Communication method, communication device, communication system, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. The method comprises: using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of a first device to send a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), the PDCP PDU being used for indicating at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. The method of the present disclosure ensures communication performance and communication efficiency.

Description

Communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication, and particularly relates to a communication method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a communication system, when a terminal and a network device communicate, the related configurations of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entities of the two need to be updated synchronously.

[0003] SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system and a storage medium.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, performed by a first device, comprising:

[0006] sending, by a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), the PDCP PDU being used to indicate at least one of: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0007] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, performed by a second device, comprising:

[0008] receiving, by a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity, the first PDCP entity being a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being used to indicate at least one of: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity;

[0009] determining, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, a related configuration of a first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or determining a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0010] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, for a communication system comprising a first device and a second device, comprising:

[0011] The first device transmits, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), where the PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0012] The second device receives, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0013] The second device determines, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a first device is provided, including:

[0015] The transceiver is configured to transmit, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), where the PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0016] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a second device is provided, including:

[0017] The transceiver is configured to receive, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) of a first PDCP entity, where the first PDCP entity is a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device communicates with the second device, and the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0018] The processing module is configured to determine, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0019] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, including:

[0020] One or more processors;

[0021] The processor is configured to invoke instructions to cause the communication device to perform the communication method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0022] According to a seventh aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided, including a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the communication method according to the first aspect, and the second device is configured to implement the communication method according to the second aspect.

[0023] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided, which stores instructions, when the instructions are executed on a communication device, causing the communication device to perform the communication method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0024] According to a ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, including a computer program, when the computer program is executed on a communication device, implementing the communication method according to the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0025] According to a tenth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program, when the computer program is executed on a computer, causing the computer to perform the communication method according to the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0026] It can be understood that the first device, the second device, the communication device, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product and the computer program are all used to execute the method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects achieved by them can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding method, which will not be described here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of some communication systems according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the architecture when the terminal PDCP entity related configuration is updated according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the flow of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C are schematic diagrams of the structure of a PDCP data PDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 2D is a schematic diagram of the structure of a PDCP control PDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the flow of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 6A is a structural diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 6B is a structural diagram of a second device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 7A is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 7B is a structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0041] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is performed by a first device, and includes:

[0042] The first device sends, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU). The PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0043] In the above embodiments, when the first device transmits the PDCP PDU by using the first PDCP entity, the first device can indicate the related configuration of the PDCP entity in the PDCP PDU, for example, indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. In this way, when the related configuration of the first PDCP entity of the first device is updated or reconfigured, the first PDCP entity can directly indicate the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity in the PDCP PDU, for example, indicate whether the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity is the related configuration before the update (or before the reconfiguration) or the related configuration after the update (or after the reconfiguration), that is, the related configuration of the first PDCP entity can be determined directly based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, without using the "processing time of synchronous update" to distinguish whether the related configuration used by the PDCP entity is the related configuration before the update (or before the reconfiguration) or the related configuration after the update (or after the reconfiguration). In this way, the terminal does not need to experience the "processing time of synchronous update", so that the situation that "due to the terminal and the network device cannot perform uplink and downlink data transmission in the processing time of synchronous update, a long data transmission interruption time is caused, thereby affecting the communication performance and the communication efficiency" can be avoided, and the communication performance and the communication efficiency are ensured.

[0044] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first function includes at least one of the following:

[0045] An encryption function;

[0046] A compression function.

[0047] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, when the first function includes an encryption function, the related configuration of the first function includes a security key used by the first PDCP entity.

[0048] When the first function includes a compression function, the related configuration of the first function includes a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0049] In some embodiments in combination with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the compression mode includes at least one of the following:

[0050] Header compression by using a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol;

[0051] Header compression by using an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol;

[0052] Uplink data compression by using an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

[0053] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises a length of the first field.

[0054] In the above embodiments, the first function and the first field are described in detail, so that the first PDCP entity of the first device can successfully indicate the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity in the PDCP PDU, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0055] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity for the first function, and the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity for the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0056] In the above embodiments, the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity can indicate the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity, so that in some embodiments, the first PDCP entity can autonomously update the related configuration used thereby. When the first PDCP entity autonomously updates the related configuration used thereby, the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity can update to indicate the updated related configuration of the first PDCP entity, thereby synchronizing the related configurations of the PDCP entities between different communication devices, and ensuring the information synchronization between the communication devices. In the above embodiments, the first PDCP entity can autonomously update the related configuration used thereby, without relying on the configuration of the network device to update the related configuration used thereby, thereby improving the flexibility of updating the related configuration.

[0057] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device communicates with a second device, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, or the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal.

[0058] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0059] receiving first information sent by the second device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0060] The first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration after receiving the first information; or the first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration when sending second information; wherein the first configuration comprises a configuration related to the first information configuration or reconfiguration, and the second information is acknowledgement information of the first information.

[0061] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0062] sending first information to the second device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a configuration related to the first function, a configuration related to the first field in the PDCP header;

[0063] The first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration after receiving the first information; or the first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration when sending second information; wherein the first configuration comprises a configuration related to the first information configuration or reconfiguration, and the second information is acknowledgement information of the first information.

[0064] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration; wherein the second configuration comprises: a configuration related to the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device does not send the first information or before the first device does not receive the first information, and / or a configuration related to the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0065] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the PDCP data PDU comprises at least one second field,

[0066] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0067] a configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0068] a configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0069] a configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or

[0070] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0071] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0072] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0073] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0074] In some embodiments of the first aspect, a value of the second field includes a first value or a second value.

[0075] When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0076] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration.

[0077] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration.

[0078] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration.

[0079] When the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0080] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0081] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0082] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0083] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value in the PDCP control PDU, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, or the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity.

[0084] The method further includes:

[0085] When a PDCP COUNT value of a PDCP data PDU sent by the first PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, at least one of the ciphering function, the compression function, and a first field in a PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

[0086] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first information further includes the first value.

[0087] In the above embodiments, it is explained how the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates whether the first PDCP entity currently uses the relevant configuration before the update or the relevant configuration after the update, so that the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity can successfully indicate whether the first PDCP entity currently uses the relevant configuration before the update or the relevant configuration after the update, thereby the terminal does not need to use the "synchronization update processing time" to distinguish whether the PDCP entity uses the relevant configuration before the update or the relevant configuration after the update, and the terminal does not need to experience the "synchronization update processing time", thereby the situation that "due to the synchronization update processing time, the terminal and the network device cannot perform uplink and downlink data transmission, resulting in a long data transmission interruption time, thereby affecting the communication performance and the communication efficiency" can be avoided, and the communication performance and the communication efficiency are ensured.

[0088] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device includes a network device to which the terminal is connected before network device switching; and the method further includes:

[0089] sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information including at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, and a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0090] In the above embodiments, when the first device is a network device (i.e., a source network device) to which the terminal is connected before network device switching, if the terminal performs network device switching, the first device can indicate to a third device (i.e., a target network device or a destination network device) an identifier of an RB corresponding to the first PDCP entity and a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity, so that the target network device knows the relevant configuration used between the PDCP entity of the source network device and the PDCP entity of the terminal, thereby the target network device can reconfigure the relevant configuration of the PDCP entity of the terminal to distinguish from the relevant configuration of the PDCP entity of the source network device, and the independence of the information configuration of different network devices is ensured, and the communication performance is guaranteed.

[0091] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device comprises a terminal, the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0092] receiving fourth information sent by the second device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0093] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first device comprises a network device, the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0094] sending fourth information to the second device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0095] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0096] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0097] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0098] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0099] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0100] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0101] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0102] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0103] sending, to the second device, fifth information used to indicate whether the PDCP PDU of the first device supports indication of at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0104] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0105] receiving fifth information sent by the second device, the fifth information being used to indicate whether the PDCP PDU of the second device supports indication of at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0106] In some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fifth information is further used to indicate at least one of:

[0107] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission supports indication of at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0108] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission supports indication of at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0109] In the above embodiments, the first device and the second device can interact whether the PDCP PDU supports indication of at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header, and meanwhile, the first device and the second device can indicate whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. In this way, when the PDCP PDU of the first device and the second device supports indication of the related configuration of the PDCP entity, the PDCP PDU of the first device and the second device is configured to indicate the related configuration of the PDCP entity, so as to avoid the case that the PDCP PDU of the first device and the second device does not support indication of the related configuration of the PDCP entity, but the PDCP PDU of the first device and the second device is configured to indicate the related configuration of the PDCP entity, thereby reducing the occurrence of misconfiguration and ensuring communication stability.

[0110] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, performed by a second device, the method comprising:

[0111] receiving, by a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity, the first PDCP entity being a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being used to indicate at least one of: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity;

[0112] determining, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or, determining the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0113] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first function comprises at least one of:

[0114] a ciphering function;

[0115] a compression function.

[0116] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, when the first function comprises a ciphering function, the related configuration of the first function comprises: a security key used by the first PDCP entity.

[0117] when the first function comprises a compression function, the related configuration of the first function comprises: a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0118] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the compression mode comprises at least one of:

[0119] a header compression using a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol;

[0120] a header compression using an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol;

[0121] an uplink data compression using an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

[0122] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises: a length of the first field.

[0123] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration currently used by the first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0124] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, or the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal.

[0125] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0126] sending first information to the first device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0127] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0128] receiving first information sent by the first device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0129] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate that the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration; wherein the first configuration comprises a related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information, and the second configuration comprises: a related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device sends the first information or before the first device receives the first information, and / or a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity before the first device sends the first information or before the first device receives the first information.

[0130] In some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP data PDU comprises at least one second field,

[0131] the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0132] a related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0133] a related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0134] a related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or

[0135] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0136] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration;

[0137] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration;

[0138] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0139] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the value of the second field includes a first value or a second value.

[0140] When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0141] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration;

[0142] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration;

[0143] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration.

[0144] When the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0145] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0146] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0147] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0148] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value in the PDCP control PDU, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, or the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity.

[0149] The method further includes:

[0150] When the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity received by the second PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, determining that at least one of the ciphering function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

[0151] With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first information further includes the first value.

[0152] With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second device includes a network device to which a terminal is connected before network device switching; the method further includes:

[0153] sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information including at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, and a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0154] With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device includes a network device, and the second device includes a terminal; the method further includes:

[0155] determining a second PDCP COUNT value corresponding to the second PDCP entity, the second PDCP COUNT value being a minimum PDCP COUNT value corresponding to all PDCP PDUs received by the second PDCP entity and using the first configuration;

[0156] When a PDCP reception status variable RX_DELIV of the second PDCP entity is greater than the second PDCP COUNT value of the second PDCP entity, determining that the second PDCP entity does not retain or use the second configuration;

[0157] When all second PDCP entities of the second device do not retain or use the second configuration, determining that the second device does not retain or use the second configuration.

