Data transmission method and apparatus, computer readable medium, and electronic device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a data transmission method and apparatus, a computer readable medium, and an electronic device. The data transmission method comprises: determining whether a plurality of quality of service (QoS) flows have a synchronous transmission requirement; and if it is determined that the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronous transmission requirement, allocating transmission resources to the plurality of QoS flows according to the synchronous transmission requirement, so that the plurality of QoS flows meet the synchronization requirement when transmitted on the basis of the allocated transmission resources.

Description

Data transmission methods, apparatus, computer-readable media and electronic devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411057354X, filed on August 1, 2024, entitled “Data Transmission Method, Apparatus, Computer-Readable Medium and Electronic Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the fields of computer and communication technology, and more specifically, to a data transmission method, apparatus, computer-readable medium, and electronic device. Background Technology

[0003] In 5th-Generation (5G) mobile communication technology and its subsequent evolution systems (such as 5G-A, 6G, etc.), high-bandwidth interactive services are important service types, such as cloud gaming, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR), cinematic reality (CR), XR and media services (XRM), etc.

[0004] These high-bandwidth interactive services not only have very high requirements for transmission timeliness, but their service flows also typically include multiple media types, such as audio, video, haptic, or other media types.

[0005] Technical content

[0006] The embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method, apparatus, computer-readable medium, and electronic device that can ensure that multiple QoS streams with synchronous transmission requirements can achieve the same transmission delay during transmission, avoiding the problem of asynchronous playback content caused by different QoS streams having different delays.

[0007] Other features and advantages of this application will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by practice of this application.

[0008] This application provides a data transmission method, including: determining whether multiple QoS streams have a synchronous transmission requirement; if it is determined that multiple QoS streams have a synchronous transmission requirement, allocating transmission resources to the multiple QoS streams according to the synchronous transmission requirement, so that the multiple QoS streams meet the synchronization requirement when transmitting based on the allocated transmission resources.

[0009] This application provides a data transmission apparatus, including: a determining unit configured to determine whether multiple Quality of Service (QoS) streams have a synchronous transmission requirement; and a processing unit configured to, if it is determined that multiple QoS streams have a synchronous transmission requirement, allocate transmission resources to the multiple QoS streams according to the synchronous transmission requirement, so that the multiple QoS streams meet the synchronization requirement when transmitting based on the allocated transmission resources.

[0010] This application provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the data transmission method described above.

[0011] This application provides an electronic device, including: one or more processors; and a storage device for storing one or more computer programs, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to implement the data transmission method described above.

[0012] This application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program stored in a computer-readable storage medium. An electronic device's processor reads and executes the computer program from the computer-readable storage medium, causing the electronic device to perform the data transmission method described above.

[0013] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and do not limit this application.

[0014] Brief description of the attached figures

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary system architecture to which the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied;

[0016] Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the transmission process of multimedia data packets according to some embodiments of this application;

[0017] Figure 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of data transmission via multiple QoS streams according to some embodiments of this application;

[0018] Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method according to some embodiments of this application;

[0019] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method according to some embodiments of this application;

[0020] Figure 6 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission method according to some embodiments of this application;

[0021] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a data transmission apparatus according to some embodiments of this application;

[0022] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer system suitable for implementing the electronic device of the present application. Detailed Implementation

[0023] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in a more comprehensive manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the exemplary embodiments can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to these examples; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this application will be more comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art.

[0024] Furthermore, the features, structures, or characteristics described in this application can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Numerous specific details are provided in the following description to provide a full understanding of the embodiments of this application. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that when implementing the technical solutions of this application, not all the detailed features in the embodiments may be used, one or more specific details may be omitted, or other methods, elements, devices, steps, etc., may be employed.

[0025] In this application embodiment, the terms "module" or "unit" refer to a computer program or part of a computer program that has a predetermined function and works with other related parts to achieve a predetermined goal, and can be implemented wholly or partially using software, hardware (such as processing circuitry or memory), or a combination thereof. Similarly, a processor (or multiple processors or memory) can be used to implement one or more modules or units. Furthermore, each module or unit can be part of an overall module or unit that includes the functionality of that module or unit.

[0026] The block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are merely functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically independent entities. That is, these functional entities can be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0027] The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative and do not necessarily include all content and operations / steps, nor do they necessarily have to be performed in the described order. For example, some operations / steps can be broken down, while others can be combined or partially combined; therefore, the actual execution order may change depending on the specific circumstances.

[0028] It should be noted that "multiple" in this article refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0029] With the development of 5G and its subsequent evolution systems (such as 5G-A, 6G, etc.), many multimedia services requiring high data volumes and low latency have been applied. These include cloud gaming, VR, AR, MR, XR, CR, and other interactive services.

