Data processing method and apparatus, and device and readable storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a data processing method and apparatus, and a device and a readable storage medium. The method comprises: in a protocol data unit (PDU) of a first protocol layer or module, comprising a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; and at the target protocol layer or module, for a service data unit (SDU) from the previous protocol layer or module of the target protocol layer or module: if a header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module being used for indicating that the header of the target protocol layer is not comprised, or, if the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module being used for indicating that the header of the target protocol layer or module is comprised, or being used for indicating a function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

Description

A data processing method, apparatus, device, and readable storage medium

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411184060.3, filed on August 27, 2024, entitled "A Data Processing Method, Apparatus, Device and Readable Storage Medium", and to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510532970.4, filed on April 25, 2025, entitled "A Data Processing Method, Apparatus, Device and Readable Storage Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a data processing method, apparatus, device and readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] As shown in Figure 1, the fifth-generation (5G) user plane higher-layer protocol stack includes: Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers.

[0004] As shown in Figure 2, the Layer 2 data flow is as follows: When higher-layer data passes through each layer, each layer processes it separately, adds a header, and sends it to the next layer. Finally, it is organized into a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) and transmitted to the physical layer. The data entering each layer's protocol stack is called a Service Data Unit (SDU). The data processed and input to the next layer is called a PDU. For example, the input to the PDCP layer is a PDCP SDU, and the output is a PDCP PDU; a PDCP PDU input to the RLC layer is an RLC SDU, and the RLC layer outputs an RLC PDU, and so on.

[0005] In 5G systems, the processing rules of each protocol layer are configured for radio bearers or logical channels. This means that for data on a single radio bearer or logical channel, the same protocol stack configuration, protocol stack functions, and header addition method are used. During air interface data transmission, the transmitting end needs to process the data through multiple higher-level protocol stacks. Each protocol stack adds its own header after necessary processing, potentially increasing header overhead for each protocol stack and consequently increasing air interface resource overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This disclosure provides a data processing method, apparatus, device, and readable storage medium to reduce air interface resource overhead.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a data processing method applied at a sending end, comprising:

[0008] The PDU of the first protocol layer or module includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0009] In the target protocol layer or module:

[0010] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or,

[0011] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0012] In some embodiments, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set at a designated location in the header of the PDU, the designated location including any of the following:

[0013] The first N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0014] The target bit of the target byte in the header of the PDU;

[0015] The last N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0016] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0017] In some embodiments, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0018] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0019] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, if no header is added, is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, including:

[0020] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to exclude the header of the target protocol layer or module, the Service Data Unit (SDU) from the previous protocol layer or module is sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module; or

[0021] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module, then in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included.

[0022] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header.

[0023] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate a header including the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0024] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included; or

[0025] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module;

[0026] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

[0027] In some embodiments, the position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

[0028] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate a header including the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0029] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to the first target value;

[0030] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

[0031] In some embodiments, if the first protocol layer or module is a protocol layer or module that includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module for the first time, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between a first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, and the first number of bits is M×8.

[0032] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0033] The portion of the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module.

[0034] Obtain the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module, set the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module to indicate the header of the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, and form the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module.

[0035] Alternatively, the header indication field can be set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, or the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module can be deleted and the header indication field can be set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

[0036] In some embodiments, the sending end includes a terminal, and the method further includes:

[0037] Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0038] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0039] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0040] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0041] In some embodiments, the sending end includes a network device, and the method further includes:

[0042] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0043] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0044] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0045] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0046] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows including or excluding protocol headers; and / or

[0047] The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0048] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a data processing method applied at a receiving end, the method comprising:

[0049] If the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module:

[0050] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or

[0051] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

[0052] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0053] If the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, ignore the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and parse the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module.

[0054] In some embodiments, the PDU further includes a header format indicator field, which is used to indicate the header format type of the header;

[0055] The method further includes:

[0056] The PDU format is determined based on the header format indication field.

[0057] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set at a specified location in the header, and the specified location includes any one of the following:

[0058] The first N bits of the header;

[0059] The target bit of the target byte in the header;

[0060] The last N bits of the header;

[0061] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0062] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0063] The header indication field of the target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0064] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows including or excluding protocol headers; and / or

[0065] The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0066] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a terminal, and the method further includes:

[0067] Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0068] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0069] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0070] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0071] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a network device, and the method further includes:

[0072] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0073] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0074] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0075] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0076] Thirdly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a data processing apparatus applied at a transmitting end, comprising: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor.

[0077] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0078] The PDU of the first protocol layer or module includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0079] In the target protocol layer or module, for the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module:

[0080] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or,

[0081] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0082] In one embodiment, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set at a designated location in the header of the PDU, the designated location including any of the following:

[0083] The first N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0084] The target bit of the target byte in the header of the PDU;

[0085] The last N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0086] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0087] In one embodiment, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0088] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0089] In one embodiment, if no header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, including:

[0090] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module will be sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module; or

[0091] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module, then in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included.

[0092] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header.

[0093] In one embodiment, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that a header including the target protocol layer or module is included, including:

[0094] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included; or

[0095] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module;

[0096] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

[0097] In one embodiment, the position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

[0098] In one embodiment, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that a header including the target protocol layer or module is included, including:

[0099] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to the first target value;

[0100] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

[0101] In one embodiment, if the first protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between a first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, wherein the first number of bits is M×8.

[0102] In one embodiment, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0103] The portion of the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module.

[0104] Obtain the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module, set the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module to indicate the header of the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, and form the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module.

[0105] Alternatively, the header indication field can be set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, or the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module can be deleted and the header indication field can be set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

[0106] In one embodiment, the sending end includes a terminal, and the processor is further configured to: receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0107] The first indication is used to indicate whether inclusion or exclusion is permitted;

[0108] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0109] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0110] In one embodiment, the transmitting end includes a network device, and the processor is further configured to:

[0111] Send configuration information to the terminal, the configuration information including one or more of the following:

[0112] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0113] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0114] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0115] In one embodiment, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows including or excluding protocol headers; and / or

[0116] The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0117] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure provide a data processing apparatus for use at a receiving end, comprising: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor.

[0118] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0119] If the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module:

[0120] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or

[0121] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

[0122] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to:

[0123] If the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, ignore the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and parse the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module.

[0124] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: the PDU further includes a header format indication field, the header format indication field being used to indicate the header format type of the header; the processor is further configured to:

[0125] The PDU format is determined based on the header format indication field.

[0126] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set at a specified location in the header, and the specified location includes any one of the following:

[0127] The first N bits of the header;

[0128] The target bit of the target byte in the header;

[0129] The last N bits of the header;

[0130] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0131] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0132] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows including or excluding protocol headers; and / or

[0133] The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0134] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a terminal, and the processor is further configured to:

[0135] Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0136] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0137] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0138] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0139] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a network device, and the processor is further configured to:

[0140] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0141] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0142] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0143] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0144] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a data processing apparatus applied at a transmitting end, comprising:

[0145] The first unit is used to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module in the PDU of the first protocol layer or module.

[0146] The second unit is used to process SDUs from the previous protocol layer or module at the target protocol layer or module:

[0147] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or,

[0148] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0149] Sixthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a data processing apparatus applied at a receiving end, comprising:

[0150] The first unit is configured to handle situations where the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes a header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module:

[0151] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or

[0152] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

[0153] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the data processing method described above.

[0154] In the embodiments of this disclosure, headers can be added as needed at the target protocol layer or module, and indicated through the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, thereby saving the overhead of higher-level protocols and thus saving air interface transmission resources. Attached Figure Description

[0155] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the user plane protocol stack of related technologies;

[0156] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the Layer 2 data flow;

[0157] Figure 3 is a flowchart of one of the data processing methods provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0158] Figure 4 is a second flowchart of the data processing method provided in the embodiments of this disclosure;

[0159] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a PDCP PDU containing the RLC header indicator field;

[0160] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a PDCP PDU containing the RLC header indication field;

[0161] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an RLC PDU that includes an RLC header indicator field and an RLC header format indicator field;

[0162] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a PDCP PDU that includes the MAC header indicator field and the RLC header indicator field;

[0163] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a PDCP PDU that includes the MAC header indicator field and the RLC header indicator field;

[0164] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a MAC PDU including the MAC header indicator field;

[0165] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of an independent header indicator field (RLC header indicator field);

[0166] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the independent header indicator fields (MAC header indicator field and RLC header indicator field) and the data organization results;

[0167] Figures 13(a) and (b) are schematic diagrams of the header indicator field, respectively;

[0168] Figures 14(a) and (b) are schematic diagrams of the header indicator field, respectively;

[0169] Figure 15 is a structural diagram of one of the data processing apparatuses provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0170] Figure 16 is a second structural diagram of the data processing apparatus provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0171] Figure 17 is a third structural diagram of the data processing apparatus provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0172] Figure 18 is a fourth structural diagram of the data processing apparatus provided in the embodiments of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0173] In this disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0174] In this disclosure, the term "multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0175] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0176] This disclosure provides a data processing method and apparatus to reduce air interface resource overhead.

