Communication method, and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and an apparatus. The method comprises: acquiring a flow requirement of a service flow; acquiring DIP instance information, the DIP instance information comprising quality of service guarantee and / or remaining resources of at least one DIP instance, and each DIP instance corresponding to a preconfigured DIP transmission sub-network; and, on the basis of the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information, determining whether the service flow is admitted to a DIP transmission network. The technical solution provided in the present application can implement admission control of service flows on which DIP transmission needs to be executed.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410848077.8, filed on June 26, 2024, and entitled "A communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] Deterministic Internet Protocol (DIP) is a technical architecture of deterministic networking (DetNet) that can provide deterministic bearer services for services. It introduces a periodic scheduling mechanism for forwarding on the data plane and proposes an efficient path planning and resource allocation algorithm on the control plane, aiming to realize a large-scale scalable end-to-end deterministic low-latency network system.

[0004] Currently, some mobile communication systems do not support DIP, and lack mechanisms and processes for performing DIP transmission network admission control on service flows. How to perform admission control on service flows that need to perform DIP transmission is a problem that has not been solved. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which can implement admission control on service flows that need to perform DIP transmission.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, comprising:

[0007] obtaining flow requirements of a service flow;

[0008] obtaining DIP instance information, the DIP instance information comprising quality of service guarantees and / or remaining resources of at least one DIP instance, each DIP instance corresponding to a pre-configured DIP transmission network subnet;

[0009] determining whether the service flow is admitted to a DIP transmission network according to the flow requirements of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0010] In the method, the service flow can be understood as a service flow that needs to perform DIP transmission, the quality of service guarantee and / or the remaining resource of the DIP instance can be used to indicate an admission threshold of the DIP instance, and whether the flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the DIP instance can be determined according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information, so as to determine whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, thereby achieving the admission control of the service flow that needs to perform DIP transmission.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the quality of service guarantee and / or the remaining resource of the DIP instance are used to indicate the admission threshold of the DIP instance.

[0012] The determining whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information comprises:

[0013] If the at least one DIP instance includes at least one optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network; or

[0014] If the at least one DIP instance does not include the optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transmission network.

[0015] The optional DIP instance meets the following condition: the flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance.

[0016] In the above implementation, the optional DIP instance can be understood as a DIP instance that can admit the service flow, for a DIP instance, if the flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the DIP instance, the DIP instance can be an optional DIP instance. Whether the at least one DIP instance includes the optional DIP instance can be determined according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the admission threshold of the at least one DIP instance, if the at least one DIP instance includes the optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, and if the at least one DIP instance does not include the optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transmission network, thereby achieving the admission determination.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the flow requirement of the service flow includes one or more of a guaranteed bit rate, a packet delay budget, a maximum frame length, or a packet loss rate.

[0018] The admission threshold includes one or more of a remaining bandwidth resource, a delay guarantee, an allowed maximum transmission unit, or a packet loss rate guarantee.

[0019] The flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance includes one or more of the following:

[0020] the bandwidth resource corresponding to the guaranteed flow bit rate is less than or equal to the residual bandwidth resource of the optional DIP instance;

[0021] the latency requirement corresponding to the packet delay budget is greater than or equal to the latency guarantee of the optional DIP instance;

[0022] the transmission unit corresponding to the maximum frame length is less than or equal to the maximum transmission unit allowed by the optional DIP instance;

[0023] the packet loss rate corresponding to the packet loss rate is greater than or equal to the packet loss rate guarantee of the optional DIP instance.

[0024] In the above embodiments, some possible conditions for determining whether a DIP instance can be used as an optional DIP instance are provided, and the optional DIP instance can be accurately identified from the at least one DIP instance by using the above conditions.

[0025] In a possible embodiment, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the method further includes:

[0026] sending, to a storage network element of the DIP instance information, information indicating a target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance and is the DIP instance to which the service flow is admitted.

[0027] In the above embodiments, the target DIP instance can be understood as the DIP instance to which the service flow is finally confirmed to be admitted, or can be understood as the DIP instance to which the service flow will finally access. In a case where the execution subject of the above method is not the storage network element of the DIP instance information, the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow can be sent to the storage network element of the DIP instance information, so as to trigger the storage network element to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirements of the service flow, to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the storage network element.

[0028] In another possible embodiment, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the method further includes:

[0029] updating the information of a target DIP instance based on the flow requirements of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance and is the DIP instance to which the service flow is admitted.

[0030] In the above embodiments, when the execution subject of the method is a storage network element of DIP instance information, the information of the target DIP instance can be updated based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the storage network element.

[0031] Optionally, the above method can be applied to the 5th generation (5G) system side. For example, the above method can be executed by a user plane function (UPF), a radio access network (RAN), a session management function (SMF), or a policy control function (PCF).

[0032] Optionally, the above method can also be applied to the DIP transport network side. For example, the above method can be executed by a DIP transport network edge node or a DIP transport network controller (for example, a DetNet Controller).

[0033] Optionally, the DIP instance information can be stored on the 5G system side. For example, the UPF, the RAN, or a unified data repository (UDR) can serve as a storage network element of the DIP instance information.

[0034] Optionally, the DIP instance information can also be stored on the DIP transport network side. For example, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller can serve as a storage network element of the DIP instance information.

[0035] It should be understood that the communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is not limited to the 5G system, and the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, such as the 6th generation (6G) system or other future evolved communication systems.

[0036] In addition, the network elements (for example, the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, or the UDR) involved in the embodiments of the present application are exemplified by the names in the 5G system, and in other communication systems, the network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application can also have other names. Alternatively, in other communication systems, the network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other entities or devices with the same functions, and the present application does not limit this.

[0037] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which is applied to a UPF and includes:

[0038] The UPF receives flow requirements of the service flow from the SMF;

[0039] The UPF acquires DIP instance information stored by itself or receives DIP instance information from a DIP transport network edge node;

[0040] The UPF determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirements of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0041] In the above method, the UPF makes the admission determination. In one case, the UPF is the storage network element of the DIP instance information, so no additional interaction with the DIP transport network is needed. In another case, the DIP transport network edge node is the storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the DIP transport network edge node provides the DIP instance information to the UPF to help the UPF implement admission control.

[0042] In one possible implementation, in the case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0043] The UPF determines a target DIP instance and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0044] In the above implementation, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the DIP transport network edge node, and the UPF determines the target DIP instance. After the UPF determines the target DIP instance, it can send information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, so as to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirements of the service flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network edge node.

[0045] In another possible implementation, in the case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0046] The UPF receives information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF and sends the information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0047] In the above embodiments, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the DIP transport network edge node, the UPF can inform the SMF of the admission judgment result, and the SMF determines the target DIP instance and informs the UPF. After the UPF receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the UPF can forward the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, so as to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the service flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network edge node.

[0048] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0049] The UPF determines the target DIP instance and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0050] In the above embodiments, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UPF, and the UPF determines the target DIP instance. After the UPF determines the target DIP instance, the UPF can update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the UPF.

[0051] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0052] The UPF receives the information indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF, and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0053] In the above embodiments, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UPF, and the UPF can inform the SMF of the admission judgment result, and the SMF determines the target DIP instance and informs the UPF. After the UPF receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the UPF can update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the UPF.

[0054] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a RAN and includes:

[0055] The RAN receives the flow requirement of the service flow from the SMF.

[0056] The RAN acquires the DIP instance information stored by itself or receives the DIP instance information from the DIP transport network edge node;

[0057] The RAN determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0058] In the above method, the RAN makes the admission decision. In one case, the RAN is the storage network element of the DIP instance information, so no additional interaction with the DIP transport network is needed. In another case, the DIP transport network edge node is the storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the DIP transport network edge node provides the DIP instance information to the RAN to help the RAN implement admission control.

[0059] In one possible implementation, in the case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0060] The RAN determines a target DIP instance and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0061] In the above implementation, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the DIP transport network edge node, and the RAN determines the target DIP instance. After determining the target DIP instance, the RAN can send information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, so as to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the service flow, to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network edge node.

[0062] In another possible implementation, in the case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0063] The RAN receives information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF and sends the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the DIP transport network edge node, the RAN can inform the SMF of the admission judgment result, and the SMF determines the target DIP instance and informs the RAN. After the RAN receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the RAN can forward the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, so as to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the service flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network edge node.

[0065] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0066] The RAN determines the target DIP instance and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the RAN, and the RAN determines the target DIP instance. After the RAN determines the target DIP instance, the RAN can update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the RAN.

[0068] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0069] The RAN receives the information indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF, and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0070] In the above embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the RAN, and the RAN can inform the SMF of the admission judgment result, and the SMF determines the target DIP instance and informs the RAN. After the RAN receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the RAN can update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the RAN.

[0071] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method is applied to an SMF, and includes:

[0072] The SMF receives DIP instance information from a UPF, a RAN, or a DIP transport network controller, or the SMF receives DIP instance information from a UDR through a PCF;

[0073] The SMF determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to a flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0074] In the above method, the flow requirement of the service flow is known to the SMF, and the SMF does not need to obtain the flow requirement of the service flow from other network elements, and the SMF makes the admission decision. In one case, the UPF, the RAN, or the UDR is a storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the UPF, the RAN, or the UDR provides the DIP instance information to the SMF to help the SMF implement admission control, so that no additional interaction with the DIP transport network is needed. In another case, the DIP transport network controller is a storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the DIP transport network controller provides the DIP instance information to the SMF to help the SMF implement admission control.

[0075] In one possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0076] The SMF determines a target DIP instance, and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and a flow requirement of the service flow to the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller.

[0077] In the above implementation, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller, and the SMF determines the target DIP instance. After the SMF determines the target DIP instance, the SMF can send information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller, so as to trigger the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the service flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller.

[0078] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0079] The SMF determines a target DIP instance, and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and a flow requirement of the service flow to the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller.

[0080] In the above embodiments, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UDR, and the target DIP instance is determined by the SMF. After the SMF determines the target DIP instance, the SMF can send, to the UDR through the PCF, information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow, so as to trigger the UDR to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirements of the service flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the UDR.

[0081] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a PCF and includes the following steps:

[0082] The PCF receives DIP instance information from a UDR.

[0083] The PCF determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network according to flow requirements of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0084] In the above method, the flow requirements of the service flow are known to the PCF, the PCF does not need to obtain the flow requirements of the service flow from other network elements, and the PCF makes the admission decision. The UDR is a storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the UDR provides the DIP instance information to the SMF to help the PCF to implement admission control, so that no additional interaction with the DIP transmission network is needed.

[0085] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the method further includes the following steps:

[0086] The PCF receives information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF, and sends the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the UDR.

[0087] In the above embodiments, the PCF can inform the SMF of the admission decision result, the SMF determines the target DIP instance and informs the PCF, and after the PCF receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the PCF can send the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the UDR, so as to trigger the UDR to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirements of the service flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the UDR.

[0088] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a DIP transmission network edge node and includes the following steps:

[0089] The DIP transmission network edge node receives flow requirements of a service flow from a UPF / RAN.

[0090] The DIP transmission network edge node obtains DIP instance information stored by itself.

[0091] The DIP transport network edge node determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0092] In the method, the DIP transport network edge node is a storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the admission judgment is made by the DIP transport network edge node. The UPF / RAN provides the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node to help the DIP transport network edge node to implement the admission control.

[0093] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0094] The DIP transport network edge node receives information indicating the target DIP instance from the UPF / RAN, and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0095] In the implementation, the target DIP instance can be determined by the UPF / RAN or the SMF, and the UPF / RAN can inform the DIP transport network edge node of the target DIP instance, or the SMF can inform the DIP transport network edge node of the target DIP instance through the UPF / RAN. After receiving the information indicating the target DIP instance, the DIP transport network edge node can update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so that the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network edge node can be ensured.

[0096] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a DIP transport network controller and includes:

[0097] The DIP transport network controller receives a flow requirement of a service flow from an SMF;

[0098] The DIP transport network controller acquires DIP instance information stored by itself;

[0099] The DIP transport network controller determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0100] In the method, the DIP transport network controller is a storage network element of the DIP instance information, and the admission judgment is made by the DIP transport network controller. The SMF provides the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network controller to help the DIP transport network controller to implement the admission control.

[0101] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the method further includes:

[0102] The DIP transport network controller receives information indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF, and updates information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0103] In the above implementation, the target DIP instance can be determined by the SMF and informed to the DIP transport network controller, and after the DIP transport network controller receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the information of the target DIP instance can be updated based on the flow requirement of the service flow, for example, the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance can be updated according to the guaranteed bit rate in the flow requirement, so as to ensure the accuracy of the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network controller.

[0104] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises a module or unit for performing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0106] The transceiver is configured to acquire a flow requirement of a service flow, and acquire DIP instance information, the DIP instance information comprising quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of at least one DIP instance, each DIP instance corresponding to a pre-configured DIP transport network subnetwork;

[0107] The processing unit is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0108] In a possible implementation, the quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance is used to indicate an admission threshold of the DIP instance.

[0109] The determination of whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information comprises:

[0110] If the at least one DIP instance comprises at least one optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network; or,

[0111] If the at least one DIP instance does not comprise the optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0112] The optional DIP instance meets the following condition: the flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance.

[0113] In a possible implementation, the flow requirement of the service flow comprises one or more of a guaranteed bit rate, a packet delay budget, a maximum frame length, or a packet loss rate;

[0114] The admission threshold comprises one or more of a residual bandwidth resource, a delay guarantee, a maximum transmission unit allowed, or a packet loss rate guarantee;

[0115] The flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance, comprising one or more of the following:

[0116] The bandwidth resource corresponding to the guaranteed bit rate is less than or equal to the residual bandwidth resource of the optional DIP instance;

[0117] The delay requirement corresponding to the packet delay budget is greater than or equal to the delay guarantee of the optional DIP instance;

[0118] The transmission unit corresponding to the maximum frame length is less than or equal to the maximum transmission unit allowed by the optional DIP instance;

[0119] The packet loss rate corresponding to the packet loss rate is greater than or equal to the packet loss rate guarantee of the optional DIP instance.

[0120] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver unit is further configured to:

[0121] send, to a storage network element of the DIP instance information, information indicating a target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance and is the DIP instance to which the service flow is admitted.

