Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of optical communications. Provided are a communication method and a communication apparatus. By means of the communication method, an air interface resource that any access device needs to schedule can be determined, and by means of a corresponding instruction, the access device is caused to perform service transmission according to the determined air interface resource, thereby effectively avoiding air interface collisions, enabling orderly access or concurrent access of multiple communication devices, and greatly improving the user experience. The communication method is applied to a communication apparatus. The communication method comprises: acquiring an air interface resource requirement of at least one access device, wherein the air interface resource is used for indicating an air interface resource that the at least one access device needs to invoke; and on the basis of the air interface resource requirement, sending a scheduling instruction to the at least one access device, wherein the scheduling instruction is used for indicating a usable duration for the at least one access device and a start moment of the usable duration. The embodiments of the present application are applied to optical communications.

Description

A communication method and a communication device

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411099012.4, filed on August 9, 2024, entitled “A communication method and a communication device”, and the Chinese patent application No. 202411919854.X, filed on December 23, 2024, entitled “A communication method and a communication device”, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] At present, with the promotion of the broadband strategy, the penetration rate of fiber to the home has reached more than 90%. Usually, in order to obtain a better online experience, broadband users continuously upgrade the broadband package (usually represented by the service transmission rate of broadband, unit: megabit per second (Mbit / s)) used by the network. However, the actual network speed of the user when using the network often cannot reach the bandwidth promised in the broadband package (i.e. the signed bandwidth).

[0004] Taking a home network as an example, nearly 80% of the actual network speed of the home network is far less than the signed bandwidth of the basic broadband package provided by the operator, of which the signed bandwidth is 200 Mbit / s. For example, in the scenario of a large house, a villa, and the like, the home network covers a large area, and when data is transmitted indoors by using a wireless transmission technology, there are problems such as insufficient bandwidth and poor network coverage, which causes frequent network congestion, and this will seriously affect the user experience of using the network. Based on this problem, a fiber to the room (FTTR) scheme can be used, that is, an optical fiber reaches each room, so that the home network can achieve a super-high signed bandwidth and cover every corner of the home, thereby meeting the user demand. In a wireless local area network (WLAN), a plurality of station devices (STAs) included in the WLAN will transmit services with other communication devices or communication apparatuses by competing for resources in a communication network (referred to as a network) at the same time, for example, a STA transmits services to an access point (also referred to as an access device, AP). In this way, when the STA transmits services, a channel collision phenomenon may occur, that is, at least two STAs transmit services on the same channel at the same time, which will cause the AP to receive chaos and cannot correctly receive any service sent by the STA. Generally, channel access can be performed according to a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) mechanism to avoid channel collision. Specifically, when the STA detects that the transmission medium is idle, the STA will randomly wait for a period of time, and if the transmission medium is still idle, the STA will send services (for example, service data). In order to ensure the communication quality, the AP can send an acknowledgement frame ACK to the STA after the service data is transmitted to confirm the transmission of the service data.

[0005] Since the CSMA / CA mechanism is a kind of centerless channel access mechanism, when a plurality of communication devices (including a plurality of APs or a plurality of STAs) access the channel, the air interface is prone to collision, which causes a plurality of communication devices to access in disorder, performance loss, and the like, and further affects the user experience. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can determine the air interface resources required to be scheduled by any access device, and make the access device transmit services according to the determined air interface resources through corresponding instructions, so as to effectively avoid air interface collision, make a plurality of communication devices access in order or concurrently, and greatly improve the user experience.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The communication method is applied to a communication device. The communication method comprises: obtaining air interface resource requirements of at least one access device; wherein the air interface resource requirements are used to indicate air interface resources to be invoked by the at least one access device; and sending a scheduling instruction to the at least one access device based on the air interface resource requirements, the scheduling instruction being used to indicate a time length available to the at least one access device and a starting time of the time length available.

[0008] Therefore, the communication method in the above solution can determine the air interface resources to be invoked by the access device (e.g., for transmitting services) based on the obtained air interface resource requirements. Further, the scheduling instruction is sent to the access device to indicate the access device to transmit services according to the time length available and the starting time of the time length available. Generally, the access device needs to invoke different air interface resources, such as time resources, i.e., the time length available and the starting time of the time length available. Through the above solution, the air interface resources to be invoked by the access device for transmitting services can be configured, thereby ensuring the transmission quality of the access device. It is not difficult to understand that in many application scenarios of a communication network, multiple access devices are generally included. Thus, based on the above solution, the air interface resources to be invoked by multiple access devices in the network can be determined based on the obtained air interface resource requirements, and the scheduling instruction sent to the access device enables the access device to transmit services according to the corresponding air interface resources. It should be noted that embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific method, steps, etc. of the communication method for determining the air interface resources to be invoked by one or more access devices. In a possible implementation, the air interface resources to be invoked by different access devices can also be determined based on the priorities of services transmitted by the different access devices. Therefore, the above solution can determine the air interface resources to be invoked by multiple access devices in the network based on the obtained air interface resource requirements, and control the time length available and the starting time of the time length available for services transmitted by the access device through the scheduling instruction, so that multiple communication devices can be sequentially accessed or concurrently accessed, thereby effectively avoiding problems such as channel conflict and air interface collision when different access devices transmit services, and greatly improving user experience.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the air interface resource requirements are service information or signal strengths between the at least one access device and other communication devices.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the starting time of the time length available is indicated by a delay time.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the delay time starts timing from when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

[0013] In a possible implementation, when the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the start time of the available time length is the time when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the obtaining of the air interface resource requirement of the at least one access device includes: receiving reported information of the at least one access device; wherein the reported information includes a scheduling request of the at least one access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources required to be called by the at least one access device; and based on the reported information, determining the air interface resources required to be called by the at least one access device.

[0015] Then, the above scheme can obtain the air interface resources required to be called indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device based on the received reported information of the access device. The reported information includes a scheduling request indicating the time resources required to be called by the access device. Specifically, the communication device can determine the air interface resources required to be called indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device (i.e., the time resources required to be called by the access device, such as the time length required to be called) based on the scheduling request in the reported information. In a possible implementation, the reported information can be directly reported by the access device to the communication device. In some examples, the reported information can also be determined by the communication device according to the performance parameters transmitted by the access device. Of course, the reported information described above can also include other possible parameters, such as the priority of the service transmitted by the access device, the waiting delay of the access device, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. In addition, the present application does not limit the way of obtaining the reported information of the access device. In this way, based on the reported information including the scheduling request, the communication device can determine the time resources required to be called by the access device, and then determine the air interface resources required to be called (such as the time resources) indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device according to the time resources required to be called. Then, through the above scheme, the air interface resources required to be called indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device can be configured based on the time resources required to be called by the access device, so that multiple communication devices are sequentially accessed or concurrently accessed, and the transmission quality of the access device is ensured.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the obtaining of the air interface resource requirement of the at least one access device includes: obtaining service information of the at least one access device; wherein the service information includes queue information of services transmitted by the at least one access device; and based on the service information, determining the air interface resources required to be called by the at least one access device.