[0030] For example, in the cloud gaming scenario shown in Figure 1, cloud server 101 is used to run cloud games. Cloud server 101 can render game screens, encode audio signals and rendered images, and finally transmit the encoded data obtained through the encoding process to various game clients via the network. The game client can be a user equipment (UE) with basic streaming media playback capabilities, human-computer interaction capabilities, and communication capabilities, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, smart TVs, smart home devices, in-vehicle terminals, aircraft, etc.; or the game client can be an application running on a terminal device. Specifically, the game client can decode the encoded data transmitted by cloud server 101 to obtain analog audio and video signals, and then play them.

[0031] It should be understood that Figure 1 is merely an exemplary representation of the system architecture of a cloud gaming system and does not limit the specific architecture of the cloud gaming system; for example, in other embodiments, the cloud gaming system may also include a backend server for scheduling, etc. Furthermore, the cloud server 101 can be an independent physical server, a server cluster composed of multiple physical servers, or a distributed system. It can also be a cloud server providing basic cloud computing services such as cloud services, cloud databases, cloud computing, cloud functions, cloud storage, network services, cloud communication, middleware services, domain name services, security services, content delivery networks (CDNs), and big data and artificial intelligence platforms. The game client and the cloud server 101 can be directly or indirectly connected via wired or wireless communication, which is not limited herein.

[0032] In the various multimedia-based interactive service application scenarios mentioned above, due to the large size of multimedia data packets, they need to be split into multiple data packets for transmission. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, taking a 5G system as an example, the user plane mainly includes the application server, User Plane Function (UPF), next generation nodeB (gNB), and UE. Multimedia data packet transmission in some typical service scenarios mainly occurs in the downlink direction, such as from the application server (AS) to the UPF, and then sent to the UE via the gNB. During transmission, the multimedia data packet (taking XR data packets as an example in Figure 2) is split at the application layer of the application server. After the split data packets arrive at the UPF as IP packets from the application server, the 5G system transmits the sub-data packets to the UE through Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions. At the UE, the sub-data packets are submitted level by level up from the protocol stack and reassembled to recover the multimedia data packet.

[0033] In the system shown in Figure 2, the L1 layer refers to the physical layer, which is used to ensure that raw data can be transmitted over various physical media; the L2 layer refers to the data link layer, which provides services to the network layer on the basis of the services provided by the physical layer; and the Internet Protocol (IP) layer is the network layer, which is used to realize data transmission between two end systems.

[0034] As mentioned earlier, for multimedia services (such as XRM services), it is common to divide a single multimedia data packet into multiple packets for transmission. A single multimedia service frame or a Group of Packets (GoP) may also form a large data packet, requiring a series of IP packets to carry it. These IP packets have a certain correlation, and processing these messages based on this correlation can effectively save wireless network bandwidth. For example, assuming transmission is performed using multiple IP packets, these multiple IP packets can form a PDU set.

[0035] Meanwhile, in multimedia services (such as XRM services), a single service stream typically contains multiple media types, such as audio, video, haptic, or other media types. As shown in Figure 3, during transmission, to ensure quality of service, service streams of different media types may be mapped to different Quality of Service (QoS) streams. Different QoS streams may have different transmission delays, such as the delay between the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the UPF. Consequently, when multiple QoS streams arrive at the receiving end through different transmission paths, it may cause a synchronization problem for service data of different media types when the receiving end generates media content based on the received multiple QoS streams for playback.

[0036] Based on the above problems, the technical solution of this application proposes a new data transmission scheme. When it is determined that multiple QoS streams have a synchronous transmission requirement, transmission resources are allocated to these multiple QoS streams according to the synchronous transmission requirement, so that the multiple QoS streams meet the synchronization requirements (e.g., equal transmission delay) when transmitting based on the allocated transmission resources. This can ensure that multiple QoS streams with synchronous transmission requirements can achieve the same transmission delay during transmission, avoiding the problem of different QoS streams having different delays and causing asynchronous playback content, which is beneficial to improving the user's experience of multimedia services.

[0037] The implementation details of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application are described in detail below:

[0038] Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method according to some embodiments of this application. This data transmission method can be executed by an access network element, such as a base station device. Of course, the technical solution of the embodiment shown in Figure 4 can also be executed by other electronic devices with computing processing capabilities. Referring to Figure 4, this data transmission method includes at least S410 to S420, which are described in detail below:

[0039] In S410, it is determined whether multiple Quality of Service (QoS) streams have a synchronous transmission requirement.