[0177] The method and apparatus are based on the same concept of the application. Since the methods and apparatus solve problems in similar ways, the implementation of the apparatus and methods can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

[0178] Referring to Figure 3, which is a flowchart of a data processing method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure, applied to a sending end, as shown in Figure 3, it includes the following steps:

[0179] Step 301: The PDU of the first protocol layer or module includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; in the target protocol layer or module: if the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included; or, if the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is included, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0180] It should be noted that the above-mentioned operations of adding or not adding headers can be understood as operations on SDUs from the protocol layer or module above the target protocol layer or module. The sending end can be a terminal or network device (such as a base station). For the sending end, the lower-level protocol layer or module receives the PDU from the higher-level protocol layer or module, uses it as its own SDU, processes it, and then delivers it as the PDU to the lower layer or physical layer.

[0181] The first protocol layer or module can be any protocol layer or module, wherein the module can also be understood as an entity used to implement the function of a certain protocol layer. The target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows the inclusion or exclusion of protocol headers; and / or, the target protocol layer or module is the next layer or more layers of the first protocol layer or module; and / or, the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0182] Whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include a protocol header can be determined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For example, protocol layers or modules that are allowed to exclude protocol headers may include the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer.

[0183] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module can be configured in at least the following two ways:

[0184] Method 1: Set at a specified position in the header of the PDU of the first protocol layer or module, wherein the specified position includes any one of the following:

[0185] The first N bits of the PDU header; the target bit of the target byte (e.g., the first byte) of the PDU header (e.g., the Xth byte, where X is greater than or equal to 1); the last N bits of the PDU header; where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0186] This header indication field, which targets at least one protocol layer or module, first appears in the header of a protocol layer or module that is required to include a header. Its value can be used to indicate the presence of headers for the next or subsequent protocol layers or modules. The protocol layers or modules that must include a header are determined according to the protocol. In other words, if a header indication field targeting at least one target protocol layer or module is to be carried, the first protocol layer or module to carry this header indication field is the protocol layer or module whose header is required to include a header.

[0187] As shown in Figure 2, the headers of each protocol layer are added layer by layer. Assuming that the SDAP layer does not necessarily include a header, but the PDCP layer must include a header, then the PDCP layer is the protocol layer that carries the header indication field for the first time.

[0188] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module can be set to a default value. After receiving data from the upper protocol layer or module, the lower protocol layer or module processes the bit values ​​in the corresponding header indication field according to whether its own header is added.

[0189] Method 2: The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0190] The first appearance of the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is within a protocol layer or module that must include a header. During the data organization process of that layer or module, for example, the last M bits can be reserved as the "header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module," meaning that the bits of this "header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module" do not carry data. The "header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module" does not affect the header of this layer. The header of the next layer or module may not appear (it does not exist / is omitted).

[0191] The “header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module” does not occupy the header of each layer or module. Therefore, if the first protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module to include the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between the first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, and the first number of bits is M×8.

[0192] Method 3: The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The value of Q can be determined as needed.

[0193] In this approach, the header indication field (or protocol stack header indication field) corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate whether the header of the target protocol layer or module is included, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module. It is understood that in this approach, predetermined fields in the header indication field are used to indicate the presence of headers at each layer, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module. Here, the target protocol layer or module refers to each protocol layer or module. Therefore, the target protocol layer or module can be the aforementioned first protocol layer or module, or it can refer to the next layer or more layers of the aforementioned first protocol layer or module.

[0194] For example, in the header indication field corresponding to each layer, the field corresponding to that layer indicates whether the header of that layer exists. For example, a field of 0 indicates that it does not exist, and a field of 1 indicates that it exists. Alternatively, a specific value can be used to indicate whether the header exists or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0195] For example, taking Q=1, the first and second bits are used to indicate whether the SDAP header has a function or protocol data unit type; the third and fourth bits are used to indicate whether the PDCP header has a function or protocol data unit type; the fifth and sixth bits are used to indicate whether the RLC header has a function or protocol data unit type; and the seventh and eighth bits are used to indicate whether the RLC header has a function or protocol data unit type.

[0196] The function of a certain protocol layer or module can be defined in different ways. For example, taking the SDAP layer as an example, its corresponding function or protocol data unit type can be: SDAP control PDU, SDAP data PDU with protocol header. Therefore, for the SDAP layer, 2 bits can be used to indicate whether the SDAP header exists or the function or protocol data unit type, for example, 00 / 01 / 10 respectively represent: no SDAP protocol header, SDAP control PDU, SDAP data PDU with protocol header.

[0197] In this embodiment of the disclosure, whether or not to add a header can be determined by each protocol layer or module itself.

[0198] If no header is added, the header indication field for the corresponding target protocol layer or module mentioned above is used to indicate that the header does not include the target protocol layer or module, and may include:

[0199] 1. If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to not include the header of the target protocol layer or module (e.g., set to 0), the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module is sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module. That is, the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module remains unchanged, and the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module is sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module.

[0200] Here, the previous protocol layer or module, the target protocol layer or module, and the next protocol layer or module can be understood as protocol layers or modules that process data sequentially. The previous and next protocol layers or modules will differ depending on the target protocol layer or module. For example, the 5G user plane higher-layer protocol stack shown in Figure 1 includes: SDAP, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers. If the target protocol layer or module is the RLC layer, the previous protocol layer or module is the PDCP layer, and the next protocol layer or module is the MAC layer. If the target protocol layer or module is the PDCP layer, the previous protocol layer or module is the SDAP layer, and the next protocol layer or module is the RLC layer, and so on.

[0201] For example, if the previous protocol layer is the SDAP layer, and the header indication field of the SDAP layer is set to exclude the header of the next protocol layer, the PDCP layer, then in this way, the header indication field of the SDAP layer can be kept unchanged, and the received SDAP SDU can be sent to the RLC layer as the PDU of the PDCP layer.

[0202] or,

[0203] 2. If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module (e.g., set to 1), the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included (e.g., set to 0); wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header. That is, the current target protocol layer or module can be understood as the protocol layer or module that is executing the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0204] For example, if the target protocol layer includes the PDCP layer, and the PDCP layer is currently determining whether to add a header for this layer, then the PDCP layer is the current target protocol layer.

[0205] Taking Figure 1 or Figure 2 as an example, if the header indication field of the previous protocol layer SDAP protocol layer is set to include the header of the target protocol layer PDCP layer, but the PDCP layer is determined not to add a header when it is the current target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the PDCP layer is used to indicate that the header of the PDCP layer is not included.

[0206] In the case of the aforementioned Method 2, if the "Header Indication Field for at least one target protocol layer or module" of the first protocol layer or module is set to include all headers (default value is 1), the target protocol layer or module (such as the second layer) modifies the corresponding header indication bit of that layer to indicate "not including header of that layer" (set to 0) after determining that the header of that layer is not included.

[0207] If a header is added to the target protocol layer, the header indication field for the corresponding target protocol layer or module mentioned above is used to indicate the header that includes the target protocol layer or module, and can be implemented in different ways:

[0208] Corresponding to the aforementioned method one, the following processing methods are possible:

[0209] 1. Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included. Alternatively,

[0210] 2. Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module;

[0211] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

[0212] This header format type can also be called a PDU format type, such as header formats or PDU formats corresponding to different sequence number (SN) lengths, for example, different RLC headers or RLC PDU formats corresponding to RLC SN=6, 12 or 18 bits.

[0213] In the above case, the position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

[0214] Corresponding to the aforementioned method two, the following processing methods are possible:

[0215] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to a first target value (e.g., set to 1); wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add the header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

[0216] For example, if the last bit of an SDAP PDU is used as a header indication field, and the target protocol layer is the PDCP layer, the default value of the last bit of the SDAP PDU can be set to 0, indicating that the PDCP layer header is not included. At the PDCP layer, i.e., the current target protocol layer, if it is determined that a header needs to be added, then the PDCP layer header can be added, and the last bit of the SDAP PDU (SDU for the PDCP layer) can be modified to 1, indicating that the PDCP protocol layer header is included.