[0017] Therefore, the above scheme can obtain the called air interface resource indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device based on the obtained service information of the access device. The service information includes the queue information of the service transmitted by the access device. Further, the communication device can determine the called air interface resource indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the data of the access device based on the queue information included in the service information. In a possible implementation, the access device in the network reports the queue information of the service transmitted by the access device to the communication device, and the communication device obtains the queue information of the access device based on the received queue information. In other examples, the service information can also be determined by the communication device according to the related information of the access device. It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific method of obtaining the service information of the access device by the communication device. In addition, based on the above scheme, the communication device can control each frame (the called air interface resource) transmitted by the access device through the scheduling instruction issued to the access device; or the communication device can also pre-allocate the air interface resource called by the access device (transmitting the service) in a time period. In this way, in the above scheme, the communication device can determine the called air interface resource indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device based on the queue information included in the service information.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the above obtaining the air interface resource requirement of the at least one access device includes: obtaining interaction information between the at least one access device and other communication devices; wherein the interaction information includes the signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices; and determining the called air interface resource of the at least one access device based on the interaction information.

[0019] Therefore, the above scheme can obtain the called air interface resource indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device based on the obtained interaction information between the access device and other communication devices. The interaction information includes the signal strength between the access device and other communication devices. Specifically, the communication device can determine the interference of the access device caused by the surrounding other communication devices based on the obtained signal strength between the access device and other communication devices. Further, the communication device determines the called air interface resource indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device according to the determined interference. Of course, the embodiments of the present application do not limit the way in which the communication device obtains the interaction information of the access device. In this way, the above scheme can determine the interference of the access device caused by the surrounding other communication devices based on the signal strength included in the interaction information, so as to determine the called air interface resource indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device based on the interference.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the communication method further includes: receiving device buffer and transmission rate sent by the at least one access device; and determining time resources to be invoked by the at least one access device based on the device buffer and the transmission rate.

[0021] Therefore, in the foregoing solution, the communication apparatus can determine the time resources to be invoked by the access device based on the received device buffer and transmission rate sent by the access device, that is, can determine the scheduling request of the access device. Further, based on the foregoing other solutions, the communication apparatus can determine the time resources to be invoked by the access device according to the scheduling request. Of course, the communication apparatus can also determine the time resources to be invoked by the access device in other manners according to the received device buffer and transmission rate, and embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Therefore, the foregoing solution can determine the time resources to be invoked by the access device according to the device buffer and transmission rate sent by the access device.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the obtaining of the service information of the at least one access device includes: receiving queue information reported by the at least one access device; and determining the service information of the at least one access device based on the queue information. Alternatively, the obtaining of the service information of the at least one access device includes: obtaining queue enqueuing information and queue dequeuing information of the at least one access device performing service transmission; and determining the service information of the at least one access device based on the queue enqueuing information and the queue dequeuing information.

[0023] Therefore, based on the foregoing solution, the communication apparatus can obtain the service information of the access device in the following manner: determining the service information of the access device based on the queue information reported by the access device; or the communication apparatus can count the queue enqueuing information and the queue dequeuing information of the access device performing service transmission, to determine the queue information of the access device, and further determine the service information of the access device. Further, the communication apparatus can determine the air interface resources to be invoked indicated by the air interface resource requirement of the access device based on the queue information included in the service information. In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus can count the queue enqueuing information and the queue dequeuing information of the access device performing service transmission in a fixed time period, to directly determine the queue information of the access device. Of course, the communication apparatus can also obtain the service information of the access device in other possible manners, and embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In this way, the foregoing solution can obtain the service information of the access device across devices (the access device and the communication apparatus need to cooperate), that is, obtain the service information of the access device based on the queue information reported by the access device. Alternatively, the communication apparatus can also directly obtain the service information of the access device based on the queue enqueuing information and the queue dequeuing information in a fixed time period.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the communication method further includes: sending a test message to the at least one access device, the test message being used to instruct the at least one access device to determine the signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices.

[0025] Therefore, based on the above scheme, the communication device can instruct the access device to determine the signal strength between the access device and other communication devices by sending a test message to the access device. Further, based on the signal strength, the interference condition around the access device can be determined. Optionally, the signal strength includes the signal strength between the access device and the communication device. In other examples, the signal strength further includes the signal strength between the access device and one or more terminals. Specifically, the signal strength can be determined by an AP and the signal strength between the AP and one or more STAs around the AP. Alternatively, the signal strength can be determined by an AP and the signal strength between the AP and one or more APs around the AP. For example, the signal strength can also be determined by a STA (and informed to the connected AP) and the signal strength between the STA and one or more STAs around the STA. Of course, the device form and device type of the other communication device are not limited in the present application. Therefore, the above scheme can control the access device to determine the signal strength around the access device by sending a test message to the access device. Further, based on the determined signal strength, the communication device can determine the interaction message of the access device so that the communication device can obtain the air interface resource called by the access device.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the air interface resource further includes one or more of the following: a frequency spectrum resource, a link resource, power control information, rate control information, antenna selection information, and a contention parameter.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the obtaining of the air interface resource requirement of the at least one access device includes: obtaining the air interface resource requirement of the at least one access device through a wired transmission medium

[0028] In a possible implementation, the sending of the scheduling instruction to the at least one access device based on the air interface resource requirement includes: sending the scheduling instruction to the at least one access device through a wired transmission medium based on the air interface resource requirement.

[0029] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to an access device. The communication method includes: receiving a scheduling instruction sent by a communication device; and transmitting a service based on the scheduling instruction, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to instruct a time length available to the access device and a starting moment of the time length available.

[0030] So in the above scheme, the access device can receive the scheduling instruction sent by the communication device, and transmit the service based on the received scheduling instruction; wherein the scheduling instruction indicates the available time length and the starting time of the available time length. For example, the access device can determine the air interface resource (including the available time length and the starting time of the available time length) to be called by the service by analyzing the received scheduling instruction. Further, the access device can transmit the service according to the air interface resource to be called. Optionally, the access device can call the whole available time length indicated by the scheduling instruction. Alternatively, the access device can call part of the available time length indicated by the scheduling instruction according to actual needs. In a possible implementation, the communication device in the above scheme can be the communication device provided by the above embodiments of the application, which sends the scheduling instruction to the access device based on the above method embodiments. Of course, the communication device can also be implemented by other communication devices having similar functions, and the embodiments of the application do not limit this. So the access device in the above scheme can receive the scheduling instruction sent by the communication device, and then transmit the service based on the air interface resource to be called indicated by the scheduling instruction, thereby effectively improving the transmission quality of the service.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the starting time of the available time length is indicated by the delay time.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the delay time starts timing from when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

[0034] In a possible implementation, when the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the starting time of the available time length is the time when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the above communication method further includes: sending the reporting information to the communication device; wherein the reporting information includes the scheduling request of the access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate the time resource to be called by the access device.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the above communication method further includes: sending the service information to the communication device; wherein the service information includes the queue information of the access device.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the communication method further includes: sending, to the communication device, interaction information between the at least one access device and the other communication devices; and wherein the interaction information includes signal strength between the at least one access device and the other communication devices.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the sending, to the communication device, of the reporting information includes: sending, to the communication device, device buffer and transmission rate of the at least one access device.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the sending, to the communication device, of the service information includes: sending, to the communication device, queue information.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the communication method further includes: receiving a test message sent by the communication device; and determining, based on the test message, signal strength between the at least one access device and the other communication devices.

