Rate control method, terminal, and network side device

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and discloses a rate control method, a terminal, and a network side device. The rate control method of embodiments of the present application comprises: a first node sends first information to a second node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

Description

Rate control method, terminal and network side device

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411387225.7, filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled "Rate control method, terminal and network side device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application belongs to the technical field of wireless communication, and particularly relates to a rate control method, a terminal and a network side device. BACKGROUND

[0004] Currently, for the control of the data transmission rate between the network and the terminal, there is a solution that first, the base station notifies the application server through the core network, then the application server increases or reduces the rate, and according to the feedback of the terminal, the data transmission completion rate between the terminal is adjusted for multiple times. This control method is time-consuming and inefficient. SUMMARY

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a rate control method, a terminal and a network side device, which can reduce the time consumption of rate control and improve the efficiency of rate control.

[0006] In a first aspect, a rate control method is provided, which includes: a first node sending first information to a second node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0007] In a second aspect, a rate control method is provided, which includes: a second node receiving first information sent by a first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0008] In a third aspect, a rate control device is provided, which includes: a sending module configured to send first information to a second node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a rate control device is provided, which includes: a receiving module configured to receive first information sent by a first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a rate control device is provided, which is configured to perform the steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing programs or instructions executable on the processor, the programs or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to implement steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, and the communication interface is configured to be coupled with the processor.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, a network-side device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing programs or instructions executable on the processor, the programs or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0014] In a ninth aspect, a network-side device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to implement steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect, and the communication interface is configured to be coupled with the processor.

[0015] In a tenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, the readable storage medium storing programs or instructions, the programs or instructions, when executed by a processor, implement steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0016] In an eleventh aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising a terminal and a network-side device, the terminal being configured to implement steps of the method according to the first aspect, and the network-side device being configured to implement steps of the method according to the second aspect; or the terminal being configured to implement steps of the method according to the second aspect, and the network-side device being configured to implement steps of the method according to the first aspect.

[0017] In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled with the processor, and the processor being configured to run programs or instructions to implement the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0018] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, the computer program / program product being stored in a storage medium, and the computer program / program product being executed by at least one processor to implement steps of the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0019] In the embodiments of the present application, the first node sends first information to the second node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, rate adjustment information, the first information can assist the second node to adjust the rate or control the rate, the rate control can be completed without multiple feedbacks, the time consumption of the rate control is reduced, and the efficiency of the rate control is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a rate control method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] FIG. 3 shows another flow diagram of a rate control method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] FIG. 4 shows still another flow diagram of a rate control method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 5 shows still another flow diagram of a rate control method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 6 shows a structure diagram of a rate control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG. 7 shows another structure diagram of a rate control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] FIG. 8 shows a structure diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG. 9 shows a hardware structure diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 10 shows a hardware structure diagram of a network-side device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG. 11 shows another hardware structure diagram of a network-side device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0032] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same class, not limited in number; for example, the first object can be one or more. Furthermore, "or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects. For example, the scope of protection for "A or B" covers at least three scenarios: Scenario 1: including A but not B; Scenario 2: including B but not A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. In addition, the terms "A and / or B," "at least one of A and B," and "at least one of A or B" also cover at least the above three scenarios. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0033] The term "instruction" in this application can be either a direct instruction (or explicit instruction) or an indirect instruction (or implicit instruction). A direct instruction can be understood as one in which the sender explicitly informs the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc., in the instruction sent. An indirect instruction can be understood as one in which the receiver determines the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or makes a judgment and determines the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc., based on the judgment result.

[0034] It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used in the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as in other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for the purpose of example, and NR terminology is used in most of the following description, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th Generation (6G) communication systems.

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 can be a terminal-side device such as a mobile phone, a Tablet Personal Computer, a Laptop Computer, a notebook computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a palmtop computer, a netbook, an Ultra-mobile Personal Computer (UMPC), a Mobile Internet Device (MID), an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device, a flight vehicle, a Vehicle User Equipment (VUE), a shipboard device, a Pedestrian User Equipment (PUE), a smart home (a home device with a wireless communication function such as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine, or furniture), a game console, a Personal Computer (PC), a kiosk, or a self-service machine. The wearable device includes a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a smart earphone, smart glasses, smart jewelry (a smart bracelet, a smart necklace, a smart ring, a smart necklace, a smart anklet, a smart necklace, etc.), a smart wristband, smart clothes, etc. The vehicle-mounted device can also be referred to as a vehicle-mounted terminal, a vehicle-mounted controller, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip, or a vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The network-side device 12 can include an access network device or a core network device. The access network device can also be referred to as a Radio Access Network (RAN) device, a radio access network function, or a radio access network unit. The access network device can include a base station, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point (AP), or a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) node, etc.The base station can be referred to as a Node B (NB), an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a New Radio Node B (NR Node B), an access point, a relay station (RBS), a serving base station (SBS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a home Node B (HNB), a home evolved Node B, a transmit / receive point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology in the art, and is not limited to a particular technical terminology, provided that the same technical effect is achieved. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0036] The core network device can also be referred to as a core network node, a core network function, or a core network network element, etc., which includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a policy control function (PCF), a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), an edge application server discovery function (EASDF), a unified data management (UDM), a unified data repository (UDR), a home subscriber server (HSS), a centralized network configuration (CNC), a network repository function (NRF), a network exposure function (NEF), a local NEF (L-NEF), a binding support function (BSF), an application function (AF), a location management function (LMF), a gateway mobile location center (GMLC), a network data analytics function (NWDAF), etc. It should be noted that only the core network device in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction in the embodiments of the present application, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited. If the name of the core network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application changes in the subsequent protocol version (for example, 6G), it is also within the protection scope of the present application.

[0037] Optionally, the core network device can be implemented by one or more function modules in one device, or can be implemented by multiple devices together, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard. It can be understood that the above function modules can be network elements in a hardware device, can be software function modules running on a dedicated hardware, or can be virtualized function modules instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

[0038] The rate control method, terminal and network side device provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings, some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a rate control method provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the method 200 can be executed by a first node. As shown in FIG. 2, the method can include the following steps.

[0040] S202: The first node sends first information to a second node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adaptation information.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present application, the congestion information refers to congestion information in a network in which the first node and the second node are located, and the rate control information and the rate adaptation information refer to information related to control and adaptation of a rate between the first node and the second node, or information related to control and adaptation of a rate of the first node or the second node, such as a coding rate. The rate can be a rate in a direction from the first node to the second node, or can be a rate in a direction from the second node to the first node, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0042] For example, the rate can be a rate in an uplink direction from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, or a rate in a downlink direction from the base station to the UE, and the specific implementation is not limited.

[0043] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate related to the first information can include at least one of the following: a bit rate, a coding rate, a data rate, a resource rate, and a source rate.

[0044] In the embodiments of the present application, the first node and the second node are different devices, and there can be various implementation manners, including but not limited to one of the following:

[0045] 1) The first node is a base station, and the second node is a terminal, a core network node, or an application layer node;

[0046] 2) the first node is a terminal, and the second node is a base station, a core network node, or an application layer node;

[0047] 3) the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal;

[0048] 4) the first node is an application layer node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal.

[0049] The application layer node can be, for example, a server of a service provider, an application server of a third-party service, or the like, and is not specifically limited.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present application, the first information can be used to assist the second node in adjusting or controlling the rate, or the first information can be used by the second node to adjust or control the rate according to the first information.

