Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, capable of effectively improving the user plane data processing efficiency for QoS flows and reducing the user plane data processing delay for the QoS flow. The method comprises: upon acquiring data packets of a first QoS flow, a first communication apparatus processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel by means of a plurality of first modules that implement a PDCP function, and correspondingly, a second communication apparatus receives the data packets of the first QoS flow by means of the plurality of first modules. Thus, by processing the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel, the user plane data processing efficiency for QoS flows is significantly improved.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410840227.0 filed on June 25, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication, in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In a mobile communication scenario, the interaction of service information between a terminal and a network device needs to rely on a radio access network protocol stack. For example, in a user plane data transmission process, the radio access network protocol stack can include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence layer protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access link control (MAC) layer, and a physical (PHY) layer, etc.

[0004] In a user plane data transmission process, the downlink data of the access network device usually goes through the processing of the SDAP layer, the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, and the MAC layer in turn, and then is sent to the terminal through the physical layer. After the terminal receives the downlink data through the physical layer, each layer protocol performs data processing in reverse order according to the processing order of the network device.

[0005] However, in the current service information interaction mode, the data processing delay of the user plane data is large, and the user experience of the user for high-speed low-latency services is not good. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can effectively reduce the data processing delay of the user plane data, thereby improving the user experience of the user for high-speed low-latency services.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first communication device, a module (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) applied to the first communication device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal or an access network device. The method includes obtaining a plurality of first data packets, the plurality of first data packets being data packets of a first quality of service (QoS) flow; and sending a plurality of second data packets through a plurality of first modules, the plurality of second data packets being determined according to the plurality of first data packets, and the first modules being used to implement packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, in the process of processing the data packets of the first QoS flow by the first communication device, the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed in parallel through a plurality of branches of a radio bearer or through a plurality of radio bearers, which greatly improves the total number of data packets of the first QoS flow that can be processed per unit time, improves the efficiency of processing data packets by the user plane protocol stack, and is beneficial to reducing the user plane processing delay of the data packets of the QoS flow in the transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device, thereby meeting the delay requirement of the high-rate low-latency service and improving the service experience of the user on the high-rate low-latency service.

[0009] In a possible design, a ratio between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter is a first value, the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the first QoS flow, and the first parameter is used to indicate a QoS requirement of the first QoS flow.

[0010] In a possible design, a sum of the first parameters corresponding to the plurality of first modules is greater than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0011] In a possible design, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: an aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR), a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR), a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), or a maximum data burst volume (MDBV).

[0012] Based on this scheme, in the process of processing the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel by the first communication device through the plurality of first modules, the QoS requirement that can be provided by the plurality of first modules is higher than or equal to the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow, which guarantees the requirement of processing the data packets of the first QoS flow.

[0013] In a possible design, the first parameter corresponding to the first module is less than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0014] In a possible design, the first parameter includes at least one of a packet error rate (PER), a packet delay budget (PDB), a maximum packet loss rate (MPLR), or an average window size (AW).

[0015] Based on the scheme, when the first parameter reflects the data packet transmission quality requirement / energy, the first parameter of the first module is smaller than the first parameter in the first QoS parameter, which reduces the probability of data packet loss or disorder of the first QoS flow due to insufficient transmission capacity of the first module, and ensures the data packet transmission quality of the first QoS flow.

[0016] In a possible design, the obtaining the plurality of first data packets includes: obtaining the plurality of first data packets and data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets, the data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets being used for the first module to implement the function of the first module on the first data packets.

[0017] Based on the scheme, the first module no longer performs the numbering and reordering functions of data packets, and the numbering and reordering of data packets are performed by an upper module of the first module, so that when the plurality of first modules processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel, the data packets of the first QoS flow can also be delivered in sequence, and the adaptability to different QoS flows and application scenarios is improved.

[0018] In a possible design, the communication method further includes: obtaining PDCP status reports corresponding to the plurality of first modules of the first communication device, the PDCP status reports including second information, and the second information being used to indicate the first module corresponding to the PDCP status report.

[0019] Based on the scheme, the first communication device can accurately obtain the data packet sending state of each first module, and facilitate the first communication device to accurately perform data packet retransmission in the case that the first module has data packet misdelivery or missing delivery.

[0020] In a possible design, the communication method further includes: receiving first information, and the first information indicating that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed by the plurality of first modules.

[0021] Based on the scheme, the first communication device can also accurately process the data packets of the first QoS flow by the plurality of first modules in parallel in the case that the first communication device is a terminal.

[0022] In a possible design, the first information includes QoS requirements that need to be met by the first module.

[0023] In a possible design, the first information includes a first parameter corresponding to the first module, or the first information includes an association relationship between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0024] Based on the scheme, the first communication device can accurately set the QoS requirement provided by each first module.

[0025] In a possible design, the first value is determined according to feedback information of the first module, and the feedback information is used to indicate the QoS requirement that can be met by the first module.

[0026] In a possible design, the communication method further includes: sending, to the target access network device, third information used to indicate the data packet number corresponding to the first module, and the data packet number corresponding to the first module is used to indicate the data packet sending state of the first module.

[0027] Based on the scheme, the target access network device can accurately acquire the data packet sending progress of the first communication device, and accurately send the remaining first QoS flow data packets to be sent to the second communication device after the second communication device performs cell switching.

[0028] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a second communication device, or a module (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) applied to the second communication device, or a logic node, a logic module, or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the second communication device. The second communication device can be a terminal or an access network device. The method includes: receiving a plurality of second data packets through a plurality of first modules, the plurality of second data packets being data packets of a first QoS flow, and the first module being used to implement a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) function; and submitting a plurality of first data packets to a second module, the plurality of first data packets being determined according to the plurality of second data packets, and the second module being an upper module of the first module. The technical effects brought by the second aspect can refer to the technical effects brought by the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0029] In a possible design, a ratio between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter is a first value, and the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter of the first QoS flow, and the first parameter is used to indicate a QoS requirement of the first QoS flow.

[0030] In a possible design, a sum of the first parameters corresponding to the plurality of first modules is greater than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0031] In a possible design, the first parameter includes at least one of the following: an aggregated maximum bit rate (AMBR), a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR), a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), or a maximum data burst volume (MDBV).

[0032] In a possible design, the first parameter corresponding to the first module is less than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0033] In a possible design, the first parameter includes at least one of a packet error rate (PER), a packet delay budget (PDB), a maximum packet loss rate (MPLR), or an average window size (AW).

[0034] In a possible design, submitting the plurality of first data packets to the second module includes submitting the plurality of first data packets and data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets to the second module, where the data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets are used by the first module to implement the function of the first module on the plurality of first data packets.

[0035] In a possible design, the communication method further includes: sending a plurality of PDCP status reports corresponding to the plurality of first modules, where each PDCP status report includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate the first module corresponding to the PDCP status report.

[0036] In a possible design, the first value is determined according to feedback information of the first module, where the feedback information is used to indicate a QoS requirement that can be met by the first module.

[0037] In a possible design, the communication method further includes: sending fourth information to the target access network device, where the fourth information is used to indicate data packet numbers corresponding to the first module, and the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module are used to indicate a data packet receiving status of the first module.

[0038] Based on this scheme, the target access network device can accurately obtain the receiving progress of the second communication device on the first QoS flow data packets, and then instruct the first communication device to send the remaining data packets that have not been received, thereby avoiding repeated sending of the first QoS flow data packets.

[0039] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is configured to implement various methods. The communication apparatus includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the methods, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or by a combination of hardware and software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0040] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus can include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be configured to implement the processing functions in any of the aspects and any of the possible implementations. The transceiver module can include a receiving module and a sending module, which are configured to implement the receiving functions and the sending functions in any of the aspects and any of the possible implementations.

[0041] In some possible designs, the transceiver module can be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any one of the first aspect.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is configured to communicate with modules outside the communication apparatus; the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions, so as to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any one of the first aspect.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory, so as to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any one of the first aspect. The memory can be coupled with the processor, or can be independent of the processor.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system) is provided, which comprises a processor configured to implement the functions involved in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0046] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus comprises a memory configured to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0047] In some possible designs, when the apparatus is a chip system, the apparatus can be composed of a chip, or can comprise a chip and other discrete devices.

[0048] It can be understood that the communication apparatus provided by the third aspect to the seventh aspect can be the first communication apparatus in the first aspect, or can be a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) corresponding to the first communication apparatus in executing the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, or can be a module or unit capable of matching the first communication apparatus, or can also be a logic node, a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first communication apparatus; or the communication apparatus can be the second communication apparatus in the second aspect, or can be a module or unit (for example, a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) corresponding to the second communication apparatus in executing the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, or can be a module or unit capable of matching the second communication apparatus, or can also be a logic node, a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second communication apparatus.

[0049] It can be understood that when the communication apparatus in any one of the third aspect to the seventh aspect is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication apparatus can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication apparatus can be understood as inputting information.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions, when executed on a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0051] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which contains instructions, when executed on a communication device, causes the communication device to perform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0052] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first communication device configured to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible design thereof, and a second communication device configured to perform the method in the second aspect or any possible design thereof.

[0053] The technical effects brought by any design of the third aspect to the tenth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by different designs of the first aspect to the second aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0054] FIG. 1 is a structure diagram of a radio access network side protocol stack provided by the present application;

[0055] FIG. 2 is a structure diagram of a terminal transmission resource provided by the present application;

[0056] FIG. 3 is a principle diagram of a protocol layer function provided by the present application;

[0057] FIG. 4 is a principle diagram of PDCP duplication provided by the present application;

[0058] FIG. 5 is a structure diagram of a communication system provided by the present application;

[0059] FIG. 6 is a structure diagram of an O-RAN system provided by the present application;

[0060] FIG. 7 is a protocol layer architecture diagram of a CU-DU provided by the present application;

[0061] FIG. 8 is another protocol layer architecture diagram of a CU-DU provided by the present application;

[0062] FIG. 9 is a protocol layer architecture diagram of an access network device in an O-RAN system provided by the present application;

[0063] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by the present application;

[0064] FIG. 11 is a diagram of a data packet processing flow provided by the present application;

[0065] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another data packet processing flow provided by the present application;

[0066] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a communication method in an O-RAN structure provided by the present application;

[0067] FIGS. 14-16 are schematic diagrams of communication apparatus provided by the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “ / ” represents that the objects before and after the “ / ” are in an “or” relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; “and / or” in the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0069] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “multiple” means two or more than two. “At least one of the following” or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0070] In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects are distinguished by using “first”, “second”, etc. The skilled in the art can understand that “first”, “second”, etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and “first”, “second”, etc. also do not necessarily mean different.