[0041] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes an interface unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to acquire air interface resource requirement of at least one access device, wherein the air interface resource requirement is used to indicate air interface resource to be invoked by the at least one access device. The interface unit is configured to send, to the at least one access device, a scheduling instruction based on the air interface resource requirement acquired by the processing unit, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate a time length available to the at least one access device and a start time of the time length available.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the air interface resource requirement is service information or signal strength between the at least one access device and the other communication devices.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the start time of the time length available is indicated by a delay time.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the delay time starts timing from when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

[0046] In a possible implementation, when the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the start time of the time length available is a time when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to receive reporting information of the at least one access device; the reporting information comprises a scheduling request of the at least one access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources to be called by the at least one access device; and the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the reporting information received by the interface unit.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to obtain service information of the at least one access device; the service information comprises queue information of services transmitted by the at least one access device; and the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the service information obtained by the interface unit.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to obtain interaction information between the at least one access device and other communication devices; the interaction information comprises signal strengths between the at least one access device and the other communication devices; and the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the interaction information obtained by the interface unit.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to receive device buffer and transmission rate sent by the at least one access device; and the processing unit is further configured to determine the time resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the device buffer and the transmission rate received by the interface unit.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is specifically configured to receive queue information reported by the at least one access device; and the processing unit is configured to determine the service information of the at least one access device based on the queue information received by the interface unit; or the interface unit is specifically configured to obtain queue entry information and queue exit information of a queue used for service transmission by the at least one access device; and the processing unit is configured to determine the service information of the at least one access device based on the queue entry information and the queue exit information obtained by the interface unit.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus comprises any one of a gateway or an optical line terminal.

[0053] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to an access device. The communication apparatus comprises an interface unit and a processing unit; the interface unit is configured to receive a scheduling instruction sent by the communication apparatus; and the processing unit is configured to transmit services according to the scheduling instruction received by the interface unit, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate a time length available to the access device and a starting moment of the time length available.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the starting moment of the time length available is indicated by a delay time.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the delay time starts counting from when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

[0057] In a possible implementation, when the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the start time of the available time length is the time when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to send, to the communication device, reporting information; and the reporting information includes a scheduling request of the access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources to be invoked by the access device.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to send, to the communication device, service information; and the service information includes queue information of the access device.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to send, to the communication device, interaction information between the access device and other communication devices; and the interaction information includes signal strength between the at least one access device and the other communication devices.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to send, to the communication device, device buffer and transmission rate of the access device.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to send, to the communication device, queue information.

[0063] In a possible implementation, the interface unit is further configured to receive a test message sent by the communication device; and the processing unit is further configured to determine the signal strength between the access device and the other communication devices based on the test message received by the interface unit.

[0064] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device can be a communication device, a module or a chip in the communication device, or a chip or a system on chip. The communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is coupled to the interface circuit; and the processor is configured to control the interface circuit to perform the communication method in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are read and executed by a computer, the computer performs the communication method in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, the computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the communication method as described in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0067] In an eighth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided. The chip or chip system comprises: a processing circuitry and an input output interface; wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the communication method as described in any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0068] The technical effects brought by the design of the third aspect to the eighth aspect can refer to the technical effects brought by the design of the first aspect and the second aspect, which will not be described here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0069] FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of a home network according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a topology according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a topology according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a topology according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG. 5 is an architecture diagram of a communication network according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a transmission service according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of information transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of information transmission according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all.

[0081] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second" and the like do not denote any quantity or order, but are used to distinguish between different concepts. In the embodiments of the present application, "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural.

[0082] It should be noted that in the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be construed as being preferred or superior over other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of the words "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0083] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0084] At present, with the promotion of the broadband strategy, the penetration rate of fiber to the home has reached more than 90%. In order to obtain a better online experience, broadband users continuously upgrade the broadband package (usually represented by the service transmission rate of broadband, unit: Mbit / s) used by the network. However, through investigation, it is found that the capacity of many high-bandwidth packages (high service transmission rate) cannot be fully utilized, that is, the network speed of broadband users when actually using the network is often difficult to reach the bandwidth promised in the broadband package (i.e. the signed bandwidth).

[0085] Taking a home network as an example, the signed bandwidth of the basic broadband package provided by the operator is 200 Mbit / s, and among them, nearly 80% of the actual network speed of the home network is much less than the signed bandwidth. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application described below are not limited to home networks, for example, they can also be enterprise networks. Here, only the scenario of a home network is taken as an example, which should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] For example, referring to FIG. 1, the embodiments of the present application provide an architecture diagram of a home network. In combination with FIG. 1, the home network includes a master FTTR device (referred to as master FTTR, referring to master FTTR 101 in FIG. 1), a plurality of slave FTTR devices (referred to as slave FTTR, referring to slave FTTR 102-1 to slave FTTR 102-5 in FIG. 1), and a terminal device (referred to as terminal 103 in FIG. 1). Among them, the master FTTR 101 is used to connect with a plurality of slave FTTRs (including slave FTTR 102-1 to slave FTTR 102-5) respectively.

[0087] In a possible implementation, in combination with FIG. 1, the home network further includes a connection device (for example, the connection device 104 in FIG. 1). Optionally, the connection device can be an optical distribution box or an optical and electrical distribution box. It can be understood that, for ease of illustration, only the architecture shown in FIG. 1 is taken as an example herein, and the embodiments of the present application should not be limited thereto. For example, the terminal 103 in the home network includes a plurality of different types of terminal devices deployed at different positions (for example, different rooms) in the home, such as the computer, the tablet, the sweeping robot, and the virtual reality (VR) glasses shown in FIG. 1. For another example, the network architecture can further include more communication devices or apparatuses.

[0088] Specifically, referring to FIG. 1, when the home network is deployed in a home network scenario of a large house type (for example, a villa) with a large coverage area, the terminal 103 deployed at different positions in the home and the slave FTTR 102-3 communicate with each other by using a wireless transmission technology, for example, a WLAN or the like. However, due to the large coverage area, there are problems such as insufficient bandwidth and poor network coverage in the process of using the network, which causes frequent network lag and seriously affects the user experience of using the network.

[0089] To solve the above problem, the FTTR (Fiber To The Room) scheme can be used, so that the home network can achieve a super-high subscription bandwidth and cover every corner of the home, thereby meeting the user demand. For example, in the home network shown in FIG. 1, the master FTTR 101 is connected to a plurality of slave FTTRs (including the slave FTTR 102-1 to the slave FTTR 102-5) deployed in different rooms through optical fibers.

[0090] In the WLAN, a plurality of STAs included in the WLAN will compete to use the resources in the communication network (referred to as network) to transmit services with other communication devices or communication apparatuses, for example, the STA transmits services to the AP. In this way, when the STA transmits services, a channel conflict phenomenon may occur, that is, at least two STAs transmit services on the same channel at the same time, which will cause the AP to receive in confusion and cannot correctly receive any service sent by the STA. In combination with FIG. 1, the STA can be the master FTTR 101, and the AP can be the slave FTTR 102-1 to the slave FTTR 102-5.

