Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a related apparatus. The communication method comprises: a session management network element of a core network issues first information to a radio access network side, and provides a requirement to the radio access network side by means of the first information, wherein the requirement is a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set being successfully transmitted; and the radio access network side determines second information on the basis of the first information, and sends the second information to a core network side, wherein the second information carries PDU Set capability information of the radio access network side, the PDU Set capability information is used for indicating a capability of the radio access network side to support successful transmission of the first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of the PDUs in the PDU Set, and the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion. Capability negotiation between a radio access network side and a core network side is achieved by means of information interaction between the core network side and the radio access network side; and a second specific proportion is not equal to a first specific proportion, and each proportion has a corresponding capability or requirement, thereby achieving the capability negotiation of multiple requirements or capabilities.

Description

Communication method and related apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410619924.3, filed on May 17, 2024, and entitled “Communication method and related apparatus”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] The existing Quality of Service (QoS) mechanism performs service guarantee at the granularity of data packets. For example, the Packet Error Rate (PER) and the Packet Delay Budget (PDB) in the current QoS parameter. Service data will be mapped into the same QoS flow for transmission, and the same QoS flow has the same QoS parameter. The data packets corresponding to the same QoS flow will be processed and transmitted one by one according to the corresponding same QoS parameter. In other words, all data packets in the same QoS flow will be processed equally and indiscriminately in the transmission process.

[0004] In the research of the 3rd Generation Partner Project (3GPP) standard, for real-time media services such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mix Reality (MR), and cloud gaming, the end-to-end delay has extremely stringent requirements, and the corresponding data processing granularity in the encoding and transmission process of the upper layer media service is no longer at the granularity of data packets. For example, when encoding at the media layer, it is often not processed at the granularity of media frames, slices, etc., that is, media frames, slices, etc. can be independently encoded and processed. At the same time, the receiving side also processes decoding and display at the same granularity of media frames, slices, etc. The basic data unit of media frames, slices, etc. often contains multiple IP data packets (due to the size limitation of IP data packets). The above-mentioned basic data unit of the media service layer is called a Protocol Data Unit Set (PDU Set), and the PDU Set is the basic unit that can be independently processed by the upper layer service layer.

[0005] However, the prior art only provides the technical solution of capability negotiation for the scenario that all PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted, and does not provide a specific solution for other scenarios, such as the scenario that some PDUs in the PDU Set are lost and do not affect the correct decoding and display of the PDU Set. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and related device, which realizes capability negotiation between a core network and a radio access network node by information interaction between the core network and the radio access network node.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a session management network element, and the method comprises:

[0009] sending first information to a radio access network node RAN, wherein the first information comprises first requirement indication information, and the first requirement indication information is used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDUs in a protocol data unit set PDU Set is successfully transmitted;

[0010] receiving second information sent by the RAN, wherein the second information is determined by the RAN according to the first information, and the second information comprises PDU Set capability information, and the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support the successful transmission of a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set, and the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion.

[0011] The session management network element is a network element on the core network side, which can be an SMF or other network entity with session management function.

[0012] The first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set corresponds to the requirement that the proportion of successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set is greater than or equal to the first specific proportion, which can be used by the receiving end or the specific PDU in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted, such as ensuring the successful transmission of the original data packet in the PDU Set; when the proportion of successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set is less than the first specific proportion, the PDU Set cannot be used by the receiving end, i.e. the PDU Set is meaningless to the receiving end.

[0013] Thus, the session management network element at the core network side provides the capability requirement of the core network side to the radio access network side or the QoS requirement of the QoS flow, i.e., the PDU Set processing requirement of the radio access network side, to the radio access network side by sending the first information to the RAN, i.e., the requirement of the QoS flow to be established or modified at the RAN side. The RAN sends the PDU Set capability information to the SMF according to the first information, so as to realize the capability negotiation between the RAN and the SMF. Specifically, the SMF determines the PDU Set capability information of the second information according to the first information. Further, the requirement sent by the SMF to the RAN is that all PDUs in the PDU Set need to be successfully transmitted, or the proportion of the successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set is greater than or equal to a first specific proportion and the first specific proportion is less than 100%, i.e., the proportion of the successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set is not 100% and the proportion is greater than or equal to the first specific proportion. That is, the above capability negotiation can support that the proportion of the successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set is less than 100%, or a specific PDU in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted, such as the original data packet in the PDU Set.

[0014] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the second information further includes acceptance indication information, the acceptance indication information being used to indicate whether the RAN completes establishment or modification of a quality of service (QoS) flow. The session management network element provides the capability requirement of the core network side to the radio access network side, i.e., the PDU Set processing requirement of the radio access network side, to the radio access network side by sending the first information to the RAN, i.e., the requirement of the QoS flow to be established or modified at the RAN side. That is, if the RAN side meets the requirement of establishing or modifying the QoS flow, the QoS flow establishment or modification is completed; if the RAN side does not meet the requirement of establishing or modifying the QoS flow, the QoS flow establishment or modification is rejected; the RAN side notifies the SMF of whether the QoS flow establishment or modification is completed through the acceptance indication information in the second information.

[0015] In some embodiments of the first aspect, if the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted, the method further includes: sending second requirement indication information to the RAN, the second requirement indication information being used to indicate that the second specific proportion of the PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted.

[0016] Thus, the core network side determines the second requirement indication information according to the PDU Set capability information fed back by the RAN side, and requests the RAN side to complete the QoS flow establishment or modification based on the capability indicated by the second requirement indication information by sending the second requirement indication to the RAN. The PDU Set capability information fed back by the RAN side is that the RAN does not support the capability indicated by the first requirement indication information in the first information and feeds back the capability supported by the RAN side to the core network side through the PDU Set capability information in the process of the session management network element of the core network side sending the first information to the RAN. Since the second requirement indication information is determined based on the PDU Set processing capability provided by the RAN side, the probability of success of the QoS flow establishment or modification can be improved.

[0017] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information further comprises PSDB and / or PSER; and the second information further comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, and the method further comprises:

[0018] updating the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information according to the second information, and sending the updated PSDB and / or PSER to the RAN. Thus, the session management network element provides the core network side capability requirement for the radio access network side to the RAN side by sending the first information to the RAN, and the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information. The SMF determines that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER according to the first indication information in the second information. The core network side updates the PSDB and / or PSER. If the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB in the first information, the SMF updates the PSDB and sends the updated PSDB to the RAN. If the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSER in the first information, the SMF updates the PSER and sends the updated PSER to the RAN. If the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and PSER in the first information, the SMF updates the PSDB and PSER. The SMF requests the RAN to perform the QoS flow establishment or modification based on the updated PSDB and / or PSER by sending the updated PSDB and / or PSER.

[0019] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, and the PDU Set capability information indicates that the RAN supports the capability of a second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set. In this way, the session management network element on the core network side sends the first information to the RAN, and the RAN does not support the capability indicated by the first requirement indication information in the first information but supports the capability of a second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set. Then the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the capability it supports (the capability of a second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set).

[0020] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information further includes a packet granularity QoS parameter, and the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the packet granularity QoS parameter. If the first information includes the first requirement indication information and the packet granularity QoS parameter, if the RAN cannot complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first requirement indication information, the RAN can complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter; and if the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, the RAN notifies the core network side that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the packet granularity QoS parameter through the acceptance indication information.

[0021] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information further includes second requirement indication information, and the second requirement indication information is used to indicate a second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set; and the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow. The SMF sends the first information to the RAN, and the first information includes multiple requirement indication information, each of which is used to indicate a corresponding capability requirement. Then the RAN can determine the requirement indication information that the RAN can meet from the multiple requirement indication information in the first information, and complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability corresponding to the requirement indication information that the RAN meets.

[0022] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: determining third information according to the second information, and sending the third information to a user plane network element, the third information being used to update a PDU Set identification and marking rule on the side of the user plane network element. If the PDU Set processing requirement of the SMF for the RAN side changes, the corresponding identification and marking rule on the UPF side also changes accordingly. The SMF determines the third information according to the second information, and sends the third information to the UPF, and updates the PDU Set identification and marking rule on the UPF side through the third information. The change of the PDU Set processing requirement of the SMF for the RAN side can include at least one of the following changes: the change of the requirement indication information sent by the core network side to the RAN side, and the change of the processing requirement of the SMF for the RAN side from the PDU Set processing requirement to the packet granularity processing requirement.

[0023] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: determining fourth information according to the second information, and sending the fourth information to an application function (AF). The SMF generates the fourth information according to the support of any one of the PDU Set capability information, the PSDB, and the PSER provided by the RAN, and indicates the support of the RAN for the first requirement indication information and / or the PSDB and / or the PSER through the fourth information, so that the AF adjusts parameters according to the fourth information.

[0024] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: sending second requirement indication information to the RAN, the second requirement indication information being used to indicate the transmission success of a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set. In this way, after the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, the SMF determines the second requirement indication information according to the second information, and sends the second requirement indication information to the RAN, so that the RAN can complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the second requirement indication information, thereby realizing the PDU Set granularity QoS transmission guarantee.

[0025] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first requirement indication information is further used to indicate that the PDU successfully transmitted before the first PDU unsuccessfully transmitted in the PDU Set is available, and the second information further includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate whether the RAN supports that the PDU successfully transmitted before the first PDU unsuccessfully transmitted in the PDU Set is available. In this way, the SMF provides the requirement provided to the RAN side through the first requirement indication information in addition to the proportion of the PDU successfully transmitted in the PDU Set. The RAN side notifies the core network side whether the RAN side supports that the PDU successfully transmitted before the first PDU unsuccessfully transmitted in the PDU Set is available through the second indication information.

[0026] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further comprises: receiving path switch request information sent by the RAN, the path switch request information carrying PDU Set capability information. In the handover process, each radio access network node has a corresponding PDU Set processing capability, i.e., the PDU Set processing capabilities of different radio access network nodes can also be different. After the RAN serving the UE changes, the target RAN provides the PDU Set capability information supported by itself to the core network side, so as to realize the capability negotiation between the RAN and the core network side in the handover process.

[0027] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a radio access network node RAN, and the method comprises:

[0028] receiving first information sent by a session management network element, the first information comprising first requirement indication information, the first requirement indication information being used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDU transmission in a PDU Set is successful or that original packet transmission in the PDU Set is successful;

[0029] determining second information according to the first information, and sending the second information to the session management network element, the second information comprising PDU Set capability information, the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDU transmission in a PDU Set being successful, the second specific proportion being greater than the first specific proportion.