[0217] Corresponding to method three mentioned above, the following processing methods can be used:

[0218] The portion of the Service Data Unit (SDU) from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module. The header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is obtained, and the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set to indicate whether the header of the target protocol layer or module is included, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, thus forming the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module.

[0219] As mentioned above, if the header indication field is set in the first Q bytes of the PDU, then the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is deleted, and the header indication field is set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module; or, if the header indication field is set in the last Q bytes of the PDU, then the header indication field is set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

[0220] For example, if the header indication field is set in the first Q bytes (e.g., Q=1) of the PDU, such as when the SDAP layer sets the header indication field in the first byte of the SDAP PDU, the corresponding field in the SDAP header is set to the desired value; for the PDCP layer, upon receiving an SDU from the SDAP layer, the header indication field of the SDAP layer is obtained, and the corresponding field of the PDCP layer is set to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module (e.g., set to 1), forming the header indication field of the PDCP layer. Simultaneously, the header indication field of the SDAP layer is deleted, and the header indication field of the PDCP layer is set in the first byte of the PDCP layer's PDU.

[0221] If the header indication field is set in the last Q bytes (e.g., Q = 1) of the PDU, such as when the SDAP layer sets the header indication field in the last byte of the SDAP PDU, the corresponding field in the SDAP header is set to the required value; for the PDCP layer, upon receiving an SDU from the SDAP layer, the header indication field of the SDAP layer is obtained, and the corresponding field of the PDCP layer is set to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module (e.g., set to 1), forming the header indication field of the PDCP layer. Simultaneously, the header indication field of the PDCP layer is set in the last byte of the PDCP layer's PDU.

[0222] In the embodiments of this disclosure, headers can be added as needed at the target protocol layer or module, and indicated through the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, thereby saving the overhead of higher-level protocols and thus saving air interface transmission resources.

[0223] In the embodiments of this disclosure, for a radio bearer or logical channel, multiple parameters can be configured by the network device statically or using semi-static signaling (such as Radio Resource Control (RRC)).

[0224] For example, if the sending end includes a terminal, the method further includes:

[0225] Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0226] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0227] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0228] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0229] If the sending end includes a network device, the method further includes:

[0230] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0231] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0232] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0233] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0234] For example, network devices can be configured via RRC: Layer 1 can indicate the existence of Layer 2 and Layer 3 headers. During data organization: ① The header indicator field in the Layer 1 header is set to "00" and delivered to Layer 2; ② If the Layer 2 header exists, it includes a header indicator field set to "01" (the Layer 1 header indicator field can be modified or not), and is delivered to Layer 3. If the Layer 2 header does not exist, the Layer 1 data is directly delivered to Layer 3; ③ If the Layer 3 header exists, it includes a header indicator field set to "1" (no need to indicate the existence of the Layer 2 header). If the Layer 3 header does not exist, the received data is directly delivered to the lower layer.

[0235] Referring to Figure 4, which is a flowchart of a data processing method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure, applied to a receiving end, as shown in Figure 4, it includes the following steps:

[0236] Step 401: If the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes a header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module: if the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that the header of the target protocol layer or module is included or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, parse the PDU according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or, if the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, directly submit the PDU to the higher layer.

[0237] In other words, when the receiving end parses the received PDU and determines that it includes the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, it can determine different processing methods based on the information indicated by that header indication field. Specifically, if the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module, or indicates the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or, if the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to a higher layer, thereby saving the overhead of parsing the PDU of that layer.

[0238] The PDU format including the header can be a default PDU format used by the receiving end, or it can be determined based on the information sent by the sending end. Specifically, if the PDU also includes a header format indication field, which indicates the header format type, then the receiving end can determine the PDU format based on the header format indication field.

[0239] Furthermore, if the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module is ignored, and the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module is parsed.

[0240] The first protocol layer or module can be any protocol layer or module. The target protocol layer or module includes: protocol layers or modules that allow the inclusion or exclusion of protocol headers; and / or, the target protocol layer or module is one or more layers below the first protocol layer or module. Whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include protocol headers can be determined by the protocol or configured by the network device. For example, protocol layers or modules that allow the exclusion of protocol headers may include, for example, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, etc.

[0241] In this embodiment of the disclosure, if the receiving end includes a terminal, it further includes:

[0242] Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0243] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0244] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0245] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0246] In this embodiment of the disclosure, if the receiving end includes a network device, it further includes:

[0247] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0248] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0249] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0250] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0251] In the embodiments of this disclosure, headers can be added as needed at the target protocol layer or module, and indicated through the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, thereby saving the overhead of higher-level protocols and thus saving air interface transmission resources.

[0252] The implementation process of the embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to different examples.

[0253] In this embodiment of the disclosure, a header indication field for the target protocol layer or module is introduced in the first protocol layer or module. This field can be used to indicate whether a header for the target protocol layer or module exists. When organizing data packets, the sending end adds a header for the target protocol layer or module as needed, and indicates whether the header for the target protocol layer or module has been added in the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module. The receiving end determines the protocol layer or module to which the header has been added based on the indication in the header indication field, thereby correctly parsing the data packets.

[0254] In the following embodiments, the network device is a base station as an example. Embodiments 1 and 2 describe the same data organization method from the perspectives of downlink and uplink, respectively, with the following differences: 1) Whether the configuration signaling sent by the base station to the terminal is for downlink radio bearer or logical channel configuration, or for uplink radio bearer or logical channel configuration; 2) In the downlink direction, the base station organizes and transmits data, and the terminal receives and parses data; in the uplink direction, the terminal organizes and transmits data, and the base station receives and parses data. In Embodiments 3-5, only the downlink data perspective is described. The uplink data organization and parsing process is the same as the downlink data organization and parsing principle, except that the roles of the sender and receiver are reversed. In Embodiments 6-7, the perspectives of the sender and receiver are described respectively.

[0255] Therefore, in this embodiment of the disclosure, from the perspective of the sending end and the receiving end, the data processing principle of the sending end (base station / terminal) is the same, and the data processing principle of the receiving end (terminal / base station) is the same.

[0256] In embodiments 1-3, the header of one or more protocol layers / modules includes a header indication field for one or more specific protocol layers or modules, indicating whether the header of the specific protocol layer or module exists. In embodiments 4-5, the last M (M>=1) bits of the PDU of one or more protocol layers / modules are used as the header indication field for one or more specific protocol layers or modules.

[0257] For embodiments 1-3, the header indication field first appears in the header of a protocol layer or module that must include a header. It is used to indicate whether the header of the next layer or multiple layers or modules exists (but not the header of the current layer), and the header indication field is set to a default value. After receiving data from the upper protocol layer or module, the lower protocol layer or module processes the value of the bit corresponding to the current protocol layer or module in the header indication field, depending on whether the header of the current protocol layer or module is added.

[0258] If the next protocol layer or module determines not to add a header, it does not process the data submitted by the upper layer and directly submits it to the next layer. If the next protocol layer or module determines to add a header, it adds a header indicator field at the same position as the "header indicator field" in the header of the upper layer, and sets the header indicator for this layer to "include header" (e.g., set to "1") in the header indicator field. If the upper layer's header indicator field includes a header indicator for the next lower layer, it does not change the value of the indicator bit for the next lower layer's header and directly submits it to the next lower layer. After including the header, the lower layer can modify the value of the corresponding position in the header indicator field of the upper layer's header, or it can leave the header indicator field in the upper layer's header unchanged. The receiving end only determines whether there is a header for the current layer or module based on the position of the header indicator field of the current layer or module.

[0259] Example 1: In this example, it is assumed that the RLC layer header may be absent (downlink). Correspondingly, the target protocol layer is the RLC layer, and the first protocol layer is the PDCP layer.

[0260] The processing steps on the base station side include:

[0261] Step 1 (optional): Send configuration information (such as RRC signaling) to the terminal. For a radio bearer or logical channel (downlink), configure one or more of the following: whether the RLC header can be absent; whether the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; whether the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (or "RLC PDU format indication field"). If these configuration information are not available, the protocol may specify that: the RLC header can be absent, and / or the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (optional).

[0262] Step 2: When organizing downlink data, the base station includes an RLC header indication field in the PDCP header of the PDCP PDU. This field is set to "0" (corresponding to no RLC header). An example format is shown in Figure 5. The PDCP layer (or PDCP entity) sends the organized PDCP PDU to the RLC layer (or RLC entity).

[0263] Step 3: The RLC layer (or RLC entity) determines the processing method for the received RLC SDU.