[0071] In the embodiments of the present application, the words “exemplary” or “for example” are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as “exemplary” or “for example” in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of “exemplary” or “for example” is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner, facilitating understanding.

[0072] It can be understood that the "embodiments" mentioned throughout the specification mean that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It can be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0073] It can be understood that in the present application, "…", "if" and "when" all refer to the corresponding processing under certain objective conditions, not limited by time, and do not require judgment actions when implementing, nor mean that there are other limitations.

[0074] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented independently in some scenarios without relying on other features, such as the scheme currently based on, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. In some scenarios, it can also be combined with other features according to demand. Correspondingly, the devices given in the embodiments of the present application can also realize these features or functions, which will not be described here.

[0075] In the present application, except for special description, the same or similar parts of each embodiment can be mutually referred. In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referred, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship. The following description of the embodiments of the present application does not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0076] In order to facilitate the understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, first, a brief introduction of the related technologies of the present application is given as follows.

[0077] 1. Radio access network side protocol stack:

[0078] The radio protocol stack at the side of the radio access network can be divided into a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. The user plane protocol stack can include a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a physical (PHY) layer, and the like. Among them, the PHY layer belongs to the first layer (also referred to as layer 1, L1), the MAC layer, the RLC layer, the PDCP layer, and the SDAP layer belong to the second layer (also referred to as layer 2, L2). The RRC layer of the control plane belongs to the third layer (also referred to as layer 3, L3).

[0079] Generally, the service of transmitting user data between the terminal and the access network device provided by the layer 2 can be referred to as a radio bearer (RB). Exemplarily, the service of transmitting user data between the terminal and the access network device can be implemented by each protocol layer belonging to the layer 2. That is, the processing of each protocol layer on the data packet can be figuratively combined and referred to as a radio bearer, and each data packet in the radio bearer needs to pass through the processing of each protocol layer of the layer 2.

[0080] Exemplarily, each radio bearer configuration includes a PDCP entity, and is associated with an RLC entity, and one RLC entity corresponds to one logical channel. The logical channel can be understood as a channel between the RLC layer and the MAC layer.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 1, in the user plane protocol stack, the SDAP layer is above the PDCP layer, the PDCP layer is above the RLC layer, the RLC layer is above the MAC layer, and the MAC layer is above the physical layer. For data downlink, after the downlink data reaches the access network device, each protocol layer processes the data packet in turn according to the order from top to bottom shown in FIG. 1, and finally transmits the data packet to the terminal through the air interface. The terminal receives the data packet through the air interface, and processes the data packet in turn according to the order opposite to that of the access network device. Among them, the processing of each protocol layer on the data packet is implemented by the multifunctional entity corresponding to the protocol layer, for example, the processing of the PDCP layer is implemented by the corresponding PDCP layer entity.

[0082] Currently, for data processing in a single quality of service (QoS) flow, data of the QoS flow is sequentially processed in series after being mapped to a data radio bearer (DRB) at the SDAP layer, and then passing through the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer.

[0083] 2. QoS parameters:

[0084] Each QoS flow has a corresponding QoS Profile corresponding to a QoS flow identifier (QFI) and a corresponding plurality of QoS parameters.

[0085] For example, the QoS parameters in the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G) can include: 5G QoS indicator (5QI), allocation and retention priority (ARP), reflective QoS attribute (Reflective QoS), guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), maximum flow bit rate (MFBR), maximum packet loss rate (MPLR), aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR), or notification control (Notification control), etc.

[0086] Among them, 5QI is used to index the characteristics of a 5G QoS, and each 5QI is associated with a series of QoS characteristic parameters of a QoS flow. ARP is used to identify the relative importance of resource requests. Reflective QoS is used to indicate that certain traffic on the QoS flow can be affected by reflective QoS. MPLR is used to identify the maximum packet loss rate that the air interface side QoS flow can accept. AMBR is used to identify the maximum total bit rate that the terminal can use. GFBR is used to identify the flow bit rate that needs to be guaranteed within a default average window (for example, the bit rate that needs to be guaranteed within a 2000ms window is 500,000,000,000bit / s); MFBR is used to identify the maximum flow bit rate within a default average window (for example, the maximum bit rate that needs to be supported within a 2000ms window is 1,000,000,000,000bit / s). Notification control is used to modify or remove the QoS flow (for example, when the GFBR cannot be met on the radio access network side, the session management function (SMF) of the core network is notified, and the SMF initiates N2 signaling to modify or remove the QoS flow).

[0087] For example, 5QI can indicate at least one of the following of the QoS flow: resource type, priority level, packet delay budget (PDB) value, packet error rate (PER), default maximum data burst volume (MDBV), and default averaging window (AW).

[0088] Among them, the resource type is used to identify the type of the QoS flow, and the resource type of the QoS flow includes: a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow that requires guaranteed traffic bit rate, a non-GBR QoS flow that does not require guaranteed traffic bit rate, and a delay critical GBR QoS flow that uses delay critical GBR resources and requires guaranteed traffic bit rate. The maximum data burst is applicable to certain GBR services, and reflects the maximum amount of data that needs to be served by the 5G access network within a packet delay budget period, for example, 255 bits of data within 10ms. The average window size is used to identify the duration of the average window used to calculate GFBR and MFBR.

[0089] For example, when a terminal in communication with an access network device supports two QoS flows, the relationship between the parameters can refer to FIG. 2. The resources corresponding to each QoS flow can include GBR and Non-GBR. The GBR includes GFBR and MFBR in the data uplink and data downlink processes. The GBR and the Non-GBR together constitute an AMBR of a QoS flow. The sum of the AMBRs of the two QoS flows corresponds to the AMBR of the terminal. For example, the sum of the first session AMBR corresponding to the first session and the second session AMBR corresponding to the second session is the terminal AMBR.

[0090] 3. Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer:

[0091] Currently, the main functions of the SDAP layer include: mapping QoS flows to DRBs, adding QoS flow identifiers to the SDAP headers of uplink and downlink protocol data units (PDUs), and implementing reflective QoS flows.

[0092] Referring to (a) in FIG. 3, the SDAP layer maps data packets of different QoS flows included in a session to DRBs corresponding to the QoS flows. Currently, in the process of mapping data packets of a QoS flow to a DRB, data packets of a QoS flow are only mapped to one DRB. The SDAP layer can also support multiple QoS flows mapping to the same DRB. For example, in the case where a terminal has many service types (multiple QoS flows) and the number of DRBs is limited, multiple QoS flows with similar QoS characteristics can be mapped to the same DRB through QoS flow to DRB mapping relationship configuration.

[0093] The purpose of the SDAP layer adding QFI identifiers in the PDU SDAP header is to enable the PDU to support the non-access stratum reflection QoS (NAS Reflection QoS) function, thereby achieving finer service granularity division in 5G authentication management functions, and facilitating the access network device to implement more differentiated processing of services on the basis of the fine granularity division of the core network.

[0094] The function of the SDAP layer implementing reflective QOS flows is mainly concentrated on the user side. The access network device implements this function by carrying a router-identifier (RID) in the downlink data packet.

[0095] 4. Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer:

[0096] Currently, the PDCP layer is mainly used to process RRC layer messages on the control plane and internet protocol (IP) data packets on the user plane. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer include security functions (such as data encryption / decryption, data integrity protection / verification), IP header compression / decompression, discarding of timeout user plane data packets, user plane data reordering, and user plane data retransmission.

[0097] The PDU of the PDCP layer is assembled by a service data unit (SDU) of the PDCP layer and a PDCP header. The PDU of the PDCP layer is divided into a data PDU and a control PDU; the data PDU includes user plane data and control plane data; and the control PDU includes a PDCP status report and a robust header compression (ROHC) feedback.

[0098] The PDU data (PDU DATA) of the PDCP layer is identified as COUNT, as shown in (b) of FIG. 3. The COUNT is composed of a high-order hyper frame number (HFN) and a low-order PDCP sequence number (SN). The PDCP SN is added in the PDU of the PDCP layer, and the HFN is maintained by the transmitting end and the receiving end. The PDU transmitted by the transmitting end to the receiving end includes the PDCP SN, but does not include the HFN or the COUNT value corresponding to the PDU. The receiving end calculates the COUNT value of each PDU according to the PDCP SN in the PDU. The COUNT value is a 32-bit unsigned number. The transmitting side and the receiving side of the PDCP each maintain a COUNT variable, which is used to determine the sequence number of the PDU.

[0099] In the process of data interaction, the PDCP layer of the transmitting end needs to maintain a state variable TX_NEXT, which is used to indicate the COUNT value of the next transmitted PDCP SDU. The initial value of the variable is 0.

[0100] The variables that need to be maintained by the PDCP layer of the receiving end include RX_NEXT, RX_DELIV and RX_REORD. The RX_NEXT variable indicates the COUNT value of the next PDCP SDU expected to be received by the PDCP layer, and the initial value of the variable is 0; the RX_DELIV variable indicates the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU that has not been delivered to the upper layer but is waiting to be delivered, and the initial value of the variable is 0; and the RX_REORD variable indicates the COUNT+1 of the PDCP data PDU that triggers the t-reordering timer. The PDCP of the receiving end receives the PDCP PDU delivered by the lower layer in the form of a push window plus a t-reordering timer. The meaning of the push window is that the window of the receiving end can only be moved by relying on the update of the lower boundary state variable (RX_DELIV) of the receiving window.

[0101] 5. PDCP duplication

[0102] In a 5G terrestrial cellular wireless communication system, a PDCP duplication transmission mechanism is introduced. As shown in (a) of FIG. 4, in the PDCP duplication mechanism, the PDCP layer duplicates a data packet into multiple copies and transmits the data packet through multiple paths (two RLC entities). By using the PDCP duplication mechanism, it can be ensured that multiple copies of the same data are transmitted between the terminal and the access network device through different paths and carriers. If one copy of the data is lost or fails to be transmitted, but another copy of the data is successfully transmitted, the data transmission is considered to be successful, which greatly improves the reliability of data transmission. Currently, the PDCP duplication mechanism is mainly based on the following two architectures:

[0103] PDCP duplication transmission based on carrier aggregation (CA), that is, CA duplication transmission. It can be understood that the terminal and an access network device perform duplication transmission through different carriers as different paths.

[0104] PDCP duplication transmission based on dual connectivity (DC), that is, DC duplication transmission. It can be understood that the terminal and two access network devices perform duplication transmission through different connections as different paths.

[0105] In order to improve the reliability of data transmission, in the PDCP duplication technology, the PDCP duplicates the data into two copies, which are transmitted on two RLC entities, and the total RLC traffic is twice the PDCP. It can be understood that after the current PDCP duplication mechanism is activated, both RLC entities transmit all PDCP PDUs.

