PDU session is a mobile terminal (MT) rather than a common terminal device, without having to rely on the first slice information and the first indication information, thereby triggering the core network device to determine that the MT's PDU session uses public QoS. Since no improvements are required on the MT side, this helps reduce the processing complexity of the MT.

[0129] In another implementation of this embodiment, the PDU session establishment request includes a second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information. For an introduction to the second indication information, please refer to the relevant description in the previous text and will not be repeated here. The core network device ignores the slice information (for example, the first slice information) in the PDU session establishment request based on the second indication information, and directly determines that the PDU session uses public QoS. In this implementation, the core network device determines that the current PDU session is not related to a specific slice based on the second indication information. In order to ensure the business needs of the initiator of the PDU session as much as possible, public QoS is configured for the PDU session, which is conducive to the reasonable allocation of QoS resources and improved resource utilization.

[0130] In another possible implementation, the core network device determines that the PDU session being established is for the MT based on the first slice information in the PDU session establishment request, and then determines that the PDU session uses a common QoS. Because the core network device does not query the MT's subscription information during the process of determining the QoS for the MT's PDU session, the common QoS for the MT's PDU session ultimately determined by the core network device is unrelated to the MT's subscription information.

[0131] In another possible implementation, the core network device determines the QoS used by the MT's PDU session based on the slice information (e.g., the first slice information). Specifically, the core network device queries the MT's subscription information to obtain the QoS used by the PDU session. Optionally, the QoS corresponding to the slice information is a public QoS.

[0132] In this embodiment, the core network device can determine to configure a public QoS for the PDU session of the MT based on the first slice information in the PDU session establishment request. This is beneficial for the core network device to allocate a public QoS suitable for the MT to the PDU session of the MT, thereby avoiding the allocated QoS of the MT being too high or too low and affecting the service transmission of the terminal device accessing the network through the relay device, which is beneficial to improving resource utilization. In addition, the core network device that establishes the PDU session and the core network device that authorizes the MT may be different core network devices (for example, the MT obtains authorization in AMF1, but the MT sends a PDU session establishment request to AMF2). In this case, the core network device that establishes the PDU session can determine that the PDU session established this time is the MT's session based on the first slice information, thereby determining the public QoS of the MT's PDU session, and avoiding the core network device that establishes the PDU session mistaking the MT for an ordinary terminal device. This is beneficial to improving the rationality of the core network device determining QoS for the MT's PDU session.

[0133] In this embodiment, the core network device can determine the QoS of the MT's PDU session based on any of the aforementioned implementation methods, which is not limited in this application. Then, the core network device sends the QoS of the MT's PDU session (for example, at least one common QoS flow and the common QoS parameters corresponding to the common QoS flow) to the host node of the MT of the relay device through a PDU session resource establishment request, so that the host node determines the MT's bearer based on the QoS of the MT's PDU session. Among them, the MT's bearer can be the MT's data radio bearer (DRB), signaling radio bearer (SRB), etc. It should be noted that in some scenarios, the MT's bearer is also called the MT's logical channel. In this application, "MT's bearer" or "MT's DRB" or "MT's SRB" can be replaced by the term "MT's logical channel". The following text mainly introduces the term "MT's bearer" or "MT's DRB".

[0134] Step 203: The host node sends the bearer configuration information of the MT; correspondingly, the relay device receives the bearer configuration information of the MT.

[0135] In this embodiment, step 203 is an optional step.

[0136] Specifically, after the host node receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the core network device, it obtains the QoS of the MT's PDU session from the PDU session resource establishment request (for example, at least one common QoS flow and the common QoS parameters corresponding to the common QoS flow). Then, the host node allocates a DRB for air interface transmission to each common QoS Flow in the MT's common QoS according to the air interface resource situation, and generates a correspondence between the identification information (i.e., QFI) of the common QoS Flow and the corresponding DRB to obtain the bearer configuration information of the MT. The bearer configuration information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS of the MT's PDU session and the MT's bearer. The QoS of the MT's PDU session is the common QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device. For example, the QoS of the MT is the common QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device based on the first slice information and / or the first indication information.

[0137] Exemplarily, the donor node sends the MT's bearer configuration information to the relay device via an RRC message. For example, the donor node carries the MT's bearer configuration information in a DRB-ToAddMod information element and sends it to the relay device (i.e., the MT of the relay device). Accordingly, the relay device (i.e., the MT of the relay device) obtains the bearer configuration information from the received DRB-ToAddMod information element and stores the mapping relationship between the MT's PDU session QoS and the MT's bearer.

[0138] It should be understood that this mapping relationship is used for MT data transmission. For example, in uplink transmission, the MT maps the uplink data packet to a common QoS Flow and determines the QFI of the common QoS Flow. Then, the MT determines the DRB corresponding to the common QoS Flow based on the mapping relationship and transmits the uplink data packet through the DRB corresponding to the common QoS Flow. In downlink transmission, after the host node receives a downlink data packet from the DRB, the host node determines the QFI of the downlink data packet based on the mapping relationship, thereby determining the common QoS Flow corresponding to the data packet, and then transmits the downlink data packet through the common QoS Flow.

[0139] It should be noted that the PDU session in this embodiment is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization. For example, this PDU session is the first PDU session after the MT is authorized. This PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device. Optionally, the PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

[0140] In this embodiment, the PDU session establishment request received by the core network device carries the first slice information and / or the first indication information. Both the first slice information and the first indication information can reflect that a request is made to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device. Then, the core network device allocates a public QoS suitable for the MT to the PDU session of the MT, thereby avoiding the allocated QoS of the MT being too high or too low and affecting the service transmission of the terminal device accessing the network through the relay device, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0141] As shown in Figure 3, it is another flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The communication method is explained by taking the interaction between a terminal device, a relay device, a host node and a core network device as an example. Of course, the subject that executes the host node action in the method can also be a device or module in the host node; the subject that executes the core network device action in the method can also be a device or module in the core network device; the subject that executes the relay device action in the method can also be a device or module in the relay device; the subject that executes the terminal device action in the method can also be a device or module in the terminal device, and this embodiment does not make specific limitations on this. Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 3, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0142] Step 301: The terminal device sends a PDU session establishment request; accordingly, the core network device receives the PDU session establishment request.

[0143] In this embodiment, the terminal device is a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device. The relay device can be a layer 3 relay device (eg, WAB) or a layer 2 relay device (eg, IAB), which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0144] When a terminal device needs to establish a PDU session, it sends a PDU Session Establishment Request to the core network device of the terminal device (e.g., the AMF of the UE) through the base station portion of the relay device (e.g., the gNB of the relay device (e.g., WAB-gNB)). Correspondingly, the core network device of the terminal device receives the PDU Session Establishment Request through the gNB of the relay device. It should be noted that when the core network device just receives the PDU Session Establishment Request, it cannot determine whether the PDU Session Establishment Request is a request from the MT of the relay device to establish a PDU session or a request from an ordinary terminal device (e.g., UE). The core network device needs to determine whether it is a request to establish a PDU session for the MT or a PDU session for the UE based on the content carried in the PDU Session Establishment Request.

[0145] In this embodiment, the PDU session establishment request includes the third indication information and / or the second slice information. In one implementation, the PDU session establishment request includes only the third indication information; in another implementation, the PDU session establishment request includes only the second slice information; in another implementation, the PDU session establishment request includes both the second slice information and the third indication information.

