Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. After acquiring first information associated with description information of each service sub-flow among a plurality of sub-service flows of a first service flow and a QoS requirement of each service sub-flow among the plurality of sub-service flows, a first device sends the first information and indication information to a terminal device, a user plane function network element or an access network device, so that the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device performs rate control on each service sub-flow among the plurality of sub-service flows on the basis of rate limit information of the first service flow. On this basis, it can be ensured that when the first service flow is split into a plurality of sub-service flows and the service sub-flows are transmitted, the rate of each service sub-flow among the plurality of sub-service flows can be guaranteed to overall satisfy the rate limit requirement of the first service flow.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411280709.1, filed on September 12, 2024, and entitled “A Communication Method and Apparatus”, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] For real-time media services, such as extended reality (XR), cloud gaming, and haptic multi-modal services, the end-to-end delay has extremely stringent requirements, and during the transmission of media services, there are often multiple different forms of service streams (e.g., video streams and audio streams), and transmission coordination and optimization control are often required between service streams of different forms to meet the corresponding transmission delay requirements.

[0005] When service streams of the same real-time media service are mapped into different quality of service (QoS) streams (or other sub-service streams) for transmission, how to determine how many bit rates different QoS streams (or sub-service streams) need to be configured to meet the requirements of the real-time media service is a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus to ensure that when service streams of a real-time media service are mapped into multiple sub-service streams for transmission, the configured bit rate can meet the requirements of the real-time media service.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first device. The first device can be a session management network element or a policy management network element, such as a session management function (SMF) or a policy control function (PCF). The first device can be the first device itself, or a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the first device, or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of the first device. The present application does not specifically limit it here.

[0008] The method can be applied to a 5th generation (5G) communication system or a communication system above 5G, and can also be applied to a non-terrestrial communication system, which is not specifically limited herein. The following is performed:

[0009] obtaining first information, the first information comprising description information of each service sub-flow in a plurality of service sub-flows and QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein at least one QoS requirement comprises rate limit information of the first service flow, and the plurality of service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow; and sending the first information and indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that rate control is performed on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow.

[0010] It should be noted that the description information of the service sub-flow is used to assist other devices to determine the service sub-flow. The description information of the service sub-flow can be one or more of internet protocol (IP) five-tuple, IP three-tuple, source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, protocol type (for example, transmission control protocol (TCP) / user datagram protocol (UDP)), protocol header information (for example, synchronization source identifier or load type in the real-time transport protocol (RTP) header information), and the like. Exemplarily, the rate limit information of the first service flow can be delay requirement information of the first service flow, and / or bandwidth requirement information of the first service flow, and the like. The rate limit information of the first service flow can be the maximum service flow rate of the first service flow and / or the minimum guaranteed rate of the first service flow. In addition, the at least one QoS requirement comprises the rate limit information of the first service flow, which can be understood as that the rate limit information of each service sub-flow is contained in each QoS requirement, and the rate limit information of the first service flow is determined by accumulating the rate limit information of each service sub-flow associated with the first service flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0011] In the present application, after the first device obtains the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows associated with the first service flow and the first information of the QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the first device sends the first information and the indication information to the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device, so that the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device performs rate control on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow. Based on this, when the first service flow is split into each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows can still meet the rate limit requirement of the first service flow as a whole.

[0012] In an optional manner, the first information further includes an association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein the service sub-flows with the same association identifier belong to the same service flow (or the plurality of service sub-flows carrying the same association identifier are associated with each other).

[0013] It should be noted that the terminal device may transmit one or more service flows with one server, and the terminal device may also transmit one or more service flows with multiple servers. One service flow may be split into multiple service sub-flows. When each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows corresponds to the same association identifier, the first device can explicitly indicate that these service sub-flows belong to the same service flow or that these service sub-flows are associated with each other. Further, the first device can indicate to the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device to perform rate control on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows belonging to the same service flow or on each service sub-flow in the plurality of associated service sub-flows.

[0014] In an optional manner, when the first device is a session management network element, the first device can receive the first information from the policy management network element, and optionally, can also receive the indication information from the policy management network element.

[0015] In an optional manner, when the first device is a session management network element, the first device can further determine a plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first information, wherein each QoS flow corresponds to at least one service sub-flow of the first service flow.

[0016] Since the first information includes the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, based on this, the first device can explicitly indicate the QoS flow corresponding to each service sub-flow. Further, the first device can indicate to the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device to perform rate control on the plurality of QoS flows belonging to the same service flow.

[0017] In an optional mode, the indication information comprises configuration information of a plurality of QoS flows, at least one of the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows comprises rate limit information of the first service flow, and the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows indicates performing rate control on a plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

[0018] Based on this, the first device can indicate to the terminal device, the user plane function network element, or the access network device to perform joint rate control on the plurality of QoS flows or the associated plurality of QoS flows belonging to the first service flow, so as to ensure that the rates of the service sub-flows in the plurality of service sub-flows can meet the rate limit requirement of the first service flow as a whole.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second device, the second device being a terminal device, an access network device, or a user plane function network element, for example, a user equipment (UE), a gNB, or a user plane function (UPF). The second device can be the second device itself, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the second device, or a logic module or software realizing all or part of the functions of the second device. The present application does not specifically limit this. The following is executed:

[0020] The first information comprises description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, at least one of the QoS requirements comprises rate limit information of the first service flow, the plurality of service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow, the indication information is used to indicate performing rate control on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow, and rate control is performed on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first information and the indication information.

[0021] It should be noted that the description information of the service sub-flow can be IP triplets, quintuples, or the like corresponding to the service sub-flow. When the second device receives the first information from the session management network element, the description information of the service sub-flow can also be identification information of the QoS flow.

[0022] In an optional mode, the first information further comprises association identifiers corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, and service sub-flows corresponding to the same association identifier belong to the same service flow (or the plurality of service sub-flows carrying the same association identifier are associated with each other).

[0023] In an optional manner, the indication information comprises configuration information of a plurality of QoS flows, at least one of the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows comprises rate limit information of the first service flow, the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows indicates rate control on a plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow, and each QoS flow corresponds to at least one sub-service flow of the first service flow.

[0024] In an optional manner, according to the association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, it is determined that each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is associated with the first service flow (or the plurality of service sub-flows are associated).

[0025] In an optional manner, the rate control manner comprises at least one of the following:

[0026] When the sum of the bit rates of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow is not less than the rate limit information of the first service flow, the data packets in the plurality of QoS flows are randomly discarded; or, when the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow need to guarantee the rate limit of the service flow, resources corresponding to the guarantee rate limit information are reserved for the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

[0027] Based on this, when the first service flow is split into a plurality of QoS flows for transmission, it can be guaranteed that the rate of the first service flow in the transmission process of the plurality of QoS flows meets the rate limit requirement of the first service flow.

[0028] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second device, wherein the second device is a terminal device, an access network device, or a user plane function network element, for example, a UE, a gNB, or a UPF. The second device can be the second device itself, can be a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the second device, or can be a logic module or software for implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. The present application does not specifically limit it here. The following is executed:

[0029] Receiving first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate rate measurement on each service sub-flow in a plurality of service sub-flows; measuring the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first indication information, obtaining the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow are used to determine rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, and the plurality of service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow.

[0030] The second device performs rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows. It can be understood that the second device receives first indication information corresponding to the service sub-flow, and performs rate measurement on the service sub-flow based on the first indication information. Exemplarily, the service sub-flow can be a QoS flow carrying the service sub-flow.

[0031] In the present application, after the second device receives the first indication information indicating that rate measurement is performed on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the second device performs rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first indication information, obtains measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, and further obtains rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows associated with the first service flow based on the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow. Based on this, the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is determined, so as to ensure that each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows can meet the rate transmission requirement of the first service flow.

[0032] In an optional manner, the first indication information is rate measurement reporting indication, and the second device further receives description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, so as to measure the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, obtain the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, and report the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to the first device according to the rate measurement reporting indication.

[0033] In an optional manner, the first indication information is rate measurement reporting indication, and the second device measures and reports the measurement results of the service sub-flow based on the first indication information; and receives rate configuration information corresponding to the service sub-flow.

[0034] Based on this, the second device can report the measurement results of the service sub-flow to the first device, assist the first device to determine the transmission rate limit corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, and send the rate configuration information corresponding to the service sub-flow to the second device, so as to further ensure that the first service flow can meet the transmission rate limit requirement of the first service flow during transmission of the plurality of QoS flows.

[0035] In an optional manner, the first indication information is rate measurement indication, and the second device further receives second information, which includes description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows. At least one QoS requirement includes the rate limit information of the first service flow, or the first QoS requirement includes historical rate reference information corresponding to the first service sub-flow, and the first service sub-flow is any one of the plurality of service sub-flows. The first QoS requirement is the QoS requirement of the first service sub-flow. The description information of the service sub-flow can be a QoS flow identifier for carrying the service sub-flow.

[0036] The historical rate reference information can be rate limit information configured by the first device for the first sub-service flow. Based on this, the second device can perform rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows based on the second information, and determine rate configuration information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows based on the rate measurement result and the historical rate reference information corresponding to the first sub-service flow or the rate limit information of the first service flow, and perform joint control to meet the rate limit requirement of the first service flow.

[0037] In an optional manner, the second information further includes an association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows; and the service sub-flows corresponding to the same association identifier belong to the same service flow (or the multiple sub-service flows carrying the same association identifier are associated with each other) or the service sub-flows corresponding to the same association identifier are associated with each other.

[0038] In an optional manner, the first indication information is rate measurement indication, and the second device determines the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows based on the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows and the second information.

[0039] The second device can determine rate limit information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows, and the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows.

[0040] In an optional manner, the first indication information is from a session management network element, and the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows is description information of multiple QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow, such as QoS flow identifier.

[0041] In an optional manner, the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows is a transmission rate value of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows or a ratio of transmission rates of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first device. The first device can be a session management network element or a policy management network element, such as SMF or PCF. The first device can be the first device itself, or a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the first device, or a logic module or software realizing all or part of the function of the first device. The present application does not specifically limit it here. The following is executed:

[0043] obtaining first indication information, the first indication information being used for indicating to perform rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow being used for determining rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the plurality of service sub-flows being associated with the first service flow; and sending the first indication information.

[0044] In an optional mode, the first indication information is a measurement reporting indication, and the first device sends description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0045] In an optional mode, the first indication information is a measurement reporting indication, the first device receives measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows; determines rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow; or determines rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows; and sends the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0046] In an optional mode, the first indication information is a measurement reporting indication, the first device is a session management network element, receives measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows; sends the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to a policy management network element; receives rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows from the policy management network element; and sends the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0047] In an optional mode, the first indication information is a rate measurement indication, the first device sends second information, the second information including: description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein at least one QoS requirement includes the rate limit information of the first service flow, or a first QoS requirement includes historical rate reference information corresponding to a first service sub-flow, the first service sub-flow being any one of the plurality of service sub-flows, and the first QoS requirement being a QoS requirement of the first service sub-flow.

[0048] In an optional mode, the first device is a session management network element, the first indication information and the second information are received from the policy management network element, the second information comprises description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein at least one QoS requirement comprises rate limit information of the first service flow, or the first QoS requirement comprises historical rate reference information corresponding to the first service sub-flow, the first service sub-flow is any one of the plurality of service sub-flows, and the first QoS requirement is the QoS requirement of the first service sub-flow.