[0051] In the embodiments of the present application, the first information can include at least one of the following:

[0052] 1) a rate adjustment indication;

[0053] 2) rate information;

[0054] 3) congestion information;

[0055] 4) network load information;

[0056] 5) channel information;

[0057] 6) Quality of Service (QoS) information;

[0058] 7) an uplink indication, wherein the uplink indication is used to indicate adjustment or control of an uplink rate;

[0059] 8) a downlink indication, wherein the downlink indication is used to indicate adjustment or control of a downlink rate;

[0060] 9) identification information.

[0061] Based on the content of the first information, more information can be provided to the second node, which helps the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, and improves the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0062] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate adjustment indication can include at least one of the following: an increased rate, a rate level of the increased rate, a decreased rate, a rate level of the decreased rate, an unchanged rate, an unchanged rate level, a rate adjustment factor, and a rate level adjustment factor. The rate adjustment factor can be used to maintain the existing rate or rate level, or to reduce or increase the rate or rate level by a certain multiple. For example, if the rate adjustment factor is less than 1, the rate or rate level is decreased; if the rate adjustment factor is greater than 1, the rate or rate level is increased; and if the rate adjustment factor is equal to 1, the current rate or rate level is maintained. In this way, the rate adjustment indication is provided in the first information, which can provide more detailed rate indication information to the second node, and help the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of the rate adjustment or control.

[0063] and / or,

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate information can include at least one of the following: a rate, a rate level, and a rate range. For example, the rate can be 800 mbps or 600 mbps, the rate level can be slow, medium, or fast, and the rate range can be 200 mbps-400 mbps or 400 mbps-600 mbps, etc. In this way, the rate information is provided in the first information, which can provide more detailed rate information to the second node, and help the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of the rate adjustment or control.

[0065] and / or,

[0066] In the embodiments of the present application, the congestion information can include at least one of the following: whether congestion occurs, a congestion level, a congestion cause, a congested channel, a congestion scenario, a congestion-associated service, a congestion-associated session, a congestion-associated quality of service flow, a congestion-associated data radio bearer (DRB), a congestion-associated logical channel (LCH), and a congestion-associated channel. For example, the congestion level can be light, medium, or heavy, and the congestion cause can be a large amount of data concurrency, and the congestion-associated service can be a game service, etc. In this way, the congestion information is provided in the first information, which can provide more detailed network environment information to the second node, and help the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of the rate adjustment or control.

[0067] and / or,

[0068] In the embodiments of the present application, the network load information can include at least one of the following: load level, whether overload, whether light load, whether heavy load, load reason, load associated reason, load associated scene, load associated service, load associated session, load associated QoS flow, load associated DRB, load associated LCH, and load associated channel. The load level can be, for example, light, medium, heavy, or other classification levels. The load associated service can be, for example, a video playing service. This way of providing network load information in the first information can provide more detailed network state information to the second node, which helps the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0069] and / or,

[0070] In the embodiments of the present application, the channel information can include at least one of the following: channel measurement result, channel measurement level, channel condition, and channel condition. The channel condition can be, for example, good, medium, or poor. The channel measurement result can include, for example, received signal strength of a serving cell, quality of the serving cell, timing advance, and related information of a neighbor cell. This way of providing channel information in the first information can provide more detailed network transmission information to the second node, which helps the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0071] and / or,

[0072] In the embodiments of the present application, the QoS information can include at least one of the following: QoS parameter, QoS requirement, QoS allocation, and QoS mapping information. The QoS parameter can include, for example, bandwidth management, delay and jitter, congestion control, service level and priority, and the like. The QoS mapping information can include, for example, flow classification, policy, and label, and the like. This way of providing QoS information in the first information can provide more detailed quality control information to the second node, which helps the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0073] and / or,

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the identification information can include at least one of the following: a terminal identifier (UE ID), a QoS flow identifier (QoS flow ID), a session identifier (session ID), a bearer identifier (bearer ID), a DRB identifier (DRB ID), and a LCH identifier (LCH ID). The terminal identifier can be, for example, a UE ID or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). In this way, the identification information is provided in the first information, which can provide more precise control object information to the second node, and help the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0075] In the embodiments of the present application, the granularity of the first information can include at least one of the following: per-UE, per-QoS flow, per-Session, per-bearer, per-DRB, and per-LCH.

[0076] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-UE, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of the UE, rate information of the UE, congestion information of the UE, network load information of the UE, channel information of the UE, uplink indication of the UE, downlink indication of the UE, and ID of the UE. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the overall current status of the UE, so that rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on all services of the UE.

[0077] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-QoS flow, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of each QoS flow, rate information of each QoS flow, congestion information of each QoS flow, network load information of each QoS flow, channel information of each QoS flow, uplink indication of each QoS flow, downlink indication of each QoS flow, and ID of each QoS flow. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the QoS flow of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more QoS flows of the first node.

[0078] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-session, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication per session, rate information per session, congestion information per session, network load information per session, channel information per session, uplink indication per session, downlink indication per session, and ID per session. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the sessions of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more sessions.

[0079] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-bearer, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication per bearer, rate information per bearer, congestion information per bearer, network load information per bearer, channel information per bearer, uplink indication per bearer, downlink indication per bearer, and ID per bearer. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the bearers of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the rate corresponding to one or more bearers. In addition, the mapping relationship of the bearers can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0080] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-DRB, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication per DRB, rate information per DRB, congestion information per DRB, network load information per DRB, channel information per DRB, uplink indication per DRB, downlink indication per DRB, and ID per DRB. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the DRBs of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the rate corresponding to one or more DRBs. In addition, the mapping relationship of the DRBs can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0081] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-LCH, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication for each LCH, rate information for each LCH, congestion information for each LCH, network load information for each LCH, channel information for each LCH, an uplink indication for each LCH, a downlink indication for each LCH, and an ID of each LCH. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the LCHs of the first node, so that the rate of one or several LCHs can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the LCHs can be learned based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can include at least one of the following modes:

[0083] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a terminal, and the first information includes a terminal identifier.

[0084] 2) The granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, and the first information includes a QoS flow identifier, or the first information includes a QoS flow identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0085] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first information includes a session identifier, or the first information includes a session identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0086] 4) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first information includes a bearer identifier, or the first information includes a bearer identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0087] 5) The granularity of the first information includes a DRB, and the first information includes a DRB identifier, or the first information includes a DRB identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0088] 6) The granularity of the first information includes an LCH, and the first information includes an LCH identifier, or the first information includes an LCH identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and a DRB identifier.

[0089] The above first information can include a combination of various identifiers, which is very flexible and can meet the needs of controlling or adjusting the rates of different objects.

[0090] In an embodiment of the present application, in one implementation, the first information can not carry the identification information; wherein the object indicated or applicable to the first information can include at least one of the following:

[0091] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a terminal, and the first information indicates or is applicable to all QoS flows, all sessions, all bearers, all DRBs or all LCHs of the terminal.

[0092] In this way, the first information can reflect the overall status of the terminal, and the rate adjustment or control can be implemented for all services of the terminal.

[0093] 2) The granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, and the first information indicates or is applicable to all QoS flows.