[0122] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0123] update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance and is the DIP instance to which the service flow is admitted.

[0124] Optionally, the above apparatus can be applied to the 5G system side. For example, the above apparatus can be applied to a user plane function (UPF), a radio access network (RAN), a session management function (SMF), or a policy control function (PCF).

[0125] Optionally, the above apparatus can also be applied to the DIP transport network side. For example, the above apparatus can be applied to a DIP transport network edge node or a DIP transport network controller (for example, a DetNet Controller).

[0126] Optionally, the DIP instance information can be stored on the 5G system side. For example, the UPF, the RAN, or a unified data repository (UDR) can serve as a storage network element of the DIP instance information.

[0127] Optionally, the DIP instance information can also be stored on the DIP transport network side. For example, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller can serve as a storage network element of the DIP instance information.

[0128] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which is applied to a UPF and includes a module or unit for performing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0129] In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus includes:

[0130] a transceiver, configured to receive a flow requirement of a service flow from an SMF, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself or receive the DIP instance information from a DIP transport network edge node;

[0131] a processing unit, configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0132] In a possible implementation manner, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to determine a target DIP instance.

[0133] The transceiver is further configured to send information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0134] In another possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF, and send the information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0135] In one possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to determine a target DIP instance, and update information of the target DIP instance based on flow requirements of the service flow.

[0136] In another possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF;

[0137] The processing unit is further configured to update information of the target DIP instance based on flow requirements of the service flow.

[0138] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which is applied to a RAN, and includes a module or unit for performing the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes:

[0140] a transceiver configured to receive flow requirements of a service flow from an SMF, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself or receive DIP instance information from a DIP transport network edge node;

[0141] a processing unit configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted to a DIP transport network according to the flow requirements of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0142] In one possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to determine a target DIP instance;

[0143] The transceiver is further configured to send information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0144] In another possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF, and send the information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

[0145] In a possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to: determine a target DIP instance, and update information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0146] In another possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver is further configured to: receive, from the SMF, information indicating the target DIP instance.

[0147] The processing unit is further configured to: update information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0148] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0149] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0150] The transceiver is configured to: receive, from the UPF, the RAN, or a DIP transport network controller, DIP instance information, or receive, from a UDR via a PCF, the DIP instance information.

[0151] The processing unit is configured to: determine, according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information, whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0152] In a possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to: determine a target DIP instance.

[0153] The transceiver is further configured to: send, to the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0154] In another possible implementation, in response to determining that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit is further configured to: determine a target DIP instance.

[0155] The transceiver is further configured to: send, to the UDR via the PCF, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0156] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0157] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0158] a transceiver unit configured to receive DIP instance information from a UDR;

[0159] a processing unit configured to determine whether a service flow is admitted into a DIP transport network according to a flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0160] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from a SMF, and send the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the UDR.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0162] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0163] a transceiver unit configured to receive a flow requirement of a service flow from a UPF / RAN, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself;

[0164] a processing unit configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted into a DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0165] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from a UPF / RAN;

[0166] the processing unit is further configured to update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0167] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0168] In a possible implementation, the apparatus comprises:

[0169] a transceiver unit configured to receive a flow requirement of a service flow from a SMF, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself;

[0170] a processing unit configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to a flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0171] In a possible implementation, when it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0172] The processing unit is further configured to update the information of the target DIP instance based on a flow requirement of the service flow.

[0173] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises a processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions, and when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the method in any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect or any possible implementation is implemented. Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface.

[0174] In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the method in any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect or any possible implementation is implemented.

[0175] In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the method in any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect or any possible implementation is implemented.

[0176] In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which comprises a processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions, and when the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the chip executes the method in any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect or any possible implementation. Optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface configured to receive a signal or send a signal.

[0177] In a nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which comprises a logic circuit and an input / output interface, the logic circuit is configured to be coupled with the input / output interface, and the input / output interface is configured to transmit data to execute the method in any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect or any possible implementation.

[0178] In a twentieth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which comprises the communication apparatus according to any one of the eighth aspect to the fourteenth aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0179] The beneficial effects brought by the eighth aspect to the twentieth aspect can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect to the seventh aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0180] In addition, in the process of executing the method according to any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof, the process of sending information and / or receiving information and the like in the above method can be understood as the process of outputting information by the processor and / or the process of receiving input information by the processor. When outputting information, the processor can output the information to the transceiver (or the communication interface or the sending module) so as to be transmitted by the transceiver. After being output by the processor, the information can also need to be processed in other manners before reaching the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver (or the communication interface or the sending module) receives the information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, the information can need to be processed in other manners before being input into the processor.

[0181] Based on the above principle, for example, the sending information mentioned in the foregoing method can be understood as the output information of the processor. For another example, the receiving information can be understood as the input information received by the processor.

[0182] Optionally, for the transmission, sending and receiving operations and the like involved by the processor, if no special description is made, or if it is not contrary to the actual role or inherent logic thereof in the related description, it can be more generally understood as the output and input operations of the processor.

[0183] Optionally, in the process of executing the method according to any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof, the processor can be a processor specially used for executing the method, or can be a processor such as a general processor which executes the method by executing computer instructions in a memory. The memory can be a non-transitory memory such as a read only memory (ROM), which can be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or can be respectively arranged on different chips. The type of the memory and the arrangement manner of the memory and the processor are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0184] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments of the present application.

[0185] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G system architecture;

[0186] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a DIP;

[0187] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a distributed architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0188] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a centralized architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0189] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0190] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0191] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0192] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0193] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0194] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0195] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0196] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0197] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0198] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0199] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0200] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0201] In the present application, the words “exemplary” or “for example” are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any implementation or design solution described as “exemplary” or “for example” in the present application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other implementation or design solutions. Rather, the use of “exemplary” or “for example” is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0202] The terms "first", "second", and the like in the embodiments of the present application do not limit the number and execution order, and the terms "first", "second", and the like do not limit to be different. In addition, the terms "comprise", "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, a method, a system, a product, or an apparatus, or the like including a series of steps or units are not limited to the listed steps or units, but can optionally further include steps or units not listed or other steps or units inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0203] In the present application, "embodiments" means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in connection with the embodiments can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The phrase appears at various places in the specification does not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments, nor are they necessarily mutually exclusive or alternative embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the terms and / or descriptions between various embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred to, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship, if there is no special description and logical conflict.

[0204] It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the association between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, "A and / or B" can represent three cases: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0205] In the description of the present application, "indication" can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by certain information is referred to as to-be-indicated information, and there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information in the specific implementation process. For example, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as indicating the to-be-indicated information itself or the index of the to-be-indicated information, and the like. For another example, the to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, and there is an association relationship between the indicated other information and the to-be-indicated information. For another example, 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. In addition, the indication of a specific information can also be implemented by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0206] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first introduce the related technologies of the embodiments of the present application.

[0207] 1. The 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system architecture (referred to as 5G system architecture)

[0208] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a 5G system architecture. As shown in FIG. 1, the system architecture can include: a radio access network element (RAN), an access and mobility management function element (AMF), a session management function element (SMF), a user plane function element (UPF), a policy control function element (PCF), an application function element (AF), a data network element (DN), and a user equipment (UE). The elements can communicate with each other, for example, through interfaces (such as N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N11 shown in FIG. 1) to exchange information.

[0209] Among them, the UE refers to a terminal device with wireless communication function, such as a mobile phone, an Internet of Things terminal device, etc.

[0210] The RAN refers to a device providing wireless access for a terminal device, including but not limited to a base station, a next generation Node B (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a base station (BS) in a world interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) system, and the like.

[0211] The AMF can be responsible for mobility management in a mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user handover, and the like.

[0212] The SMF can be responsible for session management in a mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, release, and the like. Specifically, for example, a user can be allocated an internet protocol (IP) address, a UPF providing a message forwarding function can be selected, and the like.

[0213] The UPF can be responsible for processing user messages, such as forwarding, charging, and the like.

[0214] The PCF can be responsible for providing policies to the AMF or the SMF, such as slice selection policies, quality of service (QoS) policies, and the like.

[0215] The AF can be responsible for providing services to a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) network, such as influencing service routing, interacting with the PCF for policy control, and the like.

[0216] The DN refers to an operator network providing data transmission services for a user, such as an IP multi-media service (IMS) network, the Internet, and the like.

[0217] The UE accesses the DN by establishing a protocol data unit (PDU) session between the UE, the RAN, the UPF, and the DN.

[0218] It should be noted that the system architecture shown in FIG. 1 is not limited to only including the network elements shown in the figure, and can also include other network elements not shown in the figure, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the system architecture can also include a unified data management network element (unified data management, UDM) or a unified data repository network element (unified data repository, UDR), etc. Among them, the UDM is used to store user data, such as subscription information, authentication / authorization information. The UDR can provide storage capabilities for subscription data, policy data, and capability exposure related data.

[0219] It should be understood that the network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application are exemplified in FIG. 1 as the names in the 5G mobile communication system, and in future communication systems or other communication systems, such as the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, the network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application can also be other names. Alternatively, in future communication systems or other communication systems, such as the 6G mobile communication system, the network elements involved in the embodiments of the present application can also be replaced by other entities or devices with the same function, etc., and the present application does not limit this. Here, a unified description is made, and subsequent details will not be repeated.

[0220] 2. Deterministic Internet Protocol (DIP)

[0221] DIP is a deterministic networking (DetNet) technology architecture that can provide deterministic bearer services for services. It introduces a periodic scheduling mechanism for forwarding on the data plane and proposes an efficient path planning and resource allocation algorithm on the control plane, aiming to realize a large-scale scalable end-to-end deterministic low-latency network system.

[0222] Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a DIP. As shown in FIG. 2, DIP involves edge shaping, label mapping, and SRv6 explicit path planning technologies, where SRv6 refers to segment routing (SR) based on Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) forwarding plane.

[0223] DIP has the following characteristics: 1. It does not allow data packets to be sent (received) at will, and assigns a specific sending (receiving) time period to each data packet. For example, the current node can calculate the sending period of the data packet at the current node according to the sending period number of the previous node, link delay, clock information and other information, so as to avoid burst, control the internal queuing delay of the node, and eliminate the long tail effect. 2. A periodic shaping and scheduling mechanism is adopted, thereby forming an isolation period between cycles and avoiding micro-burst and its hop-by-hop accumulation. 3. The upper bound of the system end-to-end delay is determined, and the upper limit of the jitter is determined.

[0224] Specifically, DIP has the following main functions:

[0225] 1. Implement admission control on the control plane: The control plane of the ingress edge node (provider edge, PE) (such as the ingress PE shown in FIG. 2) can record the resource reservation state of each flow. The ingress edge node can determine whether the deterministic flow is allowed to enter the network for deterministic forwarding through the resource reservation result. The resource reservation state of the data flow can be dynamically refreshed to realize resource reservation renewal.

[0226] 2. Implement path planning and resource reservation on the control plane: Based on a distributed routing algorithm or centralized path calculation, a transmission path for a data flow can be planned, and necessary deterministic resource reservation along the way can be supported in advance.

[0227] 3. Implement path binding on the data plane: The resource reservation of DIP transmission is reflected on the nodes of the data forwarding path, and the subsequent data message transmission needs to bind the path. The path binding technology can be coupled with the label carrying technology.

[0228] 4. Perform deterministic periodic forwarding on the data plane: The ingress edge node embeds a time period number into the message according to the time when the data message is sent. The intermediate node (provider, P) (such as P1 and P2 shown in FIG. 2) receives the message and performs deterministic periodic forwarding according to the period mapping, so that the data message carries the local time period number when it is sent, until the data message is delivered to the egress edge node (such as the egress PE shown in FIG. 2).

[0229] The specific implementation mechanism of DIP can include a tagged cyclic queuing and forwarding mechanism (TCQF) and a cycle specified queuing and forwarding mechanism (CSQF).

[0230] Wherein, the TCQF supports more than 2 cycles, indicates the cycle number through an existing or new data packet header field called tag, to replace the cycle mapping in the specified queuing and forwarding (CQF) in the time sensitive networking (TSN) purely based on the synchronization receiving clock cycle. The TCQF option helps the receiving port to identify the time cycle of the data packet sent from the upstream router, which can be used to determine the output port cycle buffer for queuing the packet. The target advantages of TCQF include low end-to-end jitter, easy high-speed hardware implementation, optional capability to support a large number of flows in a large network by applying TCQF to DetNet aggregation instead of each DetNet flow (aggregated by differentiated services (DiffServ)), and support for wide-area DetNet networks with arbitrary link delays and delay variations, low-precision clock synchronization.

[0231] The CSQF improves the CQF by explicitly specifying the sending cycle of each node on the path (using the segment ID (SID) in SR), which can achieve the bounded delay end-to-end. The SR is a source routing technology that does not maintain per-flow state at intermediate nodes and egress nodes, and the CSQF based on SR supports flow aggregation, which is beneficial to expand to a macro network. The CSQF defines a new field called cycle segment to identify the cycle period. The cycle segment can identify the interface / link and the cycle of the interface / link, and only needs to attach a cycle segment to the data packet to specify which interface and cycle the data packet should be transmitted to. By attaching a cycle segment list to a data packet, not only the explicit routing of the data packet can be achieved, but also the sending cycle of each node along the path can be specified without the per-flow state of the intermediate nodes and egress nodes.

[0232] The following introduces the related concepts of DIP instance.

[0233] The DIP instance is configured by the DIP control plane or network management, and each DIP instance can be understood as a DIP transport network subnet (or DIP subnet), or in other words, each DIP instance corresponds to a pre-configured DIP subnet. Each DIP instance has corresponding DIP transmission path, cycle forwarding, edge shaping and other DIP configurations.

[0234] The DIP instance information can include various information of the DIP instance, such as DIP instance identity information, DIP transmission path information, DIP forwarding configuration information, QoS information of the DIP instance, remaining resources of the DIP instance, and flow identification related information.

[0235] The DIP instance identity information refers to information used to identify or mark the DIP instance. For example, the DIP control plane or network management can assign a corresponding identifier (DIP Instance ID) to the DIP instance to distinguish different DIP instances. For another example, different DIP instances can be distinguished according to the interface addresses at both ends of the DIP instance path.