[0030] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the second information further comprises acceptance indication information, the acceptance indication information being used to indicate whether the RAN completes the establishment or modification of a QoS flow.

[0031] In some embodiments of the second aspect, if the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of a second specific proportion of PDU transmission in a PDU Set being successful, the method further comprises:

[0032] receiving second requirement indication information sent by the session management network element, the second requirement indication information being used to indicate that a second specific proportion of PDU transmission in a PDU Set is successful.

[0033] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first information further comprises PSDB and / or PSER; and the second information further comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, and the method further comprises:

[0034] receiving updated PSDB and / or PSER sent by the session management network element.

[0035] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first information further comprises a packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0036] The determining the second information according to the first information comprises:

[0037] If the RAN completes the QoS flow establishment or modification according to the packet granularity QoS parameter, determining an acceptance indication information of the second information; the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the QoS flow establishment or modification according to the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0038] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the RAN completes the QoS flow establishment or modification based on the packet granularity QoS parameter in case that the RAN cannot accept the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information.

[0039] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first information further comprises second demand indication information.

[0040] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first demand indication information is further used to indicate that a PDU successfully transmitted before a first PDU unsuccessfully transmitted in the PDU Set is available, and the second information further comprises second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate whether the RAN supports that a PDU successfully transmitted before a first PDU unsuccessfully transmitted in the PDU Set is available.

[0041] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further comprises: sending PDU Set capability information to the session management network element in the handover process.

[0042] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the RAN is a target radio access network node RAN in the handover process.

[0043] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a radio access network node RAN, and the method comprises:

[0044] In the handover process, sending PDU Set capability information to a session management network element, the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDU successfully transmitted in a PDU Set, and the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion.

[0045] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the PDU Set capability information can be contained in path switching request information or handover request feedback.

[0046] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, and the method comprises:

[0047] sending first information to a radio access network node RAN, the first information comprising first demand indication information, the first demand indication information being used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a protocol data unit set PDU Set, the first specific proportion being less than 100 %;

[0048] if the SMF does not receive feedback of the first information from the RAN, determining that the RAN does not support the capability of a first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set.

[0049] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store computer-executable instructions, and the processor being configured to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0050] In a sixth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to run computer programs or instructions to implement the communication method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, and the communication interface being configured to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

[0051] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, when the instructions are run, implementing the communication method in any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0052] The beneficial effects brought by each possible implementation manner of the communication method provided in the second aspect, the communication method provided in the third aspect, the communication method provided in the fourth aspect, the communication apparatus provided in the fifth aspect, the chip provided in the sixth aspect, and the computer-readable storage medium provided in the seventh aspect can be referred to the description in the various possible implementation manners in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture suitable for the embodiments of the present application;

[0054] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0055] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0056] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0057] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present specification, not all the embodiments.

[0065] First, the system schematic diagram applicable to the communication method provided by the present application is described.

[0066] The technical solutions provided by the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, etc. The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the 6th generation mobile communication system. The technical solutions provided by the present application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and internet of things (IoT) communication system or other communication systems.

[0067] First, a network architecture suitable for the present application is briefly introduced as follows.

[0068] As an example, FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 1, the network architecture takes the 5th generation system (5GS) as an example. The network architecture can include, but is not limited to: a network slice selection function (NSSF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a unified data management (UDM), a network exposure function (NEF), a network repository function (NRF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function (AF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user equipment (UE), a radio access network device, a user plane function (UPF), and a data network (DN).

[0070] Among them, the DN can be the Internet; the NSSF, AUSF, UDM, NEF, NRF, PCF, AF, AMF, SMF, and UPF belong to network elements in the core network, and since FIG. 1 takes the 5GS as an example, the core network can be referred to as a 5G core network (5GC or 5GCN).

[0071] The network elements shown in FIG. 1 are briefly introduced as follows.

[0072] 1. UE: can be referred to as a user equipment, an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device.

[0073] The UE can be a device that provides voice and / or data for a user, such as a handheld device having wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, or the like. Currently, some examples of terminals are: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), or the like, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0074] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the body or integrated into the clothes or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a device that realizes powerful functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes a device with full functions and large size, which can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as a smart watch or smart glasses, and a device that focuses on a certain application function and needs to cooperate with other devices such as a smart phone, such as various smart wristbands and smart jewelry for monitoring vital signs.

[0075] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the UE can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection.

[0076] It should be noted that the UE and the access network device can communicate with each other by using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology, etc.). The UE and the UE can also communicate with each other by using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology, etc.).

[0077] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the UE can be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system or a chip, which can be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0078] 2, (radio) access network ((R)AN) node: can provide access to a communication network for authorized users in a specific area, which can specifically include a wireless network device in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) network, and can also include an access point in a non-3GPP (non-3GPP) network. The following is expressed as RAN for convenience of description.

[0079] The RAN can use different wireless access technologies. There are two types of current wireless access technologies: 3GPP access technology (for example, the wireless access technology used in the third generation (3rd generation, 3G), fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) or 5G system) and non-3GPP (non-3GPP) access technology. The 3GPP access technology refers to the access technology conforming to the 3GPP standard specification, for example, the access network device in the 5G system is called next generation Node Base station (gNB) or NR RAN. The non-3GPP access technology can include the air interface technology represented by the access point (AP) in wireless fidelity (WiFi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), code division multiple access (CDMA), etc. The RAN can allow the terminal device and the 3GPP core network to be interconnected and communicated by using non-3GPP technology.

[0080] The RAN can be responsible for radio resource management, quality of service (QoS) management, data compression and encryption, and the like on the air interface side. The RAN provides access services for terminal devices, and then completes the forwarding of control signals and user data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0081] The RAN may, for example, include but is not limited to: a macro base station, a micro base station (also referred to as a small station), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an AP in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), or a transmission and reception point (TRP), and the like, and can also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G (such as NR) system, one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation communication 6G system, and the like. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN.

[0082] 3. AMF: mainly used for access control, mobility management, attachment and detachment, and the like.

[0083] 4. SMF: mainly used for user plane network element selection, user plane network element redirection, internet protocol (IP) address allocation of terminal devices, and session creation, modification and release, and QoS control.

[0084] 5. UPF: mainly used for receiving and forwarding of user plane data. For example, the UPF can receive user plane data from a DN and send the user plane data to a terminal device through the RAN. The UPF can also receive user plane data from a terminal device through the RAN and forward it to a DN.

[0085] 6. NEF: mainly used for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to the outside.

[0086] 7. PCF: a unified policy framework mainly used for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information, etc. for control plane network elements (e.g. AMF, SMF, etc.).

[0087] 8. AF: mainly used for providing services to the 3GPP network, such as interacting with the PCF for policy control, etc.

[0088] 9. Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF): mainly used for network slice selection.

[0089] 10. UDM: mainly used for management of subscription data of the UE, including storage and management of UE identity, access authorization of the UE, etc.

[0090] 11. DN: mainly used for an operator network for providing data services to the UE. For example, Internet, third-party service network, IP multi-media service (IMS) network, etc.

[0091] 12. AUSF: mainly used for user authentication, etc.

[0092] 13. NRF: mainly used for storing description information of network function entities and services provided thereby, etc.

[0093] In the network architecture shown in FIG. 1, the network elements can interface with each other for communication. For example, the UE connects with the RAN through a radio resource control (RRC) protocol, and the UE and the RAN communicate with each other using a Uu interface. The PC5 interface can be used for UE-to-UE discovery, UE-to-UE transmission of data and signaling. In addition, in FIG. 1, N1 is an interface between the UE and the AMF, N2 is an interface between the (R)AN and the AMF, used for sending NAS messages, etc.; N3 is an interface between the RAN and the UPF, used for transmitting user plane data, etc.; N4 is an interface between the SMF and the UPF, used for transmitting information such as tunnel identification information of the N3 connection, data buffering indication information, and downlink data notification messages, etc.; N6 interface is an interface between the UPF and the DN, used for transmitting user plane data, etc., and N11 interface is an interface between the AMF and the SMF.

[0094] It should be understood that the network architecture shown above is only illustrative, and the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable is not limited thereto, and any network architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0095] It should also be understood that the AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, UDM, NSSF, AUSF and the like functions or network elements shown in FIG. 1 can be understood as network elements for implementing different functions, for example, can be combined into a network slice as needed. These network elements can be independent devices, or can be integrated into the same device to implement different functions, or can be network elements in a hardware device, or can be software functions running on a dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), and the specific form of the network elements is not limited in the present application.

[0096] It should also be understood that the above naming is only defined for the convenience of distinguishing different functions and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The present application does not exclude the possibility of using other names in 6G networks and other future networks. For example, in 6G networks, some or all of the above network elements can use the terms in 5G, or other names, etc. For the convenience of understanding the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the present application are briefly explained.

[0097] 1. Protocol data unit (PDU) session: 5G core network (5GC) supports PDU connection service. PDU connection service can refer to the service of exchanging PDU data packets between UE and DN. PDU connection service is realized by the terminal device initiating the establishment of a PDU session. After a PDU session is established, a data transmission channel between UE and DN is established. In other words, the PDU session is at the UE level. Each UE can establish one or more PDU sessions.

[0098] 2. Quality of service flow (QoS flow): also known as QoS flow, when UE has service communication needs, PDU session establishment will be performed; and in the PDU session, the corresponding QoS flow carries the service flow. Specifically, UE obtains an IP address through PDU session establishment to interact with external service servers to realize service communication, and 5GS maps the corresponding service to different QoS flows based on service flow description information such as service data flow template (SDF template), and performs corresponding QoS processing.

[0099] 3. General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol for the User Plane (GTP-U) Tunnel: In the PDU session establishment procedure, the connection between the RAN and the UPF transmits data through a GTP-U tunnel, and the GTP-U tunnel is PDU session granularity, that is, a GTP-U tunnel between the RAN and the UPF is established for each PDU session.

[0100] 4. QoS Flow Identifier (QFI): QFI is used to identify a unique identifier of different QoS flows in a PDU session.