[0049] After the first device obtains the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the rate limit information of the first service flow or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is referred to, and the corresponding rate limit information of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the plurality of service sub-flows is determined, so as to guarantee that the first service flow meets the transmission rate limit requirement when transmitted in the plurality of QoS flows.

[0050] In an optional mode, the second information further comprises an association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows; wherein the service sub-flows corresponding to the same association identifier belong to the same service flow.

[0051] In an optional mode, the first device is a session management network element, and the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is description information of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

[0052] It should be noted that the description information of the service sub-flow can be a QoS flow identifier carrying the service sub-flow. Each service sub-flow in one or more service sub-flows can correspond to one QoS flow, and the application does not limit the corresponding relationship between the service sub-flow and the QoS flow.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, the application provides a communication device, which can be the first device or the second device. The communication device has the functions of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, for example, the communication device comprises a module or a unit or a means corresponding to the steps in the first aspect to the fourth aspect, and the functions or the unit or the means can be realized by software or by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0054] In an example, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit, and a transceiver. The transceiver can be configured to transceive signals to enable communication between the communication apparatus and another apparatus. The processing unit can be configured to perform some internal operations of the communication apparatus. The transceiver can be referred to as an input / output unit, a communication unit, etc. The transceiver can be a transceiver. The processing unit can be a processor, a processing circuit, a logic circuit, etc.

[0055] In another example, the communication apparatus includes a processor, and can further include a transceiver. The transceiver can be configured to transceive signals. The processor can execute program instructions to perform the method in any of the above examples of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. The communication apparatus can further include one or more memories coupled with the processor. The memories can store the necessary computer programs or instructions to implement the functions related to the first aspect to the fourth aspect. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memories. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication apparatus can perform the method in any of the above examples of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0056] In another example, the communication apparatus includes a processor. The processor can be configured to be coupled with a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions to implement the functions related to the first aspect to the fourth aspect. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memories. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication apparatus can perform the method in any of the above examples of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0057] In another example, the communication apparatus includes a processor and an interface circuit. The processor can be configured to communicate with another apparatus through the interface circuit, and perform the method in any of the above examples of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0058] It can be understood that, in the fifth aspect, the processor can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which implements by reading software codes stored in the memory. In addition, the processor can be one or more, and the memory can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be separately arranged. In the implementation process, the memory can be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or can be separately arranged on different chips. The type of the memory and the arrangement manner of the memory and the processor are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0059] In the sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication system, which includes the first device and the second device. The first device or the second device is configured to implement the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0060] In the seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which includes a processor and can further include a memory. The processor is configured to implement the method in the first aspect or the second aspect. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include the chip and other discrete devices. The memory is configured to store data related to the implementation of any possible design of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, such as the association relationship. The processor is configured to implement the processing procedure related to any possible design of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. Here, the type of the memory is not limited.

[0061] In the eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, which can be a volatile storage medium or a non-volatile storage medium. The computer readable storage medium stores computer readable instructions. When the computer readable instructions run on a computer, the computer executes the method in the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0062] In the ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product including instructions, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method in the embodiments of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

[0063] The technical effects achieved by the second aspect to the ninth aspect can refer to the technical effects achieved by the corresponding possible design schemes in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0064] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system;

[0065] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG. 7 shows a structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG. 8 shows a structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 9 shows a structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings. The specific operation method in the method embodiment can also be applied to the device embodiment or the system embodiment. The implementation of the device and the method can be referred to each other, and the repeated parts will not be described again.

[0074] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The association relationship between the associated objects is described as "and / or", which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of the present application, the character " / ", generally indicates that the associated objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / ", indicates that the associated objects before and after it are in a "division" relationship.

[0075] The third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard group formulates a next generation mobile communication network system (Next Generation System) architecture, referred to as a 5G network architecture. The architecture supports access to a 5G core network (CN) using a wireless access technology defined by the 3GPP standard group (such as a long term evolution (LTE) access technology, a 5G radio access network (RAN) access technology, and the like), and also supports access to the core network using a non-3GPP (non-3GPP) access technology through a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) or a next generation packet data gateway (ngPDG).

[0076] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The 5G network architecture shown in FIG. 1 can include access network devices and core network devices. A terminal device accesses a data network (DN) through the access network devices and the core network devices. The core network devices include, but are not limited to, some or all of the following network elements: an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, a UDR network element (not shown in the figure), a network repository function (NRF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, an application function (AF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, an AMF network element, an SMF network element, and a UPF network element.

[0077] A terminal can be a device that can receive access network device scheduling and indication information, provide voice and / or data connectivity for a user, or a hand-held device having a wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). For example, the terminal device can be a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device. The terminal device can also be referred to as a subscriber unit, a subscriber station (SS), a mobile station (MS), a remote station, an access point (AP), a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user agent, a customer premises equipment (CPE), a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device can also be a wearable device. The terminal device can also be a device in a next-generation communication system. For example, a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN network, a terminal device in an NR communication system, etc.At present, the terminal device can be: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a customer-premises equipment (CPE), a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device (for example, a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a pedometer, etc.), a vehicle-mounted device (for example, a car, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, a high-speed rail, etc.), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a smart home device (for example, a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), a smart robot, a workshop device, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home, a flight device (for example, a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. The terminal can also be other devices with terminal functions, for example, the terminal device can also be a device that plays a terminal function in D2D communication.

[0078] The network device can be an AP in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communication (GSM) or code division multiple access (CDMA), a base station (nodeB, NB) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), an evolutional node B (eNB or eNodeB) in long term evolution (LTE), a relay station or an access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in a 5G network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN, or a gNodeB / gNB in an NR system, and the like. In some deployments, a gNB can include a CU and a DU. The CU implements part of the functions of the gNB, and the DU implements part of the functions of the gNB. Illustratively, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services. For example, the functions of the radio resource control (RRC), the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) function, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and the like are implemented. The DU is responsible for processing the physical layer protocol and real-time services. For example, the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer, and the like are implemented. The gNB can also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of the active antenna. Since the information of the RRC layer will eventually become the information of the PHY layer, or be converted from the information of the PHY layer. Therefore, under this architecture, high-layer signaling (such as RRC layer signaling) can also be considered as being sent by the DU, or being sent by the DU and the AAU. It can be understood that the network device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, the DU node, and the AAU node.In addition, the CU can be a network device in a radio access network (RAN), and the CU can be a network device in a core network (CN), which is not limited in the application. In addition, in the embodiments of the application, the network device serves a cell, and a terminal device communicates with the network device by using a transmission resource (for example, a frequency domain resource, or a spectrum resource) used by the cell. The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. For example, the small cell can include a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and the like. Because the small cell has the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, the small cell can provide a high-rate data transmission service. In addition, in other possible cases, the network device can be another device that provides a wireless communication function for a terminal device. The embodiments of the application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the network device. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, the CU-CP, the CU-UP, the DU, and the RU are taken as examples for description in the application. Any one of the CU (or the CU-CP, the CU-UP), the DU, and the RU in the application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0079] The access network device and the terminal device can be fixed in position or movable. The access network device and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can be deployed on the water surface; and can be deployed on an airplane, a balloon, and a man-made satellite in the air. The embodiments of the application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network device and the terminal device.

[0080] The AMF network element is responsible for mobility management of the UE, including mobility state management, allocation of a temporary identity of the UE, and authentication and authorization of the UE.

[0081] The SMF network element is responsible for selection of the UPF network element, reselection of the UPF network element, IP address allocation, establishment, modification, and release of a bearer, and QoS control.

[0082] UPF network element, supporting all or part of the following functions: interconnecting data sessions (such as protocol data unit (PDU) sessions, or other forms of sessions) with data networks; packet routing and forwarding (for example, supporting re-forwarding of traffic to data networks after uplink classification); packet detection, and the embodiments of the present application take the PDU session as an example for subsequent description.

[0083] UDM network element, responsible for managing subscription data, and responsible for notifying corresponding network elements when subscription data is modified.

[0084] Nnef, Nnrf, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Nausf, Namf, and Nsmf in FIG. 1 are service interfaces provided by the above-mentioned NEF, NRF, PCF, UDM, AF, AUSF, AMF, and SMF, respectively, for invoking corresponding service operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9 are interface serial numbers, and the meanings of these interface serial numbers are as follows:

[0085] N1: interface between AMF and terminal device, which can be used to deliver non-access stratum (NAS) signaling (such as including QoS rules from AMF) to terminal device, etc.

[0086] N2: interface between AMF and access network device, which can be used to deliver wireless bearer control information from core network side to access network device, etc.

[0087] N3: interface between access network device and UPF, mainly used for delivering uplink and downlink user plane data between access network device and UPF.

[0088] N4: interface between SMF and UPF, which can be used to deliver information between control plane and user plane, including downlink of forwarding rules, QoS rules, traffic statistics rules, etc. from control plane to user plane, and information reporting of user plane.

[0089] N6: interface between UPF and DN, used for delivering uplink and downlink user data flow between UPF and DN.

[0090] N9: user plane interface between UPF network elements, used for delivering uplink and downlink user data flow between UPF network elements.

[0091] In addition, a network architecture as shown in FIG. 2 is also included, in which various network elements can be deployed separately, and the network architecture shown in FIG. 2 can include access network devices and core network devices. The terminal device accesses the DN through the access network device (R)AN and the core network device. The core network device includes, but is not limited to, part or all of the following network elements: a UDM network element, a UDR network element, a NRF network element, a PCF network element, an AMF network element, an SMF network element, and a UPF network element. The (R)AN can be directly connected to the SMF network element, the AMF network element, the PCF network element, the UPF network element, and the NRF network element. In addition, other network elements such as the NEF mentioned in FIG. 1 can also be involved in FIG. 2, which will not be described here. In the present application, the UDR network element can be replaced by a DSF.

[0092] It should be noted that the functions in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as network elements, network functions or functional entities, devices, etc. For example, the access and mobility management function can also be referred to as an access and mobility management network element, or an access and mobility management network function, or an access and mobility management functional entity, etc. The names of various functions are not limited in the present application, and those skilled in the art can replace the names of the above functions with other names to perform the same functions, which all belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0093] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following will first briefly describe the terms or processing flows involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0094] 1. QoS flow: also referred to as QoS flow. In 5GC, when the UE has a service communication requirement, a PDU session will be established, and the information for a specific bearer service flow in the PDU session is a QoS flow.

[0095] 2. QoS parameter: 5G QoS indicator (5QI), allocation and retention priority (ARP), maximum flow bit rate (MFBR) / guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), maximum data burst volume (MDBV), etc.

[0096] Among them, 5QI is the QoS index, which is a value set of a group of parameters such as resource type, priority level, reliability (PER), and delay (PDB).

[0097] ARP is used to identify the capability of service access path (mainly air interface), which includes three parameters: priority (priority of creating path), preemption capability (whether to preempt other path resources when creating or modifying path) and preemption attribute (whether to be preempted by other path resources).

[0098] MFBR / GFBR is used to represent the maximum support rate and the minimum guarantee rate of QoS flow.

[0099] MDBV is applied to low latency and high reliability service, which defines the maximum packet length that requires air interface to transmit within the delay budget, and is used for air interface admission control.

[0100] 3. GTP-U tunnel: In the PDU session establishment process, the connection between the RAN device and the UPF will use the GTP-U tunnel, that is, the data from / to the UE side is added to the tunnel for transmission. The GTP-U tunnel is PDU session granularity, that is, a GTP-U tunnel between the RAN device and the UPF is established for each PDU session.