[0040] In some embodiments, different media components of a multimedia service (e.g., cloud gaming / XR services) can be transmitted via differentiated QoS streams. The media types of the multimedia service may include audio (latency-sensitive), video (bandwidth-sensitive), haptic (jitter-sensitive), or other media types. Service data packets of different media types may have different QoS requirements, or they may have the same QoS requirements. If service data packets of different media types have different QoS requirements, then these different media type service data packets can be mapped to different QoS streams.

[0041] It should be noted that multimedia services can include cloud gaming, VR, AR, MR, XR, XRM, CR, etc. Multimedia service data packets can be transmitted using a service data packet set (PDU set). This is because a single multimedia service frame or GOP-formed data packet may be quite large in size, requiring it to be split into a series of data packets for transport. These data packets have a certain correlation, hence the term PDU set. In other embodiments of this application, the service data stream can also be transmitted per-packet.

[0042] Taking cloud gaming as an example, cloud gaming services may contain audio data packets, video data packets, and haptic or other types of data packets. Since these multi-media data packets are associated with the same multimedia service, if they are mapped to different QoS streams during transmission, these QoS streams will be related. For example, there may be synchronous transmission requirements between these QoS streams, meaning that the latency between these QoS streams should be consistent or within a certain latency range.

[0043] In some embodiments, an explicit indication parameter sent by a core network element can be received, and then the synchronization requirement between multiple QoS flows can be determined based on the explicit indication parameter. That is, in this embodiment, the synchronization requirement between multiple QoS flows is determined by an explicit indication parameter. In some embodiments, the explicit indication parameter may include a Multi-Modality Service ID (MMSID), which is used to indicate the association relationship between multiple QoS flows within the same PDU session.

[0044] In some embodiments, whether there is a synchronous transmission requirement between multiple QoS flows can be inferred based on implicit indication parameters. For example, QoS parameters at the PDU session level and QoS flow level can be analyzed from user equipment context information to infer whether there is a synchronous transmission requirement between multiple QoS flows.

[0045] Specifically, QoS configuration is typically associated with specific session entities (such as EPS Bearers or 5GS QoS flows). These entities serve as the logical carriers for QoS policy implementation and implement differentiated services. For example, in 4G systems, the EPS Bearer is the basic unit of QoS configuration. All data flows on the same bearer have the same QoS configuration. In 5G systems, the QoS flow is the basic unit of QoS configuration. QoS parameters may include:

[0046] The priority parameter determines the processing order of data packets in the scheduling queue;

[0047] Rate control parameters, such as Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) and Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR), are used to control the speed of data transmission.

[0048] A packet filter set is used to associate data packets in a network with specific QoS rules.

[0049] QoS rule identifiers (such as 5QI, ARP, etc.) are used to uniquely identify QoS rules.

[0050] When determining whether there is a synchronous transmission requirement between QoS flows through session-level parameters contained in the UE context, the following steps can be taken: First, look up the QoS parameters associated with a specific session in the UE context, and then determine whether there is a synchronous transmission requirement between multiple QoS flows by analyzing the correlation of these parameters.

[0051] In some embodiments, when identifying synchronization based on implicit indication parameters, the determination of the synchronization relationship of multiple QoS streams can be achieved by parsing the QoS parameters at the QoS stream level.

[0052] Specifically, as the finest QoS differentiation unit in a PDU session, the configuration and management of a QoS flow relies on a set of standardized QoS parameters. These parameters not only define the service characteristics of a single QoS flow but also implicitly reveal the potential correlations between different QoS flows. QoS flow-level parameters may include: QoS Flow Identifier (QFI), QoS Class Identifier (5QI), Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP), Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR), and Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR), etc.

[0053] Among them, QFI is used to identify QoS flow; 5QI is used to index a 5G QoS feature, and different 5QI values ​​represent different QoS categories; ARP parameters define the priority, preemption capability, and preemptibility of QoS flow; GBR QoS flow; GFBR and MFBR represent the guaranteed bit rate and maximum bit rate, respectively.

[0054] The correlation between parameters is reflected in the following ways: QoS flows with the same 5QI value may have similar QoS processing; QoS flows with the same ARP parameters follow the same processing strategy during resource allocation; QoS flows with similar GFBR and MFBR values ​​may have similar rate guarantee requirements. This parameter correlation provides a technical basis for synchronization identification. Therefore, QoS parameters at the QoS flow level can be used to identify whether multiple QoS flows have synchronous transmission requirements. When multiple QoS flows exhibit the same or similar key parameters, it can be determined that they have service synchronization requirements. For example, QFI can be used to identify whether different QoS flows have the same ARP parameters or the same delay parameters. If they have the same or similar delay parameters, it indicates that the QoS flows have synchronous transmission requirements.