[0091] Based on this, the CSMA / CA mechanism is usually used for channel access to avoid channel conflict. Specifically, when the STA detects that the transmission medium is idle, it will wait for a period of time, and if the transmission medium is still idle, it will send the service (such as service data). In order to ensure the quality of communication and make the communication more reliable, the AP can send an ACK frame to the STA after the transmission of the service data to confirm the transmission of the service data.

[0092] Based on the above CSMA / CA mechanism, taking the process of the STA sending data to the AP as an example, specifically:

[0093] At the sending end: When a certain STA needs to transmit data in the wireless network, it will detect the transmission state of the transmission medium. If no data is detected to be transmitted in the network, it will wait for a period of time and then randomly select a time slice (corresponding to a certain length of time) to continue detection. If no data is detected to be transmitted in the wireless network, the data is sent out.

[0094] At the receiving end: If the AP at the receiving end receives the complete data sent by the STA at the sending end, it will send an ACK confirmation frame back to the sending end. If the ACK confirmation frame is received by the STA at the sending end, the data transmission process is completed. If the STA at the sending end does not receive the ACK confirmation frame, or the data sent is not completely received by the AP, or the ACK confirmation frame fails to be sent, regardless of which of the above situations, the STA at the sending end will wait for a period of time and then send the last content to the AP at the receiving end.

[0095] Although the above scheme can avoid channel conflict to a certain extent when the STA and the AP communicate. However, since the CSMA / CA mechanism is a non-central channel access mechanism, when multiple communication devices (including multiple APs or multiple STAs) access the channel, the air interface is prone to collision, resulting in unordered access of multiple communication devices, performance loss and other problems, thereby affecting user experience. The above problems have become a pain point problem that affects user experience in the current FTTR scenario.

[0096] Based on the above problems, in the full buffer scenario of FTTR, different deployment scenarios will result in different air interface duty cycles. For example, referring to FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a schematic diagram of a topology structure, which shows a typical exposed terminal topology structure. Specifically, in combination with FIG. 2, the topology structure includes three FTTRs (refer to FTTR 201 to FTTR 203 in FIG. 2).

[0097] Specifically, referring to FIG. 2, the FTTR 201 is located in the signal coverage range of the FTTR 202 and the FTTR 203, the FTTR 202 is located in the signal coverage range of the FTTR 201 and the FTTR 203, and the FTTR 203 is located in the signal coverage range of the FTTR 201 and the FTTR 202. In this way, the FTTRs in the topology can detect each other, and in the case of fair air interface access (the priority of air interface access of each FTTR is the same), the duty cycle of each FTTR is 33%.

[0098] For example, referring to FIG. 3, the embodiment of the present application provides a schematic diagram of a topology, which shows a typical hidden terminal topology. Specifically, in combination with FIG. 3, the topology includes three FTTRs (FTTR 301 to FTTR 303 in FIG. 3).

[0099] Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the FTTR 301 is located in the signal coverage range of the FTTR 302, and the FTTR 302 is located in the signal coverage range of the FTTR 303. In this way, the FTTR 301 and the FTTR 302 in the topology can detect each other, and the FTTR 302 and the FTTR 303 can also detect each other. However, the FTTR 301 and the FTTR 303 are hidden nodes, that is, they cannot detect each other.

[0100] This will cause the FTTR 302 to retreat when the FTTR 301 uses the air interface, and the FTTR 303 can be retreating to obtain an air interface use opportunity. Repeating this process, it is not difficult to find that the FTTR 302 cannot obtain an air interface use opportunity all the time, resulting in the air interface duty cycle of the FTTR 301 and the FTTR 303 being 100%, and the air interface duty cycle of the FTTR 302 being 0%.

[0101] Based on the architecture shown in FIG. 2, for example, referring to FIG. 4, the embodiment of the present application also provides a schematic diagram of a topology, which shows an exposed terminal topology. Specifically, in combination with FIG. 4, the topology includes two APs (AP 1 and AP 2 shown in FIG. 4) and two STAs (STA 1 and STA 2 in FIG. 4).

[0102] In a possible implementation, the signal coverage of the AP 1 and the AP 2 is -55 decibel relative to one milliwatt (dBm), and the AP 1 and the AP 2 can detect each other, and the AP 1 and the AP 2 are exposed terminals. In this way, the AP 1 and the AP 2 cannot access the air interface at the same time. Further, since the distance between the STA 1 and the AP 1 is -10 dBm, and the distance between the STA 2 and the AP 2 is -10 dBm, the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of the STA 1 and the STA 2 is high enough, and therefore, the scenario can actually allow the AP 1 and the AP 2 to access the air interface at the same time. Therefore, in this scenario, the air interface performance in the network will be reduced by 50%.

[0103] It can be understood that whether two (or more) communication devices or communication apparatuses can access the air interface at the same time, and concurrently, can be determined according to the SINR of the communication devices or the communication apparatuses to some extent.

[0104] Based on the above problems, the random backoff conflict of the air interface can be avoided by the following method. Specifically, the method receives, by a control node, service information reported by one or more node devices (i.e., access devices, such as APs), where the service information can indicate information of service data to be transmitted by the network node through the channel. The control node determines, according to the service information reported by the network node, one or more network nodes to be scheduled in a current scheduling period. Finally, the control node sends a scheduling message to the one or more network nodes to be scheduled, and the scheduling message indicates that the one or more network nodes to be scheduled are allowed to compete for the channel.

[0105] Although the above scheme can avoid the air interface conflict to some extent. However, the scheme is an improved scheme based on the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) mechanism, and the essence is to give different scheduling priorities to different network nodes (i.e., APs) according to the service buffer condition. In this way, even if each AP is allowed to be scheduled in the corresponding scheduling period, the air interface competition based on the EDCA mechanism is still needed. Meanwhile, the scheme does not make a decision on the scheduling time of the network node by the control node.

[0106] Based on the above problems, the air interface random backoff conflict of the method of cooperation between the AP and other APs nearby can also be generally avoided. Specifically, the APs in the network compete for the channel, and inform other APs nearby after the competition is successful. For example, the AP can inform other APs nearby of the successful competition by sending a shared frame to other APs nearby. Alternatively, the specific manner of informing includes time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), spatial reuse (SR), and beamforming (BF), etc.

[0107] Although the above scheme can realize air interface resource (including time resource and frequency spectrum resource) sharing in a distributed manner, thereby avoiding air interface conflict to some extent. However, the scheme does not configure the air interface resource in the network in a centralized manner, and cannot accurately obtain which AP near the AP needs to be allocated air interface resource by relying on the distributed manner, and it is also difficult to determine how many APs near the AP can receive the successful competition state, so the sharing efficiency of the air interface resource of the scheme is low. In addition, the above scheme cannot refresh the topology of the network in real time, thereby leading to inaccurate allocation of air interface resources.