[0094] In this way, the first information can reflect the status of the current QoS flow of the first node, and the rate adjustment or control can be implemented for one or several QoS flows of the first node. For example, the rate adjustment or control is implemented for the current QoS flow, or the rate adjustment or control is implemented for five QoS flows starting from the third QoS flow after the current QoS flow.

[0095] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first information indicates or is applicable to all sessions.

[0096] In this way, the first information can reflect the status of the current session of the first node, and the rate adjustment or control can be implemented for one or several sessions of the first node.

[0097] 4) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first information indicates or is applicable to all bearers.

[0098] In this way, the first information can reflect the status of the current bearer of the first node, and the rate adjustment or control can be implemented for one or several bearers of the first node. In addition, the first information can further include the mapping relationship of the bearers, and the MAC layer can obtain the mapping relationship, so that the first node indicates the first information through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0099] 5) The granularity of the first information includes a DRB, and the first information indicates or is applicable to all DRBs.

[0100] In this way, the first information can reflect the status of the current DRB of the first node, and the rate adjustment or control can be implemented for one or several DRBs of the first node. In addition, the first information can further include the mapping relationship of the DRBs, and the MAC layer can obtain the mapping relationship, so that the first node indicates the first information through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0101] 6) The granularity of the first information comprises LCHs, and the first information indicates or is applicable to all LCHs.

[0102] In this way, the first information can reflect the current status of the LCHs of the first node, and accurate rate adjustment or control can be implemented on one or several LCHs of the first node. In addition, the first information can further comprise a mapping relationship of the LCHs, and the MAC layer can obtain the mapping relationship, so that the first node indicates the first information through the MAC layer, without complex interlayer interaction, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can further comprise:

[0104] The upper layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the lower layer of the first node to assist the lower layer in determining the first information.

[0105] The lower layer refers to one or more layers below the upper layer, and is not specifically limited. The upper layer comprises at least one of the following: an application layer, a TCP / IP layer, an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, and a MAC layer.

[0106] For example, the upper layer is an SDAP layer, and the lower layer is one or more of a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer below the SDAP layer.

[0107] In the scenario in which the upper layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the lower layer of the first node, the content of the first mapping information can have multiple forms, comprising at least one of the following:

[0108] 1) In the case where the granularity of the first information comprises QoS flows, the first mapping information can comprise at least one of the following:

[0109] a mapping relationship of QoS flows; in this scenario, the upper layer comprises an SDAP layer or a PDCP layer;

[0110] a mapping relationship of QoS flows and sessions; in this scenario, the upper layer comprises a TCP / IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0111] a mapping relationship of QoS flows and bearers; in this scenario, the upper layer comprises an RLC layer or an SDAP layer;

[0112] a mapping relationship of QoS flows and DRBs; in this scenario, the upper layer comprises a PDCP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0113] a mapping relationship of QoS flows and LCHs; in this scenario, the upper layer comprises a MAC layer or an SDAP layer.

[0114] 2) In the case where the granularity of the first information comprises sessions, the first mapping information can comprise at least one of the following:

[0115] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0116] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0117] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0118] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0119] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer.

[0120] 3) In the case where the granularity of the first information includes a bearer, the first mapping information can include at least one of the following:

[0121] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0122] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0123] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer;

[0124] mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; in this scenario, the upper layer includes a TCP IP layer or an SDAP layer.

[0125] It is worth mentioning that, in the case where the first information has multiple granularities, if the first mapping information has repeated mapping relationships, the repeated mapping relationships can be deleted, and only the non-repeated mapping relationships can be retained. For example, in the case where the granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, the corresponding first mapping information includes a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session. In the case where the granularity of the first information includes a session, the corresponding first mapping information includes a mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow. In the case where the granularity of the first information includes both a QoS flow and a session, the corresponding first mapping information includes only a set of mapping relationships between a session and a QoS flow.

[0126] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can further include:

[0127] The upper layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the lower layer of the first node to assist the lower layer in determining the first information. The first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0128] 1) a mapping relationship between an LCH and a DRB;

[0129] 2) LCH and bearer mapping relationship;

[0130] 3) LCH and session mapping relationship;

[0131] 4) LCH and QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0132] 5) DRB and bearer mapping relationship;

[0133] 6) DRB and session mapping relationship;

[0134] 7) DRB and QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0135] 8) Bearer and session mapping relationship;

[0136] 9) Bearer and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0137] The above two methods are that the upper layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the lower layer of the first node, and the lower layer determines the first information. This method can solve the problem that the lower layer cannot obtain the mapping relationship of the upper layer, and is suitable for rate control or adjustment in the scenario that the lower layer cannot obtain the mapping relationship of the upper layer. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the following methods can also be used: the lower layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the upper layer of the first node, and the upper layer determines the first information. This method can solve the problem that the upper layer cannot obtain the mapping relationship of the lower layer, and is suitable for rate control or adjustment in the scenario that the upper layer cannot obtain the mapping relationship of the lower layer. Regardless of which method, the first information can be sent to the second node after being determined, to assist the second node in rate adjustment or control.

[0138] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can further include:

[0139] The lower layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the upper layer of the first node, to assist the upper layer in determining the first information.

[0140] The upper layer refers to one or more layers above the lower layer, and is not limited in particular. The lower layer includes at least one of the following: TCP / IP layer, SDAP layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer.

[0141] For example, the lower layer is the MAC layer, and the upper layer is one or more of the TCP / IP, SDAP, PDCP, or RLC layers above the MAC layer.

[0142] In the scenario where the lower layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the upper layer of the first node, the content of the first mapping information can have multiple forms, including at least one of the following:

[0143] 1) The granularity of the first information includes LCH, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0144] LCH mapping relationship;

[0145] LCH and DRB mapping relationship;

[0146] LCH and bearer mapping relationship;

[0147] LCH and session mapping relationship;

[0148] LCH and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0149] 2) The granularity of the first information includes DRB, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0150] DRB and LCH mapping relationship;

[0151] DRB and bearer mapping relationship;

[0152] DRB and session mapping relationship;

[0153] DRB and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0154] 3) The granularity of the first information includes bearer, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0155] Bearer and LCH mapping relationship;

[0156] Bearer and DRB mapping relationship;

[0157] Bearer and session mapping relationship;

[0158] Bearer and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0159] 4) The granularity of the first information includes session, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0160] Session mapping relationship;

[0161] Session and QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0162] Session and bearer mapping relationship;

[0163] Session and DRB mapping relationship;

[0164] Session and LCH mapping relationship.

[0165] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can further include:

[0166] The bottom layer of the first node sends the first mapping information to the upper layer of the first node, to assist the upper layer in determining the first information. The first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0167] 1) QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0168] 2) QoS flow and session mapping relationship;

[0169] 3) QoS flow and bearer mapping relationship;

[0170] 4) QoS flow and DRB mapping relationship;

[0171] 5) QoS flow and LCH mapping relationship;

[0172] 6) Session mapping relationship;

[0173] 7) Session and QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0174] 8) Session and bearer mapping relationship;

[0175] 9) Session and DRB mapping relationship;

[0176] 10) Session and LCH mapping relationship.

[0177] In the embodiments of the present application, the first information can be carried in at least one of the following messages: a non-access layer (Non Access Stratum, NAS) message, a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) message, a medium access control control element (Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE) message, a downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI) message, and an uplink control information (Uplink Control Information, UCI) message.