[0158] With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device includes a terminal, and the second device includes a network device; the method further includes:

[0159] sending fourth information to the first device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0160] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0161] receiving fourth information sent by the first device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0162] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of:

[0163] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0164] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0165] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0166] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of:

[0167] whether the PDCP PDU of uplink transmission indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0168] whether the PDCP PDU of downlink transmission indicates at least one of: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0169] In some embodiments in combination with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0170] receiving fifth information sent by the first device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the first function related configuration and the first field related configuration in the PDCP PDU of the first device are supported.

[0171] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0172] sending fifth information to the first device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the first function related configuration and the first field related configuration in the PDCP PDU of the first device are supported.

[0173] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the fifth information is further used for indicating at least one of:

[0174] whether the first function related configuration and the first field related configuration in the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission are supported;

[0175] whether the first function related configuration and the first field related configuration in the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission are supported.

[0176] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the determining the first function related configuration of the second PDCP entity and / or the first field related configuration in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity based on the indication of the PDCP PDU comprises at least one of:

[0177] determining the first function related configuration of the first PDCP entity as the first function related configuration of the second PDCP entity;

[0178] determining the first field related configuration in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity as the first field related configuration in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0179] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, applied to a communication system, the communication system comprising a first device and a second device, and the method comprising:

[0180] The first device sends, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), where the PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0181] The second device receives, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0182] The second device determines, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0183] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first device, comprising:

[0184] The transceiver is configured to send, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), where the PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0185] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first function includes at least one of the following:

[0186] An encryption function;

[0187] A compression function.

[0188] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, when the first function includes an encryption function, the related configuration of the first function includes a security key used by the first PDCP entity.

[0189] When the first function includes a compression function, the related configuration of the first function includes a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0190] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the compression mode includes at least one of the following:

[0191] Header compression using a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol;

[0192] Header compression using an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol;

[0193] Uplink data compression using an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

[0194] In some embodiments combining with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises a length of the first field.

[0195] In some embodiments combining with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity, and the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity in the first field of the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0196] In some embodiments combining with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device communicates with a second device, and the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, or the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal.

[0197] In some embodiments combining with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0198] receiving first information sent by the second device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0199] determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use a first configuration after receiving the first information, or determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration when sending second information, wherein the first configuration comprises the related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information, and the second information is acknowledgement information of the first information.

[0200] In some embodiments combining with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0201] sending, by the first device, first information to the second device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0202] determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use a first configuration after sending the first information, or determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration after a first time period of sending the first information, wherein the first configuration comprises the related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information.

[0203] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates in the PDCP data PDU that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration; wherein the second configuration comprises: the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device does not send the first information or before the first device does not receive the first information, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0204] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP data PDU comprises at least one second field,

[0205] The second field is used to indicate at least one of:

[0206] the related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0207] the related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0208] the related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or

[0209] The second field is used to indicate at least one of:

[0210] the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration for the encryption function;

[0211] the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration for the compression function;

[0212] the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration for the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0213] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the value of the second field comprises a first value or a second value;

[0214] When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of:

[0215] the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration for the encryption function;

[0216] the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration for the compression function;

[0217] the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration for the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity;

[0218] when the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0219] the encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0220] the compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0221] the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0222] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value in the PDCP control PDU, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, or the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity.

[0223] The method further includes:

[0224] when the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU sent by the first PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, or the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

[0225] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first information further includes the first value.

[0226] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first device includes a network device to which the terminal is connected before network device switching; and the method further includes:

[0227] sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information including at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, or a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0228] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first device includes a terminal, and the second device includes a network device; and the method further includes:

[0229] receiving fourth information sent by the second device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0230] In some embodiments in combination with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0231] sending fourth information to the second device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0232] In some embodiments in combination with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0233] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0234] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0235] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0236] In some embodiments in combination with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0237] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0238] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0239] In some embodiments in combination with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0240] The fifth information is used to indicate whether the first device supports indication of at least one of the following in a PDCP PDU: related configuration of the first function, and related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

[0241] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0242] The fifth information is received, and the fifth information is used to indicate whether the second device supports indication of at least one of the following in a PDCP PDU: related configuration of the first function, and related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

[0243] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the fifth information is further used to indicate at least one of:

[0244] whether the first device supports indication of at least one of the following in a PDCP PDU for uplink transmission: related configuration of the first function, and related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header;

[0245] whether the first device supports indication of at least one of the following in a PDCP PDU for downlink transmission: related configuration of the first function, and related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

[0246] In the fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a second device, comprising:

[0247] The transceiver module is configured to receive, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity, the first PDCP entity being a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being used to indicate at least one of: related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity;

[0248] The processing module is configured to determine, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, related configuration of a first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or determine related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0249] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first function comprises at least one of:

[0250] encryption function;

[0251] compression function.

[0252] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, when the first function comprises a ciphering function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a security key used by the first PDCP entity.

[0253] When the first function comprises a compression function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0254] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the compression mode comprises at least one of:

[0255] header compression using a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol;

[0256] header compression using an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol;

[0257] uplink data compression using an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

[0258] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises a length of the first field.

[0259] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function currently used by the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of the first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0260] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, or the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal.

[0261] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0262] sending first information to the first device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0263] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0264] receive first information sent by the first device, the first information being used for configuring or reconfiguring at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, a related configuration of a first field in the PDCP header.

[0265] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration; wherein the first configuration comprises the related configuration of the first information configured or reconfigured, and the second configuration comprises: the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device sends the first information or before the first device receives the first information, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0266] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the PDCP data PDU comprises at least one second field,

[0267] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0268] the related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0269] the related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0270] the related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or

[0271] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0272] the first configuration or the second configuration used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0273] the first configuration or the second configuration used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0274] the first configuration or the second configuration used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0275] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the value of the second field comprises a first value or a second value;

[0276] When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0277] the first configuration used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0278] the first configuration is used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0279] the first configuration is used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity;

[0280] when the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0281] the second configuration is used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0282] the second configuration is used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0283] the second configuration is used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0284] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value in the PDCP control PDU, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, or the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity.

[0285] The method further includes:

[0286] when the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity received by the second PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, determining that at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, or the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

[0287] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first information further includes the first value.

[0288] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the second device includes a network device to which the terminal is connected before network device switching; and the method further includes:

[0289] sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information including at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, or a value of the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0290] In some embodiments combining with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0291] determining a second PDCP COUNT value corresponding to the second PDCP entity, the second PDCP COUNT value being a minimum PDCP COUNT value corresponding to all PDCP PDUs received by the second PDCP entity using the first configuration;

[0292] when a PDCP reception status variable RX_DELIV of the second PDCP entity is greater than the second PDCP COUNT value of the second PDCP entity, determining that the second PDCP entity does not retain or use the second configuration;

[0293] when all second PDCP entities of the second device do not retain or use the second configuration, determining that the second device does not retain or use the second configuration.

[0294] In some embodiments combining with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0295] sending fourth information to the first device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0296] In some embodiments combining with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0297] receiving fourth information sent by the first device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0298] In some embodiments combining with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0299] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0300] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0301] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0302] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0303] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0304] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0305] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0306] receiving fifth information sent by the first device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the PDCP PDU of the first device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0307] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0308] sending fifth information to the first device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the PDCP PDU of the first device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0309] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the fifth information is further used for indicating at least one of the following:

[0310] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0311] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0312] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the determining the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity based on the indication of the PDCP PDU comprises at least one of:

[0313] determining the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity;

[0314] determining the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0315] In a sixth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device, which comprises one or more processors, one or more memories for storing instructions, wherein the processor is configured to invoke the instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0316] In a seventh aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication system, which comprises a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, and the second device is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0317] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions are run on a communication device, causing the communication device to perform the method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0318] In a ninth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a program product, which comprises a computer program, when the computer program is executed by a processor, realizing the method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0319] In a tenth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program, when it is run on a computer, causing the computer to perform the method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0320] It can be understood that the first device, the second device, the communication device, the communication system, the storage medium, the program product, and the computer program described above are used to execute the method proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved are described with reference to the corresponding method, and will not be described here.

[0321] The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the communication method and the information processing method, the information sending method, and the information receiving method can be replaced with each other, the communication device and the information processing device, the information sending device, and the information receiving device can be replaced with each other, and the information processing system, the communication system, the information sending system, and the information receiving system can be replaced with each other.

[0322] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but only illustrate some embodiments, and are not specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure. In the case of no contradiction, each step in an embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be combined arbitrarily, for example, the scheme after removing some steps in an embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in an embodiment can be exchanged arbitrarily, in addition, the optional implementation manners in an embodiment can be combined arbitrarily; in addition, the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, for example, the steps of different embodiments or some or all steps of different embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, an embodiment can be combined with the optional implementation manners of other embodiments.

[0323] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other if there is no special description and logical conflict, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0324] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and not as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0325] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the elements expressed in singular form, such as “one”, “a”, “the”, “above”, “said”, “preceding”, “this” and the like, can represent “one and only one”, or “one or more”, “at least one” and the like. For example, in the case of using articles such as “a”, “an”, “the” and the like in English, the noun after the article can be understood as singular expression, or can be understood as plural expression.

[0326] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “a plurality of” means two or more.

[0327] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of,” “at least one of,” “at least one of,” “one or more,” “a plurality of,” “multiple,” and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0328] In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the description modes such as “at least one of A, B, and C”, “A and / or B and / or C”, and the like include any one of A, B, and C existing alone, and also include any combination of any number of A, B, and C, and each case can exist alone; for example, “at least one of A, B, and C” includes a case of A alone, a case of B alone, a case of C alone, a case of a combination of A and B, a case of a combination of A and C, a case of a combination of B and C, and a case of a combination of A and B and C; for example, A and / or B includes a case of A alone, a case of B alone, and a case of a combination of A and B.

[0329] In some embodiments, the description modes such as “A in a case, B in another case”, “in response to a case A, in response to another case B”, and the like can include the following technical solutions according to the cases: A is executed regardless of B, that is, A in some embodiments; B is executed regardless of A, that is, B in some embodiments; A and B are selectively executed, that is, A and B are selected from A and B to be executed in some embodiments; A and B are both executed, that is, A and B in some embodiments. When there are more branches of A, B, C, and the like, it is similar to the above.

[0330] The prefix words of "first", "second" and the like in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely used to distinguish different description objects, and do not constitute limitation on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. The description objects are described in the claims or embodiments, and should not be construed as redundant limitation because of the use of the prefix words. For example, the description object is "field", and the ordinal words before "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not limit the position or order between "fields", and "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" modified thereby are in the same message or not, nor limit the order of "first field" and "second field". For another example, the description object is "level", and the ordinal words before "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the quantity of the description object is not limited by the ordinal words, and can be one or more. For example, "first device", wherein the quantity of "device" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefix words can be the same or different, for example, the description object is "device", and "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and the types thereof can be the same or different. For another example, the description object is "information", and "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and the contents thereof can be the same or different.