[0146] Among them, the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device that initiates the PDU session establishment request accesses the network through the relay device. It can also be understood that the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device that initiates the PDU session establishment request is a terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device, rather than a terminal device that directly accesses the base station. After the core network device obtains the third indication information in the PDU session establishment request, the core network device can determine that the terminal device that initiates this PDU session establishment request is a terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device, rather than a terminal device that directly accesses the base station, and then the core network device determines the resources (for example, QoS resources, etc.) suitable for the PDU session of this special terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device. Among them, the third indication information can be directly carried by the terminal device in the NAS message, or it can be added to the NG message by the gNB of the relay device, which is not limited here.

[0147] Exemplarily, the third indication information may be information indicating the type of terminal device, for example, the third indication information indicates the type of terminal accessing the network through a relay device. For example, the third indication information is a newly defined field in the PDU session establishment request, which can be used to indicate the type of terminal device by adding at least one bit to the traditional PDU session establishment request. In one example, 1 bit is added to the PDU session establishment request, where "0" represents a terminal device directly accessing the base station and "1" represents a terminal device accessing the network through a relay device. In actual applications, other methods can also be used to indicate the type of terminal device, which will not be described here.

[0148] Among them, the second slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a PDU session requested to be established by a terminal device accessing the relay device. It can be understood that the second slice information can directly or indirectly reflect that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of a terminal device accessing the network through a relay device. After the core network device obtains the second slice information in the PDU session establishment request, the core network device can determine that the PDU session currently being established is a PDU session of a terminal device accessing the network through a relay device, rather than a PDU session of a terminal device directly accessing the network, and then the core network device determines the resources (for example, QoS resources, etc.) suitable for the PDU session of the terminal device accessing the network through the relay device.

[0149] In this embodiment, multiple implementations of the second slice information are provided, which are described below:

[0150] In one possible implementation, the second slice information includes a first slice identifier, and the first slice identifier is used to indicate a common (common / public) type slice; or, a default (default) type slice; or, a general (general / common) type slice. Among them, a common type slice (or a default type slice, or a general type slice) indicates that the QoS of the PDU session established this time is not customized for a specific slice type, and a variety of different types of services can be carried in this PDU session. In this case, the PDU session establishment request can carry a first slice identifier to indicate a common type slice (or a default type slice, or a general type slice).

[0151] In one implementation, compared to the existing slice types in traditional technologies, a new "public" type (or "default" type, or "universal" type) slice type is newly defined, and the newly defined value is used to represent the first slice identifier. Since the first slice identifier is an identifier of the newly defined slice type, the core network device can determine that the PDU session is a PDU session of a terminal device accessing the network through a relay device based on the difference between the first slice identifier and the slice identifier of a traditional terminal device.

[0152] In another implementation, a common type of slice or a default type of slice multiplexes a slice type that can cover a wider range of QoS requirements in traditional technologies, and the first slice identifier multiplexes a traditional slice identifier that can cover a wider range of QoS requirements. For example, the first slice identifier multiplexes a traditional enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) type slice identifier. In this implementation, the PDU session establishment request needs to carry both the first slice identifier and the third indication information, so that the core network device determines, based on the first slice identifier and the third indication information, that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device.

[0153] In another possible implementation, the second slice information includes a first slice identifier, which is used to indicate a dummy slice (also called a meaningless slice or a fake slice). It can be understood that the first slice identifier carried by the PDU session request is a formal slice identifier without actual slice meaning. For example, the first slice identifier can be a value that does not represent any valid slice type; or, the first slice identifier is a random value. After receiving the PDU session establishment request, the core network device finds that the first slice identifier carried in the PDU session establishment request does not represent any valid slice type, then the core network device determines that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session of a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device.

[0154] In another possible implementation, the second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier. The PDU session establishment request in conventional technology has a bit for carrying a slice identifier, while the bit in the PDU session establishment request sent by the terminal device in this implementation is left blank and does not carry a slice identifier, that is, the second slice information is implicitly represented by leaving the bit used to carry the slice identifier in the PDU session establishment request blank, thereby indicating to the core network device that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session for a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device. After receiving the PDU session establishment request, when the core network device reads that the bit originally carrying the slice identifier is empty, the core network device can determine that the PDU session established this time is a PDU session for a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device, rather than a PDU session for a terminal device that directly accesses the network.

[0155] It should be understood that in actual applications, the relay device can implement the second slice information using any of the aforementioned implementations. It should also be noted that the slice indicated by the second slice information in this embodiment does not follow the UE route selection policy (URSP) principle, which is the basis for the terminal device to select the slice identifier in traditional technology. It can be understood that the terminal device in this embodiment does not determine the slice identifier according to the traditional URSP principle.

[0156] Optionally, the PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information. It can also be understood that the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the slice information in the PDU session establishment request. After the core network device receives the PDU session establishment request, the core network device does not check or use the slice information in the PDU session establishment request, or the core network device can obtain the second slice information in the PDU session establishment request, but the core network device does not query the contract information of the terminal device based on the second slice information. Therefore, the fourth indication information can also be understood as being used to indicate that the core network device does not need to query the contract information of the terminal device based on the second slice information, or the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the core network device does not need to query the contract information of the terminal device based on the slice information in the PDU session establishment request.

[0157] It should be understood that the contract information of the terminal device in this embodiment refers to the contract information stored on the core network side when the terminal device signs up for the network. For example, the contract information of the terminal device stored in the unified data management function (UDM), or the contract information of the terminal device obtained by AMF from UDM and stored locally in AMF. The contract information includes the services that the operator promises to provide to the terminal device. For example, the contract information of the terminal device includes information such as the terminal device identifier, the terminal device slice identifier, the contract data of the terminal device, and the authentication data of the terminal device.

[0158] Step 302: The core network device sends a PDU session resource establishment request; correspondingly, the relay device receives the PDU session resource establishment request.

[0159] Among them, the PDU session resource setup request (PDU session resource setup request) includes the common QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device determined by the core network device, that is, the common QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device accessing the network through the relay device. Optionally, the common QoS can be a QoS that can meet the service requirements of multiple types, or a QoS that can meet the service requirements of multiple slice types. Optionally, the common QoS includes at least one common QoS flow and common QoS parameters corresponding to the common QoS flow.

[0160] After receiving the PDU session establishment request, the core network device will determine the QoS of the PDU session to be established. Specifically, the core network device can determine the QoS of the PDU session by any of the following implementation methods:

[0161] In one possible implementation, the core network device determines that the initiator of the PDU session is a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device rather than an ordinary terminal device based on the third indication information in the PDU session establishment request, and then the core network device determines that the PDU session of the terminal device uses a public QoS. In this implementation, the core network device can determine that the initiator of the PDU session is a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device rather than an ordinary terminal device based on the third indication information without obtaining the second slice information, thereby determining a suitable public QoS for the PDU session of the terminal device. The terminal device does not need to carry slice information (for example, the second slice information) in the PDU session establishment request, and only carries the third indication information in the PDU session establishment request, which helps to reduce the processing complexity of the MT.

[0162] Optionally, the PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information. For an introduction to the fourth indication information, please refer to the relevant description in the previous text and will not be repeated here. The core network device ignores the slice information (for example, the second slice information) in the PDU session establishment request based on the fourth indication information, and directly determines that the PDU session uses public QoS. In this implementation, the core network device determines that the current PDU session is not related to a specific slice based on the fourth indication information. In order to ensure the business needs of the initiator of the PDU session as much as possible, public QoS is configured for the PDU session, which is conducive to the reasonable allocation of QoS resources and improved resource utilization.

[0163] In another possible implementation, the core network device determines, based on the second slice information in the PDU session establishment request, that the PDU session being established is for a terminal device accessing the network through a relay device. The core network device then determines that the PDU session uses a common QoS. Because the core network device does not query the terminal device's subscription information during the process of determining the QoS for the terminal device's PDU session, the common QoS for the terminal device's PDU session ultimately determined by the core network device is unrelated to the terminal device's subscription information.

