Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a communication apparatus, relating to the technical field of communication. In the method, a first apparatus sends to a second apparatus first information used to indicate a correspondence between a first timestamp and a first time, wherein the first time is a reference time used by a communication network, and the first timestamp is a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to a first data packet; and the second apparatus can schedule, on the basis of the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time that is indicated by the first information, a received second data packet that comprises a second timestamp. Thus, the flexible scheduling of data packets can be supported, and service delay requirements can thus be better ensured.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202410745005.0, filed on June 7, 2024, entitled “Communication method and communication 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 more particularly, to a communication method and a communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the quality of service (QoS) model adopted by the current new radio (NR) system, the network configures static QoS parameters for services. For example, for extended reality (XR) services, the network defines a core network (CN) protocol data unit set delay budget (PSDB) and an access network (AN) PSDB. The CN PSDB is the delay budget from the arrival of the first packet of a PDU set to the start of the delivery of the last packet to a user plane function (UPF), and the AN PSDB is the delay budget from the arrival of the first packet of a PDU set to the start of the delivery of the last packet to a terminal device.

[0004] Since data processing and routing forwarding both introduce dynamic jitter, there is a mismatch between static QoS parameters and dynamic jitter, which may not meet the latency requirements of services. For example, the latency budget of a downlink XR service from a server to a terminal device is 20 ms, and the 5th generation system (5GS) reserves a latency budget of 5 ms for transmission outside the 5GS, and determines that the CN PSDB is 5 ms and the AN PSDB is 10 ms. When the server processing load is high, the data packet delivered by the server arrives at the access network device later than the expected time, resulting in less air interface time than the AN PSDB. If the access network device still schedules the data packet according to the AN PSDB, the latency requirement may not be met. Therefore, how to better guarantee the latency requirement of services is a technical problem to be solved at present. th SUMMARY

[0005] ​The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can better guarantee the delay requirement of a service.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating a correspondence between a first timestamp and a first time, the first time being a reference time (hereinafter referred to as a communication time) used by a communication network, and the first timestamp being a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to a first data packet; receiving a second data packet, the second data packet including a second timestamp; and scheduling the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp.

[0007] The solution of the first aspect can be implemented by a device on a second device side. The device on the second device side can be a network element (such as a core network element) or a device (such as an access network device), or a module (such as a chip system) in the network element or the device, or a logic node, a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network element or the device. For ease of description, the second device is taken as an example in the following description.

[0008] In the above solution, the second device can schedule the received second data packet including the second timestamp according to the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time, which can support flexible scheduling of the data packet, and thus better guarantee the delay requirement of a service.

[0009] For example, when the second data packet arrives at the access network device earlier than the expected time, the access network device (an example of the second device) schedules according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the access network device to send the second data packet to a terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), and thus better guarantee the delay requirement of a service. When the second data packet arrives at the access network device later than the expected time, the access network device schedules according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the access network device to send the second data packet to a terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), and thus better guarantee the delay requirement of a service.

[0010] For example, when the second data packet arrives at the core network element earlier than the expected time, the core network element (an example of the second device) can schedule according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the core network element sending the second data packet to the access network device in advance (before the CN PSDB), and the access network device can also send the second data packet to the terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service. When the second data packet arrives at the core network element later than the expected time, the core network element can schedule according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the core network element sending the second data packet to the access network device in advance (before the CN PSDB), and the access network device can also send the second data packet to the terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0011] In summary, when the second device can flexibly schedule the received data packet including the timestamp according to the correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time, it can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0012] In the first aspect, the scheduling of the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp includes: determining the second time according to the first information and the second timestamp, the second time being a time used by the communication network; and scheduling the second data packet according to the second time.

[0013] In this way, the second device can determine the second time corresponding to the second timestamp according to the correspondence between the second timestamp carried in the second data packet and the first timestamp and the first time indicated by the first information, and flexibly schedule the second data packet according to the second time, thereby being able to support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0014] In the first aspect, the determination of the second time according to the first information and the second timestamp includes: determining a sampling frequency corresponding to the first timestamp; and determining the second time according to the sampling frequency, the first timestamp, the second timestamp, and the first time.

[0015] Through the above scheme, the second device can determine the second time, thereby being able to support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0016] In the first aspect, the second time includes a generation time of the second data packet, and the scheduling of the second data packet according to the second time includes: receiving second information, the second information indicating a latency budget of the second data packet; and scheduling the second data packet according to the second information and the second time.

[0017] When the second time indicates the generation time of the second data packet, the second device can schedule the second data packet according to the generation time of the second data packet and the time delay budget of the second data packet, which can support meeting the time delay requirement of the service.

[0018] In the first aspect, the method further includes: determining, according to the second time, a remaining time of the second data packet, the remaining time of the second data packet indicating a remaining duration of the latest time for sending the second data packet to the terminal device; and sending third information, the third information indicating the remaining time of the second data packet.

[0019] In this way, the time delay requirement of the service can be met.

[0020] In the first aspect, receiving the first information includes: receiving the first information from the terminal device; or receiving the first information from the application server.

[0021] In the first aspect, receiving the first information from the terminal device includes: receiving fourth information from the terminal device, the fourth information indicating that the terminal device supports reporting the first information; and sending indication information to the terminal device, the indication information indicating that the terminal device reports the first information.

[0022] In this way, the second device can obtain the first information from the terminal device.

[0023] In the first aspect, before receiving the second data packet, the method further includes: sending fifth information, the fifth information indicating that the second time stamp is configured for the second data packet.

[0024] When the second device indicates that the second time stamp is configured for the second data packet, the second device can determine the second time according to the second time stamp carried in the received second data packet and the correspondence between the first time stamp and the first time, and can schedule the second data packet based on the second time, thereby being able to better guarantee the time delay requirement of the service.

[0025] The second aspect provides a communication method, including: determining first information, the first information indicating a correspondence between a first time stamp and a first time, the first time being a reference time used by a communication network, and the first time stamp being a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to first data packet; and sending the first information, the first information being used for scheduling a second data packet, the second data packet including a second time stamp.

[0026] The scheme of the second aspect can be executed by a device on the first device side. The device on the first device side can be a network element (such as an application server) or a device (such as a terminal device), or a module (such as a chip system) in the network element or the device, or a logic node, a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network element or the device. For ease of description, the first device is taken as an example in the following description.

[0027] In the above solution, the first device sends the first information indicating the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time to the second device, the second device can determine the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time according to the first information, and can schedule the received second data packet including the second timestamp based on the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time, which can support flexible scheduling of data packets, and thus can better guarantee the delay requirement of services.

[0028] In a second aspect, the first information is used for scheduling of the second data packet, and the first information and the second timestamp are used to determine the second time, and the second time is used for scheduling of the second data packet.

[0029] The above description can be referred to.

[0030] In the second aspect, the second time includes the generation time of the second data packet, and the method further includes: sending second information, the second information indicating a delay budget of the second data packet.

[0031] The above description can be referred to.

[0032] In the second aspect, the sending of the first information includes: sending fourth information, the fourth information indicating that reporting of the first information is supported; receiving indication information, the indication information indicating reporting of the first information; and sending the first information according to the indication information.

[0033] The above description can be referred to.

[0034] In combination with any of the first aspect and the second aspect, the second time includes one of a submission deadline of the second data packet and a generation time of the second data packet.

[0035] When the second time is the submission deadline of the second data packet, the second device can schedule the second data packet according to the submission deadline of the second data packet, which can support meeting the delay requirement of services.

[0036] When the second time is the generation time of the second data packet, the second device can schedule the second data packet according to the generation time of the second data packet, which can support meeting the delay requirement of services.

[0037] In combination with any of the first aspect and the second aspect, the first time includes one of a submission deadline of the first data packet and a generation time of the first data packet.