[0264] If no RLC header is needed, send it to the MAC layer (MAC entity). If the RLC layer needs to process the data, add an RLC header, including an "RLC header indicator field" indicating "Include RLC header," such as setting it to "1." Figure 6 is a schematic diagram. The Data section in Figure 6 is the PDCP PDU (as shown in Figure 5). The RLC layer can change or not change the value of the "RLC header indicator field" in the PDCP PDU. Send the generated RLC PDU to the MAC layer (MAC entity).

[0265] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the RLC header may further include an "RLC header format indicator field" (or "RLC PDU format indicator field"), as shown in Figure 7. The "RLC header format indicator field" is used to indicate the header format adopted by the current RLC PDU organization, such as using different RLC SN lengths (e.g., 6, 12, 18 bits).

[0266] Step 4: The MAC layer receives the RLC PDU, organizes it into a MAC PDU, and sends it to the lower layer (physical layer) for processing and transmission.

[0267] The terminal-side processing includes:

[0268] Step 1 (optional): Receive configuration information sent by the base station. This information configures one or more of the following for a radio bearer or logical channel: whether the RLC header can be absent; whether the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; whether the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (or "RLC PDU format indication field"). If these configuration information are not available, the protocol may specify that: the RLC header can be absent, and / or the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (optional).

[0269] Step 2: Receive downlink data sent by the base station. Data is sent from the MAC layer (MAC entity) to the RLC layer, where the RLC layer parses the "RLC header indication field".

[0270] If the "RLC header indication field" indicates "no RLC header", the received MAC SDU (i.e. RLC PDU) is sent to the PDCP layer.

[0271] If the "RLC header indication field" indicates "includes RLC header", the RLC header is parsed, and the data field is parsed based on the RLC header. In some embodiments, if the RLC header also includes an "RLC header format indication field", the specific RLC header format is further confirmed based on the indication field, and the data field in the RLC PDU is parsed accordingly.

[0272] Step 3: The PDCP layer receives data sent by the RLC layer, which is a PDCP PDU to the PDCP layer. The PDCP layer ignores the "RLC header indication field" in the PDCP PDU, parses out the PDCP SDU, and sends it to the higher layer.

[0273] Example 2: In this example, it is assumed that the RLC layer header may be absent (uplink). Correspondingly, the target protocol layer is the RLC layer, and the first protocol layer is the PDCP layer.

[0274] The processing procedure on the terminal side is as follows:

[0275] Step 1 (optional): Receive configuration information sent by the base station. This information, for a radio bearer or logical channel (uplink), configures one or more of the following: whether the RLC header can be absent; whether the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; whether the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (or "RLC PDU format indication field"). If these configuration information are not available, the protocol may specify that: the RLC header can be absent, and / or the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (optional).

[0276] Step 2: When organizing uplink data, the terminal includes an RLC header indication field in the PDCP header of the PDCP PDU, which is set to "0" (corresponding to no RLC header). An example format is shown in Figure 5. The PDCP layer then sends the organized PDCP PDU to the RLC layer.

[0277] Step 3: The RLC layer determines the processing method for the received RLC SDU.

[0278] If no RLC header is needed, send it to the MAC layer. If the RLC layer needs to process the data, add an RLC header, including an "RLC header indicator field" indicating "Include RLC header," such as setting it to "1." Figure 6 is a schematic diagram. The Data section in Figure 6 is the PDCP PDU (as shown in Figure 5). The RLC layer can change or not change the value of the "RLC header indicator field" in the PDCP PDU. Send the generated RLC PDU to the MAC layer (MAC entity).

[0279] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the RLC header further includes an "RLC header format indicator field" (or "RLC PDU format indicator field"), as shown in Figure 7. The "RLC header format indicator field" is used to indicate the header format adopted by the current RLC PDU organization, such as using different RLC SN lengths (e.g., 6, 12, 18 bits).

[0280] Step 4: The MAC layer receives the RLC PDU, organizes it into a MAC PDU, and sends it to the lower layer (physical layer) for processing and transmission.

[0281] The processing steps on the base station side may include:

[0282] Step 1 (optional): Send configuration information (such as RRC signaling) to the terminal. For a radio bearer or logical channel (uplink), configure one or more of the following: whether the RLC header can be absent; whether the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; whether the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (or "RLC PDU format indication field"). If these configuration information are not available, the protocol may specify that: the RLC header can be absent, and / or the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field"; the RLC header contains an RLC header format indication field (optional).

[0283] Step 2: Receive uplink data sent by the terminal. Data is sent from the MAC layer (MAC entity) to the RLC layer, and the RLC layer parses the "RLC header indication field":

[0284] If the "RLC header indication field" indicates "no RLC header", the received MAC SDU (i.e. RLC PDU) is sent to the PDCP layer.

[0285] If the "RLC header indication field" indicates "includes RLC header", the RLC header is parsed, and the data field is parsed based on the RLC header. In some embodiments, if the RLC header also includes an "RLC header format indication field", the specific RLC header format is further confirmed based on the indication field, and the data field in the RLC PDU is parsed accordingly.

[0286] Step 3: The PDCP layer receives data sent by the RLC layer, which is a PDCP PDU to the PDCP layer. The PDCP layer ignores the "RLC header indication field" in the PDCP PDU, parses out the PDCP SDU, and sends it to the higher layer.

[0287] Example 3: In this example, it is assumed that the RLC layer and / or MAC layer headers may be absent (downlink). Correspondingly, the target protocol layers are the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and the first protocol layer is the PDCP layer.

[0288] Example 3 is described using downlink data transmission as an example. For uplink transmission, the terminal organizes the data, and the base station parses the data. The processing method is the same as the data organization and data parsing process in this example.

[0289] The processing steps on the base station side may include:

[0290] Step 1 (optional): Send configuration information (such as RRC signaling) to the terminal. For a radio bearer or logical channel, configure one or more of the following: whether the MAC header can be absent; whether the RLC header can be absent; whether the PDCP header can contain a "MAC header indication field" and / or an "RLC header indication field". If these configuration information are not available, the protocol specifies that: the MAC header can be absent, and / or the RLC header can be absent, and / or the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field" and / or a "MAC header indication field".

[0291] Step 2: When organizing downlink data, the base station includes a MAC header indication field and an RLC header indication field in the PDCP header of the PDCP PDU. Both fields are set to "0" (corresponding to the absence of a MAC header and RLC header). An example format is shown in Figure 8. The PDCP layer (or PDCP entity) sends the organized PDCP PDU to the RLC layer (or RLC entity).

[0292] Step 3: The RLC layer (or RLC entity) determines the processing method for the received RLC SDU.

[0293] If no RLC header is needed, send it to the MAC layer (MAC entity). If the RLC layer needs to process the data, add an RLC header, including a "MAC header indicator field" and an "RLC header indicator field," and set the "RLC header indicator field" to "Include RLC header," such as setting it to "1." Figure 9 is a schematic diagram. The Data section in Figure 9 is the PDCP PDU (as shown in Figure 8). The RLC layer can change or not change the value of the "RLC header indicator field" in the PDCP PDU. Send the generated RLC PDU to the MAC layer (MAC entity).

[0294] Step 4: After receiving the RLC PDU, the MAC layer organizes it into the MAC PDU.

[0295] If no MAC header is needed, it is sent to the lower layer (physical layer) for processing and transmission. If a MAC header is needed, a "MAC header indicator field" is included in the MAC sub-header and set to "Include MAC header," such as a value of 1. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram. When a MAC PDU is composed of multiple cascaded MAC subPDUs, only the MAC sub-PDU's MAC sub-header may contain the "MAC header indicator field." The MAC layer sends the generated MAC PDU to the lower layer (physical layer) for processing and transmission.

[0296] The processing procedure on the terminal side is as follows:

[0297] Step 1: Receive configuration information (such as RRC signaling) sent by the base station. For a radio bearer or logical channel, configure one or more of the following: whether the MAC header can be absent; whether the RLC header can be absent; whether the PDCP header can contain a "MAC header indication field" and / or an "RLC header indication field". If these configuration information are not available, the protocol specifies that: the MAC header can be absent, and / or the RLC header can be absent, and / or the PDCP header can contain an "RLC header indication field" and / or a "MAC header indication field".

[0298] Step 2: Receive downlink data sent by the base station. The MAC layer parses the "MAC header indication field".

[0299] If the "MAC header indication field" indicates "no MAC header", the received MAC PDU is sent to the RLC layer, and this MAC PDU is the RLC PDU.

[0300] The “MAC header indication field” indicates “MAC header included”. The MAC subheader is parsed, and the data field is parsed based on the MAC subheader to obtain the RLC PDU. The RLC PDU is then sent to the RLC layer.