[0164] In this embodiment, the core network device can determine, based on the second slice information in the PDU session establishment request, to configure a public QoS for the PDU session of the terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device. This helps the core network device allocate an appropriate public QoS to the PDU session of the terminal device, thereby avoiding the impact of excessively high allocated QoS on the service transmission of the terminal device, and helps improve resource utilization.

[0165] In this embodiment, the core network device can determine the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device based on any of the aforementioned implementation methods, which is not limited in this application. Then, the core network device sends the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device (for example, at least one common QoS flow and the common QoS parameters corresponding to the common QoS flow) to the gNB of the relay device of the terminal device through a PDU session resource establishment request, so that the gNB of the relay device determines the bearer of the terminal device based on the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device. Among them, the bearer of the terminal device can be a data radio bearer (DRB) of the terminal device, etc. It should be noted that in some scenarios, the bearer of the terminal device is also called the logical channel of the terminal device. In this application, "bearer of the terminal device" or "DRB of the terminal device" can be replaced by the term "logical channel of the terminal device". The following text mainly introduces the term "bearer of the terminal device" or "DRB of the terminal device".

[0166] Step 303: The relay device sends the bearer configuration information of the terminal device; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the bearer configuration information of the terminal device.

[0167] In this embodiment, step 303 is an optional step.

[0168] Specifically, after the gNB of the relay device receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the core network device, it obtains the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device (for example, at least one common QoS flow and the common QoS parameters corresponding to the common QoS flow) from the PDU session resource establishment request. Then, the gNB of the relay device allocates a DRB for air interface transmission to each common QoS flow in the common QoS of the terminal device based on the air interface resource situation, and generates a correspondence between the identification information (i.e., QFI) of the common QoS flow and the corresponding DRB, thereby obtaining the bearer configuration information of the terminal device. The bearer configuration information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device. The QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device is the common QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device. For example, the QoS of the terminal device is the common QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device based on the second slice information and / or the third indication information.

[0169] Exemplarily, the gNB of the relay device sends the bearer configuration information of the terminal device to the terminal device via an RRC message. For example, the gNB of the relay device carries the bearer configuration information of the terminal device in a DRB-ToAddMod information element and sends it to the terminal device. In response, the terminal device obtains the bearer configuration information from the received DRB-ToAddMod information element and stores the mapping relationship between the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device.

[0170] It should be understood that this mapping relationship is used for data transmission within a terminal device. For example, in uplink transmission, the terminal device maps an uplink data packet to a common QoS Flow and determines the QFI of the common QoS Flow. The terminal device then determines the DRB corresponding to the common QoS Flow based on the mapping relationship and transmits the uplink data packet via the DRB corresponding to the common QoS Flow. In downlink transmission, after the relay device's gNB receives a downlink data packet from the DRB, the relay device's gNB determines the QFI of the downlink data packet based on the mapping relationship, thereby determining the common QoS Flow corresponding to the data packet, and then transmits the downlink data packet via the common QoS Flow.

[0171] It should be noted that the PDU session in this embodiment is a PDU session established by the terminal device after authorization. For example, this PDU session is the first PDU session after the terminal device is authorized. This PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the terminal device. Optionally, the PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the terminal device.

[0172] In this embodiment, the terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device carries the second slice information and / or the third indication information in the PDU session establishment request, so that the core network device determines the fact that the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device and configures a public slice transmission resource for the terminal device. Since the relay device (for example, WAB) needs to go through a one-hop wireless backhaul, the actual QoS requirements of the terminal device may be difficult to guarantee. Therefore, configuring a public QoS for the terminal device is conducive to ensuring that a basic quality of service is provided to the terminal device. It is conducive to avoiding configuring an excessively high QoS for the terminal device while being limited by the QoS of the relay device, and is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0173] It should be understood that in the scenario where the terminal device accesses the network through a relay device, the relay device can establish a PDU session for the MT of the relay device, the terminal device can establish a PDU session for the terminal device, the host node determines the bearer of the MT, and the gNB of the relay device can determine the bearer of the terminal device. In order to ensure that the data packet of the terminal device reaches the host node through the relay device and then reaches the core network, it is necessary to establish a mapping relationship between the bearer of the MT and the bearer of the terminal device. To this end, the present application provides the communication process shown in Figure 4 to solve the aforementioned problem.

[0174] As shown in Figure 4, it is a flowchart of another embodiment of a communication method provided by the present application. The communication method is explained by taking the interaction between a relay device, a host node and a core network device as an example. Of course, the subject that executes the host node action in the method can also be a device or module in the host node; the subject that executes the core network device action in the method can also be a device or module in the core network device; the subject that executes the relay device action in the method can also be a device or module in the relay device, and this embodiment does not make specific limitations on this. Exemplarily, as shown in Figure 4, the communication method includes the following steps:

[0175] Step 401: The core network device sends a first mapping relationship; correspondingly, the relay device receives the first mapping relationship.

[0176] When the core network device determines that the MT of the relay device needs to establish a PDU session or the MT has already established a PDU session, the core network device sends a first mapping relationship to the MT of the relay device through the host node of the MT of the relay device. That is, when the core network device determines that the terminal device conducting the PDU session is the MT of the relay device, it determines to send the first mapping relationship to the MT of the relay device; accordingly, the MT of the relay device receives the first mapping relationship from the core network device through the host node of the MT of the relay device. For example, the core network device (e.g., the core network device of the MT) receives a PDU session establishment request, and when it determines that the PDU session request is a request to establish a PDU session for the MT of the relay device, the core network device determines the QoS of the PDU of the MT and sends the first mapping relationship to the MT through the host node of the MT; accordingly, the MT receives the first mapping relationship from the core network device through the host node.

[0177] Among them, the first mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT of the relay device and the QoS parameters of the MT, which can be expressed as "MT's QFI ~ MT's QoS parameters". Among them, the QFI of the MT is used to uniquely identify a QoS flow of the MT, and the QoS parameters of the MT are used to indicate the service quality requirements of the business data transmitted by the MT through the QoS flow. For example, the QoS parameter can be a parameter such as a 5G QoS indicator (5G QoS Identifier, 5QI). In some scenarios, QoS parameters are also called QoS profiles. This application takes the term "QoS parameters" as an example for introduction.

[0178] Optionally, the first mapping relationship is carried in a PDU Session Establishment Accept message.

[0179] Optionally, the PDU Session Establishment Accept message includes an Authorized QoS flow descriptions information element, and the first mapping relationship is carried in the Authorized QoS flow descriptions information element. It should be noted that in traditional technologies, the Authorized QoS flow descriptions information element is optionally carried in the PDU Session Establishment Accept message; however, in this embodiment, the PDU Session Establishment Accept message sent by the core network device to the MT must carry the Authorized QoS flow descriptions information element to ensure that the MT of the relay device obtains the first mapping relationship.

[0180] It should be noted that this embodiment can be combined with the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2 above. In this case, the core network device determines that the PDU session established this time is the MT's PDU session based on the first slice information and / or the first indication information in the PDU session establishment request, thereby triggering the core network device to determine that the MT's QoS is a public QoS and send a first mapping relationship related to the public QoS. In this case, the first mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's public QFI and the MT's public QoS parameters. For explanations of the first slice information, the first indication information, and the public QoS, please refer to the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] Step 402: The host node of the relay device sends a second mapping relationship; accordingly, the relay device receives the second mapping relationship.

[0182] After the core network device determines the QoS of the MT's PDU, the core network device sends the MT's QoS to the MT's host node. After the MT's host node receives the MT's QoS from the relay device determined by the core network device, the host node determines the MT's bearer (e.g., the MT's DRB) based on the MT's QoS and generates a second mapping relationship. The second mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's QFI and the MT's bearer, which can be expressed as "MT's QFI ~ MT's bearer."