[0101] It is easy to understand that the existing QoS mechanism is to guarantee service at the granularity of data packets, such as the packet error rate (PER) and the packet delay budget (PDB) in the current QoS parameter. Service data will be mapped into the same QoS flow for transmission, and the same QoS flow has the same QoS parameter. For data packets with the same QoS flow, the same QoS parameter will be used for packet-by-packet policy processing and transmission. In other words, all data packets in the same QoS flow will be treated equally and indiscriminately in the transmission process.

[0102] In the research of 3GPP standards, for real-time media services such as the current emerging VR / AR / MR and cloud games, the end-to-end delay has extremely stringent requirements, and the corresponding data processing granularity in the encoding and transmission process of the upper layer media service is no longer at the granularity of data packets. For example, when encoding at the media layer, it is often not processed at the granularity of media frames, slices, etc., that is, media frames, slices, etc. can be independently encoded and processed. At the same time, the receiving side also processes decoding and display at the same granularity of media frames, slices, etc. The basic data unit of media frames, slices, etc. often contains multiple IP data packets (due to the size limitation of IP data packets). The above-mentioned basic data unit of the media service layer is called a protocol data unit set (PDU Set), and the PDU Set is a basic unit that can be independently processed by the upper layer service layer. The specific requirements of the PDU Set depend on the specific implementation of the application layer, such as:

[0103] Scenario 1: One PDU in a PDU Set is lost or damaged, and the PDU Set cannot be correctly decoded and displayed. All PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted, and the receiving end can use the PDU Set. In other words, all PDUs in the PDU Set need to be successfully transmitted, and if any one or more PDUs in the PDU Set are lost or damaged or fail to be transmitted, the receiving end no longer needs the PDU Set.

[0104] Scenario 2: To improve the reliability of transmission, the sending end performs forward error correction (FEC) on the PDU Set before sending the corresponding PDU Set, that is, by adding additional redundant data packets, the sending end avoids the impairment of service experience caused by packet loss during transmission. That is, the loss of part of the PDUs in the PDU Set does not affect the correct decoding and display of the PDU Set. In scenario 2, the proportion of all PDUs in the PDU Set that are successfully transmitted is greater than or equal to a certain proportion, and the receiving end can use the PDU Set. In other words, at least a certain proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set need to be successfully transmitted or at least a specified PDU in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted, such as at least the original data packet needs to be successfully transmitted, and if the number of lost or damaged or failed to be transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set exceeds a certain proportion, the receiving end no longer needs the PDU Set.

[0105] Scenario 3: If some PDUs in the PDU Set are lost during transmission, the receiving side can recover, decode and display according to the data packets before the first lost PDU in the PDU Set. For scenario 3, if the proportion of all PDUs in the PDU Set that are successfully received is less than 100%, then among all successfully transmitted PDUs, the PDU before the first unsuccessfully transmitted PDU can be used by the receiving end, and the PDUs of the PDU Set after the first unsuccessfully transmitted PDU cannot be used by the receiving end.

[0106] In the above three scenarios, each scenario has corresponding PDU Set processing requirements, each PDU Set processing requirement has corresponding capability requirements for the receiving end, the radio access network side and the core network side, and different scenarios have different capability requirements for the receiving end, the radio access network side and the core network side, such as the capability requirement of the receiving end for scenario 3 is different from the capability requirement of the receiving end, the radio access network side and the core network side for scenario 1. However, the existing 3GPP standard provides a technical solution for capability negotiation of the radio access network side and the core network side for scenario 1, and does not provide a specific implementation scheme for capability negotiation for other scenarios (such as scenario 2 or scenario 3).

[0107] Based on the above problems, the embodiment of the application provides a communication method, a first information issued by a session management network element at a core network side to a radio access network side, the PDU Set processing requirement provided to the radio access network side through the first information, such as the requirement of guaranteeing the successful transmission of a first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set, the PDU Set capability information of the radio access network side provided to the core network side according to the PDU Set processing requirement provided by the core network side, and the above interaction process can support various PDU Set processing requirements.

[0108] Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiment of the application. It is easy to understand that, in the following embodiment, the SMF at the core network side and the RAN at the radio access network side are taken as examples for description.

[0109] As shown in FIG. 2, the communication method comprises S201-S202.

[0110] S201, the SMF sends first information to the RAN, and the first information comprises first requirement indication information.

[0111] Optionally, the requirement indication information is used to indicate the capability requirement of the radio access network side, that is, the PDU Set processing requirement of the radio access network side. For example, the first requirement indication information is used to indicate that the RAN needs to guarantee the successful transmission of a first specific proportion of PDU data packets in the PDU Set. The value of the first specific proportion corresponds to the corresponding capability requirement, that is, each capability requirement has a corresponding value of the first specific proportion. Each value of the first specific proportion has a corresponding capability requirement, that is, the capability requirement of the successful transmission of a first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set. The first requirement indication information is used to indicate the PDU Set processing requirement of the radio access network side, which can be understood as the requirement of the QoS Flow for the PDU Set processing, that is, the requirement of the radio access network side for meeting the establishment or modification of the QoS Flow.

[0112] Optionally, the first requirement indication information can be any one of the following: all PDUs in the PDU Set need to be successfully transmitted, more than or equal to the first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set need to be successfully transmitted, the original data packet in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted, and the data packet before the first lost or damaged data packet in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted.

[0113] Optionally, the PDU Set is a basic unit that can be independently processed by an upper layer service layer, and in a QoS processing mechanism with the PDU Set as a granularity, all data packets (or PDUs) in the PDU Set are scheduled, processed, and transmitted as a whole. The first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set is a PDU Set processing requirement for the wireless access network side, and the requirement corresponding to the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set means that the proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set is greater than or equal to the first specific proportion, and the PDU Set can be used by the receiving end; when the proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set is less than the first specific proportion, the PDU Set cannot be used by the receiving end, that is, the PDU Set has no meaning for the receiving end. For example, for an image or video transmission scenario, when the proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set is less than the first specific proportion, the PDU Set cannot be normally decoded and displayed by the receiving end.

[0114] Optionally, the first information can be determined by the SMF based on a local policy or PCC rules from the PCF after the SMF receives a PDU session establishment request or a PDU session modification request sent by the UE in a PDU session creation process or a PDU session modification process of the UE.

[0115] Optionally, the SMF sends the first information to the RAN in the following manner: the SMF sends the first information to the AMF, and sends the first information to the RAN through the AMF. The SMF sends the first information to the AMF through an N11 interface, and the AMF sends the first information to the RAN through an N2 interface. The first information can be the content in the container of the N11 interface and / or the N2 interface message, such as the content in the N2 SM container.

[0116] Optionally, in order to identify the PDU of each PDU Set in the QoS flow, the 5GC adds PDU Set information in the GTP-U layer of the downlink data packet, and the RAN side identifies the PDU to which the PDU Set belongs through the PDU Set information. Specifically, the PDU Set information includes a PDU Set sequence number, an indication information of the last PDU of the PDU Set, a PDU Set importance, and a sequence number of each PDU in the PDU Set. When the PDU is transmitted between the RAN and the UE, if the delay required for the transmission of the PDU exceeds the packet delay budget of the PDU, it is determined that the transmission of the PDU fails. Specifically, the RAN side can determine whether a certain PDU is successfully transmitted to the UE side by itself. For example, if the RLC layer does not send the PDU to the MAC layer for transmission, and the PDU is still buffered in the RLC after the PDB (packet delay budget) time, it is considered that the transmission of the PDU exceeds the PDB and has not been scheduled for transmission, and it is determined that the transmission of the PDU fails. Or there is a feedback mechanism between the RAN and the UE, that is, the RAN can determine whether the PDU is successfully transmitted according to the feedback of the UE. For example, when the PDU is sent to the MAC layer for transmission, the MAC layer can confirm whether the PDU is successfully transmitted according to the HARQ feedback. The MAC layer needs to save the mapping relationship between the PDU and the MAC layer transmission data block (the MAC layer may split and recombine the data packet of the upper layer when transmitting, so as to ensure the transmission of the channel), and feed back to the upper layer RLC or PDCP, so as to ensure that the RAN upper layer can perceive the packet loss of each PDU when scheduling transmission.

[0117] S202, after the RAN receives the first information, determines the second information according to the first information, and sends the second information to the SMF. The second information includes PDU Set capability information, and the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the PDU Set processing capability supported by the RAN.

[0118] Specifically, the PDU Set processing capability can be used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support the transmission of a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set. The second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion.

[0119] It should be understood that the RAN determines the second information according to the first information, which can be that the RAN determines the second information based on its own capability and the first information, or that the first information triggers the RAN to determine and send the second information to the SMF.

[0120] Optionally, the core network side sends the capability requirement (i.e., the capability requirement indicated by the first requirement indication information) to the RAN side through the first information, and the capability requirement is for meeting a specific service requirement or service scenario and is a capability requirement for the RAN side. After the RAN side receives the first information, the RAN side determines the capability (i.e., the PDU Set capability information) of the RAN side to feedback to the core network based on the capability requirement in the first information, and the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the processing capability of the RAN for the PDU Set.

[0121] Optionally, the PDU Set capability information is determined by the RAN based on the capability supported by the RAN itself and the available resource situation of the RAN side.

[0122] Optionally, the available resource situation of the RAN side includes the available situation of the resource required by the RAN side to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

[0123] Optionally, the available resource situation of the RAN side includes the available air interface resource of the RAN side.

[0124] Optionally, after the RAN side receives the first information, if the RAN supports the capability corresponding to the requirement indicated by the first requirement indication information in the first information, i.e., the RAN supports the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, the RAN determines the PDU Set capability information, and the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability of the RAN supporting the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set.

[0125] Optionally, after the RAN side receives the first information, if the RAN does not support the capability corresponding to the requirement indicated by the first requirement indication information in the first information, i.e., the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set and supports the capability of the second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, the RAN determines the PDU Set capability information, and the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability of the RAN supporting the second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set.

[0126] For the RAN, if the first requirement indication information in the first information is used to indicate the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, if the RAN supports the second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set and the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion, in the case that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, the RAN can select the capability (such as the capability of the second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set) supported by the RAN side and send the capability to the SMF through the second information.

[0127] It is understandable that, since the first specific proportion is less than the second specific proportion, the first specific proportion is less than 100%, for example, the first specific proportion is 80%.

[0128] Optionally, the second specific proportion is 100%, and the capability of the PDU in the PDU Set with the second specific proportion being successfully transmitted is that all the PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted.