[0178] In the embodiments of the present application, the RRC message described above can include at least one of the following: an RRC reconfiguration message, a connection establishment message, terminal assistance information (UE Assistance Information, UAI), an RRC reconfiguration completion message, and a connection establishment completion message.

[0179] For example, the first information can be carried by a NAS message and a DCI message, or by an RRC reconfiguration message, or by a UAI message, etc.

[0180] The first node can select a corresponding message to carry the first information according to application scenarios and actual needs, which is very flexible, widely applicable, and highly practical.

[0181] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can assist the second node in adjusting or controlling the rate, and the rate control can be completed more quickly and more accurately without multiple feedbacks, thereby reducing the time consumption of the rate control and improving the efficiency of the rate control.

[0182] FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of a rate control method provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the method 300 can be performed by a first node. As shown in FIG. 3, the method can include the following steps.

[0183] S302: The first node receives a request message or an inquiry message sent by the second node.

[0184] In the embodiments of the present application, the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire the first information.

[0185] The granularity of the request message or the inquiry message can include at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0186] S304: The first node sends first information to the second node, where the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0187] In the above method, the first node sends the first information to the second node, which can be triggered by the first node receiving the request message or the inquiry message sent by the second node, that is, when the first node receives the request message or the inquiry message sent by the second node, the first node sends the first information to the second node. Of course, the first node can also decide whether to send the first information to the second node, that is, after the first node receives the request message or the inquiry message sent by the second node, the first node can send the first information to the second node, or the first node can not send the first information to the second node, which is not limited.

[0188] In the embodiments of the present application, in the scenario where the first node is provided with a trigger condition for sending the first information, in addition to the above-mentioned trigger condition of receiving the request message or the inquiry message sent by the second node, other trigger conditions can also be used. Therefore, the first node can send the first information in at least one of the following situations:

[0189] 1) The first node determines that the rate needs to be adjusted or controlled;

[0190] 2) The first node determines that the second node needs to be notified of the first information;

[0191] 3) the first node receives a request message or an inquiry message sent by the second node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire the first information.

[0192] For example, the first node determines that the rate needs to be adjusted or controlled, and determines that the second node needs to be informed of the first information.

[0193] The above various trigger conditions can make the first node send the first information in a suitable case, and the first node can be flexibly selected and easily implemented.

[0194] The above method provided by the embodiments of the present application can send the first information from the first node to the second node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information. The first information can assist the second node to adjust the rate or control the rate, without multiple feedbacks, so that the rate control can be completed more quickly and more accurately, the time consumption of the rate control is reduced, and the efficiency of the rate control is improved.

[0195] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a rate control method provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the method 400 can be performed by the second node. As shown in FIG. 4, the method can include the following steps.

[0196] S402: The second node receives the first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0197] In the embodiments of the present application, the congestion information refers to the congestion information in the network where the first node and the second node are located, and the rate control information and the rate adjustment information refer to the related information for controlling and adjusting the rate between the first node and the second node, or the related information for controlling and adjusting the rate of the first node or the second node, such as the encoding rate. The rate can be the rate in the direction from the first node to the second node, or the rate in the direction from the second node to the first node, and the specific rate is not limited.

[0198] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate related to the first information can include at least one of the following: a bit rate, an encoding rate, a data rate, a resource rate, and a source rate.

[0199] For example, the first information can include a bit rate and an encoding rate, or the first information can include an encoding rate, a data rate, and a resource rate.

[0200] The rate related to the first information can be implemented in various combinations, so that the second node can adjust or control various different rates.

[0201] In the embodiments of the present application, the first node and the second node are different devices, and there can be various implementation manners, specifically including but not limited to one of the following:

[0202] 1) The first node is a base station, and the second node is a terminal, a core network node or an application layer node; for example, the first node is a base station, and the second node is a terminal; or the first node is a base station, and the second node is a core network node;

[0203] 2) The first node is a terminal, and the second node is a base station, a core network node or an application layer node; for example, the first node is a terminal, and the second node is a base station; or the first node is a terminal, and the second node is an application layer node;

[0204] 3) The first node is a core network node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal;

[0205] 4) The first node is an application layer node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal.

[0206] The application layer node can be, for example, a server of a service provider, an application server of a third-party service, and the like, and is not specifically limited.

[0207] The first node and the second node are different devices, and the rate control or adjustment can be implemented in various scenarios obtained by various combinations of devices.

[0208] In the embodiments of the present application, the first information can include at least one of the following:

[0209] 1) a rate adjustment indication;

[0210] 2) rate information;

[0211] 3) congestion information;

[0212] 4) network load information;

[0213] 5) channel information;

[0214] 6) Quality of Service (QoS) information;

[0215] 7) an uplink indication; wherein the uplink indication is used to indicate adjustment or control of an uplink rate;

[0216] 8) a downlink indication; wherein the downlink indication is used to indicate adjustment or control of a downlink rate;

[0217] 9) identification information.

[0218] Based on the content of the first information, more information can be provided to the second node, which helps the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, and improves the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0219] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate adjustment indication can include at least one of the following: an increased rate, a rate level of the increased rate, a decreased rate, a rate level of the decreased rate, no change in the rate, no change in the rate level, a rate adjustment factor, and a rate level adjustment factor. The rate adjustment factor can be used to maintain the existing rate or rate level, or to reduce or increase the rate or rate level by a certain multiple. For example, if the rate adjustment factor is less than 1, the rate or rate level is decreased; if the rate adjustment factor is greater than 1, the rate or rate level is increased; and if the rate adjustment factor is equal to 1, the current rate or rate level is maintained.

[0220] and / or,

[0221] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate information can include at least one of the following: a rate, a rate level, and a rate range. This way of providing rate information in the first information can provide more detailed rate information to the second node, which helps the second node to more accurately adjust or control the rate, thereby improving the accuracy of rate adjustment or control.

[0222] and / or,

[0223] In the embodiments of the present application, the congestion information can include at least one of the following: whether there is congestion, a congestion level, a congestion cause, a congested channel, a congestion scenario, a congestion-associated service, a congestion-associated session, a congestion-associated QoS flow, a congestion-associated DRB, a congestion-associated LCH, and a congestion-associated channel.

[0224] and / or,

[0225] In the embodiments of the present application, the network load information can include at least one of the following: a load level, whether there is overload, whether there is light load, whether there is heavy load, a load cause, a load-associated cause, a load-associated scenario, a load-associated service, a load-associated session, a load-associated QoS flow, a load-associated DRB, a load-associated LCH, and a load-associated channel. The load level can be, for example, a classification level such as light, medium, and heavy.

[0226] and / or,

[0227] In the embodiments of the present application, the channel information can include at least one of the following: a channel measurement result, a channel measurement level, a channel condition, and a channel condition. The channel condition can be, for example, good, medium, and poor.

[0228] and / or,

[0229] In the embodiments of the present application, the QoS information can include at least one of the following: a QoS parameter, a QoS requirement, a QoS allocation, and QoS mapping information.

[0230] and / or,

[0231] In the embodiments of the present application, the identification information can include at least one of the following: a terminal identifier (UE ID), a QoS flow identifier (QoS flow ID), a session identifier (session ID), a bearer identifier (bearer ID), a DRB identifier (DRB ID), and an LCH identifier (LCH ID). The terminal identifier can be, for example, a UE ID or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI).