[0101] 4. QFI: used to identify the unique identifier of different QoS flows in a PDU session.

[0102] 5. QoS Rule: QoS configuration for sending to the terminal device side, which specifically contains QFI, data packet filter (such as IP five tuple, which includes source IP address (such as APP server address), source port (such as APP server port), destination IP address (such as terminal device address), destination port (such as terminal device port) and transport layer protocol (for example, TCP / UDP), QoS Rule ID.

[0103] 6. QoS Profile: QoS configuration for sending to the access network device side, which specifically contains 5QI, ARP, GFBR / MFBR, QFI, etc.

[0104] 7. N4 Rule: service flow identification and processing rule for sending to the user plane function network element side, which specifically contains packet detection rule, usage reporting rule and QoS execution rule, wherein the QoS execution rule contains maximum bit rate, guaranteed bit rate, average window, etc.

[0105] 8. Mapping mechanism of QoS flow

[0106] In 5G communication system, service flow is filtered based on IP quintuple information and mapped to QoS flow for transmission. For example, a service flow corresponding to a service includes a video flow and an audio flow, and the video flow and the audio flow correspond to different IP quintuple information. A network element of a core network processes data packets according to the received IP quintuple information, such as mapping the video flow to QoS flow #1 and mapping the audio flow to QoS flow #2.

[0107] With the increasing complexity of end-to-end service processing, multiple service flows can be involved in the transmission of a service. The scenarios involving multiple service flows usually include multi-modal service scenarios, layered media coding scenarios, and / or data retransmission scenarios, etc. Among them, the multi-modal service scenario refers to a service scenario in which the data of multiple service flows of the same service needs to be transmitted synchronously. The multi-modal service scenario includes, for example, a virtual reality (VR) scenario, an augmented reality (AR) scenario, an XR scenario, or a game scenario, etc. The input or output of a multi-modal application includes multiple service flows, wherein the multiple service flows of the multi-modal service can carry at least two of the following data: video data, audio data, sensor data (such as ambient brightness, ambient temperature, etc.), or haptic data (such as game scenario handle vibration, etc.), etc. Among them, the layered media coding scenario refers to a scenario in which service flows are encoded into different layers of encoded streams, such as a base layer stream, an enhancement layer stream, etc. Among them, the data retransmission scenario refers to a scenario in which redundant data packets or retransmitted data packets introduced to prevent data packet loss are transmitted using different data streams from the original data.

[0108] Taking the multi-modal service scenario as an example, in order to ensure the transmission of real-time media services, a certain sub-service flow in the multi-modal service flow is usually split out to perform PDU Set granularity QoS processing. For example, the multi-modal service flow includes a video flow, an audio flow, and / or a haptic flow, and PDU Set granularity QoS processing can be performed on the split-out video flow, and other QoS processing, such as conventional QoS processing, can be performed on the split-out audio flow or haptic flow.

[0109] In a multi-flow service scenario, different sub-service flows in a service flow usually correspond to different transmission requirements, such as different priorities, reliabilities, and latencies. Since different sub-service flows usually need to share the rate limit information of the multi-modal service flow, when the UE, RAN device, and UPF cannot obtain the rate limit information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows, the corresponding rate limit cannot be configured for different sub-service flows to meet the rate limit requirements of the service.

[0110] Based on this, the application provides a communication method to ensure that the service flow in a multi-flow service scenario meets the service transmission requirements when the service flow is split into multiple sub-service flows for transmission. The following two specific embodiments are described.

[0111] Embodiment one,

[0112] Referring to FIG. 2, the method can be executed through data interaction of a first device and a second device. The first device is a session management network element or a policy management network element, for example, SMF or PCF. The second device is a terminal device, an access network device, or a user plane function network element, for example, UE, gNB, or UPF. The first device (or the second device) can be the first device (or the second device) itself, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the first device (or the second device), or a logic module or software for implementing all or part of the functions of the first device (or the second device). The following steps are executed:

[0113] In step 201, the first device obtains first information, which includes description information of each service sub-flow in multiple sub-service flows and QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows. At least one QoS requirement includes rate limit information of the first service flow, and the multiple sub-service flows are associated with the first service flow.

[0114] It should be noted that the sub-service flow is one or more data flows (or referred to as media flow) in a multi-flow service scenario, such as one or more data flows in a multi-modal service flow in a multi-modal service scenario. For example, the multi-modal service flow includes a video stream and an audio stream, and the audio stream includes different audio streams from two different APP servers, such as audio stream 1 from APP1 server and audio stream 2 from APP2 server. Then the video stream can be a sub-service flow, the audio stream 1 can be a sub-service flow, and the audio stream 2 can be a sub-service flow. For another example, the multi-modal service flow includes a video stream and an audio stream, and the audio stream includes different audio streams from the same APP server, such as audio stream 1 from APP1 server and audio stream 2 from APP1 server. Then the video stream can be a sub-service flow, and the audio stream 1 and the audio stream 2 can be a sub-service flow. For another example, the multi-modal service flow includes a video stream, an audio stream, and a touch stream, and the video stream, the audio stream, and the touch stream are from the server of APP3. The video stream, the audio stream, and the touch stream can be a sub-service flow, respectively. Here, only exemplary descriptions are given without specific limitation on how to determine the sub-service flow in the multi-flow service scenario.

[0115] The description information of the sub-service flow is used to assist other devices in detecting the sub-service flow. Specifically, the description information of the sub-service flow can be one or more of IP five-tuple, IP three-tuple, IP five-tuple, application identifier (APP ID), and the like, such as source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, protocol type (for example, TCP or UDP), and the like. Optionally, the description information of the sub-service flow can also include media type, synchronization source identifier (SSRC), information of an RTP header, and the like, which are used to identify the sub-service flow information. Specifically, the description information of the sub-service flow can also depend on information of other protocol headers, which are not limited herein.

[0116] The rate limit information of the first service flow is also the rate limit information of the service flow associated with the sub-service flow. The rate limit information of the first service flow can also be referred to as maximum flow bit rate (MFBR) of the first service flow or guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR) of the first service flow. This is not specifically limited herein. For example, the rate limit information can be delay requirement information of the first service flow, bandwidth requirement information of the first service flow, bit rate of the first service flow, and the like. For example, the service flow X includes sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2, and the rate limit information of the first service flow is the bandwidth requirement information of the service flow X. This is only an example and is not specifically limited. The rate limit information of the first service flow is from the server of the APP.

[0117] The QoS requirement of the sub-service flow (which can also be referred to as the QoS processing rule of the sub-service flow) is used to indicate the QoS parameter required for mapping the sub-service flow into a QoS flow for transmission. For example, the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow is 5QI=1. This is only an example and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow is not specifically limited herein. In addition, the at least one QoS requirement includes the rate limit information of the first service flow. It can be understood that the rate limit information of each QoS requirement includes the rate limit information of a sub-service flow, and the rate limit information of the first service flow is determined by accumulating the rate limit information of each sub-service flow associated with the first service flow. For example, the service flow X includes sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2, and the rate limit information of the first service flow is the bandwidth requirement information of the service flow X. The QoS requirement of the sub-service flow 1 includes the bandwidth requirement of the sub-service flow 1 as 10M, and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow 2 includes the bandwidth requirement of the sub-service flow 2 as 20M. Therefore, it can be known that the bandwidth requirement of the service flow X is 30M (10M+20M). This is only an example.

[0118] It should be noted that the description of the sub-service flow, the description information of the sub-service flow, and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow in the present application can be understood with reference to the above description, and will not be repeated here.

[0119] The multiple sub-service flows involved in the first information are associated with the first service flow. It can be understood that the multiple sub-service flows belong to the first service flow, or the multiple sub-service flows are associated with each other, or the multiple associated sub-service flows share a rate limit information. For example, in a multi-flow scenario, service flow X includes sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2, that is, sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2 belong to service flow X (or sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2 are associated with each other, or sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2 share the rate limit information of service flow X). The multiple sub-service flows involved in the first information are associated with the first service flow, which can also be understood as the rate limit information required by each sub-service flow in the multiple sub-service flows being the same as the first service flow. For example, a certain APP contains different multimedia data (video data + audio data), and multi-modal service flow X includes sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2. The QoS requirements of sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2 are different, but sub-service flow 1 and sub-service flow 2 share the rate limit information of service flow X. This is only an illustrative example and is not specifically limited.

[0120] In an optional manner, in addition to the multiple sub-service flows associated with the first service flow, the first information can also include other sub-service flows in order to distinguish the service flows associated with different sub-service flows. The first information further includes an association identifier corresponding to each sub-service flow in the multiple sub-service flows, wherein the sub-service flows with the same association identifier belong to the same service flow (or the multiple sub-service flows carrying the same association identifier are associated with each other). When each sub-service flow in the multiple sub-service flows corresponds to the same association identifier, the first device can explicitly determine that these sub-service flows belong to the same service flow. Specifically, after obtaining the description information of the sub-service flows, the policy management network element can configure the same association identifier for the sub-service flows with the same sub-service flow description information. For example, the policy management network element obtains the description information of sub-service flow 1, sub-service flow 2, sub-service flow 3, and sub-service flow 6, wherein the description information of sub-service flow 1, sub-service flow 2, and sub-service flow 3 is the same. The policy management network element configures association identifier A for sub-service flow 1, sub-service flow 2, and sub-service flow 3, and configures association identifier B for sub-service flow 6. This is only an illustrative example.

[0121] It should be noted that the first information can include a plurality of PCC rules, wherein each PCC rule includes description information of at least one sub-service flow and / or QoS requirement of the at least one sub-service flow. For example, the first information includes three PCC rules, i.e., PCC rule 1, PCC rule 2 and PCC rule 3. The PCC rule 1 includes description information of sub-service flow 1 and / or QoS requirement of sub-service flow 1; the PCC rule 2 includes description information of sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3 and QoS requirement of sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3; and the PCC rule 3 includes description information of sub-service flow 6 and QoS requirement of sub-service flow 6. In order to distinguish different sub-service flows, the PCC rule can further include an association identifier of at least one sub-service flow. Optionally, the PCC rule 1 further includes an association identifier A of sub-service flow 1, the PCC rule 2 further includes an association identifier A of sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3, and the PCC rule 3 further includes an association identifier B of sub-service flow 6, wherein the association identifier A corresponds to service flow A and the association identifier B corresponds to service flow B. Therefore, it can be known that sub-service flow 1, sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3 belong to service flow A and sub-service flow 6 belongs to service flow B. It should be further noted that the at least one QoS requirement in the PCC rule 1 and the PCC rule 2 includes rate limit information of service flow A. This is only illustrative and is not specifically limited.

[0122] The first device can obtain the first information by itself or through other network elements. Specifically, when the first device is a policy management network element, the policy management network element can obtain the first information by querying stored context information of each sub-service flow in the plurality of sub-service flows. For example, an APP has signed a contract with an operator, and the operator locally configures description information of sub-service flows transmitted by a server of the APP and QoS requirement of the sub-service flows (i.e., the first information). The policy management network element can directly obtain the description information of the sub-service flows transmitted by the server of the APP and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows based on the local configuration of the operator. Optionally, the policy management network element further configures the same association identifier for each sub-service flow in the plurality of sub-service flows belonging to the same service flow. This is only illustrative and is not specifically limited.