[0106] With the development of mobile communication systems, users have an increasing demand for high-rate low-latency services. For example, as shown in (b) of FIG. 4, the network architecture and target report of the international mobile telecommunications (IMT) evolution discloses that the target peak rate of future mobile communication systems considers 50, 100, 200 gigabits per second (Gbit / s), and the air interface latency target is 0.1 milliseconds to 1 millisecond.

[0107] That is, for future networks, there will be high-rate low-latency service scenarios that require faster user plane processing efficiency to reduce the processing latency of the user plane. However, the current serial processing of the user plane protocol stack has a large processing latency, which cannot meet the latency requirements of high-rate low-latency services.

[0108] Based on this, the present application provides a communication method, in the process of first communication device and second communication device for data packet transmission of first QoS flow, through multiple first modules realizing PDCP function to process data packets of first QoS flow in parallel, which is equivalent to parallel transmission of data packets of a QoS flow through multiple branches of a DRB or through multiple DRBs, so that the total number of data packets of the QoS flow that can be processed per unit time is greatly increased, or in the case of a certain total number of data packets of the QoS flow, the total latency required to complete the processing of the data packets of the QoS flow is significantly reduced, which improves the efficiency of the user plane protocol stack in processing data packets, and is conducive to reducing the user plane processing latency of the data packets of the QoS flow in the transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device, thereby meeting the latency requirements of high-rate low-latency services and improving the service experience of users for high-rate low-latency services.

[0109] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, which can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 4th generation (4G) system, a new radio (NR) system, a 5G system, a system of mixed networking of LTE and 5G, a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a vehicle to everything (V2X) communication system, a machine-type communication (MTC) system, an internet of things (IOT) system, or other future communication systems. The communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system, which is not limited.

[0110] It should be noted that the above-mentioned communication system to which the present application is applied is only an example, and the communication system to which the present application is applied is not limited thereto. The communication system provided by the present application does not cause any limitation to the solutions of the present application. Here, it is uniformly stated that the following will not be described in detail.

[0111] FIG. 5 shows a possible, non-limiting, system diagram. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication system 40 includes a radio access network (RAN) 400 and a core network (CN) 500. The RAN 400 includes at least one access network device (e.g., 410a and 410b in FIG. 5, collectively referred to as 410) and at least one terminal (e.g., 420a-420j in FIG. 5, collectively referred to as 420). Other access network devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 5), etc. can also be included in the RAN 400. The terminal 420 is connected to the access network device 410 in a wireless manner. The access network device 410 is connected to the core network 500 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network 500 and the access network device 410 in the RAN 400 can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the logical functions of the core network and the logical functions of the wireless access network.

[0112] The RAN 400 can be a 3GPP related cellular system, e.g., a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future evolution system. The RAN 400 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 400 can also be a communication system that combines two or more of the above systems.

[0113] The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as D2D, V2X communication, MTC, IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, mechanical arm, smart home device, etc. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0114] The core network device can include an authentication management network element (AMF), a session management network element (SMF), a policy control network element (PCF), a user data management network element (UDM), an application function network element (AF), a network exposure function network element (NEF), a user plane function network element (UPF), etc.

[0115] Among them, the AMF is mainly responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user handover, etc.; the SMF is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, release. Specific functions such as allocating IP addresses for users, selecting UPFs providing message forwarding functions, etc.; PCF is responsible for providing policies to AMF, SMF, such as QoS policy, slice selection policy, etc.; UDM is used to store user data, such as subscription information, authentication / authorization information; AF is responsible for providing services to 3GPP network, such as affecting service routing, interacting with PCF for policy control, etc.; NEF is mainly responsible for opening the capabilities of each network function and the conversion between internal messages and external information; UPF is mainly responsible for processing user messages, such as forwarding, charging, etc.

[0116] The access network device 410, which can also be referred to as a RAN node, a RAN entity or an access node, etc., constitutes a part of the communication system 400 and helps terminals to access wirelessly. The access network devices 410 in the communication system 400 can be nodes of the same type or nodes of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the access network devices 410 and the terminals 420 are relative, for example, the network element 420i in Figure 5 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For a terminal 420j accessing to the RAN 400 through the network element 420i, the network element 420i is a base station; but for the base station 410a, the network element 420i is a terminal. The access network devices 410 and the terminals 420 are sometimes referred to as communication apparatuses, for example, the network elements 410a and 410b in Figure 5 can be understood as communication apparatuses with base station functions, and the network elements 420a-420j can be understood as communication apparatuses with terminal functions.

[0117] In a possible scenario, the access network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a TRP, a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The access network device can be a macro base station (such as 410a in FIG. 5), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 410b in FIG. 5), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the access network device can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network device in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The access network device in this application can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0118] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices cooperate to assist a terminal to implement wireless access, and different access network devices respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the access network device can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna processing unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0119] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU can also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), DU can also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP can also be referred to as O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and RU can also be referred to as O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are taken as examples for description in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be realized by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0120] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is a possible and non-limiting schematic diagram of an O-RAN system. In which, the CU, DU and RU cooperate to assist the terminal to realize wireless access. The CU, DU and RU can be included in the access network device, and the CU and DU can be included in the BBU of the access network device.

[0121] Referring to FIG. 6, the access network device communicates with the core network device through a backhaul link and communicates with the terminal through an air interface. Specifically, the BBU of the access network device communicates with the core network device through the backhaul link, and the RU of the access network device communicates with at least one terminal device through the air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU through a front-haul link, and the CU communicates with at least one DU through a mid-haul link. The BBU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located.

[0122] As a possible implementation, the CU and the DU respectively implement part of the protocol layer functions of the access network device, such as the functions of part of the protocol layer are implemented in the CU, and the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are implemented in the DU, and the CU can control one or more DUs.

[0123] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the CU can deploy the RRC layer, the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer, or in other words, the CU can be understood as a logical node carrying the RRC layer, the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer of the access network device. Therefore, the CU has the processing capability of the RRC, PDCP and SDAP layers, and of course, the CU can also implement or carry other control functions. The DU can deploy the RLC layer, the MAC layer and the PHY layer, or in other words, the DU can be understood as a logical node carrying the RLC layer, the MAC layer and the PHY layer, so that the DU has the processing capability of the RLC, MAC and PHY layers, and of course, the DU can also implement or carry other functions.

[0124] Optionally, the CU is connected with network nodes such as core network nodes through some interfaces, which can be N2 interface and the like. In addition, the CU can also implement part of the functions of the core network. The CU (e.g., PDCP layer and higher layer) is connected with the DU (e.g., RLC layer and lower layer) through some interfaces, which can be F1 interface and the like. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., F1 interface) can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, and the like). For example, F1 supports control plane functions through F1-C and supports user plane functions through F1-U.

[0125] In an example, the CU can include a CU-CP and a CU-UP, and the CU-CP and the CU-UP can communicate through an E1 interface. As shown in FIG. 8, the CU-CP can be understood as a logical node carrying an RRC layer and a control plane part of PDCP (PDCP-C), used to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-CP can communicate with the DU through F1-C. The CU-UP can be understood as a logical node carrying an SDAP layer and a user plane part of PDCP (PDCP-U), used to implement the user plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP can communicate with the DU through F1-U.

[0126] The CU-CP can interact with a network element in the core network for implementing the control plane function, and the network element in the core network for implementing the control plane function can be an access and mobility function network element, such as an AMF network element in a 5G system. The CU-UP can interact with a network element in the core network for implementing the user plane function, and the network element in the core network for implementing the user plane function can be, for example, a UPF network element.

[0127] The above function division of the CU and the DU is only an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and the DU. In addition, the CU and the DU can also be configured as needed to have the functions. For example, the CU or the DU can be configured as a node having more protocol layer functions, or the CU or the DU can be configured as a node having part of the processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, part of the functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layer above the RLC layer are arranged in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layer below the RLC layer are arranged in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or the DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements, for example, according to the delay, and the functions that need to meet the delay requirement are arranged in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are arranged in the CU.

[0128] For example, in some examples, the CU can not carry the PDCP layer, i.e., only carry the RRC layer. The CU-CP can not carry the PDCP-C, the CU-UP can not carry the PDCP-U, or there can be no CU-UP. In some other examples, the DU can not carry the RLC layer. In addition, there can be no CU and only DU.

[0129] As one possible implementation, the DU and the RU can cooperate to jointly implement the functions of the PHY layer. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the DU can deploy the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the higher physical layer (Higher PHY). The RU can deploy the lower physical layer (Lower PHY) and the radio frequency (RF) processing functions. The DU can control at least one RU, and the DU and the RU can communicate through a fronthaul interface. The DU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located.

[0130] The higher physical layer is closer to the MAC layer, and the functions of the higher physical layer can include at least one of the following: forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, modulation / demodulation, etc. The lower physical layer is closer to the radio frequency side, and the functions of the lower physical layer can include at least one of the following: fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, and filtering, etc.

[0131] Referring to FIG. 9, the DU and the RU interact control plane information and user plane information through a lower-layer split control user synchronization (LLS-CUS) interface via a lower-layer split. The LLS-CUS interface can include an LLS-C interface (for providing a control plane C-Plane) and an LLS-U interface (for providing a user plane U-Plane). In addition, the DU and the RU interact management information through an LLS-M interface via a lower-layer split, and the LLS-M interface provides a management plane (M-Plane). For example, the control plane C-Plane refers to real-time control between the DU and the RU, and the management plane M-Plane refers to non-real-time management operations between the DU and the RU.

[0132] The above function division of the DU and the RU is merely an example and does not limit the DU and the RU. The functions of the DU and the RU can be configured in multiple ways according to design. For example, the DU is configured to implement baseband functions, the RU is configured to implement radio frequency functions, and the like.

[0133] As a possible implementation, the O-RAN system can also include a non-real time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC or NRT RIC) and / or a near-real time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC or nRT RIC).

[0134] The Non-RT RIC is used to implement non-real time intelligent management of the RAN, can implement artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) including model training and model updating, and guide applications / functions in the Near-RT RIC based on a policy. The Near-RT RIC is used to implement near-real time intelligent management of the RAN, and implements near-real time control and optimization of modules and resources of the O-RAN through data collection and related operations on an E2 interface. The E2 interface can be understood as an open interface between two nodes (or endpoints).

[0135] In the above, the PDCP layer is located at the access network side (for example, the PDCP layer is located in the CU) as an example for description, in the future, the PDCP layer can also be located at the core network side, for example, the function of the PDCP layer is implemented by a core network element. That is, it can be considered that the PDCP layer is located in a network device, which can be an access network device or a core network device, and is not limited.