[0301] Step 3: The RLC layer receives the RLC PDU and parses the "RLC header indication field".

[0302] If the "RLC Header Indicator Field" indicates "No RLC Header Included", the received RLC PDU is sent directly to the PDCP layer. If the "RLC Header Indicator Field" indicates "RLC Header Included", the RLC header is parsed, and the data field is parsed based on the RLC header to obtain the PDCP PDU. The PDCP PDU is then sent to the PDCP layer.

[0303] Step 4: The PDCP layer receives the PDCP PDU sent by the RLC layer, ignores the "MAC header indication field" and "RLC header indication field" in the PDCP PDU, parses out the PDCP SDU, and sends it to the higher layer.

[0304] In embodiments 4-5, the header indicator field first appears in a protocol layer that must include a header. During the data organization process of the first protocol layer or module, the last M bits are reserved as the "header indicator field," meaning that the bits in this "header indicator field" do not carry data. The "header indicator field" does not affect the header of this layer. The header of the next layer may not appear (it does not exist / is omitted).

[0305] If the next protocol layer or module determines not to add a header, it will not process the data submitted by the upper layer and will directly submit it to the next layer. If the next protocol layer or module determines to add a header, it will set the bit corresponding to this protocol layer to "include header" (e.g., set it to "1") for the "header indicator field" of the last M bits. It should be noted that the M bits can be located at the end, the beginning, or a predetermined position. The embodiment uses the last M bits as an example for illustration and does not constitute a limitation on this scheme.

[0306] Example 4: In this example, it is assumed that the RLC layer header may be absent (downlink). Correspondingly, the target protocol layer is the RLC layer, and the first protocol layer is the PDCP layer.

[0307] Example 4 takes downlink data transmission as an example. For uplink transmission, the terminal organizes the data, and the base station parses the data. The processing method is the same as the data organization and data parsing process in this example.

[0308] The processing steps on the base station side may include:

[0309] Step 1 (optional): Send configuration information (such as RRC signaling) to the terminal to configure whether the RLC header can be omitted for a radio bearer or logical channel (downlink). If this configuration information is not available, the protocol stipulates that the RLC header can be omitted. If it is determined that the RLC header can be omitted, proceed to Step 2.

[0310] Step 2: The base station organizes downlink data, setting the last bit of the PDCP PDU to the "RLC header indication field," which is set to "0" by default. The PDCP layer then sends the organized PDCP PDU to the RLC layer.

[0311] Step 3: The RLC layer determines whether to add an RLC header. If an RLC header is to be added, the "RLC header indicator field" is changed to "1", the RLC PDU is organized, and then sent to the MAC layer; otherwise, the data received from the PDCP layer is sent directly to the MAC layer.

[0312] Step 4: The MAC layer receives the RLC PDU sent by the RLC, organizes it into a MAC PDU, and sends it to the lower layer (physical layer) for processing and transmission. Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the MAC subPDU organized in steps 2-4.

[0313] The processing procedure on the terminal side is as follows:

[0314] Step 1 (optional): Receive configuration information (such as RRC signaling) sent by the base station. For a radio bearer or logical channel (downlink), configure whether the RLC header can be absent. If this configuration information is not available, the protocol stipulates that the RLC header can be absent.

[0315] Step 2: Receive downlink data sent by the base station. The MAC layer parses the RLC PDU from the MAC subPDU and sends it to the RLC layer.

[0316] Step 3: The RLC layer parses the "RLC header indication field" to determine whether an RLC header exists. If it does not exist, it is sent directly to the PDCP layer. If it exists, the RLC header and RLC payload are parsed, and the PDCP PDU is parsed and sent to the PDCP layer.

[0317] Step 4: For the received PDCP PDU, the PDCP layer ignores the last bit, parses the remaining part into a PDCP SDU, and sends it to the higher layer.

[0318] In some embodiments, the PDCP header length can be set to (M×8-1) bits.

[0319] Example 5: In this example, it is assumed that the RLC layer and / or MAC layer headers may be absent (downlink). Correspondingly, the target protocol layers are the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and the first protocol layer is the PDCP layer.

[0320] Example 5 takes downlink data transmission as an example. For uplink transmission, the terminal organizes the data and the base station parses the data. The processing method is the same as the data organization and data parsing process in this example.

[0321] The processing procedure on the base station side is as follows:

[0322] Step 1 (optional): Send configuration information (such as RRC signaling) to the terminal. For a radio bearer or logical channel, configure whether the MAC header or RLC header can be absent. If these configurations are not available, the protocol can specify that the MAC header can be absent, and / or the RLC header can be absent.

[0323] Step 2: The base station organizes downlink data. The last two bits of the PDCP PDU are set to the "RLC header indication field" and the "MAC header indication field". The default value is "0", indicating that there is no corresponding header. The PDCP layer sends the organized PDCP PDU to the RLC layer.

[0324] Step 3: The RLC layer determines whether to add an RLC header. If an RLC header is to be added, the "RLC header indicator field" is changed to "1", the RLC PDU is organized, and then sent to the MAC layer; otherwise, the data received from the PDCP layer is sent directly to the MAC layer.

[0325] Step 4: The MAC layer receives the RLC PDU sent by the RLC and determines whether to add a MAC header. If no MAC header is added, the received RLC PDU is directly sent to the physical layer as a MAC PDU for processing and transmission. If a MAC header is added, the "MAC header indicator field" is changed to "1", the MAC PDU is organized, and then sent to the physical layer for processing and transmission.

[0326] After steps 2-4 above, Figure 12 shows a possible data organization result. MAC PDU1 has neither a MAC header nor an RLC header, and the corresponding header indication fields are all set to 0. MAC PDU2 cascades two RLC PDUs; the first RLC PDU has an RLC header, and the second RLC PDU does not. In some embodiments, when a MAC header is included, the MAC header indication field may be set to "1" only in the first or last MAC subPDU.

[0327] In some embodiments, the PDCP header length can be set to (M*8-2) bits.

[0328] The processing procedure on the terminal side is as follows:

[0329] Step 1 (optional): Receive configuration information (such as RRC signaling) sent by the base station. For a radio bearer or logical channel, configure whether the MAC header or RLC header can be absent. If these configurations are not available, the protocol can specify that the MAC header can be absent, and / or the RLC header can be absent.

[0330] Step 2: Receive downlink data sent by the base station. The MAC layer parses the "MAC header indication field" to determine whether a MAC header exists. If it does not exist, it is sent directly to the RLC layer. If it exists, the MAC header and MAC payload are parsed, and the RCL PDU is parsed and sent to the RLC layer.

[0331] Step 3: The RLC layer parses the "RLC header indication field" to determine whether an RLC header exists. If it does not exist, it is sent directly to the PDCP layer. If it exists, the RLC header and RLC payload are parsed, and the PDCP PDU is parsed and sent to the PDCP layer.

[0332] Step 4: For the received PDCP PDU, the PDCP layer ignores the last 2 bits, parses the remaining part into a PDCP SDU, and sends it to the higher layer.

[0333] It is understood that reserving 2 bits in the PDU to indicate the presence of the RLC and / or MAC layer headers is merely an example. M bits can be used as needed to indicate the presence of the M layer headers, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, in one implementation, 8 bits can be reserved to indicate the presence of the SDAP, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layer headers, with 2 bits allocated to each layer; or 4 bits can be reserved to indicate the presence of the SDAP, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layer headers, with 1 bit allocated to each layer. If the MAC header is absent, the corresponding bit for the MAC layer is set to 0; if the MAC header is present, the corresponding bit for the MAC layer is set to 1.

[0334] Example 6: In this example, a fixed header indication field is used to indicate the header or function or protocol data unit type of each layer, wherein the header indication field is located at the beginning of each layer PDU.

[0335] At the sending end, when organizing the transmission of data PDUs, the headers of each protocol stack are added in the following manner, as shown in Figures 13(a) and (b). In Figure 13(a), a bitmap is used to indicate whether each layer header exists; in Figure 13(b), specific values ​​are used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of each layer header.

[0336] The following layer names and order are based on the 5G protocol stack example. If the protocol layer names are different, or some layers are configured not to exist, or some layers do not use the "header indication field" indication (such as the header of the PDCP layer or the header of the MAC layer may not use the "header indication field" indication), it will not affect the implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0337] SDAP Layer: The first byte of the SDAP PDU is the header indication field. In the "SDAP Header Indication" field, corresponding values ​​are set according to the organizational requirements of the SDAP PDU. If the format shown in Figure 13(a) is used, it is set to 1 if the SDAP header is present and 0 if it is absent. If the format shown in Figure 13(b) is used, the "SDAP Header Indication" field is set according to the specific function or protocol data unit type. For example, 00, 01, and 10 represent no SDAP protocol header, SDAP control PDU, and SDAP data PDU with protocol header, respectively. Other parts of the header indication field are set to default values, such as 0. The organizational SDAP PDU is then passed to the next layer, such as the PDCP layer.