[0129] In some embodiments, the second specific proportion is less than 100% and greater than 0. For example, the second specific proportion is 90%.

[0130] Optionally, the first requirement indication information is used to indicate the capability requirement of the RAN side, the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the PDU Set processing capability supported by the RAN, and in order to meet the specific capability requirement, the RAN needs to support a specific capability, that is, the specific capability requirement and the specific capability have a corresponding relationship, which can be a one-to-one relationship, that is, one specific capability supports one specific capability requirement; the corresponding relationship can also be a one-to-many relationship, that is, multiple specific capabilities can support one specific capability requirement or one specific capability can support multiple specific capability requirements.

[0131] Thus, in the process of capability negotiation between the RAN and the SMF, the SMF sends the first information to the RAN, the first requirement indication information in the first information carries the capability requirement of the RAN side, that is, the requirement of the QoS flow to be established or modified; the RAN determines the PDU Set capability information of the second information according to the first information, and sends the PDU Set capability information to the SMF, so as to realize the capability negotiation between the RAN and the SMF. Further, the requirement sent by the SMF to the RAN is that all the PDUs in the PDU Set need to be successfully transmitted, or the proportion of the PDU successfully transmitted in the PDU Set is greater than or equal to the first specific proportion and the first specific proportion is less than 100%, that is, the proportion of all the PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted is not 100% and the proportion is greater than or equal to the first specific proportion. That is, the above-mentioned capability negotiation can support the proportion of all the PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted being less than 100%, or the specific PDU in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted, such as the original data packet in the PDU Set. Through the above interaction, the capability negotiation of multiple PDU Set capabilities or scenarios is realized.

[0132] In some embodiments, the second information further comprises acceptance indication information, the acceptance indication information being used to indicate whether the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow. In this way, after the RAN receives the first information, if the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the first information, the acceptance indication information in the second information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow; if the RAN does not complete or rejects the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the first information, the acceptance indication information in the second information is used to indicate that the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow; after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines whether the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the acceptance indication information in the second information.

[0133] It is easy to understand that the first requirement indication information is the requirement of the QoS flow for the PDU Set processing, i.e., the requirement of the wireless access network side to meet the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, and the capability of the RAN side supports the requirement, so that the RAN side can complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow; if the capability of the RAN side does not support the requirement, the RAN side can reject the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, or the RAN side completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability of the RAN side when the capability of the RAN side does not support the requirement.

[0134] In some embodiments, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN determines the PDU Set requirement of the QoS flow based on the requirement indication information in the first information, i.e., the requirement is that a first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted, and the RAN can support the requirement, so that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first information, and determines the PDU Set capability information of the second information, the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support the successful transmission of the first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set or to indicate that the RAN supports the requested PDU Set processing capability, and the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

[0135] In some embodiments, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN determines, based on the requirement indication information in the first information, that the PDU Set requirement of the QoS flow is that a first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted, the RAN does not support the requirement, and the RAN supports the capability of a second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted, the RAN determines that the PDU Set capability information of the second information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted or is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the capability of at least the first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted. At this time, if the RAN cannot complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first requirement indication information in the first information, the indication information is accepted to indicate that the RAN cannot complete or refuses to establish or modify the QoS flow; if the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the PDU Set capability information, the indication information is accepted to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

[0136] It is easy to understand that, when the RAN does not support the capability indicated by the first requirement indication information in the first information, the SMF can adjust the capability requirement for the RAN side according to the PDU Set capability information fed back by the RAN side, and request the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the adjusted capability requirement.

[0137] In some embodiments, FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication method comprises S301-S303.

[0138] S301, the SMF sends first information to the RAN, the first information comprising first requirement indication information, the first requirement indication information being used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set are successfully transmitted.

[0139] The first information is described in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

[0140] S302, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN determines the second information according to the first information, and sends the second information to the SMF, the second information comprising PDU Set capability information, the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of a second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set being successfully transmitted.

[0141] The second information is described in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

[0142] S303, the SMF sends second requirement indication information to the RAN, the second requirement indication information being used to indicate that the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set are successfully transmitted.

[0143] Thus, after the RAN receives the first information, if the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of the PDU Set and supports the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU Set, the PDU Set capability information carried in the second information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU Set. That is, in the capability negotiation process between the SMF and the RAN, if the RAN does not support the requirement indicated by the first requirement indication information in the first information, the SMF can determine the second requirement indication information according to the PDU Set capability information supported by the RAN and feedback by the RAN, and request the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the second requirement indication information. For example, the first requirement indication information in the first information is used to indicate that the first specific proportion of the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted or that the original data packet in the PDU Set needs to be successfully transmitted, and the RAN side can only support the transmission of 100% of the PDU Set. Therefore, the PDU Set capability information carried in the second information is used to indicate the capability of the transmission of 100% of the PDU Set, and the second requirement indication information is used to indicate the transmission of 100% of the PDU Set.

[0144] Optionally, the second specific proportion is 100%, and the second requirement indication information is PDU Set Integrated Handling Information (PSIHI). Specifically, the PSIHI can be set to "True".

[0145] Optionally, if the PDU Set capability information in the second information received by the SMF is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU Set, and the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, the SMF determines that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of the PDU Set and supports the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU Set according to the PDU Set capability information, and the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow due to the fact that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of the PDU Set. Then, the SMF determines the second requirement indication information according to the PDU Set capability information in the second information. Since the RAN supports the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU Set, the second requirement indication information is used to indicate the transmission of the second specific proportion of the PDU Set, that is, the RAN supports the capability corresponding to the requirement indicated by the second requirement indication information. Then, the SMF sends the second requirement indication information to the RAN, so that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

[0146] It is easy to understand that, in addition to the first demand indication information, the first information also includes the PSDB and / or the PSER, and when the RAN receives the first information, because the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER, the RAN cannot complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the PSDB and / or the PSER. Then the SMF can update the PSDB and / or the PSER, and request the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the updated PSDB and / or the PSER.

[0147] In some embodiments, FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication method comprises: S401-S403.

[0148] S401, the SMF sends first information to the RAN, the first information comprising first demand indication information, PSDB and / or PSER, the first demand indication information being used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDU in a PDU Set is successfully transmitted.

[0149] The first demand indication information is described in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

[0150] S402, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN determines second information according to the first information, and sends the second information to the SMF, the second information comprising PDU Set capability information and first indication information, the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support the first specific proportion or the second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set to be successfully transmitted, and the first indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information.

[0151] The PDU Set capability information is described in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

[0152] S403, the SMF updates the PSDB and / or the PSER of the first information according to the second information, and sends the updated PSDB and / or the PSER to the RAN.

[0153] Optionally, after the RAN receives the second information, the RAN determines, according to the first indication information in the second information, that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information, and then the SMF updates the PSDB and / or the PSER and sends the updated PSDB and / or the PSER to the RAN, to request the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the updated PSDB and / or the PSER. The PSDB (PDU Set Delay Budget) is a protocol data unit set delay budget, and the PSER (PDU Set Error Rate) is a protocol data unit set error rate.

[0154] Optionally, if the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB in the first information, the SMF updates the PSDB and sends the updated PSDB to the RAN; if the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSER in the first information, the SMF updates the PSER and sends the updated PSER to the RAN; and if the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and the PSER in the first information, the SMF updates the PSDB and the PSER and sends the updated PSDB and the PSER to the RAN.

[0155] In this way, the first information includes the first requirement indication information, and further includes the PSDB and / or the PSER; the second information includes the PDU Set capability information, and further includes the first indication information; after the RAN receives the first information, if the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER, the RAN determines the first indication information, which is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information; the SMF updates the PSDB and / or the PSER of the first information according to the second information, and sends the updated PSDB and / or the PSER to the RAN; and the RAN receives the updated PSDB and / or the PSER sent by the SMF, and the SMF requests the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the updated PSDB and / or the PSER by sending the updated PSDB and / or the PSER.

[0156] Optionally, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines, according to the second information, that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information, and if the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, the SMF updates the PSDB and / or the PSER and sends the updated PSDB and / or the PSER to the RAN, to request the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the updated PSDB and / or the PSER.

[0157] Optionally, after the RAN receives the updated PSDB and / or PSER, and based on the updated PSDB and / or PSER, the establishment or modification of the QoS flow is completed, the RAN sends an acceptance indication information to the SMF, the acceptance indication information being used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

[0158] Optionally, after the RAN receives the updated PSDB and / or PSER, and based on the updated PSDB and / or PSER, the establishment or modification of the QoS flow is not completed, the RAN sends an acceptance indication information and a first indication information to the SMF, the acceptance indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, and the first indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not support the updated PSDB and / or PSER.

[0159] Optionally, the first information includes the first requirement indication information, the PSDB and / or the PSER, and the second information includes the PDU Set capability information and the first indication information, and after the RAN receives the first information, if the RAN supports the PSDB and / or the PSER, the RAN determines that the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information.

[0160] Optionally, the first information includes the PDU Set QoS parameter, and the PDU Set QoS parameter includes the first requirement indication information, the PSDB and / or the PSER.

[0161] Optionally, the SMF forms a QoS Profile according to the PDU Set QoS parameter in the first information, and sends the QoS Profile to the RAN through the AMF.

[0162] Optionally, the PSDB is a PDU Set granularity delay budget, and the PSER is a PDU Set granularity error rate, and if the RAN side does not support the PSDB, the PSDB is updated, if the RAN side does not support the PSER, the PSER is updated, and if the RAN side does not support the PSDB and the PSER, the PSDB and the PSER are updated. By updating the PSDB and / or the PSER, the implementation difficulty of the RAN side is reduced, and the updating of the PSDB and / or the PSER includes increasing the PDU Set granularity delay budget (i.e., increasing the PSDB) and / or increasing the PDU Set granularity error rate (i.e., increasing the PSER).

[0163] In some embodiments, FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication method includes S501-S503.

[0164] S501, the SMF sends first information to the RAN, the first information comprising first demand indication information, PSDB and / or PSER, the first demand indication information being used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set is successfully transmitted.

[0165] S502, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN determines second information according to the first information, and sends the second information to the SMF, the second information comprising PDU Set capability information and first indication information, the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of successfully transmitting a second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, and the first indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information.