[0183] For example, after the host node receives the PDU session resource establishment request from the core network device, it obtains the QoS of the MT's PDU session (for example, at least one QoS flow and the QoS parameters corresponding to each QoS flow) from the PDU session resource establishment request. Then, the host node allocates a bearer (for example, DRB) for air interface transmission to each QoS Flow in the MT's QoS according to the air interface resource situation, and generates a correspondence between the identification information (i.e., QFI) of the QoS Flow and the corresponding bearer (for example, DRB) to obtain a second mapping relationship. Optionally, when this embodiment is combined with the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2, the QoS of the MT's PDU session in this example is the common QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device. For example, the QoS of the MT is the common QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device based on the first slice information and / or the first indication information.

[0184] Optionally, the second mapping relationship is carried in the bearer configuration information of the MT.

[0185] Step 403: The relay device determines a third mapping relationship based on the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship, and a mapping rule of QoS parameters.

[0186] The QoS parameter mapping rule is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the terminal device's QoS parameters, and can be expressed as "MT's QoS parameters ~ UE's QoS parameters." The terminal device is a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device. The QoS parameter mapping rule can be pre-configured or generated by the relay device, and this application does not limit this.

[0187] The QoS parameter mapping rule can be understood as associating the MT's QoS parameters with the terminal's QoS parameters. "Associated" can be understood as "QoS parameters are similar" or "the terminal's QoS and the MT's QoS jointly satisfy an overall QoS."

[0188] Optionally, the mapping rules for QoS parameters include: the QoS parameters of the MT are not inferior to the QoS parameters of the terminal device. For example, if the QoS parameters include data rate, the data rate of the MT is generally not lower than the data rate of the terminal device. For another example, if the QoS parameters include latency, the latency requirement of the MT is not higher than the latency requirement of the terminal device. For example, the sum of the latency of the MT and the air interface latency of the terminal device is less than or equal to the latency of the terminal device. In actual applications, QoS parameters may also include other performance indicators, and examples are not listed here one by one.

[0189] Since the relay device can obtain the first mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI ~ MT's QoS parameters), the second mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI and MT's bearer) and the mapping rules of QoS parameters (i.e., MT's QoS parameters ~ UE's QoS parameters), the relay device can determine the third mapping relationship based on the aforementioned mapping relationship. The third mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, which can be expressed as "UE's QoS parameters ~ MT's bearer". Since the gNB of the relay device serves as the access network device of the terminal device, the gNB of the relay device can determine the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device in the process of determining the bearer configuration of the terminal device. Therefore, the relay device can finally determine the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT.

[0190] During uplink transmission, the relay device can determine the mobile device's bearer based on the terminal device's bearer. For example, the relay device uses SDAP layer parsing to obtain the terminal device's QoS parameters. The relay device then determines the mobile device's QoS parameters based on the terminal device's QoS parameters and QoS parameter mapping rules. The relay device then determines the mobile device's QFI based on the mobile device's QoS parameters and a first mapping relationship. The relay device then determines the mobile device's bearer based on the mobile device's QFI and a second mapping relationship. The relay device then sends uplink data over the mobile device's bearer.

[0191] During downlink transmission, the relay device can determine the terminal device's bearer based on the MT's bearer. For example, the relay device determines the MT's QFI based on the MT's bearer and the second mapping relationship; then, the relay device determines the MT's QoS parameters based on the MT's QFI and the first mapping relationship; then, the relay device determines the terminal device's QoS parameters based on the MT's QoS parameters and the QoS parameter mapping rules; then, the relay device determines the terminal device's bearer based on the terminal device's QoS parameters. For example, the relay device first determines the terminal device's QFI based on the terminal device's QoS parameters, and then determines the terminal device's bearer based on the terminal device's QFI. The relay device then receives downlink data via the terminal device's bearer.

[0192] In this embodiment, the relay device can obtain the first mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI to MT's QoS parameters) and the second mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI to MT's bearer), and perform reasonable bearer mapping based on QoS relevance (i.e., QoS parameter mapping rules). This helps ensure that the uplink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the MT's bearer, and that the downlink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the terminal device's bearer. This helps improve the data transmission efficiency of terminal devices that access the network through the relay device.

[0193] It should be noted that when the relay device cannot obtain the first mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QFI ~ MT's QoS parameters), the relay device can determine the mapping relationship between the terminal device's bearer and the MT's bearer through the method provided in the subsequent embodiments corresponding to Figures 5, 6 or 7.

[0194] FIG5 is a flow chart of another embodiment of a communication method provided by the present application. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG5 , the communication method includes the following steps:

[0195] Step 501: The relay device sends a fourth mapping relationship; correspondingly, the host node receives the fourth mapping relationship.

[0196] The fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device. The terminal device is a terminal device that accesses the network through a relay device, that is, the terminal device accesses the network through the gNB of the relay device. The fourth mapping relationship can be expressed as "UE's QoS parameters ~ UE's bearer (or UE's QFI)".

[0197] For example, a terminal device accesses the network through the gNB of a relay device and sends a PDU session establishment request to the core network device of the terminal device. The gNB of the relay device interacts with the core network device to establish PDU session resources and obtains the QoS of the terminal device (including the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device) from the core network device. The gNB of the relay device then determines the bearer of the terminal device based on the QoS of the terminal device and obtains the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device. At this point, the relay device obtains the fourth mapping relationship.

[0198] It should be noted that the relay device can obtain the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device according to traditional technology. When this embodiment is combined with the embodiment corresponding to Figure 3, the relay device can also determine the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device based on the method provided by the embodiment corresponding to Figure 3. In this case, the QoS parameters of the terminal device involved in the fourth mapping relationship are the common QoS parameters determined by the core network device based on the second slice information and / or the third indication information, the QFI involved in the fourth mapping relationship is the identifier of the common QoS flow determined by the core network device based on the second slice information and / or the third indication information, and the DRB involved in the fourth mapping relationship is the bearer determined by the gNB of the relay device based on the common QoS.

[0199] Optionally, the MT of the relay device sends the fourth mapping relationship to the host node through an RRC message; or, the gNB of the relay device sends the fourth mapping relationship to the host node through an Xn interface message.

[0200] Step 502: The donor node determines a sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and a mapping rule of QoS parameters.

[0201] The fifth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's bearer of the relay device, or the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's QFI. The fifth mapping relationship can be expressed as "MT's QoS parameters ~ MT's bearer (or MT's QFI)".

[0202] For example, the MT accesses the network through the host node and sends a PDU session establishment request to the core network device of the MT. The host node interacts with the core network device of the MT to establish a PDU session resource process and obtains the MT's QoS (including the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's QFI) from the core network device. Then, the host node determines the MT's bearer based on the MT's QoS and obtains the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's bearer. At this point, the host node obtains the fifth mapping relationship.

[0203] It should be noted that this embodiment can be combined with the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2. In this case, the host node determines the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the bearer of the MT based on the method provided in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2. In this case, the QoS parameters of the MT involved in the fifth mapping relationship are the common QoS parameters determined by the core network device of the MT based on the first slice information and / or the first indication information, the QFI involved in the fifth mapping relationship is the identifier of the common QoS flow determined by the core network device based on the first slice information and / or the first indication information, and the DRB involved in the fifth mapping relationship is the bearer determined by the host node based on the common QoS.

[0204] In addition, the QoS parameter mapping rule is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the QoS parameters of the terminal device. The QoS parameter mapping rule can be expressed as "MT's QoS parameters ~ UE's QoS parameters." For an explanation of the QoS parameter mapping rule, please refer to the relevant description in step 403 above and will not be repeated here.