[0123] When the first device is a policy management network element, the policy management network element determines the first information by receiving the description information of the sub-service flows and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows (i.e., the first information) from an AF (which can be understood as a network element interacting with an external APP server in a core network). For example, the policy management network element can receive the description information of the sub-service flows of APP1 and APP2 and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows (i.e., the first information) from the AF, and optionally, the policy management network element further configures the same association identifier 1 for each of the sub-service flows belonging to APP1 and the same association identifier 2 for each of the sub-service flows belonging to APP2. This is only illustrative and not specifically limited.

[0124] It should be further noted that the policy management network element can also determine the first information based on the information sent by the AF and the local operator configuration. For example, the policy management network element can obtain the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows transmitted by the server of the APP based on the local configuration of the operator according to the description information of the sub-service flows from the AF, and accordingly adjust the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows from the AF, and further determine the first information.

[0125] When the first device is a session management network element, the session management network element can obtain the first information by receiving the first information from the policy management network element. For example, the policy management network element sends the first information to the session management network element after obtaining the first information, and the session management network element can also send the first information after requesting the first information from the policy management network element. The session management network element can also obtain the first information by querying the stored context information of each of the sub-service flows. For example, the APP has signed a contract with the operator, and the operator locally configures the description information of the sub-service flows transmitted by the server of the APP and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows (i.e., the first information), and the session management network element can directly obtain the description information of the sub-service flows transmitted by the server of the APP and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flows based on the local configuration of the operator, and optionally, the session management network element further configures the same association identifier for each of the sub-service flows belonging to the same service flow. This is only illustrative and not specifically limited.

[0126] It should be noted that when the first device is a session management network element, the description information of the sub-service flows in the first information can also be a QoS flow identifier (such as QFI (QoS Flow ID)) corresponding to a QoS flow used to transmit the sub-service flows.

[0127] In step 202, the first device sends the first information and the indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate that the rate control is performed on each of the sub-service flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow. Correspondingly, the second device receives the first information and the indication information.

[0128] The first information and the indication information can be transmitted through the same message or different messages, which is not specifically limited herein. When the first information and the indication information are transmitted through the same message, the message can be a session establishment request message (such as an N4 session establishment request message) or a session modification request message (such as an N4 session modification request message) when the second device is a user plane function network element, or can be a session management message (such as an N1 SM message) when the second device is a terminal device, or can be a session management message (such as an N2 SM message) when the second device is an access network device, which is only exemplarily described and not specifically limited herein.

[0129] When the first device is a session management network element and the first information includes the association identifiers of the service sub-flows in the multiple service sub-flows, the session management network element determines that each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows is associated with the first service flow according to the association identifiers corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows. The session management network element determines the multiple QoS flows corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows according to the first information. Each QoS flow corresponds to at least one service sub-flow of the first service flow. For example, service sub-flow 1, service sub-flow 2, and service sub-flow 3 are associated with the first service flow. The description information of service sub-flow 1 and service sub-flow 2 is the same, so the session management network element can map service sub-flow 1 and service sub-flow 2 to QoS flow 1 and map service sub-flow 3 to QoS flow 2. This is only exemplarily described and not specifically limited herein. In addition, the session management network element can also generate QoS Rule, QoS profile, and N4 Rule according to the first information, and send the QoS Rule, QoS profile, and N4 Rule to the second device.

[0130] Further, the first device is a session management network element, the indication information can also be received from a policy management network element. If the session management network element determines the description information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first information, the indication information sent by the session management network element to the second device includes the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows, the configuration information of at least one QoS flow in the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows includes the rate limit information of the first service flow, and the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows indicates that rate control is performed on the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow. For example, sub-flow 1, sub-flow 2 and sub-flow 3 are associated with the first service flow, wherein the description information of sub-flow 1 and sub-flow 2 is the same, and the session management network element can map sub-flow 1 and sub-flow 2 to QoS flow 1 and map sub-flow 3 to QoS flow 2. The configuration information of QoS flow 1 and / or the configuration information of QoS flow 2 includes the rate limit information of the first service flow. Based on this, the first device can indicate to the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device to perform rate control on the plurality of QoS flows belonging to the first service flow.

[0131] In step 203, the second device performs rate control on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first information and the indication information.

[0132] If the first information includes the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, rate control is performed on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow, so as to ensure that the rate configured for each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows meets the transmission requirement of the service sub-flow and does not exceed the rate limit of the first service flow.

[0133] If the first information includes the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the second device can determine that each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is associated with the first service flow according to the association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows. Rate control is performed on the service sub-flows belonging to the same service flow. At this time, the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows can also be the QFI of the plurality of QoS flows carrying each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0134] Further, when the first information includes at least one QoS requirement, the rate limit information of the first service flow is included in each QoS requirement, and the second device can determine the rate limit information of the first service flow by accumulating the rate limit information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows associated with the first service flow, so as to better perform rate control on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0135] It should be noted that when the second device is a terminal device, the terminal device usually performs rate control on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows of the uplink transmission. When the second device is a user plane function network element, the user plane function network element usually performs rate control on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows of the downlink transmission. When the second device is an access network device, the access network device usually performs transmission rate control on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows. Optionally, the allocation of wireless transmission resources is involved, that is, the wireless transmission resources are allocated considering the transmission rate limit of the sub-service flow (at this time, the QoS flow). For example, the rate limit information required by the QoS flow 1 is 5 Mbps, and the access network device reserves 5 Mbps of wireless transmission resources for the QoS flow 1.

[0136] In an optional manner, the rate control manner of the second device includes at least one of the following:

[0137] When the sum (for example, MBR) of the bit rates of the multiple QoS flows (or each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows) corresponding to the first service flow is not less than the rate limit information of the first service flow, the second device randomly discards a data packet in the multiple QoS flows (or each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows). For example, the second device is a terminal device, and the terminal device obtains, from the session management network element, that the first service flow (an uplink service flow) corresponds to three QoS flows, namely QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3, and the bit rate information of the first service flow is 20 Mbps. If the bit rate of the QoS flow 1 is 5 Mbps, the bit rate of the QoS flow 2 is 12 Mbps, and the bit rate of the QoS flow 3 is 4 Mbps, since 5+12+4=21, 21 is greater than 20, the second device randomly discards one data packet in the QoS flow 1, the QoS flow 2 and the QoS flow 3. For example, the second device is a user plane function network element, and the user plane function network element obtains, from the policy management network element, that the first service flow (a downlink service flow) corresponds to three sub-service flows, namely sub-service flow 1, sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3, and the bit rate information of the first service flow is 20 Mbps. If the bit rate of the sub-service flow 1 is 5 Mbps, the bit rate of the sub-service flow 2 is 12 Mbps, and the bit rate of the sub-service flow 3 is 4 Mbps, since 5+12+4=21, 21 is greater than 20, the second device randomly discards one data packet in the sub-service flow 1, the sub-service flow 2 and the sub-service flow 3. This is only an example and is not specifically limited.

[0138] Or, when the multiple QoS flows (or sub-service flows) corresponding to the first service flow need to guarantee the service flow rate limit (for example, GFBR), the second device reserves resources corresponding to the guarantee rate limit information (for example, DRB admission corresponding to the multiple QoS flows or resources corresponding to the jointly reserved GFBR) for the multiple QoS flows (or sub-service flows) corresponding to the first service flow. For example, the second device is an access network device, the access network device obtains that the three QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow are QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3 respectively, and the bit rate information of the first service flow is 20 Mbps, wherein the minimum bit rate of QoS flow 1 is 3 Mbps, the minimum bit rate of QoS flow 2 is 10 Mbps, and the minimum bit rate of QoS flow 3 is 3 Mbps. Therefore, the access network device reserves 16 Mbps (3+10+3) of resources for QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3. It is only an example and is not limited specifically. It should be noted that when the multiple QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow are GBR QoS flows, the access network device performs QoS admission and resource reservation, and can perform admission and reservation according to the most stringent QoS. For example, if the delay requirement of QoS flow 1 is 5 ms and the reliability requirement is 99.99%, and the delay requirement of QoS flow 2 is 10 ms and the reliability requirement is 99%, QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2 share a rate limit requirement of 20 Mbps (i.e., the rate limit information of the first service flow), then in the resource reservation process of the GBR QoS flow, the most stringent delay requirement of 5 ms and the reliability requirement of 99.99% and the rate limit information of 20 Mbps are considered to reserve wireless resources for QoS flow 1 and QoS flow 2.

[0139] In the present application, after the first device obtains the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows associated with the first service flow and the first information of the QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows, the first device sends the first information and the indication information to the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device, so that the terminal device, the user plane function network element or the access network device performs rate control on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow. Based on this, when the first service flow is split into multiple sub-service flows, the rate of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows can still meet the rate limit requirement of the first service flow as a whole.

[0140] The following Figure 3 is used to illustrate the data interaction between the UE (i.e., terminal device), RAN device (i.e., access network device), AMF (i.e., access and mobility management function network element), UPF (i.e., user plane function network element), SMF (i.e., session management network element), PCF (i.e., policy management network element) and AF (i.e., core network and external APP server data interaction network element). The SMF obtains first information from the PCF, the SMF maps the sub-service flow to multiple QoS flows based on the first information, the SMF sends the first information and indication information to the UE, RAN and UPF, and the UE, RAN and UPF perform rate control on multiple QoS flows associated with the same service flow. The following steps are performed:

[0141] Optionally, the following step 301 is performed.

[0142] In step 301, the UE sends a PDU session establishment or PDU session modification request message to the SMF through the AMF.

[0143] Specifically, the existing PDU session establishment or PDU session modification can be referred to for understanding, which is not described herein.

[0144] Optionally, the following step 302 is performed.

[0145] In step 302, the AF sends description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows and QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows to the PCF.

[0146] In step 302, the PCF can also obtain the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows and the QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows according to the local operator configuration.

[0147] The description information of the sub-service flow is used to assist other devices in detecting the sub-service flow. Specifically, the description information of the sub-service flow can be one or more of IP five-tuple, IP three-tuple, IP five-tuple, application identifier (APP ID) and the like, such as source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, protocol type (e.g., TCP or UDP) and the like. Optionally, it can also include media type, SSRC, RTP header information for identifying sub-service flow information. Specifically, it can also depend on other protocol header information, which is not limited herein. The QoS requirement of the sub-service flow indicates the required QoS parameter when the sub-service flow is mapped to a QoS flow for transmission, for example, the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow is 5QI=1. The QoS requirement of the sub-service flow is only illustratively described herein and is not specifically limited. The description information of the sub-service flow and the QoS requirement information of the sub-service flow in step 201 can be referred to for understanding, which is not described herein.

[0148] At step 303, the PCF configures the same associated identifier for each of the plurality of sub-service flows belonging to the same service flow according to the description information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, and sends the description information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, the QoS requirement information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, and the associated identifier corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows as first information and indication information.

[0149] The first information can include a plurality of PCC rules, wherein each PCC rule includes description information of at least one sub-service flow, QoS requirement of the at least one sub-service flow, and an associated identifier of the at least one sub-service flow. The indication information indicates that rate control is performed on each of the plurality of sub-service flows associated with the service flow based on the rate limit information of the service flow.

[0150] Specifically, the PCC rule includes specific sub-service flow description information and QoS requirement of the sub-service flow. At this time, since the service flow includes a plurality of sub-service flows, the network side needs to perform different QoS processing on different sub-service flows, and the PCF generates a plurality of PCC rules. Each PCC rule corresponds to at least one sub-service flow in the service flow, and the PCF adds a corresponding associated identifier in each PCC rule, which indicates that the sub-service flow corresponding to the PCC rule carrying the associated identifier is associated, i.e., the sub-service flows with the same associated identifier are controlled cooperatively. In addition, each PCC rule can include rate limit information of the service flow. For details, refer to the description above.