[0136] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiments of the present application is used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0137] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below by taking the interaction between the terminal and the access network device as an example in the system shown in FIG. 5. It should be noted that the names of the messages between the devices, the names of the parameters, or the names of the information in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names can also be used in other embodiments, and the method provided by the present application does not make a specific limitation on this.

[0138] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, each device can perform part or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and other operations or variations of various operations can also be performed by the embodiments of the present application. In addition, each step can be performed in a different order as presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application are performed.

[0139] It can be understood that the terminal and the access network device are taken as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interaction in the present application, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method performed by the terminal in the present application can also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the terminal, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal function; the method performed by the access network device can also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the access network device, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the access network device function.

[0140] In addition, "sending information" in the present application can be understood as a device sending information to another device, or can also be understood as a logical module in a device sending information to another logical module. For example, "the access network device sending information" can be understood as the access network device sending information to another device (such as a terminal), or can be understood as a logical module 1 (such as a processing module) in the access network device sending information to a logical module 2 (such as a transceiver module) in the access network device.

[0141] "Receiving information" in the present application can be understood as a device receiving information from another device, or can also be understood as a logical module in a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "the terminal receiving information" can be understood as the terminal receiving information from another device (such as an access network device), or can be understood as a logical module 1 (such as a processing module) in the terminal receiving information from a logical module 2 (such as a transceiver module) in the terminal.

[0142] In this application, "sending information to (for example, a terminal)" or related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as that the destination of the information is the terminal. It can include direct or indirect sending information to the terminal. "Receiving information from (for example, an access network device)" or "receiving information from (for example, an access network device)" or "receiving information sent by (for example, an access network device)", or related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as that the source of the information is the access network device, and can include direct or indirect receiving information from the access network device. The information between the source and the destination of the information sending can be processed as necessary, such as format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0143] The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application is described below. Referring to FIG. 10, the flowchart of the communication method can include the following steps:

[0144] S1001, the first communication device acquires a plurality of first data packets. Wherein the plurality of first data packets are data packets of a first QoS flow.

[0145] Wherein, the first communication device is a data sending end. For example, in the uplink data transmission process, the first communication device can be an access network device, such as a base station or a CU or an O-CU; or in the downlink data transmission process, the first communication device can be a terminal. The uplink data transmission can be understood as the transmission direction of the data is from the terminal to the access network device, and the downlink data transmission can be understood as the transmission direction of the data is from the access network device to the terminal.

[0146] S1002, the first communication device sends a plurality of second data packets through a plurality of first modules, and the plurality of second data packets are determined according to the plurality of first data packets. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules. Wherein, the first module is used to realize the PDCP function.

[0147] Wherein, the PDCP function includes transmitting upper layer PDU. Further, the PDCP function further includes at least one of the following: numbering, routing, data encryption / decryption, data integrity protection / verification, IP header compression / decompression, packetization, discarding of time-out user plane data packets, user plane data packet reordering or user plane data packet retransmission of upper layer PDU. It can be understood that with the evolution of standards, the second module in this application can also realize new PDCP functions or less PDCP functions in the future evolution.

[0148] The second data packet is a PDU of the first module, the first data packet is a PDU of the second module, or is an SDU of the first module, and the second module is an upper module of the first module. For example, when the first module is configured to implement a PDCP function, the second module is configured to implement at least one of an SDAP function, a PDCP-high function, or a newly defined radio transmission protocol layer function. The PDCP-high function can be understood as a protocol function of the PDCP layer close to the SDAP layer, or at least one of the above-mentioned PDCP functions. The newly defined radio transmission protocol layer can be understood as a function layer newly defined between the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer through a protocol.

[0149] As a possible implementation, with respect to the upper module and the lower module, at the sending end, the upper module processes the data packet before the lower module, and the upper module delivers the processed data packet to the lower module for processing; at the receiving end, the lower module processes the data packet before the upper module, and the lower module delivers the processed data packet to the upper module for processing.

[0150] The data packet delivered by the upper module to the lower module is a PDU of the upper module and is an SDU of the lower module. For example, taking the first module as an SDAP entity and the second module as a PDCP entity as an example, the first data packet obtained by the first communication device is an SDAP PDU, and after the first data packet is delivered to the PDCP entity, the first data packet is a PDCP SDU for the PDCP entity. As a possible implementation, the second data packet is determined according to the first data packet, which can be understood as that the second data packet is a data packet generated after the first data packet is processed by the first module; or the second data packet is obtained by adding a packet header corresponding to the first module to the first data packet. Taking the second module as an SDAP entity and the first module as a PDCP entity as an example, the first data packet is an SDAP PDU or a PDCP SDU, and the second data packet is a PDCP PDU.

[0151] For example, the first communication device obtains 10 SDAP PDUs (i.e. 10 PDCP SDUs) from the upper module (e.g. SDAP module) of the first module, and the first communication device can deliver SDAP PDU1, SDAP PDU2 and SDAP PDU3 to the first module 1 for processing, and deliver SDAP PDU4, …, SDAP PDU9 and SDAP PDU10 to the first module 2 for processing. The first module 1 obtains PDCP PDU1, PDCP PDU2 and PDCP PDU3 in the first module 1 according to SDAP PDU1, SDAP PDU2 and SDAP PDU3; the first module 2 obtains PDCP PDU1, …, PDCP PDU6 and PDCP PDU7 in the first module 2 according to SDAP PDU4, …, SDAP PDU9 and SDAP PDU10. Then the first module 1 and the first module 2 respectively send the obtained PDCP PDUs to the second communication device through different protocol stack branches. The protocol stack branch can be understood as the combination of PDCP+RLC, or the combination of PDCP and RLC and MAC, or also can be called as radio bearer, or transmission channel, transmission path (path) and the like, which does not constitute limitation.

[0152] In the above embodiment, the first communication device sends the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules, and the second communication device receives the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules. It can be understood that the plurality of second data packets received by the second communication device are sent through a plurality of DRBs; or it can also be understood that the plurality of second data packets received by the second communication device are sent by the first communication device through a plurality of branches of one DRB. The plurality of second data packets sent by the first communication device through the plurality of first modules are determined according to the plurality of first data packets of the first QoS flow, that is, the plurality of second data packets received by the second communication device are the plurality of data packets of the first QoS flow, that is, the plurality of second data packets received by the second communication device are the data packets of the same QoS flow.

[0153] As a possible implementation, the first communication device can send the plurality of second data packets through N first modules, and the second communication device can receive the plurality of second data packets through M first modules, M is less than or equal to N, and M and N are positive integers. For example, M and N can both be positive integers greater than 2, or can be positive integers greater than 3, or can be positive integers greater than 4, or can be positive integers greater than 5, etc., which is not limited.

[0154] For example, the first communication device sends the plurality of second data packets through 2 first modules, and the second communication device can receive the plurality of second data packets through 1 first module. Alternatively, the first communication device sends the plurality of second data packets through 3 first modules, and the second communication device receives the plurality of second data packets through 2 first modules.

[0155] Optionally, the relationship between the number a of the plurality of first data packets obtained by the first communication device and the number b of the plurality of second data packets sent by the first communication device through the plurality of first modules is that a is equal to b, a is less than b, or a is greater than b. For example, in the case where the first communication device does not split the first data packets, a is equal to b; in the case where the first communication device splits the first data packets, a is less than b; and in the case where the first communication device merges the first data packets, a is greater than b.

[0156] As a possible implementation, in the process of sending the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules by the first communication device, in the case where the number of data packets to be processed of the first QoS flow is less than or equal to the first threshold value, or the serial processing of the data packets of the first QoS flow through one first module can also meet the low-latency requirement, the first communication device can send the plurality of second data packets through one first module; in the case where the number of data packets to be processed of the first QoS flow is greater than the first threshold value, or the serial processing of the data packets of the first QoS flow through one first module cannot meet the low-latency requirement, the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed in parallel through the plurality of first modules.

[0157] S1003, the second communication device submits the plurality of first data packets to a second module. The plurality of first data packets are determined according to the plurality of second data packets received by the second communication device, and the second module is an upper module of the first module.

[0158] For example, after one or more first modules of the second communication device receive the plurality of second data packets, the one or more first modules submit the plurality of first data packets to a second module of the second communication device. For example, each first module of the second communication device submits the first data packet corresponding to the second data packet received by the first module to the second module.

[0159] The relationship between the number of the plurality of first data packets submitted by one or more first modules of the second communication device to the second module and the number of the plurality of second data packets obtained by the second communication device is similar to the relationship between the plurality of first data packets obtained by the first communication device and the plurality of second data packets sent by the first communication device through the plurality of first modules, and the description of the relationship between the plurality of first data packets and the plurality of second data packets in the first communication device can be referred to, and details are not repeated.

[0160] For example, referring to FIG. 11, taking the first module as a PDCP entity and the second module as an SDAP entity, the first communication device sends multiple second data packets through two first modules, and the second communication device receives the multiple second data packets sent by the first communication device through the two first modules.

[0161] After the SDAP entity 1 of the first communication device receives the data packets of the first QoS flow, the SDAP entity 1 can pass the data packets of the first QoS flow as SDAP SDUs of the SDAP layer to the second module, and generate SDAP PDUs (multiple first data packets) of the SDAP layer according to the data packets of the first QoS flow. Then, the SDAP entity 1 can send part of the first data packets in the processed first QoS flow data packets (multiple first data packets) to the PDCP entity 1 for processing and send the remaining first data packets to the PDCP entity 2 for processing according to the preset QoS flow data packet parallel processing strategy. The two PDCP entities respectively pass the received first data packets as PDCP SDUs of the PDCP layer, and generate PDCP PDUs (second data packets) of the PDCP layer according to the first data packets, and send the multiple second data packets to the second communication device according to the protocol stack branches (PDCP, RLC and MAC) corresponding to each PDCP entity.

[0162] Correspondingly, after the second communication device receives the multiple second data packets sent through the multiple protocol stack branches / DRBs through at least one first module, the second communication device processes the received multiple second data packets in reverse order of the data packet processing of the sending end. For example, the PDCP entity 3 of the second communication device and the protocol stack branch where the PDCP entity 3 is located correspond to the PDCP entity 1 of the first communication device and the protocol stack branch where the PDCP entity 1 is located, and the PDCP entity 4 of the second communication device and the protocol stack branch where the PDCP entity 4 is located correspond to the PDCP entity 2 of the first communication device and the protocol stack branch where the PDCP entity 2 is located. After the PDCP entity 3 receives the multiple second data packets sent by the PDCP entity 1, the PDCP entity 3 passes the second data packets as PDCP PDUs delivered by the lower layer RLC, generates the first data packets (SDAP PDUs of the SDAP layer) corresponding to the second data packets according to the second data packets, and delivers the first data packets to the SDAP entity 2. The data packet processing of the PDCP entity 4 is similar to that of the PDCP entity 3, and the related description of the PDCP entity 3 can be referred to, and will not be described herein. The SDAP entity 2 in the second communication device delivers the data packets of the first QoS flow to the application layer according to the received SDAP PDUs.