[0236] The DIP transmission path information refers to information related to the deterministic path corresponding to the DIP instance. For example, it can include topology and routing information, such as the addresses or identifiers of DIP transmission path nodes and interfaces, SRv6 routing information, etc. For another example, it can also include path length or node hop count. For another example, it can also include the corresponding or connection relationship between the DIP instance and the RAN and UPF: optionally, for example, gNB ID and UPF ID can be used to indicate the corresponding or connected RAN and UPF, respectively.

[0237] The DIP forwarding configuration information refers to the user plane forwarding configuration information of the DIP instance, which is related to the specific implementation of the DIP protocol. For example, it can include DIP cycle configuration: cycle length, cycle number, start and end time, etc.; it can also include edge shaping configuration: shaping rate, shaping window setting, etc.; it can also include interface configuration: interface ID or address enabled for DIP, correspondence between interface and cycle, interface capability (such as maximum transmission unit allowed by the interface), etc.

[0238] The QoS information of the DIP instance refers to the QoS guarantee that the DIP instance can provide for the service flow. For example, it can include delay guarantee, jitter guarantee, and packet loss rate guarantee.

[0239] The remaining resources of the DIP instance refer to the remaining resources currently available to the DIP instance. For example, it can include remaining bandwidth (or current equivalent link speed), available cycle or window information, etc.

[0240] The flow identification related information refers to information allocated to the DIP instance for the purpose of implementing flow identification function. For example, it can include the N3 tunnel address or address range bound to the DIP instance.

[0241] Based on the above-mentioned related functions of the DIP, the DIP transmission network can perform admission control on the service flow:

[0242] 1. The control plane of the ingress edge node can record the resource reservation status of each flow. Based on the resource reservation results, it can determine whether a deterministic flow is allowed to enter the network for deterministic forwarding. The resource reservation status of a data flow can be dynamically refreshed, enabling the renewal of resource reservations.

[0243] 2. DIP instances can reserve most of their available periodic window resources for DetNet flows (deterministic flows). While non-DetNet flows (non-deterministic flows) can be transmitted within DIP instances, they have the lowest priority and do not execute DIP's various transmission policies or actions (such as label binding). To provide certain resources or QoS guarantees for non-DetNet flows, DIP can implement admission control for DetNet flows, limiting the total resources used by DetNet flows. Conversely, it can also implement admission control for non-DetNet flows to ensure the quality of service for DetNet flows and improve resource utilization.

[0244] 3. The QoS guarantees (such as latency and jitter guarantees) that each DIP instance can provide are limited. As the number or status of the admitted service flows change, the available remaining resources and QoS guarantees of the DIP instance may also change. Therefore, the DIP instance can perform admission control on DetNet flows that need to perform DIP forwarding. If the available remaining resources are insufficient or the service flow demand is higher than the admission threshold, admission can be denied, otherwise admission can be granted.

[0245] It should be understood that, in this application, for the sake of simplicity, the deterministic network protocol (or deterministic network technology, or technology based on round-robin queuing and forwarding mechanisms) is illustrated by the name DIP, and this application does not limit the scope of the name.

[0246] Currently, some mobile communication system transport networks (TN) support TSN. Specifically, to support the determinism of the TN, the RAN and UPF can be treated as end users in existing deterministic protocols, i.e., the talker and listener as defined in IEEE 802.1Q TSN. The SMF acts as the centralized user configuration (CUC) element (or the CUC function is shared with the SMF). The SMF provides user / network configuration information (i.e., talker group and listener group information, also known as merged flow requirements) to the centralized network configuration (CNC) element in the TN. The CNC provides the SMF with state group information containing end-station communication configurations.

[0247] However, the mobile communication system TN enables TSN to have a wide range of precise time synchronization difficulty, long link deterioration TSN transmission delay boundary and other problems, and new mechanisms need to be introduced to further support the deterministic transmission of the mobile communication system transmission network. However, since some mobile communication systems (such as 5G systems, or future communication systems, or other communication systems) do not support DIP, there is a lack of mechanisms and processes for performing DIP transmission network access control on service flows in scenarios where the mobile communication system TN enables DIP. How the mobile communication system TN adapts to DIP and performs access control on service flows that need to perform DIP transmission is a problem that has not yet been solved.

[0248] To solve the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device, which can perform access control on service flows that need to perform DIP transmission.

[0249] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) system, public land mobile network (PLMN) system, LTE advanced (LTE-A) system, the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, new radio (NR) system, machine to machine (M2M) system, or other future evolved communication systems, etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0250] For ease of description, the embodiments of the present application are described below by taking the application in a 5G system as an example.

[0251] Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a distributed architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the distributed architecture is described by taking 5G transmission network supporting DIP as an example, and includes a 5GS and a DIP transmission network. The introduction of network elements in the 5GS can refer to the introduction of the 5G system architecture shown in FIG. 1, which will not be repeated here. The DIP transmission network includes one or more DIP instances (such as DIP instance_1, DIP instance_2 and DIP instance_3 shown in the figure), and each DIP instance includes one or more edge nodes and one or more core nodes. In the distributed architecture, the RAN and the UPF at both ends of the 5GS transmission network are connected or co-located with the corresponding DIP transmission network edge node, and the controller plane function (CPF) is located in the DIP transmission network edge node.

[0252] Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a centralized architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the centralized architecture is described by taking 5G transmission network supporting DIP as an example, and includes a 5GS and a DIP transmission network. The introduction of network elements in the 5GS can refer to the introduction of the 5G system architecture shown in FIG. 1, which will not be repeated here. The DIP transmission network includes one or more DIP instances (such as DIP instance_1, DIP instance_2 and DIP instance_3 shown in the figure), and each DIP instance includes one or more edge nodes and one or more core nodes. The DIP transmission network further includes a centralized controller plane (or DIP transmission network controller), which can be a deterministic network controller (DetNet Controller). In the centralized architecture, the CPF is located in the DetNet Controller, the DetNet Controller can be co-located with the SMF, and the DetNet Controller can contain a network management entity (NME).

[0253] Optionally, the DIP transmission network can pre-configure the DIP instance on the transmission network node through the CPF or the NME before the 5G service flow arrives, and the DIP instance information can be stored in a storage network element. The storage network element refers to a carrier for storing DIP instance information. In the present application, the DIP instance information can be stored on the DIP transmission network side (for example, the DIP transmission network edge node or the DetNet Controller can serve as a storage network element), and the DIP instance information can also be stored on the 5GS side (for example, the RAN, the UPF or the UDR can serve as a storage network element).

[0254] Optionally, a relevant network element (in this application, it can be SMF, PCF, RAN, UPF, DIP edge node, or DetNet Controller, etc.) performing the admission control function decides whether the 5GS traffic flow is admitted into the DIP transport network and the admitted DIP instance according to the traffic flow requirement and the DIP instance information stored by the storage network element.

[0255] It should be understood that the network architecture shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 is only an example, and the architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any architecture capable of realizing the functions of the above-mentioned devices can be applied to the embodiments of the present application. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can only involve part of the devices shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, and can also involve devices not shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, which are not limited in the present application.

[0256] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below.

[0257] Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 can be applied to the distributed architecture shown in FIG. 3, and the interaction procedure between SMF, UPF, RAN and DIP transport network edge node is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In this embodiment, the storage network element of DIP instance information is the DIP transport network edge node.

[0258] As shown in FIG. 5, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0259] S501, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transmission for a traffic flow.

[0260] Specifically, the SMF can receive a request for performing DIP transmission for a traffic flow from AF, PCF, UE or other event triggers.

[0261] In the embodiments of the present application, the traffic flow can be understood as a traffic flow that needs to perform DIP transmission, and the traffic flow can include uplink traffic flow and / or downlink traffic flow. The flow requirement of the traffic flow is known to the SMF, which is uniformly described here and will not be described again in the following.

[0262] After the SMF receives the request for performing DIP transmission for the traffic flow, the SMF can trigger a session modification procedure, which can include the following steps.

[0263] S502a, the SMF sends an admission control execution request to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the admission control execution request from the SMF.

[0264] In step S502a, the admission control execution request can contain the flow requirement of the service flow, from which the UPF can obtain the flow requirement of the service flow after receiving the admission control execution request. The service flow here can be understood as a downlink service flow. The admission control execution request is used to request the DIP transport network admission control for the downlink service flow, or in other words, to request or trigger the UPF to interact with the DIP transport network edge node storing the DIP instance information to perform the admission control function.

[0265] In step S502b, the SMF sends an admission control execution request to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the admission control execution request from the SMF.

[0266] In step S502b, the admission control execution request can contain the flow requirement of the service flow, from which the RAN can obtain the flow requirement of the service flow after receiving the admission control execution request. The service flow here can be understood as an uplink service flow. The admission control execution request is used to request the DIP transport network admission control for the uplink service flow, or in other words, to request or trigger the RAN to interact with the DIP transport network edge node storing the DIP instance information to perform the admission control function.

[0267] It should be noted that the name of the admission control execution request or the message carrying the admission control execution request is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and will not be described hereinafter.

[0268] In some possible cases, the parameters exchanged between the 5GS and the DIP need to be mapped before being used by the systems or devices under the two protocols that are originally not interoperable. The parameter mapping manner can depend on the specific implementation. For example, it is feasible to take the same value for some parameters. For another example, although some parameters essentially represent the same requirement, they need to be converted or calculated in value. For another example, some parameters need to be converted in unit.

[0269] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN obtains the flow requirement of the service flow, the following step S503 can be further performed.

[0270] S503, the UPF / RAN performs parameter mapping.

[0271] Parameter mapping refers to the parameter mapping between the 5GS and the DIP, which can be understood as mapping the flow requirement parameter of the service flow into the corresponding parameter in the DIP or mapping the DIP parameter into the corresponding parameter of the 5GS.

[0272] Optionally, for the downlink service flow, the UPF performs parameter mapping. Optionally, for the uplink service flow, the RAN performs parameter mapping.

[0273] Optionally, the flow requirements of the service flow can include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following parameters: guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), packet delay budget (PDB), MaxFrameSize, or packet error rate (PER).

[0274] In some possible implementations, taking the mapping of the flow requirement parameters of the service flow to the corresponding parameters in the DIP as an example, the guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR) can be mapped to the minimum bandwidth (MinBandwidth) of the DIP, and the mapping can be specifically achieved by unit conversion. The packet delay budget (PDB) can be the packet delay budget (CN PDB) on the core network (CN) side, and can be mapped to the maximum latency (MaxLatency) of the DIP, and the mapping can be specifically achieved by: CN PDB-UPF residence time = MaxLatency. The MaxFrameSize can be mapped to the maximum payload size (MaxPayloadSize) of the DIP. The PER can be mapped to the maximum loss (MaxLoss) of the DIP.

[0275] S504a, the UPF transmits an admission request to the DIP transport network edge node, and accordingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the admission request from the UPF.

[0276] In step S504a, the admission request can contain the flow requirements of the downlink service flow, and the DIP transport network edge node can obtain the flow requirements of the downlink service flow from the admission request. Optionally, in the case where the UPF performs parameter mapping, the admission request can contain the parameters of the downlink service flow after the mapping. The admission request is used to request the DIP transport network edge node to perform DIP transport network admission judgment on the downlink service flow, or in other words, to request or trigger the DIP transport network edge node to judge whether the downlink service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0277] S504b, the RAN transmits an admission request to the DIP transport network edge node, and accordingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the admission request from the RAN.

[0278] In step S504b, the admission request can contain the flow demand of the uplink service flow, from which the DIP transport network edge node can obtain the flow demand of the uplink service flow after receiving the admission request. Alternatively, in the case where the RAN performs parameter mapping, the admission request can contain the mapped parameters of the uplink service flow. The admission request is used to request the DIP transport network to perform admission judgment on the uplink service flow, or to request or trigger the DIP transport network edge node to determine whether the uplink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0279] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the name of the admission request or the message carrying the admission request, which will not be described hereinafter.

[0280] Alternatively, in the case where the UPF / RAN does not perform parameter mapping, after the DIP transport network edge node obtains the flow demand of the service flow, the following step S505 can also be performed.

[0281] S505, the DIP transport network edge node performs parameter mapping.

[0282] In some possible implementations, specific descriptions about parameter mapping in step S505 can refer to the related descriptions in step S503 described above, which will not be described hereinafter.

[0283] In another possible implementation, the DIP transport network edge node can also map the DIP parameters into corresponding parameters of the 5GS, where the DIP parameters can be understood as the parameters related to admission contained in the DIP instance information. For example, the DIP parameters can include but are not limited to the current available residual bandwidth (or current equivalent link speed) of the DIP instance, the delay guarantee provided by the DIP instance, the maximum transmission unit (MTU) allowed by the DIP instance, or the packet loss rate guarantee provided by the DIP instance. Among them, the current available residual bandwidth of the DIP instance can be mapped into a bit rate, the delay guarantee provided by the DIP instance can be mapped into a transport network delay guarantee, the MTU allowed by the DIP can be mapped into a maximum transport network data frame size, and the packet loss rate guarantee provided by the DIP instance can be mapped into a transport network packet error rate.

[0284] Alternatively, step S503 and step S505 can be executed alternatively, that is, the parameter mapping can be performed by the UPF / RAN or by the DIP transport network edge node.

[0285] S506, the DIP transport network edge node determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow demand of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0286] For the downstream traffic flow, the DIP transport network edge node determines whether the downstream traffic flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the downstream traffic flow and the DIP instance information. For the upstream traffic flow, the DIP transport network edge node determines whether the upstream traffic flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the upstream traffic flow and the DIP instance information. The admission determination manners of the downstream traffic flow and the upstream traffic flow are similar, which are described uniformly below.

[0287] In step S506, the DIP instance information is from the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network edge node, that is, the DIP transport network edge node knows the DIP instance information and can obtain the DIP instance information from the stored information. Exemplarily, the DIP instance information can be all DIP instance information supported by the DIP transport network edge node for access.

[0288] The DIP instance information includes at least one of the quality of service guarantee and / or the remaining resource of a DIP instance. The quality of service guarantee and / or the remaining resource of the DIP instance are used to indicate an admission threshold of the DIP instance. For a DIP instance, if the flow requirement of the traffic flow meets the admission threshold of the DIP instance, the DIP instance can be an optional DIP instance, that is, the condition that the optional DIP instance meets includes that the flow requirement of the traffic flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance. The optional DIP instance can be understood as a DIP instance that the traffic flow can be admitted into.