[0232] In the embodiments of the present application, the granularity of the first information can include at least one of the following: per-UE, per-QoS flow, per-Session, per-bearer, per-DRB, and per-LCH.

[0233] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-UE, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of the UE, rate information of the UE, congestion information of the UE, network load information of the UE, channel information of the UE, an uplink indication of the UE, a downlink indication of the UE, and an ID of the UE. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the overall current status of the UE, so that rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on all services of the UE.

[0234] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-QoS flow, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of each QoS flow, rate information of each QoS flow, congestion information of each QoS flow, network load information of each QoS flow, channel information of each QoS flow, an uplink indication of each QoS flow, a downlink indication of each QoS flow, and an ID of each QoS flow. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the QoS flow of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more QoS flows of the first node.

[0235] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-session, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication per session, rate information per session, congestion information per session, network load information per session, channel information per session, uplink indication per session, downlink indication per session, ID per session. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current session status of the first node, so that the data flow corresponding to one or more sessions can be accurately rate adjusted or rate controlled.

[0236] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-bearer, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication per bearer, rate information per bearer, congestion information per bearer, network load information per bearer, channel information per bearer, uplink indication per bearer, downlink indication per bearer, ID per bearer. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current bearer status of the first node, so that the rate corresponding to one or more bearers can be accurately rate adjusted or rate controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the bearer can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can also be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, which can improve processing efficiency.

[0237] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-DRB, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication per DRB, rate information per DRB, congestion information per DRB, network load information per DRB, channel information per DRB, uplink indication per DRB, downlink indication per DRB, ID per DRB. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current DRB status of the first node, so that the rate corresponding to one or more DRBs can be accurately rate adjusted or rate controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the DRB can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can also be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, which can improve processing efficiency.

[0238] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-LCH, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of each LCH, rate information of each LCH, congestion information of each LCH, network load information of each LCH, channel information of each LCH, an uplink indication of each LCH, a downlink indication of each LCH, and an ID of each LCH. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current LCH status of the first node, so that the rate of one or several LCHs can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the LCHs can be learned based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0239] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can include at least one of the following modes:

[0240] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a terminal, and the first information includes a terminal identifier.

[0241] 2) The granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, and the first information includes a QoS flow identifier, or the first information includes a QoS flow identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0242] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first information includes a session identifier, or the first information includes a session identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0243] 4) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first information includes a bearer identifier, or the first information includes a bearer identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0244] 5) The granularity of the first information includes a DRB, and the first information includes a DRB identifier, or the first information includes a DRB identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0245] 6) The granularity of the first information includes an LCH, and the first information includes an LCH identifier, or the first information includes an LCH identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and a DRB identifier.

[0246] In an implementation, the above step S402 can further include:

[0247] The second node adjusts or controls the rate according to the first information.

[0248] In another implementation, the step S402 can further include the following steps:

[0249] The second node adjusts the rate or controls the rate in at least one of the following manners:

[0250] 1) The second node starts to adjust the rate or control the rate after receiving the first information and after a preset time period; the preset time period can be determined by a protocol, network configuration or terminal, and the value can be 0 or not 0, which is not limited. This manner determines the starting time of the rate adjustment or control.

[0251] 2) The second node adjusts the rate or controls the rate in a preset time period; the preset time period can be determined by a protocol, network configuration or terminal, and the value is not limited. This manner determines the time length of the rate adjustment or control, for example, a time window can be set as the preset time period.

[0252] 3) The second node starts to adjust the rate or control the rate from a preset data unit; the preset data unit includes the current data unit or the Nth data unit after the current data unit, and N is a positive integer; for example, N is 1 or 3 or 6. This manner determines the starting position of the data unit of the rate adjustment or control.

[0253] 4) The second node adjusts the rate or controls the rate for a preset number of data units; the preset number is one or more. For example, the rate is adjusted or controlled for 2 or 5 data units. This manner determines the length of the data unit of the rate adjustment or control.

[0254] In the embodiments of the present application, the data unit can include at least one of the following: a session, a quality of service flow, a burst packet, a frame, a protocol data unit (PDU), a PDU set, a data set, a service data unit (SDU).

[0255] In the embodiments of the present application, the method can further include the following steps:

[0256] The bottom layer of the second node sends the second mapping information to the upper layer of the second node to assist the upper layer to adjust the rate or control the rate.

[0257] The upper layer refers to one or more layers above the bottom layer, which is not limited. The bottom layer includes at least one of the following: a TCP / IP layer, an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer and a PHY layer.

[0258] For example, the bottom layer is a MAC layer, and the upper layer is one or more of a TCP / IP layer, an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer and an RLC layer above the MAC layer.

[0259] In the embodiments of the present application, in the scenario where the second mapping information is sent from the bottom layer of the second node to the upper layer of the second node, the content of the second mapping information can have multiple forms, including at least one of the following:

[0260] 1) The granularity of the first information includes LCH, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0261] LCH mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the MAC layer or the PHY layer;

[0262] LCH and DRB mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the MAC layer or the PDCP layer;

[0263] LCH and bearer mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the MAC layer or the RLC layer;

[0264] LCH and session mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the PHY layer, the MAC layer or the TCP IP layer;

[0265] LCH and QoS flow mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the MAC layer or the SDAP layer.

[0266] 2) The granularity of the first information includes DRB, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0267] DRB and LCH mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the MAC layer or the PDCP layer;

[0268] DRB and bearer mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the PDCP layer or the RLC layer;

[0269] DRB and session mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the PDCP layer or the TCP IP layer;

[0270] DRB and QoS flow mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the PDCP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0271] 3) The granularity of the first information includes bearer, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0272] Bearer and LCH mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the MAC layer or the RLC layer;

[0273] Bearer and DRB mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the PDCP layer or the RLC layer;

[0274] Bearer and session mapping relationship; in this scenario, the bottom layer includes the RLC and the TCP IP layer;

[0275] The mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow; in this scenario, the underlying layer includes the TCP IP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0276] 4) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0277] The mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow; in this scenario, the underlying layer includes the TCP IP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0278] The mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow; in this scenario, the underlying layer includes the TCP IP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0279] The mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow; in this scenario, the underlying layer includes the TCP IP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0280] The mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow; in this scenario, the underlying layer includes the TCP IP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0281] The mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow; in this scenario, the underlying layer includes the TCP IP layer or the SDAP layer.

[0282] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can further include:

[0283] The underlying layer of the second node sends the second mapping information to the upper layer of the second node, to assist the upper layer in adjusting the rate or controlling the rate; wherein the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0284] 1) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0285] 2) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0286] 3) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0287] 4) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0288] 5) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0289] 6) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0290] 7) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0291] 8) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0292] 9) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0293] 10) The mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session.

[0294] The two manners above are that the second mapping information is sent by the bottom layer of the second node to the upper layer of the second node, and the rate is adjusted or controlled by the upper layer. This manner can solve the problem that the upper layer cannot obtain the mapping relationship of the bottom layer. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the following manner can also be used: the second mapping information is sent by the upper layer of the second node to the bottom layer of the second node, and the rate is adjusted or controlled by the bottom layer. This manner can solve the problem that the bottom layer cannot obtain the mapping relationship of the upper layer. Regardless of which manner is used, the second node can adjust or control the rate.