[0331] In some embodiments, "including A", "containing A", "for indicating A", "carrying A" can be interpreted as directly carrying A, or indirectly indicating A.

[0332] In some embodiments, the terms of "in response to", "in response to determining", "in the case of", "when", "when", "if", "if" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0333] In some embodiments, the terms of "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not lower than", "above" and the like can be replaced with each other, and the terms of "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", "below" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0334] In some embodiments, an apparatus or the like can be interpreted as an entity, and can also be interpreted as virtual, and the name thereof is not limited to the name described in the embodiments, and the terms "apparatus", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0335] In some embodiments, a "network" can be interpreted as an apparatus (for example, an access network device, a core network device, and the like) included in the network.

[0336] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like can be replaced with each other.

[0337] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal," "terminal device," "user equipment (UE)," "user terminal," "mobile station (MS)," "mobile terminal (MT)," "subscriber station," "mobile unit," "subscriber unit," "wireless unit," "remote unit," "mobile device," "wireless device," "wireless communication device," "remote device," "mobile subscriber station," "access terminal," "mobile terminal," "wireless terminal," "remote terminal," "handset," "user agent," "mobile client," "client," and so on can be replaced with each other.

[0338] In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced with a terminal. For example, the embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals (for example, also referred to as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and so on). In this case, the terminal can also be configured to have all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, the language of "uplink," "downlink," and so on can also be replaced with language corresponding to the inter-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, the uplink channel, the downlink channel, and so on can be replaced with the side channel, and the uplink, the downlink, and so on can be replaced with the side link.

[0339] In some embodiments, the terminal can be replaced with the access network device, the core network device, or the network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can also be configured to have all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0340] In some embodiments, the data, information, etc. can be obtained in compliance with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is located.

[0341] In some embodiments, the data, information, etc. can be obtained after obtaining the consent of the user.

[0342] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0343] The correspondence shown in each table in the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are merely examples, and other values can be configured, and the present disclosure is not limited. When configuring the correspondence between the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, the correspondences shown in some rows in the table in the present disclosure can also not be configured. For another example, the above table can be appropriately deformed, adjusted, etc., such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables can also use other names understandable by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters can also use other values or representations understandable by the communication device. The above tables can also use other data structures when implemented, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear tables, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables, etc.

[0344] The predefinition in the present disclosure can be understood as defining, predefining, storing, pre-storing, pre-negotiating, pre-configuring, solidifying, or pre-burning.

[0345] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1A, the communication system 100 can include a first device, a second device, and a third device. In some embodiments, the first device can include a terminal, and the second device can include a network device, or the first device can include a network device, and the second device can include a terminal; or the first device can include a network device to which a terminal is connected before network device switching (i.e., a source network device), and the third device can include a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching (i.e., a target network device or a destination network device). Optionally, the network device can include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0346] In some embodiments, the terminal includes at least one of a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IOT) device, a communication-capable automobile, a smart automobile, a tablet (Pad), a wireless transceiver-equipped computer, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a wireless terminal device in a smart home, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0347] In some embodiments, the access network device is at least one of a node or a device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network, and can include an evolved NodeB (eNB) in a 5G communication system, a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an Open RAN, a Cloud RAN, a base station in other communication systems, an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

[0348] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be applied to an Open RAN architecture, in which case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can become internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0349] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), wherein the CU can also be referred to as a control unit. The CU-DU structure can split the protocol layers of the access network device, and the functions of part of the protocol layers are controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the CU controls the DU.

[0350] In some embodiments, the core network device can be one device including one or more network elements, or can be multiple devices or device groups including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element can be virtual or physical. The core network includes at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G core network (5GCN), and a next-generation core (NGC), for example. Alternatively, the core network device can also be a location management function network element. The location management function network element includes a location server, which can be implemented as any one of a location management function (LMF), an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), a secure user plane location (SUPL), and a SUPL location platform (SUPLLP).

[0351] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can know that, as the system architecture evolves and new business scenarios appear, the technical solutions proposed in the present disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0352] The following embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A, or part of the subjects, but are not limited thereto. The subjects illustrated in FIG. 1A are examples, and the communication system can include all or part of the subjects in FIG. 1A, or other subjects other than those in FIG. 1A. The number and form of each subject is arbitrary, and the connection relationship between the subjects is an example. The subjects can not be connected or can be connected, and the connection can be in any manner, can be direct connection or indirect connection, and can be wired connection or wireless connection.

[0353] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (Bluetooth (registered trademark)), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, Device-to-Device (D2D) system, Machine to Machine (M2M) system, Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), system using other communication methods, next-generation system expanded based thereon, and the like. Further, a plurality of systems can be applied in combination (for example, combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, and the like).

[0354] Optionally, in some embodiments, the "synchronization updating of the related configurations of the PDCP entities of the terminal and the network device" described above can include: synchronously updating the related configurations of the PDCP entities of the terminal and the network device, such as at least one of the security key, the compression mode, and the length of the SN field. Optionally, the related configurations of the PDCP entities of the terminal and the network device can be synchronously updated by performing a synchronization reconfiguration procedure. In some embodiments, the synchronization reconfiguration procedure needs a synchronization time point, which can be used as a critical point. Before the synchronization time point, the PDCP entities of the terminal and the network device use the related configurations before the updating; after the synchronization time point, the PDCP entities of the terminal and the network device use the related configurations after the updating. Optionally, one way to establish the synchronization time point is to use the random access (Random Access). That is, before the random access procedure, the PDCP entity uses the related configurations before the updating; after the random access procedure, the PDCP entity uses the related configurations after the updating. In other embodiments, when the random access is not used, the first uplink grant (UL grant) on the data transmission in the synchronization reconfiguration procedure can also be used to distinguish. That is, for the data transmission before the first uplink grant on the data transmission, the PDCP entity uses the related configurations before the updating; for the data transmission after the first uplink grant on the data transmission, the PDCP entity uses the related configurations after the updating.

[0355] Optionally, in some embodiments, FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the architecture when the related configurations of the terminal PDCP entity are updated, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1B, the terminal can receive a downlink radio resource control (RRC) message sent by the network device, the downlink RRC message can be used to update or reconfigure the related configurations of the terminal PDCP entity (i.e., the related configurations used by at least one of the security key, the compression mode, and the length of the SN field of the terminal PDCP entity), and after the terminal receives the downlink RRC message, the terminal can synchronously update the related configurations of the PDCP entity based on the downlink RRC message, and after the terminal performs the synchronous updating, the terminal PDCP entity can transmit an uplink RRC message to the network device based on the related configurations after the updating.

[0356] Optionally, the processing time T processing The RRC procedure time can be 10 milliseconds (ms), and the interruption time can include the time of waiting for the random access channel (RACH) resource or the uplink grant resource. Optionally, the T processingThe maximum can be 20 ms.

[0357] In some embodiments, the terminal and the network device distinguish whether the PDCP entity uses the related configuration before the update or the related configuration after the update by using a "synchronization update processing time (i.e., T processing )". processing Optionally, before the "T processing ", the terminal and the network device use the related configuration before the update, and after the "T processing ", the terminal and the network device use the related configuration after the update.

[0358] However, it should be noted that within the T processing , the terminal and the network device cannot perform uplink and downlink data transmission, which will cause a long data transmission interruption time, thereby affecting the communication performance and communication efficiency.

[0359] FIG. 2A is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a communication system 100; the above-mentioned method comprises:

[0360] Step 2101, the first device and the second device interact with the fifth information.

[0361] Optionally, the first device can include a terminal, and the second device can include a network device, or the first device can include a network device, and the second device can include a terminal.

[0362] In some embodiments, when the first device includes a terminal and the second device includes a network device, the first device can send the fifth information to the second device, and at this time, the fifth information can be used to indicate whether the PDCP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) of the first PDCP entity in the first device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0363] In some other embodiments, when the first device includes a network device and the second device includes a terminal, the second device can send the fifth information to the first device, and at this time, the fifth information can be used to indicate whether the PDCP PDU of the second PDCP entity in the second device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0364] Optionally, the first device can comprise at least one first PDCP entity, and the second device can comprise at least one second PDCP entity, wherein one first PDCP entity or one second PDCP entity can correspond to one radio bearer (RB), for example, one first PDCP entity or one second PDCP entity corresponds to one signalling radio bearer (SRB), and one first PDCP entity or one second PDCP entity corresponds to one data radio bearer (DRB).

[0365] Optionally, the PDCP PDU can comprise a PDCP data (Data) PDU and a PDCP control (Control) PDU, wherein the PDCP Data PDU can be used to transmit data of a higher layer, and the PDCP Control PDU can be used to transmit control information of the PDCP layer, for example, feedback of RObust Header Compression (ROHC), PDCP Status Report, etc.

[0366] Optionally, the first function can comprise at least one of the following: a ciphering function, a compression function.

[0367] Optionally, when the first function comprises the ciphering function, the related configuration of the first function can comprise a security key used by the first PDCP entity or the second PDCP entity, and in some embodiments, the security key used by the first PDCP entity or the second PDCP entity can comprise a master key K gNB Optionally, the master key can be used to generate a security key K RRCenc , K RRCint , K UPenc , K UPint . Optionally, the security key K RRCenc can be used to implement RRC signaling ciphering and deciphering, the security key K RRCint can be used to implement integrity protection and verification of RRC signaling. The security key K UPenc can be used to implement user data ciphering and deciphering, and the security key K UPint can be used to implement integrity protection and verification of user data.

[0368] Optionally, when the first function comprises a compression function, the related configuration of the first function can comprise a compression manner used by the first PDCP entity. In some embodiments, the compression manner can comprise at least one of the following: packet header compression using ROHC protocol, packet header compression using Ethernet Header Compression (EHC) protocol, uplink data compression using Uplink Data Compression (UDC) protocol. Optionally, when the first function comprises a compression function, the related configuration of the first function can further comprise a profile of the packet header compression of the first PDCP entity and / or a maximum number of ROHC context sessions (maxCID). Optionally, the profile of the packet header compression can comprise at least one of the following: Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP).

[0369] Optionally, the first field can comprise a PDCP SN field, and the related configuration of the first field can comprise a length of the first field. In some embodiments, the length of the first field can comprise 12 bits or 18 bits.

[0370] Optionally, the fifth information can further be used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0371] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission supports indication of at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0372] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission supports indication of at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0373] Optionally, the fifth information can be carried in a UE capability signaling.

[0374] Step 2102: the first device and the second device interact with the fourth information.