[0038] In combination with any of the first aspect and the second aspect, the second timestamp is a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to the second data packet.

[0039] In combination with any of the first aspect and the second aspect, the type of the first time is at least one of a time in a network time protocol time and a time in a third generation partnership project communication system, and the type of the second time is the same as the type of the first time.

[0040] In combination with any of the first aspect and the second aspect, the first time stamp and the second time stamp are both time stamps in a real-time transport protocol.

[0041] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the second apparatus, or a device or module for performing the functions of the second apparatus.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first apparatus, or a device or module for performing the functions of the first apparatus.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can include a module or unit corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0045] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor configured to cause the communication apparatus to perform the methods described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to perform the methods described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, by executing computer programs or instructions, or by a logic circuit.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a memory configured to store the computer programs or instructions.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface configured to input and / or output signals.

[0048] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a logic circuit and an input / output interface configured to input and / or output signals, and the logic circuit is configured to perform the methods described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to perform the methods described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0049] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, and the computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect to be performed; or cause the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect to be performed.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, and the computer program product contains instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect to be performed; or cause the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect to be performed.

[0051] In a ninth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided, and the chip or chip system comprises one or more processors configured to execute computer programs or instructions in the memory, so that the chip or chip system implements the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; or so that the chip or chip system implements the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0052] The beneficial effects of any of the third aspect to the ninth aspect can be referred to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect to the second aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario 100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system 200 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable.

[0055] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture 300.

[0056] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a correspondence 500 between a timestamp and a communication time according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0058] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0059] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 700 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an interaction flow of a communication method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 900 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0062] Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained.

[0064] I. Unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0065] II. If there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments of the present application are consistent and can be mutually referred to. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0066] III. The various numerical numbers involved in the present application are only used for differentiation for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present application. The size of the serial numbers involved in the present application does not mean the execution order. The execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic. For example, the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and other various terms labels (if any) in the specification and claims of the present application and the drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not have to be used to describe a specific order or sequence. Among them, the data thus used can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

[0067] At the same time, any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. On the contrary, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" and the like is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner, so as to facilitate understanding.

[0068] IV. The terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units does not have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but can include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0069] V. In the present application, "for indicating" can be understood as "enabling", and "enabling" includes direct enabling and indirect enabling. When describing that a certain information is used to enable A, it can include that the information directly enables A or indirectly enables A, and it does not mean that A must be carried in the information.

[0070] If the information enabled by the information is referred to as to-be-enabled information, there are many ways to enable the to-be-enabled information in the implementation process, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-enabled information can be directly enabled, such as the to-be-enabled information itself or an index of the to-be-enabled information. The to-be-enabled information can also be indirectly enabled by enabling other information, where the other information and the to-be-enabled information have an association relationship. Only a part of the to-be-enabled information can be enabled, and the other part of the to-be-enabled information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the enabling of specific information can also be achieved by means of the pre-agreed (for example, the protocol stipulates) arrangement order of each information, thereby reducing the enabling overhead to a certain extent. Meanwhile, the common part of each information can be identified and uniformly enabled to reduce the enabling overhead caused by separately enabling the same information.

[0071] In addition, the indication can include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When it is described that certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0072] In the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. Only a part of the to-be-indicated information can be indicated, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the pre-agreed (for example, the protocol stipulates) arrangement order of each information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole, or can be sent separately in multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending time of the sub-information can be the same or different.

[0073] Sixthly, in the present application, the pre-configuration can include pre-definition, for example, protocol definition. The pre-definition can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables or other information indicating methods in devices (for example, including various network elements), and the present application does not limit the specific implementation method.

[0074] Seven, the "storage" or "save" involved in the present application can refer to saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately arranged or integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor, or communication device. The one or more memories can also be partially separately arranged and partially integrated in the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, which is not limited.

[0075] Eight, the "protocol" involved in the present application can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, which can include, for example, fourth generation (4 th generation, 4G) network, 5G network protocol, 5.5G network protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication networks, which are not limited in the present application.

[0076] Nine, the arrows or blocks shown by dashed lines in the schematic diagrams in the drawing part of the present application specification represent optional steps or optional modules.

[0077] Ten, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0078] Eleven, in the present application, "sending" and "receiving" represent the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as that the destination of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as that the source of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and also includes indirect receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between network devices and terminal devices, or can be carried out within a device, for example, between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within a device through a bus, wire or interface.

[0079] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario 100 of embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, data transmission can be performed between a terminal device, an access network device, a core network element, and an application server (AS). For example, the AS sends data 1 to the core network element, the core network element sends the data 1 to the access network device, and the access network device sends the data 1 to the terminal device, which can support completion of data transmission between the terminal device and the AS.

[0080] Data transmission between the terminal device and the AS has a latency guarantee requirement. Taking an XR service as an example, from generation of uplink data (such as pose, control information, etc.) by the terminal device to triggering the AS to generate corresponding downlink data (such as a video stream) and deliver the downlink data to the terminal device, the round-trip time (RTT) packet delay budget (PDB) of this process needs to be less than or equal to 20 ms to avoid user dizziness.

[0081] As can be known from the content shown in the background, data transmission based on the QoS model adopted by the existing NR system can not be able to well meet the latency requirement of the service. In view of this, the present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service. Please refer to FIG. 2.

[0082] FIG. 2 is an architecture schematic diagram of a communication system 200 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system 200 includes a first apparatus and a second apparatus. The first apparatus is a data receiving end or a data sending end, for example, the first apparatus is a terminal device (such as a data receiving end), or the first apparatus is an AS (such as a data sending end). The second apparatus is an apparatus involved in data scheduling, for example, the second apparatus is an access network device, or the second apparatus is a core network element, such as a UPF.

[0083] The first apparatus can determine a correspondence between a timestamp and a reference time used by a communication network (hereinafter referred to as a communication time, which can also be referred to as other terms, etc.), and the second apparatus can schedule a received data packet including the timestamp according to the correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time. The correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time described above is applicable to the data sending end and the data receiving end.

[0084] The first apparatus and the second apparatus can interact the correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time. For example, the first apparatus sends information indicating the correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time to the second apparatus, the second apparatus determines the correspondence according to the information, and schedules a received data packet including the timestamp based on the correspondence, which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0085] For example, the second device receives the data packet 1, the data packet 1 includes the timestamp 1, the second device determines the communication time 1 corresponding to the timestamp 1 according to the timestamp 1 and the correspondence relationship, and the second device schedules the data packet 1 according to the communication time 1. Compared with the scheduling manner of the second device according to the PDB or the PSDB, the above method can support the second device to flexibly schedule the data packet. For example, the data packet 1 arrives at the second device earlier than the expected time, the second device schedules the data packet 1 according to the communication time 1 instead of scheduling the data packet 1 according to the PDB or the PSDB, which can support better guarantee of the time delay requirement of the service. Details can be referred to the description below.

[0086] In the embodiment of the application, the timestamp can be used to reflect the sampling time of the first byte of data in a real transmit protocol (RTP) packet. At the start of a session, the value of the timestamp is randomly determined. For example, the initial value of the timestamp is 100, and as time goes on, the value of the timestamp accumulates from the initial value 100 to 2000. The receiving end can determine at what time to restore which audio frame or video frame according to the current value of the timestamp.