[0205] Since the host node can obtain the fourth mapping relationship (i.e., UE's QoS parameters ~ UE's bearer (or UE's QFI)), the fifth mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QoS parameters ~ MT's bearer (or MT's QFI)) and the mapping rules of QoS parameters (i.e., MT's QoS parameters ~ UE's QoS parameters), the host node can determine the sixth mapping relationship based on the aforementioned mapping relationships. The sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT. The sixth mapping relationship can be expressed as "UE's bearer (or UE's QFI) ~ MT's bearer (or MT's QFI)".

[0206] Step 503: The host node sends a sixth mapping relationship; accordingly, the relay device receives the sixth mapping relationship.

[0207] After the donor node determines the sixth mapping relationship, it sends the sixth mapping relationship to the relay device. Accordingly, the relay device receives the sixth mapping relationship from the donor node. Optionally, the donor node sends the sixth mapping relationship to the MT of the relay device via an RRC message; or, the donor node sends the sixth mapping relationship to the gNB of the relay device via an Xn interface message.

[0208] After the relay device receives the sixth mapping relationship, the relay device can determine the bearer of the MT based on the bearer of the terminal device, and determine the bearer of the terminal device based on the bearer of the MT.

[0209] During uplink transmission, the relay device can determine the MT's bearer based on the terminal device's bearer. For example, the relay device obtains an uplink data packet from the terminal device's bearer and determines the MT's bearer based on the terminal device's bearer and the sixth mapping relationship. The relay device then sends the uplink data packet via the relay device's bearer.

[0210] During downlink transmission, the relay device can determine the terminal device's bearer based on the MT's bearer. For example, the relay device obtains a downlink data packet from the MT's bearer and determines the terminal device's bearer based on the MT's bearer and the sixth mapping relationship. The relay device then sends the downlink data packet via the terminal device's bearer.

[0211] In this embodiment, the relay device notifies the host node of the fourth mapping relationship (i.e., UE's QoS parameters ~ UE's bearer (or UE's QFI)), and the host node determines the sixth mapping relationship (i.e., UE's bearer (or UE's QFI) ~ MT's bearer (or MT's QFI)) based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship (i.e., MT's QoS parameters ~ MT's bearer (or MT's QFI)) and the mapping rule of QoS parameters (i.e., MT's QoS parameters ~ UE's QoS parameters), and sends the sixth mapping relationship to the relay device, so that the relay device determines the MT bearer corresponding to the uplink data packet, and the bearer of the terminal device corresponding to the downlink data packet. Therefore, it is beneficial to ensure that the uplink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the bearer of the MT, and to ensure that the downlink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the bearer of the terminal device. It is beneficial to improve the efficiency of data transmission of the terminal device that accesses the network through the relay device.

[0212] As shown in Figure 6, a flowchart of the communication method provided in this application is applied to the O-RAN scenario. As shown in Figure 6, the access network control device, relay device and donor node will perform the following steps:

[0213] Step 601: The relay device sends a fourth mapping relationship; correspondingly, the access network control device receives the fourth mapping relationship.

[0214] The access network control device may be a controller in the access network that controls access network devices (e.g., CU and / or DU). For example, the access network control device may be a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). Relay devices include a relay device MT (e.g., WAB-MT), a relay device CU (e.g., WAB-CU), and a relay device DU (e.g., WAB-DU).

[0215] The fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, where the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device. For an introduction to the fourth mapping relationship, please refer to the relevant introduction in step 501 of the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0216] Exemplarily, the CU of the relay device sends the fourth mapping relationship to the access network control device through the E2 interface; or, the DU of the relay device sends the fourth mapping relationship to the access network control device through the E2 interface.

[0217] Step 602: The donor node sends a fifth mapping relationship; accordingly, the access network control device receives the fifth mapping relationship.

[0218] The host node can be a donor-CU or a donor-DU.

[0219] The fifth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's bearer of the relay device, or the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's QFI. For an introduction to the fifth mapping relationship, please refer to the relevant introduction in step 502 of the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 5 above, which is not repeated here.

[0220] Exemplarily, the donor-CU sends the fifth mapping relationship to the access network control device through the E2 interface; or, the donor-DU sends the fifth mapping relationship to the access network control device through the E2 interface.

[0221] Step 603: The access network control device determines a sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and a mapping rule of QoS parameters.

[0222] Among them, the mapping rules of the QoS parameters are used to indicate the association between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device. The sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT. For an introduction to the mapping rules of the QoS parameters and the sixth mapping relationship, please refer to the relevant introduction in step 502 of the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0223] Step 604: The access network control device sends a sixth mapping relationship; correspondingly, the relay device receives the sixth mapping relationship.

[0224] Exemplarily, the access network control device sends the sixth mapping relationship to the CU of the relay device through the E2 interface; or, the access network control device sends the sixth mapping relationship to the DU of the relay device through the E2 interface.

[0225] In this embodiment, the relay device and the donor node respectively send the fourth mapping relationship and the fifth mapping relationship to the access network control device, and the access network control device generates a sixth mapping relationship. This facilitates accurate mapping of uplink data of a terminal device to the MT's bearer, and accurate mapping of downlink data of the terminal device to the terminal device's bearer, under the O-RAN architecture. This facilitates improving the efficiency of data transmission for terminal devices accessing the network through the relay device.

[0226] FIG7 is a flow chart of another embodiment of a communication method provided by the present application. Exemplarily, as shown in FIG7 , the communication method includes the following steps:

[0227] Step 701: The host node sends a fifth mapping relationship; accordingly, the relay device receives the fifth mapping relationship.

[0228] The fifth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's bearer of the relay device, or the mapping relationship between the MT's QoS parameters and the MT's QFI. For an introduction to the fifth mapping relationship, please refer to the relevant introduction in step 502 of the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 5 above, which is not repeated here.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the donor node sends the fifth mapping relationship to the relay device; accordingly, the relay device receives the fifth mapping relationship from the donor node. For example, in a traditional access network system, the donor node sends the fifth mapping relationship to the MT of the relay device via an RRC message; or, the donor node sends the fifth mapping relationship to the gNB of the relay device via an Xn message.

[0230] In another possible implementation, the donor node sends the fifth mapping relationship to the relay device via the access network control device; accordingly, the relay device receives the fifth mapping relationship from the donor node via the access network control device. For example, in an O-RAN architecture, the donor node (e.g., donor-CU or donor-DU) sends the fifth mapping relationship to the access network control device via the E2 interface, and then the access network control device sends the fifth mapping relationship to the relay device (e.g., the CU of the relay device or the DU of the relay device) via the E2 interface.

[0231] Step 702: The relay device determines a sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and a mapping rule of QoS parameters.

[0232] The fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, where the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device. For an introduction to the fourth mapping relationship, please refer to the relevant introduction in step 501 of the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0233] Among them, the mapping rules of the QoS parameters are used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device. The sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or the mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT. For an introduction to the mapping rules of the QoS parameters and the sixth mapping relationship, please refer to the relevant introduction in step 502 of the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0234] In this embodiment, the donor node sends the fifth mapping relationship to the relay device, which generates the sixth mapping relationship. This helps ensure that the uplink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the MT's bearer, and that the downlink data of the terminal device can be accurately mapped to the terminal device's bearer. This helps improve the efficiency of data transmission for terminal devices that access the network through the relay device.

[0235] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 80 provided in this application. The core network device in the method embodiments corresponding to Figures 2, 3, or 4 can be based on the structure of the communication device 80 shown in Figure 8 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 80 may include a processor 801, a memory 803, and a communication interface 802. The processor 801 is coupled to the memory 803, and the processor 801 is coupled to the communication interface 802.