[0295] In the embodiments of the present application, the method can further include:

[0296] The upper layer of the second node sends the second mapping information to the bottom layer of the second node to assist the bottom layer in adjusting or controlling the rate.

[0297] The bottom layer refers to one or more layers below the upper layer, and is not specifically limited. The upper layer includes at least one of the following: an application layer, a TCP / IP layer, an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, and a MAC layer.

[0298] For example, the upper layer is an SDAP layer, and the bottom layer is one or more of a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer below the SDAP layer.

[0299] In the scenario in which the upper layer of the second node sends the second mapping information to the bottom layer of the second node, the content of the second mapping information can have various forms, including at least one of the following:

[0300] 1) In the case where the granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0301] a QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0302] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session;

[0303] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer;

[0304] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB;

[0305] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH.

[0306] 2) In the case where the granularity of the first information includes a session, the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0307] a session mapping relationship;

[0308] a mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow;

[0309] a mapping relationship between a session and a bearer;

[0310] a mapping relationship between the session and the DRB;

[0311] a mapping relationship between the session and the LCH.

[0312] 3) In a case where the granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following:

[0313] a mapping relationship between the bearer and the QoS flow;

[0314] a mapping relationship between the bearer and the session;

[0315] a mapping relationship between the bearer and the DRB;

[0316] a mapping relationship between the bearer and the LCH.

[0317] In the embodiments of the present application, the above method can further comprise:

[0318] the upper layer of the second node sends the second mapping information to the lower layer of the second node to assist the lower layer in adjusting the rate or controlling the rate. The second mapping information comprises at least one of the following:

[0319] 1) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the DRB;

[0320] 2) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the bearer;

[0321] 3) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the session;

[0322] 4) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the QoS flow;

[0323] 5) a mapping relationship between the DRB and the bearer;

[0324] 6) a mapping relationship between the DRB and the session;

[0325] 7) a mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow;

[0326] 8) a mapping relationship between the bearer and the session;

[0327] 9) a mapping relationship between the bearer and the QoS flow.

[0328] The above method provided by the embodiments of the present application can receive, by the second node, the first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information. The first information can assist the second node in adjusting the rate or controlling the rate, without the need for multiple feedbacks, so that the rate control can be completed more quickly and more accurately, the time consumption of the rate control is reduced, and the efficiency of the rate control is improved.

[0329] FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of a rate control method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 can be performed by a second node. As shown in FIG. 5, the method can include the following steps.

[0330] At S502, the second node sends a request message or an inquiry message to the first node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire the first information.

[0331] In an embodiment of the present application, the granularity of the request message or the inquiry message can include at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0332] In an embodiment of the present application, the request message or the inquiry message can be sent at a preset time or after the end of a prohibit timer.

[0333] In an embodiment of the present application, the prohibit timer is used to control whether the request message or the inquiry message can be sent and when the request message or the inquiry message is sent.

[0334] The prohibit timer can include a start time and a time length, and the time range corresponding to the time length is the prohibit timer. The processing mechanism of the prohibit timer includes at least one of the following:

[0335] 1) The second node can send the request message or the inquiry message to the first node at the start time of the prohibit timer (i.e., the start time of the prohibit timer); for example, the prohibit timer is t1-t2, and the second node can send the request message or the inquiry message to the first node at t1.

[0336] 2) The second node is prohibited from sending the request message or the inquiry message to the first node within the prohibit timer (i.e., during the running of the prohibit timer); for example, the prohibit timer is t1-t2, and the second node is prohibited from sending the request message or the inquiry message to the first node at any time between t1 and t2.

[0337] 3) The second node can send the request message or the inquiry message to the first node after the end of the prohibit timer (i.e., the end of the prohibit timer); for example, the prohibit timer is t1-t2, and the second node can send the request message or the inquiry message to the first node after t2.

[0338] The above processing mechanism can control the timing of the second node sending the request message or the inquiry message to the first node, which can avoid the second node frequently sending the request message or the inquiry message to the first node, thereby saving network overhead.

[0339] In an implementation, granularity of the prohibit period can include at least one of: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and a LCH.

[0340] and / or,

[0341] In another implementation, the prohibit period can include a prohibit period for uplink and downlink, or the prohibit period includes a prohibit period for uplink rate adjustment or control corresponding request message or inquiry message, and a prohibit period for downlink rate adjustment or control corresponding request message or inquiry message.

[0342] The prohibit period can be set to be shared by uplink and downlink, or set to be exclusive for uplink and downlink respectively, and the mode is flexible and can be applied to different needs.

[0343] In the case of per-UE granularity of the prohibit period, the UE (i.e. the second node) performs at least one of the following mechanisms:

[0344] 1) The UE can send a request message or an inquiry message to the first node at the start time of the prohibit period.

[0345] 2) The UE is prohibited to send a request message or an inquiry message to the first node within the prohibit period.

[0346] 3) The UE can send a request message or an inquiry message to the first node after the end of the prohibit period.

[0347] In the case of per-session, per-QoS flow, per-DRB, per-bearer or per-LCH granularity of the prohibit period, the second node performs at least one of the following mechanisms:

[0348] 1) The second node can send a request or inquiry message of a corresponding session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH to the first node at the start time of the prohibit period corresponding to the session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH.

[0349] For example, the second node can send a request or inquiry message of a session to the first node at the start time of the prohibit period corresponding to the session.

[0350] 2) The second node is prohibited to send a request or inquiry message of a corresponding session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH to the first node within the prohibit period corresponding to the session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH.

[0351] For example, the second node is prohibited from sending a request or inquiry message of the LCH to the first node in the prohibit period corresponding to the LCH.

[0352] In this scenario, the terminal can initiate a request or inquiry message of another session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH, if the prohibit period corresponding to the request or inquiry message of the another session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH is not running.

[0353] 3) After the prohibit period corresponding to a certain session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH ends, the second node can initiate a request or inquiry message of the corresponding session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH to the first node again.

[0354] For example, after the prohibit period corresponding to a certain DRB ends, the second node can initiate a request or inquiry message of the DRB to the first node again.

[0355] By setting different granularity of the prohibit period, the timing of the second node sending a request message or inquiry message to the first node can be accurately controlled at different granularities, which not only avoids the second node frequently sending a request message or inquiry message to the first node, thereby saving network overhead, but also realizes accurate control and improves the accuracy of control.

[0356] S504: The second node receives the first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0357] The above method provided by the embodiments of the present application can assist the second node to adjust or control the rate by receiving the first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information, so that the rate control can be completed more quickly and accurately without multiple feedbacks, thereby reducing the time consumption of rate control and improving the efficiency of rate control.

[0358] The format of the first information in each of the above embodiments is specifically described as follows.

[0359] The first node can send the first information to the second node through a MAC CE message.

[0360] The first information can occupy one or more bits in the MAC CE message, and the length is not limited.

[0361] For example, the first information includes rate information and identification information, and the specific format is shown in Table 1.

[0362] Table 1

[0363] In the MAC CE message, DRB ID or QoS flow ID and corresponding rate information Rate are included. Uplink UL and / or downlink DL indication is also included. The rate information occupies 1 bit in Oct1 and 5 bits in Oct2, and DRB ID or QoS flow ID occupies 6 bits. This is an embodiment, and other bit lengths can also be used, which are not limited.