[0151] Optionally, the PCF can generate the first information according to the information in the AF request and / or local operator configuration.

[0152] At step 304, the PCF sends the first information to the SMF.

[0153] For example, the SMF can obtain the first information from the PCF through an SMF policy association establishment request or a modification process.

[0154] Optionally, the PCF can also send the indication information to the SMF.

[0155] At step 305, the SMF determines that each of the plurality of sub-service flows is associated with the same service flow according to the associated identifier corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows in the first information, and determines a plurality of QoS flows for the plurality of sub-service flows.

[0156] The SMF determines, according to the same association identifier in the multiple PCC rules, that the sub-service flows corresponding to the PCC rules are associated with each other, and each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows needs to perform rate control. The SMF determines, according to the multiple PCC rules, multiple QoS flows corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows (which can also be understood as determining, according to the multiple PCC rules, one or more QoS flows corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows). The SMF can generate corresponding QoS rules, QoS profiles, and N4 rules according to the PCC rules, and send them to the UE, the RAN, and the UPF respectively to perform QoS rate control. The SMF can also add indication information to the QoS rules, the QoS profiles, and the N4 rules for the UE / RAN / UPF, to instruct the UE / RAN / UPF to perform overall rate control on the associated QoS flows. The above-mentioned related description of step 202 can be referred to for understanding, and details are not described herein.

[0157] In step 306, the SMF sends the first information and the indication information to the UE, the RAN device, and the UPF respectively.

[0158] For example, the SMF can send the N1 SM message carrying the first information and the indication information to the UE. The SMF can send the N2 SM message carrying the first information and the indication information to the RAN device. The SMF can send the N4 session establishment request message or the N4 session modification request message carrying the first information and the indication information to the UPF.

[0159] Optionally, the following step 307 is performed.

[0160] In step 307, the remaining processing flow of the PDU session establishment or modification is performed.

[0161] In step 308, the UE or the RAN device or the UPF performs rate control on the multiple QoS flows according to the first information and the indication information.

[0162] Specifically, the UE can perform rate control on multiple uplink multiple QoS flows associated with a same traffic flow. The RAN device can reserve resources for multiple QoS flows associated with a same traffic flow. The UPF can perform rate control on multiple downlink multiple QoS flows associated with a same traffic flow. When the sum of bit rates of multiple QoS flows (or multiple sub-traffic flows) corresponding to a traffic flow (e.g., MFBR) is not less than the rate limit information of the traffic flow, the UE or the UPF randomly discards data packets in the multiple QoS flows (or multiple sub-traffic flows). Or, when the multiple QoS flows (or sub-traffic flows) corresponding to a traffic flow need to guarantee the rate limit (e.g., GFBR) of the traffic flow, the RAN device reserves resources corresponding to the guarantee rate limit information (e.g., multiple QoS flows corresponding to DRB admission or resources corresponding to the guarantee GFBR) for the multiple QoS flows (or sub-traffic flows) corresponding to the traffic flow. The above step 203 can be referred to for understanding and will not be repeated here.

[0163] The UE, the RAN device, and the UPF perform rate control on QoS flows associated with a same traffic flow, which can guarantee to meet the traffic demand.

[0164] Embodiment two,

[0165] Referring to FIG. 4, the method can be performed through data interaction of a first device and a second device. The first device is a session management network element or a policy management network element, for example, an SMF or a PCF. The second device is a terminal device, an access network device, or a user plane function network element, for example, a UE, a gNB, or a UPF. The first device (or the second device) can be the first device (or the second device) itself, or a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the first device (or the second device), or a logic module or software realizing all or part of the terminal function. The following steps are performed:

[0166] In step 401, the first device obtains first indication information, which is used to indicate performing rate measurement on each traffic sub-flow in multiple sub-traffic flows, and the multiple sub-traffic flows are associated with a first traffic flow (or each traffic sub-flow in the multiple sub-traffic flows shares rate limit information of the first traffic flow).

[0167] The first indication information can be rate measurement reporting indication, so that when the second device receives the first indication information in the following step 402, the second device reports the measurement result of the sub-traffic flow. The first indication information can also be rate measurement indication (or rate splitting indication), so that when the second device receives the first indication information in the following step 402, the second device performs rate configuration of the sub-traffic flow by itself.

[0168] When the first device is a policy management network element, the policy management network element determines the first indication information by receiving description information of sub-service flows of the first service flow and QoS requirements of the sub-service flows from an AF (which can be understood as a network element interacting with an external APP server in a core network). For example, the policy management network element can receive description information of sub-service flows transmitted by servers of APP1 and APP2 and QoS requirements of the sub-service flows from the servers of APP1 and APP2, and then generate first indication information 1 for performing rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows of APP1, and generate first indication information 2 for performing rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows of APP2. This is only illustrative and is not specifically limited. It should be further noted that the AF also sends rate limit information of the first service flow to the policy management network element. Alternatively, the policy management network element can also determine the first indication information based on local operator configuration. The policy management network element can also determine the first indication information based on the description information of sub-service flows of the first service flow and the QoS requirements of the sub-service flows sent by the AF and the local operator configuration.

[0169] When the first device is a session management network element, the session management network element can receive the first indication information from the policy management network element. Alternatively, the session management network element can also determine the first indication information based on local operator configuration.

[0170] At step 402, the first device sends the first indication information. Correspondingly, the second device receives the first indication information.

[0171] The first indication information can be transmitted by a new type of message, or can be transmitted by multiplexing an existing message, which is not specifically limited here. When the first indication information is multiplexed with an existing message, the message can be an N4 session establishment request message or an N4 session modification request message when the second device is a user plane function network element, or can be an N1 SM message when the second device is a terminal device, or can be an N2 SM message when the second device is an access network device, which is only illustrative and is not specifically limited.

[0172] When the first indication information is rate reporting indication, the first device further sends description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows to the second device, so that the second device performs rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows and reports rate measurement results of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows. Specifically, the description information can be QoS flow identification information, such as QoS Flow ID (QFI).

[0173] When the first indication information is the rate measurement indication, the first device further sends second information to the second device, and the second information includes description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and QoS requirements of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein at least one QoS requirement includes rate limit information of the first service flow, or the first QoS requirement includes historical rate reference information of the first service sub-flow, the first service sub-flow is any one of the plurality of service sub-flows, and the first QoS requirement is the QoS requirement of the first service sub-flow.

[0174] It should be noted that after the policy management network element obtains the description information of the service sub-flow of the first service flow and the QoS requirement of the service sub-flow, the second information (which can also be referred to as a plurality of PCC rules) can be configured, wherein each PCC rule includes description information of at least one service sub-flow and QoS requirement of the at least one service sub-flow. For example, PCC rule 1 includes description information of service sub-flow 1 and QoS requirement of service sub-flow 1; PCC rule 2 includes description information of service sub-flow 2 and service sub-flow 3 and QoS requirement of service sub-flow 2 and service sub-flow 3; and PCC rule 3 includes description information of service sub-flow 6 and QoS requirement of service sub-flow 6. In order to distinguish the service flow associated with different service sub-flows, optionally, the PCC rule further includes an association identifier of at least one service sub-flow. Optionally, PCC rule 1 further includes an association identifier A of service sub-flow 1, PCC rule 2 further includes an association identifier A of service sub-flow 2 and service sub-flow 3, and PCC rule 3 further includes an association identifier B of service sub-flow 6, wherein the association identifier A corresponds to service flow A and the association identifier B corresponds to service flow B. Therefore, it can be known that service sub-flow 1, service sub-flow 2 and service sub-flow 3 belong to service flow A, and service sub-flow 6 belongs to service flow B. It should be further noted that the at least one QoS requirement in the above PCC rule 1 and PCC rule 2 includes rate limit information of service flow A. Alternatively, PCC rule 1 includes historical rate limit information of service sub-flow 1, and PCC rule 2 includes historical rate limit information of service sub-flow 2 and historical rate limit information of service sub-flow 3. This is only illustrative and is not specifically limited. It should be noted that the above second information can include the first indication information. This is not specifically limited.

[0175] It should be noted that the rate limit information of the first service flow is also the rate limit information of the service flow associated with the sub-service flow. Exemplarily, the rate limit information of the first service flow can also be referred to as the maximum flow rate (MFBR) of the first service flow or the guaranteed flow rate (GFBR) of the first service flow. Herein, no specific limitation is made. Exemplarily, the rate limit information can be the latency requirement information of the first service flow, the bandwidth requirement information of the first service flow, the bit rate of the first service flow, etc. For example, the service flow X includes the sub-service flow 1 and the sub-service flow 2, and the rate limit information of the first service flow is the bandwidth requirement information of the service flow X. Herein, only an exemplary description is made, and no specific limitation is made.

[0176] The historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows indicates the transmission rate limit information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows in a historical time period. For example, the multi-modal service flow X includes the sub-service flow 1 and the sub-service flow 2, the transmission rate limit of the sub-service flow 1 in the historical time period is 2 Mbps, and the transmission rate limit of the sub-service flow 2 in the historical time period is 5 Mbps. Herein, only an exemplary description is made, and no specific limitation is made.

[0177] After the first device sends the second information including the rate limit information of the first service flow or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows to the second device, the second device can determine the rate limit information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows based on the above information and the rate measurement result of each of the plurality of sub-service flows.

[0178] It should be noted that when the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows is included in the second information, after the first device sends the second information to the second device in the step 402, the second device can determine the rate limit information of the first service flow by accumulating the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows belonging to the same service flow.

[0179] It should be further noted that the rate limit information of the first service flow can be from the AF. The historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows can be from the UDR or the NWDAF. In a possible implementation, the server of the APP can register the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows to the UDR through the NEF, and the first device can request the UDR for the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows after determining to perform rate measurement on each of the plurality of sub-service flows. In another possible implementation, the first device can send one or more of the description information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows of the first service flow, the QoS requirement information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, and the information of the APP to the NWDAF, and the NWDAF determines the rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows through big data statistics and prediction processing. Then, the NWDAF feeds back the rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows to the first device, and the first device can take the rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows as the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows. This is only illustrative.

[0180] It should be further noted that after the session management network element obtains the first indication information from the policy management network element, the session management network element can also determine a plurality of QoS flows corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows of the first service flow according to the second information. The description information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows sent by the session management network element to the second device can be replaced by the description information of the plurality of QoS flows of the first service flow. Correspondingly, the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows is the historical rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

[0181] In addition, the second information can further include an association identifier corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows, wherein the sub-service flows corresponding to the same association identifier belong to the same service flow (or the plurality of sub-service flows carrying the same association identifier are associated with each other). In specific applications, there can be a plurality of sub-service flows associated with different service flows. In order to perform rate control on the sub-service flows of the same service flow, the policy management network element can configure the same association identifier for the sub-service flows with the same sub-service flow description information after obtaining the description information of the sub-service flows. The second information includes the association identifier corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows so that the second device performs rate measurement and rate splitting on each of the plurality of sub-service flows belonging to the same service flow after the first device sends the second information to the second device.