[0108] Based on the above problems, the following scheme can also be generally used. Specifically, the scheme includes that a certain device (for example, referred to as a first device) receives an uplink scheduling request of another device (for example, referred to as a second device), and the uplink scheduling request includes uplink buffer information determined based on uplink data to be sent by the other device. Further, the first device generates an uplink bandwidth allocation message based on interference information between a plurality of devices connected thereto and the uplink buffer information, and the uplink bandwidth allocation message is used to indicate the uplink resource allocated for the second device.

[0109] Through the above scheme, when one device (i.e. the first device) connects a plurality of devices, the one device can schedule resources for a certain device (i.e. the second device) in the plurality of devices, thereby reducing the delay. However, the above scheme mainly focuses on the scenario of joint application of passive optical network (PON) and wireless transmission technology for service transmission. For example, when the air interface is interfered (for example, other existing terminal devices transmit services to the optical network to which the scheme is applied), etc. Similar scenarios, the above scheme cannot effectively ensure the implementation effect.

[0110] Based on the above, an example is provided with reference to FIG. 5. An architecture diagram of a communication network is provided. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 5, the communication network includes a communication device (communication device 401 in FIG. 5), a plurality of access devices (APs 402-1 to 402-3 in FIG. 5), and a plurality of terminal devices (STAs 403-1 to 403-6 in FIG. 5). The communication device 401 is connected to the APs 402-1 to 402-3, respectively. The AP 402-1 is connected to the STAs 403-1 and 403-2, respectively, the AP 402-2 is connected to the STAs 403-3 and 403-4, respectively, and the AP 402-3 is connected to the STAs 403-5 and 403-6, respectively.

[0111] Optionally, with reference to FIG. 5, the plurality of terminal devices can be STAs, i.e., the STAs 403-1 to 403-6 in FIG. 5. Of course, the terminal devices can also be other types of devices, and embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It is not difficult to understand that, for ease of illustration, only the architecture shown in FIG. 5 is taken as an example, and this should not constitute a limitation on embodiments of the present application. For example, with reference to FIG. 5, the communication network further includes a plurality of obstacles (obstacles A to E represented by rectangular shadow structures in FIG. 5). Optionally, the obstacles A to E can be walls or other structures that can achieve similar functions.

[0112] In a possible implementation, the communication device 401 described above can be implemented by a centralize scheduler (CS). Optionally, the communication device includes any of the following: a gateway or an optical line terminal. Of course, the communication device can also be integrated on an upper-layer device connected to the AP. For example, the communication device can be integrated on an optical line terminal (OLT) and deployed through the OLT deployed in the network. For another example, the communication device can also be integrated on a gateway. With reference to FIG. 1, the communication device can be deployed through a master FTTR (or a slave FTTR) deployed in the network.

[0113] Optionally, the communication device can be connected to other communication devices or communication devices in the network through wired or wireless connection modes such as optical fibers, network cables, air interfaces, and the like, and embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Of course, embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form, specific deployment location, and connection medium of the communication device, and this should not constitute a limitation on embodiments of the present application.

[0114] In combination with FIG. 5, the communication apparatus 401 can centrally allocate corresponding air interface resources for each AP (including AP 402-1 to AP 402-3). Optionally, the air interface resources include time resources. Each AP transmits data according to the air interface resources allocated by the communication apparatus 401. On the other hand, each AP can also schedule uplink transmission of the connected STAs, so that the APs and STAs in the network can orderly transmit, thereby ensuring the transmission quality of the network.

[0115] Optionally, the communication apparatus 401 can control one or more access devices in the network through different communication protocols. For example, the communication protocols include point to point (P2P) based or point to multiple point (P2MP) based communication protocols.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the air interface resources further include one or more of the following: spectrum resources, link resources, power control information, rate control information, antenna selection information, and contention parameters.

[0117] Specifically, the interference relationship between the plurality of STAs can be determined according to the architecture shown in FIG. 5. In combination with FIG. 5, since the STA 403-1 and the STA 403-4 are separated by two obstacles (i.e., obstacle A and obstacle B), the interference is small, and the SINR of the STA 403-1 and the STA 403-4 is high enough, so the STA 403-1 and the STA 403-4 can simultaneously access the air interface. Similarly, the STA 403-3 and the STA 403-4, and the STA 403-3 and the STA 403-5 are also separated by two obstacles, the interference is small, and the SINR is high enough, so they can also simultaneously access the air interface. In this way, the STA 403-1 and the STA 403-4, the STA 403-3 and the STA 403-4, and the STA 403-3 and the STA 403-5 can be concurrent (including downlink concurrency and uplink concurrency, i.e., simultaneous reception or simultaneous transmission). Further, the communication apparatus 401 can centrally allocate corresponding air interface resources for each AP (including AP 402-1 to AP 402-3), so that the plurality of STAs that can be concurrent with small interference between each other are concurrent, and the time slots of the plurality of STAs that cannot be concurrent with large interference between each other are staggered.

[0118] For example, referring to FIG. 6, the process of transmitting traffic by the APs 402-1, 402-2 and 402-3 and the terminal devices (i.e., STAs 403-1 to 403-6) is shown. The arrow behind the APs indicates the time axis, and the time sequence is from left to right. The trigger (Tri) symbol indicates that the AP triggers a change in the process of transmitting traffic, and the transmission state of the AP will change. For example, the transmission direction of the AP changes from the downlink direction to the uplink direction.

[0119] Specifically, in combination with FIG. 6, for the AP 402-1:

[0120] In the downlink direction, the AP 402-1 first transmits data to the STA 403-1 (the process is represented as to STA 403-1 on the time axis), and then transmits data to the STA 403-2 (the process is represented as to STA 403-2 on the time axis). Tri 11 triggers a change in the transmission direction between the AP 402-1 and the STA 403-1, and in the uplink direction, the AP 402-1 receives data transmitted by the STA 403-1 (the process is represented as from STA 403-1 on the time axis). Tri 12 triggers a change in the transmission direction between the AP 402-1 and the STA 403-2, and the AP 402-1 receives data transmitted by the STA 403-2 (the process is represented as from STA 403-2 on the time axis).

[0121] In the downlink direction, the AP 402-2 first transmits data to the STA 403-4 (the process is represented as to STA 403-4 on the time axis), and then transmits data to the STA 403-3 (the process is represented as to STA 403-2 on the time axis). Tri 21 triggers a change in the transmission direction between the AP 402-2 and the STA 403-3, and in the uplink direction, the AP 402-2 receives data transmitted by the STA 403-3 (the process is represented as from STA 403-3 on the time axis). Tri 22 triggers a change in the transmission direction between the AP 402-2 and the STA 403-4, and the AP 402-2 receives data transmitted by the STA 403-4 (the process is represented as from STA 403-4 on the time axis).