[0087] Taking an audio frame as an example, the sampling duration of the audio frame is fixed, and the receiving end can determine the corresponding audio frame according to the value of the timestamp. For example, the sampling frequency of the audio frame is 8000 (Hz), 50 audio frames can be transmitted in 1 second, and the duration of each audio frame is 20 milliseconds. Assuming that the initial value of the timestamp is 0, the value of the timestamp accumulates by 160 (160=8000*20 / 1000) for each audio frame. In 1 second, when the second audio frame is transmitted, the value of the timestamp accumulates from 0 to 160, when the third audio frame is transmitted, the value of the timestamp is 320, when the fourth audio frame is transmitted, the value of the timestamp is 480, and so on. Assuming that the current value of the timestamp is 1600, the receiving end can determine that the value of the timestamp 1600 corresponds to the 11th audio frame, and the receiving end can restore the 11th audio frame. The sampling frequency of the audio frame refers to the number of times of sampling of an analog sound signal by a recording device in a unit of time. The higher the sampling frequency, the more real and natural the waveform of the mechanical wave is, and the unit is Hz.

[0088] In this embodiment, the access network device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities used to communicate with terminal devices. The access network device can be a node in a radio access network (RAN), and can be referred to as a base station or a RAN node. It can be an evolved LTE base station (eNB or eNodeB); or a base station in a 5G network such as a gNodeB (gNB); or a base station in a public land mobile network (PLMN) evolved after 5G; a broadband network gateway (BNG); an aggregation switch; or a third-generation partner project (3G) device. rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access equipment, etc. For example, the above-mentioned RAN can be configured as a RAN defined by the 3GPP protocol, an open radio access network (O-RAN), or a cloud radio access network (C-RAN), etc.

[0089] Access network equipment may also include various forms of base stations, such as: macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, transmitting and receiving points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, and equipment that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, as well as network equipment in NTN communication systems, etc. This application does not make specific limitations.

[0090] Access network equipment may also include network elements or modules that implement some of the functions of a base station, such as one or more of the following: a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Optionally, the CU may be further separated into a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP).

[0091] The functions of the CU and the DU can be implemented by different network elements, or by a baseband unit (BBU) of a base station at the same time. The functions of the RU can be implemented by a radio frequency device of the base station. For example, the radio frequency device of the base station can be a radio frequency remote radio unit (RRU), a pico remote radio unit (pRRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or other units, modules, or devices with radio frequency processing functions, etc. The communication interface protocol between the BBU and the radio frequency device can be a common public radio interface (CPRI) interface protocol, an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI) interface protocol, or a fronthaul interface protocol between the DU and the RU in the O-RAN system, etc., without limitation.

[0092] The apparatus for implementing the function of the access network device can be an access network device, or can be an apparatus, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the access network device to implement the function. The apparatus can be installed in the access network device or used in matching with the access network device. The chip system in the embodiments of the present application can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0093] The terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user equipment. The terminal device can also be a satellite phone, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a wireless data card, a wireless modem, a machine type communication device, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a communication device carried on an aerial vehicle, a wearable device, a drone, a robot, a terminal in D2D, a terminal in V2X, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home or a terminal device in future communication network, etc., without limitation.

[0094] The communication device for implementing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In this application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0095] The communication system 200 can also be applied to a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a 5G system, a future communication network, an inter-satellite communication and a satellite communication non-terrestrial network (NTN) system. The satellite communication system includes a satellite base station and a terminal device. The satellite base station provides communication services for the terminal device. The satellite base station can communicate with a ground base station. The satellite can act as a base station or a terminal device. The satellite can be an unmanned aerial vehicle, a hot air balloon, a low-orbit satellite, a medium-orbit satellite, a high-orbit satellite, a non-ground base station or a non-ground device, etc.

[0096] The technical solution disclosed by the communication system 200 is applicable to both homogeneous network and heterogeneous network scenarios, and has no limitation on transmission points, which can be multi-point cooperative transmission between macro base stations and macro base stations, micro base stations and micro base stations, or macro base stations and micro base stations, and is applicable to FDD / TDD systems. The technical solution disclosed by the communication system 200 is applicable not only to low frequency scenarios (sub 6G) but also to high frequency scenarios (above 6 GHz), terahertz, optical communication, etc.

[0097] The technical solution disclosed by the communication system 200 can also be applied to a scenario in which a terminal device is connected to a single base station. The base station connected by the terminal device and the CN connected by the base station are of the same standard. For example, the CN is a 5G core, the base station is a 5G base station, and the 5G base station is connected to the 5G core.

[0098] The technical solution disclosed by the communication system 200 can also be applied to a macro-micro scenario in which base stations of different forms are included in a communication network, for example, a satellite, an air balloon station, an unmanned aerial vehicle station, etc.

[0099] The technical solution disclosed by the communication system 200 is also applicable to a scenario in which a wide coverage base station and a small coverage base station exist simultaneously.

[0100] The technical solution disclosed by the communication system 200 can be applied to a scenario in which there is a high reliability service requirement, for example, a port, an industrial manufacturing, a transportation and a coal mine, etc.

[0101] The technical solutions disclosed by the communication system 200 can also be applied to 5.5G and future communication networks, and applicable scenarios include but are not limited to ground cellular communication, NTN, satellite communication, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication, V2X, integrated access and backhaul (IAB), and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) communication scenarios.

[0102] Hereinafter, the communication system 200 is taken as an example of application in a 5G network architecture for description.

[0103] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture 300. As shown in FIG. 3, the 5G network architecture 300 can include:

[0104] 1. An access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0105] The AMF mainly performs functions such as mobility management or access authentication / authorization. In addition, the AMF is also responsible for transferring user policies between a terminal device and a policy control function (PCF) network element. In addition, the AMF can receive non-access layer (NAS) signaling (including mobility management (MM) signaling and session management (SM) signaling) of a terminal device and related signaling of an access network device (for example, next generation (NG) 2 interface signaling of a base station interacting with the AMF), complete the registration process of a user and the forwarding of SM signaling, and perform mobility management.

[0106] 2. A session management function (SMF).

[0107] The SMF is mainly used for session management, IP address allocation and management of a terminal device, selection of a manageable user plane function, a terminal point of a policy control and charging function interface, and downlink data notification. The SMF can also be used to complete processes such as establishment, release, and update related to a PDU session.

[0108] 3. A PCF.

[0109] The PCF is responsible for user policy management, including mobility-related policies and PDU session-related policies, such as QoS policies, charging policies, and the like.

[0110] 4. Unified data repository (UDR).

[0111] The UDR mainly includes the following functions:

[0112] 1) The unified data management (UDM) stores or reads subscription data;

[0113] 2) The PCF stores or reads policy data;

[0114] 3) The exposed data is stored or read therefrom.

[0115] The UDR and the NFs accessing it have the same PLMN, that is, the Nudr interface is an intra-PLMN interface under the same network.

[0116] 5. UDM.

[0117] The UDM mainly includes the following functions: unified data management, support for authentication credential processing in the 3GPP authentication and key agreement mechanism, user identity processing, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, and short message management.

[0118] 6. Application function (AF).

[0119] The AF mainly includes the following functions: interacting with the 3GPP core network to provide services or services, including: interacting with the NEF, interacting with the policy architecture, and the like.

[0120] 7. User plane function (UPF).

[0121] The UPF is an interface with a data network, and performs functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / stream-based charging statistics, bandwidth limitation, and the like. That is, packet routing and forwarding, and QoS processing of user plane data.

[0122] 8. (Radio) access network (R)AN.

[0123] The (R)AN can manage radio resources, provide access services for terminal devices, and complete data forwarding between terminal devices and core networks. The (R)AN can also be understood as a base station, and specific details can be referred to the foregoing description.

[0124] 9. Data network (DN) (may be replaced by AS).

[0125] The DN is used to provide, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services.

[0126] The network element described above can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on a dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). The functional network element described above can be divided into one or more services, and further, services independent of network functions can also exist. The instance of the functional network element, or the instance of the service included in the functional network element, or the instance of the service independent of the network function can be referred to as a service instance.