[0338] PDCP Layer: If no PDCP header is needed, the received SDAP PDU is directly delivered to the next layer, such as the RLC layer, as a PDCP PDU. If a PDCP header is needed, the header indication field (first byte) of the SDAP PDU is extracted and placed in the first byte of the PDCP PDU. The rest of the SDAP PDU remains unchanged. In the "PDCP Header Indicator" field of the header indication field, the corresponding value is set according to the PDCP PDU organization requirements. After organizing the PDCP PDU, it is delivered to the next layer. During the process of adding the PDCP header, the header indication field of the SDAP layer is deleted.

[0339] RLC Layer: If no RLC header is needed, the received PDCP PDU is directly delivered to the next layer, such as the MAC layer, as an RLC PDU. If an RLC header is needed, the header indication field (first byte) of the PDCP PDU is extracted and placed in the first byte of the RLC PDU. The rest of the PDCP PDU remains unchanged. In the "RLC Header Indicator" field of the header indication field, the corresponding value is set according to the RLC PDU organization requirements. After organizing the RLC PDU, it is delivered to the next layer. During the process of adding the RLC header, the header indication field of the PDCP layer is deleted.

[0340] MAC Layer: If no MAC header is needed, the received RLC PDU is directly submitted to the physical layer as a MAC PDU. If a MAC header is needed and the RLC PDU is not multiplexed, the header indication field (first byte) of the RLC PDU is extracted and placed in the first byte of the MAC PDU. The rest of the RLC PDU remains unchanged. In the "MAC Header Indicator" field of the header indication field, the corresponding value is set according to the MAC PDU organization requirements. After organizing the MAC PDU, it is submitted to the physical layer. If the MAC layer must add a MAC sub-header (e.g., RLC PDU multiplexing), then there is no "MAC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator" field. During the process of adding the MAC header, the header indication field of the RLC layer is deleted. Whether the "MAC Header Indicator" field exists in the "Header Indicator" field is specified by the protocol or based on RRC configuration and does not change with each data packet.

[0341] After receiving the MAC PDU sent by the sender, the receiver performs the following operations for each protocol layer:

[0342] MAC Layer: If the MAC layer must add a MAC subheader, and there is no "MAC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field", the MAC layer parses the RLC PDU and submits it to the RLC layer; if there is a "MAC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field", the "MAC Header Indicator" field is parsed. If the "MAC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no MAC header, the MAC PDU is directly submitted to the RLC layer as an RLC PDU; if the "MAC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is a MAC header, the MAC subheader is removed, and the "Header Indicator Field" is used as the first byte of the RLC PDU, which is then submitted to the RLC layer along with the remaining part as an RLC PDU.

[0343] RLC layer: Parse the "RLC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field". If the "RLC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no RLC header, directly submit the RLC PDU as a PDCP PDU to the PDCP layer; if the "RLC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is an RLC header, remove the RLC header, and submit the "Header Indicator Field" as the first byte of the PDCP PDU, together with the remaining part, as a PDCP PDU to the PDCP layer.

[0344] PDCP layer: Parse the "PDCP Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field". If the "PDCP Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no PDCP header, directly submit the PDCP PDU as an SDAP PDU to the SDAP layer; if the "PDCP Header Indicator" field indicates that there is a PDCP header, remove the PDCP header, and use the "Header Indicator Field" as the first byte of the SDAP PDU, and submit it to the SDAP layer together with the remaining part as an SDAP PDU.

[0345] SDAP layer: Parses the "SDAP Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field". If the "SDAP Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no SDAP header, the "Header Indicator Field" is removed and the data is submitted to a higher layer, such as the application layer. If the "SDAP Header Indicator" field indicates that there is an SDAP header, both the "Header Indicator Field" and the SDAP header are removed and the data is submitted to a higher layer.

[0346] Example 7: In this example, a fixed header indication field is used to indicate the header or function or protocol data unit type of each layer, wherein the header indication field is located at the end of each layer PDU.

[0347] When organizing and sending data PDUs, the sending end adds headers to each layer of the protocol stack in the following manner, as shown in Figures 14(a) and (b). In Figure 14(a), a bitmap is used to indicate whether each layer header exists; in Figure 14(b), specific values ​​are used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of each layer header.

[0348] The following layer names and order are based on the 5G protocol stack example. If the protocol layer names are different, or some layers are configured not to exist, or some layers do not use the "header indication field" indication (such as the header of the PDCP layer or the header of the MAC layer may not use the "header indication field" indication), it will not affect the implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0349] SDAP Layer: The last byte of the SDAP PDU is the header indication field. In the "SDAP Header Indication" field, the corresponding value is set according to the organization's requirements for the SDAP PDU. If the format shown in Figure 14(a) is used, it is set to 1 if the SDAP header is present and 0 if it is absent. If the format shown in Figure 14(b) is used, the "SDAP Header Indication" field is set according to the specific function; for example, 00, 01, and 10 represent no SDAP protocol header, SDAP control PDU, and SDAP data PDU with protocol header, respectively. Other parts of the header indication field are set to default values, such as 0. The organization's SDAP PDU is then passed to the next layer, such as the PDCP layer.

[0350] PDCP layer: If no PDCP header is needed, the received SDAP PDU is directly delivered to the next layer, such as the RLC layer, as a PDCP PDU. If a PDCP header is needed, the "PDCP header indication" field of the header indication field is set with the corresponding value according to the PDCP PDU organization requirements. After organizing the PDCP PDU, it is delivered to the next layer.

[0351] RLC layer: If no RLC header is needed, the received PDCP PDU is directly delivered to the next layer, such as the MAC layer, as an RLC PDU. If an RLC header is needed, the corresponding value is set in the "RLC header indication" field of the header indication field according to the RLC PDU organization requirements. After organizing the RLC PDU, it is delivered to the next layer.

[0352] MAC Layer: If no MAC header is needed, the received RLC PDU is directly submitted to the physical layer as a MAC PDU. If a MAC header is needed and the RLC PDU is not multiplexed, the corresponding value is set in the "MAC Header Indication" field of the header indication field according to the MAC PDU organization requirements. After organizing the MAC PDU, it is submitted to the physical layer. If the MAC layer must add a MAC sub-header (such as RLC PDU multiplexing), there is no "MAC Header Indication" field in the "Header Indication Field". Whether there is a "MAC Header Indication" field in the "Header Indication Field" is specified by the protocol or based on RRC configuration and does not change with each data packet.

[0353] After receiving the MAC PDU sent by the sender, the receiver performs the following operations for each protocol layer:

[0354] MAC Layer: If the MAC layer must add a MAC subheader, and there is no "MAC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field", the MAC layer parses the RLC PDU and submits it to the RLC layer; if there is a "MAC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field", the "MAC Header Indicator" field is parsed. If the "MAC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no MAC header, the MAC PDU is directly submitted to the RLC layer as an RLC PDU; if the "MAC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is a MAC header, the MAC subheader is removed, and the RLC PDU is submitted to the RLC layer.

[0355] RLC layer: Parse the "RLC Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field". If the "RLC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no RLC header, directly submit the RLC PDU as a PDCP PDU to the PDCP layer; if the "RLC Header Indicator" field indicates that there is an RLC header, remove the RLC header and submit it to the PDCP layer.

[0356] PDCP layer: Parse the "PDCP header indication" field in the "header indication field". If the "PDCP header indication" field indicates that there is no PDCP header, directly submit the PDCP PDU as an SDAP PDU to the SDAP layer; if the "PDCP header indication" field indicates that there is a PDCP header, remove the PDCP header and submit it to the SDAP layer.

[0357] SDAP layer: Parse the "SDAP Header Indicator" field in the "Header Indicator Field". If the "SDAP Header Indicator" field indicates that there is no SDAP header, remove the "Header Indicator Field" (the last byte) and submit it to the higher layer, such as the application layer. If the "SDAP Header Indicator" field indicates that there is an SDAP header, remove both the "Header Indicator Field" and the SDAP header and submit it to the higher layer.

[0358] As can be seen from the above description, in the embodiments of this disclosure, different layer headers can be added as needed when organizing high-layer data packets, so as to save high-layer protocol overhead and air interface transmission resources.