[0236] The communication interface 802 is connected to other communication devices via a communication link. For example, the communication interface 802 may include a network interface with a host node (eg, the communication device 80 shown in FIG8 ), such as an S1 interface.

[0237] The processor 801 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. The processor 801 may be a single processor or may include multiple processors, which is not specifically limited herein.

[0238] In addition, the aforementioned memory 803 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 803 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 801. Optionally, the memory 803 can be integrated with the processor 801, for example, integrated into one or more chips. Among them, the memory 803 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled and executed by the processor 801. The various types of computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers for the processor 801. The memory 803 may include volatile memory (volatile memory), such as random-access memory (RAM); the memory may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD); the memory 803 may also include a combination of the above types of memory. The memory 803 may refer to a single memory or may include multiple memories. Exemplarily, the memory 803 is used to store various data.

[0239] In one design, the communication device 80 is used to execute the method of the core network device in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 2 above. For example, the communication interface 802 is used to receive a PDU session establishment request, the PDU session establishment request includes first slice information and / or first indication information; the processor 801 is used to determine the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the MT; the communication interface 802 is also used to send a PDU session resource establishment request to the host node of the relay device, the PDU session resource establishment request includes the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the MT determined by the core network device. The first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of the mobile terminal MT of the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device that initiates the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device.

[0240] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an inactive slice.

[0241] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a second slice identifier, where the second slice identifier is used to indicate a slice of the MT of the relay device.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0243] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information.

[0244] In a possible implementation, the PDU session is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization, and the PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device. Optionally, the PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

[0245] In another design, the communication device 80 is used to execute the method of the core network device in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 3 above. For example, the communication interface 802 is used to receive a PDU session establishment request, and the PDU session establishment request includes third indication information and / or second slice information. The processor 801 is used to determine the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device. The communication interface 802 is also used to send a PDU session resource establishment request, and the PDU session resource establishment request includes the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device determined by the core network device. The third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device that initiates the PDU session establishment request accesses the network through the relay device, and the second slice information is used to indicate the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device accessing the relay device.

[0246] In a possible implementation, the second slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an ineffective slice.

[0247] In a possible implementation, the second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0248] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information.

[0249] In another design, the communication device 80 is used to execute the method of the core network device in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 4 above. For example, the communication interface 802 is used to receive a PDU session establishment request; the processor 801 is used to determine a first mapping relationship when it is determined that the PDU session request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device; the communication interface 802 is used to send the first mapping relationship. The first mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the QoS parameters of the MT, the first mapping relationship is used to combine the second mapping relationship and the mapping rules of the QoS parameters to determine the third mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the bearer of the MT, the mapping rules of the QoS parameters are used to indicate the association relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device, and the third mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT.

[0250] It should be noted that the specific implementation methods and beneficial effects of this embodiment can be referred to the method of the core network device in the above embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0251] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device 90 provided in this embodiment. The relay device in the method embodiments corresponding to FIG2, FIG3, FIG4, FIG5, FIG6, or FIG7 can be based on the structure of the communication device 90 shown in FIG9 of this embodiment. Alternatively, the host node in the method embodiments corresponding to FIG5 or FIG7 can also be based on the structure of the communication device 90 shown in FIG9 of this embodiment.

[0252] The communication device 90 includes at least one processor 901, at least one transceiver 902, and one or more antennas 903. The processor 901 is connected to the transceiver 902 via a connection device, and the antenna 903 is connected to the transceiver 902. The connection device may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0253] Among them, when the communication device 90 is used to implement the function of a relay device (for example, a layer 3 relay device), the transceiver 902 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device 90 and the terminal device, and can also be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device 90 and the host node. When the communication device 90 is used to implement the function of a host node (for example, a host node of a layer 3 relay device), the transceiver 902 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device 90 and the relay device (for example, WAB-MT or WAB-gNB). The transceiver 902 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 903 can receive radio frequency signals, and the receiver Rx of the transceiver 902 is used to receive the radio frequency signal from the antenna 903, and amplify the radio frequency signal before forwarding it. When the communication device 90 implements the function of a layer 3 relay device (e.g., a WAB), the transceiver 902 can also convert the received RF signal into a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and provide the digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to the processor 901 so that the processor 901 can further process the digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 902 is also used to receive the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 901, convert the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal into a RF signal, and transmit the RF signal via one or more antennas 903.

[0254] Furthermore, the aforementioned processor 901 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire network device, execute software programs, and process software program data, for example, to support the communication device 90 in performing the actions described in the aforementioned embodiments. When the communication device 90 is used to implement the MT function of a relay device, the processor 901 triggers the MT's PDU session establishment process according to the terminal device's protocol stack. When the communication device 90 is used to implement the gNB function of a relay device or the donor node function, the processor 901 also includes a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit is primarily used to control the entire communication device 90, execute software programs, and process software program data. As shown in Figure 9, the processor 901 can integrate the functions of both a baseband processor and a central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processing unit can also be independent processors interconnected via a bus or other technology. The communication device 90 can include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network standards, and multiple central processing units to enhance its processing capabilities. The various components of the communication device 90 can be connected via various buses.

[0255] Optionally, the communication device 90 also includes at least one memory 904. The memory 904 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 904 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 901. Optionally, the memory 904 can be integrated with the processor 901, for example, integrated into one or more chips. Among them, the memory 904 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 901. The various types of computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers for the processor 901. It should be understood that Figure 9 in this embodiment only shows one memory and one processor, but in actual applications, the communication device 90 can have multiple processors or multiple memories, which is not limited here. In addition, the memory 904 can also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device. The memory 904 can be a storage element on the same chip as the processor (i.e., an on-chip storage element), or an independent storage element, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0256] Optionally, the communication device 90 further includes at least one network interface 905. The network interface 905 is used to connect the communication device 90 to other communication devices via a communication link. Specifically, the network interface 905 may include a network interface between the communication device 90 and a core network element, such as an NG interface; the network interface 905 may also include a network interface between the communication device 90 and other network devices (such as other host nodes or core network elements), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0257] In one design, a communication device 90 is configured to execute the method for the relay device in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. A transceiver 902 is configured to send a PDU session establishment request, where the PDU session establishment request includes first slice information and / or first indication information, where the first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session for a mobile terminal (MT) of the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device initiating the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device.

[0258] In one possible implementation, the transceiver 902 is used to receive the bearer configuration information of the MT sent by the host node, where the bearer configuration information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS of the MT's PDU session and the MT's bearer, and the QoS of the MT's PDU session is the public QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device.

[0259] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an inactive slice.

[0260] In a possible implementation, the first slice information includes a second slice identifier, where the second slice identifier is used to indicate a slice of the MT of the relay device.

[0261] In a possible implementation, the first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0262] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information.

[0263] In a possible implementation, the PDU session is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization, and the PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device. Optionally, the PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

[0264] In another design, the communication device 90 is used to execute the method of the relay device in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 4 above. Specifically, the transceiver 902 is used to receive a first mapping relationship, the first mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the service quality flow identifier QFI of the MT of the relay device and the service quality QoS parameters of the MT; and, receive the bearer configuration information of the MT sent by the host node of the relay device, the bearer configuration information of the MT includes a second mapping relationship, and the second mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the bearer of the MT. The processor 901 is used to determine a third mapping relationship based on the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device, and the third mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device.

[0265] In a possible implementation manner, the first mapping relationship is carried in a PDU session establishment accept message.

[0266] In a possible implementation manner, the PDU session establishment accept message includes an authorized QoS flow description information element, and the authorized QoS flow description information element carries the first mapping relationship.