[0289] Specifically, whether the at least one DIP instance includes an optional DIP instance can be determined according to the flow requirement of the traffic flow and the admission threshold of the at least one DIP instance, and then whether the traffic flow is admitted into the DIP transport network can be determined according to whether the at least one DIP instance includes the optional DIP instance. In one possible case, if the at least one DIP instance includes at least one optional DIP instance, it is determined that the traffic flow is admitted into the DIP transport network. In another possible case, if the at least one DIP instance does not include the optional DIP instance, it is determined that the traffic flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network. In this way, the admission determination can be realized.

[0290] Optionally, the admission threshold of the DIP instance can include but is not limited to one or more of the following parameters: the current available remaining bandwidth (or the current equivalent link speed) of the DIP instance, the delay guarantee that can be provided by the DIP instance, the maximum transmission unit (MTU) allowed by the DIP instance, or the packet loss rate guarantee that can be provided by the DIP instance.

[0291] Optionally, if one DIP instance meets one or more of the following conditions, it can be determined that the flow requirement of the service flow meets the access threshold of the DIP instance, that is, the DIP instance can be selected as an optional DIP instance:

[0292] 1) The bandwidth resource corresponding to the GFBR is less than the remaining bandwidth resource of the DIP instance, specifically, the mapped MinBandwidth of the GFBR is less than the current available remaining bandwidth of the DIP instance, or the mapped bit rate of the current available remaining bandwidth of the DIP instance is greater than the GFBR;

[0293] 2) The delay requirement corresponding to the CN PDB is greater than the delay guarantee of the DIP instance, specifically, the mapped MaxLatency of the CN PDB is greater than the delay guarantee that the DIP instance can provide, or the mapped transmission network delay guarantee of the delay guarantee that the DIP instance can provide is less than the CN PDB;

[0294] 3) The transmission unit corresponding to the MaxFrameSize is less than the maximum transmission unit allowed by the DIP instance, specifically, the mapped MaxPayloadSize of the MaxFrameSize is less than the MTU allowed by the DIP instance, or the mapped maximum transmission network data frame size of the MTU allowed by the DIP instance is greater than the MaxFrameSize;

[0295] 4) The packet loss rate corresponding to the PER is greater than the packet loss rate guarantee of the DIP instance, specifically, the mapped MaxLoss of the PER is greater than the packet loss rate guarantee that the DIP instance can provide, or the mapped transmission network packet error rate of the packet loss rate guarantee that the DIP instance can provide is less than the PER.

[0296] Through the above conditions, the optional DIP instance can be accurately identified from the at least one DIP instance.

[0297] Optionally, after the DIP transport network edge node determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the DIP transport network edge node can further generate admission control indication information, which is used to indicate whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0298] S507a, the DIP transport network edge node returns the admission control indication information to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the admission control indication information from the DIP transport network edge node.

[0299] In step S507a, the admission control indication information is used to indicate whether the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network. After the DIP transport network edge node generates the admission control indication information, the DIP transport network edge node returns the admission control indication information to the UPF, so as to inform the UPF whether the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0300] In one possible case, the admission control indication information indicates that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, i.e., the DIP transport network allows the downlink service flow to access. In this case, the admission control indication information can include indication information that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, so as to inform the UPF that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network. The admission control indication information can further include information of DIP instances (i.e., the at least one optional DIP instance) into which the downlink service flow can be admitted, so as to inform the UPF of the information of the at least one optional DIP instance. Exemplarily, the information of the optional DIP instance can include an identifier of the optional DIP instance, residual resources, QoS guarantee, and the like, so as to assist subsequent selection of the DIP instance.

[0301] In another possible case, the admission control indication information indicates that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, i.e., the DIP transport network rejects the downlink service flow to access. In this case, the admission control indication information can include indication information that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, so as to inform the UPF that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0302] In step S507b, the DIP transport network edge node returns the admission control indication information to the RAN, and accordingly, the RAN receives the admission control indication information from the DIP transport network edge node.

[0303] In step S507b, the admission control indication information is used to indicate whether the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network. After the DIP transport network edge node generates the admission control indication information, the DIP transport network edge node returns the admission control indication information to the RAN, so as to inform the RAN whether the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0304] In one possible case, the admission control indication information indicates that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, i.e., the DIP transport network allows the downlink service flow to access. In this case, the admission control indication information can include indication information that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, so as to inform the UPF that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network. The admission control indication information can further include information of DIP instances (i.e., the at least one optional DIP instance) into which the downlink service flow can be admitted, so as to inform the UPF of the information of the at least one optional DIP instance. Exemplarily, the information of the optional DIP instance can include an identifier of the optional DIP instance, residual resources, QoS guarantee, and the like, so as to assist subsequent selection of the DIP instance.

[0305] In another possible case, the admission control indication information indicates that the uplink service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network, i.e., the DIP transmission network rejects the uplink service flow. In this case, the admission control indication information can include indication information that the uplink service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network, for informing the RAN that the uplink service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0306] It should be noted that the name of the admission control indication information or the message carrying the admission control indication information is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and will not be described hereinafter.

[0307] S508, the UPF / RAN confirms whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network according to the admission control indication information.

[0308] The UPF confirms whether the downlink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network according to the received admission control indication information. In one possible case, if the admission control indication information indicates that the downlink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the UPF confirms that the downlink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0309] The RAN confirms whether the uplink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network according to the received admission control indication information. In one possible case, if the admission control indication information indicates that the uplink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the RAN confirms that the uplink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0310] Optionally, in the case where the UPF / RAN confirms that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the following steps S509a to S509g can also be included.

[0311] S509a, the UPF / RAN determines a target DIP instance.

[0312] In the case where the admission control indication information returned by the DIP transmission network edge node to the UPF indicates that the downlink service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network, the admission control indication information can include information of the at least one optional DIP instance (which can be understood as a DIP instance to which the downlink service flow can be admitted) described above, so that the UPF can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance from the admission control indication information after receiving the admission control indication information.

[0313] The target DIP instance determined by the UPF (referred to as a first target DIP instance for distinction) can be understood as a DIP instance that finally confirms the admission of the downlink service flow, or can be understood as a DIP instance that the downlink service flow will finally access. The first target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance, and the UPF can determine the first target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance. For example, if the at least one optional DIP instance includes only one optional DIP instance, the UPF can take the one optional DIP instance as the first target DIP instance. For another example, if the at least one optional DIP instance includes a plurality of optional DIP instances, the UPF can select one from the plurality of optional DIP instances as the first target DIP instance, and the selection manner can be random selection, or can be selection according to information (for example, reference information such as a remaining resource size and a delay guarantee size) of each optional DIP instance, or can be another possible selection manner, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0314] In a case where the admission control indication information returned by the DIP transport network edge node to the RAN indicates that the uplink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the admission control indication information can include information of the at least one optional DIP instance (which can be understood as a DIP instance that the uplink service flow can be admitted into), so that the RAN can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance from the admission control indication information after receiving the admission control indication information.

[0315] The target DIP instance determined by the RAN (referred to as a second target DIP instance for distinction) can be understood as a DIP instance that finally confirms the admission of the uplink service flow, or can be understood as a DIP instance that the uplink service flow will finally access. The second target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance, and the RAN can determine the second target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance. For example, if the at least one optional DIP instance includes only one optional DIP instance, the RAN can take the one optional DIP instance as the second target DIP instance. For another example, if the at least one optional DIP instance includes a plurality of optional DIP instances, the RAN can select one from the plurality of optional DIP instances as the second target DIP instance, and the selection manner can be random selection, or can be selection according to information (for example, reference information such as a remaining resource size and a delay guarantee size) of each optional DIP instance, or can be another possible selection manner, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0316] The first target DIP instance and the second target DIP instance can be the same or different.

[0317] S509b, the UPF sends information indicating the target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the information indicating the target DIP instance from the UPF.

[0318] In step S509b, the target DIP instance refers to the first target DIP instance described above. After determining the first target DIP instance, the UPF can send information indicating the first target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node, to inform the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e., the first target DIP instance) that needs to be updated, or to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the first target DIP instance.

[0319] S509c, the RAN sends information indicating the target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the information indicating the target DIP instance from the RAN.

[0320] In step S509c, the target DIP instance refers to the second target DIP instance described above. After determining the second target DIP instance, the RAN can send information indicating the second target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node, to inform the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e., the second target DIP instance) that needs to be updated, or to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the second target DIP instance.

[0321] Exemplarily, the information indicating the target DIP instance can be an identifier of the target DIP instance, or other information capable of representing the identity of the target DIP instance.

[0322] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN confirms that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the UPF / RAN can further generate an admission success acknowledgement, which is used to confirm that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0323] S509d, the UPF returns the admission success acknowledgement to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission success acknowledgement from the UPF.

[0324] After the UPF generates the admission success acknowledgement, the UPF returns the admission success acknowledgement to the SMF, to inform the SMF that the downstream service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0325] S509e, the RAN returns the admission success acknowledgement to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission success acknowledgement from the RAN.

[0326] After the RAN generates the admission success confirmation information, the RAN returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, to inform the SMF that the upstream service flow is admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0327] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the name of the admission success confirmation information or the message carrying the admission success confirmation information, and the following will not be described in detail.

[0328] In step S509a described above, the target DIP instance is determined by the UPF / RAN, and it should be understood that in other possible embodiments, the target DIP instance can also be determined by the SMF.

[0329] Optionally, steps S509a to S509e described above can be replaced by steps S509d to S509e described above and steps S509f and S509g below.

[0330] In the replaced step S509d, the admission success confirmation information includes the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e., the DIP instance to which the downstream service flow can be admitted), to instruct the SMF to determine the target DIP instance (for distinction, referred to as the third target DIP instance). The third target DIP instance can be understood as the DIP instance to which the downstream service flow is finally confirmed to be admitted, or can be understood as the DIP instance to which the downstream service flow will finally access.

[0331] In the replaced step S509e, the admission success confirmation information includes the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e., the DIP instance to which the upstream service flow can be admitted), to instruct the SMF to determine the target DIP instance (for distinction, referred to as the fourth target DIP instance). The fourth target DIP instance can be understood as the DIP instance to which the upstream service flow is finally confirmed to be admitted, or can be understood as the DIP instance to which the upstream service flow will finally access.

[0332] S509f, the SMF determines the target DIP instance.

[0333] After the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the UPF, the SMF can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e., the DIP instance to which the downstream service flow can be admitted) from the admission success confirmation information, and determine the third target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance.

[0334] After the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the RAN, the SMF can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e., the DIP instance to which the upstream service flow can be admitted) from the admission success confirmation information, and determine the fourth target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance.

[0335] For a specific description of determining the target DIP instance in step S509f, reference can be made to the related description in step S509a described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0336] The third target DIP instance and the fourth target DIP instance can be the same or different. In addition, the third target DIP instance and the first target DIP instance can be the same or different. The fourth target DIP instance and the second target DIP instance can be the same or different.

[0337] In step S509g, the SMF sends information indicating the target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node through the UPF / RAN, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the information indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF through the UPF / RAN.

[0338] Specifically, after determining the third target DIP instance, the SMF sends information indicating the third target DIP instance to the UPF, and the UPF forwards the information indicating the third target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node, so as to inform the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e. the third target DIP instance) to be updated, or trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the third target DIP instance.

[0339] After receiving the information indicating the third target DIP instance, the DIP transport network edge node can determine the third target DIP instance and update the information of the third target DIP instance stored by itself based on the flow requirement of the downstream service flow. For example, the DIP transport network edge node can update the current available residual bandwidth of the third target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the downstream service flow.

[0340] After determining the fourth target DIP instance, the SMF sends information indicating the fourth target DIP instance to the RAN, and the RAN forwards the information indicating the fourth target DIP instance to the DIP transport network edge node, so as to inform the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e. the fourth target DIP instance) to be updated, or trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the fourth target DIP instance.

[0341] After receiving the information indicating the fourth target DIP instance, the DIP transport network edge node can determine the fourth target DIP instance and update the information of the fourth target DIP instance stored by itself based on the flow requirement of the upstream service flow. For example, the DIP transport network edge node can update the current available residual bandwidth of the fourth target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the upstream service flow.

[0342] It can be understood that, since the DIP transport network edge node has obtained the flow requirement of the service flow in the above steps S504a to S504b, in the above steps S509b, S509c and S509g, it is not necessary to send the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node again.

[0343] In another possible case, if the admission control indication information received by the UPF indicates that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, the UPF confirms that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0344] In another possible case, if the admission control indication information received by the RAN indicates that the uplink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, the RAN confirms that the uplink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0345] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN confirms that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, an admission failure acknowledgement can also be generated, which is used to confirm that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0346] Optionally, in the case where the UPF / RAN confirms that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, the following steps S510a to S510b can also be included.

[0347] S510a, the UPF returns the admission failure acknowledgement information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission failure acknowledgement information from the UPF.

[0348] In step S510a, the admission failure acknowledgement information is used to confirm that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network. After the UPF generates the admission failure acknowledgement information, the UPF returns the admission failure acknowledgement information to the SMF, so as to inform the SMF that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0349] S510b, the RAN returns the admission failure acknowledgement information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission failure acknowledgement information from the RAN.

[0350] In step S510b, the admission failure acknowledgement information is used to confirm that the uplink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network. After the RAN generates the admission failure acknowledgement information, the RAN returns the admission failure acknowledgement information to the SMF, so as to inform the SMF that the uplink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0351] Optionally, after receiving the admission failure acknowledgement information, the SMF can also inform the requestor (such as the AF, PCF or UE, etc.) of the service flow admission failure or reject the service flow request (such as the QoS request) or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send indication information to the requestor, indicating that the DIP transport network has rejected the service flow admission request. Optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, indicating the reason why the DIP transport network has rejected the service flow admission request.

[0352] It should be noted that the name of the admission failure acknowledgement information or the message carrying the admission failure acknowledgement information is not limited in the embodiments of the present application, and will not be described hereinafter.

[0353] The above embodiments give a process of performing DIP transport network admission control on 5G service flows in a scenario where 5GS supports DIP. The DIP transport network edge node is a storage network element of DIP instance information, and performs admission control function by interacting with the 5GS side and the DIP transport network side. Specifically, the DIP transport network edge node makes admission judgment, which is suitable for distributed architecture.