[0163] Based on the above scheme, in the process of the first communication device sending the data packets of the first QoS flow to the second communication device, the plurality of first modules implementing the PDCP function perform parallel processing on the data packets of the first QoS flow, which is equivalent to parallel transmission of the data packets of the QoS flow through multiple branches of one DRB or through multiple DRBs. Compared with the mode of serial processing of the data packets of the QoS flow through one DRB (or one PDCP entity), the total number of data packets that can be processed per unit of time in the parallel processing process is greatly increased, or in the case of a certain total number of data packets, the total delay required to complete the processing of all data packets is significantly reduced, which improves the efficiency of the user plane protocol stack in processing data packets, is conducive to reducing the user plane processing delay of the data packets of the QoS flow in the transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device, thereby meeting the delay requirement of the high-rate low-latency service and improving the service experience of the user on the high-rate low-latency service.

[0164] The overall flow of the communication method provided by the present application is described above, and the specific implementation of each step is introduced below.

[0165] In a possible implementation, in step S1002, in the process of the first communication device sending the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules, the ratio between the first parameter corresponding to each first module in the plurality of first modules and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter is a first value. The first QoS parameter is the QoS parameter of the first QoS flow, and the first parameter is used to indicate the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow.

[0166] For example, the ratio between the first parameter corresponding to different first modules in the plurality of first modules of the first communication device sending the plurality of second data packets and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter can be the same, or the ratio between the first parameter corresponding to different first modules and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter can be different.

[0167] For example, the first parameter can include at least one of the following: AMBR, GFBR, MFBR, MPLR, PDB, PER, AW or MDBV.

[0168] The ratio between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter being a first value can reflect the proportion of the QoS demand guaranteed / satisfied by the first module in the total QoS demand of the first QoS flow; or, can also reflect the ratio between the number of the first data packets corresponding to the second data packets sent by the first module and the total number of the first data packets obtained by the first communication device. That is, in the process of the first communication device processing the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel through the multiple first modules implementing the PDCP function, it is equivalent to guaranteeing / satisfying the QoS demand of the first QoS flow through multiple protocol stack branches or multiple DRBs.

[0169] For example, the ratio between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter (the first value) can be preset; or, the first value can also be determined by the second module of the first communication device according to the feedback information of the first module, and the feedback information is used to indicate the maximum value or range of the first parameter that can be satisfied or guaranteed by the first module, i.e., the QoS demand that can be satisfied by the first module.

[0170] The ratio between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter can be preset, which can be understood as that the QoS demand of the QoS flow is satisfied by n first modules in the process of the first communication device processing the data packets of the QoS flow in parallel, and the proportion of the QoS demand that needs to be satisfied by each first module, n being an integer greater than 1; or, it can also be understood that the processing strategy in the process of the first communication device processing the data packets of the QoS flow in parallel is pre-stored in the first communication device, and the processing strategy includes the number of the first modules processed in parallel and the proportion of the QoS demand that needs to be satisfied by each first module. The processing strategy pre-stored in the first communication device can be one or multiple, and the processing strategy corresponding to the data packets of the same QoS flow can also be one or multiple, without limitation.

[0171] Taking the first parameter as GFBR, the second module of the first communication device determines the ratio between the first parameter corresponding to each first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter according to the feedback information of the first module. The first communication device can obtain the feedback information of each first module in the first communication device to determine the GFBR that can be guaranteed by each first module. In the case that the sum of the maximum QoS demands (the sum of the first parameters) that can be satisfied by the first module 1 and the first module 2 is greater than or equal to the QoS demand (the first parameter) corresponding to the first QoS flow, the first communication device can select the first module 1 and the first module 2 to process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel.

[0172] For example, the GFBR of the first QoS flow is 500,000,000,000 bit / s, the GFBR that the first module 1 can satisfy is 400,000,000,000 bit / s, and the GFBR that the first module 2 can satisfy is 600,000,000,000 bit / s. The first communication device can set the ratio of the GFBR that needs to be guaranteed in the process in which the first module 1 processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel to the GFBR of the first QoS flow to be 0.4, and the ratio of the GFBR that needs to be guaranteed in the process in which the first module 2 processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel to the GFBR of the first QoS flow to be 0.6. That is, the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module 1 satisfies 40% of the GFBR requirement of the first QoS flow, and the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module 2 satisfies 60% of the GFBR requirement of the first QoS flow.

[0173] Alternatively, the first communication device can also set the ratio of the GFBR that needs to be guaranteed in the process in which the first module 1 processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel to the GFBR of the first QoS flow to be 0.5, and the ratio of the GFBR that needs to be guaranteed in the process in which the first module 2 processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel to the GFBR of the first QoS flow to be 0.5. That is, the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module 1 and the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module 2 each satisfy 50% of the GFBR requirement of the first QoS flow.

[0174] Alternatively, the first communication device can also set the ratio of the GFBR that needs to be guaranteed in the process in which the first module 1 processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel to the GFBR of the first QoS flow to be 0.6, and the ratio of the GFBR that needs to be guaranteed in the process in which the first module 2 processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel to the GFBR of the first QoS flow to be 0.6. That is, the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module 1 and the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module 2 each satisfy 60% of the GFBR requirement of the first QoS flow, so that the first module 1 and the first module 2 have good anti-disturbance capability in processing the data packets of the first QoS flow.

[0175] Based on the scheme, when the first communication device processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel through the plurality of first modules, the plurality of first modules satisfy / guarantee the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow according to a specific ratio, ensuring that the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow can be guaranteed, and improving the reliability of processing the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel. In addition, for ease of understanding, the above embodiments are described by taking the first parameter indicating one QoS requirement of the QoS flow as an example. In application, the feedback information of the first module reflects the capability of the first module to satisfy multiple QoS requirements, and the first communication device can set the first module to satisfy multiple QoS requirements according to the ratio between the corresponding first parameter and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0176] As a possible implementation, in the process that the first communication device transmits the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules, the sum of the first parameters corresponding to each of the plurality of first modules is greater than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter, when the first parameter reflects the data packet transmission rate requirement / capability.

[0177] The sum of the first parameters corresponding to each of the plurality of first modules being greater than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter can be understood as the sum of one or more QoS requirements that can be met by the plurality of first modules being greater than or equal to the actual QoS requirement of the first QoS flow; or, it can be understood that in the process that the first communication device processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel through the plurality of first modules, the data packet processing capability of the plurality of first modules planned by the first communication device is equal to or higher than the data packet processing capability required by the first QoS flow.

[0178] For example, the first parameter can include at least one of AMBR, MFBR, GFBR or MDBV.

[0179] For example, taking the first parameter including MFBR, GFBR and MDBV, and the first communication device processing the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel through two first modules (first module 1 and first module 2) as an example. The first communication device can set the ratio of the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV provided / satisfied by the first module 1 to the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV of the first QoS flow to be 0.5, and the ratio of the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV provided / satisfied by the first module 2 to the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV of the first QoS flow to also be 0.5, i.e., the sum of the first parameters corresponding to the first module 1 and the first module 2 is equal to the first parameter in the QoS parameter of the first QoS flow.

[0180] Alternatively, the first communication device can also set the ratio of the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV provided / satisfied by the first module 1 to the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV of the first QoS flow to be 0.5, and the ratio of the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV provided / satisfied by the first module 2 to the MFBR, GFBR and MDBV of the first QoS flow to be 0.6, i.e., the sum of the first parameters corresponding to the first module 1 and the first module 2 is greater than the first parameter in the QoS parameter of the first QoS flow.

[0181] Based on the above scheme, the plurality of first modules processing the first QoS flow in parallel can efficiently and accurately process all data packets of the first QoS flow, and the QoS requirement satisfied by each first module is more explicit, so that the plurality of first modules can reasonably process the data packets.

[0182] As another possible implementation, in the process that the first communication device transmits the plurality of second data packets through the plurality of first modules, in a case that the first parameters reflect data packet transmission quality requirements / capabilities of the first QoS flow, the first parameter corresponding to each of the plurality of first modules is less than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0183] The first parameter corresponding to each of the plurality of first modules being less than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter can be understood as that the data packet transmission quality of each of the plurality of first modules is equal to or higher than the data packet transmission quality required by the first QoS flow.

[0184] For example, the first parameter can include at least one of PER, PDB, MPLR or AW.

[0185] For example, in a case that the first parameter includes PER, PDB and AW, and the first communication device processes the data packets of the first QoS flow through two first modules (first module 1 and first module 2) in parallel, the first communication device can set the ratio of the PER, PDB and AW provided / satisfied by the first module 1 to the PER, PDB and AW of the first QoS flow to be 0.9, and set the ratio of the PER, PDB and AW provided / satisfied by the first module 2 to the PER, PDB and AW of the first QoS flow to be 0.8, i.e., the packet loss rate, the delay budget value and the average window size of the first module 1 and the second module 2 are all less than the packet loss rate, the delay budget value and the average window size required in the QoS parameter of the first QoS flow. Alternatively, the first communication device can set the ratio of the PER, PDB and AW provided / satisfied by the first module 1 to the PER, PDB and AW of the first QoS flow to be 1, i.e., the packet loss rate, the delay budget value and the average window size of each of the first modules are all equal to the packet loss rate, the delay budget value and the average window size required in the QoS parameter of the first QoS flow.

[0186] Alternatively, the first communication device can set the ratio of the PER, PDB and AW provided / satisfied by the first module 1 and the first module 2 to the PER, PDB and AW of the first QoS flow to be 0.9. In a case that the first parameters reflect data packet transmission quality requirements / capabilities of the first QoS flow, when the first communication device processes the data packets of the first QoS flow through the plurality of first modules in parallel, the first parameters corresponding to different first modules can be the same or different, which is not limited.

[0187] Based on the above scheme, each of the plurality of first modules processing the first QoS flow in parallel can meet the quality of service requirement of the data packets of the first QoS flow, so that the QoS requirement met by each of the first modules is more specific, and each of the first modules can more reasonably process the data packets of the first QoS flow, thereby ensuring the quality of service of the data packets of the first QoS flow.

[0188] Optionally, in the case that the plurality of first modules process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel, the first module can also ensure / satisfy the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow according to the ratio range between the first parameter corresponding to the first module and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter.