[0127] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device accesses the 5GS through the access network device, the terminal device communicates with the AMF through the NG1 interface (N1 for short), the access network device communicates with the AMF through the NG2 interface (N2 for short), the access network device communicates with the UPF through the NG3 interface (N3 for short), the AMF communicates with the SMF through the NG11 interface (N11 for short), the AMF communicates with the UDM through the NG8 interface (N8 for short), the AMF communicates with the PCF through the NG15 interface (N15 for short), the SMF communicates with the PCF through the NG7 interface (N7 for short), the SMF communicates with the UPF through the NG4 interface (N4 for short), the UPF accesses the DN through the NG6 interface (N6 for short), the UDM communicates with the UDR through the NG35 interface (N35 for short), the PCF communicates with the UDR through the NG36 interface (N36 for short), and the like.

[0128] The name of each network element shown in FIG. 3 is only a name, and the name does not constitute a limitation on the function of the network element itself. In the 5G network and future communication networks, the network elements described above can also be other names, which are not limited. For example, in future communication networks, part or all of the network elements described above can use the terms in 5G, or other names, and the like. Here, the unified description is as follows, and the following will not be described again.

[0129] The 5G network structure 300 is only an example description, and the 5G network structure 300 can also include other network elements not mentioned, such as an authentication server function network element (AUSF), a network element function network element (NEF), and a network function repository function network element (NRF).

[0130] In addition, the "network element" in this document can also be referred to as a network function instance (network function instance, NF), a device, an apparatus, or a module, etc., which is not particularly limited in this application. In addition, the above-mentioned naming is only defined for the convenience of distinguishing different functions, and should not constitute any limitation. This application does not exclude the possibility of using other names in 5G networks and future other networks. The interface name between the above-mentioned various network elements is only an example, and the name of the interface in the specific implementation can be other names, which are not specifically limited. In addition, the name of the message (or signaling) transmitted between the above-mentioned various network elements is also only an example, and does not constitute any limitation on the function of the message itself.

[0131] In the 5G network architecture 300, the terminal device or the AS can be the first apparatus, and the UPF or the RAN node can be the second apparatus. There are various combinations between the first apparatus and the second apparatus, for example, the first apparatus is the terminal device, and the second apparatus is the RAN node; or the first apparatus is the AS, and the second apparatus is the RAN node; or the first apparatus is the terminal device, and the second apparatus is the UPF; or the first apparatus is the AS, and the second apparatus is the UPF, etc. In the case where no special description is made, the first apparatus and the second apparatus are described below as an example.

[0132] The information interaction between the first apparatus and the second apparatus is described below.

[0133] For the convenience of understanding and description, the communication method of the embodiments of the application is described below by taking the interaction between the first apparatus and the second apparatus as an example, but this should not constitute any limitation on the execution subject of the communication method. For example, the method executed by the apparatus (such as the first apparatus and / or the second apparatus) can also be executed by the module (such as the circuit, the chip or the chip system, etc.) in the apparatus, and can also be implemented by a logic node, a logic module or software which can realize all or part of the function of the apparatus, which is not limited.

[0134] FIG. 4 is an interaction flow diagram of the communication method 400 of the embodiments of the application. As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes:

[0135] S401, the first apparatus determines the first information.

[0136] The first information indicates the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time. For example, the first information indicates the first timestamp and the first time, such as <first timestamp, first time>. A possible example, the value of the first timestamp is 100, and the value of the first time is 9:40, such as <100, 9:40>.

[0137] In the embodiments of the present application, the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time can also be replaced by an association or mapping relationship, and the like, and is not limited in this regard. In addition, the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time can also exist in the form of a table, a function, text or a string, such as storage or transmission.

[0138] The first timestamp is a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to the first data packet (see the description of the timestamp above), for example, the application layer corresponding to the first data packet can determine a specific time for parsing the first data packet / data frame or a specific time for playing the result after parsing the first data packet / data frame according to the first timestamp. The first time is a time used in a communication network (hereinafter referred to as a communication time), or the first time can also be understood as a reference time value used in the communication network, such as a universal time coordinated (UTC) time value, or the first time can be understood as a time in a time system used by the communication network. The first data packet can be an actual transmitted data packet, or a virtual data packet, which can be understood as a data packet not actually generated by the application layer.

[0139] For example, the data packet 1 is an actual transmitted data packet, the first data packet is the data packet 1, the timestamp value of the data packet 1 is 100, the communication time corresponding to the data packet 1 is 9:40, the first timestamp value is 100, and the first time is 9:40.

[0140] For example, the data packet 1 and the data packet 2 are both actual transmitted data packets, the first data packet is a virtual data packet determined based on the data packet 1 and the data packet 2, the timestamp value of the data packet 1 is 100, the communication time corresponding to the data packet 1 is 9:40, the timestamp value of the data packet 2 is 200, the communication time corresponding to the data packet 2 is 9:50, the first timestamp value is 150 (the average value of the sum of the timestamp value of the data packet 1 and the timestamp value of the data packet 2), and the first time is 9:45 (the average value of the sum of the communication time corresponding to the data packet 1 and the communication time corresponding to the data packet 2).

[0141] In other words, there is a correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time, which can be seen from FIG. 5.

[0142] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a correspondence relationship 500 between a timestamp and a communication time according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the timestamp 1 corresponds to the communication time T1, and the timestamp 2 corresponds to the communication time T2. The value of the timestamp 1 is less than the value of the timestamp 2, and the communication time T1 is before the communication time T2. When the timestamp 1, the timestamp 2, and the communication time T1 are known parameters, the second device can determine the communication time T2 according to the timestamp 1, the timestamp 2, and the communication time T1.

[0143] In an embodiment of the present application, the timestamp carried in the data packet can be used by the first device to play or parse the data packet. Therefore, the communication time corresponding to the timestamp included in each data packet can be the playing time or the parsing time of the data packet, and the like. For example, the first time is the communication time at which the first device plays or parses the first data packet.

[0144] In one possible implementation, the type of the first time is a time in a network time protocol (NTP) or a time in a 3GPP communication system. The NTP time refers to a time obtained by synchronizing to an NTP server or an NTP clock source through an NTP protocol. Generally, the NTP clock source is a UTC time, and a device can obtain the UTC time from an atomic clock, an observatory, a satellite, or an NTP server deployed on the Internet through the NTP protocol.

[0145] For example, the first time is a time in a 3GPP communication system, such as a 5G time or a time used in a future communication network.

[0146] When the first time is a 5G time or a time used in a future communication network, the first time can be represented by at least one of a system frame number (SFN), a slot index, or a symbol index.

[0147] When the first time is a 5G time or a time used in a future communication network, the first time can also be a 5G reference time or a reference time used in a future communication network, such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or a UTC time.

[0148] For example, the first time is a time in an NTP. The time in the NTP has a corresponding relationship with the time in the 3GPP communication system, that is, the time in the NTP can be replaced by the time in the 3GPP communication system, or the time in the 3GPP communication system can be replaced by the time in the NTP, and the specific replacement manner is not limited.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the first time can be used by the second device to schedule the data packets, or the second device can schedule the received data packets according to the first time based on the time stamp included in each data packet. For example, the first time is one of the submission deadline of the first data packet and the generation time of the first data packet.

[0150] For example, the first time is the submission deadline of the first data packet. The second device can determine, according to the first time, that the communication time corresponding to the time stamp included in each data packet is the submission deadline of the data packet, and schedule the data packet according to the submission deadline of the data packet. For example, the second device transmits the data packet to the terminal device before the submission deadline of the data packet, or the terminal device receives the data packet before the submission deadline of the data packet.

[0151] For example, the first time is the generation time of the first data packet. The second device can determine, according to the first time, that the communication time corresponding to the time stamp included in each data packet is the generation time, and schedule the data packet according to the generation time of the data packet. For example, the second device transmits the data packet to the terminal device before the generation time of the data packet plus the time delay budget of the data packet, or the terminal device receives the data packet before the generation time of the data packet plus the time delay budget of the data packet.