[0122] In the downlink direction, the AP 402-3 first transmits data to the STA 403-5 (this process is represented as to STA 403-5 on the time axis), and then transmits data to the STA 403-6 (this process is represented as to STA 403-6 on the time axis). The Tri 31 triggers a change in the transmission direction between the AP 402-3 and the STA 403-5, and in the uplink direction, the AP 402-3 receives data transmitted by the STA 403-5 (this process is represented as from STA 403-1 on the time axis). The Tri 32 triggers a change in the transmission direction between the AP 402-3 and the STA 403-6, and the AP 402-3 receives data transmitted by the STA 403-6 (this process is represented as from STA 403-6 on the time axis). Based on the above process, the embodiments of the present application can allocate air interface resources in the transmission process of one or more APs in the network by the communication device, so that the AP can transmit services based on the allocated air interface resources, effectively avoiding channel conflict and air interface collision and other problems, and ensuring the transmission quality of the network. It should be noted that the architecture shown in FIG. 5 only includes one communication device (communication device 401), which directly allocates the connected AP. The scheduling mode included in the above process can be referred to as two-level scheduling, that is, the communication device centrally makes scheduling decisions (including allocating air interface resources), and the AP directly executes the scheduling decisions.

[0123] In some other examples, for example, in the scenario where one AP needs to transmit multiple services, there is also three-level scheduling, that is, in the uplink direction, the intermediate node aggregates information of one or more transmission services of the AP, and then the communication device makes scheduling decisions; in the downlink direction, after the intermediate node processes the scheduling decisions of the communication device, the AP executes the effective information that can be parsed by the AP. Of course, the type of the level of the scheduling of the communication device to the AP can also be other possible network architecture types, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0124] Optionally, the intermediate node can be implemented by a cooperative scheduler integrated on the AP. The cooperative scheduler can also configure the air interface resources of the integrated AP transmission service to a certain extent. For example, when the cooperative scheduler aggregates information of one or more transmission services of the AP and determines that the transmission services of the AP are less, the cooperative scheduler can implement the function of the communication device in the above process and configure the air interface resources to be called by the AP, so that it is not necessary to report to the centralized scheduler for scheduling step by step.

[0125] Based on the above architecture, an example is provided with reference to FIG. 7. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to FIG. 7. It should be noted that the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below by taking the architecture shown in FIG. 5 as an example, and should not be construed as a limitation on the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the architecture shown in FIG. 5.

[0126] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various application scenarios. For example, scenarios such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) containing multiple users. In the following embodiments, the communication device is taken as the communication device 401 and the access device is taken as the AP 402-1 shown in FIG. 5 as an example for description, and should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. Of course, the access device in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by any one of the AP 403-1 to the AP 403-3, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0127] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to FIG. 7, including steps 601 to 602, as follows:

[0128] In step 601, the communication device acquires air interface resource requirements of the access device.

[0129] With reference to FIG. 7, the communication device acquires air interface resource requirements of the access device; wherein the air interface resource requirements are used to indicate air interface resources required to be called by at least one access device. Specifically, with reference to FIG. 5, the communication device 401 determines air interface resources required to be called by the AP 402-1 based on the air interface resource requirements.

[0130] Optionally, the air interface resources further include one or more of the following: spectrum resources, link resources, power control information, rate control information, antenna selection information, and contention parameters.

[0131] Specifically, the manner in which the communication device acquires the air interface resource requirements indicating the air interface resources required to be called by the access device includes:

[0132] Manner one: the communication device receives reporting information of the access device; wherein the reporting information includes a scheduling request of the access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources required to be called by at least one access device; based on the reporting information, the air interface resources required to be called by the access device are determined.

[0133] In some examples, the scheduling request further includes intelligent antenna, transmission power, antenna selection information reporting and control, and the like. The time resource indicated by the scheduling request includes a time length that needs to be called by the access device. The time length that needs to be called is also referred to as a scheduling time length, which can be converted into an air interface time.

[0134] Optionally, the scheduling time length includes a minimum value of 0, a maximum value of 0xfffffff, or other protocol-defined maximum values. For example, the scheduling time length can be 5.4 milliseconds (ms).

[0135] Optionally, the reporting information can further include service priority, latency, and the like, which are not limited by embodiments of the present application.

[0136] In a possible implementation, the access device can determine its own scheduling request by calculation, that is, determine the time resource that needs to be called indicated by the scheduling request. Further, referring to FIG. 8, the access device reports the time resource that needs to be called to the communication device through the reporting information sent to the communication device.

[0137] Method two: the communication device obtains service information of the access device; the service information includes queue information or service buffer information or service traffic information of a service transmitted by the access device; and the air interface resource that needs to be called by the access device is determined based on the service information.

[0138] Optionally, the service information further includes rate selection and the like. The service information can further include service buffer information or service traffic information. The service buffer information includes downlink service buffer (indicating downlink buffer size) and uplink service buffer (indicating uplink buffer size).

[0139] In a possible implementation, referring to FIG. 9, the communication device receives the queue information reported by the access device (referring to the dashed arrow in FIG. 9); and the service information of the access device is determined based on the queue information.

[0140] In other examples, the communication device can obtain queue entry information and queue exit information of the access device for service transmission; and the service information of the access device is determined based on the queue entry information and the queue exit information. For example, the communication device can statistically obtain the queue information of the access device by counting the queue entry information (including the number of queue entries) and the queue exit information of the access device in a long period.

[0141] Method three: the communication device obtains interaction information between the access device and other communication devices; the interaction information includes signal strength between the access device and other communication devices; and the air interface resource that needs to be called by the access device is determined based on the interaction information.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus sends a test message to the access device, by which the access device determines the signal strength between the access device and other communication devices. Further, the access device obtains interaction information between the access device and other communication devices based on the signal strength, and determines the interference condition around the access device based on the signal strength.

[0143] Optionally, the signal strength includes the signal strength between the access device and other access devices around. For example, the signal strength includes the signal strength between the access device and other terminal devices around. The signal strength is also referred to as the interference signal strength, that is, the strength indication (RSSI) of the interference source received signal detected by the access device, in units of dBm.

[0144] In step 602, the communication apparatus sends a scheduling instruction to the access device.

[0145] In combination with FIG. 7, the communication apparatus sends a scheduling instruction to the access device based on the air interface resource requirement, the scheduling instruction being used to indicate the time length available to the access device and the starting time of the time length available. Specifically, in combination with FIG. 5, the communication apparatus 401 sends a scheduling instruction to the AP 402-1 based on the air interface resource requirement, the scheduling instruction being used to indicate the time length available to the AP 402-1 and the starting time of the time length available.

[0146] Optionally, the scheduling instruction includes a scheduling instruction for the access device in the downlink direction and a scheduling instruction for the access device in the uplink direction.

[0147] In combination with step 601, the communication apparatus determines the air interface resource to be called by the access device based on the service information. In this way, the scheduling instruction sent by the communication apparatus to the access device can be to control the air interface resource (for example, including the time resource to be called) to be called by the access device according to each frame, or to pre-allocate the air interface resource to be called by the access device according to a certain period.

[0148] In a possible implementation, the scheduling instruction can be refreshed in real time according to the refresh of the received scheduling request. It is not difficult to understand that the scheduling request reporting time and the scheduling instruction can be decoupled. That is, not until another scheduling request is reported after the communication apparatus configures a scheduling request for one access device, but after the communication apparatus identifies the received scheduling request for refresh, the scheduling instruction to be sent is adjusted (that is, refreshed).