[0375] Optionally, the fourth information can be used to configure whether the PDCP PDU between the first device and the second device indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0376] In some embodiments, when the PDCP PDU of the first device and / or the PDCP PDU of the second device supports at least one of the related configuration indicating the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header, the fourth information can be used to configure the PDCP PDU between the first device and the second device to indicate the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; when the PDCP PDU of the first device and / or the PDCP PDU of the second device does not support at least one of the related configuration indicating the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header, the fourth information can be used to configure the PDCP PDU between the first device and the second device to not indicate the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0377] Optionally, in some embodiments, when the first device comprises a terminal and the second device comprises a network device, the fourth information can be sent by the second device to the first device. In other embodiments, when the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal, the fourth information can be sent by the first device to the second device.

[0378] Optionally, in some embodiments, the fourth information can be further used to configure at least one of the following:

[0379] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to the one or more RBs indicates the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0380] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to the one or more Medium Access Control (MAC) entities indicates the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0381] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0382] Optionally, in some embodiments, the fourth information can be further used to configure at least one of the following:

[0383] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0384] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates the related configuration of the first function and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0385] Optionally, the fourth information can be carried in RRC signaling.

[0386] Step 2103, the first device sends the first information to the second device, or the second device sends the first information to the first device.

[0387] Optionally, in some embodiments, when the first device comprises a terminal and the second device comprises a network device, the second device can send the first information to the first device; in other embodiments, when the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal, the first device can send the first information to the second device.

[0388] Optionally, the first information can be used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0389] Optionally, the first information can include an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) message and / or a next hop chain count (NCC) message.

[0390] Step 2104, the first device determines the time when the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration.

[0391] Optionally, the first configuration can include the related configuration of the first information configuration or reconfiguration.

[0392] Optionally, in some embodiments, when the first information is sent by the second device to the first device, the first device can determine that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration after receiving the first information; or the first device can determine that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration when sending the second information (including sending the second information); wherein the second information can be the confirmation information of the first information. For example, the second information can include an RRC reconfiguration complete (RRCReconfigurationComplete) message.

[0393] Optionally, in other embodiments, when the first information is sent by the first device to the second device, the first device can determine that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration after sending the first information; or the first device can determine that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration after a first time period of sending the first information; wherein the first time period can be determined based on the processing time of the second device for the first information, for example, the time length of the first time period can be greater than or equal to the processing time of the second device for the first information.

[0394] Step 2105, the first device sends a PDCP PDU by using the first PDCP entity.

[0395] Optionally, in some embodiments, the PDCP PDU sent by the first PDCP entity can indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration used by the first function of the first PDCP entity, the related configuration used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0396] It should be noted that the above steps 2103 and 2104 can be optionally performed, and in some embodiments, the above steps 2103 and 2104 can not be performed, in which case the first device can autonomously update the related configuration used by the first PDCP entity, and the PDCP PDU sent by the first PDCP entity can indicate the related configuration currently used by the first function of the first PDCP entity and / or the related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity in real time. Optionally, the first PDCP entity can use the PDCP data PDU to indicate the related configuration currently used by the first function of the first PDCP entity and / or the related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity in real time. In some embodiments, the PDCP data PDU can include at least one second field, which can be included in the header of the PDCP data PDU, and the second field can correspond to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header, for example, the PDCP data PDU can include three second fields, which can correspond to the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header, respectively, or the PDCP data PDU can include one second field, which can correspond to the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header, or the PDCP data PDU can include two second fields, one of the two second fields can correspond to the encryption function and the compression function, and the other of the two second fields can correspond to the first field in the PDCP header.

[0397] Optionally, the second field can indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity, the related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity, and the related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. For example, when the second field corresponds to the encryption function and the compression function, the second field can be used to indicate the related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity and the related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity; when the second field corresponds to the encryption function, the second field can be used to indicate the related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity.

[0398] Optionally, the value of the second field can correspond to the related configuration of the first PDCP entity. For example, when the value of the second field is "0", it can indicate that the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header is 12 bits; when the value of the second field is "1", it can indicate that the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header is 18 bits. Alternatively, when the value of the second field is "1", it can indicate that the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header is 12 bits; when the value of the second field is "0", it can indicate that the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header is 18 bits.

[0399] Optionally, in some embodiments, when performing the above steps 2103 and 2104, the PDCP PDU sent by the first PDCP entity can indicate that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration. Optionally, the second configuration can include: the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device sends or receives the first information, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. That is, the first configuration can be understood as the related configuration of the first PDCP entity before updating, and the second configuration can be understood as the related configuration of the first PDCP entity after updating.

[0400] Optionally, the first PDCP entity can use the PDCP data PDU to indicate that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration. In some embodiments, the PDCP data PDU can include at least one second field, which can correspond to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header. For details, please refer to the above description.

[0401] Optionally, the second field in the PDCP data PDU can indicate at least one of the following: the encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration, the compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration, and the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration. For example, when the second field corresponds to the encryption function and the compression function, the second field can be used to indicate that the encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration, and the compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration; when the second field corresponds to the encryption function, the second field can be used to indicate that the encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0402] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second field can include a first value or a second value; optionally, when the second field takes the first value, the second field can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration for the ciphering function, the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration for the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration; when the second field takes the second value, the second field can be used to indicate at least one of the following: the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration for the ciphering function, the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration for the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0403] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second field can include n bits, n is greater than or equal to 1 and n is a positive integer, when the second field includes n bits, the second field can take values in the range of 0, 1, …, 2n-1. n -1. When the PDCP entity is established, the second field can take the value of 0, and the second value described above can be x, x = 1, …, or 2n-1. n -1. The first value described above can be (x+1) mod 2. n Wherein, mod is the modulo operation, i.e. a mod b = c, which means that the remainder of a divided by b is c. Optionally, in some embodiments, when the length of the first field is 1 bit, i.e. n = 1, the first value can be x, x = 0 or 1, and the second value can be 1-x; for example, the first value can be 0 and the second value can be 1, or the first value can be 1 and the second value can be 0.

[0404] Optionally, the first value and / or the second value can be included in the first information described above. In some embodiments, when the first information includes the first value, the first device can determine the second value based on the first value; for example, the second value = (first value-1) mod 2 n , or the second value = 1-first value; in other embodiments, when the first information includes the second value, the first device can determine the first value based on the second value; for example, the first value = (second value+1) mod 2 n , or the first value = 1-second value.

[0405] Optionally, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C are structure diagrams of the PDCP data PDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C, the D / C field indicates whether the PDCP PDU is a PDCP data PDU or a PDCP control PDU. For example, the D / C field takes a value of 0 to indicate that the PDCP PDU is a PDCP control PDU, and takes a value of 1 to indicate that the PDCP PDU is a PDCP data PDU. The PDCP SN is the first field, and the length of the PDCP SN can be 12 bits or 18 bits. As shown in FIG. 2B, the length of the PDCP SN of the PDCP data PDU is 12 bits. As shown in FIG. 2C, the length of the PDCP SN of the PDCP data PDU is 18 bits. The F field (Format) is the second field described above. The Data field is used to carry data. The Message Authentication Code for Integrity (MAC-I) field is used to carry the check information of the integrity protection.

[0406] The steps 2103-2105 are described below by taking the encryption function as an example.

[0407] For example, when the first device includes a terminal and the second device includes a network device, the network device can send the first information to the terminal to configure or reconfigure the related configuration of the encryption function. For example, the network device configures or reconfigures the related configuration of the encryption function by using an RRCReconfiguration message, or the network device configures or reconfigures the related configuration of the encryption function by using a nextHopChainCount (NCC). It is assumed that, before the network device sends the first information, the master security key used between the terminal and the network device is K gNB,1 , the security key K RRCenc,1 is used for the integrity protection of the RRC signaling, the security key K RRCint,1 is used for the encryption of the user data, and the security key K UPenc,1 is used for the integrity protection of the user data. UPint,1 After the network device sends the first information, the first information reconfigures the master security key to K gNB,2 , the security key K RRCenc,2 is used for the encryption of the RRC signaling, the security key K RRCint,2 is used for the integrity protection of the RRC signaling, the security key K UPenc,2 is used for the encryption of the user data, and the security key K UPint,2 is used for the integrity protection of the user data. gNB,1 , the security key K RRCenc,1, the security key K RRCint,1 , the security key K UPenc,1 , the security key K UPint,1 . When the second field takes value 1, it indicates that the primary security key used by the terminal and the network device is K gNB,2 , the security key K RRCenc,2 , the security key K RRCint,2 , the security key K UPenc,2 , the security key K UPint,2 .

[0408] In some embodiments, the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal can take value 0 before the terminal receives the first information, or before the terminal sends the second information; and the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal can take value 1 after the terminal receives the first information, or when the terminal sends the second information and after the terminal sends the second information.

[0409] In some embodiments, the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the PDCP entity of the network device can take value 0 before the network device sends the first information, or before the second time point; and the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the PDCP entity of the network device can take value 1 after the network device sends the first information, or when the network device is at the second time point and after the network device is at the second time point. Optionally, the second time point can be a time point after the first time period in which the network device sends the first information. For details of the “first time period” herein, refer to the description above.

[0410] Optionally, in some embodiments, assuming that a PDCP entity corresponds to an SRB, when the value of the first field is 0, it indicates that the PDCP entity uses the security key K RRCenc,1 for encryption and the security key K RRCint,1 for integrity protection; and when the value of the first field is 1, it indicates that the PDCP entity uses the security key K RRCenc,2 for encryption and the security key K RRCint,2 . Assuming that a PDCP entity corresponds to a DRB, when the value of the first field is 0, it indicates that the PDCP entity uses the security key K UPenc,1 for encryption and the security key K UPint,1 for integrity protection; and when the value of the first field is 1, it indicates that the PDCP entity uses the security key K UPenc,2 for encryption and the security key KUPint,2 .

[0411] Optionally, in yet some embodiments, the PDCP PDUs sent by the first PDCP entity can comprise a PDCP control PDU, which can indicate at least one first PDCP COUNT value corresponding to at least one of the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity; for example, the PDCP control PDU can comprise 3 first PDCP COUNT values, which can respectively correspond to the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header, or the PDCP control PDU can comprise 1 first PDCP COUNT value, which can correspond to the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header, or the PDCP control PDU can comprise 2 first PDCP COUNT values, one of which can correspond to the ciphering function, the compression function, and the other of which can correspond to the first field in the PDCP header.

[0412] Optionally, when the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU sent by the first PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, at least one of the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration. For example, assuming that the PDCP control PDU of the first PDCP entity comprises 1 first PDCP COUNT value corresponding to the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header, if the first PDCP COUNT value is 8, when the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU sent by the first PDCP entity is greater than or equal to 8, the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity can use the first configuration. That is, with the PDCP data PDU with the PDCP COUNT value of 8 sent by the first PDCP entity as the critical point, after that, the ciphering function, the compression function, the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity start to use the first configuration.