[0055] In some embodiments, in addition to the QoS parameters described above, for service data transmitted via PDU sets, the corresponding QoS parameters may also include at least one of the following parameters: PDU Set Delay Budget (PSDB), PDU Set Error Rate (PSER), Maximum Data Burst Volume (MDBV), and Packet Delay Variation (PDV). For service data transmitted per-packet, the corresponding QoS parameters may also include at least one of the following parameters: Packet Delay Budget (PDB), Packet Error Rate (PER), and Maximum Data Burst Volume.

[0056] In some embodiments, when the core network element indicates a synchronization requirement, multiple QoS flows contained in the same PDU session can be directly identified as synchronization-related flows. This implicit identification mechanism omits the parameter comparison process and directly identifies multiple QoS flows contained in the same PDU session as QoS flows with synchronization transmission requirements, without the need for other parameters to indicate this.

[0057] Referring to Figure 4, in S420, if it is determined that multiple QoS streams have a synchronous transmission requirement, then transmission resources are allocated to the multiple QoS streams according to the synchronous transmission requirement, so that the multiple QoS streams meet the synchronization requirement when transmitting based on the allocated transmission resources.

[0058] In some embodiments, if it is determined that multiple QoS streams have a synchronous transmission requirement, then synchronous transmission parameters for the multiple QoS streams can be generated; wherein, for data streams using PDU set transmission mode, the synchronous transmission parameters include: PDU set delay budget; for data streams based on single packet transmission, the synchronous transmission parameters include: packet delay budget.

[0059] By converting synchronization transmission requirements into synchronization transmission parameters, abstract performance metrics can be transformed into specific, configurable parameters (such as AN-PDB or PSDB) to achieve flexible system control and optimization. By quantifying synchronization transmission requirements into standardized delay parameters (e.g., AN-PDB for non-PDU set scenarios), the system can explicitly define transmission delay thresholds, facilitating real-time detection and dynamic adjustment of resource allocation, thereby avoiding synchronization degradation caused by transmission jitter in the radio access network (e.g., from NG-RAN to the UE segment). The solution in this application not only simplifies the maintenance of synchronization policies (e.g., no core logic reconstruction is required when modifying thresholds) but also supports serial expansion, adapting to the QoS requirements of different service scenarios.

[0060] In some embodiments, when allocating transmission resources for multiple QoS streams based on synchronization requirements, if a single Data Radio Bearer (DRB) can satisfy the synchronization requirements of all QoS streams, then the single DRB can be used to transmit multiple QoS streams, achieving precise time alignment by sharing radio resources. If the same DRB cannot satisfy the synchronization requirements of all QoS streams, then an independent DRB can be allocated to each QoS stream, so that the synchronization requirements are met when multiple QoS streams are transmitted based on different DRBs.

[0061] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method according to some embodiments of this application. This data transmission method can be executed by an access network element, such as a base station device. Of course, the technical solution of the embodiment shown in Figure 5 can also be executed by other electronic devices with computing processing capabilities. Referring to Figure 5, this data transmission method, in addition to S410 to S420 shown in Figure 4, also includes S430 and S440, which are described in detail below:

[0062] In S430, after allocating transmission resources to multiple QoS streams according to synchronization transmission requirements, delay detection is performed on the transmission process of multiple QoS streams.

[0063] It's important to note that data packets are generally transmitted in three modes: Transparent Mode (TM), Acknowledged Mode (AM), and Unacknowledged Mode (UM). In Transparent Mode (TM), the transmitting device or system is "transparent" to the data, meaning it doesn't modify or process the data content. In Unacknowledged Mode (UM), data transmission doesn't require confirmation from the receiver; the sender doesn't wait for feedback after sending data, resulting in relatively high data transmission efficiency. This mode is suitable for scenarios with high real-time requirements but relatively low accuracy requirements. Acknowledged Mode (AM) is a more reliable transmission mode. In AM, the sender waits for confirmation from the receiver after sending data to ensure correct reception. If the receiver doesn't receive the data or the data is incorrect, it sends a Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) message to the sender, requesting retransmission. This mechanism ensures data integrity and accuracy but also increases transmission latency.

[0064] In some embodiments, differentiated delay detection schemes are provided for different transmission modes. For QoS flows using Unacknowledged Mode (UM), delay measurement is performed by the receiving RLC instance in the uplink direction and by the sending RLC instance in the downlink direction.

[0065] In some embodiments, for QoS flows employing Acknowledgment mode (AM), since the transmit and receive traffic share a single RLC instance, the uplink and downlink bidirectional latency measurements can be performed by that RLC instance.

[0066] In some embodiments, different measurement modes can be configured to meet the synchronous transmission requirements of different service types: measurement by data packet is suitable for services sensitive to latency jitter; measurement by transport block (TB) is suitable for high-volume services, and batch processing can reduce measurement overhead.