[0152] Optionally, the sum of the generation time of the data packet and the time delay budget of the data packet can be equal to the submission deadline of the data packet.

[0153] The submission deadline described above is related to the playing time or the parsing time described above. For example, the submission deadline can be the playing time or the parsing time, or the submission deadline can be a time before the playing time or the parsing time.

[0154] In one possible implementation, the first time is a time obtained by deducting the minimum processing time △t of the terminal device from the time of successfully receiving the first data packet by the access layer (such as the physical (PHY) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, or the like) of the terminal device to the time of parsing / playing the first data packet by the upper layer, or the first time is a time obtained by not deducting the minimum processing time △t of the terminal device from the time of successfully receiving the first data packet by the access layer of the terminal device to the time of parsing / playing the first data packet by the upper layer.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the first time is a time outside of a minimum processing time △t for the access layer of the terminal device to submit the first data packet to the upper layer and for the upper layer to parse / play the first data packet, or the first time is a time outside of a minimum processing time △t for the access layer of the terminal device to submit the first data packet to the upper layer and for the upper layer to parse / play the first data packet without the access layer of the terminal device.

[0156] For example, the first time is a time outside of a minimum processing time △t for the access layer of the terminal device to successfully receive the first data packet and for the upper layer to parse / play the first data packet, △t = 2 ms, and the communication time T2 is 9:50. The second device schedules the data packet corresponding to the time stamp 2 according to the communication time T2, for example, the communication time T2 is the submission deadline of the data packet corresponding to the time stamp 2, and the second device sends the data packet corresponding to the time stamp 2 to the terminal device before 9:50.

[0157] For example, the first time is a time outside of a minimum processing time △t for the access layer of the terminal device to successfully receive the first data packet and for the upper layer to parse / play the first data packet, △t = 2 ms, and the communication time T2 is 9:50. The second device schedules the data packet corresponding to the time stamp 2 according to the communication time T2 and △t, for example, the communication time T2 is the submission deadline of the data packet corresponding to the time stamp 2, and the second device sends the data packet corresponding to the time stamp 2 to the terminal device before 9:49:998 ms, and the terminal device can successfully play or parse the data packet at 9:50.

[0158] Optionally, △t can be preconfigured or indicated. For example, the first device sends information indicating △t to the second device, and the second device determines △t according to the information.

[0159] In this way, when the first device indicates the correspondence between the first time and the first time stamp to the second device, the second device can determine the scheduling time of the data packet according to △t and the first time.

[0160] Optionally, the first information can also indicate a service identifier (such as a QoS flow identifier, or a PDU session identifier and a QoS flow identifier, or a bearer identifier, or a logical channel identifier, etc.). The first data packet and the second data packet correspond to a service corresponding to the service identifier. In this way, the first device can indicate the service flow to which the correspondence between the first time stamp and the first time is applicable through the service identifier.

[0161] S402, the first device sends first information to the second device. Correspondingly, the second device receives the first information.

[0162] S403, the second device receives a second data packet, and the second data packet comprises a second timestamp. The second timestamp is a time parameter used in an application layer corresponding to the second data packet.

[0163] S404, the second device schedules the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp.

[0164] In the embodiments of the present application, the scheduling includes but is not limited to the sending of the data packet, the indication or determination of the sending time of the data packet, etc.

[0165] For example, when the second device is a RAN node, the second device schedules the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp, which includes that the RAN node sends the second data packet to the terminal device according to the first information and the second timestamp.

[0166] For example, when the second device is a UPF, the second device schedules the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp, which includes that the UPF sends the second data packet to the RAN node according to the first information and the second timestamp, and the RAN node sends the second data packet to the terminal device.

[0167] When the second device is a UPF, the UPF schedules the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp, which can also include that the UPF determines the remaining time of the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp, and indicates the remaining time of the second data packet to the RAN node, and the RAN node sends the second data packet to the terminal device according to the remaining time of the second data packet.

[0168] Through the above scheme, the second device can schedule the received second data packet comprising the second timestamp according to the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time, which can support flexible scheduling of the data packet, and thus better guarantee the latency requirement of the service.

[0169] For example, when the second data packet arrives at the RAN node earlier than the expected time, the RAN node (an example of the second device) schedules according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the RAN node sending the second data packet to the terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), which can better guarantee the latency requirement of the service. Correspondingly, after the RAN node receives the data packet in advance, it can have more time to send the data packet, which relaxes the time requirement for scheduling the data packet in the air interface, which can also support improving the utilization rate of air interface resources.

[0170] When the second data packet arrives at the RAN node later than the expected time, the RAN node schedules according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the RAN node sending the second data packet to the terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0171] For example, when the second data packet arrives at the core network element earlier than the expected time, the core network element (an example of the second device) can schedule according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the core network element sending the second data packet to the RAN node in advance (before the CN PSDB), and the RAN node can also send the second data packet to the terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the data packet in advance, which can have more time to transmit the data packet, or can send the data packet in advance, thereby relaxing the time requirement for scheduling the data packet on the air interface, and can support improving the utilization rate of air interface resources.

[0172] When the second data packet arrives at the core network element later than the expected time, the core network element can schedule according to the communication time corresponding to the second timestamp carried by the second data packet, which can support the core network element sending the second data packet to the RAN node in advance (before the CN PSDB), and the RAN node can also send the second data packet to the terminal device in advance (before the AN PSDB), which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0173] In summary, when the second device can flexibly schedule the received data packet including the timestamp according to the correspondence between the timestamp and the communication time, it can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0174] In one possible implementation, the second device scheduling the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp can include:

[0175] The second device determines the second time according to the first information and the second timestamp.

[0176] The second device schedules the second data packet according to the second time.

[0177] In this way, the second device can determine the second time corresponding to the second timestamp according to the second timestamp carried in the second data packet and the correspondence between the first timestamp and the first time indicated by the first information, and flexibly schedule the second data packet according to the second time, thereby being able to support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the second device determines the second time according to the first information and the second timestamp, which can include:

[0179] The second device determines the sampling frequency corresponding to the first timestamp.

[0180] The second device determines the second time according to the first timestamp, the first time, the sampling frequency corresponding to the first timestamp, and the second timestamp.

[0181] For example, the second time = the first time + (the second timestamp - the first timestamp) / the sampling frequency. The sampling frequency is used to represent the length of time represented by the value of the timestamp being incremented by 1. For example, the sampling frequency is 8000 Hz, and the length of time represented by the value of the timestamp being incremented by 1 is 1 / 8000 seconds.

[0182] For example, the value of the first timestamp is 1000, the value of the second timestamp is 9000, the first time is 9:00, the sampling frequency corresponding to the first timestamp is 8000 Hz, and the second time = 9:00 + (9000-1000) / 8000 Hz = 9:01.

[0183] In the embodiments of the present application, the sampling frequency corresponding to the first timestamp can be indicated by the first device to the second device, can be indicated by another device (for example, a core network element) to the second device, or can be preconfigured, and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0184] Through the above scheme, the second device can determine the second time, and thus can better guarantee the delay requirement of the service.

[0185] In a possible implementation, the second device schedules the second data packet according to the second time, which can include:

[0186] The second device determines the receiving time of the second data packet.

[0187] The second device schedules the second data packet according to the second time and the receiving time of the second data packet.

[0188] For example, the remaining time of the second data packet = the second time (the submission deadline of the second data packet) - the receiving time of the second data packet, or the remaining time of the second data packet = the second time (the generation time of the second data packet) + the delay budget of the second data packet - the receiving time of the second data packet, and the remaining time of the second data packet is used to indicate the remaining duration of the latest time for sending the second data packet to the terminal device.

[0189] When the second device determines the remaining time of the second data packet, the second device completes the scheduling of the second data packet within the remaining time of the second data packet, that is, the second device is a RAN node, and the RAN node sends the second data packet to the terminal device within the remaining time of the second data packet; when the second device is a UPF, the UPF indicates the remaining time of the second data packet to the RAN node, and the RAN node sends the second data packet to the terminal device according to the remaining time of the second data packet.