[0413] Optionally, FIG. 2D is a structure diagram of a PDCP control PDU according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the detailed description of the "D / C field" can refer to the above description, and the "PDU Type field" can indicate the type of control information contained in the PDCP control PDU, for example, the type of control information can include at least one of the following: feedback of ROHC, PDCP status report, first PDCP COUNT value. Optionally, the PDU Type field can indicate that the PDCP control PDU includes the first PDCP COUNT value by using binary 101. Optionally, the FAC (First Applicable COUNT) field can be used to carry the first PDCP COUNT value.

[0414] Step 2106, the first device sends third information to the third device.

[0415] Optionally, the execution prerequisite of the present step 2106 can include that the first device is a network device (i.e., a source network device) connected by the terminal before network switching. Optionally, in some embodiments, the third device can include a network device (i.e., a target network device or a destination network device) connected after network switching.

[0416] Optionally, the third information can include at least one of the following: the identifier of the RB corresponding to the first PDCP entity, and the value of the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0417] In the above embodiment, when the first device is a network device (i.e., a source network device) connected by the terminal before network device switching, if the terminal performs network device switching, the first device can indicate the identifier of the RB corresponding to the first PDCP entity and the value of the second field in the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity to the third device (i.e., a target network device or a destination network device), so that the target network device knows the related configurations used between the PDCP entity of the source network device and the PDCP entity of the terminal, thereby the target network device can reconfigure the related configurations of the PDCP entity of the terminal to distinguish from the related configurations of the PDCP entity of the source network device, which ensures the independence of the information configurations of different network devices and guarantees the communication performance.

[0418] Step 2107, the second device receives the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity by using the second PDCP entity of the second device.

[0419] The detailed description of the "PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity" can refer to the description of step 2105.

[0420] Step 2108, the second device determines whether to retain the second configuration.

[0421] The detailed description of the second configuration can refer to the description of step 2105.

[0422] Optionally, in some embodiments, although the first device updates the related configuration of the first PDCP entity at a certain time point, due to the Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Request (HARQ) retransmission, the COUNT of the PDCP PDU received by the second PDCP entity is not in sequence. Therefore, when the related configuration is updated, the second PDCP entity needs to maintain two sets of related configurations, i.e., the related configuration before the update (the first configuration described above) and the related configuration after the update (the second configuration described above), at this time, the second device needs to determine whether to continue to reserve the second configuration and from which time to stop reserving the second configuration. Optionally, in some embodiments, the second device can determine the second PDCP COUNT value corresponding to the second PDCP entity, which can be the minimum PDCP COUNT value corresponding to all the PDCP PDUs using the first configuration received by the second PDCP entity; for example, it is assumed that the second PDCP entity receives 3 PDCP PDUs, all of which use the first configuration, and the PDCP COUNT values of the 3 PDCP PDUs are 1, 8 and 9 respectively, wherein 1 is the minimum, and the PDCP COUNT value 1 can be determined as the second PDCP COUNT value. Optionally, when the PDCP reception state variable RX_DELIV of the second PDCP entity is greater than the second PDCP COUNT value of the second PDCP entity, it is determined that the second PDCP entity does not reserve or use the second configuration; when all the second PDCP entities of the second device do not reserve or use the second configuration, it is determined that the second device does not reserve or use the second configuration, at this time, the second device can delete the second configuration.

[0423] Step 2109, the second device determines the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity based on the indication of the PDCP PDU.

[0424] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second device can determine the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity; for example, the second device determines to perform decryption, integrity protection and verification by using the security key used by the first PDCP entity, and / or the second device determines to perform data decompression by using the decompression mode corresponding to the compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0425] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second device can determine the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. For example, if the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity is 12 bits, the second PDCP entity determines the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity as 12 bits.

[0426] In summary, when the first device transmits a PDCP PDU by using the first PDCP entity, the first device can indicate the related configuration of the PDCP entity in the PDCP PDU, for example, at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. Thus, when the related configuration of the first PDCP entity of the first device is updated or reconfigured, the first PDCP entity can directly indicate the related configuration currently used by the first PDCP entity in the PDCP PDU, for example, indicating whether the first PDCP entity currently uses the related configuration before the update (or before the reconfiguration) or the related configuration after the update (or after the reconfiguration), that is, the related configuration of the first PDCP entity can be determined directly based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, without using the "processing time of the synchronization update" to distinguish whether the PDCP entity uses the related configuration before the update (or before the reconfiguration) or the related configuration after the update (or after the reconfiguration), thereby the terminal does not need to experience the "processing time of the synchronization update", and the situation that "due to the terminal and the network device cannot perform uplink and downlink data transmission within the processing time of the synchronization update, a long data transmission interruption time is caused, thereby affecting the communication performance and the communication efficiency" can be avoided, and the communication performance and the communication efficiency are ensured.

[0427] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 2101-2108. For example, step 2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 2101+S2102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0428] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0429] FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a first device, and the above method comprises:

[0430] Step 3101, sending, by a first packet data convergence protocol, PDCP, entity of a first device, a PDCP protocol data unit, PDU.

[0431] Optionally, the PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0432] Optionally, the first function includes at least one of the following:

[0433] an encryption function;

[0434] a compression function.

[0435] Optionally, when the first function includes an encryption function, the related configuration of the first function includes a security key used by the first PDCP entity.

[0436] when the first function includes a compression function, the related configuration of the first function includes a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0437] Optionally, the compression mode includes at least one of the following:

[0438] header compression using a robust header compression, ROHC, protocol;

[0439] header compression using an Ethernet header compression, EHC, protocol;

[0440] uplink data compression using an uplink data compression, UDC, protocol.

[0441] Optionally, the first field includes a PDCP sequence number, SN, field, and the related configuration of the first field includes a length of the first field.

[0442] Optionally, the PDCP PDU includes a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a currently used related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity, a currently used related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0443] Optionally, the first device communicates with a second device, the first device includes a terminal, and the second device includes a network device, or the first device includes a network device, and the second device includes a terminal.

[0444] Optionally, the first device includes a terminal, and the second device includes a network device, and the method further includes:

[0445] receiving first information sent by the second device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0446] The first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration after receiving the first information; or the first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration when sending second information; wherein the first configuration includes the related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information, and the second information is the confirmation information of the first information.

[0447] Optionally, the first device includes a network device, and the second device includes a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0448] sending first information to the second device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0449] The first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration after receiving the first information; or the first device determines that the first PDCP entity starts using the first configuration when sending second information; wherein the first configuration includes the related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information, and the second information is the confirmation information of the first information.

[0450] Optionally, the PDCP PDU includes a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration; wherein the second configuration includes: the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device does not send the first information or before the first device does not receive the first information, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0451] Optionally, the PDCP data PDU includes at least one second field,

[0452] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0453] The related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0454] The related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0455] The related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or

[0456] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0457] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration;

[0458] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration;

[0459] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0460] Optionally, the value of the second field includes a first value or a second value;

[0461] When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0462] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration;

[0463] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration;

[0464] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration.

[0465] When the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0466] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0467] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0468] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0469] Optionally, the PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value in the PDCP control PDU, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity;

[0470] The method further includes:

[0471] When a PDCP COUNT value of a PDCP data PDU sent by the first PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, at least one of the ciphering function, the compression function, and a first field in a PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

[0472] Optionally, the first information further includes the first value.

[0473] Optionally, the first device includes a network device to which a terminal is connected before network device switching; and the method further includes:

[0474] sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information including at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, and a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0475] Optionally, the first device includes a terminal, and the second device includes a network device; and the method further includes:

[0476] receiving fourth information sent by the second device, the fourth information being used to configure whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0477] Optionally, the first device includes a network device, and the second device includes a terminal; and the method further includes:

[0478] sending fourth information to the second device, the fourth information being used to configure whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0479] Optionally, the fourth information is further used to configure at least one of the following:

[0480] whether a PDCP PDU of a PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0481] whether a PDCP PDU of a PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0482] The PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0483] Optionally, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0484] The PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0485] The PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0486] Optionally, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0487] The fifth information is sent to the second device, and the fifth information is used for indicating whether the indication of at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header, is supported in the PDCP PDU of the first device.

[0488] Optionally, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0489] The fifth information is received, which is sent by the second device, and the fifth information is used for indicating whether the indication of at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header, is supported in the PDCP PDU of the second device.

[0490] Optionally, the fifth information is further used for indicating at least one of the following:

[0491] The PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0492] The PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, and the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0493] The detailed description of step 3101 can refer to the above embodiment description.

[0494] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0495] FIG. 4 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method, for a network device, the method comprising:

[0496] Step 4101, receiving, by a second PDCP entity of a second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity.

[0497] Step 4102, determining, based on an indication of the PDCP PDU, a related configuration of a first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or determining a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0498] Optionally, the first PDCP entity is a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being configured to indicate at least one of: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0499] Optionally, the first function comprises at least one of:

[0500] a ciphering function;

[0501] a compression function.

[0502] Optionally, when the first function comprises a ciphering function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a security key used by the first PDCP entity.

[0503] Optionally, when the first function comprises a compression function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

[0504] Optionally, the compression mode comprises at least one of:

[0505] a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol;

[0506] an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol;

[0507] an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

[0508] Optionally, the first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises a length of the first field.

[0509] Optionally, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration currently used by the first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration currently used by a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0510] Optionally, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, or the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal.

[0511] Optionally, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0512] sending first information to the first device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

[0513] Optionally, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0514] receiving first information sent by the first device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

[0515] Optionally, the PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate that the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration; wherein the first configuration comprises a related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information, and the second configuration comprises: a related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device sends the first information or before the first device receives the first information, and / or a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity before the first device sends the first information or before the first device receives the first information.

[0516] Optionally, the PDCP data PDU comprises at least one second field,

[0517] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0518] a related configuration currently used by an encryption function of the first PDCP entity;

[0519] a related configuration currently used by a compression function of the first PDCP entity;

[0520] a related configuration currently used by a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or

[0521] The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0522] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration;

[0523] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration;

[0524] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration or the second configuration.

[0525] Optionally, the value of the second field includes a first value or a second value;

[0526] When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0527] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration;

[0528] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration;

[0529] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration.

[0530] When the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0531] The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0532] The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration;

[0533] The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

[0534] Optionally, the PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value in the PDCP control PDU, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity;

[0535] The method further includes:

[0536] determining that the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration for at least one of a ciphering function, a compression function, and a first field in a PDCP header of the PDCP data PDU corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value, when the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity received by the second PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value.

[0537] Optionally, the first information further comprises the first value.