[0067] In some embodiments, if the transmission delay difference between data packets of multiple QoS streams is within a set threshold, it can be determined that the multiple QoS streams can meet the synchronization requirements during transmission; if the transmission delay difference between data packets of multiple QoS streams is not within the set threshold, it can be determined that the multiple QoS streams cannot meet the synchronization requirements during transmission. The technical solution of this embodiment can ensure that the transmission delay difference of multiple QoS streams is considered to be synchronized when it is within a certain range, avoiding the problem of misjudgment caused by latency jitter.

[0068] In some embodiments, when performing delay detection during the transmission of multiple QoS streams, the synchronization state of the QoS streams can be characterized by multiple state transitions of a state machine. For example, based on the delay detection results of multiple QoS streams, different states of the state machine can indicate whether the multiple QoS streams can meet the synchronization requirements during transmission; wherein, the state machine includes a synchronized state and an asynchronous state. Of course, the state machine can also include other states, such as an impending asynchronous state, a slightly asynchronous state, a severely asynchronous state, etc.

[0069] In S440, if multiple QoS streams are detected to be unable to meet synchronization requirements during transmission, the transmission resource allocation for the multiple QoS streams is adjusted.

[0070] In some embodiments, local resource adjustments are first made to allocate more transmission resources to high-latency QoS flows or switch to less busy transmission links to reduce the latency of the QoS flows. In some embodiments, if multiple QoS flows still cannot meet the synchronization requirements after a set period of time, core network collaborative optimization can be initiated by sending notification messages to core network elements to enable them to adjust the transmission parameters for multiple QoS flows. For example, core network elements can adjust the QoS parameters for multiple QoS flows through a PDU session modification procedure.

[0071] The implementation details of the technical solution of this application embodiment are described in detail below with reference to Figure 6, taking the processing of XRM services in a 5G system as an example:

[0072] The technical solution of this application mainly targets end-to-end XRM service flows. It identifies the synchronization relationship between QoS flows at the NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network) base station and selects appropriate radio resources for different QoS flows, enabling QoS flows with synchronization relationships to achieve equal transmission latency during transmission in the NG-RAN. Specifically, referring to Figure 6, the solution may include the following steps:

[0073] S601, after the PDU session and QoS flow are established / modified, NG-RAN determines whether multiple QoS flows have synchronous transmission requirements, and when it is determined that multiple QoS flows have synchronous generation requirements, the synchronous transmission requirements are converted into parameters.

[0074] In some embodiments, the synchronization requirements of multiple QoS streams can be explicitly determined based on parameters provided by the core network.

[0075] Specifically, the MMSID defined in 3GPP SA2 R18 is a parameter used to identify the relationships between multiple media streams in XRM (Extended Reality Media) services. This parameter can logically bind multimedia streams (such as audio, video, haptic feedback, etc.) belonging to the same service scenario through a unified service identifier, and can explicitly indicate the synchronization requirements between different streams, such as the strict timing alignment requirements between video streams and motion sensor data in VR scenarios. The network side needs to treat streams marked with the same MMSID as an indivisible whole for resource allocation. However, this parameter has certain limitations. Its original intention was to indicate the dependency between different streams, and the network should not accept or reject a part of it when allocating and scheduling transmission resources, but should treat it as a whole. Therefore, the use of this parameter to indicate synchronization needs to be based on the following two assumptions: different QoS streams with synchronization dependencies can only belong to the same PDU session, and all streams within the same XRM service adopt a unified synchronization level.

[0076] In some embodiments, the synchronization requirements of multiple QoS flows can be implicitly inferred. This method avoids introducing new indication parameters into the AF and core network, instead analyzing the synchronization between different QoS flows by analyzing control plane or user plane entities. For example, implicit inference may include, but is not limited to, parsing QoS parameters (e.g., latency sensitivity and reliability metrics in QoS parameters) or extracting information from the UE context (e.g., QoS parameters at the PDU session level and QoS flow level in the UE context). This scheme, which infers QoS flow synchronization transmission requirements through implicit parameters, avoids explicit signaling overhead, utilizes the existing QoS parameter system to derive synchronization requirements, maintains compatibility with the existing 5G QoS framework, and requires no modification to the core network architecture.

[0077] Specifically, NG-RAN can analyze QoS parameters at the session level and QoS flow level from the UE context stored in the gNB to determine whether there is a synchronous transmission requirement between different QoS flows. Alternatively, NG-RAN can automatically determine multiple flows within a UE's PDU session as having synchronous transmission requirements when the core network only declares synchronous transmission requirements without specifying which QoS flows need to be synchronous.