[0190] In one possible implementation, the second time can be used by the second device to schedule the second data packet, or the second device can schedule the second data packet according to the second time. For example, the second time is one of the submission deadline of the second data packet and the generation time of the second data packet.

[0191] For example, the second time includes the submission deadline of the second data packet. The second device performs transmission of the second data packet within a time difference between the second time and the reception time of the second data packet (which is the aforementioned remaining time of the second data packet).

[0192] For example, the second time includes the generation time of the second data packet. The second device performs transmission of the second data packet according to a time difference between the second time, the reception time of the second data packet, and the latency budget of the second data packet (which is the aforementioned remaining time of the second data packet).

[0193] In the embodiments of the present application, when the second time is the generation time of the second data packet, the second device can also schedule the second data packet according to the latency budget of the second data packet.

[0194] In one possible implementation, the method 400 can further include:

[0195] In S402a, the second device receives second information. The first device can send the second information to the second device, or other devices (such as network elements in the core network, such as SMF, etc.) can send the second information to the second device, which is not limited.

[0196] The second information indicates the latency budget of the second data packet. The second device schedules the second data packet according to the latency budget of the second data packet and the generation time of the second data packet.

[0197] For example, the second device determines the submission deadline of the second data packet = the first time + (the second timestamp - the first timestamp) / the sampling frequency + the PDB of the second data packet (which is the latency budget of the second data packet). The second device schedules the second data packet according to the submission deadline of the second data packet and the reception time of the second data packet.

[0198] Thus, when the second time indicates the generation time of the second data packet, the second device schedules the second data packet according to the generation time of the second data packet and the time delay budget of the second data packet, which can support meeting the time delay requirement of the service.

[0199] The method shown in FIG. 4 is further described below in combination with FIGS. 6-8.

[0200] FIG. 6 is an interaction flow diagram of a communication method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The UE is a first device, and the RAN node is a second device. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600 includes the following steps.

[0201] S601, a QoS flow is established between the UE, the RAN node, the UPF, and the AS.

[0202] For details, refer to the existing standards, which are not described herein.

[0203] Optionally, the UE or the AS sends information to the RAN node to indicate that the QoS flow is configured with the time delay guarantee requirement. The information to indicate that the QoS flow is configured with the time delay guarantee requirement can be the second information described above. Thus, the RAN node can determine the time delay budget of the second data packet.

[0204] Optionally, the core network element (such as the SMF) indicates to the RAN node that the service of the QoS flow has the PDB guarantee requirement. The information to indicate that the QoS flow is configured with the time delay guarantee requirement can be the second information described above. Thus, the RAN node can determine the time delay budget of the second data packet.

[0205] It should be noted that when the first time is the generation time of the first data packet, the UE or the AS or the core network element can indicate the second information to the RAN node. When the first time is the submission deadline of the first data packet, the UE or the AS or the core network element can not indicate the second information to the RAN node.

[0206] Optionally, the core network node indicates to the RAN node that the data packet of the service flow carries a timestamp or indicates the protocol type (such as the RTP protocol) used by the service (the data packet under the RTP protocol is configured with a timestamp). Thus, the RAN node determines that each data packet includes a timestamp.

[0207] S602, the UE sends fourth information to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the fourth information.

[0208] The fourth information indicates that the UE supports reporting the first information. The RAN node determines that the first information can be obtained from the UE according to the fourth information.

[0209] S603, the RAN node sends indication information 1 to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the indication information 1.

[0210] The indication information 1 indicates that the UE sends first information to the RAN node.

[0211] In one possible example, the indication information 1 is a radio resource control (RRC) message, which is used to configure the resource of the UE reporting the first information to the RAN node.

[0212] S604, the UE sends the first information to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the first information.

[0213] For example, the UE can send the first information to the RAN node according to the indication information 1.

[0214] Optionally, S605, the RAN node sends fifth information to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the fifth information.

[0215] The fifth information indicates that a second timestamp is configured for a second data packet, or the fifth information indicates that the second data packet needs to include the second timestamp, or the fifth information indicates that the data packet sent by the UPF to the RAN node needs to include a timestamp.

[0216] The RAN node can send the fifth information to the UPF through a control plane node (such as AMF, SMF) of the core network; or the RAN node sends the fifth information to the UPF directly, which is not limited.

[0217] Optionally, the fifth information can also be used for the RAN node to request the UPF to provide the timestamp of the QoS flow of a specified PDU session or the data packet of a specified PDU session. Or the RAN node can request the UPF to provide the timestamp of the QoS flow of a specified PDU session or the data packet of a specified PDU session through new information, which is not limited.

[0218] S606, the AS sends the second data packet to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the second data packet.

[0219] Specifically, the UPF can read the second timestamp in the second data packet, but the second timestamp is not located in the packet header of the second data packet.

[0220] S607, the UPF sends the second data packet to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the second data packet.

[0221] The UPF can carry the second timestamp in a packet header (e.g., a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP-U) header) of the second data packet when sending the second data packet to the RAN node.

[0222] The UPF can carry the corresponding timestamp in each data packet or only in the first packet of the PDU set or data burst, which is not limited. When the UPF carries the timestamp only in the first data packet of the PDU set or data burst, the timestamp can correspond to the submission deadline or generation time of the last data packet in the PDU set or data burst.

[0223] S608, the RAN node sends the second data packet to the UE according to the first information and the second timestamp. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second data packet.

[0224] The description of S608 can refer to the description of S404, and will not be repeated.

[0225] Through the above method, the RAN node can determine the scheduling time (e.g., the second time described above) corresponding to each data packet, and can schedule the data packet based on the scheduling time, which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0226] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the execution order between the steps shown in FIG. 6, for example, S601 can be after S602. In addition, some steps in FIG. 6 are optional steps, for example, S602 and S603 are optional steps, and S605 is an optional step. Therefore, the content shown in FIG. 6 is only as an example, not as the final limit.

[0227] FIG. 6 is an example in which the UE reports the first information to the RAN node, but the scenario in which the AS reports the first information to the RAN node is not limited.

[0228] FIG. 7 is an interactive flow diagram of a communication method 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the AS is a first device, and the RAN node is a second device. The method 700 includes:

[0229] S701, the UE, the RAN node, the UPF, and the AS establish a QoS flow.

[0230] The description of S601 can be referred to, and will not be repeated.

[0231] S702, the AS sends the first information to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the first information.

[0232] Optionally, the RAN node sends fifth information to the UPF, S703. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the fifth information.

[0233] The AS sends the second data packet to the UPF, S704. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the second data packet.

[0234] The UPF sends the second data packet to the RAN node, S705. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the second data packet.

[0235] The RAN node sends the second data packet to the UE according to the first information and the second time stamp, S706. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second data packet.

[0236] The description of S706 can be referred to the description of S404, and will not be repeated here.

[0237] Through the above method, the RAN node can determine the scheduling time (such as the aforementioned second time) corresponding to each data packet, and can schedule the data packet based on the scheduling time, which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0238] It should be noted that the execution order between each step shown in FIG. 7 is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. For example, S701 can be after S702. In addition, some steps in FIG. 7 are optional steps, for example, S703 is an optional step. Therefore, the content shown in FIG. 7 is only as an example, not as the final limit.

[0239] FIGS. 6 and 7 take the RAN node receiving the first information as an example, but do not limit the scenario of the core network element receiving the first information. Please refer to FIG. 8.

[0240] FIG. 8 is an interactive flow diagram of a communication method 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the UE is a first device, and the UPF is a second device. The method 800 includes:

[0241] S801, the UE, the RAN node, the UPF, and the AS establish a QoS flow.