[0182] It should be noted that when the first device is a session management network element, the session management network element receives second information in addition to the first indication information from the policy management network element. If the second information received by the session management network element only includes the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the session management network element can send the first indication information (rate measurement reporting indication) and the description information of the plurality of QoS flows to the second device, so that the session management network element reports the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows received from the second device to the policy management network element, and obtains the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the data processing of the policy management network element. If the second information received by the session management network element includes the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the QoS requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, and further includes the corresponding association identifier of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the session management network element can send the first indication information (rate measurement reporting indication) and the description information of the plurality of QoS flows to the second device, so that the session management network element determines the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows by referring to the second information after receiving the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows reported by the second device.

[0183] Optionally, the first device can further send, to the second device, a rate measurement time window of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, so that the second device measures the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows within the measurement time window, and direction information (whether the service sub-flow is an uplink service sub-flow or a downlink service sub-flow) of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0184] In step 403, the second device measures the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first indication information, and obtains the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow are used to determine the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0185] In the embodiment, the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows are the transmission rate values of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows or the ratio of the transmission rates of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows. For example, the multi-modal service flow X includes a service sub-flow 1 and a service sub-flow 2, the second device measures the transmission rate of the service sub-flow 1 to be 2 Mbps and the transmission rate of the service sub-flow 2 to be 5 Mbps, or the ratio of the transmission rates of the service sub-flow 1 and the service sub-flow 2 is 2:5. It is only exemplarily illustrated and is not specifically limited. When the second device obtains the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow, the second device measures the rate of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow according to the first indication information, and obtains the measurement results of each service sub-flow (i.e., the plurality of QoS flows) in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0186] The second device measures the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first indication information, and obtains the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows. It can be understood that the second device measures the rate of the service sub-flow according to the first indication information, and determines and reports the measurement result of the service sub-flow. In a specific application, the second device further obtains the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows or the second information. Optionally, each QoS flow carrying a service sub-flow carries a first indication information, which is used to instruct the second device to measure the rate of the QoS flow or to instruct the second device to measure and report the rate of the QoS flow.

[0187] When the first indication information is the rate measurement indication, the second device determines the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the second information. In an optional manner, the second device determines the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow. For example, the second device is a terminal device, and the terminal device obtains, from a session management network element, that the first service flow corresponds to three QoS flows, i.e., QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3. The rate limit information of the first service flow is 20 Mbps. The terminal device measures that the rate of the QoS flow 1 is 3 Mbps, the rate of the QoS flow 2 is 5 Mbps, and the rate of the QoS flow 3 is 2 Mbps. Since the QoS flow 1, the QoS flow 2 and the QoS flow 3 do not exceed the rate limit information of the first service flow, the terminal device can configure the rate of the QoS flow 1 as 3 Mbps, the rate of the QoS flow 2 as 5 Mbps, and the rate of the QoS flow 3 as 2 Mbps, or configure the rate of the QoS flow 1 as 6 Mbps, the rate of the QoS flow 2 as 10 Mbps, and the rate of the QoS flow 3 as 4 Mbps.

[0188] In another alternative, the second device determines the rate configuration information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows according to the measurement result of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows. For example, the second device is a terminal device, and the terminal device obtains from the session management network element that the first service flow corresponds to three QoS flows, i.e., QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3, the historical rate limit information corresponding to the QoS flow 1 is 2 Mbps, the historical rate limit information corresponding to the QoS flow 2 is 3 Mbps, and the historical rate limit information corresponding to the QoS flow 3 is 5 Mbps, so the rate limit information of the first service flow corresponding to the QoS flow 1, the QoS flow 2 and the QoS flow 3 is 10 Mbps (2+3+5). The terminal device measures the rate of the QoS flow 1 as 3 Mbps, the rate of the QoS flow 2 as 4 Mbps, and the rate of the QoS flow 3 as 5 Mbps. Since the QoS flow 1, the QoS flow 2 and the QoS flow 3 exceed the rate limit information of the first service flow, the terminal device can configure the rate of the QoS flow 1 as 2 Mbps, the rate of the QoS flow 2 as 3 Mbps, and the rate of the QoS flow 3 as 5 Mbps. This is only an example and is not limited in particular to how the second device determines the rate configuration information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows.

[0189] Although this way determines the rate configuration information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows by the second device itself, the determination is flexible, but the rate configuration information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows determined by different types of second devices can be different.

[0190] When the first indication information is the rate measurement reporting indication, the second device sends the measurement result of each of the plurality of sub-service flows to the first device (understood herein as the session management network element or the policy management network element), the first device determines the rate configuration information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows according to the measurement result of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow, or according to the measurement result of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows. Optionally, the first device sends the rate configuration information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows to the second device (or UDR or NWDAF). After the first device obtains the measurement result of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, the first device refers to the rate limit information of the first service flow or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows to determine the corresponding rate limit information of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the plurality of sub-service flows, so as to guarantee that the first service flow meets the transmission rate limit requirement when transmitted in the plurality of QoS flows.

[0191] Further, when the first device is a session management network element, the second device sends the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to the session management network element; the session management network element sends the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to the policy management network element; the policy management network element determines the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow; or, determines the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows; then the policy management network element sends the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to the session management network element; then the session management network element sends the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to the second device (or UDR or NWDAF).

[0192] For example, the second device is a terminal device, the terminal device obtains from the session management network element that the first service flow corresponds to three QoS flows, which are QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3, and the rate limit information of the first service flow is 20 Mbps. Wherein, the terminal device measures that the rate of QoS flow 1 is 3 Mbps, the rate of QoS flow 2 is 5 Mbps, and the rate of QoS flow 3 is 2 Mbps, and the session management network element or the policy management network element can determine that the proportion information of QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3 is 3:2:5. Since QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3 do not exceed the rate limit information of the first service flow, the session management network element or the policy management network element can configure the rate of QoS flow 1 as 3 Mbps, the rate of QoS flow 2 as 5 Mbps, and the rate of QoS flow 3 as 2 Mbps, or the rate of QoS flow 1 as 6 Mbps, the rate of QoS flow 2 as 10 Mbps, and the rate of QoS flow 3 as 4 Mbps. For another example, the second device is a terminal device, the terminal device obtains from the session management network element that the first service flow corresponds to three QoS flows, which are QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3, the historical rate limit information corresponding to QoS flow 1 is 4 Mbps, the historical rate limit information corresponding to QoS flow 2 is 6 Mbps, and the historical rate limit information corresponding to QoS flow 3 is 10 Mbps, so the rate limit information of the first service flow corresponding to QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3 is 20 Mbps (4+6+10). Wherein, the terminal device measures that the rate of QoS flow 1 is 3 Mbps, the rate of QoS flow 2 is 4 Mbps, and the rate of QoS flow 3 is 5 Mbps, and the session management network element or the policy management network element can determine that the proportion information of QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3 is 3:4:5. Since QoS flow 1, QoS flow 2 and QoS flow 3 do not exceed the rate limit information of the first service flow, the session management network element or the policy management network element can configure the rate of QoS flow 1 as 3 Mbps, the rate of QoS flow 2 as 4 Mbps, and the rate of QoS flow 3 as 5 Mbps, or the session management network element or the policy management network element also refers to the historical rate reference information, and configures the rate of QoS flow 1 as 3 Mbps, the rate of QoS flow 2 as 6 Mbps, and the rate of QoS flow 3 as 10 Mbps. Herein, only exemplary description is made, and the first device how to determine the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is not specifically limited.

[0193] In the present application, after the second device receives the first indication information indicating to perform rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, the rate of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is measured according to the first indication information, the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows are obtained, and then the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows associated with the first service flow is obtained based on the measurement results of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow. Based on this, the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is determined, so as to ensure that each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows can meet the rate transmission requirement of the first service flow.

[0194] The following Figure 5 illustrates the data interaction between the UE (i.e. terminal device), RAN device (i.e. access network device), AMF (i.e. access and mobility management function network element), UPF (i.e. user plane function network element), SMF (i.e. session management network element), PCF (i.e. policy management network element) and AF (i.e. network element interacting with external APP server in core network), UDR and NWDAF. Among them, the SMF obtains the first indication information from the PCF, the SMF maps the service sub-flow to the plurality of QoS flows after obtaining the first indication information, and the SMF sends the first indication information to the UE, RAN and UPF. At least one of the UE, RAN and UPF performs rate measurement on the plurality of QoS flows associated with the same service flow, and reports the rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows to the SMF. Then the SMF determines the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows and sends it to the UE, RAN and UPF. The following is performed:

[0195] Optionally, the following step 501 is performed.

[0196] Step 501, the UE sends a data session establishment request (such as a PDU session establishment request) or a data session modification request message (such as a PDU session modification request) to the SMF through the AMF.

[0197] Specifically, it can be understood with reference to the existing PDU session establishment or PDU session modification, which is not described here.

[0198] Optionally, the following step 502 is performed.

[0199] Step 502, the AF sends the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows to the PCF.

[0200] Among them, step 502 can also be replaced by PCF obtaining the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows and the QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the local operator configuration.

[0201] The description information of the sub-service flow is used to assist other devices in detecting the sub-service flow. Specifically, the description information of the sub-service flow can be one or more of IP five-tuple, IP three-tuple, IP five-tuple, application identifier (APP ID), and the like, such as source IP address, destination IP address, source port number, destination port number, protocol type (for example, TCP or UDP), and the like. The QoS requirement of the sub-service flow indicates a required QoS parameter when the sub-service flow is mapped to a QoS flow for transmission. For example, the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow is 5QI = 1. The QoS requirement of the sub-service flow is described herein by way of example only and is not specifically limited. The description information of the sub-service flow and the QoS requirement information of the sub-service flow in step 201 are described above and will not be described in detail herein.

[0202] In step 503, the PCF determines the first indication information according to the description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of sub-service flows and the QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of sub-service flows.

[0203] The first indication information is a measurement reporting indication.

[0204] It should be noted that the PCF can configure second information (also referred to as a plurality of PCC rules) after obtaining the description information of the sub-service flow of the first service flow and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow. Each PCC rule includes the description information of at least one sub-service flow and the QoS requirement of the at least one sub-service flow. For example, PCC rule 1 includes the description information of sub-service flow 1 and the QoS requirement of sub-service flow 1; PCC rule 2 includes the description information of sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3 and the QoS requirement of sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3; and PCC rule 3 includes the description information of sub-service flow 6 and the QoS requirement of sub-service flow 6. In order to distinguish between different service flows associated with different sub-service flows, the PCC rule can optionally include an association identifier of each service sub-flow in the plurality of sub-service flows. Optionally, PCC rule 1 further includes an association identifier A of sub-service flow 1, PCC rule 2 further includes an association identifier A of sub-service flow 2 and sub-service flow 3, and PCC rule 3 further includes an association identifier B of sub-service flow 6. The association identifier A corresponds to service flow A and the association identifier B corresponds to service flow B. As can be seen, sub-service flow 1, sub-service flow 2, and sub-service flow 3 belong to service flow A, and sub-service flow 6 belongs to service flow B. It should be further noted that the QoS requirement in at least one of the above-described PCC rule 1 and PCC rule 2 includes rate limit information of service flow A. Alternatively, PCC rule 1 includes historical rate limit information of sub-service flow 1, and PCC rule 2 includes historical rate limit information of sub-service flow 2 and historical rate limit information of sub-service flow 3. This is described herein by way of example only and is not specifically limited. It should be noted that the second information described above can include the first indication information. This is not specifically limited herein.

[0205] At step 504, the PCF sends the first indication information and the second information to the SMF.

[0206] Exemplarily, the SMF can acquire the first indication information and the second information through an SMF policy association establishment request or modification request message.