[0354] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the steps on both sides of the RAN and the UPF correspond to the admission control processes of the upstream service flow and the downstream service flow, respectively. In some possible implementation manners, only the upstream service flow can be subjected to admission control, or only the downstream service flow can be subjected to admission control, or both the upstream service flow and the downstream service flow can be subjected to admission control. Here, a unified description is given, and will not be described hereinafter.

[0355] Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments shown in FIG. 6 can be applied to the distributed architecture shown in FIG. 3, and the interaction process between the SMF, the UPF, the RAN and the DIP transport network edge node is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In the embodiments, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the DIP transport network edge node.

[0356] As shown in FIG. 6, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0357] S601, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transport for a service flow.

[0358] S602a, the SMF sends an admission control execution request to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the admission control execution request from the SMF.

[0359] S602b, the SMF sends an admission control execution request to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the admission control execution request from the SMF.

[0360] For the detailed description of steps S601, S602a and S602b, reference can be made to the description of steps S501, S502a and S502b above, which will not be repeated here.

[0361] S603a, the UPF sends a retrieval request to the DIP transport network edge node, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the retrieval request from the UPF.

[0362] S603b, the RAN sends a retrieval request to the DIP transport network edge node, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the retrieval request from the RAN.

[0363] In steps S603a and S603b, the retrieval request is used to request retrieval of the DIP instance information, or in other words, to request or trigger the DIP transport network edge node to return the DIP instance information.

[0364] It should be noted that the name of the retrieval request or the message carrying the retrieval request is not limited by the embodiments of the present application, and will not be repeated hereinafter.

[0365] S604a, the DIP transport network edge node returns the DIP instance information to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the DIP instance information from the DIP transport network edge node.

[0366] S604b, the DIP transport network edge node returns the DIP instance information to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the DIP instance information from the DIP transport network edge node.

[0367] In steps S604a and S604b, the DIP instance information returned by the DIP transport network edge node is from the DIP instance information stored in the DIP transport network edge node. The DIP instance information includes information of at least one DIP instance, which can include identity information (e.g. DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, and quality of service guarantee and / or residual resources of the DIP instance.

[0368] Optionally, the DIP transport network edge node can also perform parameter mapping. In the case where the DIP transport network edge node performs parameter mapping, the DIP instance information received by the UPF / RAN can contain the mapped parameters of the quality of service guarantee and / or residual resources of the DIP instance.

[0369] Optionally, parameter mapping can also be performed by the UPF / RAN. For example, in the case where the DIP transport network edge node does not perform parameter mapping, the UPF / RAN can also perform the following step S605.

[0370] S605, the UPF / RAN performs parameter mapping.

[0371] For the detailed description of the parameter mapping in step S605, reference can be made to the description of step S503 and / or S505 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0372] S606, the UPF / RAN determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0373] Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, in which the DIP transport network edge node determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network by the UPF / RAN.

[0374] For the downlink service flow, the UPF determines whether the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the downlink service flow and the DIP instance information. For the uplink service flow, the RAN determines whether the uplink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the uplink service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0375] For the detailed description of the admission determination in step S606, reference can be made to the description of step S506 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0376] In one possible case, the UPF determines that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network. In one possible case, the RAN determines that the uplink service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0377] Optionally, in the case where the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the following steps S607a to S607g can also be included.

[0378] S607a, the UPF / RAN determines the target DIP instance.

[0379] S607b, the UPF sends information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, and accordingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow from the UPF.

[0380] In step S607b, the target DIP instance refers to the first target DIP instance described above. After determining the first target DIP instance, the UPF can send information indicating the first target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, to inform the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e., the first target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow, or in other words, to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the first target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the downlink service flow.

[0381] S607c, the RAN transmits, to the DIP transport network edge node, information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow, and accordingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives, from the RAN, the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow.

[0382] In step S607c, the target DIP instance refers to the second target DIP instance described above. After determining the second target DIP instance, the RAN can transmit, to the DIP transport network edge node, information indicating the second target DIP instance and flow requirements of the upstream service flow, for informing the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e., the second target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirements of the upstream service flow, or for triggering the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the second target DIP instance according to the flow requirements of the upstream service flow.

[0383] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the UPF / RAN can further generate admission success confirmation information, the admission success confirmation information being used to confirm that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0384] S607d, the UPF returns, to the SMF, the admission success confirmation information, and accordingly, the SMF receives, from the UPF, the admission success confirmation information.

[0385] After the UPF generates the admission success confirmation information, the UPF returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, for informing the SMF that the downstream service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0386] S607e, the RAN returns, to the SMF, the admission success confirmation information, and accordingly, the SMF receives, from the RAN, the admission success confirmation information.

[0387] After the RAN generates the admission success confirmation information, the RAN returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, for informing the SMF that the upstream service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0388] In step S607a described above, the target DIP instance is determined by the UPF / RAN, and it should be understood that in other possible embodiments, the target DIP instance can also be determined by the SMF.

[0389] Optionally, steps S607a to S607e described above can be replaced by steps S607d to S607e and steps S607f and S607g described below.

[0390] In the replaced step S607d, the admission success confirmation information includes information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the downlink service flow can be admitted) for indicating that the SMF determines the target DIP instance (i.e. the third target DIP instance).

[0391] In the replaced step S607e, the admission success confirmation information includes information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the uplink service flow can be admitted) for indicating that the SMF determines the target DIP instance (i.e. the fourth target DIP instance).

[0392] S607f, the SMF determines the target DIP instance.

[0393] After the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the UPF, the SMF can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the downlink service flow can be admitted) from the admission success confirmation information, and determine the third target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance.

[0394] After the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the RAN, the SMF can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the uplink service flow can be admitted) from the admission success confirmation information, and determine the fourth target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance.

[0395] S607g, the SMF sends information for indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node through the UPF / RAN, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network edge node receives the information for indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow from the SMF through the UPF / RAN.

[0396] Specifically, after the SMF determines the third target DIP instance, the SMF sends information for indicating the third target DIP instance to the UPF (since the UPF has obtained the flow requirement of the downlink service flow in the step S602a, the SMF does not need to send the flow requirement of the downlink service flow to the UPF again), and the UPF forwards the information for indicating the third target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, for informing the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance (i.e. the third target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow, or for triggering the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the third target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the downlink service flow.

[0397] After receiving the information indicating the third target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow, the DIP transport network edge node can determine the third target DIP instance and update the information of the third target DIP instance stored by the DIP transport network edge node based on the flow requirement of the downlink service flow. For example, the DIP transport network edge node can update the current available residual bandwidth of the third target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the downlink service flow.

[0398] After determining the fourth target DIP instance, the SMF sends information indicating the fourth target DIP instance to the RAN (since the RAN has obtained the flow requirement of the uplink service flow in step S602b, the flow requirement of the uplink service flow does not need to be sent to the RAN again), and the RAN forwards the information indicating the fourth target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the uplink service flow to the DIP transport network edge node, to inform the DIP transport network edge node of the DIP instance to be updated (i.e., the fourth target DIP instance) and the flow requirement of the uplink service flow, or to trigger the DIP transport network edge node to update the information of the fourth target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the uplink service flow.

[0399] After receiving the information indicating the fourth target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the uplink service flow, the DIP transport network edge node can determine the fourth target DIP instance and update the information of the fourth target DIP instance stored by the DIP transport network edge node based on the flow requirement of the uplink service flow. For example, the DIP transport network edge node can update the current available residual bandwidth of the fourth target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the uplink service flow.

[0400] For the content not specifically described in steps S607a to S607g, the relevant description in steps S509a to S509g can be referred to, and will not be described here.

[0401] In another possible case, the UPF determines that the downlink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network. In another possible case, the RAN determines that the uplink service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0402] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, the UPF / RAN can further generate admission failure confirmation information, and the admission failure confirmation information is used to confirm that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0403] Optionally, in the case where the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network, the following steps S608a to S608b can be further included.

[0404] S608a, the UPF returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission failure confirmation information from the UPF.

[0405] In step S608a, the admission failure confirmation information is used to confirm that the downlink service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network. After the UPF generates the admission failure confirmation information, the UPF returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, so as to inform the SMF that the downlink service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network.

[0406] In step S608b, the RAN returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission failure confirmation information from the RAN.

[0407] In step S608b, the admission failure confirmation information is used to confirm that the downlink service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network. After the UPF generates the admission failure confirmation information, the UPF returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, so as to inform the SMF that the downlink service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network.

[0408] Optionally, after the SMF receives the admission failure confirmation information, the SMF can also inform the requester (such as the AF, the PCF, or the UE, etc.) that the service flow admission fails or reject the service flow request (such as the QoS request) or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send indication information to the requester, which is used to indicate that the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow. Optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, which is used to indicate the reason why the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0409] The above embodiment gives a flow of performing DIP transport network admission control on 5G service flow in a 5GS supporting DIP scenario. The DIP transport network edge node is used as a storage network element of DIP instance information, and the admission control function is performed by the interaction between the 5GS side and the DIP transport network side. Specifically, the admission control is performed by the UPF / RAN, and the DIP instance information is provided by the DIP transport network edge node to the UPF / RAN to help the UPF / RAN to implement the admission control, which is suitable for a distributed architecture.

[0410] Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can be applied to the distributed architecture shown in FIG. 3, and the interaction flow between the SMF and the UPF / RAN is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In the embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UPF / RAN.

[0411] As shown in FIG. 7, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0412] In step S701, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transport for a service flow.

[0413] In step S702a, the SMF sends an admission control execution request to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the admission control execution request from the SMF.

[0414] S702b, the SMF sends an admission control enforcement request to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the admission control enforcement request from the SMF.

[0415] For specific description of steps S701, S702a and S702b, reference can be made to the related description of steps S501, S502a and S502b described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0416] S703, the UPF / RAN performs parameter mapping.

[0417] For specific description of parameter mapping in step S703, reference can be made to the related description in steps S503 and / or S505 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0418] S704, the UPF / RAN determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0419] In step S704, the DIP instance information is from the DIP instance information stored by the UPF / RAN, i.e., the UPF / RAN knows the DIP instance information, which can be obtained from the stored information. Exemplarily, the DIP instance information can be all DIP instance information supported by the UPF / RAN for access.

[0420] For the downlink service flow, the UPF determines whether the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the downlink service flow and the DIP instance information stored by itself. For the uplink service flow, the RAN determines whether the uplink service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the uplink service flow and the DIP instance information stored by itself.

[0421] For specific description of the admission judgment in step S704, reference can be made to the related description in step S506 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0422] In one possible case, the UPF determines that the downlink service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network. In one possible case, the RAN determines that the uplink service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network.

[0423] Optionally, in the case where the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the following steps S705a to S705g can also be included.

[0424] S705a, the UPF / RAN determines a target DIP instance.

[0425] S705b, the UPF / RAN updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0426] After the UPF determines the target DIP instance (i.e., the first target DIP instance described above), the UPF can update the information of the first target DIP instance stored by the UPF based on the flow requirement of the downlink traffic flow. For example, the UPF can update the currently available residual bandwidth of the first target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the downlink traffic flow.

[0427] After the RAN determines the target DIP instance (i.e., the second target DIP instance described above), the RAN can update the information of the second target DIP instance stored by the RAN based on the flow requirement of the uplink traffic flow. For example, the RAN can update the currently available residual bandwidth of the second target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the uplink traffic flow.

[0428] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN determines that the traffic flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the UPF / RAN can further generate admission success confirmation information, where the admission success confirmation information is used to confirm that the traffic flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0429] S705c, the UPF returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, and accordingly, the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the UPF.

[0430] After the UPF generates the admission success confirmation information, the UPF returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, which is used to inform the SMF that the downlink traffic flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0431] S705d, the RAN returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, and accordingly, the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the RAN.

[0432] After the RAN generates the admission success confirmation information, the RAN returns the admission success confirmation information to the SMF, which is used to inform the SMF that the uplink traffic flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0433] In the step S705a described above, the target DIP instance is determined by the UPF / RAN, and it should be understood that in other possible embodiments, the target DIP instance can also be determined by the SMF.

[0434] Optionally, the steps S705a to S705d described above can be replaced by the steps S705c to S705d described above and the steps S705e and S705g described below and the step S705b described above.

[0435] In the replaced step S705c, the admission success confirmation information includes the information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e., the DIP instance to which the downlink traffic flow can be admitted), which is used to instruct the SMF to determine a target DIP instance (for distinction, referred to as a third target DIP instance).

[0436] In the replaced step S705d, the admission success confirmation information includes information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the uplink service flow can be admitted) for indicating that the SMF determines a target DIP instance (for distinction, referred to as a fourth target DIP instance).

[0437] S705e, the SMF determines the target DIP instance.

[0438] After the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the UPF, the SMF can obtain information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the downlink service flow can be admitted) from the admission success confirmation information, and determine a third target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance.

[0439] After the SMF receives the admission success confirmation information from the RAN, the SMF can obtain information of the at least one optional DIP instance (i.e. the DIP instance in which the uplink service flow can be admitted) from the admission success confirmation information, and determine a fourth target DIP instance from the at least one optional DIP instance.

[0440] S705f, the SMF sends information for indicating the target DIP instance to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the information for indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0441] After the SMF determines the third target DIP instance, the SMF can send information for indicating the third target DIP instance to the UPF, for informing the UPF of the DIP instance (i.e. the third target DIP instance) that needs to be updated, or for triggering the UPF to update the information of the third target DIP instance.

[0442] It can be understood that since the UPF has obtained the flow requirement of the downlink service flow in the above step S702a, in the above step S705f, the flow requirement of the downlink service flow does not need to be sent to the UPF again.

[0443] After the UPF receives the information for indicating the third target DIP instance, the UPF can determine the third target DIP instance, and perform the replaced step S705b, that is, update the information of the third target DIP instance stored by the UPF based on the flow requirement of the downlink service flow. For example, the UPF can update the current available residual bandwidth of the third target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the downlink service flow.

[0444] S705g, the SMF sends information for indicating the target DIP instance to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the information for indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0445] After the SMF determines the fourth target DIP instance, the SMF can send information indicating the fourth target DIP instance to the RAN, to inform the RAN of the DIP instance (i.e., the fourth target DIP instance) that needs to be updated, or to trigger the RAN to update the information of the fourth target DIP instance.