[0242] The description of S601 can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0243] S802, the UE sends the fourth information.

[0244] The UE can send the fourth information to the UPF or the RAN node, or send the fourth information to other network elements in the core network (such as the AMF or the SMF, etc.). When the UE sends the fourth information to other network elements in the core network, the other network elements can forward the fourth information to the UPF, or when the UE sends the fourth information to the RAN node, the RAN node can forward the fourth information to the UPF, which is not limited.

[0245] S803, the UE receives the indication information 1.

[0246] For example, the core network element (such as the ASM, the SMF, or the UPF, etc.) sends the indication information 1 to the UE, such as the core network element sending the indication information 1 to the RAN node, and the RAN node sending the indication information 1 to the UE.

[0247] S804, the UE sends the first information to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first information.

[0248] For example, the UE sends the first information to the core network element through non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, and the core network element sends the first information to the UPF.

[0249] For example, the UE sends the first information to the RAN through the air interface, and the RAN node sends the first information to the UPF.

[0250] S805, the AS sends the second data packet to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the second data packet. The second data packet is configured with a second timestamp.

[0251] S806, the UPF sends the third information to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the third information.

[0252] The third information indicates the remaining time of the second data packet, and the remaining time of the second data packet is used to indicate the remaining duration of the latest time for sending the second data packet to the terminal device.

[0253] Specifically, the UPF can determine the second time according to the first information and the second timestamp, and determine the remaining time of the second data packet according to the second time.

[0254] For example, the remaining time of the second data packet = the second time (the submission deadline of the second data packet) - the receiving time of the second data packet (which can be the time when the RAN node receives the second data packet (the UPF can determine the time when the RAN node receives the second data packet, and the implementation is not limited), or the time when the UPF receives the second data packet, which is not limited).

[0255] For example, the remaining time of the second data packet = the second time (the generation time of the second data packet) + the time delay budget of the second data packet - the receiving time of the second data packet (which can be the time when the RAN node receives the second data packet (the UPF can determine the time when the RAN node receives the second data packet, and the implementation is not limited), or the time when the UPF receives the second data packet, and the implementation is not limited).

[0256] When the receiving time of the second data packet is the time when the UPF receives the second data packet, the RAN node can determine the time when the UPF sends the second data packet to the RAN node (the implementation is not limited), and can schedule the second data packet according to the time when the UPF sends the second data packet to the RAN node and the remaining time of the second data packet.

[0257] For example, the third information indicates the specific remaining time of the second data packet, such as 5 ms, or indicates a remaining time level, such as three levels 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the remaining time 0-5 ms, 5-10 ms, and 10-15 ms, respectively.

[0258] Optionally, the third information can also indicate the second time. The RAN node can complete the scheduling of the second data packet according to the second time. The RAN node does not need to determine the second time according to the correspondence between the time stamp and the communication time and the second time stamp, which can reduce the processing power consumption of the RAN node.

[0259] S807, the UPF sends the second data packet to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the second data packet.

[0260] The UPF can send the third information and the second data packet to the RAN node at the same time, or separately, and the implementation is not limited. In addition, the third information and the second data packet can be located in the same message or different messages, and the implementation is not limited.

[0261] S808, the RAN node sends the second data packet to the UE according to the third information. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second data packet.

[0262] When the third information indicates the remaining time of the second data packet, the RAN node sends the second data packet to the UE within the remaining time of the second data packet.

[0263] When the third information indicates the second time (for example, the submission deadline), the RAN node sends the second data packet to the UE according to the time difference between the second time and the receiving time of the second data packet (which is the time when the RAN receives the second data packet).

[0264] Through the above method, the UPF can determine the scheduling time (such as the aforementioned residual time) corresponding to each data packet, and can schedule the data packet based on the scheduling time, which can support better guarantee of the latency requirement of the service.

[0265] It should be noted that the execution sequence between each step shown in FIG. 8 is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. For example, S807 can be performed before or at the same time as S806. In addition, some steps in FIG. 8 are optional steps, for example, S802 and S803 are optional steps. Therefore, the content shown in FIG. 8 is only as an example, not as the final limit.

[0266] FIG. 8 takes the UPF indicating the third information to the RAN node as an example, but other possible schemes are not limited. For example, the UPF maps data packets with different residual times to different QoS flows, that is, different QoS flows correspond to different residual times, and the RAN node schedules the data packets according to the QoS flow. For example, when the RAN node receives the second data packet from the UPF, the RAN node schedules the second data packet according to the QoS flow corresponding to the second data packet. In this way, it can also support guaranteeing the latency requirement of the service.

[0267] Optionally, on the N3 interface transmitted by the UPF to the RAN, the core network can flexibly adjust the forwarding priority of the data packet based on the residual time of the data packet.

[0268] For example, the UPF determines the forwarding priority of the second data packet according to the residual time of the second data packet, and can perform forwarding processing of the second data packet according to the forwarding priority of the second data packet. For example, when the air interface residual time of the second data packet is insufficient (such as less than a certain time threshold), the UPF can increase the forwarding priority of the second data packet, thereby shortening the transmission time of the second data packet on the N3 interface, so as to reserve a longer time for the air interface transmission of the second data packet.

[0269] Optionally, when the UPF determines the residual time of the second data packet, the UPF can also adjust the forwarding priority of the second data packet, so as to support shortening the transmission time of the second data packet on the N3 interface, and reserving a longer time for the air interface transmission of the second data packet.

[0270] FIGS. 6-8 take the RAN node performing scheduling of the data packet as an example for description, and the content shown in FIGS. 6-8 can also be applied to the scenario of CU-DU separation architecture. Taking FIG. 6 as an example, the CU can determine the residual time of the second data packet and determine the scheduling strategy of the second data packet, and the DU can also determine the residual time of the second data packet and determine the scheduling strategy of the second data packet. When the CU forwards the second data packet to the DU through the F1 interface, the second data packet includes the second timestamp when the residual time of the second data packet is determined by the DU.

[0271] In summary, the second device can schedule the received data packet including the time stamp according to the correspondence between the time stamp and the communication time, which can support flexible scheduling of the data packet, thereby supporting better guarantee of the latency guarantee requirement of the service.

[0272] In summary, the above technical solutions are not only applicable to the scenario of non-CU-DU separation architecture, but also applicable to the scenario of CU-DU separation architecture.

[0273] To implement the functions in the method provided in the present application, the first device and the second device can each include a hardware structure and / or a software module to implement the above functions in the form of hardware structure, software module, or hardware structure plus software module. Whether a certain function in the above functions is executed in the form of hardware structure, software module, or hardware structure plus software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solutions.

[0274] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 900 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 900 includes a processing circuit 910 and a transceiver circuit 920, which can be connected or coupled to each other, such as through a bus 930. The communication device 900 can be the first device or the second device.

[0275] Optionally, the communication device 900 can further include a memory 940. The memory 940 includes, but is not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). The memory 940 is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of realizing a storage function, used for storing computer programs or instructions, and / or data.

[0276] The processing circuit 910 can be all or part of one or more processors, or be one or more processors. The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU). In the case where the processing circuit 910 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU. The processing circuit 910 can be a signal processor, a chip, or other integrated circuit that can implement the method of the present application, or part of the foregoing processor, chip, or integrated circuit for processing functions. In addition, the transceiver circuit 920 can also be a transceiver, or an input / output interface, an input / output interface for input or output of signals or data, and can also be referred to as an input / output circuit.

[0277] When the communication apparatus 900 is the first apparatus, the processing circuit 910 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: determining the first information, and transmitting the first information, etc.

[0278] When the communication apparatus 900 is the second apparatus, the processing circuit 910 is configured to perform the following operations, for example: receiving the first information and the second data packet; and scheduling the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp, etc.