[0207] At step 505, the SMF determines the multiple QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow according to the second information.

[0208] When the multiple PCC rules include the association identifiers corresponding to the multiple sub-service flows, the SMF determines that the sub-service flows corresponding to the PCC rules are associated with each other according to the same association identifiers in the multiple PCC rules, and each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows needs to perform rate control. The SMF determines the multiple QoS flows corresponding to the multiple sub-service flows according to the multiple PCC rules (which can also be understood as determining one or more QoS flows corresponding to the multiple sub-service flows according to the multiple PCC rules). The SMF can generate corresponding QoS rules, QoS profiles, and N4 rules according to the PCC rules, and send them to the UE, the RAN, and the UPF side for QoS rate control. The SMF can also add the first indication information to the UE or the RAN or the UPF in the QoS rules, the QoS profiles, and the N4 rules, to instruct the UE or the RAN or the UPF to perform overall rate control on the associated QoS flows.

[0209] Optionally, steps 506 and 507 are performed.

[0210] At step 506, the SMF requests historical rate reference information corresponding to the multiple QoS flows from the UDR.

[0211] Exemplarily, the SMF can request the historical rate reference information corresponding to the multiple QoS flows from the UDR by carrying description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows and QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows in an Nudr_DM_Get message.

[0212] At step 507, the SMF requests historical rate reference information corresponding to the multiple QoS flows from the NWDAF.

[0213] Exemplarily, the SMF can request the historical rate reference information corresponding to the multiple QoS flows from the NWDAF by carrying at least one of description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows, QoS requirement information of each service sub-flow in the multiple sub-service flows, and an APP ID in a subscription message.

[0214] Optionally, the following steps 508-510 are performed, or steps 511-513 are performed, or steps 514-516 are performed, or steps 508-516 are all performed. It is also noted that steps 509, 512, and 515 are optional steps.

[0215] At step 508, the SMF sends, to the UPF, indication information (i.e., first indication information) for performing rate measurement reporting for the plurality of QoS flows of the first service flow, and description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows (or description information of the plurality of QoS flows).

[0216] Exemplarily, the SMF can carry the first indication information in N4 Rule in an N4 session establishment message or an N4 session modification message, and send it to the UPF.

[0217] At step 509, the remaining processing procedures of PDU session establishment or modification are performed.

[0218] At step 510, the UPF performs rate measurement on the QoS flows according to the first indication information provided by the SMF side, and reports rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows to the SMF.

[0219] At step 511, the SMF sends, to the UE, indication information (i.e., first indication information) for performing rate measurement reporting for the plurality of QoS flows of the first service flow, and description information of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows (or description information of the plurality of QoS flows).

[0220] Exemplarily, the SMF can carry the first indication information in QoS Rule in an N1 SM message, and send it to the UE.

[0221] At step 512, the remaining processing procedures of PDU session establishment or modification are performed.

[0222] At step 513, the UE performs rate measurement on the QoS flows according to the first indication information provided by the SMF side, and reports rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows to the SMF.

[0223] Optionally, the SMF can further send, to the UE and / or RAN device and / or UPF, rate measurement time windows of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, so that the UE and / or RAN device and / or UPF measure rates of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows within the measurement time windows, and direction information (whether the service sub-flow is an uplink service sub-flow or a downlink service sub-flow) of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

[0224] At step 514, the SMF sends, to the RAN device, indication information (i.e., first indication information) for performing rate measurement reporting for the plurality of QoS flows of the first service flow and description information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows (or description information of the plurality of QoS flows).

[0225] Exemplarily, the SMF can carry the first indication information in a QoS Profile in an N2 SM message and send to the RAN device.

[0226] At step 515, the remaining processing procedure of the PDU session establishment or modification is performed.

[0227] At step 516, the RAN device performs rate measurement for the QoS flows according to the first indication information provided by the SMF and reports rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows to the SMF.

[0228] At step 517, the SMF determines rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows according to the rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow (or historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows).

[0229] After the SMF receives the rate measurement results of each QoS flow from the UE and / or the RAN device and / or the UPF, the SMF determines proportion information of each QoS flow to the first service flow, and determines corresponding rate configuration information of each QoS flow by referring to the rate limit information of the first service flow (or historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows). Optionally, the SMF can provide the rate measurement results of the QoS flow to the PCF, and the PCF determines the proportion information of each QoS flow to the first service flow, and then determines the corresponding rate configuration information of each QoS flow by referring to the rate limit information of the first service flow (or historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows). When performing the above steps 506 and 507, the SMF can determine the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows according to the rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows, historical rate reference information corresponding to the plurality of QoS flows, or the rate limit information of the first service flow. For details, refer to the description of step 403 above, which will not be described here.

[0230] Optionally, step 518 is performed.

[0231] At step 518, the SMF sends the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows to the UE or the RAN device or the UPF, respectively.

[0232] Exemplarily, the SMF can send the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows to the UE or the RAN device through a PDU session modification procedure. The SMF can send the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows to the UPF through an N4 session establishment / modification procedure.

[0233] Optionally, the SMF can also send the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows to the UDR or the NWDAF.

[0234] The SMF determines the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows based on the rate measurement results of the plurality of QoS flows reported by the UE or the RAN device or the UPF and the rate limit information of the first traffic flow, thereby achieving rate control on the QoS flows associated with the same traffic flow.

[0235] The following Figure 6 illustrates the data interaction between the UE (i.e., terminal device), the RAN device (i.e., access network device), the AMF (i.e., access and mobility management function network element), the UPF (i.e., user plane function network element), the SMF (i.e., session management network element), the PCF (i.e., policy management network element), and the AF (i.e., network element for interaction between the core network and external APP server), the UDR, and the NWDAF. The SMF obtains the first indication information from the PCF, the SMF maps the sub-traffic flows to the plurality of QoS flows after obtaining the first indication information, the SMF sends the first indication information to the UE, the RAN, and the UPF, the UE, the RAN, and the UPF respectively perform rate measurement on the plurality of QoS flows associated with the same traffic flow, and determine the rate configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows. The following is performed:

[0236] Optionally, the following step 601 is performed.

[0237] In step 601, the UE sends a PDU session establishment or PDU session modification request message to the SMF through the AMF.

[0238] Specifically, it can be understood with reference to the existing PDU session establishment or PDU session modification, which is not described herein.

[0239] Optionally, the following step 602 is performed.

[0240] In step 602, the AF sends description information of each traffic sub-flow in the plurality of sub-traffic flows and QoS requirement information of each traffic sub-flow in the plurality of sub-traffic flows to the PCF.

[0241] In step 602, the PCF can also obtain the description information of each traffic sub-flow in the plurality of sub-traffic flows and the QoS requirement information of each traffic sub-flow in the plurality of sub-traffic flows according to the local operator configuration.

[0242] The description information of the sub-traffic flow and the QoS requirement information of the sub-traffic flow in the above step 201 can be understood, which is not described herein.

[0243] In step 603, the PCF determines the first indication information according to the description information of each traffic sub-flow in the plurality of sub-traffic flows and the QoS requirement information of each traffic sub-flow in the plurality of sub-traffic flows.

[0244] The first indication information is a rate measurement indication.

[0245] It should be noted that after the PCF obtains the description information of the sub-service flows of the first service flow and the QoS requirements of the sub-service flows, the PCF can configure second information (also referred to as a plurality of PCC rules), wherein each PCC rule includes the description information of at least one sub-service flow and the QoS requirement of the at least one sub-service flow. For example, the PCC rule 1 includes the description information of the sub-service flow 1 and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow 1; the PCC rule 2 includes the description information of the sub-service flow 2 and the sub-service flow 3 and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow 2 and the sub-service flow 3; and the PCC rule 3 includes the description information of the sub-service flow 6 and the QoS requirement of the sub-service flow 6. In order to distinguish the service flow associated with different sub-service flows, optionally, the PCC rule further includes the association identifier of each sub-service flow in the plurality of sub-service flows. Optionally, the PCC rule 1 further includes the association identifier A of the sub-service flow 1, the PCC rule 2 further includes the association identifier A of the sub-service flow 2 and the sub-service flow 3, and the PCC rule 3 further includes the association identifier B of the sub-service flow 6, wherein the association identifier A corresponds to the service flow A and the association identifier B corresponds to the service flow B. Therefore, it can be known that the sub-service flow 1, the sub-service flow 2 and the sub-service flow 3 belong to the service flow A and the sub-service flow 6 belongs to the service flow B. It should be further noted that the at least one QoS requirement in the above PCC rule 1 and the PCC rule 2 includes the rate limit information of the service flow A. Alternatively, the PCC rule 1 includes the historical rate limit information of the sub-service flow 1 and the PCC rule 2 includes the historical rate limit information of the sub-service flow 2 and the historical rate limit information of the sub-service flow 3. Herein, only exemplary descriptions are provided and are not specifically limited. It should be further noted that the first indication information can be included in the above second information. Herein, no specific limitation is provided.

[0246] In step 604, the PCF sends the first indication information and the second information to the SMF.

[0247] Exemplarily, the SMF can obtain the first indication information and the second information through an SMF policy association establishment request or a modification request message.

[0248] In step 605, the SMF divides the first service flow into a plurality of QoS flows according to the second information.

[0249] The description of step 505 can be referred to and will not be repeated here.

[0250] Optionally, steps 606 and 607 are performed.

[0251] In step 606, the SMF requests historical rate reference information corresponding to the plurality of QoS flows from the UDR.

[0252] For example, the SMF can use the Nudr_DM_Get message to request historical rate reference information corresponding to multiple QoS flows from the UDR, carrying description information of each service subflow in multiple sub-service flows and QoS requirement information of each service subflow in multiple sub-service flows.

[0253] Step 607: SMF requests historical rate reference information for multiple QoS flows from NWDAF.

[0254] For example, SMF can request historical rate reference information corresponding to multiple QoS flows from NWDAF by carrying description information of each service subflow in multiple sub-service flows, QoS requirement information of each service subflow in multiple sub-service flows, and at least one of the APP IDs in the subscription message.

[0255] Step 608: SMF sends to UPF indication information (i.e., first indication information) and second information for performing rate measurements on multiple QoS flows for the first service flow.

[0256] For example, the SMF can carry the first indication information in the N4 Rule in the N4 Session Establishment Message or N4 Session Modification Message and send it to the UPF.

[0257] Step 609: The SMF sends to the UE an indication message (i.e., the first indication message) for performing rate measurements on multiple QoS flows for the first service flow, as well as the second information.

[0258] For example, the SMF can carry the first indication information through the QoS Rule in the N1 SM message and send it to the UE.

[0259] Step 610: The SMF sends to the RAN device an indication message (i.e., the first indication message) and a second message indicating that multiple QoS flow rate measurements are performed for the first service flow.

[0260] For example, the SMF can carry the first indication information through the QoS Rule in the N1 SM message and send it to the UE.

[0261] Optionally, the SMF may also send the rate measurement time window of each service sub-flow in multiple sub-service flows to the UE and / or RAN equipment and / or UPF so that the UE and / or RAN equipment and / or UPF can measure the rate of each service sub-flow in multiple sub-service flows within the measurement time window, as well as the direction information of each service sub-flow in multiple sub-service flows (whether it is an uplink sub-service flow or a downlink sub-service flow).

[0262] Optionally, perform step 611.

[0263] Step 611: Execute the remaining processing flow for PDU session establishment or modification.