[0078] In some embodiments, synchronization transmission requirements can be translated into PDB parameters, such as AN-PDB (corresponding to non-PDU set) parameters or PSDB parameters (corresponding to PDU set). AN-PDB is used for independent data streams of non-PDU sets, defining the maximum allowable latency threshold for data packets from the application layer sender to the receiver. The consideration for mapping synchronization transmission requirements to AN-PDB parameters is to assume that data packets meet synchronization requirements upon arrival at the NG-RAN, and that synchronization will not deteriorate further due to transmission between the NG-RAN and the UE. PSDB parameters are used for PDU sets (such as XR multimodal service flow groups), setting the cooperative transmission latency budget for the entire group of data packets. Unified resource scheduling ensures that the time difference of data packets from all flows within the group at the receiver does not exceed the threshold.

[0079] S602, NG-RAN uses one or more DRBs for data transmission and detects the transmission delay of each QoS stream.

[0080] In some embodiments, multiple QoS streams can be transmitted using a single DRB to ensure synchronization when any of the following conditions are met:

[0081] Multiple QoS flows have the same 5QI;

[0082] They share the same latency budget parameters (PDB metric, or PDU metric);

[0083] It has a matching PER or MDBV metric;

[0084] The NG-RAN assessment confirmation sheet (DRB) can meet the QoS requirements of all QoS flows.

[0085] The same DRB provides consistent underlying transport characteristics (such as scheduling priority and HARQ mechanism) for all QoS flows carried, thereby naturally maintaining inter-flow latency consistency.

[0086] In some embodiments, NG-RAN may employ independent DRB transmission when different QoS flows exhibit the following characteristic differences:

[0087] Differences in business types: These include different XRM media streams / types (such as video / haptic feedback separation), belonging to different PDU sets, and inconsistent PDU set importance (PSI);

[0088] QoS parameter conflict: The latency requirements are the same, but the reliability metrics (PER) do not match, that is, the reliability metrics are different between different QoS flows; other key parameters (such as jitter tolerance) cannot be met simultaneously by a single DRB.

[0089] By using different DRBs to transmit multiple QoS streams, a differentiated scheduling strategy is implemented to avoid conflicts in reliability requirements.

[0090] In some embodiments, in order to ensure that different QoS streams can meet the same latency index, the base station needs to perform latency detection on multiple QoS streams with synchronous transmission requirements.

[0091] In some embodiments, in RLC UM mode, if it is an uplink (UL) transmission, the latency measurement can be performed by the receive (RX) RLC instance; if it is a downlink (DL) transmission, the latency measurement can be performed by the transmit (TX) RLC instance.

[0092] In some embodiments, under RLC AM mode, if UL and DL share an RLC instance, the sequence number latency change trend of the RLC instance can be used to analyze whether multiple QoS flow service flows can meet the synchronization requirements.

[0093] If the synchronization requirements cannot be met, S603 will trigger a reporting mechanism and modify QoS parameters.

[0094] In some embodiments, if NG-RAN detects that the transmission between multiple QoS flows can meet the synchronization requirements, the transmission can continue; if the synchronization requirements cannot be met, NG-RAN can adjust the resource transmission algorithm to make the multiple QoS flows meet the synchronization requirements. If the synchronization requirements still cannot be met within a set time period, a notification message can be sent to the 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) so that the 5GC can trigger the update of QoS flow parameters after receiving the notification.

[0095] In some embodiments, after receiving a notification, the 5GC can also send the notification to the AF, which can then make adaptive adjustments. For example, the AF can regenerate QoS requirement information for multiple QoS flows and send it to the core network element to adjust the processing strategy for multiple QoS flows.

[0096] In some embodiments, the detection of transmission delays of multiple QoS streams and the determination of whether synchronization requirements are met can be performed in the following ways:

[0097] Packet-level inspection: Perform latency measurement and synchronization judgment on each data packet;

[0098] MAC TB-level detection: Perform latency detection and synchronization judgment on each MAC TB transmission.

[0099] The aforementioned judgment method may produce false positives in scenarios with rapid fading of the wireless channel (such as high-speed movement), and therefore may not be suitable for situations where the wireless channel changes drastically. Therefore, to improve the scalability of the system, the synchronization requirement judgment can be designed as a state machine or threshold judgment, and implemented in the user plane RLC or MAC instance.

[0100] Specifically, when making threshold judgments, a threshold can be set. When the delay of data packet transmission is within the threshold range, it can be considered that the synchronization requirements are met and the reporting process will not be triggered. If the delay of data packet transmission exceeds the threshold range, it is considered that the synchronization requirements are not met and the reporting process needs to be triggered.

[0101] When making judgments using a state machine, a state machine can be designed, including two states: synchronous and asynchronous, or it can contain other states. Transition conditions between each state can be set to dynamically follow the changes in the state.