[0267] In a possible implementation, the mapping rule of the QoS parameters includes: the QoS parameters of the MT are not inferior to the QoS parameters of the terminal device.

[0268] In one possible implementation, the processor 901 is configured to: obtain QoS parameters of a terminal device; determine QoS parameters of a mobile terminal based on the QoS parameters of the terminal device and a mapping rule for the QoS parameters; determine a QFI of the mobile terminal based on the QoS parameters of the mobile terminal and a first mapping relationship; and determine a bearer of the mobile terminal based on the QFI of the mobile terminal and a second mapping relationship. The transceiver 902 is configured to send uplink data via the bearer of the mobile terminal.

[0269] In one possible implementation, the processor 901 is configured to determine the MT's QFI based on the MT's bearer and the second mapping relationship; determine the MT's QoS parameters based on the MT's QFI and the first mapping relationship; determine the QoS parameters of the terminal device based on the MT's QoS parameters and the QoS parameter mapping rule; and determine the terminal device's bearer based on the terminal device's QoS parameters. The transceiver 902 is configured to receive downlink data via the terminal device's bearer.

[0270] In another design, the communication device 90 is configured to execute the method of the relay device in the embodiment corresponding to FIG5 or FIG6 . Specifically, the transceiver 902 sends a fourth mapping relationship to the host node, the fourth mapping relationship being used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, wherein the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; and receives a sixth mapping relationship from the host node, the sixth mapping relationship being used to indicate a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the mobile terminal, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the mobile terminal, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the mobile terminal, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the mobile terminal and the bearer of the mobile terminal, or a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the mobile terminal; the sixth mapping relationship is determined by the host node based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and a mapping rule for QoS parameters; wherein the fifth mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the mobile terminal of the relay device and the bearer of the mobile terminal, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the mobile terminal and the QFI of the mobile terminal; and the mapping rule for QoS parameters is used to indicate an association relationship between the QoS parameters of the mobile terminal and the QoS parameters of the terminal device.

[0271] In another design, the communication device 90 is configured to execute the method of the relay device in the embodiment corresponding to FIG7 . For example, the transceiver 902 is configured to receive a fifth mapping relationship from the donor node, the fifth mapping relationship being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT of the relay device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT; the processor 901 is configured to determine a sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, the fourth mapping relationship being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, wherein the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; the mapping rule of the QoS parameters being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device; and the sixth mapping relationship being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT.

[0272] It should be noted that the specific implementation and beneficial effects of this embodiment can be referred to the method of the relay device in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0273] In another design, the communication device 90 is configured to execute the method of the donor node in the embodiment corresponding to FIG5 . For example, the transceiver 902 is configured to receive a fourth mapping relationship from a relay device, the fourth mapping relationship being configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a QoS parameter of a terminal device and a bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between a QoS parameter of the terminal device and a QFI of the terminal device, wherein the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; the processor 901 is configured to determine a sixth mapping relationship based on the fourth mapping relationship, the fifth mapping relationship, and a mapping rule for QoS parameters; wherein the fifth mapping relationship is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a QoS parameter of a mobile terminal (MT) of the relay device and a bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between a QoS parameter of the MT and a QFI of the MT; the mapping rule for QoS parameters is configured to indicate an association relationship between a QoS parameter of the MT and a QoS parameter of the terminal device; the sixth mapping relationship is configured to indicate a mapping relationship between a bearer of the terminal device and a bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between a QFI of the terminal device and a QFI of the MT, or a mapping relationship between a QFI of the terminal device and a bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between a bearer of the terminal device and a QFI of the MT; and the transceiver 902 is further configured to send the sixth mapping relationship to the relay device.

[0274] In another design, the communication device 90 is configured to execute the method of the host node in the embodiment corresponding to FIG7 . For example, the transceiver 902 is configured to send a fifth mapping relationship to the relay device, where the fifth mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT of the relay device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QFI of the MT; wherein the fifth mapping relationship is used by the relay device to determine a sixth mapping relationship in combination with the fourth mapping relationship and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters, where the fourth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device, or a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the QFI of the terminal device, where the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device; the mapping rule of the QoS parameters is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device; and the sixth mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the QFI of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, or a mapping relationship between the bearer of the terminal device and the QFI of the MT.

[0275] It should be noted that the specific implementation and beneficial effects of this embodiment can refer to the method of the host node in the above embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0276] As shown in Figure 10, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 100 provided by this application. It should be understood that the terminal device in the method embodiment corresponding to Figure 3 above can be based on the structure of the communication device 100 shown in Figure 10 of this embodiment.

[0277] Communication device 100 includes at least one processor 1001, at least one memory 1002, and at least one transceiver 1003. Processor 1001, memory 1002, and transceiver 1003 are connected. Optionally, communication device 100 may further include an input device 1005, an output device 1006, and one or more antennas 1004. Antenna 1004 is connected to transceiver 1003, and input device 1005 and output device 1006 are connected to processor 1001.

[0278] Among them, the memory 1002 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The memory 1002 can be independent and connected to the processor 1001. Optionally, the memory 1002 can be integrated with the processor 1001, for example, integrated into one or more chips. Among them, the memory 1002 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and is controlled and executed by the processor 1001. The various types of computer program codes executed can also be regarded as drivers for the processor 1001. It should be understood that Figure 10 in this embodiment only shows one memory and one processor, but in actual applications, the communication device 100 can have multiple processors or multiple memories, which is not specifically limited here. In addition, the memory 1002 can also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory 1002 can be a storage element on the same chip as the processor (i.e., an on-chip storage element), or an independent storage element, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0279] Among them, the transceiver 1003 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device 100 and a network device (for example, an access network device), and the transceiver 1003 can be connected to the antenna 1004. The transceiver 1003 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1004 can receive radio frequency signals. The receiver Rx of the transceiver 1003 is used to receive the radio frequency signals from the antenna 1004, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 1001 so that the processor 1001 can further process the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1003 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 1001, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and send the radio frequency signals through one or more antennas 1004. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal. The order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain a RF signal. The order of the up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0280] It should be understood that the aforementioned transceiver 1003 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, a device in the transceiver unit that implements a receiving function may be referred to as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiver unit that implements a transmitting function may be referred to as a transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0281] Processor 1001 may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor and CPU may be integrated or separate. Processor 1001 may be used to implement various functions for the terminal device, such as processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the entire terminal device, executing software programs, and processing software program data. Alternatively, processor 1001 may be used to implement one or more of the aforementioned functions.

[0282] In addition, the output device 1006 communicates with the processor 1001 and can display information in a variety of ways, which are not specifically limited here.

[0283] In one design, the communication device 100 is configured to execute the method of the terminal device in the embodiment corresponding to FIG3 . The transceiver 1003 in the communication device 100 is configured to send a PDU session establishment request, where the PDU session establishment request includes third indication information and / or second slice information, where the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device sending the PDU session establishment request to access the network through a relay device, and the second slice information is used to indicate the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device accessing the relay device.

[0284] In a possible implementation, the transceiver 1003 is used to receive bearer configuration information of the terminal device sent by the relay device, where the bearer configuration information is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device.

[0285] In a possible implementation, the second slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a common type of slice; or a default type of slice; or an ineffective slice.

[0286] In a possible implementation, the second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

[0287] In a possible implementation, the PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information.

[0288] It should be noted that the specific implementation and beneficial effects of this embodiment can be referred to the method of the terminal device in the above embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0289] As shown in Figure 11, the present application also provides a communication device 110. The communication device 110 can be a core network device, a relay device, a host node, or a terminal device, or can be a component (e.g., an integrated circuit, a chip, etc.) of the core network device, relay device, host node, or terminal device. The communication device 110 can also be other communication modules for implementing the methods in the method embodiments of the present application.