[0359] The technical solutions provided in this disclosure can be applied to a variety of systems. For example, applicable systems may include Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, 5G New Radio (NR) systems and their evolved communication systems, and 6th Generation (6G) systems. These systems may include terminal equipment and network equipment. The systems may also include a core network component, such as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or a 5G Core Network (5GC).

[0360] The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to users, handheld devices with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The names of the terminal devices may differ in different systems; for example, in 5G or 6G systems, the terminal device may be called User Equipment (UE). Wireless terminal devices can be USB storage devices, other personal computer memory devices, and dongles. They can also communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a Radio Access Network (RAN). Wireless terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminal devices. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the radio access network. Examples of such devices include Personal Communication Service (PCS) telephones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), personal computers, tablets, and Machine-type Communication (MTC) terminal devices. Wireless terminal devices can also be referred to as systems, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, mobile devices, remote stations, access points, remote terminals, access terminals, user terminals, user agents, user devices, and wireless access devices and routers / modems that meet the limitations of this definition, but are not limited to these in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0361] The network device involved in this disclosure can be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to terminals. Depending on the specific application, the base station may also be called an access point, or a device in the access network that communicates with wireless terminal devices through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device can be used to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in this disclosure can be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next generation system, or a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), relay node, femto, pico, network testing equipment, etc., and is not limited in this disclosure. In some network architectures, network devices may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, which may also be geographically separated.

[0362] As shown in FIG15, the data processing apparatus of this embodiment of the present disclosure, applied at a transmitting end, includes: a processor 1500, configured to read a program from a memory 1520 and execute the following processes:

[0363] The PDU of the first protocol layer or module includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0364] In the target protocol layer or module:

[0365] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or,

[0366] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0367] Transceiver 1510 is used to receive and send data under the control of processor 1500.

[0368] In Figure 15, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 1500 and memory represented by memory 1520. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 1510 may be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. Processor 1500 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 1520 may store data used by processor 1500 during operation.

[0369] The processor 1500 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0370] The processor 1500 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while the memory 1520 can store the data used by the processor 1500 when performing operations.

[0371] In some embodiments, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set at a designated location in the header of the PDU, the designated location including any of the following:

[0372] The first N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0373] The target bit of the target byte in the header of the PDU;

[0374] The last N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0375] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0376] In some embodiments, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0377] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0378] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, if no header is added, is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, including:

[0379] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module is sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module; or

[0380] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module, then in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included.

[0381] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header.

[0382] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate a header including the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0383] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included; or

[0384] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module;

[0385] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

[0386] In some embodiments, the position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

[0387] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate a header including the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0388] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to the first target value;

[0389] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

[0390] In some embodiments, if the first protocol layer or module is a protocol layer or module that includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module for the first time, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between a first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, and the first number of bits is M×8.

[0391] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0392] The portion of the Service Data Unit (SDU) from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module.

[0393] Obtain the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module, set the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module to indicate the header of the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, and form the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module.

[0394] Alternatively, the header indication field can be set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, or the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module can be deleted and the header indication field can be set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

[0395] In some embodiments, the sending end includes a terminal, and the processor 1500 is further configured to: receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0396] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0397] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0398] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0399] In some embodiments, the transmitting end includes a network device, and the processor 1500 is further configured to:

[0400] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0401] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0402] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0403] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0404] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows including or excluding protocol headers; and / or

[0405] The target protocol layer or module is one or more layers below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0406] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the above method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0407] As shown in FIG16, the data processing apparatus of this embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to a receiving end and includes: a processor 1600, configured to read a program from a memory 1620 and execute the following processes:

[0408] If the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module:

[0409] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or

[0410] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

[0411] Transceiver 1610 is used to receive and send data under the control of processor 1600.

[0412] In Figure 16, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 1600 and memory represented by memory 1620. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 1610 may be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. Processor 1600 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 1620 may store data used by processor 1600 during operation.

[0413] The processor 1600 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0414] The processor 1600 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while the memory 1620 can store the data used by the processor 1600 when performing operations.

[0415] The processor executes any of the methods described in the embodiments of this disclosure by invoking a computer program stored in memory, according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and memory may also be physically separated.

[0416] In some embodiments, the processor 1600 is further configured to:

[0417] If the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, ignore the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and parse the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module.

[0418] In some embodiments, the processor 1600 is further configured to: the PDU further includes a header format indication field, the header format indication field being used to indicate the header format type of the header; the processor is further configured to:

[0419] The PDU format is determined based on the header format indication field.

[0420] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set at a specified location in the header, and the specified location includes any one of the following:

[0421] The first N bits of the header;

[0422] The target bit of the target byte in the header;

[0423] The last N bits of the header;

[0424] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0425] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0426] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0427] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows including or excluding protocol headers; and / or

[0428] The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0429] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a terminal, and the processor 1600 is further configured to:

[0430] Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0431] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0432] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0433] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0434] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a network device, and the processor 1600 is further configured to:

[0435] Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0436] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0437] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0438] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0439] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the above method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0440] As shown in Figure 17, the data processing apparatus of this embodiment is applied at the sending end and includes:

[0441] The first unit 1701 is used to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module in the PDU of the first protocol layer or module.

[0442] The second unit 1702 is used in the target protocol layer or module:

[0443] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or,

[0444] If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

[0445] In some embodiments, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set at a designated location in the header of the PDU, the designated location including any of the following:

[0446] The first N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0447] The target bit of the target byte in the header of the PDU;

[0448] The last N bits of the header of the PDU;

[0449] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0450] In some embodiments, the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0451] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0452] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module, if no header is added, is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, including:

[0453] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module is sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module; or

[0454] If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module, then in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included.

[0455] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header.

[0456] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate a header including the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0457] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included; or

[0458] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module;

[0459] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

[0460] In some embodiments, the position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

[0461] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate a header including the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0462] Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to the first target value;

[0463] Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

[0464] In some embodiments, if the first protocol layer or module is a protocol layer or module that includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module for the first time, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between a first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, and the first number of bits is M×8.

[0465] In some embodiments, if a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, including:

[0466] The portion of the Service Data Unit (SDU) from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module.

[0467] Obtain the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module, set the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module to indicate the header of the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, and form the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module.

[0468] Alternatively, the header indication field can be set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, or the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module can be deleted and the header indication field can be set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

[0469] In some embodiments, the transmitting end includes a terminal, and the device further includes:

[0470] The third unit is used to receive configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0471] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0472] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0473] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0474] In some embodiments, the transmitting end includes a network device, and the apparatus further includes:

[0475] The fourth unit is used to send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0476] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0477] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0478] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0479] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows the inclusion or exclusion of a protocol header; and / or, the target protocol layer or module is one or more layers below the first protocol layer or module, or, the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0480] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the above method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0481] As shown in Figure 18, the data processing apparatus of this embodiment is applied at a receiving end and includes:

[0482] The first unit 1801 is configured to, when the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes a header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module:

[0483] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or

[0484] If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

[0485] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include:

[0486] The second unit is configured to ignore the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module and parse the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module if the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module.

[0487] In some embodiments, the PDU further includes a header format indicator field, which is used to indicate the header format type of the header;

[0488] The method further includes:

[0489] The PDU format is determined based on the header format indication field.

[0490] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set at a specified location in the header, and the specified location includes any one of the following:

[0491] The first N bits of the header;

[0492] The target bit of the target byte in the header;

[0493] The last N bits of the header;

[0494] Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0495] In some embodiments, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or

[0496] The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0497] In some embodiments, the target protocol layer or module includes: a protocol layer or module that allows the inclusion or exclusion of a protocol header; and / or, the target protocol layer or module is one or more layers below the first protocol layer or module, or, the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

[0498] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a terminal, and the device further includes:

[0499] The third unit is used to receive configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0500] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0501] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0502] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0503] In some embodiments, the receiving end includes a network device, and the apparatus further includes:

[0504] The fourth unit is used to send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following:

[0505] The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header;

[0506] The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module;

[0507] The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

[0508] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the above method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0509] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0510] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to related technologies, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0511] This disclosure also provides a communication device, including: a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the program to implement the steps in the data processing method described above.

[0512] This disclosure also provides a computer program product, including computer instructions. When executed by a processor, these computer instructions implement the various processes of the above-described data processing method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here.

[0513] This disclosure also provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a program. When executed by a processor, this program implements the various processes of the above-described data processing method embodiments and achieves the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here. The readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device accessible to the processor, including but not limited to magnetic storage (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk (MO)), optical storage (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), high-definition versatile disc (HVD)), and semiconductor storage (e.g., ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), non-volatile memory (NAND flash), solid-state drives (SSD)).