[0264] At step 612, the UPF determines rate configuration information of the multiple QoS flows respectively according to the rate measurement results of the multiple QoS flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow (or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows).

[0265] At step 613, the UE determines rate configuration information of the multiple QoS flows respectively according to the rate measurement results of the multiple QoS flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow (or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows).

[0266] At step 614, the RAN device determines rate configuration information of the multiple QoS flows respectively according to the rate measurement results of the multiple QoS flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow (or the historical rate reference information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows).

[0267] When performing the above steps 606 and 607, the UE and / or the RAN device and / or the UPF can determine rate configuration information of the multiple QoS flows according to the rate measurement results of the multiple QoS flows and the historical rate reference information corresponding to the multiple QoS flows. For details, refer to the description of step 403.

[0268] The UE / RAN device / UPF determines rate configuration information of the multiple QoS flows respectively according to the rate measurement results of the multiple QoS flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow.

[0269] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of device interaction. It can be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, each device can include a corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in the present text, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0270] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional units of the device according to the above method examples, for example, each functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional unit.

[0271] In the case of employing the integrated unit, FIG. 7 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication apparatus involved in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication apparatus 700 can include a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702. The processing unit 701 is configured to control and manage the actions of the communication apparatus 700. The transceiver unit 702 is configured to support the communication of the communication apparatus 700 with other devices. Optionally, the transceiver unit 702 can include a receiving unit and / or a transmitting unit, which are configured to perform the receiving and transmitting operations, respectively. Optionally, the communication apparatus 700 can further include a storage unit configured to store the program codes and / or data of the communication apparatus 700. The transceiver unit can be referred to as an input / output unit, a communication unit, etc., and can be a transceiver; the processing unit can be a processor. When the communication apparatus is a module (e.g., a chip) in a communication device, the transceiver unit can be an input / output interface, an input / output circuit or an input / output pin, etc., and can also be referred to as an interface, a communication interface or an interface circuit, etc.; the processing unit can be a processor, a processing circuit or a logic circuit, etc. Specifically, the communication apparatus can be the first device, the second device, etc. described above.

[0272] In one embodiment, the communication apparatus is the first device, wherein the processing unit 701 is configured to acquire first information, the first information including description information of each of a plurality of sub-service flows and QoS requirements of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, at least one of the QoS requirements including rate limit information of a first service flow, the plurality of sub-service flows being associated with the first service flow; and the transceiver unit 702 is configured to send the first information and indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that rate control is performed on each of the plurality of sub-service flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow.

[0273] In yet another embodiment, the communication apparatus is the second device, wherein the transceiver unit 702 is configured to receive first information and indication information, the first information including description information of each of a plurality of sub-service flows and QoS requirements of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, at least one of the QoS requirements including rate limit information of a first service flow, the plurality of sub-service flows being associated with the first service flow, the indication information being used to indicate that rate control is performed on each of the plurality of sub-service flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow; and the processing unit 701 is configured to perform rate control on each of the plurality of sub-service flows according to the first information and the indication information.

[0274] In yet another embodiment, the communication apparatus is the second device, wherein the transceiver 702 is configured to receive the first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate to perform rate measurement on each of the plurality of sub-service flows; and the processor 701 is configured to measure the rate of each of the plurality of sub-service flows according to the first indication information, and obtain measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, the measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow being used to determine rate configuration information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows, and the plurality of sub-service flows being associated with the first service flow.

[0275] In yet another embodiment, the communication apparatus is the first device, wherein the processor 701 is configured to obtain the first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate to perform rate measurement on each of the plurality of sub-service flows, the measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow being used to determine rate configuration information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows, and the plurality of sub-service flows being associated with the first service flow; and the transceiver 702 is configured to send the first indication information.

[0276] The processor 701 and the transceiver 702 are described in more detail in the above embodiments of the method, and thus will not be described here.

[0277] As shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 800 is also provided in the present application. The communication apparatus 800 can be a chip or a chip system. The communication apparatus can be located in the devices involved in the above embodiments of the method, such as the first network element, the third network element, and the first device, to perform the actions corresponding to the devices.

[0278] Optionally, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0279] The communication apparatus 800 includes a processor 810.

[0280] The processor 810 is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory 820 to realize the actions of the devices in the above embodiments of the method.

[0281] The communication apparatus 800 can further include a memory 820 configured to store the computer program.

[0282] Optionally, the memory 820 and the processor 810 are coupled. The coupling is an indirect coupling or communication connection between the apparatuses, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information interaction between the apparatuses, units or modules. Optionally, the memory 820 and the processor 810 are integrated together.

[0283] The processor 810 and the memory 820 can each be one or more, without limitation.

[0284] Optionally, the communication apparatus 800 can include a transceiver 830 in practical application, or can not include the transceiver 830, which is shown in a dashed box in the figure. The communication apparatus 800 can interact with other devices through the transceiver 830. The transceiver 830 can be a circuit, a bus, a transceiver, or any other device that can be used for information interaction.

[0285] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus 800 can be the first device and the second device in the above-mentioned method implementations.

[0286] The specific connection medium between the transceiver 830, the processor 810, and the memory 820 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the memory 820, the processor 810, and the transceiver 830 are connected through a bus in FIG. 8, and the bus is represented by a thick line in FIG. 8. The connection mode between other components is only illustrative and is not limited. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For convenience of representation, only one thick line is used in FIG. 8, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and can implement or execute the disclosed methods, steps, and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as execution completed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0287] In the embodiments of the present application, the memory can be a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and can also be a volatile memory such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory can also be any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and capable of being accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this. The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, used for storing computer programs, program instructions, and / or data.

[0288] Based on the above embodiments, referring to FIG. 9, the embodiments of the present application further provide another communication apparatus 900, comprising: an interface circuit 910 and a logic circuit 920; the interface circuit 910 can be understood as an input and output interface, and can be used to perform the transceiving steps of each device in any of the above method embodiments; the logic circuit 920 can be used to run codes or instructions to perform the method performed by each device in any of the above embodiments, and details are not repeated here.

[0289] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions are executed, the method performed by each device in any of the above method embodiments is implemented. The computer readable storage medium can include: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

[0290] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication system, which comprises the first device and the second device mentioned in any of the above method embodiments, and can be used to perform the method performed by each device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0291] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0292] The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams according to the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products of the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus produce the device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0293] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function specified in the flowchart or flowchart(s) and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0294] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart or flowchart(s) and / or block diagram block or blocks.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to a first device, comprising: obtaining first information, the first information comprising: description information of each service sub-flow in a plurality of service sub-flows and quality of service (QoS) requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein at least one of the QoS requirements comprises rate limit information of a first service flow, and the plurality of service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow; sending the first information and indication information, the indication information being used to indicate that rate control is performed on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information further comprises: each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows corresponds to an association identifier, wherein service sub-flows with the same association identifier belong to the same service flow.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first device is a session management network element or a policy management network element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, When the first device is a session management network element, the obtaining of the first information comprises: receiving the first information and the indication information from a policy management network element.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises: determining a plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first information, wherein each QoS flow corresponds to at least one service sub-flow of the first service flow.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The indication information comprises configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows, at least one of the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows comprises the rate limit information of the first service flow, and the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows indicates that rate control is performed on the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

7. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to a second device, comprising: receiving first information and indication information, the first information comprising: description information of each service sub-flow in a plurality of service sub-flows and quality of service (QoS) requirement of each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows, wherein at least one of the QoS requirements comprises rate limit information of a first service flow, the plurality of service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow, and the indication information is used to indicate that rate control is performed on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows based on the rate limit information of the first service flow; performing rate control on each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows according to the first information and the indication information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The first information further comprises: each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows corresponds to an association identifier, wherein service sub-flows with the same association identifier belong to the same service flow.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The indication information comprises configuration information of a plurality of QoS flows, at least one of the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows comprises the rate limit information of the first service flow, the configuration information of the plurality of QoS flows indicates that rate control is performed on the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow, and each QoS flow corresponds to at least one service sub-flow of the first service flow.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The method further comprises: determining that each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows is associated with the first service flow according to an association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the plurality of service sub-flows.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7-10, characterized in that, The rate control manner comprises at least one of the following: when the sum of bit rates of the plurality of QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow is not less than the rate limit information of the first service flow, randomly discarding data packets in the plurality of QoS flows; or, When the multiple QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow need to be guaranteed with a service flow rate limit, resources corresponding to guaranteed rate limit information are reserved for the multiple QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

12. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to a second device, comprising: Receiving first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate performing rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows; According to the first indication information, the rate of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows is measured, and the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows is obtained, the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow are used to determine the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows, and the multiple service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first indication information is rate measurement reporting indication, and the method further comprises: Receiving the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method further comprises: Sending the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows; Receiving the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first indication information is rate measurement indication, and the method further comprises: Receiving second information, the second information comprises: the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows and the quality of service (QoS) requirement of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows, wherein at least one of the QoS requirements comprises the rate limit information of the first service flow, or the first QoS requirement comprises historical rate reference information corresponding to the first service sub-flow, the first service sub-flow is any one of the multiple service sub-flows, and the first QoS requirement is the QoS requirement of the first service sub-flow.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The second information further comprises the association identifier corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows; wherein the service sub-flows with the same association identifier belong to the same service flow.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The method comprises: Determining the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows according to the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows and the second information.

18. The method of any of claims 13-17, wherein, The first indication information is from a session management network element, and the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows is the description information of the multiple QoS flows corresponding to the first service flow.

19. The method of any one of claims 12-18, wherein, The measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows is the transmission rate value of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows or the ratio of the transmission rates of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows.

20. A method of communication, comprising: Applied to a first device, comprising: Obtaining first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate performing rate measurement on each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows, the measurement result of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow are used to determine the rate configuration information corresponding to each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows, and the multiple service sub-flows are associated with the first service flow; Sending the first indication information.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The first indication information is rate measurement reporting indication, and the method further comprises: Sending the description information of each service sub-flow in the multiple service sub-flows.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The method further comprises: receive measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows; determine rate configuration information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows according to the measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and the rate limit information of the first service flow, or according to the measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and historical rate reference information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows; send the rate configuration information corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein, The first indication information is rate measurement indication, and the method further comprises: sending second information, the second information comprising: description information of each of the plurality of sub-service flows and quality of service (QoS) requirements of each of the plurality of sub-service flows, wherein at least one of the QoS requirements comprises rate limit information of the first service flow, or a first QoS requirement comprises historical rate reference information corresponding to a first sub-service flow, the first sub-service flow being any one of the plurality of sub-service flows, and the first QoS requirement being a QoS requirement of the first sub-service flow.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein, The second information further comprises an association identifier corresponding to each of the plurality of sub-service flows; wherein sub-service flows with the same association identifier belong to the same service flow.

25. The method of any one of claims 20-24, wherein, The measurement results of each of the plurality of sub-service flows are transmission rate values of each of the plurality of sub-service flows or ratios of transmission rates of each of the plurality of sub-service flows.

26. A communications device, characterized by comprise: at least one processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer programs or data; the at least one processor is configured to run part or all of the computer programs or data to cause the method of any one of claims 1-25 to be performed.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores instructions, when the instructions are executed by a computer, causing the method of any one of claims 1-25 to be performed.

28. A computer program product comprising computer programs or instructions, characterized in that, When the computer programs or instructions are run on the computer, the method of any one of claims 1-25 is caused to be performed.

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