[0166] S503, the SMF updates the PSDB and / or PSER of the first information according to the second information, and sends second demand indication information, updated PSDB and / or PSER to the RAN.

[0167] In this way, the first information comprises first demand indication information, PSDB and / or PSER, the second information comprises PDU Set capability information and first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, and the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of successfully transmitting a second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, then the SMF updates the PSDB and / or PSER of the first information according to the second information, determines second demand indication information according to the PDU Set capability information, and sends the updated PSDB and / or PSER and the second demand indication information to the RAN. That is, when the RAN does not support the first demand indication information, PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, the SMF sends the updated PSDB and / or PSER and the second demand indication information to the RAN to request the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the updated PSDB and / or PSER and the second demand indication information.

[0168] It is easy to understand that if the RAN does not support the first demand indication information and / or PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, the RAN itself does not have the capability of successfully transmitting a first specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, and / or the resources available to the RAN cause the RAN to be unable to support the PSDB and / or PSER. In other embodiments, the RAN itself has the capability of successfully transmitting a first specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, but the actual resources available to the RAN cause the RAN to not support the capability of successfully transmitting a first specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, for example, the air interface resources available to the RAN are limited.

[0169] It is understandable that in the communication method shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, if the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information and / or any of the first requirement indication information, the RAN can not be able to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first information. In order to enable the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability requirement provided by the SMF, the SMF initiates the establishment or modification of the QoS flow to the RAN according to the updated PSDB and / or PSER and / or the second requirement indication information. During the QoS establishment or modification request process, the SMF updates at least one of the PSDB and / or PSER (for example, the PSDB and / or PSER are updated to the updated PSDB and / or PSER) and the requirement indication information (for example, the first requirement indication information is updated to the second requirement indication information) according to the capability of the RAN side, so as to ensure that the RAN side can complete the establishment and modification of the QoS flow.

[0170] In addition, for different requirements, the UPF side has corresponding identification and marking rules. Taking the above scenarios 1 to 3 as examples, if the first requirement indication information is used to indicate the requirement corresponding to scenario 1, the SMF instructs the UPF to perform PDU Set identification and marking, that is, to identify and mark which PDUs belong to the same PDU Set and the relative importance of the PDU Set; if the first requirement indication information is used to indicate the requirement corresponding to scenario 2, the SMF may need to instruct the UPF to perform PDU Set and corresponding redundant information identification and marking; if the first requirement indication information is used to indicate the requirement corresponding to scenario 3, the SMF instructs the UPF to perform PDU Set identification and marking, and ensures that the order of the PDUs in the PDU Set is consistent with the order issued by the application server side or consistent with the original order of the PDU in the PDU Set. Therefore, when the requirement indication information provided by the SMF side for the RAN side changes, the corresponding PDU Set identification and marking rules of the UPF side will change accordingly.

[0171] It is understandable that the requirement indication information is used to indicate the capability requirement of the core network side for the radio access network side, that is, the PDU Set processing requirement of the core network side for the radio access network side, such as the first requirement indication information and the second requirement indication information respectively used to indicate different PDU Set processing requirements. If the requirement indication information provided by the core network side for the RAN side changes, that is, the capability requirement of the core network side for the RAN side changes, the SMF updates the identification and marking rules of the UPF side.

[0172] In some embodiments, FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication method comprises S601-S602.

[0173] S601, if the SMF changes the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side, the SMF generates third information according to the second information.

[0174] Optionally, since each requirement indication information is used to indicate the PDU Set processing requirement of the corresponding side for the radio access network side, different requirement indication information corresponds to different PDU Set processing requirement. If the SMF changes the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side, the corresponding identification and marking rules of the UPF side also change accordingly, and the third information is used to update the identification and marking rules of the UPF side.

[0175] Optionally, the SMF sends the first information to the RAN, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information in the first information, the RAN side completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability supported by the RAN itself, and determines the second information according to the first information and sends the second information to the SMF, the second information includes PDU Set capability information and acceptance indication information, the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of PDU transmission success in a second specific proportion of the PDU Set, the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the acceptance indication information in the second information, determines that the RAN does not support the capability of PDU transmission success in a first specific proportion of the PDU Set according to the PDU Set capability information in the second information, and the RAN supports the capability of PDU transmission success in a second specific proportion of the PDU Set, that is, the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow is based on the capability of PDU transmission success in a second specific proportion of the PDU Set supported by the RAN. Then the PDU Set processing requirement of the SMF for the RAN side changes from the PDU transmission success in a first specific proportion of the PDU Set to the PDU transmission success in a second specific proportion of the PDU Set, that is, it is determined that the SMF changes the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side, and then the SMF generates the third information according to the second information.

[0176] Optionally, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the SMF sends the first information to the RAN, after the RAN receives the first information, the RAN determines the second information according to the first information and sends the second information to the SMF, the SMF determines that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU Set transmission success and the RAN supports the capability of the second specific proportion of PDU Set transmission success according to the second information, and then the SMF sends the second requirement indication information to the RAN, the requirement indication information of the RAN side changes from the first requirement indication information to the second requirement indication information, each requirement indication information has a corresponding PDU Set processing requirement, and when the requirement indication information changes, it is determined that the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side changes, and then the SMF generates the third information according to the second information.

[0177] Optionally, in the case that the requirement indication information of the RAN side changes, and the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the changed requirement indication information, that is, the changed requirement indication information has been accepted by the RAN side, it is determined that the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side changes, and then the SMF generates the third information according to the second information. For example, the SMF receives the acceptance indication information sent by the RAN, the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, and the SMF determines that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the changed requirement indication information, it is determined that the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side changes, and then the SMF generates the third information according to the second information.

[0178] S602, the SMF sends the third information to the UPF, and the third information is used to update the identification and marking rules of the UPF side.

[0179] In this way, if the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side changes, the corresponding identification and marking rules of the UPF side also change accordingly, the SMF determines the third information according to the second information, and sends the third information to the UPF, and updates the PDU Set identification and marking rules of the UPF side through the third information. That is, the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side changes, the corresponding requirement indication information changes, and the SMF initiates the QoS establishment and modification request to the RAN side according to the updated requirement indication information (for example, the second requirement indication information), or the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the changed requirement indication information, and then the SMF also determines the PDU Set identification and marking rules of the UPF side according to the second requirement indication information, and notifies the UPF to update the corresponding identification and marking rules through the third information.

[0180] Optionally, the SMF generates the third information according to the second information in S601, including: the SMF updates the first information according to the second information to obtain updated first information; and then the SMF determines the third information according to the updated first information. In this way, after the SMF receives the second information, it is determined that the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information in the first information; then the SMF updates the first information according to the second information, and determines the PDU Set identification and marking rule (i.e., the third information) on the UPF side according to the updated first information, and notifies the UPF to update the corresponding identification and marking rule through the third information. Wherein, if the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information, the updated first information includes the second requirement indication information.

[0181] Optionally, the SMF generates the third information according to the second information in S601, including: the SMF determines the second requirement indication information according to the second information, and determines the third information according to the second requirement indication information. In this way, after the SMF receives the second information, it is determined that the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information in the first information; then the SMF determines the second requirement indication information according to the PDU Set capability information in the second information, that is, the RAN supports the requirement indicated by the second requirement indication information, and determines the PDU Set identification and marking rule (i.e., the third information) on the UPF side according to the second requirement indication information, and notifies the UPF to update the corresponding identification and marking rule through the third information.

[0182] It is easy to understand that after the SMF and the RAN perform capability negotiation, the SMF can also make corresponding adjustments to the application side according to the second information fed back by the RAN side.

[0183] In some embodiments, FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication method includes S701-S702.

[0184] S701, if any of the PDU Set processing requirements, PSDB, and PSER of the RAN side changes, the SMF determines the fourth information according to the second information.

[0185] It is easy to understand that the description of the change of the PDU Set processing requirement of the RAN side by the SMF can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, which will not be described here.

[0186] Optionally, if the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, in order to enable the RAN to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, the SMF updates the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, and initiates the QoS establishment and modification process to the RAN according to the updated PSDB and / or PSER, then it is determined that the SMF changes the PSDB and / or PSER of the RAN side.

[0187] S702. The SMF sends fourth information to the AF.

[0188] Optionally, the fourth information is used to indicate the support of the RAN for the first requirement indication information and / or the PSDB and / or the PSER, i.e., the support for the current QoS request.

[0189] In this way, when any of the PDU Set processing requirements, the PSDB, the PSER of the RAN side or the PDU Set QoS parameter changes, the SMF generates the fourth information according to the second information, and indicates the support of the RAN for the first requirement indication information and / or the PSDB and / or the PSER through the fourth information, so that the AF adjusts the parameters according to the fourth information.

[0190] Optionally, S701 determines the fourth information according to the second information, including: the SMF updates the first information according to the second information to obtain updated first information; and the SMF determines the fourth information according to the updated first information, i.e., the PDU Set capability information in the second information is the PDU Set capability of the RAN side provided by the RAN to the SMF, the SMF updates the capability requirement of the SMF side for the RAN side according to the PDU Set capability provided by the RAN, i.e., updates the first information, and determines the fourth information according to the updated first information, and notifies the AF to adjust the parameters through the fourth information. That is, the SMF notifies the AF of the modification or suggestion of the current first requirement indication information and / or the PSDB and / or the PSER. Specifically, the SMF sends the fourth information to the AF side through the PCF and / or the NEF.

[0191] Optionally, S701 determines the fourth information according to the second information, including: the SMF determines the fourth information according to the PDU Set capability information in the second information and / or the first indication information indicating that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER.

[0192] Optionally, the first information comprises the first requirement indication information and a packet granularity QoS parameter. After the RAN receives the first information, since the first requirement indication information is used to indicate the PDU Set processing requirement for the RAN side, the packet granularity QoS parameter refers to the service guarantee in the data packet granularity. After the RAN receives the first information, the establishment or modification of the QoS flow is first based on the first requirement indication information; if the RAN cannot complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first requirement indication information, the RAN can complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, that is, the priority of the RAN side is that the first requirement indication information is higher than the packet granularity QoS parameter, that is, the first requirement indication information takes precedence over the packet granularity QoS parameter; in the case where the first requirement indication information does not take effect (that is, the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information), the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0193] Optionally, the packet granularity QoS parameter refers to the QoS parameter related to the data packet transmission and processing, for example, the packet error rate (PER) and the packet delay budget (PDB).