[0514] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element.

[0515] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0516] This disclosure describes embodiments of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0517] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0518] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the apparatus and method of this disclosure, it is obvious that the components or steps can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered equivalent solutions of this disclosure. Moreover, the steps performing the above series of processes can naturally be executed in the order described, but are not necessarily required to be executed in chronological order; some steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or any step or component of the method and apparatus of this disclosure can be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, which can be achieved by those skilled in the art using their basic programming skills after reading the description of this disclosure.

[0519] It should be noted that the above division of modules is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, these modules can be implemented entirely in software via processing element calls; they can be fully implemented in hardware; or some modules can be implemented by processing element calls to software, while others are implemented in hardware. For example, a module can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated into a chip in the aforementioned device. Alternatively, it can be stored as program code in the memory of the aforementioned device, and its function can be called and executed by a processing element of the device. The implementation of other modules is similar. Moreover, these modules can be fully or partially integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element mentioned here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above modules can be completed through integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor element or through software instructions.

[0520] For example, each module, unit, subunit, or submodule can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As another example, when a module is implemented using processing element scheduler code, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor capable of calling program code. Furthermore, these modules can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0521] The terms “first,” “second,” etc., used in this disclosure and in the claims are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this disclosure described herein may be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus. Additionally, the use of “and / or” in the specification and claims indicates at least one of the connected objects, such as A and / or B and / or C, indicating seven possibilities: A alone, B alone, C alone, and both A and B, both B and C, both A and C, and A, B, and C. Similarly, the use of “at least one of A and B” in this specification and claims should be understood as “A alone, B alone, or both A and B.”

[0522] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of this disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, if these modifications and variations to the embodiments of this disclosure fall within the scope of the claims of the embodiments of this disclosure and their equivalents, then the embodiments of this disclosure are also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A data processing method applied at a sending end, the method comprising: The Protocol Data Unit (PDU) of the first protocol layer or module includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; For the target protocol layer or module: If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or, If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set at a designated location in the header of the PDU, wherein the designated location includes any of the following: The first N bits of the header of the PDU; The target bit of the target byte in the header of the PDU; The last N bits of the header of the PDU; Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, If no header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, including: If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to exclude the header of the target protocol layer or module, the Service Data Unit (SDU) from the previous protocol layer or module is sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module; or If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module, then in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included. Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, If a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header includes the target protocol layer or module, including: Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included; or Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module; Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein, If a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header includes the target protocol layer or module, including: Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to the first target value; Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, If the first protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between the first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, and the first number of bits is M×8.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein, If a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate whether the header of the target protocol layer or module is included, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, including: The portion of the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module. Obtain the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module, set the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module to indicate the header of the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, and form the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module. Alternatively, the header indication field can be set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, or the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module can be deleted and the header indication field can be set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The sending end includes a terminal, and the method further includes: Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The sending end includes a network device, and the method further includes: Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The target protocol layer or module includes: protocol layers or modules that allow or exclude protocol headers; and / or The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

13. A data processing method applied at a receiving end, the method comprising: If the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module: If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: If the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, ignore the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and parse the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The PDU also includes a header format indicator field, which is used to indicate the header format type of the header; The method further includes: The PDU format is determined based on the header format indication field.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set at a specified location in the header, and the specified location includes any one of the following: The first N bits of the header; The target bit of the target byte in the header; The last N bits of the header; Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or The header indication field of the target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

18. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein, The target protocol layer or module includes: protocol layers or modules that allow or exclude protocol headers; and / or The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The receiving end includes a terminal, and the method further includes: Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

20. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The receiving end includes a network device, and the method further includes: Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

21. A data processing apparatus, applied at a transmitting end, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; Transceiver, used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: The PDU of the first protocol layer or module includes a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; For the target protocol layer or module: If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or, If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set at a designated location in the header of the PDU, wherein the designated location includes any of the following: The first N bits of the header of the PDU; The target bit of the target byte in the header of the PDU; The last N bits of the header of the PDU; Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or The header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module is set in the first Q bytes or the last Q bytes of the PDU, where Q is the length of the header indication field and Q is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

24. The apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein, If no header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer or module is not included, including: If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module will be sent as the PDU of the target protocol layer or module to the next protocol layer or module; or If the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module is set to include the header of the target protocol layer or module, then in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module is set to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is not included. Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module that is currently determined not to add a header.

25. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 22, wherein, If a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header includes the target protocol layer or module, including: Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the current target protocol layer or module is included; or Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, wherein the header of the current target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field and the header format indication field of the target protocol layer or module; Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, the header indication field corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module, and the header format indication field is used to indicate the header format type of the header of the current target protocol layer or module.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein, The position of the header indication field of the current target protocol layer or module in the header of the current target protocol layer or module is the same as the position of the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module in the header of the previous protocol layer or module.

27. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 23, wherein, If a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header includes the target protocol layer or module, including: Add the header of the current target protocol layer or module, and set the indication position corresponding to the current target protocol layer or module in the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module to the first target value; Wherein, the current target protocol layer or module is the target protocol layer or module currently determined to add a header among the target protocol layers or modules, and the first target value is used to indicate the header including the current target protocol layer or module.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein, If the first protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, the header length of the first protocol layer or module is the difference between the first number of bits and the number of bits occupied by the header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module, and the first number of bits is M×8.

29. The apparatus according to claim 21 or 23, wherein, If a header is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate whether the header of the target protocol layer or module is included, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, including: The portion of the SDU from the previous protocol layer or module, excluding the header indication field, is processed as data for the target protocol layer or module. Obtain the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module, set the field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module to indicate the header of the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, and form the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module. Alternatively, the header indication field can be set in the last Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, or the header indication field of the previous protocol layer or module can be deleted and the header indication field can be set in the first Q bytes of the PDU of the target protocol layer or module, where Q is the length of the header indication field.

30. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The sending end includes a terminal, and the processor is further configured to: receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether inclusion or exclusion is permitted; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

31. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The transmitting end includes a network device, and the processor is further configured to: Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

32. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein, The target protocol layer or module includes: protocol layers or modules that allow or exclude protocol headers; and / or The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

33. A data processing apparatus, applied at a receiving end, comprising: Memory, transceiver, processor: Memory, used to store computer programs; Transceiver, used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module: If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, The processor is also used for: If the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module includes the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, ignore the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module, and parse the PDU received by the first protocol layer or module.

35. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, The processor is further configured to: the PDU further includes a header format indication field, the header format indication field being used to indicate the header format type of the header; the processor is further configured to: The PDU format is determined based on the header format indication field.

36. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, The header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set at a specified location in the header, and the specified location includes any one of the following: The first N bits of the header; The target bit of the target byte in the header; The last N bits of the header; Where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

37. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, The header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is set in the first M bits or the last M bits of the PDU, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

38. The apparatus according to claim 33 or 34, wherein, The target protocol layer or module includes: protocol layers or modules that allow or exclude protocol headers; and / or The target protocol layer or module is one or more protocol layers or modules below the first protocol layer or module, or the target protocol layer or module is the first protocol layer or module.

39. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, The receiving end includes a terminal, and the processor is further configured to: Receive configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

40. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, The receiving end includes a network device, and the processor is further configured to: Send configuration information to the terminal, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: The first indication is used to indicate whether a protocol layer or module is allowed to include or exclude a header; The second indication is used to indicate whether the first protocol layer or module is allowed to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module; The third indicator is used to indicate whether the header includes a header format indicator field and / or the length of the header format indicator field.

41. A data processing apparatus, applied at a transmitting end, comprising: The first unit is used to include a header indication field for at least one target protocol layer or module in the PDU of the first protocol layer or module. The second unit is used to process SDUs from the previous protocol layer or module at the target protocol layer or module: If the header of the target protocol layer or module is not added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate that the header of the target protocol layer is not included, or, If the header of the target protocol layer or module is added, the header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module is used to indicate the header including the target protocol layer or module, or to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module.

42. A data processing apparatus, applied at a receiving end, comprising: The first unit is configured to handle situations where the PDU received by the target protocol layer or module includes a header indication field corresponding to the target protocol layer or module: If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module indicates that it includes the header of the target protocol layer or module or is used to indicate the function or protocol data unit type of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is parsed according to the PDU format of the header of the target protocol layer or module; or If the header indication field of the target protocol layer or module does not include the header of the target protocol layer or module, the PDU is directly submitted to the higher layer.

43. A processor-readable storage medium storing a program for causing the processor to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20.

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