[0189] For example, the first parameter is GFBR, and the first communication device processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel through two first modules (first module 1 and first module 2). The first communication device can set the ratio of the GFBR provided / satisfied by the first module 1 to the GFBR corresponding to the first QoS flow to be 0.4 to 0.5, and the ratio of the GFBR provided / satisfied by the first module 2 to the GFBR corresponding to the first QoS flow to be 0.5 to 0.6; or, the first communication device can also set the ratio of the GFBR provided / satisfied by the first module 1 to the GFBR corresponding to the first QoS flow to be 0.3 to 0.4, and the ratio of the GFBR provided / satisfied by the first module 2 to the GFBR corresponding to the first QoS flow to be 0.6 to 0.7, and so on.

[0190] Optionally, when the first communication device sets the first parameter of each of the first modules, the configuration information corresponding to each protocol stack branch / DRB can be transferred through inter-layer interaction between protocol layers, that is, the transfer order of the configuration information is SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer and MAC layer in sequence. The configuration information can be the first parameter corresponding to the first module, or the first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow and the ratio of the first parameter corresponding to the first module to the first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow. For example, the first communication device is a base station, the first communication device determines the parallel processing strategy for the first QoS flow through the CU, and sends the parallel processing strategy to the DU through the F1 interface or directly notifies the DU of the first parameter required to be met by the protocol stack branch corresponding to each of the first modules.

[0191] Correspondingly, in the case that the first modules in the first communication device and the second communication device correspond to each other one by one, the ratio between the QoS requirement (such as the first parameter) met by each of the first modules and the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow can also be the first value during the process of receiving the plurality of second data packets by the plurality of first modules in the second communication device, that is, during the process of processing the data packets of the first QoS flow, the first modules in the second communication device and the first communication device processing the same second data packet need to meet the same QoS requirement.

[0192] Based on the above scheme, the QoS requirement met or provided by each first module is set as a dynamic range, so that the QoS requirement met by each first module or the protocol stack branch where the first module is located can be flexibly changed within a certain range, so that each first module can have a certain anti-disturbance ability.

[0193] In a possible implementation, in step S1001, the first communication apparatus acquires a plurality of first data packets and data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets. The data packet number corresponding to the first data packet is used for the first module to implement the function of the first module on the first data packet. For example, in the process of generating a second data packet from the first data packet, the first module can implement at least one of the following functions according to the data packet number corresponding to the first data packet: data packet transmission, IP header compression / decompression, data packet encryption / decryption, data integrity protection / verification, packet assembly, routing, or user plane retransmission.

[0194] For example, the data packet number corresponding to the first data packet is the data packet number of the first data packet in the first module, such as the number of the PDCP layer; or the data packet number corresponding to the first data packet is the data packet number of the first data packet in the second module, such as the number of the SDAP layer. Specifically, the second module of the first communication apparatus acquires a plurality of first data packets and data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets.

[0195] For example, the data packet number can be the COUNT value corresponding to the first data packet. Optionally, the data packet number acquired by the first communication apparatus can only indicate the SN corresponding to the first data packet, and the HFN corresponding to the first data packet is maintained by the second module of the first communication apparatus and the second communication apparatus based on a specific initial value.

[0196] In this scenario, after the first module receives the first data packet and determines the second data packet according to the first data packet, the second data packet does not need to be numbered, or the data packet number of the second data packet is the same as the data packet number of the first data packet corresponding to the second data packet. That is, in this scenario, the first module does not perform the numbering function.

[0197] For example, referring to FIG. 12, the first communication device can obtain a plurality of first data packets and a plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets via the second module. For example, the first QoS flow contains 10 original data packets, the first communication device can generate 10 SDAP PDUs (first data packets) via the second module (e.g., SDAP entity 1), and assign a corresponding data packet number to each SDAP PDU; or the first communication device can generate 10 PDCP-high layer PDUs (first data packets) via the second module (e.g., PDCP-high entity), and assign a corresponding data packet number to each PDU; or the first communication device can generate 10 PDCP PDUs (first data packets) via the second module (pre-designated PDCP layer), and assign a corresponding data packet number to each PDCP PDU. The first module 1 (e.g., PDCP entity 1) and the first module 2 (e.g., PDCP entity 2) respectively transmit the second data packets generated according to the first data packets and the data packet numbers corresponding to the first data packets to the second communication device via the corresponding protocol stack branches according to the received first data packets and the data packet numbers corresponding to the first data packets.

[0198] Correspondingly, in step S1003, the at least one first module of the second communication device submits the plurality of first data packets and the plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets to the second module. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the first module 3 (e.g., PDCP entity 3) and the first module 4 (e.g., PDCP entity 4) of the second communication device directly submit the plurality of first data packets and the plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets to the second module (e.g., SDAP entity 2). Further, the second module of the second communication device sorts the plurality of first data packets received according to the data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets, and submits the plurality of first data packets in sequence to the higher layer.

[0199] That is, the first communication device can assign a corresponding packet number to each first packet in the process of obtaining the first packet by the second module in the process of processing the first QoS flow data packet, the first module processes the first data packet according to the first data packet and the corresponding data packet number of the first data packet, and no longer numbers the second data packet generated according to the first data packet, or directly takes the data packet number of the corresponding first data packet of the second data packet as the data packet number of the second data packet. The numbering and sorting function of the PDCP layer in the first communication device and the second communication device is moved up to the second module, and the first module no longer performs the numbering and reordering function in the process of sending the second data packet or delivering the first data packet, and does not need to maintain an independent window variable, and directly implements the sending of the second data packet according to the first data packet and the corresponding data packet number of the first data packet. The second module numbers or sorts the first data packet, reduces the probability of numbering disorder or out-of-order delivery of the first QoS flow data packet due to parallel sending, and improves the efficiency of the first module processing.

[0200] For example, after the first module of the second communication device obtains the second data packet, it directly performs integrity decryption and integrity verification, no longer performs window management, and directly delivers the first data packet and the corresponding data packet number of the first data packet to the second module. After the second module receives multiple first data packets and multiple data packet numbers corresponding to the first data packets, it sequentially delivers the multiple first data packets to the application layer in order of the data packet numbers from small to large.

[0201] Based on the scheme, the first module implementing the PDCP layer function in the first communication device and the second communication device no longer performs the numbering and reordering function, and the numbering and reordering of the data packet are implemented by the second module in the first communication device and the second communication device. In the process of parallel processing of the first QoS flow data packet by multiple first modules, the data packet processing function is directly performed according to the number pre-assigned by the second module to each data packet. The sending end (the first communication device) assigns a corresponding data packet number to the data packet before parallel processing, avoiding the situation that the data packet number does not correspond to the actual position of the data packet due to parallel processing; after the receiving end (the second communication device) reports the first data packet and the number of the first data packet to the second module, the second communication device can reorder multiple first data packets according to the number of the first data packet, and deliver the multiple first data packets in order. In the case of parallel processing of the first QoS flow data packet by multiple first modules, the first QoS flow data packet can still be delivered in order.

[0202] In a possible implementation, after step S1002, the second communication device sends the PDCP status report corresponding to the plurality of first modules of the first communication device to the first communication device. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the PDCP status report corresponding to the plurality of first modules of the first communication device.

[0203] The second communication device sending the PDCP status report corresponding to the plurality of first modules of the first communication device to the first communication device can be understood as that the first module of the second communication device sends the PDCP status report to the plurality of DRBs or the plurality of branches of the DRBs sending the second data packets; or can also be understood as that the first module of the second communication device sends the PDCP status report to the PDCP entities corresponding to the plurality of DRBs or the plurality of branches of the DRBs sending the second data packets (such as the first module of the first communication device sending the second data packets).

[0204] For example, the PDCP status report corresponding to the first module of the first communication device is used to indicate the receiving progress of the second data packets sent by the first module. The PDCP status report mainly includes an FMC field and a bitmap field. The FMC field is a 32-bit field, which is used to indicate the COUNT value of the first missing PDCP SDU (second data packet) in the reordering window. The bitmap field includes bits, and the number of bits is equal to the difference between the COUNT value (c1) of the first missing PDCP SDU and the COUNT value (c2) of the last PDCP PDU corresponding to the QoS flow. The first bit in the bitmap field is used to indicate whether the PDCP SUD with the COUNT value equal to the COUNT value of the first missing PDCP SDU plus one is successfully received, and the last bit is used to indicate whether the PDCP SUD with the COUNT value equal to c2 is successfully received. In the case that the PDCP SDU is successfully received, the field corresponding to the PDCP SDU in the bitmap field is set to 1, and in the case that the PDCP SDU is not successfully received, the field corresponding to the PDCP SDU in the bitmap field is set to 0.

[0205] For example, in the case that the first communication device processes the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel through the plurality of first modules implementing the PDCP function, and the working mode of the protocol stack branches corresponding to the plurality of first modules is the acknowledgement mode (AM mode), the sending of the PDCP status report of the second communication device needs to be triggered in the case that the RRC requests the PDCP reestablishment.

[0206] The PDCP status report includes second information, the second information is used for indicating a DRB corresponding to the PDCP status report, or the second information is used for indicating a protocol stack branch of the DRB corresponding to the PDCP status report, or the second information is used for indicating a PDCP entity in the DRB corresponding to the PDCP status report (i.e., the first module).

[0207] For example, the second information can be identity information of the first module, for example, can be device identification, device number or location information of the first module, etc.

[0208] Optionally, the second information can also be identification information of the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module, or the second information can also be identification information of the PDCP status report type, used for identifying that the PDCP status report is a PDCP status report of one DRB in multiple DRBs carrying one complete QoS flow.

[0209] That is, the second communication device can feed back, to the first communication device, a PDCP status report of the first module (i.e., a PDCP entity) in a DRB or multiple DRBs sending the second data packet through the first module receiving the multiple second data packets. And the second information is added in a free field of the PDCP status report, indicating the first module / DRB corresponding to the PDCP status report, or the PDCP status report carrying the second information is generated by adding an extension field to the PDCP status report. After receiving the multiple PDCP status reports, the first communication device can determine the DRB and the first module corresponding to each PDCP status report according to the analysis of the specified field.

[0210] Based on the above scheme, the first communication device can accurately obtain the receiving status of the second data packet sent by each of the multiple first modules processing the first QoS flow data packet in parallel, and in the case that there is packet loss in the second data packet sent by the first module, the lost data packet can be accurately determined, which is beneficial to the accurate retransmission of the lost second data packet by the first communication device.

[0211] In a possible implementation, in the case that the first communication device is a terminal and the second communication device is an access network device, before step S1001, the second communication device further sends first information. Correspondingly, the first communication device further receives the first information. The first information indicates that the first communication device processes the data packet of the first QoS flow through multiple first modules.