[0194] Optionally, the first information comprises the first requirement indication information, the PSDB, the PSER, and the packet granularity QoS parameter, and in the case where the RAN does not support any one of the first requirement indication information, the PSDB, and the PSER, the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0195] Optionally, if the first information comprises the first requirement indication information, the PSDB, the PSER, and the packet granularity QoS parameter; if the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information, the RAN side can complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the second requirement indication supported by the RAN; in the case where the RAN cannot accept the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information, the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first information further comprises a packet granularity QoS parameter. After the RAN receives the first information, the RAN does not successfully complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first requirement indication information in the first information, and the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, the RAN determines second information, and the acceptance indication information in the second information is further used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0197] Optionally, after the SMF receives the second information, if the acceptance indication information in the second information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the QoS flow establishment or modification according to the packet granularity QoS parameter, the packet granularity QoS parameter is used to indicate the SMF's processing requirement for the packet granularity of the RAN side, that is, the SMF's processing requirement for the RAN side changes from the PDU Set processing requirement to the packet granularity processing requirement, that is, the requirement changes, then the SMF determines third information according to the second information, and sends the third information to the UPF, the third information is used to update the PDU Set identification and marking rule of the UPF. The determination and sending of the third information can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

[0198] Optionally, after the SMF receives the second information, if the acceptance indication information in the second information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the QoS flow establishment or modification according to the packet granularity QoS parameter. The requirement of the SMF for the RAN side changes, that is, from the PDU Set processing requirement to the packet granularity processing requirement, then the SMF determines fourth information according to the second information, and sends the fourth information to the AF. The fourth information is used to notify the AF to adjust the parameter. The determination and sending of the fourth information can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

[0199] It is easy to understand that after the SMF sends the first information to the RAN, the first information includes the first requirement indication information and the packet granularity QoS parameter; if the RAN cannot complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the first requirement indication information, the RAN can complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter. The SMF determines according to the second information returned by the RAN that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, and supports the capability of the second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, then the SMF requests to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the second requirement indication information after the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0200] Optionally, the RAN completes establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, and the RAN does not support the capability of successful transmission of the first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set, and the PDU Set capability information in the second information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of successful transmission of the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set. After receiving the second information, the SMF determines, according to the acceptance indication information, that the RAN completes establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, and determines, according to the PDU Set capability information, that the RAN supports the capability of successful transmission of the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set. The method further includes: sending second demand indication information to the RAN, the second demand indication information being used to indicate successful transmission of the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set, that is, after the RAN completes establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, the SMF determines the second demand indication information according to the second information, and sends the second demand indication information to the RAN, so that the RAN can complete establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the second demand indication information, thereby realizing PDU Set granularity QoS transmission guarantee.

[0201] In some embodiments, the first information sent by the SMF to the RAN includes multiple demand indication information, each demand indication information being used to indicate a corresponding demand, that is, a capability demand of the core network side to the wireless access network side. For example, the first information includes first demand indication information and second demand indication information, the first demand indication information being used to indicate successful transmission of the first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set or successful transmission of original data packets in the PDU Set or successful transmission of data packets before the first lost or damaged data packet in the PDU Set, and the second demand indication information being used to indicate successful transmission of the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set. The RAN can determine, from the multiple demand indication information in the first information, demand indication information that can be met by the RAN, and complete establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability corresponding to the demand indication information met by the RAN.

[0202] Optionally, the RAN sends second information to the SMF, the acceptance indication information in the second information being used to indicate that the RAN completes establishment or modification of the QoS flow, and the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of successful transmission of the first specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set or the capability of successful transmission of the second specific proportion of PDUs in the PDU Set.

[0203] Optionally, if the RAN supports both the capability of the first specific proportion of the PDU transmission success in the PDU Set and the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, the RAN determines the PDU Set capability information according to the priority of the plurality of requirement indication information in the first information, i.e., the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability with higher priority.

[0204] Optionally, the first information includes the plurality of requirement indication information and the priority information corresponding to each requirement indication information, if the RAN supports both the capability of the first specific proportion of the PDU transmission success in the PDU Set and the capability of the second specific proportion of the PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, the RAN determines the capability with higher priority according to the priority information, and determines the PDU Set capability information according to the capability with higher priority, i.e., the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability with higher priority. Exemplarily, the order of the plurality of requirement indication information in the first information is used to represent the priority information of each requirement indication information.

[0205] Optionally, the first information includes the plurality of requirement indication information, and the order of the plurality of requirement indication information is arranged according to the priority, for example, the higher the priority, the earlier the requirement indication information; then the RAN can determine the priority information of the plurality of requirement information according to the arrangement order of the plurality of requirement information.

[0206] Optionally, in the first information includes the plurality of requirement indication information, and the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability corresponding to one of the plurality of requirement indication information, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the acceptance indication information in the second information, determines that the RAN supports the capability of the first specific proportion or the second specific proportion of the PDU transmission success in the PDU Set according to the PDU Set capability information, and selects one of the plurality of requirement indication information to complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, i.e., the requirement of the RAN side changes from multiple to one, and the SMF determines the third information according to the second information, and sends the third information to the UPF, the third information is used to update the PDU Set identification and marking rule of the UPF. The determination and sending of the third information can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

[0207] Optionally, the SMF determines the third information according to the second information, i.e., the PDU Set capability information based on which the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

[0208] Optionally, the establishment or modification of the QoS flow is completed by selecting one of the plurality of requirement indication information, i.e., the requirement of the SMF to the RAN side changes from multiple to one, and the SMF determines the fourth information according to the second information and sends the fourth information to the AF. The AF is notified to adjust the parameters through the fourth information. The determination and sending of the fourth information can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

[0209] In some embodiments, the first requirement indication information is further used to indicate that the PDU before the first failed PDU in the PDU Set is available, or to ensure as much as possible the successful transmission of the PDU at the front of the PDU Set, or that the PDU after the first lost or damaged or failed PDU in the PDU Set is no longer useful to the receiving end, or to discard or stop the PDU after the first lost or damaged or failed PDU in the PDU Set. The second information further includes second indication information, which is used to indicate whether the RAN supports the capability of the PDU before the first failed PDU in the PDU Set being available, or the capability of ensuring as much as possible the successful transmission of the PDU at the front of the PDU Set, or the capability of the PDU after the first lost or damaged or failed PDU in the PDU Set being no longer useful to the receiving end, or the capability of discarding or stopping the transmission of the PDU after the first lost or damaged or failed PDU in the PDU Set.

[0210] Since the first specific ratio is less than 100%, i.e., the first requirement indication information is used to indicate that the ratio of the successful transmission of the PDU in the PDU Set is less than 100%, the receiving end (e.g., the RAN) can use the target PDU, which is the PDU before the first failed PDU among all the successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set. That is, the PDU after the first failed PDU among all the successfully transmitted PDUs in the PDU Set is useless or cannot be decoded and displayed to the receiving end. If the RAN supports the capability that the PDU successfully transmitted before the first failed PDU in the PDU Set is available, i.e., the RAN supports the capability that the receiving end (e.g., the RAN) can use the target PDU when the ratio of the successful transmission of the PDU in the PDU Set is less than 100%, the RAN determines the second indication information to indicate that the RAN supports the capability that the PDU successfully transmitted before the first failed PDU in the PDU Set is available. If the RAN does not support the capability that the receiving end (e.g., the RAN) can use the target PDU when the ratio of the successful transmission of the PDU in the PDU Set is less than 100%, the RAN determines the second indication information to indicate that the RAN does not support the capability that the PDU successfully transmitted before the first failed PDU in the PDU Set is available.

[0211] In some embodiments, after the RAN receives the first information sent by the SMF, if the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information, or the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER, the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set, the RAN does not send the second information to the SMF, i.e., the RAN side does not feedback. The SMF does not receive the feedback of the RAN for the first information, and determines that the RAN side does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information, or the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER, the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set.

[0212] Optionally, the second information further includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate whether the RAN supports the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information. After the RAN receives the first information, if the RAN supports the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information, it is determined that the third indication information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information; if the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information, it is determined that the third indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information.

[0213] Optionally, the third indication information is further used to indicate that the RAN itself does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information, or the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in the PDU Set in the first information due to resource limitation (for example, limited available air interface resources).

[0214] It is easy to understand that each wireless access network node has a corresponding PDU Set processing capability, i.e., the PDU Set processing capabilities of different wireless access network nodes may also be different. After the RAN serving the UE changes, the RAN serving the UE needs to perform capability negotiation with the core network side.

[0215] Please refer to FIG. 8, which is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The following takes a handover process as an example for illustration. The communication method in FIG. 8 includes:

[0216] In FIG. 8, if there is an Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN, in the Xn handover process, that is, the UE has been handed over from the original RAN to the target RAN, and the target RAN and the original RAN interact with each other through the Xn interface, at this time, the target RAN initiates the N2 path switching process, that is, switches the connection between the core network anchor point UPF and the original RAN to the connection between the anchor point UPF and the target RAN.

[0217] S801, the target RAN sends path switching request information to the SMF, and the path switching request information includes PDU Set capability information of the target RAN.

[0218] The PDU Set capability information is described in detail in FIG. 2.

[0219] Optionally, the target RAN sends N2 Path Switch to the AMF, and the N2 Path Switch carries the path switching request information. The AMF sends Nsmf UpdateSMcontext to the SMF, and the Nsmf UpdateSMcontext carries the path switching request information.

[0220] S802, after the SMF receives the path switching request information, the SMF determines third information according to the path switching request information, and sends the third information to the UPF.

[0221] The third information is described in detail in FIG. 6.

[0222] S803, after the SMF receives the path switching request information, the SMF determines fourth information according to the path switching request information, and sends the fourth information to the AF.

[0223] The fourth information is described in detail in FIG. 7.

[0224] In this way, when the UE occurs handover (HO), the RAN serving the UE is switched from the source RAN to the target RAN. In order for the core network to obtain the PDU Set capability information of the target RAN, the target RAN sends path switching request information to the SMF, and the path switching request information includes the PDU Set capability information. The SMF receives the path switching request information sent by the RAN, so that the SMF adjusts the QoS parameter according to the PDU Set capability information provided by the target RAN, for example, if the target RAN supports the capability corresponding to the demand indicated by the second demand indication, the SMF will adjust to the second demand indication accordingly.