[0446] It can be understood that since the RAN has obtained the flow requirement of the uplink service flow in the above step S702b, in the above step S705g, the flow requirement of the uplink service flow does not need to be sent to the RAN again.

[0447] After the RAN receives the information indicating the fourth target DIP instance, the RAN can determine the fourth target DIP instance and perform the replaced step S705b, that is, update the information of the fourth target DIP instance stored by the RAN based on the flow requirement of the uplink service flow. For example, the RAN can update the current available residual bandwidth of the fourth target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the uplink service flow.

[0448] For the content not specifically described in steps S705a to S705g, the relevant description in the above steps S509a to S509g can be referred to, and will not be described here.

[0449] In another possible case, the UPF determines that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network. In another possible case, the RAN determines that the uplink service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0450] Optionally, after the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network, the UPF / RAN can further generate admission failure confirmation information, the admission failure confirmation information being used to confirm that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0451] Optionally, in the case where the UPF / RAN determines that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network, the following steps S706a to S706b can be further included.

[0452] S706a, the UPF returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission failure confirmation information from the UPF.

[0453] In step S706a, the admission failure confirmation information is used to confirm that the downlink service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network. After the UPF generates the admission failure confirmation information, the UPF returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, to inform the SMF that the downlink service flow is not admitted to the DIP transmission network.

[0454] S706b, the RAN returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission failure confirmation information from the RAN.

[0455] In step S706b, the admission failure confirmation information is used to confirm that the uplink service flow is not admitted by the DIP transmission network. After the RAN generates the admission failure confirmation information, the RAN returns the admission failure confirmation information to the SMF, so as to inform the SMF that the uplink service flow is not admitted by the DIP transmission network.

[0456] Optionally, after the SMF receives the admission failure confirmation information, the SMF can also inform the requester (such as the AF, the PCF, or the UE, etc.) that the service flow admission fails or reject the service flow request (such as the QoS request) or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send indication information to the requester, which is used to indicate that the DIP transmission network rejects the admission request of the service flow. Optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, which is used to indicate the reason why the DIP transmission network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0457] The above embodiment gives a flow of performing DIP transmission network admission control on a 5G service flow in a 5GS supporting DIP scenario. The UPF / RAN is used as a storage network element of DIP instance information, the admission control function is performed by the 5GS side, and the admission judgment is performed by the UPF / RAN, without additional interaction with the DIP transmission network, which is suitable for a distributed architecture.

[0458] Please refer to FIG. 8, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 can be applied to the distributed architecture shown in FIG. 3, and the interaction flow between the SMF and the UPF / RAN is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In the embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UPF / RAN.

[0459] As shown in FIG. 8, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0460] S801, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transmission for a service flow.

[0461] For specific description of step S801, the related description of step S501 can be referred to, which will not be repeated here.

[0462] S802a, the SMF sends a request for obtaining to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the request for obtaining from the SMF.

[0463] In step S802a, the request for obtaining is used to request obtaining the DIP instance information, or in other words, is used to request or trigger the UPF to return the DIP instance information.

[0464] S802b, the SMF sends a request for obtaining to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the request for obtaining from the SMF.

[0465] In step S802b, the obtaining request is used to request obtaining the DIP instance information, or used to request or trigger the RAN to return the DIP instance information.

[0466] S803a, the UPF returns the DIP instance information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the DIP instance information from the UPF.

[0467] In step S803a, the DIP instance information returned by the UPF is from the DIP instance information stored by the UPF. The DIP instance information includes information of at least one DIP instance, and the information of the DIP instance can include identity information (e.g. DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, and quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance.

[0468] S803b, the RAN returns the DIP instance information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the DIP instance information from the RAN.

[0469] In step S803b, the DIP instance information returned by the RAN is from the DIP instance information stored by the RAN. The DIP instance information includes information of at least one DIP instance, and the information of the DIP instance can include identity information (e.g. DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, and quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance.

[0470] Optionally, the UPF / RAN can also perform parameter mapping. In the case that the UPF / RAN performs parameter mapping, the DIP instance information received by the SMF can include the mapped parameters of the quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance.

[0471] Optionally, the SMF can also perform parameter mapping. For example, in the case that the UPF / RAN does not perform parameter mapping, the SMF can further perform the following step S804.

[0472] S804, the SMF performs parameter mapping.

[0473] For specific description of the parameter mapping in step S804, the relevant description in steps S503 and / or S505 described above can be referred to, which will not be described here.

[0474] S805, the SMF determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0475] Different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, in which the UPF / RAN determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network by the SMF.

[0476] For the downlink service flow, the SMF determines whether the downlink service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the downlink service flow and the DIP instance information from the UPF. For the uplink service flow, the RAN determines whether the uplink service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the uplink service flow and the DIP instance information from the RAN.

[0477] For the specific description of the admission determination in step S805, reference can be made to the related description in step S506 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0478] In one possible case, the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network. In another possible case, the SMF determines that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0479] Optionally, in the case where the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the following steps S806a to S806c can also be included.

[0480] S806a, the SMF determines the target DIP instance.

[0481] For the downlink service flow, the target DIP instance determined by the SMF is the first target DIP instance described above. For the uplink service flow, the target DIP instance determined by the SMF is the second target DIP instance described above.

[0482] For the specific description of the determination of the target DIP instance in step S806a, reference can be made to the related description in step S509a described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0483] S806b, the SMF sends information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the UPF, and accordingly, the UPF receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow from the SMF.

[0484] In step S806b, the target DIP instance refers to the first target DIP instance described above. After determining the first target DIP instance, the SMF can send information indicating the first target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow to the UPF, to inform the UPF of the DIP instance (i.e., the first target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow, or in other words, to trigger the UPF to update the information of the first target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the downlink service flow.

[0485] After the UPF receives the information indicating the first target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the downlink service flow, the UPF can determine the first target DIP instance and update the information of the first target DIP instance stored by the UPF based on the flow requirement of the downlink service flow. For example, the UPF can update the current available residual bandwidth of the first target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the downlink service flow.

[0486] In step S806c, the SMF sends, to the RAN, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow, and accordingly, the RAN receives, from the SMF, the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0487] In step S806c, the target DIP instance refers to the second target DIP instance described above. After the SMF determines the second target DIP instance, the SMF can send, to the RAN, information indicating the second target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the uplink service flow, to inform the RAN of the DIP instance (i.e., the second target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirement of the uplink service flow, or to trigger the RAN to update the information of the second target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the uplink service flow.

[0488] After the RAN receives the information indicating the second target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the uplink service flow, the RAN can determine the second target DIP instance and update the information of the second target DIP instance stored by the RAN based on the flow requirement of the uplink service flow. For example, the RAN can update the current available residual bandwidth of the second target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement of the uplink service flow.

[0489] Optionally, in the case where the SMF determines that the service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network, the SMF can also inform the requestor (e.g., an AF, a PCF, or a UE, etc.) of the failure of the service flow to be admitted or reject the request (e.g., a QoS request) of the service flow or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send, to the requestor, indication information indicating that the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow, and optionally, the indication information can also include a cause value indicating the reason why the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0490] The above embodiment gives a process of performing DIP transport network admission control on a 5G service flow in a scenario where a 5GS supports DIP, and the UPF / RAN serves as a storage network element of DIP instance information, the admission control function is performed by the 5GS side, specifically by the SMF, the DIP instance information is provided by the UPF / RAN to the SMF to help the SMF implement admission control, no additional interaction with the DIP transport network is required, and it is suitable for a distributed architecture.

[0491] Please refer to FIG. 9, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments shown in FIG. 9 can be applied to the distributed architecture shown in FIG. 3 or the centralized architecture shown in FIG. 4, and the interaction flow between the SMF, the UPF, the RAN, the PCF and the UDR is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In the embodiments, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UDR.

[0492] As shown in FIG. 9, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0493] S901, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transmission for a service flow.

[0494] For specific description of step S901, reference can be made to the related description of step S501 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0495] S902, the SMF sends an acquisition request to the UDR through the PCF, and correspondingly, the UDR receives the acquisition request from the SMF through the PCF.

[0496] In step S902, the acquisition request is used to request to acquire the DIP instance information, or in other words, to request or trigger the UDR to return the DIP instance information. Specifically, the SMF sends the acquisition request to the PCF, and the PCF forwards the acquisition request to the UDR.

[0497] S903, the UDR returns the DIP instance information to the SMF through the PCF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the DIP instance information from the UDR through the PCF.

[0498] In step S903, the DIP instance information returned by the UDR comes from the DIP instance information stored in the UDR. Exemplarily, the DIP instance information can be the DIP instance information supported by the RAN and / or the UPF for accessing corresponding to the current session, or can be all DIP instance information supported by the RAN for accessing.

[0499] Specifically, the UDR sends the DIP instance information to the PCF, and the PCF forwards the DIP instance information to the SMF. The DIP instance information includes information of at least one DIP instance, and the information of the DIP instance can include identity information (such as DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, and quality of service guarantee and / or remaining resources of the DIP instance.

[0500] Optionally, the DIP instance information stored in the UDR can contain the quality of service guarantee and / or the parameter after remaining resource mapping of the DIP instance, and the parameter mapping can be performed by other network elements (such as edge nodes) and stored in the UDR after the parameter mapping or performed by the UDR itself. In this case, the DIP instance information received by the PCF and the SMF can contain the quality of service guarantee and / or the parameter after remaining resource mapping of the DIP instance.

[0501] Optionally, the parameter mapping can also be performed by the PCF. For example, in the case that the UDR does not perform parameter mapping or does not store the quality of service guarantee and / or the parameter after remaining resource mapping of the DIP instance, the PCF can perform parameter mapping, so that the DIP instance information received by the SMF can contain the quality of service guarantee and / or the parameter after remaining resource mapping of the DIP instance.

[0502] Optionally, the parameter mapping can also be performed by the SMF. For example, in the case that the UDR does not perform parameter mapping or does not store the quality of service guarantee and / or the parameter after remaining resource mapping of the DIP instance, or the PCF does not perform parameter mapping, the SMF can also perform the following step S904.

[0503] S904, the SMF performs parameter mapping.

[0504] For specific description of the parameter mapping in step S904, the relevant description in steps S503 and / or S505 described above can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0505] S905, the SMF determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0506] For specific description of the admission judgment in step S905, the relevant description in step S506 described above can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0507] In one possible case, the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network. In another possible case, the SMF determines that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transmission network.

[0508] Optionally, in the case that the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the SMF can trigger a session modification procedure, which can include the following steps.

[0509] S906a, the SMF determines a target DIP instance.

[0510] The target DIP instance can be understood as the DIP instance that the service flow is finally confirmed to be admitted, or can be understood as the DIP instance that the service flow will finally access. For specific description of determining the target DIP instance in step S906a, reference can be made to the related description in step S509a described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0511] Optionally, after the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted by the DIP transmission network, the SMF can trigger a session modification process, which can include the following steps.

[0512] S906b, the SMF sends information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0513] S906c, the SMF sends information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0514] In steps S906b and S906c, the target DIP instance can also be understood as the DIP instance to which the service flow is bound. The information of the service flow can include identity information (such as service flow identifier) of the service flow. The information of the target DIP instance can include identity information (such as DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, DIP end station configuration (such as packet sending period, maximum packet length, etc.), and the like.

[0515] S906d, the SMF sends information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirement of the service flow to the UDR through the PCF, and correspondingly, the UDR receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow from the SMF through the PCF.

[0516] Specifically, after the SMF determines the target DIP instance, the SMF sends information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirement of the service flow to the PCF, and the PCF forwards the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the UDR, so as to inform the UDR of the DIP instance (i.e., the target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirement of the service flow, or in other words, to trigger the UDR to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0517] After the UDR receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow, the UDR can determine the target DIP instance and update the information of the target DIP instance stored by itself based on the flow requirement of the service flow. For example, the UDR can update the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement.

[0518] Optionally, in the case that the SMF determines that the service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network, the SMF can also inform the requester (such as the AF, PCF or UE, etc.) of the failure of the service flow admission or reject the request (such as the QoS request) of the service flow or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send an indication information to the requester, which is used to indicate that the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow. Optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, which is used to indicate the reason why the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0519] The above embodiment gives a flow of performing DIP transport network admission control on a 5G service flow in a scenario where a 5GS supports DIP. The UDR is used as a storage network element of DIP instance information. The admission control function is performed by the 5GS side, and specifically by the SMF. The DIP instance information is provided by the UDR to the SMF through the PCF to help the SMF to implement admission control, without the need for additional interaction with the DIP transport network, which is suitable for distributed architecture and centralized architecture.

[0520] Please refer to FIG. 10, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 10 can be applied to the distributed architecture shown in FIG. 3 or the centralized architecture shown in FIG. 4. The method is illustrated by taking the interaction flow among the SMF, UPF, RAN, PCF and UDR as an example. In the embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the UDR.

[0521] As shown in FIG. 10, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0522] S1001, the PCF receives a request for performing DIP transmission for a service flow.

[0523] Specifically, the PCF can receive a request for performing DIP transmission for a service flow from the AF or other event triggers. In the embodiment of the present application, the flow requirement of the service flow is known to the PCF.

[0524] S1002, the PCF sends an acquisition request to the UDR, and correspondingly, the UDR receives the acquisition request from the SMF.

[0525] In step S1002, the acquisition request is used to request to acquire the DIP instance information, or in other words, to request or trigger the UDR to return the DIP instance information.

[0526] S1003, the UDR returns the DIP instance information to the PCF, and correspondingly, the PCF receives the DIP instance information from the UDR.

[0527] In step S1003, the DIP instance information returned by the UDR is from the DIP instance information stored by the UDR. The DIP instance information includes information of at least one DIP instance, which can include identity information (e.g. DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, and quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance.

[0528] Optionally, the DIP instance information stored by the UDR can contain the parameters of the quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance after mapping, which can be stored in the UDR after being mapped by other network elements (such as edge nodes) or be mapped by the UDR itself. In this case, the DIP instance information received by the PCF can contain the parameters of the quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance after mapping.