[0279] When the communication apparatus 900 is the first apparatus or the second apparatus, it will be responsible for performing the methods or steps related to the first apparatus or the second apparatus in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0280] When the communication apparatus 900 is the first apparatus or the second apparatus, the transceiver circuit 920 can be a transceiver.

[0281] When the communication apparatus 900 is a chip for the first apparatus or the second apparatus, the transceiver circuit 920 can be an input / output circuit.

[0282] The foregoing description is only an exemplary description. The specific content can be referred to the content shown in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0283] The implementation of each operation in FIG. 9 can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 8.

[0284] FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 1000 can be a first apparatus or a second apparatus, and be configured to implement the method described in the foregoing embodiments. The communication apparatus 1000 includes a transceiving unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020. The transceiving unit 1010 can include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit is configured to perform the transmitting action of the communication apparatus, and the receiving unit is configured to perform the receiving action of the communication apparatus. For ease of description, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are combined into one transceiving unit in the embodiments of the present application. This is uniformly described here, and will not be described again hereinafter.

[0285] When the communication apparatus 1000 is the first device, the transceiver 1010 is configured to transmit the first information, and the processing unit 1020 is configured to determine the first information, and the like.

[0286] When the communication apparatus 1000 is the second device, the transceiver 1010 is configured to receive the first information and the second data packet, and the processing unit 1020 is configured to schedule the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp, and the like.

[0287] When the communication apparatus 1000 is the first device or the second device, it will be responsible for performing one or more of the methods or steps related to the first device or the second device in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0288] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1000 further includes a storage unit 1030 configured to store programs or codes for executing the foregoing methods.

[0289] The transceiver in FIG. 10 can correspond to the transceiver circuit in FIG. 9, and the processing unit in FIG. 10 can correspond to the processing circuit in FIG. 9.

[0290] The apparatus embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are used to implement the content described in FIGS. 4 to 8. The specific execution steps of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 and the method can refer to the content described in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0291] The present application also provides a chip including a processor, which is configured to call and run instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device installed with the chip executes the method in each of the examples described above. The memory can be integrated in the chip, or located outside the chip.

[0292] The present application also provides another chip including an input interface, an output interface, and a processing circuit, wherein the input interface, the output interface, and the processing circuit are connected through internal connection paths, and the processing circuit is configured to execute codes in a memory, and when the codes are executed, the processing circuit is configured to execute the method in each of the examples described above.

[0293] Optionally, the chip further includes a memory configured to store computer programs or codes. The input interface and the output interface can be independent of each other, or can be integrated into an input-output interface.

[0294] The processing circuit can be all or part of one or more processors, or one or more processors.

[0295] The present application also provides a processor configured to be coupled with a memory, and configured to execute the method and functions related to the network device or the terminal device in any of the embodiments described above.

[0296] In another embodiment of the present application, a computer program product containing instructions which, when the computer program product is executed by a computer, implements the method of the preceding embodiments is provided.

[0297] The present application also provides a computer program which, when executed by a computer, implements the method of the preceding embodiments.

[0298] In another embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by a computer, implements the method of the preceding embodiments is provided.

[0299] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0300] In addition, the processor can include one or a combination of a central processing unit (CPU), a baseband processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a micro processing unit (MPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or a neural network processor (Neural Processing Unit, NPU).

[0301] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be volatile or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or flash memory, among others. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM), among others. It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, among others, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0302] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially 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 transferred 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 a wired or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. 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. containing one or more available medium collections. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid state disk.

[0303] It should be understood that the size of the sequence number of each process described above in various embodiments of the present application 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.

[0304] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0305] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there can be another division manner for the actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between different units, or the among different units, can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0306] The units described as separated components can or can not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purposes of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0307] If the above functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disk or optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0308] Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized in electronic hardware or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are executed in hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solutions. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: receiving first information, the first information indicating a correspondence between a first timestamp and a first time, the first time being a reference time used by a communication network, the first timestamp being a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to a first data packet; receiving a second data packet, the second data packet comprising a second timestamp; scheduling the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The scheduling of the second data packet according to the first information and the second timestamp comprises: determining a second time according to the first information and the second timestamp, the second time being a time used by the communication network; scheduling the second data packet according to the second time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determination of the second time according to the first information and the second timestamp comprises: determining a sampling frequency corresponding to the first timestamp; determining the second time according to the sampling frequency, the first timestamp, the second timestamp and the first time.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The second time comprises one of a submission deadline of the second data packet and a generation time of the second data packet.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The second time comprises the generation time of the second data packet, and the scheduling of the second data packet according to the second time comprises: receiving second information, the second information indicating a time delay budget of the second data packet; scheduling the second data packet according to the second information and the second time.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: determining a remaining time of the second data packet according to the second time, the remaining time of the second data packet indicating a remaining duration of a latest time for sending the second data packet to a terminal device; sending third information, the third information indicating the remaining time of the second data packet.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The receiving of the first information comprises: receiving the first information from a terminal device; or receiving the first information from an application server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The receiving of the first information from the terminal device comprises: receiving fourth information from the terminal device, the fourth information indicating that the terminal device supports reporting the first information; sending indication information to the terminal device, the indication information indicating that the terminal device reports the first information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before the receiving of the second data packet, the method further comprises: sending fifth information, the fifth information indicating that the second timestamp is configured for the second data packet.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The first time comprises one of a submission deadline of the first data packet and a generation time of the first data packet.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The second timestamp is a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to the second data packet.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The type of the first time is at least one of a time in a network time protocol and a time in a third generation partnership project network protocol, and the type of the second time is the same as the type of the first time.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The first timestamp and the second timestamp are both timestamps in a real-time transport protocol.

14. A communication method, comprising: The method comprises: determining first information, the first information indicating a correspondence between a first timestamp and a first time, the first time being a reference time used by a communication network, the first timestamp being a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to a first data packet; sending the first information, the first information being used for scheduling of a second data packet, the second data packet comprising a second timestamp.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, the first information being used for scheduling of a second data packet, comprising: the first information and the second timestamp being used for determining a second time, the second time being used for scheduling of the second data packet.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, the second time comprising one of a submission deadline of the second data packet and a generation time of the second data packet.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that, the second time comprising the generation time of the second data packet, the method further comprising: sending second information, the second information indicating a time delay budget of the second data packet.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that, the sending the first information, comprising: sending fourth information, the fourth information indicating that reporting the first information is supported; receiving indication information, the indication information indicating that the first information is reported; sending the first information according to the indication information.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, the first time comprising one of a submission deadline of the first data packet and a generation time of the first data packet.

20. The method of any one of claims 15-19, wherein, the second timestamp being a time parameter used by an application layer corresponding to the second data packet.

21. The method of any one of claims 15-20, wherein, the first time being of a type of at least one of a time in a network time protocol and a time in a third generation partnership project network protocol, the second time being of a same type as the first time.

22. The method of any one of claims 14 to 21, wherein, the first timestamp and the second timestamp both being timestamps in a real-time transport protocol.

23. A communications device, characterized by a processor configured to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22 by executing computer programs or instructions, or by logic circuitry.

24. The communication apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, the communication apparatus further comprising a memory configured to store the computer programs or instructions.

25. The communication apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein, the communication apparatus further comprising a communication interface configured to input and / or output signals.

26. A communications device, characterized by logic circuitry and an input / output interface configured to input and / or output signals, the logic circuitry being configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer programs or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 22 to be performed.

28. A computer program product, characterised in that, a computer program product tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine more particularly a processor, the machine more particularly the processor being caused to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

29. A chip, characterized by a chip comprising one or more processors configured to execute computer programs or instructions in a memory, the chip being caused to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or the chip being caused to implement the method of any one of claims 14 to 22.

30. A chip system, characterized by comprising one or more processors for executing computer programs or instructions in a memory, such that the chip system implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or such that the chip system implements the method of any one of claims 14 to 22.

Images