[0225] Optionally, after the SMF receives the path switching request information, if the PDU Set capability information of the target RAN is different from the PDU Set capability information of the source RAN, the SMF determines third information according to the PDU Set capability information of the target RAN in the handover request information, and sends the third information to the UPF, the third information being used to update the PDU Set identification and marking rules on the UPF side. The PDU Set capability information of the source RAN can be the PDU Set capability information described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, or can be no support for any PDU Set capability.

[0226] Optionally, after the SMF receives the path switching request information, the SMF determines fourth information according to the PDU Set capability information of the target RAN in the handover request information, and sends the fourth information to the AF, the fourth information being used to notify the AF.

[0227] Optionally, if there is an Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN, the source RAN and the target RAN can perform context interaction through the Xn interface, after the context interaction is completed, the target RAN initiates a handover process, and the target RAN sends path switching request information to the SMF.

[0228] Please refer to FIG. 9, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, and the following will be described by taking a handover process as an example. The communication method in FIG. 9 includes:

[0229] In FIG. 9, there is no Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN, the source RAN and the target RAN have no direct Xn interface, and the interaction between the source RAN and the target RAN needs to rely on the core network (for example, the AMF) for transfer, at this time, an N2-based handover process is triggered.

[0230] S901, the source RAN sends a handover request to the AMF;

[0231] S902, the AMF determines the target RAN according to the handover request from the source RAN, and sends a handover request to the target RAN;

[0232] S903, the target RAN sends a handover request feedback (Handover Request Ack) to the AMF, the handover request feedback carrying path switching request information, the path switching request information including PDU Set capability information.

[0233] S904, the AMF sends the path switching request information to the SMF.

[0234] Optionally, the AMF sends the Nsmf_UpdateSMcontext to the SMF, and the Nsmf_UpdateSMcontext carries the path switching request information.

[0235] S905, after the SMF receives the path switching request information, the SMF determines third information according to the path switching request information, and sends the third information to the UPF.

[0236] S906, after the SMF receives the path switching request information, the SMF determines fourth information according to the path switching request information, and sends the fourth information to the AF.

[0237] In this way, when the UE occurs handover (HO), the RAN serving the UE is switched from the source RAN to the target RAN. In order for the core network to obtain the PDU Set capability information of the target RAN, the target RAN sends the path switching request information to the SMF, and the path switching request information includes the PDU Set capability information. The SMF receives the path switching request information sent by the RAN, so as to facilitate the SMF to adjust the QoS parameter according to the PDU Set capability information provided by the target RAN. Since there is no Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN, the information interaction between the source RAN and the target RAN is realized through the core network.

[0238] Optionally, if there is no Xn interface between the source RAN and the target RAN, the target RAN performs a handover process through the N2 interface: the target RAN sends the N2 Path Switch to the AMF, the N2 Path Switch carries the path switching request information, and the AMF receives the N2 Path Switch and sends the Nsmf_UpdateSMcontext to the SMF, and the Nsmf_UpdateSMcontext carries the path switching request information.

[0239] Please refer to FIG. 10, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The following takes the PDU session establishment process as an example for illustration. The communication method in FIG. 10 includes:

[0240] S1001, the UE sends a PDU session establishment or modification request to the SMF.

[0241] Optionally, the UE sends the PDU session establishment or modification request to the AMF through an uplink NAS message, and then the AMF sends the PDU session establishment or modification request in the uplink NAS message to the SMF.

[0242] S1002, after the SMF receives the PDU session establishment or modification message, the SMF determines first information based on a local policy or PCC rules from the PCF.

[0243] Optionally, the first information comprises a PDU Set QoS parameter and a packet granularity QoS parameter, the PDU Set QoS parameter comprising a first requirement indication information, a PSDB and / or a PSER, the first requirement indication information being used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set is successfully transmitted.

[0244] S1003, the SMF sends the first information to the RAN. Specifically, the SMF sends the first information to the RAN side through the AMF.

[0245] S1004, the RAN receives the first information and determines the second information.

[0246] The second information comprises PDU Set capability information, and optionally, the second information further comprises acceptance indication information and / or first indication information.

[0247] If the RAN supports the capability of successfully transmitting a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set, or the capability of successfully transmitting specific PDUs in a PDU Set, or the capability of successfully transmitting original data packets in a PDU Set, the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of successfully transmitting a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set, or the capability of successfully transmitting specific PDUs in a PDU Set, or the capability of successfully transmitting original data packets in a PDU Set; if the RAN supports the capability of successfully transmitting a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set, the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate that the RAN supports the capability of successfully transmitting a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set.

[0248] If the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, or to indicate that the establishment or modification request of the QoS flow has been accepted, or to indicate that the establishment or modification of the QoS flow is successfully completed.

[0249] If the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow, or to indicate that the establishment or modification request of the QoS flow has been rejected, or to indicate that the establishment or modification of the QoS flow fails to be successfully completed.

[0250] If the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter, the acceptance indication information can also be used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the packet granularity QoS parameter.

[0251] If the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER, the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information.

[0252] S1005, the RAN sends second information to the SMF.

[0253] S1006, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines the identification and marking update information, and sends the identification and marking update information to the UPF.

[0254] Optionally, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines that the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information according to the second information, and needs to update the first requirement indication information to the second requirement indication information, and accordingly, the SMF determines the identification and marking update information. Illustratively, the SMF determines that the RAN does not support the capability corresponding to the first requirement indication information, but supports the capability of successful transmission of a second specific proportion of PDUs within a PDU Set or the capability of successful transmission of all PDUs within a PDU Set according to the second information, and accordingly, the SMF updates the first requirement indication information to the second requirement indication information, and sends the updated information to the RAN side for establishment or update of the QoS flow. Accordingly, the SMF determines the identification and marking update information and sends it to the UPF side to support the capability of successful transmission of all PDUs within a PDU Set on the RAN side.

[0255] Optionally, the identification and marking update information includes third information.

[0256] S1007, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines the notification information according to the second information, and sends the notification information to the AF.

[0257] Optionally, after the SMF receives the second information, the SMF determines that the RAN does not support the first requirement indication information, PSDB and / or PSER according to the second information, and accordingly, the SMF determines the notification information according to the second information.

[0258] Optionally, the notification information includes fourth information.

[0259] Optionally, the first information includes a plurality of requirement indication information, each requirement indication information is used to indicate a corresponding requirement, for example, the first requirement indication information is used to indicate the successful transmission of a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set, and the second requirement indication information is used to indicate the successful transmission of a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set. The RAN can determine the requirement indication information that the RAN can support from the plurality of requirement indication information, and complete the establishment or modification of the QoS flow based on the capability corresponding to the requirement indication information supported by the RAN.

[0260] Thus, in the PDU session creation process, the SMF sends first information to the RAN side, the RAN side determines second information according to the first information, and sends the second information to the core network side, the second information carrying the PDU Set capability information of the RAN side, the PDU Set capability information including the capability of the RAN side supporting PDU transmission success in a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of the PDU Set, the second specific proportion being greater than the first specific proportion. Through the above information interaction between the core network side and the RAN side, the capability negotiation between the RAN side and the core network side is realized; and since the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion, and the first specific proportion is less than 100%, the capability of the RAN side supporting PDU transmission success in the first specific proportion or the second specific proportion of the PDU Set respectively corresponds to different PDU Set processing capabilities, thereby realizing capability negotiation in other scenarios.

[0261] It is easy to understand that FIG. 10 takes the UE to create a PDU session as an example for description, and in other embodiments, the above communication method can also be applied to other scenarios, for example, a PDU session modification process, in which the capability negotiation is realized through information interaction between the RAN and the SMF, and the specific interaction process can refer to the PDU session creation process of FIG. 10.

[0262] It can be understood that the communication methods of the embodiments of the present application are all capability negotiation processes, and the implementation processes of the various embodiments have the same steps. In order to avoid repetition, the same steps of the capability negotiation process are only described in detail in one or two embodiments, and the steps involved in the remaining embodiments can refer to the embodiments described in detail.

[0263] It should be understood that the above is only to help those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of the present application, and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can obviously make various equivalent modifications or changes according to the above examples given, for example, some steps in the above methods can not be necessary, or some steps can be newly added, etc. Or a combination of any two or more of the above embodiments. Such modified, changed or combined schemes also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0264] It should also be understood that the ways, cases, categories and division of embodiments in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description, and should not be considered as special limitation. The features in various ways, categories, cases and embodiments can be combined without contradiction.

[0265] It should also be understood that various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only used for distinguishing convenience, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial numbers of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0266] It should also be understood that the above description of the embodiments of the present application focuses on the differences between the various embodiments, and the same or similar parts not mentioned can be referred to each other, and for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated here.

[0267] The above describes the embodiments of the method and system provided by the embodiments of the present application in combination with FIG. 1-FIG. 10, and the following describes the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0268] The embodiments can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments is illustrative, and is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner.

[0269] It should be noted that the related content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referred to the function description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0270] The communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application is used to execute the communication method provided by the above method embodiments, and thus can achieve the same effect as the above implementation method.

[0271] In other embodiments, in the case of using integrated units, the communication device can include a processing module, a storage module and a communication module. The processing module can be used to control and manage the actions of the communication device. For example, it can be used to support the communication device to execute the steps executed by the processing unit. The storage module can be used to support the storage of program codes and data, etc. The communication module can be used to support the communication between the communication device and other devices.

[0272] The processing module can be a processor or a controller. It can be various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in combination with the disclosure of the present application. The processor can also be a combination of implementation or execution, such as one or more microprocessor combinations, digital signal processing (digital signal processing, DSP) and microprocessor combinations, etc. The storage module can be a memory. The communication module can be a device for interacting with other communication devices, such as radio frequency circuit, Bluetooth chip, Wi-Fi chip, etc.

[0273] Referring to FIG. 11, FIG. 11 shows a structural diagram of an example communication device according to the present application. The communication device shown in FIG. 11 can perform the steps in the communication method performed by any of the communication devices (e.g., SMF, RAN) according to the embodiments of the present application. The hardware structure of the SMF and RAN according to the embodiments of the present application can both refer to the hardware structure of the communication device shown in FIG. 11.

[0274] The communication device 1100 includes at least one processor 1101, a memory 1103, and at least one network interface 1104.