[0529] Optionally, the PCF can also perform parameter mapping. For example, in the case that the UDR does not perform parameter mapping or does not store the parameters of the quality of service guarantee and / or residual resource of the DIP instance after mapping, the PCF can further perform the following step S1004.

[0530] S1004, the PCF performs parameter mapping.

[0531] For specific description of parameter mapping in step S1004, reference can be made to the related description in steps S503 and / or S505 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0532] S1005, the PCF determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0533] Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, in which the SMF determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 is that the PCF determines whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network.

[0534] For specific description of admission determination in step S1005, reference can be made to the related description in step S506 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0535] In one possible case, the PCF determines that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network. In another possible case, the PCF determines that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transmission network.

[0536] Optionally, in the case that the PCF determines that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the following step S1006 can also be included.

[0537] S1006, the PCF sends a session modification request to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the session modification request from the PCF.

[0538] The session modification request can include information of the at least one optional DIP instance, and the SMF can obtain the information of the at least one optional DIP instance from the session modification request. The session modification request is used to request the SMF to trigger a session modification procedure, and the session modification procedure can include the following steps.

[0539] S1007a, the SMF determines the target DIP instance.

[0540] The target DIP instance can be understood as a DIP instance that finally confirms the admission of the service flow, or can be understood as a DIP instance that the service flow will finally access. For specific description of determining the target DIP instance in step S1007a, reference can be made to the related description in step S509a described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0541] S1007b, the SMF sends information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0542] S1007c, the SMF sends information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0543] For specific description of steps S1007b and S1007c, reference can be made to the related description of steps S906b and S906c described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0544] S1007d, the SMF sends information indicating the target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow to the UDR through the PCF, and correspondingly, the UDR receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow from the SMF through the PCF.

[0545] Specifically, after the SMF determines the target DIP instance, the SMF sends information indicating the target DIP instance to the PCF (since the PCF already knows the flow requirements of the service flow, the flow requirements of the service flow do not need to be sent to the PCF here), and the PCF forwards the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the UDR, to inform the UDR of the DIP instance (i.e., the target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirements of the service flow, or in other words, to trigger the UDR to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirements of the service flow.

[0546] After the UDR receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow, the UDR can determine the target DIP instance and update the information of the target DIP instance stored by itself based on the flow requirements of the service flow. For example, the UDR can update the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirements.

[0547] Optionally, in the case that the PCF determines that the service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network, the PCF can also inform the requestor (e.g., AF, etc.) that the service flow admission fails or reject the request (e.g., QoS request) of the service flow or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the PCF can send an indication information to the requestor, indicating that the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow, and optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, indicating the reason why the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0548] The above embodiment gives a flow of performing DIP transport network admission control on 5G service flow in the scenario of 5GS supporting DIP, UDR is used as the storage network element of DIP instance information, the admission control function is performed by 5GS side, specifically by PCF, and DIP instance information is provided by UDR to PCF to help PCF implement admission control, without additional interaction with DIP transport network, suitable for distributed architecture and centralized architecture.

[0549] Please refer to FIG. 11, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 11 can be applied to the centralized architecture shown in FIG. 4, and the interaction flow among SMF, UPF, RAN and DIP transport network controller is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In the embodiment, the storage network element of DIP instance information is DIP transport network controller.

[0550] As shown in FIG. 11, the communication method can include but not limited to the following steps.

[0551] S1101, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transport for a service flow.

[0552] For specific description of step S1101, the related description of step S501 can be referred to, which will not be repeated here.

[0553] S1102, the SMF performs parameter mapping.

[0554] For specific description of parameter mapping in step S1102, the related description of step S503 can be referred to, which will not be repeated here.

[0555] S1103, the SMF sends an admission request to the DIP transport network controller, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network controller receives the admission request from the SMF.

[0556] In step S1103, the admission request can contain the flow requirement of the service flow, and the DIP transport network controller can obtain the flow requirement of the service flow from the admission request. Alternatively, in the case where the SMF performs parameter mapping, the admission request can contain the mapped parameters of the service flow. The admission request is used to request the DIP transport network to perform admission judgment on the service flow, or to request or trigger the DIP transport network controller to judge whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0557] Alternatively, in the case where the SMF does not perform parameter mapping, after the DIP transport network controller obtains the flow requirement of the service flow, the following step S1104 can be further performed.

[0558] S1104, the DIP transport network controller performs parameter mapping.

[0559] For specific description of the parameter mapping in step S1104, reference can be made to the related description in steps S503 and / or S505 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0560] Alternatively, step S1102 and step S1104 can be executed alternatively, that is, the SMF can perform parameter mapping, or the DIP transport network controller can perform parameter mapping.

[0561] S1105, the DIP transport network controller determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0562] In step S1105, the DIP instance information is from the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network controller, that is, the DIP transport network controller knows the DIP instance information, and can obtain the DIP instance information from the stored information. Exemplarily, the DIP instance information can be all DIP instance information configured by the current DIP transport network, or DIP instance information supported by the RAN and / or UPF accessed by the current session.

[0563] For specific description of the admission judgment in step S1105, reference can be made to the related description in step S506 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0564] Alternatively, after the DIP transport network controller determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the DIP transport network controller can further generate admission control indication information, which is used to indicate whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0565] S1106, the DIP transport network controller returns the admission control indication information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the admission control indication information from the DIP transport network controller.

[0566] After generating the admission control indication information, the DIP transport network controller returns the admission control indication information to the SMF, to inform the SMF whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0567] In a possible case, the admission control indication information indicates that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, in which case, the admission control indication information can include the information of the at least one optional DIP instance. In another possible case, the admission control indication information indicates that the service flow is not admitted into the DIP transport network.

[0568] Optionally, in the case where the admission control indication information indicates that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transport network, the SMF can trigger a session modification procedure, which can include the following steps.

[0569] S1107a, the SMF determines a target DIP instance.

[0570] The target DIP instance can be understood as a DIP instance that the service flow is finally confirmed to be admitted into, or can be understood as a DIP instance that the service flow will finally access. For specific description of determining the target DIP instance in step S1107a, reference can be made to the related description in step S509a described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0571] S1107b, the SMF sends information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0572] S1107c, the SMF sends information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0573] For specific description of steps S1107b and S1107c, reference can be made to the related description of steps S906b and S906c described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0574] S1107d, the SMF sends information for indicating the target DIP instance to the DIP transport network controller, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network controller receives the information for indicating the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0575] After determining the target DIP instance, the SMF can send information for indicating the target DIP instance to the DIP transport network controller, to inform the DIP transport network controller of the DIP instance that needs to be updated (i.e., the target DIP instance), or in other words, to trigger the DIP transport network controller to update the information of the target DIP instance.

[0576] It can be understood that, since the DIP transport network controller has obtained the flow requirement of the service flow in step S1103, it is not necessary to send the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network controller again in step S1107d.

[0577] After the DIP transport network controller receives the information indicating the target DIP instance, the target DIP instance can be determined, and the information of the target DIP instance stored by the DIP transport network controller is updated based on the flow requirement of the service flow. For example, the DIP transport network controller can update the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement.

[0578] Optionally, in the case where the admission control indication information indicates that the service flow is not admitted by the DIP transport network, the SMF can also inform the requester (such as the AF, PCF or UE, etc.) that the service flow admission fails or reject the request (such as the QoS request) of the service flow or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send indication information to the requester, indicating that the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow, and optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, indicating the reason why the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0579] The above embodiment gives a flow of performing DIP transport network admission control on a 5G service flow in a scenario where a 5GS supports DIP, and the DIP transport network controller is a storage network element of DIP instance information, which performs the admission control function by interacting with the 5GS side and the DIP transport network side, and the admission judgment is made by the DIP transport network controller, which is suitable for centralized architecture.

[0580] Please refer to FIG. 12, which is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 12 can be applied to the centralized architecture shown in FIG. 4, and the interaction flow among the SMF, UPF, RAN and DIP transport network controller is taken as an example to illustrate the method. In the embodiment, the storage network element of the DIP instance information is the DIP transport network controller.

[0581] As shown in FIG. 12, the communication method can include but is not limited to the following steps.

[0582] S1201, the SMF receives a request for performing DIP transmission for a service flow.

[0583] S1202, the SMF sends a request for obtaining to the DIP transport network controller, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network controller receives the request for obtaining from the SMF.

[0584] In step S1202, the request for obtaining is used to request obtaining the DIP instance information, or in other words, to request or trigger the DIP transport network controller to return the DIP instance information.

[0585] S1203, the DIP transport network controller returns the DIP instance information to the SMF, and correspondingly, the SMF receives the DIP instance information from the DIP transport network controller.

[0586] In step S1203, the DIP instance information returned by the DIP transport network controller is from the DIP instance information stored by the DIP transport network controller. The DIP instance information includes information of at least one DIP instance, and the information of the DIP instance can include identity information (such as DIP instance identifier) of the DIP instance, and quality of service guarantee and / or remaining resources of the DIP instance.

[0587] S1204, the SMF performs parameter mapping.

[0588] For specific description of the parameter mapping in step S1204, the corresponding description in step S503 described above can be referred to, and details are not described herein.

[0589] S1205, the SMF determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0590] Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, in which the DIP transport network controller determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 determines whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network by the SMF.

[0591] For specific description of the admission determination in step S1205, the corresponding description in step S506 described above can be referred to, and details are not described herein.

[0592] In one possible case, the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network. In another possible case, the SMF determines that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0593] Optionally, in the case where the SMF determines that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the SMF can trigger a session modification process, which can include the following steps.

[0594] S1206a, the SMF determines a target DIP instance.

[0595] The target DIP instance can be understood as a DIP instance that the service flow is finally confirmed to be admitted to, or can be understood as a DIP instance that the service flow will finally access. For specific description of determining the target DIP instance in step S1206a, the corresponding description in step S509a described above can be referred to, and details are not described herein.

[0596] S1206b, the SMF sends the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the UPF, and correspondingly, the UPF receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0597] S1206c, the SMF sends the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance to the RAN, and correspondingly, the RAN receives the information of the service flow and the target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0598] For specific description of steps S1206b and S1206c, reference can be made to the related description of steps S906b and S906c described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0599] S1206d, the SMF sends the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network controller, and correspondingly, the DIP transport network controller receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow from the SMF.

[0600] After the SMF determines the target DIP instance, the SMF can send the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the DIP transport network controller, to inform the DIP transport network controller of the DIP instance (i.e., the target DIP instance) to be updated and the flow requirement of the service flow, or to trigger the DIP transport network controller to update the information of the target DIP instance according to the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0601] After the DIP transport network controller receives the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow, the DIP transport network controller can determine the target DIP instance and update the information of the target DIP instance stored by itself based on the flow requirement of the service flow. For example, the DIP transport network controller can update the current available residual bandwidth of the target DIP instance according to the GFBR in the flow requirement.

[0602] Optionally, in the case that the SMF determines that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transport network, the SMF can also inform the requester (such as the AF, the PCF or the UE, etc.) of the failure of the service flow to be admitted or reject the request (such as the QoS request) of the service flow or delete the corresponding service flow. For example, the SMF can send indication information to the requester, to indicate that the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow. Optionally, the indication information can also contain a cause value, to indicate the reason why the DIP transport network rejects the admission request of the service flow.

[0603] The above embodiment gives a flow of performing DIP transmission network admission control on a 5G service flow in a scenario where a 5GS supports DIP, the DIP transmission network controller is a storage network element of DIP instance information, and the admission control function is performed by interaction between the 5GS side and the DIP transmission network side, specifically, the admission judgment is performed by the SMF, and the DIP instance information is provided by the DIP transmission network controller to the SMF to help the UPF / RAN to implement admission control, which is suitable for centralized architecture.

[0604] In addition, in the embodiment of the application, the DIP instance information is stored in the DIP transmission network side (for example, a DIP transmission network edge node or a DIP transmission network controller), which has the following advantages: saving storage resources of the 5GS network element; subsequent changes in the DIP transmission network mechanism, improvement or modification of the DIP instance information will not have a great impact on the 5GS; and the update flow of the DIP instance information depends on the internal implementation of the DIP, and there is no need for frequent interaction between the DIP transmission network and the 5GS.

[0605] In the embodiment of the application, the DIP instance information is stored in the 5GS side (for example, the UPF, the RAN or the UDR), which has the following advantages: facilitating the admission of the service flow, the generation of the flow identification information and other functions in the 5GS side without frequent interaction between the 5GS and the DIP transmission network. In addition, the DIP instance information stored in the RAN and the UPF needs to consider the synchronization of the DIP instance information, for example, in the scenario where different RANs (or UPFs) share the same DIP instance, when the information of the DIP instance needs to be updated, different RANs (or UPFs) connected with the DIP instance need to be synchronized to update the DIP instance information, and the DIP instance information stored in the UDR does not need to consider this point.

[0606] The above detailed the method of the embodiment of the application, and the following provides an apparatus for implementing any one of the methods in the embodiment of the application, for example, providing an apparatus including units (or means) for implementing each step performed by the network element / device in any one of the above methods.

[0607] Please refer to FIG. 13, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiment of the application.

[0608] As shown in FIG. 13, the communication apparatus 1300 can include a transceiver unit 1301 and a processing unit 1302. The transceiver unit 1301 and the processing unit 1302 can be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0609] The transceiver unit 1301 can be configured to implement the transmitting function and / or the receiving function. The transceiver unit 1301 can also be referred to as a communication unit. The transceiver unit 1301 can also be a unit integrated with the acquiring unit and the sending unit, where the acquiring unit is configured to implement the receiving function, and the sending unit is configured to implement the transmitting function. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 1301 can be configured to receive information sent by other apparatuses and transmit information to other apparatuses.

[0610] In a possible implementation, the units are described as follows:

[0611] The transceiver unit 1301 is configured to acquire a flow requirement of a service flow, and acquire DIP instance information, where the DIP instance information comprises quality of service assurance and / or residual resource of at least one DIP instance, and each DIP instance corresponds to a pre-configured DIP transport network subnet.

[0612] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0613] In a possible implementation, the quality of service assurance and / or the residual resource of the DIP instance are used to indicate an admission threshold of the DIP instance.

[0614] The determination of whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information comprises:

[0615] If the at least one DIP instance comprises at least one optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network; or

[0616] If the at least one DIP instance does not comprise the optional DIP instance, it is determined that the service flow is not admitted to the DIP transport network.