[0212] The first information can be an identification of a data packet processing strategy of the first QoS flow, or can be a number of the first modules processing the data packet of the first QoS flow, or can be a number of DRBs processing the data packet of the first QoS flow, or can be a splitting strategy of the first QoS flow, etc.

[0213] For example, the data packet processing policy identifier of the first QoS flow can include two states of 0 and 1, in the case that the data packet processing policy identifier is set to 1, it indicates that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed in parallel by multiple first modules, and in the case that the data packet processing policy identifier is set to 0, it indicates that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed by one first module. Alternatively, in the case that the data packet processing policy identifier is set to 1, it indicates that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed in parallel by one first module, and in the case that the data packet processing policy identifier is set to 0, it indicates that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed by multiple first modules.

[0214] For example, the first information indicates that the number of the first modules processing the data packets of the first QoS flow is 2, after receiving the first information, the first communication device can select two first modules to process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel, that is, the first communication device sends the data packets of the first QoS flow obtained by the first communication device to the second communication device through two protocol stack branches / DRBs.

[0215] For another example, the first information is a data packet processing policy identifier of the first QoS flow, and the data packet processing policy identifier indicates that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed in parallel by multiple first modules, then the first communication device selects multiple first modules to process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel, that is, the first communication device sends the data packets of the first QoS flow to the second communication device through multiple protocol stack branches / DRBs.

[0216] Based on the scheme, in the case that the first communication device is a terminal, the first communication device can process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel by multiple first modules according to the indication of the first information, thereby reducing the data packet processing delay of the first QoS flow and meeting the requirements of high-speed and low-latency services.

[0217] For example, taking the first information as a splitting policy of the first QoS flow, the first information can include QoS requirements that each of the multiple first modules needs to meet.

[0218] The first information can include the number of the first modules and a range of a ratio of the QoS requirement that each of the first modules needs to meet to the QoS requirement of the first QoS flow, or the first information can include the number of the first modules and a first parameter that each of the first modules needs to meet, or the first information can further include the number of the first modules and an association relationship between the first parameter corresponding to each of the first modules and the first parameter in the first QoS parameter. The association relationship can be understood as a ratio or a size relationship, etc.

[0219] For example, the first information includes that the number of the first modules processing the first QoS flow is 2, and each of the first modules needs to satisfy 50% of the QoS requirement. After receiving the first information, the first communication device sets the first module 1 and the first module 2 in the first communication device as processing the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel, and sets the first module 1 and the first module 2 to satisfy 50% of the QoS requirement respectively.

[0220] Alternatively, the first information includes that the number of the first modules processing the first QoS flow is 2, and each of the first modules needs to satisfy a GFBR of 400,000,000,000 bit / s. The first communication device can select the first module 1 and the first module 2 that can satisfy a GFBR greater than or equal to 400,000,000,000 bit / s to process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel.

[0221] In a possible implementation, in the case that the first communication device is an access network device and the second communication device is a terminal, after step S1002, the first communication device further sends third information to the target access network device. Correspondingly, the target access network device receives the third information from the first communication device.

[0222] For example, if the second communication device performs cell switching when the service of the first QoS flow is not completed, or in other words, leaves the coverage of the first communication device and accesses a new cell, the first communication device takes the access network device to which the cell belongs as the target access network device, and sends the third information to the target access network device.

[0223] The third information is used to indicate the data packet number corresponding to the first module of the first communication device, and the data packet number corresponding to the first module is used to indicate the data packet sending state of the first module.

[0224] For example, the third information can be used to determine the data packet sending information of a first module of the first communication device. For example, the identification of the first module and the latest data packet number allocated by the first module; or, the identification of the first module and the data packet number of the last data packet sent by the first module; or, the identification of the first module and the data packet number to be allocated when the next data packet is received by the first module; or, the identification of the first module and the data packet number of the next data packet to be sent by the first module. In addition, the identification of the first module can be replaced by the identification of the protocol stack branch corresponding to the first module, which can indicate the first module.

[0225] In a case that the third information is used to determine the data packet sending state of one first module of the first communication device, the first communication device sends a plurality of third information to the target access network device, so that the target access network device can determine the data packet sending state of a plurality of first modules of the first communication device which process the data packets of the first QoS flow in parallel according to the plurality of third information.

[0226] Optionally, the third information corresponding to the plurality of first modules which send the second data packets can be sent in one signaling or message, or can be sent in a plurality of signaling or messages, which is not limited.

[0227] Based on the scheme, the target access network device can accurately obtain the data packet sending progress of the first QoS flow, so that after the cell handover of the second communication device is completed, the target access network device continues to send the remaining data packets of the first QoS flow to the second communication device based on the data packet sending progress of the first QoS flow, thereby avoiding the need to start sending the data packets of the first QoS flow from the beginning due to the loss of the data packet sending progress, and reducing the data packet processing delay of the first QoS flow.

[0228] In a possible implementation, in a case that the first communication device is a terminal and the second communication device is an access network device, after step S1003, the second communication device further sends fourth information to the target access network device. Correspondingly, the target access network device receives the fourth information from the second communication device.

[0229] For example, if the first communication device performs cell handover or leaves the coverage of the second communication device and accesses a new cell when the service of the first QoS flow is not completed, the second communication device takes the access network device to which the cell belongs as the target access network device, and sends the fourth information to the target access network device.

[0230] The fourth information is used to indicate the data packet number of one DRB which receives the second data packets of the second communication device, and the data packet number of the DRB is used to indicate the receiving state of the second communication device to the second data packets sent by one DRB; or, is used to indicate the receiving state of the second communication device to the second data packets sent by one first module of the first communication device.

[0231] For example, the fourth information can be used to determine the receiving state of the second communication device to the second data packets sent by one first module of the first communication device. For example, the fourth information can be the identifier of one first module and the data packet number of the last data packet sent by the first module which has been received; or, can be the identifier of one first module and the data packet number of the next data packet sent by the first module which is to be received. In addition, the identifier of the first module can be replaced by the identifier of the protocol stack branch / DRB corresponding to the first module.

[0232] In addition, the second communication device can also send the received data packets of the first QoS flow to the target access network device.

[0233] Based on the scheme, the target access network device can accurately obtain the data packet reception progress of the second communication device for the first QoS flow, so that after the first communication device completes the cell switching, the first communication device is instructed to send the remaining data packets of the first QoS flow to the target access network device according to the data packet reception progress of the first QoS flow based on the data packet reception progress of the first QoS flow, avoiding the target access network device from being unable to obtain complete data packets of the first QoS flow due to loss of the data packet reception progress, or the first communication device needing to resend complete data packets of the first QoS flow, reducing the data packet processing delay of the first QoS flow and improving the data packet transmission quality of the first QoS flow.

[0234] In a possible implementation, for the above method embodiment, in a CU-DU architecture or an ORAN system, the interaction function between the first communication device and the second communication device can be implemented by a CU or an O-CU. The message sent by the first communication device to the second communication device and / or the message sent by the second communication device to the first communication device can be implemented by the CU or the O-CU.

[0235] As a possible implementation, in the scenario where the function of the first communication device is implemented by the CU or the O-CU, the method shown in FIG. 10 can be transformed into the method described in FIG. 13. Referring to FIG. 13, the method includes the following steps: S1301, the CU obtains a plurality of first data packets. The plurality of first data packets are data packets of a first QoS flow.

[0236] S1302, the CU sends a plurality of second data packets through a plurality of first modules, and the plurality of second data packets are determined according to the plurality of first data packets. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the plurality of second data packets through at least one first module. The first module is used to implement a PDCP function.

[0237] S1303, the second communication device submits the plurality of first data packets to a second module. The plurality of first data packets are determined according to the plurality of second data packets received by the second communication device, and the second module is an upper module of the first module.

[0238] Steps S1301 to S1303 are similar to steps S1001 to S1003 in the foregoing embodiments, and the difference is that the functions implemented by the first communication device in steps S1001 to S1003 are implemented by the CU in steps S1301 to S1303. The relevant description can refer to the description of steps S1001 to S1003 in the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0239] Based on the scheme in the above embodiments, in the process of the first communication device sending data packets to the second communication device, the first communication device performs parallel processing on the data packets of the QoS flow through the multiple first modules implementing the PDCP function, which is equivalent to parallel transmission of the data packets of the QoS flow through multiple branches of one DRB or through multiple DRBs. Compared with the mode of serial processing of the data packets of the QoS flow through one DRB (or one PDCP entity), the total number of data packets that can be processed per unit of time in the parallel processing process is greatly increased, or in the case of a certain total number of data packets, the total delay required to complete the processing of all data packets is significantly reduced, which improves the efficiency of the user plane protocol stack in processing data packets, is beneficial to reducing the user plane processing delay of the data packets of the QoS flow in the transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device, thereby meeting the delay requirement of the high-rate low-latency service and improving the service experience of the user on the high-rate low-latency service.

[0240] The above describes the method provided by the present application, and in addition, the present application also provides a communication device for implementing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0241] It can be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, the communication device comprises hardware structures and / or software modules for executing respective functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0242] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functions of the communication device according to the above method embodiments, for example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The above integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or software function module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. There can be another division way in actual implementation.

[0243] FIG. 14 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 140. The communication device 140 comprises a processing module 1401 and a transceiver module 1402. The communication device 140 can be used to implement the functions of the above first communication device or second communication device.

[0244] In some embodiments, the communication device 140 can further comprise a storage module (not shown in FIG. 14) for storing program instructions and data.

[0245] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1402, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 1402 can be constituted by a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0246] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1402 can include a receiving module and a transmitting module for performing the receiving and transmitting steps of the method embodiments performed by the first communication device or the second communication device, respectively, and / or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein; and the processing module 1401 can be configured to perform the processing steps of the method embodiments performed by the first communication device or the second communication device, and / or for supporting other processes of the techniques described herein.

[0247] In a possible implementation, when the communication device 140 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication device, the processing module 1401 obtains a plurality of first data packets, including: obtaining the plurality of first data packets and a plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets, the plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets being used by the first module to implement the functions of the first module on the plurality of first data packets.

[0248] Optionally, the transceiver module 1402 is configured to receive first information, the first information indicating that the plurality of first data packets are processed in parallel by the plurality of first modules.

[0249] Optionally, the transceiver module 1402 is configured to send third information to a target access network device, the third information being used to indicate the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module, the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module being used to indicate the data packet sending state of the first module.

[0250] In a possible implementation, when the communication device 140 is configured to implement the functions of the second communication device, the processing module 1401 submits a plurality of first data packets to a second module, including: submitting the plurality of first data packets and a plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets to the second module, the plurality of data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets being used by the first module to implement the functions of the first module on the plurality of first data packets.