[0538] Optionally, the second device comprises a network device to which the terminal is connected before network device switching; and the method further comprises:

[0539] sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information comprising at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, and a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

[0540] Optionally, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal; and the method further comprises:

[0541] determining a second PDCP COUNT value corresponding to the second PDCP entity, the second PDCP COUNT value being a minimum PDCP COUNT value corresponding to all PDCP PDUs received by the second PDCP entity and using the first configuration;

[0542] determining that the second PDCP entity does not retain or use the second configuration, when a PDCP reception status variable RX_DELIV of the second PDCP entity is greater than the second PDCP COUNT value of the second PDCP entity.

[0543] determining that the second device does not retain or use the second configuration, when all second PDCP entities of the second device do not retain or use the second configuration.

[0544] Optionally, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device; and the method further comprises:

[0545] sending fourth information to the first device, the fourth information being used to configure whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

[0546] Optionally, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal; and the method further comprises:

[0547] receiving fourth information sent by the first device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0548] Optionally, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0549] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0550] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more media access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0551] whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0552] Optionally, the fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

[0553] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0554] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0555] Optionally, the first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

[0556] receiving fifth information sent by the first device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the PDCP PDU of the first device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0557] Optionally, the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

[0558] sending fifth information to the first device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the PDCP PDU of the first device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0559] Optionally, the fifth information further indicates at least one of the following:

[0560] whether the PDCP PDU of the uplink transmission supports indication of at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header;

[0561] whether the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission supports indication of at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

[0562] Optionally, the determining of the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity and / or the determining of the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity based on the indication of the PDCP PDU comprises at least one of the following:

[0563] determining the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity;

[0564] determining the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0565] For details of steps 4101-4102, refer to the above embodiment description.

[0566] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 4101-4102. For example, step 4101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 4102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0567] In the present embodiment or example, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other examples.

[0568] FIG. 5 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method for a communication system including a first device and a second device, and the above method comprises at least one of the following:

[0569] Step 5101, the first device transmits a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device.

[0570] Step 5102, the second device receives the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity by using a second PDCP entity of the second device.

[0571] Step 5103, the second device determines the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, and / or determines the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0572] The optional implementation of steps 5101-5103 can refer to the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0573] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned method can include the method described in the above-mentioned embodiments of the communication system side, the terminal side, the network device side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0574] The communication method related to the embodiments of the present disclosure can include at least one of steps 5101-5103. For example, step 5101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 5102 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but not limited thereto.

[0575] In the present embodiment or embodiment, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional mode or optional example can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any step of other embodiments or other embodiments.

[0576] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above-mentioned method.

[0577] The present disclosure provides a method for indicating a protocol layer format, which indicates a security key used in a PDCP layer, so that synchronization reconfiguration is not needed when updating the security key, that is, data transmission can still be performed in the process of security key update, thereby avoiding the long interruption time of data transmission caused by synchronization reconfiguration, and improving transmission efficiency.

[0578] 1. A data sending method, characterized in that the method is performed by a sending PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) entity of a first device, and the method comprises:

[0579] indicating, in a PDU of the PDCP, a configuration used by a first function of the sending PDCP entity or a second field in a PDCP header.

[0580] 2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that:

[0581] indicating, in a header of the PDCP, a first field, the first field indicating a configuration used by a first function of the sending PDCP entity or a second field in a PDCP header.

[0582] 3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

[0583] The PDCP COUNT is indicated in the PDCP control PDU, and from the COUNT, a first function of the PDCP entity or a second field in the PDCP header uses a new configuration.

[0584] Embodiment 1: corresponds to claim 3. The format of the PDCP control PDU is shown in Figure 2D. The fields are as follows:

[0585] D / C: indicates whether the PDU is a Data PDU or a Control PDU. For example, a value of 0 indicates a Control PDU, and a value of 1 indicates a Data PDU.

[0586] PDU Type: indicates the type of control information contained in the PDCP control PDU. For example, the PDCP control PDU described in claim 3 can be indicated by binary 101.

[0587] FAC (First Applicable COUNT): the PDCP COUNT described in claim 3.

[0588] 4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first device is a terminal.

[0589] 5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first device is a network device.

[0590] 6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first function is a security key.

[0591] 7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first function is one of the following functions,

[0592] header compression using the ROHC protocol,

[0593] header compression using the EHC protocol,

[0594] uplink data compression using the UDC protocol.

[0595] Embodiment 2: Corresponding to claim 7, taking the packet header compression using ROHC protocol as an example, whether to use the packet header compression using ROHC protocol can be configured, and the profile (for example, RTP / UDP / IP) of the packet header compression, the max CID (max number of ROHC context sessions), and the like can be configured.

[0596] 8. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second field in the PDCP header is a PDCP SN field.

[0597] Embodiment 3: The relationship between the first field of the PDCP header and the first function of the PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many. Taking one-to-one as an example, three first fields can be included in the PDCP header, respectively corresponding to the security key, the packet header compression using ROHC protocol, and the PDCP SN field. Taking one-to-many as an example, one first field can be included in the PDCP header, corresponding to the security key, the packet header compression using ROHC protocol, and the PDCP SN field.

[0598] Similarly, the relationship between the PDCP COUNT indicated in the PDCP control PDU and the first function of the PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.

[0599] 9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network device sends first information to the terminal to configure or reconfigure the first function of the PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header. The first device indicates in the PDCP PDU whether the first function of the PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header uses the changed configuration before or after the change.

[0600] 10. The method of claims 4 and 9, wherein the terminal (the first device) uses the changed configuration after receiving the first message and indicates in the PDCP PDU that the first function of the PDCP sending entity or the second field in the PDCP header uses the changed configuration.

[0601] 11. The method of claims 4 and 9, wherein the terminal (the first device) starts (including sending the confirmation message) using the changed configuration when sending the confirmation message to the first information and indicates in the PDCP PDU that the first function of the PDCP sending entity or the second field in the PDCP header uses the changed configuration.

[0602] Embodiment 4: Taking the security key update as claimed in claim 6 as an example, the first field is used to indicate according to claim 2.

[0603] Suppose the length of the first field is n (n≥1) bits, and the value range of the first field is 0, 1, …, 2 n -1. When the PDCP entity is established, the value of the first field is 0. When the security key is updated, if the value of the first field before the update is x, then the value of the first field after the update is (x+1) mod 2 n , wherein mod is the modulo operation, that is, a mod b=c represents that the remainder of a divided by b is c.

[0604] In particular, when the length of the first field is 1 bit (i.e., n=1), the value range of the first field is 0 and 1. When the security key is updated, if the value of the first field before the update is x, then the value of the first field after the update is 1-x, that is, the value of the first field is toggled.

[0605] The format of the PDCP data PDU is shown in FIG. 2B, in which the length of the PDCP SN is 12 bits. The F field (Format) is the first field, which indicates the value of the security key.

[0606] Suppose according to claim 9, the network device sends the first information to the terminal for security key update. For example, the network device indicates the update of the security key by using the RRCReconfiguration message, for example, indicates the nextHopChainCouint (NCC) to indicate the update of the security key. Suppose before the security key update, the master security key is K gNB,1 , the security key K RRCenc,1 is used for the integrity protection of the RRC signaling. RRCint,1 , the security key K UPenc,1 is used for the integrity protection of the user data. UPint,1 , the security key K gNB,2 , the security key K RRCenc,2 is used for the integrity protection of the RRC signaling. RRCint,2 , the security key K UPenc,2 is used for the integrity protection of the user data. UPint,2 . Before the security key update, the value of the first field (F field) is 0, and after the security key update, the value of the first field is 1. If the sending PDCP entity corresponds to an SRB, when the value of the first field is 0, it indicates that the encryption uses the security key KRRCenc,1 integrity protection uses security key K RRCint,1 ; and the value of the first field is 1, indicating that ciphering uses security key K RRCenc,2 integrity protection uses security key K RRCint,2 If the sending PDCP entity corresponds to a DRB, the value of the first field is 0, indicating that ciphering uses security key K UPenc,1 integrity protection uses security key K UPint,1 ; and the value of the first field is 1, indicating that ciphering uses security key K UPenc,2 integrity protection uses security key K UPint,2 .

[0607] When the first device is a network device (as described in claim 5), the network device can send data using the new security key after sending the first information (e.g. RRCReconfiguration message), for example, in the above example, setting the value of the first field to 1. The network device can also send data using the new security key after a period of time after sending the first information (e.g. RRCReconfiguration message) according to the latency of the terminal processing the first information, for example, in the above example, setting the value of the first field to 1.

[0608] When the first device is a terminal (as described in claim 4), the terminal can send data using the new security key after receiving the first information (e.g. RRCReconfiguration message), for example, in the above example, setting the value of the first field to 1. Or the terminal starts (including sending the confirmation message) sending data using the new security key when sending the confirmation message of the first information, for example, in the above example, setting the value of the first field to 1. The confirmation message of the first message can be RRCReconfigurationComplete message.

[0609] In the above security key update process, the network device and the terminal can continue data transmission without interruption time, thereby improving transmission efficiency.

[0610] 12. The method of claim 2 and 9, wherein the source base station sends the identity of the radio bearer corresponding to the PDCP entity and the information of the first field corresponding to the PDCP header to the target base station when performing handover.

[0611] 13. The method of claim 2 and 9, wherein the network device indicates the value of the first field corresponding to the second field in the PDCP header or the first function of the PDCP layer in the first information after the change. The first device determines the value of the first field after the change according to the indication.

[0612] 14. The method of any one of claims 1, 2, 4-8, wherein the value of the first field corresponds to a configuration used by the first function of the transmitting PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header.

[0613] In an embodiment, the length of the PDCP SN field is 12 bits and 18 bits. When the value of the first field is 0, the length of the PDCP SN field is 12 bits (the corresponding PDCP data PDU format is shown in FIG. 2B), and when the value of the first field is 1, the length of the PDCP SN field is 18 bits (the corresponding PDCP data PDU format is shown in FIG. 2C, wherein F field is the first field).

[0614] 15. The method of any one of claims 1-14, wherein the network device sends second information to the terminal to configure whether the configuration used by the first function of the transmitting PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header is indicated in the PDU of the PDCP. In particular, the second information is transmitted in RRC signaling. In particular, the second information is configured in the granularity of a radio bearer, or in the granularity of a MAC entity, or in the granularity of the terminal. The configuration can be configured jointly for downlink and uplink data, or configured separately for downlink and uplink data.

[0615] 16. The method of any one of claims 1-15, wherein

[0616] The terminal notifies the network whether the terminal supports indicating the configuration used by the first function of the transmitting PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header in the PDU of the PDCP through UE capability signaling. The UE capability can indicate whether the indication is supported for downlink and uplink data respectively, or indicate jointly for downlink and uplink data.

[0617] 17. A data receiving method, wherein the method is performed by a receiving PDCP entity of a second device, and the method comprises:

[0618] determining the configuration used by the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header according to the indication in the PDU of the PDCP.