[0617] The optional DIP instance meets the following condition: the flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance.

[0618] In a possible implementation, the flow requirement of the service flow comprises one or more of a guaranteed bit rate, a packet delay budget, a maximum frame length, or a packet loss rate.

[0619] The admission threshold comprises one or more of residual bandwidth resource, delay assurance, maximum transmission unit allowed, or packet loss rate assurance.

[0620] The flow requirement of the service flow meets the admission threshold of the optional DIP instance comprises one or more of the following:

[0621] the bandwidth resource corresponding to the guaranteed flow bit rate is less than or equal to the residual bandwidth resource of the optional DIP instance;

[0622] the latency requirement corresponding to the packet delay budget is greater than or equal to the latency guarantee of the optional DIP instance;

[0623] the transmission unit corresponding to the maximum frame length is less than or equal to the maximum transmission unit allowed by the optional DIP instance;

[0624] the packet loss rate corresponding to the packet loss rate is greater than or equal to the packet loss rate guarantee of the optional DIP instance.

[0625] In a possible implementation, when it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to:

[0626] send, to a storage network element of the DIP instance information, information indicating a target DIP instance and flow requirements of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance and is the DIP instance into which the service flow is admitted.

[0627] In another possible implementation, when it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to:

[0628] update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirements of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance and is the DIP instance into which the service flow is admitted.

[0629] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transmission network edge node, or the DIP transmission network controller in the method embodiments described above, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transmission network edge node, or the DIP transmission network controller in the method embodiments described above, and can also be a chip of the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transmission network edge node, or the DIP transmission network controller.

[0630] Optionally, the storage network element of the DIP instance information can be the UPF, the RAN, the UDR, the DIP transmission network edge node, or the DIP transmission network controller.

[0631] In a possible design, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the UPF in the foregoing method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the UPF in the foregoing method embodiments, or can be a chip in the UPF. The communication apparatus 1300 can include units for performing operations performed by the UPF in the foregoing method embodiments, and each unit in the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement operations performed by the UPF in the foregoing method embodiments. Wherein, each unit is described as follows:

[0632] The transceiver 1301 is configured to receive a flow requirement of a service flow from an SMF, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself or receive the DIP instance information from a DIP transport network edge node;

[0633] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0634] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to determine a target DIP instance.

[0635] The transceiver 1301 is further configured to send, to the DIP transport network edge node, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0636] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF, and send, to the DIP transport network edge node, the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0637] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to determine a target DIP instance, and update information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0638] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF.

[0639] The processing unit 1302 is further configured to update information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0640] In another possible design, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the RAN in the above-described method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the RAN in the above-described method embodiments, or can be a chip in the RAN. The communication apparatus 1300 can include units for performing operations performed by the RAN in the above-described method embodiments, and each unit in the communication apparatus 1300 is respectively configured to implement operations performed by the RAN in the above-described method embodiments. Wherein, each unit is described as follows:

[0641] The transceiver 1301 is configured to receive the flow requirement of the service flow from the SMF, and obtain the DIP instance information stored by itself or receive the DIP instance information from the DIP transport network edge node;

[0642] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0643] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to determine a target DIP instance.

[0644] The transceiver 1301 is further configured to send, to the DIP transport network edge node, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0645] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF, and send, to the DIP transport network edge node, the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0646] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to determine a target DIP instance, and update information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0647] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the transceiver 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF;

[0648] The processing unit 1302 is further configured to update information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0649] In yet another possible design, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the SMF in the above-described method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the SMF in the above-described method embodiments, or can be a chip in the SMF. The communication apparatus 1300 can include units for performing operations performed by the SMF in the above-described method embodiments, and each unit in the communication apparatus 1300 is respectively for implementing operations performed by the SMF in the above-described method embodiments. Descriptions of the units are as follows:

[0650] The transceiver 1301 is configured to receive DIP instance information from a UPF, a RAN, or a DIP transport network controller, or receive DIP instance information from a UDR through a PCF.

[0651] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether a service flow is admitted to a DIP transport network according to a flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0652] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to determine a target DIP instance.

[0653] The transceiver 1301 is further configured to send, to the UPF, the RAN, or the DIP transport network controller, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0654] In another possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the processing unit 1302 is further configured to determine a target DIP instance.

[0655] The transceiver 1301 is further configured to send, to the UDR through the PCF, information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0656] In yet another possible design, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the PCF in the above-described method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the PCF in the above-described method embodiments, or can be a chip in the PCF. The communication apparatus 1300 can include units for performing operations performed by the PCF in the above-described method embodiments, and each unit in the communication apparatus 1300 is respectively for implementing operations performed by the PCF in the above-described method embodiments. Descriptions of the units are as follows:

[0657] The transceiver 1301 is configured to receive DIP instance information from a UDR.

[0658] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0659] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF, and send the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirement of the service flow to the UDR.

[0660] In another possible design, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the DIP transmission network edge node in the method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the DIP transmission network edge node in the method embodiments, or can be a chip in the DIP transmission network edge node. The communication apparatus 1300 can include units configured to perform operations of the DIP transmission network edge node in the method embodiments, and each unit in the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement operations of the DIP transmission network edge node in the method embodiments.

[0661] The units are described as follows:

[0662] The transceiver unit 1301 is configured to receive a flow requirement of a service flow from a UPF / RAN, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself.

[0663] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0664] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the UPF / RAN.

[0665] The processing unit 1302 is further configured to update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0666] In another possible design, the communication apparatus 1300 can correspond to the DIP transmission network controller in the method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1300 can be the DIP transmission network controller in the method embodiments, or can be a chip in the DIP transmission network controller. The communication apparatus 1300 can include units configured to perform operations of the DIP transmission network controller in the method embodiments, and each unit in the communication apparatus 1300 is configured to implement operations of the DIP transmission network controller in the method embodiments. The units are described as follows:

[0667] The transceiver unit 1301 is configured to receive the flow requirement of a service flow from an SMF, and obtain DIP instance information stored by itself;

[0668] The processing unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the service flow is admitted into a DIP transmission network according to the flow requirement of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

[0669] In a possible implementation, in a case where it is determined that the service flow is admitted into the DIP transmission network, the transceiver unit 1301 is further configured to receive information indicating a target DIP instance from the SMF;

[0670] The processing unit 1302 is further configured to update the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirement of the service flow.

[0671] According to the embodiments of the present application, each unit in the apparatus shown in FIG. 13 can be combined into one or several other units respectively or all, or some of the units can be further split into a plurality of units with smaller functions to constitute, which can realize the same operation without affecting the implementation of the technical effects of the embodiments of the present application. The above units are divided based on logical functions. In actual application, the function of one unit can also be implemented by a plurality of units, or the functions of a plurality of units are implemented by one unit. In other embodiments of the present application, the above apparatus can also include other units, and in actual application, these functions can also be implemented by other units, and can be implemented by a plurality of units.

[0672] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments.

[0673] Please refer to FIG. 14, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 1400 can include a processor 1401. Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can also include a memory 1402. Further optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can also include a communication interface 1403 and a bus 1404. The processor 1401, the memory 1402 and the communication interface 1403 are in communication connection with each other through the bus 1404. The communication interface 1403 is configured to interact with other devices for data.

[0674] The processor 1401 is a module for performing arithmetic operations and logical operations, and can be one or a combination of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU), etc. The processor 1401 can also be other general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0675] The memory 1402 is configured to provide a storage space, in which data such as an operating system and a computer program can be stored. The memory 1402 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).

[0676] In some possible design, the communication apparatus 1400 can correspond to the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller in the above method embodiments, for example, the communication apparatus 1400 can be the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller in the above method embodiments, and can also be a processor or circuit or chip or chip system of the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller. The communication apparatus 1400 can include components for performing the operations performed by the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller in the above method embodiments, and the processor 1401 in the communication apparatus 1400 calls the computer program stored in the memory 1402 to perform the method shown in the above method embodiments in order to realize the operations performed by the UPF, the RAN, the SMF, the PCF, the DIP transport network edge node or the DIP transport network controller in the above method embodiments.

[0677] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 can be a chip or a chip system. For the case where the communication apparatus 1400 is a chip or a chip system, the structure of the chip is shown in FIG. 15.

[0678] As shown in FIG. 15, the chip 1500 includes a processor 1501 and an interface 1502. The number of the processor 1501 can be one or more, and the number of the interface 1502 can be multiple. It should be noted that the functions of the processor 1501 and the interface 1502 can be realized by hardware design, software design or a combination of hardware and software, which is not limited here.

[0679] Optionally, the chip 1500 can further include a memory 1503, which is used to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0680] In this application, the processor 1501 can be used to call the implementation program of the communication method provided by one or more embodiments of the application in an electronic device from the memory 1503, and execute the instructions contained in the program. The interface 1502 can be used to output the execution result of the processor 1501. In this application, the interface 1502 can be specifically used to output various messages or information of the processor 1501.

[0681] The communication method provided by one or more embodiments of the application can refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0682] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are run on a processor, the method shown in the method embodiments can be implemented.

[0683] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which includes computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are run on a processor, the method shown in the method embodiments can be implemented.

[0684] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which includes at least one of the communication device 1300 or the communication device 1400 or the chip 1500.

[0685] It should be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a hard disk (HDD), a solid-state drive (SSD), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include but not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0686] In the above embodiments, all or part can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment or other programmable apparatus. The computer programs or 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 programs or instructions can be transferred from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired or wireless manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; and a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk. The computer readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile storage media.

[0687] Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments provided herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0688] 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.

[0689] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented by other manners. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0690] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., can be located in one place or can be distributed to a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0691] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0692] If the functions are realized 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 this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application or the parts that essentially contribute to the technology or the parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of software products. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of 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 method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk and various program code storage media.

[0693] The above is merely a specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Obtain the flow requirements of the business flow; Obtain DIP instance information, which includes the quality of service guarantee and / or remaining resources of at least one DIP instance, and each DIP instance corresponds to a pre-configured DIP transport network subnet; The decision on whether a service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network is determined based on the flow requirements of the service flow and the DIP instance information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The quality of service guarantee and / or remaining resources of the DIP instance are used to indicate the admission threshold of the DIP instance; The step of determining whether a service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network based on the flow requirements of the service flow and the DIP instance information includes: If the at least one DIP instance includes at least one optional DIP instance, then the service flow is determined to be admitted to the DIP transport network; or, If the optional DIP instance is not included in the at least one DIP instance, then the service flow is determined not to be admitted to the DIP transport network; The optional DIP instance meets the following condition: the flow requirements of the service flow meet the entry requirements of the optional DIP instance.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The flow requirements of the service flow include one or more of the following: guaranteed flow bit rate, packet delay budget, maximum frame length, or packet error rate. The admission thresholds include one or more of the following: remaining bandwidth resources, latency guarantee, maximum allowed transmission unit, or packet loss rate guarantee. The flow requirements of the service flow meet the admission criteria of the optional DIP instance, including one or more of the following: The bandwidth resources corresponding to the guaranteed stream bit rate are less than or equal to the remaining bandwidth resources of the optional DIP instance; The latency requirement corresponding to the packet latency budget is greater than or equal to the latency guarantee of the optional DIP instance; The transmission unit corresponding to the maximum frame length is less than or equal to the maximum transmission unit allowed by the optional DIP instance; The packet loss rate corresponding to the error rate is greater than or equal to the packet loss rate guarantee of the optional DIP instance.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The flow requirements for obtaining the business flow include: Radio access network elements, user plane function network elements, or DIP transport network controllers receive flow requests for service flows from session management network elements; or, DIP transmission network edge nodes receive service flow requests from radio access network elements or user plane function network elements.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The process of obtaining DIP instance information includes: The wireless access network element or user plane function element receives DIP instance information from the edge node of the DIP transport network; or, The session management network element receives DIP instance information from the radio access network element, user plane function network element, or DIP transport network controller; or, The session management network element receives DIP instance information from the unified data storage network element through the policy control network element; or, The policy control network element receives DIP instance information from the unified data storage network element.

6. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, If it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the method further includes: Send information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the network element storing the DIP instance information, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance, and is the DIP instance that the service flow is admitted to.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The network element storing the DIP instance information is the edge node of the DIP transmission network. Sending information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the network element storing the DIP instance information includes: A wireless access network element or a user plane function element determines a target DIP instance and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node; or, The wireless access network element or user plane function element receives information from the session management network element indicating the target DIP instance, and sends the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the DIP transport network edge node.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The network element storing the DIP instance information is a wireless access network element, a user plane function network element, or a DIP transmission network controller. Sending information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the network element storing the DIP instance information includes: The session management network element determines the target DIP instance and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the radio access network element, the user plane function network element, or the DIP transport network controller.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The network element storing the DIP instance information is a unified data storage network element; Sending information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the network element storing the DIP instance information includes: The session management network element determines the target DIP instance and sends information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the unified data storage network element through the policy control network element; or, The policy control network element receives information from the session management network element indicating the target DIP instance, and sends the information indicating the target DIP instance and the flow requirements of the service flow to the unified data storage network element.

10. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, If it is determined that the service flow is admitted to the DIP transport network, the method further includes: The information of the target DIP instance is updated based on the flow requirements of the service flow, wherein the target DIP instance is one of the at least one optional DIP instance, and serves as the DIP instance for which the service flow is admitted.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The network element storing the DIP instance information is a radio access network element or a user plane function network element. The updating of the target DIP instance information based on the flow requirements of the service flow includes: The radio access network element or the user plane function network element determines the target DIP instance and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirements of the service flow; or, The radio access network element or the user plane function network element receives information from the session management network element indicating the target DIP instance, and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirements of the service flow.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The network element storing the DIP instance information is the edge node of the DIP transmission network. The updating of the target DIP instance information based on the flow requirements of the service flow includes: The DIP transport network edge node receives information from radio access network elements or user plane function elements indicating the target DIP instance, and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirements of the service flow.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The network element storing the DIP instance information is the DIP transmission network controller; The updating of the target DIP instance information based on the flow requirements of the service flow includes: The DIP transport network controller receives information from the session management network element indicating the target DIP instance, and updates the information of the target DIP instance based on the flow requirements of the service flow.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A unit for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A communication device, characterized in that, include: Includes a processor for executing a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 to be implemented.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 to be implemented.

17. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 to be implemented.

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