[0102] In some embodiments, the state machine approach and the threshold-based approach can be implemented in combination or separately.

[0103] In summary, the technical solution of this application proposes a novel data transmission scheme that enables NG-RAN base stations to identify the synchronization relationship between QoS streams. By selecting appropriate radio resources for different QoS streams, it ensures that QoS streams with synchronization relationships can achieve equal transmission latency during transmission in NG-RAN. The technical solution of this application can solve the problem that when multimedia streams are mapped into multiple QoS streams, the different latency caused by the transmission of these multiple QoS streams in 5G / 6G networks affects the user experience of multimedia services at the receiving end.

[0104] It should be noted that the technical solutions of this application are not only applicable to 5G systems, but also to future evolved mobile communication systems. Furthermore, the technical solutions of this application are not only applicable to XRM services, but also to the processing of other multimedia service streams.

[0105] The following describes an apparatus embodiment of this application, which can be used to execute the data transmission method in the above embodiments of this application. For details not disclosed in the apparatus embodiments of this application, please refer to the embodiments of the data transmission method described above.

[0106] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a data transmission apparatus according to some embodiments of the present application. The data transmission apparatus can be applied to access network elements, such as base station equipment. Of course, the data transmission apparatus shown in Figure 7 can also be applied to other electronic devices with computing processing functions.

[0107] Referring to FIG7, a data transmission apparatus 700 according to some embodiments of the present application includes: a determination unit 702 and a processing unit 704.

[0108] The determining unit 702 is configured to determine whether multiple QoS flows have a synchronous transmission requirement; the processing unit 704 is configured to allocate transmission resources to the multiple QoS flows according to the synchronous transmission requirement when it is determined that there is a synchronous transmission requirement among the multiple QoS flows, so that the multiple QoS flows meet the synchronization requirement when transmitting based on the allocated transmission resources.

[0109] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of a computer system suitable for implementing an electronic device according to the embodiments of this application. The electronic device may be an access network element in the foregoing embodiments, such as a base station device.

[0110] It should be noted that the computer system 800 of the electronic device shown in Figure 8 is only an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of this application.

[0111] As shown in Figure 8, the computer system 800 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 801, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes based on programs stored in Read-Only Memory (ROM) 802 or programs loaded from storage portion 808 into Random Access Memory (RAM) 803, such as performing the methods described in the above embodiments. The RAM 803 also stores various programs and data required for system operation. The CPU 801, ROM 802, and RAM 803 are interconnected via a bus 804. An input / output (I / O) interface 805 is also connected to the bus 804.

[0112] The following components can be connected to I / O interface 805: an input section 806 including a keyboard, mouse, etc.; an output section 807 including a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and speakers, etc.; a storage section 808 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication section 809 including a network interface card such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card, modem, etc. The communication section 809 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A drive 810 is also connected to I / O interface 805 as needed. Removable media 811, such as a disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, semiconductor memory, etc., are installed on drive 810 as needed so that computer programs read from them can be installed into storage section 808 as needed.

[0113] Specifically, according to embodiments of this application, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts can be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of this application include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium for performing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via communication section 809, and / or installed from removable medium 811. When the computer program is executed by central processing unit (CPU) 801, it performs various functions defined in the system of this application.

[0114] It should be noted that the computer-readable medium shown in the embodiments of this application can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium, or any combination of the two. A computer-readable storage medium can be, for example,—but not limited to—an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, optical fiber, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. In this application, a computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a computer program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In this application, a computer-readable signal medium can include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying a computer-readable computer program. The transmitted data signal can take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. The computer-readable signal medium can also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer program contained on the computer-readable medium can be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0115] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of this application. Each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which contains one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions indicated in the blocks may occur in a different order than those indicated in the drawings. For example, two consecutively indicated blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in a block diagram or flowchart, and combinations of blocks in a block diagram or flowchart, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or operation, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and a computer program.

[0116] The units described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in software or hardware, and the described units can also be located in a processor. The names of these units do not necessarily limit the specific unit itself.

[0117] In another aspect, this application also provides a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the electronic device described in the above embodiments; or it may exist independently and not assembled into the electronic device. The computer-readable medium carries one or more computer programs, which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the methods described in the above embodiments.

[0118] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of this application, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0119] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause an electronic device to execute the method according to the embodiments of this application. For example, the electronic device can be an access network element, and the access network element can execute the data transmission method shown in Figures 4 and 5.

[0120] Other embodiments of this application will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the embodiments disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this application that follow the general principles of this application and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein.