[0364] The above method can provide accurate rate control or adjustment, because the application layer of the terminal or the application server does not know the specific LCID mapping, but knows the specific QOS flow or DRB mapping. Therefore, for delay-sensitive services, in order to quickly respond to network conditions such as congestion, the rate can be directly and accurately adjusted or controlled according to different DRB or QoS flow, thereby avoiding the problem of inaccurate and untimely rate adjustment or control caused by LCID.

[0365] The implementation process of each embodiment is further described below with specific scenarios as examples.

[0366] In the first scenario, the UL rate needs to be adjusted or controlled, and the first node gNB sends the first information to the second node UE. The UE determines the rate adjustment or control according to the first information.

[0367] The UE determining the rate adjustment or control according to the first information can include at least one of the following steps:

[0368] 1) The UE AS access layer determines the adjusted or controlled rate according to the first information, and then notifies the UE application layer;

[0369] 2) The UE sends the received first information to the application layer, and the application layer determines the adjusted or controlled rate;

[0370] In the above first scenario, the UE application layer determines the rate adjustment or control according to the first information, which can directly control or adjust the rate according to the first information provided by the RAN side gNB, without the need to indicate the terminal to adjust the uplink rate through the gNB, the core network and the application server. This can greatly shorten the control or adjustment delay, and is particularly suitable for delay-sensitive services, such as services with high real-time requirements.

[0371] In the second scenario, the DL rate needs to be adjusted or controlled, and the first node gNB sends the first information to the second node UE. The UE can perform at least one of the following steps:

[0372] 1) The UE AS access layer determines the rate of adjustment or control according to the first information, and then notifies the UE application layer, which negotiates with the application server to adjust or control the DL rate;

[0373] 2) The UE sends the received first information to the application layer, which determines the rate of adjustment or control according to the first information, and then notifies the application server;

[0374] 3) The UE sends the received first information to the application layer, which notifies the application server of the first information, and then the application server determines the rate of adjustment or control according to the first information;

[0375] 4) The UE sends the received first information to the application layer, which notifies the application server of the first information, and then the application server negotiates with the UE to determine the rate of adjustment or control according to the first information.

[0376] In the third scenario, the first node UE sends the first information to the second node gNB, which can send the first information to the application server through the CN, and the application server determines the rate of adjustment or control according to the first information.

[0377] The second and third scenarios described above can more accurately achieve the purpose of rate adjustment or control by negotiating between the terminal application layer and the application server to determine the DL rate, as the terminal is aware of the requirements of the service and the current network environment (including channel conditions or congestion status, etc.), and are particularly suitable for delay-sensitive services, which can shorten the delay of control or adjustment.

[0378] Figure 6 shows a structural schematic diagram of a rate control device provided by an embodiment of the application, as shown in Figure 6, the device 600 is applied to a first node, and can include a sending module 601.

[0379] The sending module 601 is configured to send first information to a second node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0380] In an embodiment of the application, the first information is used to assist the second node to adjust or control the rate, or the first information is used by the second node to adjust or control the rate according to the first information.

[0381] In an embodiment of the application, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0382] 1) rate adjustment indication;

[0383] 2) rate information;

[0384] 3) congestion information;

[0385] 4) network load information;

[0386] 5) channel information;

[0387] 6) QoS information;

[0388] 7) uplink indication;

[0389] 8) downlink indication;

[0390] 9) identification information.

[0391] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can include at least one of the following:

[0392] 1) the rate adjustment indication includes at least one of the following: an increased rate, a rate level for the increased rate, a decreased rate, a rate level for the decreased rate, an unchanged rate, an unchanged rate level, a rate adjustment factor, and a rate level adjustment factor.

[0393] 2) the rate information includes at least one of the following: a rate, a rate level, and a rate range.

[0394] 3) the congestion information includes at least one of the following: whether congestion exists, a congestion level, a congestion cause, a congested channel, a congestion scenario, a congestion-associated service, a congestion-associated session, a congestion-associated QoS flow, a congestion-associated DRB, a congestion-associated LCH, and a congestion-associated channel.

[0395] 4) the network load information includes at least one of the following: a load level, whether overload exists, whether light load exists, whether heavy load exists, a load cause, a load-associated cause, a load-associated scenario, a load-associated service, a load-associated session, a load-associated QoS flow, a load-associated DRB, a load-associated LCH, and a load-associated channel.

[0396] 5) the channel information includes at least one of the following: a channel measurement result, a channel measurement level, a channel condition, and a channel condition.

[0397] 6) the QoS information includes at least one of the following: a QoS parameter, a QoS requirement, a QoS allocation, and QoS mapping information.

[0398] 7) the identification information includes at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0399] In the embodiments of the present application, the granularity of the first information includes at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0400] In the case that the granularity of the first information is per-UE, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication of the UE, rate information of the UE, congestion information of the UE, network load information of the UE, channel information of the UE, uplink indication of the UE, downlink indication of the UE, ID of the UE. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the overall current situation of the UE, so that the rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on all services of the UE.

[0401] In the case that the granularity of the first information is per-QoS flow, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication of each QoS flow, rate information of each QoS flow, congestion information of each QoS flow, network load information of each QoS flow, channel information of each QoS flow, uplink indication of each QoS flow, downlink indication of each QoS flow, ID of each QoS flow. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current situation of the QoS flow of the first node, so that the rate adjustment or rate control can be accurately performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more QoS flows of the first node.

[0402] In the case that the granularity of the first information is per-session, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication of each session, rate information of each session, congestion information of each session, network load information of each session, channel information of each session, uplink indication of each session, downlink indication of each session, ID of each session. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current situation of the session of the first node, so that the rate adjustment or rate control can be accurately performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more sessions.

[0403] In the case that the granularity of the first information is per-bearer, the first information can include at least one of the following: rate adjustment indication of each bearer, rate information of each bearer, congestion information of each bearer, network load information of each bearer, channel information of each bearer, uplink indication of each bearer, downlink indication of each bearer, ID of each bearer. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current situation of the bearer of the first node, so that the rate adjustment or rate control can be accurately performed on the rate corresponding to one or more bearers. In addition, the mapping relationship of the bearer can be obtained based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0404] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-DRB, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication per DRB, rate information per DRB, congestion information per DRB, network load information per DRB, channel information per DRB, an uplink indication per DRB, a downlink indication per DRB, and an ID per DRB. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current DRB status of the first node, so that the rate of one or more DRBs can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the DRB can be learned based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0405] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-LCH, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication per LCH, rate information per LCH, congestion information per LCH, network load information per LCH, channel information per LCH, an uplink indication per LCH, a downlink indication per LCH, and an ID per LCH. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current LCH status of the first node, so that the rate of one or more LCHs can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the LCH can be learned based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0406] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can include at least one of the following:

[0407] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a terminal, and the first information includes a terminal identifier.

[0408] 2) The granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, and the first information includes a QoS flow identifier, or the first information includes a QoS flow identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0409] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first information includes a session identifier, or the first information includes a session identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a bearer identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0410] 4) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first information includes a bearer identifier, or the first information includes a bearer identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0411] 5) the granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, the first information comprises a DRB identifier, or the first information comprises a DRB identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and an LCH identifier.

[0412] 6) the granularity of the first information comprises an LCH, the first information comprises an LCH identifier, or the first information comprises an LCH identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and a DRB identifier.