[0619] 18. The method of claim 17, wherein

[0620] The indication in the PDCP PDU is a first field in the PDCP header, which indicates the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the configuration used by the second field in the PDCP header.

[0621] 19. The method of claim 17, wherein:

[0622] The indication in the PDCP PDU is a PDCP COUNT in a PDCP control PDU, from which the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header uses a new configuration.

[0623] 20. The method of any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the second device is a terminal.

[0624] 21. The method of any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the second device is a network device.

[0625] 22. The method of any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein the first function is a security key.

[0626] 23. The method of any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein the first function is one of:

[0627] header decompression using ROHC protocol,

[0628] header decompression using EHC protocol,

[0629] uplink data decompression using UDC protocol.

[0630] 24. The method of any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein the second field in the PDCP header is a PDCP SN field.

[0631] 25. The method of any one of claims 17 to 24, wherein a network device sends first information to a terminal to configure or reconfigure the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header, and the second device determines whether the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header uses the configuration before or after the change according to the indication in the PDCP PDU.

[0632] Embodiment 6: Taking the security key update of claim 22 as an example, the first field is used to indicate according to claim 18.

[0633] Let the length of the first field be n (n≥1) bits, and let the value range of the first field be 0, 1, …, 2 n -1. When the PDCP entity is established, the value of the first field is 0. When the security key is updated, if the value of the first field before the update is x, then the value of the first field after the update is (x+1) mod 2 n , where mod is the modulo operation, i.e., a mod b = c means that the remainder of a divided by b is c.

[0634] In particular, when the length of the first field is 1 bit (i.e., n = 1), the value range of the first field is 0 and 1. When the security key is updated, if the value of the first field before the update is x, then the value of the first field after the update is 1-x, i.e., the value of the first field is toggled.

[0635] The format of the PDCP data PDU is shown in FIG. 2B, in which the length of the PDCP SN is 12 bits. The F field (Format) is the first field, which indicates the value of the security key.

[0636] Let the network device send the first information to the terminal for security key update according to claim 25. For example, the network device indicates the update of the security key using the RRCReconfiguration message, e.g., indicates the nextHopChainCount (NCC) to indicate the update of the security key. Let the master security key before the security key update be K gNB,1 , the security key K RRCenc,1 is used for the integrity verification of the RRC signaling. RRCint,1 , the security key K UPenc,1 is used for the integrity verification of the user data. UPint,1 , the security key K gNB,2 , the security key K RRCenc,2 is used for the integrity verification of the RRC signaling. RRCint,2 , the security key K UPenc,2 is used for the integrity verification of the user data. UPint,2 . Before the security key update, the value of the first field (F field) is 0, and after the security key update, the value of the first field is 1. If the receiving PDCP entity corresponds to an SRB, when the value of the first field is 0, it indicates that the security key K RRCenc,1 is used for the decryption, and the security key K RRCint,1 is used for the integrity protection; and when the value of the first field is 1, it indicates that the security key K RRCenc,2, integrity protection uses security key K RRCint,2 If the receiving PDCP entity corresponds to a DRB, when the value of the first field is 0, it indicates that deciphering uses security key K UPenc,1 , integrity verification uses security key K UPint,1 ; and when the value of the first field is 1, it indicates that deciphering uses security key K UPenc,2 , integrity verification uses security key K UPint,2 .

[0637] 26. The method of claim 18, 20 and 25, wherein the second device (terminal) determines the value of the first field before and after the change according to the value of the first field indicated by the network device in the first information corresponding to the changed first function of the PDCP layer or the second field in the PDCP header.

[0638] Embodiment 7: Taking claim 26 as an example. Assuming that the length of the first field is n (n≥1) bits, and the value range of the first field is 0, 1, …, 2 n -1. When the PDCP entity is established, the value of the first field is 0. Assuming that the value of the first field indicated by the network device in the first information corresponding to the changed first function of the PDCP layer or the second field in the PDCP header is x, the terminal determines that the value of the first field before the change is (x-1) mod 2 n , and the value of the first field after the change is x.

[0639] 27. The method of any one of claims 17, 18, 20 to 24, wherein the second device determines the configuration used by the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header according to the correspondence between the value of the first field and the configuration used by the first function of the receiving PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header.

[0640] Embodiment 8: Taking the PDCP SN field of claim 24 and claim 27 as an example. Assuming that the length of the PDCP SN field can be 12 bits and 18 bits. Assuming that when the value of the first field is 0, the length of the corresponding PDCP SN field is 12 bits (the corresponding PDCP data PDU format is shown in FIG. 2B), and when the value of the first field is 1, the length of the corresponding PDCP SN field is 18 bits (the corresponding PDCP data PDU format is shown in FIG. 2C, wherein F field is the first field). Then the second device determines the length of the PDCP SN field according to the value of the first field.

[0641] 28. The method according to claims 20, 22 and 25, wherein the second device (terminal) determines the smallest COUNT among the PDCP PDUs corresponding to the security key update, and the PDCP receiving entity does not retain / use the old security key after the PDCP reception status variable RX_DELIV (indicating the COUNT value of the first PDCP SDU which has not been delivered to upper layers but is waiting for delivery) is greater than the smallest COUNT.

[0642] Embodiment 9: Corresponds to claim 28. Although the transmitting PDCP entity updates the security key at one point in time, due to HARQ retransmission, the COUNT of the PDCP PDUs received by the receiving PDCP entity is not in order. Therefore, the receiving PDCP entity needs to maintain two sets of security keys at the time of security key update, as described in embodiment 6. Claim 28 defines the condition under which the receiving PDCP entity does not maintain the old security key. The state variable RX_DELIV maintains the lower edge of the PDCP reception window. PDCP PDUs with COUNT values less than RX_DELIV are discarded. Therefore, when RX_DELIV is greater than the smallest COUNT among the PDCP PDUs corresponding to the security key update, the receiving PDCP entity will not need to process PDCP PDUs using the old security key. Note that the terminal can have multiple receiving PDCP entities, and therefore the terminal can not retain / use the old security key only when all the receiving PDCP entities do not need to process PDCP PDUs using the old security key.

[0643] 29. The method according to any of claims 17 to 28, wherein the network device sends second information to the terminal to configure whether the first function of the transmitting PDCP entity or the configuration used by the second field in the PDCP header is indicated in the PDU of the PDCP. In particular, the second information is transmitted in RRC signaling. In particular, the second information is configured in the granularity of radio bearers, or in the granularity of MAC entities, or in the granularity of the terminal. The configuration can be configured jointly for downlink and uplink data, or separately for downlink and uplink data.

[0644] 30. The method according to any of claims 1 to 15, wherein,

[0645] The terminal signals to the network whether the terminal supports the configuration used by the first function of the transmitting PDCP entity or the second field in the PDCP header to be indicated in the PDU of the PDCP through UE capability signaling. The UE capability can indicate whether the indication is supported for downlink and uplink data separately, or jointly for downlink and uplink data.

[0646] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the network equipment (such as access network equipment, core network function node, core network equipment, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0647] It should be understood that the division of each unit or module in the above device is only a logical function division, and all or part of them can be integrated into one physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of processor invoking software: for example, the device includes a processor connected with a memory, the memory stores instructions, and the processor invokes the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of each unit or module of the device, wherein the processor is a general processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory in the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, and the functions of part or all of the units or modules can be implemented by the design of the hardware circuit, and the hardware circuit can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the functions of part or all of the units or modules are implemented by the design of the logical relationship between the elements in the circuit; for another example, in another implementation, the hardware circuit is a programmable logic device (PLD), and taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by a configuration file, so as to implement the functions of part or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented in the form of processor invoking software, or all units or modules can be implemented in the form of hardware circuit, or part of the units or modules are implemented in the form of processor invoking software, and the remaining part is implemented in the form of hardware circuit.

[0648] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like. In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through a logical relationship of a hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the hardware circuit is fixed or can be reconfigured. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In the reconfigurable hardware circuit, the processor loads a configuration document to implement the configuration of the hardware circuit. It can be understood that the processor loads instructions to implement the functions of the above part or all units or modules. In addition, the hardware circuit can also be designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), or the like.

[0649] FIG. 6A is a structural schematic diagram of a first device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6A, the first device includes:

[0650] The transceiver module is configured to transmit, by a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU), where the PDCP PDU is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

[0651] Optionally, the transceiver module is configured to perform the steps related to “transceiving” performed by the first device in any of the above methods. The processing module is configured to perform the steps related to “processing” performed by the first device in any of the above methods.

[0652] FIG. 6B is a structural schematic diagram of a second device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6B, the second device includes:

[0653] The transceiving module is configured to receive, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity, the first PDCP entity being a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity;

[0654] The processing module is configured to determine, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or determine the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

[0655] Optionally, the transceiving module is configured to perform the steps related to "transceiving" performed by the second device in any of the above methods. The processing module is configured to perform the steps related to "processing" performed by the second device in any of the above methods.

[0656] FIG. 7A is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 7100 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication device 7100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user equipment or the first device described above, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor supporting the terminal to implement any of the above methods. The communication device 7100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments, and details can be referred to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0657] As shown in FIG. 7A, the communication device 7100 includes one or more processors 7101. The processor 7101 can be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be configured to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be configured to control the communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process data of the programs. The processor 7101 is configured to invoke instructions to enable the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0658] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more memories 7102 configured to store instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 7102 can also be located outside the communication device 7100.

[0659] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more transceivers 7103. When the communication device 7100 includes one or more transceivers 7103, the communication steps in the above methods, such as sending and receiving, are performed by the transceiver 7103, and other steps are performed by the processor 7101.

[0660] In some embodiments, the transceiver can include a receiver and a transmitter, which can be separate or integrated together. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiving unit, transceiver, transceiving circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other, the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other, and the terms receiver, receiving unit, sensing signal receiving end, receiving circuit, etc. can be replaced by each other.

[0661] Optionally, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more interface circuits 7104, which are connected to the memory 7102, and can be used to receive signals from the memory 7102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 7102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 7104 can read the instructions stored in the memory 7102 and send them to the processor 7101.

[0662] The communication device 7100 described in the above embodiments can be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 7100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 7100 can not be limited by Figure 7a. The communication device can be a standalone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be: 1) a standalone integrated circuit (IC), or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a set of one or more ICs, which can optionally also include storage components for storing data, programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a Modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a sensing signal receiving end, a terminal device, a smart terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handset, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0663] Figure 7B is a structural schematic diagram of a chip 7200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the case where the communication device 7100 is a chip or a chip system, the structural schematic diagram of the chip 7200 shown in Figure 7B can be referred to, but is not limited thereto.

[0664] The chip 7200 includes one or more processors 7201, which are used to invoke instructions to cause the chip 7200 to perform any of the above methods.