[0290] The communication device 110 may include a processing module 1101 (or a processing unit). Optionally, it may also include an interface module 1102 (or a transceiver unit or transceiver module) and a storage module 1103 (or a storage unit). The interface module 1102 is used to implement communication with other devices. For example, the interface module 1102 may be a transceiver module or an input / output module.

[0291] In one possible design, one or more modules in FIG11 may be implemented by one or more processors, or by one or more processors and memories, or by one or more processors and transceivers, or by one or more processors, memories, and transceivers, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The processors, memories, and transceivers may be provided separately or integrated.

[0292] The communication device 110 has the functions of implementing the core network device described in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 110 includes a module or unit or means (means) corresponding to the core network device executing the steps involved in the core network device described in the embodiment of the present application. The functions or units or means (means) can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation, or by a combination of software and hardware. For details, please refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. For details, please refer to the communication device 80 in the corresponding embodiment of Figure 8 above.

[0293] Alternatively, the communication device 110 has the function of implementing the host node described in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 110 includes a module or unit or means (means) corresponding to the host node performing the steps involved in the host node described in the embodiment of the present application. The function or unit or means (means) can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation, or by a combination of software and hardware. For details, please refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. Please refer to the communication device 90 in the corresponding embodiment of Figure 9 above.

[0294] Alternatively, the communication device 110 has the function of implementing the relay device described in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 110 includes a module or unit or means (means) corresponding to the steps involved in the relay device described in the embodiment of the present application. The function or unit or means (means) can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation, or by a combination of software and hardware. For details, please refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. Please refer to the communication device 90 in the corresponding embodiment of Figure 9 above.

[0295] Alternatively, the communication device 110 has the function of implementing the terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the communication device 110 includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the terminal device performing the steps involved in the terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application. The function or unit or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation, or by a combination of software and hardware. For details, please refer to the corresponding description in the aforementioned corresponding method embodiment. Please refer to the communication device 100 in the corresponding embodiment of Figure 10 above.

[0296] In addition, the present application provides a computer program product comprising one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. For example, the method related to the host node in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 is implemented. For another example, the method related to the relay device in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 is implemented. For another example, the method related to the core network device in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 is implemented. For another example, the method related to the terminal device in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 is implemented. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0297] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, which is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the host node as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0298] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the relay device as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0299] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the core network device as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0300] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement a method related to the terminal device as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 above.

[0301] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0302] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a core network device, characterized in that: include: receiving a protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment request, the PDU session establishment request including first slice information and / or first indication information, the first slice information being used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of a mobile terminal MT of a relay device, and the first indication information being used to indicate that a communication device initiating the PDU session establishment request is an MT of the relay device; A PDU session resource establishment request is sent to the donor node of the relay device, where the PDU session resource establishment request includes the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the MT determined by the core network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a slice of a common type; or, a slice of the default type; or, Slices that don't work.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first slice information includes a second slice identifier, where the second slice identifier is used to indicate a slice of the MT of the relay device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The PDU session is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization, and the PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

8. A communication method, applied to a relay device, characterized in that: include: A PDU session establishment request is sent, wherein the PDU session establishment request includes first slice information and / or first indication information, wherein the first slice information is used to indicate that the PDU session establishment request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device that initiates the PDU session establishment request is the MT of the relay device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive the bearer configuration information of the MT sent by the host node, where the bearer configuration information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS of the MT's PDU session and the bearer of the MT, and the QoS of the MT's PDU session is the public QoS of the PDU session determined by the core network device.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The first slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a slice of a common type; or, a slice of the default type; or, Slices that don't work.

11. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The first slice information includes a second slice identifier, where the second slice identifier is used to indicate a slice of the MT of the relay device.

12. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The first slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that The PDU session establishment request also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the first slice information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that The PDU session is a PDU session established by the MT after authorization, and the PDU session is used for control plane transmission of the relay device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The PDU session is also used for user plane transmission of the relay device.

16. A communication method, applied to a core network device, characterized in that: include: Receive a PDU session establishment request, the PDU session establishment request including third indication information and / or second slice information, the third indication information being used to indicate that the terminal device initiating the PDU session establishment request accesses the network through the relay device, and the second slice information being used to indicate the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device accessing the relay device; A PDU session resource establishment request is sent to the relay device, where the PDU session resource establishment request includes the public service quality QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device determined by the core network device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The second slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a slice of a common type; or, a slice of the default type; or, Slices that don't work.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information.

20. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that: include: A PDU session establishment request is sent, wherein the PDU session establishment request includes third indication information and / or second slice information, wherein the third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device sending the PDU session establishment request accesses the network through the relay device, and the second slice information is used to indicate the PDU session requested to be established by the terminal device accessing the relay device.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive the bearer configuration information of the terminal device sent by the relay device, where the bearer configuration information is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS of the PDU session of the terminal device and the bearer of the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The second slice information includes a first slice identifier, where the first slice identifier is used to indicate any one of the following types of slices: a slice of a common type; or, a slice of the default type; or, Slices that don't work.

23. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The second slice information is information that does not include a slice identifier.

24. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that The PDU session establishment request also includes fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information is used to instruct the core network device to ignore the second slice information.

25. A communication method, applied to a relay device, characterized in that: include: receiving a first mapping relationship, where the first mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between a quality of service flow identifier (QFI) of the MT of the relay device and a quality of service (QoS) parameter of the MT; receiving bearer configuration information of the MT sent by a donor node of the relay device, where the bearer configuration information of the MT includes a second mapping relationship, where the second mapping relationship is used to indicate a mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the bearer of the MT; A third mapping relationship is determined based on the first mapping relationship, the second mapping relationship and the mapping rules of the QoS parameters, the mapping rules of the QoS parameters are used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the MT and the QoS parameters of the terminal device, the third mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the bearer of the MT, and the terminal device accesses the network through the relay device.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: Obtaining QoS parameters of the terminal device; Determining the QoS parameters of the MT based on the QoS parameters of the terminal device and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters; Determine the QFI of the MT based on the QoS parameter of the MT and the first mapping relationship; Determine a bearer for the MT based on the QFI of the MT and the second mapping relationship; Uplink data is sent via the bearer of the MT.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine the QFI of the MT based on the bearer of the MT and the second mapping relationship; Determining a QoS parameter of the MT based on the QFI of the MT and the first mapping relationship; Determining the QoS parameters of the terminal device based on the QoS parameters of the MT and the mapping rule of the QoS parameters; Determining a bearer for the terminal device based on a QoS parameter of the terminal device; Receive downlink data through the bearer of the terminal device.

28. A communication method, applied to a core network device, characterized in that: include: Receive PDU session establishment request; In the case where it is determined that the PDU session request is a request to establish a PDU session of the MT of the relay device, a first mapping relationship is sent, where the first mapping relationship is a mapping relationship between the QFI of the MT and the QoS parameters of the MT.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: including processor and memory; wherein the memory stores a computer program; The processor calls the computer program to cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7; or execute the method according to any one of claims 16 to 19; or execute the method according to claim 28.

30. A communication device, characterized in that: including processor and memory; wherein the memory stores a computer program; The processor calls the computer program to enable the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 8 to 15; or to perform the method according to any one of claims 25 to 27.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: including processor and memory; wherein the memory stores a computer program; The processor calls the computer program to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 20 to 24.

32. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7; or, execute the method described in any one of claims 8 to 15; or, execute the method described in any one of claims 16 to 19; or, execute the method described in any one of claims 20 to 24; or, execute the method described in any one of claims 25 to 27; or, execute the method described in claim 28.

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