[0275] The processor 1101 is, for example, a general-purpose CPU, a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor (NP), a GPU, a neural network processing unit (NPU), a data processing unit (DPU), a microprocessor, or one or more integrated circuits or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for implementing the schemes of the present application, programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The PLD is, for example, a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure of the present application. The processor can also be a combination of computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like.

[0276] Optionally, the communication device 1100 also includes a bus 1102. The bus 1102 is for communicating information among the components of the communication device 1100. The bus 1102 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus 1102 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, or the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 11, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0277] The memory 1103 is, for example, a read only memory (ROM) or other type of storage device that can store static information and instructions, or a random access memory (RAM), or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read only memory (CD ROM) or other optical disk storage, magneto-optical storage, a solid state drive (SSD), or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1103 is, for example, independent and connected to the processor 1101 through the bus 1102. The memory 1103 can also be integrated with the processor 1101.

[0278] The network interface 1104 uses any transceiver-type device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, which can be an Ethernet, a radio access network (RAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), or the like. The network interface 1104 can include a wired network interface and can also include a wireless network interface. Specifically, the network interface 1104 can be an Ethernet interface, such as a fast Ethernet (FE) interface, a gigabit Ethernet (GE) interface, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interface, a WLAN interface, a cellular network interface, or a combination thereof. The Ethernet interface can be an optical interface, an electrical interface, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments of the present application, the network interface 1104 can be used for the communication device 1100 to communicate with other devices.

[0279] In a specific implementation, as some embodiments, the processor 1101 can include one or more CPUs. Each of the processors can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processor here can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0280] In a specific implementation, as some embodiments, the communication device 1100 can include multiple processors. Each of the processors can be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The processor here can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0281] In some embodiments, the memory 1103 is used to store program instructions for implementing the solutions of the present application, and the processor 1101 can execute the program instructions stored in the memory 1103. That is, the communication device 1100 can implement the method provided by the method embodiments shown in the above embodiments through the processor 1101 and the program instructions in the memory 1103. The program instructions can include one or more software modules. Alternatively, the processor 1101 itself can also store program instructions for implementing the solutions of the present application.

[0282] In the process of implementation, the processor 1101 in the communication device 1100 of the present application reads the instructions in the memory 1103, so that the communication device 1100 shown in FIG. 11 can execute all or part of the steps in the communication method executed by the communication device in the above embodiments.

[0283] The steps of the method described in the above embodiments are completed by integrated logic circuits of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the processor of the communication device 1100. The steps of the method embodiments disclosed in the present application can be directly embodied as hardware processor execution, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, they will not be described in detail here.

[0284] It should be understood that the above processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. It should be noted that the processor can be an advanced RISC machine (ARM) architecture processor.

[0285] Further, in an optional embodiment, the above memory can include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. The memory can also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory can also store device type information.

[0286] The memory can be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile memory can be a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used. For example, a static RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and a direct rambus RAM (DR RAM) can be used.

[0287] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, comprising the communication device, wherein the communication device can perform the steps in the communication method performed by any of the communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0288] In the exemplary embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer program (product), which comprises computer program code, and when the computer program code is run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the steps in the communication method performed by any of the communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0289] The embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores programs or instructions, and when the programs or instructions are run on a computer, the communication method performed by any of the communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application is performed.

[0290] The embodiments of the present application provide a chip, comprising a processor, for calling and running instructions stored in a memory, so that the communication device installed with the chip performs the communication method performed by any of the communication devices provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0291] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can 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 can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes one or more available media sets. The available media can be magnetic media (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (for example, DVD), or semiconductor media (for example, Solid State Disk) and the like.

[0292] The terms "first", "second", and the like are used in the present application to distinguish between elements or items having substantially the same function and similar items, and it should be understood that there is no logical or chronological dependency between "first", "second", "nth", and the quantity and execution order are not limited. It should also be understood that although the following description uses the terms first, second, and the like to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.

[0293] It should also be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0294] In the present application, the term "at least one" means one or more, and the term "multiple" in the present application means two or more, for example, multiple second devices means two or more second devices. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this document.

[0295] It should be understood that the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as an instance, example, or illustration, and not as a limitation. Unless otherwise indicated, the word “or” is used herein in a nonexclusive sense to mean any, some, or all of the associated listed items, and the word “and” is used in a disjunctive sense to mean both. Unless otherwise indicated, the words “a” or “an” are used herein to mean “one or more” of the associated word(s). The term “plurality” is used herein to mean “two or more” of the associated word(s). The term “another” is used herein to mean “at least one” of the associated word(s). The term “comprising” is used herein to mean “including, but not limited to.” It will be understood by those within the art that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the application. In addition, it is contemplated that embodiments can be carried out or implemented in alternative ways. Accordingly, many modifications and variations of the application are possible and will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, it is contemplated that embodiments can be implemented only in part of the specified examples. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the application disclosed herein. Therefore, the reader’s attention is directed to the claims for other possible embodiments.

[0296] It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various embodiments of the present application and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0297] It is further understood that the terms “if’ and “when” can be interpreted to mean “upon” or “in response to a determination” or “in response to a detection” of, as appropriate. Similarly, the phrase “if determined” or “if detected” can be interpreted to mean “upon a determination” or “in response to a determination” or “upon a detection” or “in response to a detection” of, as appropriate, depending on the context.

[0298] The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this application and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope and spirit of the application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a session management network element, and comprises the following steps: sending first information to a radio access network node RAN, wherein the first information comprises first demand indication information, and the first demand indication information is used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDU transmission in a protocol data unit set PDU Set is successful; receiving second information sent by the RAN, wherein the second information is determined by the RAN according to the first information, the second information comprises PDU Set capability information, and the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support PDU transmission of a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, wherein the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The second information further comprises acceptance indication information, and the acceptance indication information is used to indicate whether the RAN completes establishment or modification of a quality of service QoS flow.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, If the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support PDU transmission of the second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set, the method further comprises the following steps: sending second demand indication information to the RAN, wherein the second demand indication information is used to indicate PDU transmission of the second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first information further comprises a protocol data unit set latency budget PSDB and / or a protocol data unit set error rate PSER, and the second information further comprises first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information, and the method further comprises the following steps: updating the PSDB and / or the PSER in the first information according to the second information, and sending the updated PSDB and / or the PSER to the RAN.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, The acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes establishment or modification of the QoS flow, and the PDU Set capability information indicates the capability of the RAN to support PDU transmission of the second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein, The first information further comprises a packet granularity QoS parameter, and the acceptance indication information is further used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the packet granularity QoS parameter.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein, The first information further comprises second demand indication information, and the second demand indication information is used to indicate PDU transmission of the second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set; and the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes establishment or modification of the QoS flow.

8. The method of any one of claims 3, 5, 6, 7, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps: determining third information according to the second information, and sending the third information to a user plane network element, wherein the third information is used to update PDU Set identification and marking rules on the user plane network element side.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that, The method further comprises the following steps: determining fourth information according to the second information, and sending the fourth information to an application function AF.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps: sending second demand indication information to the RAN, wherein the second demand indication information is used to indicate PDU transmission of the second specific proportion of PDU in the PDU Set.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first requirement indication information is further used to indicate that a PDU successfully transmitted before a first unsuccessfully transmitted PDU in the PDU Set is available, and the second information further comprises second indication information used to indicate whether the RAN supports that a PDU successfully transmitted before a first unsuccessfully transmitted PDU in the PDU Set is available.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving path switching request information sent by the RAN, wherein the path switching request information carries the PDU Set capability information.

13. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a radio access network node (RAN), and the method comprises: receiving first information sent by a session management network element, wherein the first information comprises first requirement indication information used to indicate that a first specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set are successfully transmitted; determining second information according to the first information, and sending the second information to the session management network element, wherein the second information comprises PDU Set capability information used to indicate a capability of the RAN to support that a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set are successfully transmitted, and the second specific proportion is greater than the first specific proportion.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The second information further comprises acceptance indication information used to indicate whether the RAN completes establishment or modification of a QoS flow.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, If the PDU Set capability information is used to indicate the capability of the RAN to support that a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set are successfully transmitted, the method further comprises: receiving second requirement indication information sent by the session management network element, wherein the second requirement indication information is used to indicate that a second specific proportion of PDUs in a PDU Set are successfully transmitted.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The first information further comprises PSDB and / or PSER, and the second information further comprises first indication information used to indicate that the RAN does not support the PSDB and / or PSER in the first information, and the method further comprises: receiving updated PSDB and / or PSER sent by the session management network element.

17. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein, The first information further comprises packet granularity QoS parameters. The determining of the second information according to the first information comprises: if the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the packet granularity QoS parameters, determining acceptance indication information of the second information; the acceptance indication information is used to indicate that the RAN completes the establishment or modification of the QoS flow according to the packet granularity QoS parameters.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein, The first information further comprises second requirement indication information.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that, The first requirement indication information is further used to indicate that a PDU successfully transmitted before a first unsuccessfully transmitted PDU in the PDU Set is available, and the second information further comprises second indication information used to indicate whether the RAN supports that a PDU successfully transmitted before a first unsuccessfully transmitted PDU in the PDU Set is available.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 19, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The path switching request information sent to the session management network element, the path switching request information including the PDU Set capability information.

21. A method of communication, comprising: The method applied to a radio access network node RAN, the method comprising: In a handover process, path switching request information sent to a session management network element, the path switching request information including PDU Set capability information, the PDU Set capability information being used to indicate a capability of the RAN to support a first specific proportion or a second specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set, the second specific proportion being greater than the first specific proportion.

22. A method of communication, comprising: The method comprises: Sending first information to a radio access network node RAN, the first information including first demand indication information, the first demand indication information being used to indicate a first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a protocol data unit set PDU Set, the first specific proportion being less than 100%; If the SMF does not receive feedback of the first information from the RAN, determining that the RAN does not support the capability of the first specific proportion of PDU transmission success in a PDU Set.

23. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store computer execution instructions, the processor being used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the apparatus executes the method in any one of claims 1-22.

24. A chip, characterized by The chip comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor being coupled, the at least one processor being used to run a computer program or instructions to implement the communication method in any one of claims 1-22; The communication interface is used to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

25. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores instructions, when the instructions are run, the communication method in any one of claims 1-22 is implemented.

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