[0121] It should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, performed by an electronic device, comprising: determining whether a plurality of quality of service (QoS) flows have a synchronization transmission requirement; if it is determined that the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement, allocating transmission resources for the plurality of QoS flows according to the synchronization transmission requirement, so that the plurality of QoS flows meet a synchronization requirement when being transmitted based on the allocated transmission resources.

2. The data transmission method of claim 1, wherein, The determining whether the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement comprises at least one of: receiving an explicit indication parameter sent by a core network element, and determining whether the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement according to the explicit indication parameter; inferring whether the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement according to an implicit indication parameter.

3. The data transmission method of claim 2, wherein, The explicit indication parameter comprises a multi-modal service identifier, which is used to indicate that a plurality of QoS flows in a same protocol data unit (PDU) session have a correlation relationship.

4. The data transmission method of claim 2, wherein, The inferring whether the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement according to the implicit indication parameter comprises at least one of: inferring whether the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement according to a session-level QoS parameter contained in user equipment context information; inferring whether the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement according to a QoS parameter at a QoS flow level contained in user equipment context information; when a core network element is configured with a synchronization constraint, determining that a plurality of QoS flows contained in a same PDU session have the synchronization transmission requirement. 5.The data transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: if it is determined that the plurality of QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement, generating a synchronization transmission parameter for the plurality of QoS flows according to the synchronization transmission requirement; wherein the synchronization transmission parameter comprises at least one of a PDU set delay budget (PSDB) and a packet delay budget (PDB) for an access network.

6. The data transmission method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of QoS flows meet the synchronization requirement when being transmitted based on the allocated transmission resources comprises: The plurality of QoS flows meet a same transmission delay when being transmitted based on the allocated transmission resources.

7. The data transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The allocating transmission resources for the plurality of QoS flows according to the synchronization transmission requirement comprises: transmitting the plurality of QoS flows using a same data radio bearer according to the synchronization transmission requirement, so that the plurality of QoS flows meet the synchronization requirement when being transmitted based on the same data radio bearer; or allocating different data radio bearers for the plurality of QoS flows according to the synchronization transmission requirement, so that the plurality of QoS flows meet the synchronization requirement when being transmitted based on the different data radio bearers. 8.The data transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: after the allocating transmission resources for the plurality of QoS flows according to the synchronization transmission requirement, detecting a delay of a transmission process of the plurality of QoS flows; if it is detected that the plurality of QoS flows cannot meet the synchronization requirement when being transmitted, adjusting the transmission resources allocated for the plurality of QoS flows.

9. The data transmission method of claim 8, wherein, The detecting the delay of the transmission process of the plurality of QoS flows comprises: For the QoS flow with the non-acknowledgement mode, the uplink transmission is detected by a receiving end radio link control (RLC) instance, and the downlink transmission is detected by a sending end RLC instance; For the QoS flow with the acknowledgement mode, the uplink and downlink transmissions are detected by a shared RLC instance.

10. The data transmission method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein, The delay detection on the transmission processes of the multiple QoS flows comprises: delay measurement on the multiple QoS flows in a packet unit; or delay measurement on the multiple QoS flows in a transmission block unit.

11. The data transmission method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: if the transmission delay difference between the data packets of the multiple QoS flows is within a set threshold range, determining that the multiple QoS flows can meet the synchronization requirement in transmission; if the transmission delay difference between the data packets of the multiple QoS flows is not within the set threshold, determining that the multiple QoS flows cannot meet the synchronization requirement in transmission.

12. The data transmission method according to claim 8, further comprising: according to the delay detection results of the multiple QoS flows, indicating whether the multiple QoS flows can meet the synchronization requirement in transmission through different states of a state machine; wherein the state machine comprises a synchronization state and an asynchronization state.

13. The data transmission method according to claim 8, further comprising: after adjusting the transmission resources allocated to the multiple QoS flows, if the multiple QoS flows still cannot meet the synchronization requirement after a set time length, sending a notification message to a core network element to make the core network element adjust transmission parameters for the multiple QoS flows.

14. A data transmission apparatus, comprising: a determination unit configured to determine whether multiple quality of service (QoS) flows have a synchronization transmission requirement; a processing unit configured to, if it is determined that the multiple QoS flows have the synchronization transmission requirement, allocate transmission resources to the multiple QoS flows according to the synchronization transmission requirement, so that the multiple QoS flows meet a synchronization requirement in transmission based on the allocated transmission resources.

15. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein, The computer program is executed by a processor to implement the data transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory for storing one or more computer programs, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to implement the data transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

17. A computer program product, comprising a computer program stored in a computer readable storage medium, wherein a processor of an electronic device reads and executes the computer program from the computer readable storage medium, so that the electronic device performs the data transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

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