[0251] Optionally, the transceiver module 1402 is configured to send a plurality of PDCP status reports corresponding to the plurality of first modules, the PDCP status report including second information, the second information being used to indicate the first module corresponding to the PDCP status report.

[0252] Optionally, the transceiver module 1402 is configured to send fourth information to a target access network device, the fourth information being used to indicate the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module, the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module being used to indicate the receiving state of the data packets sent by the second communication device to the first module.

[0253] All the related content of each step involved in the method embodiments can be referred to the function description of the corresponding function module, and will not be repeated here.

[0254] In the present application, the communication apparatus 140 can be presented in the form of integrated division of various function modules. The "module" here can refer to a specific application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and a memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0255] In some embodiments, when the communication apparatus 140 in FIG. 14 is a chip or a chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1402 can be implemented through the input / output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 1401 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0256] Since the communication apparatus 140 provided by the present embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects it can obtain can be referred to the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0257] As a possible product form, the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout the present application.

[0258] As another possible product form, the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. For ease of illustration, refer to FIG. 15, which is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1500 provided by the embodiments of the present application, the communication apparatus 1500 comprising a processor 1501 and a transceiver 1502. The communication apparatus 1500 can be a first communication apparatus, or a chip or chip system therein; or the communication apparatus 1500 can be a second communication apparatus, or a chip or module therein. FIG. 15 only shows the main components of the communication apparatus 1500. In addition to the processor 1501 and the transceiver 1502, the communication apparatus can further comprise a memory 1503, and an input / output device (not shown in FIG. 15).

[0259] Optionally, the processor 1501 is mainly configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and control the whole communication device, execute software programs, and process data of the software programs, so as to realize the methods provided in the above method embodiments. The memory 1503 is mainly configured to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1502 can include radio frequency circuit and antenna, and the radio frequency circuit is mainly configured to convert baseband signals and radio frequency signals and process the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly configured to transceive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input and output device, such as touch screen, display screen, keyboard, etc., is mainly configured to receive data input by the user and output data to the user.

[0260] Optionally, the processor 1501, the transceiver 1502, and the memory 1503 can be connected through a communication bus.

[0261] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1501 can read the software programs in the memory 1503, interpret and execute the instructions of the software programs, and process the data of the software programs. When it is necessary to send data wirelessly, the processor 1501 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit converts the baseband signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic wave through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1501. The processor 1501 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0262] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processor performing baseband processing, for example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0263] In some embodiments, in the hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the above communication device 140 can adopt the form of the communication device 1500 shown in FIG. 15.

[0264] As an example, the functions / implementation processes of the processing module 1401 in FIG. 14 can be realized by the processor 1501 in the communication device 1500 shown in FIG. 15 invoking computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1503. The functions / implementation processes of the transceiving module 1402 in FIG. 14 can be realized by the transceiver 1502 in the communication device 1500 shown in FIG. 15.

[0265] As another possible product form, the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus in this application can adopt the component structure shown in FIG. 16, or include the components shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a component diagram of a communication apparatus 1600 provided in this application, which can be the first communication apparatus or a chip or system on chip in the first communication apparatus; or can be the second communication apparatus or a module or chip or system on chip in the second communication apparatus.

[0266] As shown in FIG. 16, the communication apparatus 1600 includes at least one processor 1601, and at least one communication interface (only one communication interface 1604 is shown in FIG. 16 for example, and the processor 1601 is taken as an example for description). Optionally, the communication apparatus 1600 can further include a communication bus 1602 and a memory 1603.

[0267] The processor 1601 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a general processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a PLD, or any combination thereof. The processor 1601 can also be other apparatuses with processing functions, such as a circuit, a device, or a software module, without limitation.

[0268] The communication bus 1602 is used to connect different components in the communication apparatus 1600, so that different components can communicate. The communication bus 1602 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 16, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0269] The communication interface 1604 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. For example, the communication interface 1604 can be a module, a circuit, a transceiver, or any apparatus capable of realizing communication. Optionally, the communication interface 1604 can also be an input / output interface in the processor 1601, used to realize signal input and signal output of the processor.

[0270] The memory 1603 can be an apparatus with a storage function, used to store instructions and / or data. The instructions can be a computer program.

[0271] Exemplarily, the memory 1603 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions that are not to be changed by the device, or a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions that are to be changed by the device. The memory 1603 can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, a magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0272] It should be noted that the memory 1603 can exist independently of the processor 1601, or can be integrated with the processor 1601. The memory 1603 can be located within the communication device 1600, or can be located outside the communication device 1600, without limitation. The processor 1601 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 1603 to implement the methods provided by the embodiments described below.

[0273] As an optional implementation manner, the communication device 1600 can further include an output device 1605 and an input device 1606. The output device 1605 communicates with the processor 1601 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 1605 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 1606 communicates with the processor 1601 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 1606 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, a sensor device, etc.

[0274] In some embodiments, in a hardware implementation, those skilled in the art can conceive that the communication device 140 shown in FIG. 14 can adopt the form of the communication device 1600 shown in FIG. 16.

[0275] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing module 1401 in FIG. 14 can be implemented by invoking the computer-executed instructions stored in the memory 1603 by the processor 1601 in the communication apparatus 1600 shown in FIG. 16. The function / implementation process of the transceiving module 1402 in FIG. 14 can be implemented by the communication interface 1604 in the communication apparatus 1600 shown in FIG. 16.

[0276] It should be noted that the structure shown in FIG. 16 does not constitute a specific limitation on the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus. For example, in some other embodiments of the present application, the first communication apparatus or the second communication apparatus can include more or fewer components than those shown, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different arrangement of components. The components shown can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0277] In some embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication apparatus, which includes a processor configured to implement the method in any of the method embodiments.

[0278] As a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store necessary computer programs and data. The computer programs can include instructions, and the processor can invoke the instructions in the computer programs stored in the memory to instruct the communication apparatus to perform the method in any of the method embodiments. Of course, the memory can also not be in the communication apparatus.

[0279] As another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data reading / writing interface circuit, and is configured to receive computer-executed instructions (the computer-executed instructions are stored in the memory, and can be directly read from the memory or can pass through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0280] As yet another possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface, which is configured to communicate with modules outside the communication apparatus.

[0281] It can be understood that the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication apparatus is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation thereon.

[0282] The present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and the computer program or instructions implement the functions of any of the method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0283] The present application further provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0284] Those skilled in the art can 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 repeated here.

[0285] It can be understood that the system, device and method described in the present application can also be implemented in other manners. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic; for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there can be another division manner in actual implementation; 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 displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between the units can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or in other forms.

[0286] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. The components shown as units can or can not be physical units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purposes of the embodiments.

[0287] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can be a physically independent unit, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0288] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or include one or more data storage devices such as servers, data centers, etc. integrated with the medium. The available medium can be magnetic medium (such as floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical medium (such as DVD), or semiconductor medium (such as solid state drive (SSD)) and the like. In the embodiments of the present application, the computer can include the device described above.

[0289] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, it is understood that other variations of the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from an inspection of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0290] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is understood that modifications and combinations can be made thereto within the scope of the application. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and are not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the application as defined in the appended claims. Obviously, many modifications and variations of this application are possible in light of its teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, this application can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: obtaining a plurality of first data packets, the plurality of first data packets being data packets of a first quality of service (QoS) flow; sending, by a plurality of first modules, a plurality of second data packets, the plurality of second data packets being determined according to the plurality of first data packets, the first modules being configured to implement a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, a ratio between a first parameter corresponding to the first modules and a first parameter in a first QoS parameter is a first value, the first QoS parameter being a QoS parameter of the first QoS flow, the first parameter being used to indicate a QoS requirement of the first QoS flow.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, a sum of the first parameters corresponding to the first modules is greater than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter. The first parameter comprises at least one of an aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR), a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR), a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), or a maximum data burst volume (MDBV); or The first parameter corresponding to the first module is less than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter. The first parameter comprises at least one of a packet error rate (PER), a packet delay budget (PDB), a maximum packet loss rate (MPLR), or an average window size (AW).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Obtaining a plurality of first data packets comprises: obtaining the plurality of first data packets and data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets, the data packet numbers corresponding to the first data packets being used by the first modules to implement the function of the first modules on the first data packets.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises receiving first information, the first information indicating that the data packets of the first QoS flow are processed by the plurality of first modules.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: sending third information to a target access network device, the third information being used to indicate data packet numbers corresponding to the first modules, the data packet numbers corresponding to the first modules being used to indicate a data packet sending state of the first modules.

7. A communication method characterized by comprising: comprises: receiving, by a plurality of first modules, a plurality of second data packets, the plurality of second data packets being data packets of a first quality of service (QoS) flow, the first modules being configured to implement a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) function; submitting, to a second module, a plurality of first data packets, the plurality of first data packets being determined according to the plurality of second data packets, the second module being an upper module of the first modules.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, a ratio between a first parameter corresponding to the first modules and a first parameter in a first QoS parameter is a first value, the first QoS parameter being a QoS parameter of the first QoS flow, the first parameter being used to indicate a QoS requirement of the first QoS flow.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, a sum of the first parameters corresponding to the first modules is greater than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter. The first parameter comprises at least one of an aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR), a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR), a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), or a maximum data burst volume (MDBV); or The first parameter corresponding to the first module is less than or equal to the first parameter in the first QoS parameter. The first parameter comprises at least one of a packet error rate (PER), a packet delay budget (PDB), a maximum packet loss rate (MPLR), or an average window size (AW). The first parameter comprises at least one of a packet error rate (PER), a packet delay budget (PDB), a maximum packet loss rate (MPLR), or an average window size (AW).

10. The method according to any one of claims 7-9, characterized in that, The first module submits a plurality of first data packets to a second module, including: The first module submits the plurality of first data packets and data packet numbers corresponding to the plurality of first data packets to the second module, the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module being used to implement the function of the first module on the first data packets.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The first module sends fourth information to a target access network device, the fourth information being used to indicate data packet numbers corresponding to the first module, the data packet numbers corresponding to the first module being used to indicate a data packet receiving state of the first module.

12. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor, and the processor is used to run a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-6 or to cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 7-11.

13. A communication system, characterized by The communication system comprises a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is used to perform the method of any one of claims 1-6, and the second communication device is used to perform the method of any one of claims 7-11.

14. A chip or chip system, characterized by The chip or chip system comprises a processor coupled with a memory, and the memory is used to store a program or instructions, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the method of any one of claims 1-6 is performed or the method of any one of claims 7-11 is performed.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs, when the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, the method of any one of claims 1-6 is performed or the method of any one of claims 7-11 is performed.

16. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer instructions, when part or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, the method of any one of claims 1-6 is performed or the method of any one of claims 7-11 is performed.

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