[0665] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more interface circuits 7202 that are connected to memory 7203, which can be used to receive signals from or send signals to memory 7203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 7202 can read instructions stored in memory 7203 and send the instructions to processor 7201. Alternatively, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. can be replaced by each other.

[0666] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more memories 7203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of memory 7203 can be outside of chip 7200.

[0667] The disclosure also proposes a storage medium, which has instructions stored thereon, and when the instructions run on communication device 7100, communication device 7100 performs any of the above methods. Alternatively, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium is a computer readable storage medium, but is not limited to this, and it can also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Alternatively, the storage medium can be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited to this, and it can also be a transitory storage medium.

[0668] The disclosure also proposes a program product, which is executed by communication device 7100, so that communication device 7100 performs any of the above methods. Alternatively, the program product is a computer program product.

[0669] The disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0670] In the embodiments described above, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer programs are loaded on a computer and executed, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are produced. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer programs can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer programs can be transferred from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (such as high-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disk (solid state disk, SSD)) and the like.

[0671] Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A skilled person 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 disclosure.

[0672] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0673] The above is only a specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed by the present disclosure, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is performed by a first device, and the method comprises: sending, by a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) for indicating at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first function comprises at least one of the following: an encryption function; a compression function.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, When the first function comprises the encryption function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a security key used by the first PDCP entity. When the first function comprises the compression function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The compression mode comprises at least one of the following: header compression using a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol; header compression using an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol; uplink data compression using an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises a length of the first field.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein, The PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: a related configuration currently used by the first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein, The first device communicates with a second device, and the first device comprises a terminal, or the second device comprises a network device.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, When the first device comprises a terminal and the second device comprises a network device, the method further comprises: receiving first information sent by the second device, wherein the first information is used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use a first configuration after receiving the first information, or determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration when sending second information, wherein the first configuration comprises the related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information, and the second information is acknowledgement information of the first information.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, When the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal, the method further comprises: sending first information to the second device, wherein the first information is used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use a first configuration after sending the first information, or determining, by the first device, that the first PDCP entity starts to use the first configuration after a first time period of sending the first information, wherein the first configuration comprises the related configuration configured or reconfigured by the first information.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein, The PDCP PDU includes a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates that the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration; wherein the second configuration includes: a related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device does not send the first information or before the first device does not receive the first information, and / or a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

11. The method of claim 6 or 10, wherein, The PDCP data PDU includes at least one second field, The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: A related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity; A related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity; A related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration; The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration; The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The value of the second field includes a first value or a second value; When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration; The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration; The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the first configuration; When the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The encryption function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration; The compression function of the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration; The first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity uses the second configuration.

13. The method of any one of claims 8-12, wherein, The PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the PDCP control PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity; The method further includes: When the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU sent by the first PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first information further includes the first value.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein, The first device includes a network device to which a terminal is connected before network device switching; and the method further includes: sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal connects after network device switching, the third information comprising at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

16. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises: receiving fourth information sent by the second device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. The first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

17. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, sending fourth information to the second device, the fourth information being used for configuring whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. The fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein, whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; whether the PDCP PDU of the PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. The fourth information is further used for configuring at least one of the following:

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, whether the PDCP PDU of uplink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; whether the PDCP PDU of downlink transmission indicates at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. The first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises:

20. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, sending fifth information to the second device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the PDCP PDU of the first device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. The first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises:

21. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, receiving fifth information sent by the second device, the fifth information being used for indicating whether the PDCP PDU of the second device supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header. The fifth information is further used for indicating at least one of the following:

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein, whether the PDCP PDU of uplink transmission supports indicating at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; ​ Whether the indication of at least one of the following is supported in the PDCP PDU of the downlink transmission: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

23. A method of communication, comprising: The method is performed by a second device, and the method comprises: receiving, by a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity, the first PDCP entity being a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being used to indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, the related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; determining, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of a first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or, determining the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein, The first function comprises at least one of the following: an encryption function; a compression function.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein, When the first function comprises the encryption function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a security key used by the first PDCP entity. When the first function comprises the compression function, the related configuration of the first function comprises a compression mode used by the first PDCP entity.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, The compression mode comprises at least one of the following: header compression using a robust header compression (ROHC) protocol; header compression using an Ethernet header compression (EHC) protocol; uplink data compression using an uplink data compression (UDC) protocol.

27. The method of any one of claims 23-26, wherein, The first field comprises a PDCP sequence number (SN) field, and the related configuration of the first field comprises a length of the first field.

28. The method of any one of claims 23-27, wherein, The PDCP PDU comprises a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity is used to indicate at least one of the following: the related configuration currently used by the first function of the first PDCP entity, the related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

29. The method of any one of claims 23-28, wherein, The first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device, or the first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal.

30. The method of any one of claims 23-29, wherein, When the first device comprises a terminal and the second device comprises a network device, the method further comprises: sending, to the first device, first information used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

31. The method of any one of claims 23-29, wherein, When the first device comprises a network device and the second device comprises a terminal, the method further comprises: receiving, from the first device, first information sent by the first device, the first information being used to configure or reconfigure at least one of the following: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

32. The method of claim 30 or 31, wherein, The PDCP PDU includes a PDCP data PDU, and the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates that the first PDCP entity uses a first configuration or a second configuration; wherein the first configuration includes the first information configuration or the related configuration of the reconfiguration, and the second configuration includes the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity before the first device sends or receives the first information, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

33. The method of claim 28 or 32, wherein, The PDCP data PDU includes at least one second field, The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The related configuration currently used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity; The related configuration currently used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity; The related configuration currently used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; or The second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The first configuration or the second configuration used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity; The first configuration or the second configuration used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity; The first configuration or the second configuration used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein, The value of the second field includes a first value or a second value; When the second field takes the first value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The first configuration used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity; The first configuration used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity; The first configuration used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; When the second field takes the second value, the second field is used to indicate at least one of the following: The second configuration used by the encryption function of the first PDCP entity; The second configuration used by the compression function of the first PDCP entity; The second configuration used by the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity.

35. The method of any one of claims 32-34, wherein, The PDCP PDU further includes a PDCP control PDU, and the PDCP control PDU of the first PDCP entity indicates at least one first PDCP COUNT value, wherein the first PDCP COUNT value corresponds to at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity; The method further includes: When the PDCP COUNT value of the PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity received by the second PDCP entity is greater than or equal to the first PDCP COUNT value, it is determined that at least one of the encryption function, the compression function, and the first field in the PDCP header of the first PDCP entity corresponding to the first PDCP COUNT value uses the first configuration.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein, The first information further includes the first value.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein, The second device comprises a network device to which the terminal is connected before network device switching; the method further comprises: sending third information to a third device, the third device being a network device to which the terminal is connected after network device switching, the third information comprising at least one of the following: an identifier of a radio bearer (RB) corresponding to the first PDCP entity, and a value of a second field in a PDCP data PDU of the first PDCP entity.

38. The method of any one of claims 32-36, wherein, The first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal; the method further comprises: determining a second PDCP COUNT value corresponding to the second PDCP entity, the second PDCP COUNT value being a minimum PDCP COUNT value corresponding to all PDCP PDUs received by the second PDCP entity and using a first configuration; when a PDCP reception state variable RX_DELIV of the second PDCP entity is greater than the second PDCP COUNT value of the second PDCP entity, determining that the second PDCP entity does not retain or use a second configuration; when all second PDCP entities of the second device do not retain or use the second configuration, determining that the second device does not retain or use the second configuration.

39. The method of any one of claims 23-29, wherein, The first device comprises a terminal, and the second device comprises a network device; the method further comprises: sending fourth information to the first device, the fourth information being used to configure whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

40. The method of any one of claims 23-29, wherein, The first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal; the method further comprises: receiving fourth information sent by the first device, the fourth information being used to configure whether the PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

41. The method of claim 39 or 40, wherein, The fourth information is further used to configure at least one of the following: whether a PDCP PDU of a PDCP entity corresponding to one or more RBs indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header; whether a PDCP PDU of a PDCP entity corresponding to one or more medium access control (MAC) entities indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header; whether a PDCP PDU of a PDCP entity of the terminal indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein, The fourth information is further used to configure at least one of the following: whether an uplink transmission PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header; whether a downlink transmission PDCP PDU indicates at least one of the following: a related configuration of the first function, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header.

43. The method of any one of claims 23-29, wherein, The first device comprises a terminal, the second device comprises a network device, and the method further comprises: receiving fifth information sent by the first device, the fifth information being used to indicate whether the indication of at least one of the following is supported in the PDCP PDU of the first device: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

44. The method of any one of claims 23-29, wherein, The first device comprises a network device, and the second device comprises a terminal, and the method further comprises: sending fifth information to the first device, the fifth information being used to indicate whether the indication of at least one of the following is supported in the PDCP PDU of the first device: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

45. The method of claim 43 or 44, wherein, The fifth information is further used to indicate at least one of the following: whether the indication of at least one of the following is supported in the PDCP PDU of uplink transmission: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header; whether the indication of at least one of the following is supported in the PDCP PDU of downlink transmission: the related configuration of the first function, the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header.

46. The method of any one of claims 23-45, wherein, The determination of the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, and / or the determination of the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity, comprises at least one of the following: determining the related configuration of the first function of the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity; determining the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity as the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

47. A communication method for a communication system comprising a first device and a second device, the method comprising: the first device sending, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) for indicating at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity; the second device receiving, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity; the second device determining, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity. comprising:

48. A first device, comprising: a transceiver configured to send, by using a first packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity of the first device, a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) for indicating at least one of the following: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, and a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. comprising:

49. A second device, comprising: ​ The transceiving module is configured to receive, by using a second PDCP entity of the second device, a PDCP PDU of a first PDCP entity, the first PDCP entity being a PDCP entity of a first device, the first device being in communication with the second device, the PDCP PDU of the first PDCP entity being used to indicate at least one of: a related configuration of a first function of the first PDCP entity, a related configuration of a first field in a PDCP header corresponding to the first PDCP entity. The processing module is configured to determine, based on the indication of the PDCP PDU, the related configuration of the first function of the second PDCP entity, and / or determine the related configuration of the first field in the PDCP header corresponding to the second PDCP entity.

50. A first device, comprising: The apparatus comprises: one or more processors; wherein the first device is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-22.

51. A second device, comprising: The apparatus comprises: one or more processors; wherein the second device is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 23-46.

52. A communication system, characterized by The apparatus comprises a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-22, and the second device is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 23-46.

53. A storage medium, the storage medium storing instructions, wherein, The instructions, when executed on the communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-22 or 23-46.

54. A program product, characterized by The computer program, when executed by the communication device, implements the method of any one of claims 1-22 or 23-46.

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