[0149] In addition, the scheduling instruction can include a specified time. For example, the specified time can be an accurate time. Of course, the scheduling instruction can also be an interval. In this way, the access devices in the network can be sequentially accessed. At the same time, the concurrent capability of the access devices in the network can be ensured.

[0150] As an example, the scheduling instruction can indicate the start time of the available time length by a timestamp. For example, the access device reads the timestamp (a specific time) in the scheduling instruction to determine the start time of the available time length.

[0151] As an example, the scheduling instruction can indicate the start time of the available time length by an end time. For example, the access device can obtain the start time of the available time length by subtracting the available time length from the end time.

[0152] As an example, the scheduling instruction can indicate the start time of the available time length by a delay time (or offset time), or indicate the delay time of the scheduling control by the delay time, and the unit can be microsecond. The delay time can be counted from the time when the access device receives the scheduling instruction, and after the delay time indicated by the scheduling instruction, the access device can determine the start time of the available time length (the effective time of the scheduling control). For example, the delay time in the scheduling instruction is 5 microseconds, and the access device can determine the start time of the available time length (or the effective time of the scheduling control) by counting 5 microseconds from the time when the access device receives the scheduling instruction.

[0153] The scheduling instruction can indicate the delay time by a first field, and the first field occupies 4 bytes. When the first field is all FF, it means that the scheduling control takes effect immediately (or the start time of the available time length is the time when the access device receives the scheduling instruction), that is, the delay time is 0.

[0154] The time when the access device receives the scheduling instruction can be the time when the access device receives the scheduling instruction through the optical interface, or the time when the access device internally (software or hardware) processes the scheduling instruction to recognize the delay time.

[0155] Based on the above steps 601 and 602, the access devices can be sequentially transmitted, so as to avoid the uncertainty of the service transmission of the access devices caused by the channel conflict generated by the competition for the channel. Alternatively, the access devices can also be sequentially concurrent, so as to improve the concurrent performance of the network. Through the above communication method, the air interface resources required to be scheduled by any access device can be determined, and the corresponding instruction is used to make the access device transmit services according to the determined air interface resources, so as to effectively avoid air interface collision, make multiple communication devices sequentially access or concurrently access, and greatly improve user experience.

[0156] For example, referring to FIG. 10, the embodiment of the present application further provides a schematic diagram of a communication device. For ease of illustration, in the following embodiments of the present application, the communication device is identified as the communication device 10, which should not be taken as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10, the communication device 10 includes an interface unit 1001 and a processing unit 1002. The processing unit 1002 is configured to determine air interface resource requirements of at least one access device; the air interface resource is used to indicate air interface resources to be invoked by the at least one access device; and the interface unit 1001 is configured to send a scheduling instruction to the at least one access device based on the air interface resource requirements obtained by the processing unit 1002, the scheduling instruction being used to indicate a time length available to the at least one access device and a starting time of the time length available.

[0157] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1001 is further configured to receive reporting information of the at least one access device; the reporting information includes a scheduling request of the at least one access device, the scheduling request being used to indicate time resources to be invoked by the at least one access device; and the processing unit 1002 is specifically configured to determine the air interface resources to be invoked by the at least one access device based on the reporting information received by the interface unit 1001.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1001 is further configured to obtain service information of the at least one access device; the service information includes queue information of services transmitted by the at least one access device; and the processing unit 1002 is specifically configured to determine the air interface resources to be invoked by the at least one access device based on the service information obtained by the interface unit 1001.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1001 is further configured to obtain interaction information between the at least one access device and other communication devices; the interaction information includes signal strengths between the at least one access device and the other communication devices; and the processing unit 1002 is specifically configured to determine the air interface resources to be invoked by the at least one access device based on the interaction information obtained by the interface unit 1001.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1001 is further configured to receive device buffer and transmission rate sent by the at least one access device; and the processing unit 1002 is further configured to determine time resources to be invoked by the at least one access device based on the device buffer and the transmission rate received by the interface unit 1001.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1001 is specifically configured to receive the queue information reported by the at least one access device; and the processing unit 1002 is configured to determine the service information of the at least one access device based on the queue information received by the interface unit 1001; or the interface unit 1001 is specifically configured to obtain the queue entry information and the queue exit information of the queue used for service transmission by the at least one access device; and the processing unit 1002 is configured to determine the service information of the at least one access device based on the queue entry information and the queue exit information obtained by the interface unit 1001.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes any one of the following: a gateway or an optical line terminal.

[0163] The interface unit 1001 is further configured to perform the communication method in step 601, and the processing unit 1002 is further configured to perform the communication method in step 602. It can be understood that the communication device can directly refer to the descriptions of the functions and effects of the communication method in FIG. 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0164] For example, referring to FIG. 11, the embodiment of the present application further provides a schematic diagram of a communication device applied to an access device. For ease of illustration, in the following embodiments of the present application, the communication device is identified as communication device 20, which should not be construed as a limitation to the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 11, the communication device 20 includes an interface unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102. The interface unit 1101 is configured to receive a scheduling instruction sent by a communication device; and the processing unit 1102 is configured to transmit services according to the scheduling instruction received by the interface unit 1101, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate a time length available to the access device and a starting time of the available time length.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1101 is further configured to send reporting information to the communication device; and the reporting information includes a scheduling request of the access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources to be called by the access device.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1101 is further configured to send service information to the communication device; and the service information includes queue information of the access device.

[0167] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1101 is further configured to send interaction information between the access device and other communication devices to the communication device; and the interaction information includes signal strength between the at least one access device and the other communication devices.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1101 is further configured to send device buffer and transmission rate of the access device to the communication device.

[0169] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1101 is further configured to send the queue information to the communication device.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the interface unit 1101 is further configured to receive a test message sent by the communication device; and the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine the signal strength between the communication device and other communication devices based on the test message received by the interface unit 1101.

[0171] It can be understood that the communication device can directly refer to the functions and effects of the communication method shown in FIG. 7.

[0172] In the above embodiments, the implementation can be achieved by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, in whole or in part. When implemented by software, the implementation can be 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, the whole 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 apparatus. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.)) way. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. integrated with one or more media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)), etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the computer can include the device described above.

[0173] Although the application has been described in connection with the embodiments thereof with reference to the various drawings, it will be understood that other variations and modifications of the details, and specific embodiments disclosed can be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the application as set forth in the claims. In the claims, the article "a," "an" and "the" are used expansively and do not exclude plural or multiple claims. A processor or other unit can implement one or more functions recited in the claims. The various measures described in the dependent claims are not mutually exclusive and can be combined in other configurations, to the extent that the measures are not mutually exclusive, they naturally can be disposed in mutually exclusive product or process claims or in mutually exclusive subordinate product or process claims depending upon the capabilities of the patent office and other constraints.

[0174] Although the application has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of modifications and alternative constructions and combinations of parts herein described, drawings and examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the application as set forth in the claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded simply as illustrative in nature and are not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the application. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present application are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the application can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The communication method is applied to a communication device, and comprises the following steps: obtaining air interface resource requirements of at least one access device; wherein the air interface resource requirements are used to indicate air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device; sending a scheduling instruction to the at least one access device based on the air interface resource requirements, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate a time length available to the at least one access device and a starting time of the available time length.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized by, The starting time of the available time length is indicated by a delay time, and the delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein, The delay time is counted from when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

4. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by, The air interface resource requirements are service information or signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices.

5. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by, When the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the starting time of the available time length is the time when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

6. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, The step of obtaining the air interface resource requirements of the at least one access device comprises the following steps: receiving reporting information of the at least one access device; wherein the reporting information comprises a scheduling request of the at least one access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources to be called by the at least one access device; determining air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the reporting information.

7. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, The step of obtaining the air interface resource requirements of the at least one access device comprises the following steps: obtaining service cache information and / or service traffic information of the at least one access device; determining air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the service cache information and / or the service traffic information.

8. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, The step of obtaining the air interface resource requirements of the at least one access device comprises the following steps: obtaining interaction information between the at least one access device and other communication devices; wherein the interaction information comprises signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices; determining air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the interaction information.

9. The communication method according to claim 6, wherein, The communication method further comprises the following steps: receiving device cache and transmission rate sent by the at least one access device; determining time resources to be called by the at least one access device based on the device cache and the transmission rate.

10. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein, The step of obtaining service information of the at least one access device comprises the following steps: receiving queue information reported by the at least one access device; determining service information of the at least one access device based on the queue information; alternatively, obtaining queue entry information and queue exit information of a queue for service transmission of the at least one access device; determining service information of the at least one access device based on the queue entry information and the queue exit information.

11. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein, The communication method further comprises the following steps: sending a test message to the at least one access device, wherein the test message is used to instruct the at least one access device to determine signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices.

12. The communication method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized by, The air interface resources further comprise one or more of the following: frequency spectrum resources, link resources, power control information, rate control information, antenna selection information, and contention parameters.

13. A method of communication, comprising: The communication method is applied to an access device, and comprises the following steps: receiving a scheduling instruction sent by a communication device; transmitting a service according to the scheduling instruction, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate a time length available to the access device and a starting time of the available time length.

14. The communication method according to claim 13, wherein, The starting time of the available time length is indicated by a delay time.

15. The communication method according to claim 14, wherein, The delay time is counted from when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

16. The communication method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized by, The delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

17. The communication method of claim 16, wherein, When the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the starting time of the available time length is the time when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

18. The communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized by, The communication method further comprises the following steps: sending reporting information to the communication device, wherein the reporting information comprises a scheduling request of the access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources to be called by the access device.

19. The communication method according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized by, The communication method further comprises the following steps: sending service information to the communication device, wherein the service information comprises service buffer information or service traffic information.

20. The communication method according to any one of claims 13-17, wherein, The communication method further comprises the following steps: sending interaction information between the access device and other communication devices to the communication device, wherein the interaction information comprises signal strength between the access device and other communication devices.

21. The communication method of claim 18, wherein, The step of sending the reporting information to the communication device comprises the following steps: sending device buffer and transmission rate of the access device to the communication device.

22. The communication method of claim 19, wherein, The step of sending the service information to the communication device comprises the following steps: sending queue information to the communication device.

23. The communication method of claim 20, wherein, The communication method further comprises the following steps: receiving a test message sent by the communication device; determining signal strength between the access device and other communication devices based on the test message.

24. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises an interface unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to acquire air interface resource demand of at least one access device, wherein the air interface resource demand is used to indicate air interface resources to be called by the at least one access device. The interface unit is configured to send a scheduling instruction to the at least one access device based on the air interface resource demand acquired by the processing unit, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate a time length available to the at least one access device and a starting time of the available time length.

25. The communication apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, The starting time of the available time length is indicated by a delay time, and the delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

26. The communication apparatus according to claim 25, wherein, The delay time is counted from when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

27. The communication apparatus according to any of claims 24-26, characterized by The air interface resource demand is service information or signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices.

28. The communication apparatus according to claim 25 or 26, wherein, When the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the starting time of the available time length is the time when the scheduling instruction is received by the at least one access device.

29. The communication device according to any one of claims 24-28, wherein the interface unit is further configured to receive reporting information of the at least one access device, wherein the reporting information comprises a scheduling request of the at least one access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resources to be called by the at least one access device. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the air interface resource to be called by the at least one access device based on the reporting information received by the interface unit.

30. The communication device of any of claims 24-28, wherein The interface unit is further configured to obtain service buffer information or service traffic information of the at least one access device. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the air interface resource to be called by the at least one access device based on the service buffer information or service traffic information obtained by the interface unit.

31. The communication device of any of claims 24-28, wherein The interface unit is further configured to obtain interaction information between the at least one access device and other communication devices, wherein the interaction information comprises signal strength between the at least one access device and other communication devices. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the air interface resource to be called by the at least one access device based on the interaction information obtained by the interface unit.

32. The communication device of claim 29, wherein The interface unit is further configured to receive device buffer and transmission rate sent by the at least one access device. The processing unit is further configured to determine time resource to be called by the at least one access device based on the device buffer and the transmission rate received by the interface unit.

33. The communication device of claim 30, wherein The interface unit is specifically configured to receive queue information reported by the at least one access device. The processing unit is configured to determine service information of the at least one access device based on the queue information received by the interface unit. Alternatively, The interface unit is specifically configured to obtain queue enqueuing information and queue dequeuing information of the at least one access device for service transmission. The processing unit is configured to determine service information of the at least one access device based on the queue enqueuing information and the queue dequeuing information obtained by the interface unit.

34. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises an interface unit and a processing unit. The interface unit is configured to receive scheduling instruction sent by the communication device. The processing unit is configured to transmit service according to the scheduling instruction received by the interface unit, wherein the scheduling instruction is used to indicate available time length and starting time of the available time length.

35. The communication apparatus of claim 34, wherein The starting time of the available time length is indicated by delay time.

36. The communication apparatus of claim 35, wherein The delay time is counted from when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

37. The communication apparatus according to claim 34 or 35, wherein, The delay time is indicated by a first field of the scheduling instruction, and the first field occupies 4 bytes.

38. The communication apparatus of claim 37, wherein When the first field is all FF, the delay time indicates that the starting time of the available time length is the time when the at least one access device receives the scheduling instruction.

39. The communication device of any of claims 34-38, wherein The interface unit is further configured to send reporting information to the communication device, wherein the reporting information comprises scheduling request of the access device, and the scheduling request is used to indicate time resource to be called by the access device.

40. The apparatus of any of claims 34-38, wherein: the interface unit is further configured to send traffic information to the communication device, and wherein the traffic information comprises buffer information or traffic flow information.

41. The apparatus of any of claims 34-38, wherein: the interface unit is further configured to send interaction information with other communication devices to the communication device, and wherein the interaction information comprises signal strength between the access device and other communication devices.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein: the interface unit is further configured to send its own buffer and transmission rate to the communication device.

43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein: the interface unit is further configured to send queue information to the communication device.

44. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein: the interface unit is further configured to receive a test message sent by the communication device; and the processing unit is further configured to determine signal strength with other communication devices based on the test message received by the interface unit.

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