[0413] In the embodiments of the present application, in the case where the first information does not carry the identifier information, the object indicated or applied by the first information can include at least one of the following:

[0414] 1) the granularity of the first information comprises a terminal, and the first information indicates or applies to all QoS flows, all sessions, all bearers, all DRBs, or all LCHs.

[0415] 2) the granularity of the first information comprises a QoS flow, and the first information indicates or applies to all QoS flows.

[0416] 3) the granularity of the first information comprises a session, and the first information indicates or applies to all sessions.

[0417] 4) the granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, and the first information indicates or applies to all bearers.

[0418] 5) the granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, and the first information indicates or applies to all DRBs.

[0419] 6) the granularity of the first information comprises an LCH, and the first information indicates or applies to all LCHs.

[0420] In the embodiments of the present application, the rate related by the first information includes at least one of the following: a bit rate, a coding rate, a data rate, a resource rate, and a source rate.

[0421] In the embodiments of the present application, the sending module 601 sends the first information in at least one of the following cases:

[0422] 1) the first node determines that the rate needs to be adjusted or controlled;

[0423] 2) the first node determines that the second node needs to be informed of the first information;

[0424] 3) the first node receives a request message or an inquiry message sent by the second node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire about the first information.

[0425] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further used for:

[0426] Before sending the first information to the second node, a request message or an inquiry message sent by the second node is received.

[0427] The request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire the first information.

[0428] The granularity of the request message or the inquiry message includes at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0429] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0430] The first mapping information is sent from the upper layer to the lower layer to assist the lower layer in determining the first information. The first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0431] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0432] a QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0433] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session;

[0434] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer;

[0435] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB;

[0436] a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH.

[0437] 2) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0438] a session mapping relationship;

[0439] a mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow;

[0440] a mapping relationship between a session and a bearer;

[0441] a mapping relationship between a session and a DRB;

[0442] a mapping relationship between a session and an LCH.

[0443] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0444] a mapping relationship between a bearer and a QoS flow;

[0445] a mapping relationship between a bearer and a session;

[0446] a mapping relationship between a bearer and a DRB;

[0447] a mapping relationship between a bearer and an LCH.

[0448] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0449] The first mapping information is sent from the upper layer to the lower layer to assist the lower layer in determining the first information. The first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0450] 1) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the DRB;

[0451] 2) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the bearer;

[0452] 3) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the session;

[0453] 4) a mapping relationship between the LCH and the QoS flow;

[0454] 5) a mapping relationship between the DRB and the bearer;

[0455] 6) a mapping relationship between the DRB and the session;

[0456] 7) a mapping relationship between the DRB and the QoS flow;

[0457] 8) a mapping relationship between the bearer and the session;

[0458] 9) a mapping relationship between the bearer and the QoS flow.

[0459] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0460] The first mapping information is sent from the lower layer to the upper layer to assist the upper layer in determining the first information. The first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0461] 1) the granularity of the first information includes the LCH, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0462] a mapping relationship between the LCH;

[0463] a mapping relationship between the LCH and the DRB;

[0464] a mapping relationship between the LCH and the bearer;

[0465] a mapping relationship between the LCH and the session;

[0466] a mapping relationship between the LCH and the QoS flow.

[0467] 2) the granularity of the first information includes the DRB, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0468] a mapping relationship between the DRB and the LCH;

[0469] a mapping relationship between the DRB and the bearer;

[0470] a mapping relationship between the DRB and the session;

[0471] DRB and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0472] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0473] A mapping relationship between a bearer and an LCH;

[0474] A mapping relationship between a bearer and a DRB;

[0475] A mapping relationship between a bearer and a session;

[0476] A mapping relationship between a bearer and a QoS flow.

[0477] 4) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0478] A session mapping relationship;

[0479] A mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow;

[0480] A mapping relationship between a session and a bearer;

[0481] A mapping relationship between a session and a DRB;

[0482] A mapping relationship between a session and an LCH.

[0483] In the embodiments of the application, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0484] The first mapping information is sent to the upper layer by the bottom layer to assist the upper layer in determining the first information. The first mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0485] 1) A QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0486] 2) A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session;

[0487] 3) A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer;

[0488] 4) A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB;

[0489] 5) A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH;

[0490] 6) A session mapping relationship;

[0491] 7) A mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow;

[0492] 8) A mapping relationship between a session and a bearer;

[0493] 9) A mapping relationship between a session and a DRB;

[0494] 10) A mapping relationship between a session and an LCH.

[0495] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information is carried in at least one of the following messages: a non-access stratum (NAS) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message, a downlink control information (DCI) message, and an uplink control information (UCI) message.

[0496] In an embodiment of the present application, the RRC message includes at least one of the following: an RRC reconfiguration message, a connection setup message, terminal assistance information (UAI), an RRC reconfiguration complete message, and a connection setup complete message.

[0497] In an embodiment of the present application, the first node and the second node are different devices, and there can be various scenarios, including but not limited to one of the following:

[0498] 1) The first node is a base station, and the second node is a terminal, a core network node, or an application layer node; or

[0499] 2) The first node is a terminal, and the second node is a base station, a core network node, or an application layer node; or

[0500] 3) The first node is a core network node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal; or

[0501] 4) The first node is an application layer node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal.

[0502] The apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application can perform the method in any of the method embodiments described above with the first node as the execution subject, and the detailed process is described in the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0503] The apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application can send the first information from the first node to the second node, where the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information. The first information can assist the second node to adjust the rate or control the rate, without multiple feedbacks, so that the rate control can be completed more quickly and more accurately, the time consumption of the rate control is reduced, and the efficiency of the rate control is improved.

[0504] FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram of a rate control apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus 700 applied to the second node can include a receiving module 701.

[0505] The receiving module 701 is configured to receive the first information sent by the first node, where the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0506] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information includes at least one of the following:

[0507] 1) a rate adjustment indication;

[0508] 2) rate information;

[0509] 3) congestion information;

[0510] 4) network load information;

[0511] 5) channel information;

[0512] 6) QoS information;

[0513] 7) uplink indication;

[0514] 8) downlink indication;

[0515] 9) identification information.

[0516] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatuses described above can include at least one of the following:

[0517] 1) the rate adjustment indication includes at least one of the following: increasing rate, increasing rate level, decreasing rate, decreasing rate level, rate unchanged, rate level unchanged, rate adjustment factor, rate level adjustment factor.

[0518] 2) the rate information includes at least one of the following: rate, rate level, rate range.

[0519] 3) the congestion information includes at least one of the following: whether congestion, congestion level, congestion cause, congestion channel, congestion scenario, congestion associated service, congestion associated session, congestion associated QoS flow, congestion associated DRB, congestion associated LCH, congestion associated channel.

[0520] 4) the network load information includes at least one of the following: load level, whether overload, whether light load, whether heavy load, load cause, load associated cause, load associated scenario, load associated service, load associated session, load associated QoS flow, load associated DRB, load associated LCH, load associated channel.

[0521] 5) the channel information includes at least one of the following: channel measurement result, channel measurement level, channel condition, channel condition.

[0522] 6) the QoS information includes at least one of the following: QoS parameter, QoS requirement, QoS allocation, QoS mapping information.

[0523] 7) the identification information includes at least one of the following: terminal identification, QoS flow identification, session identification, bearer identification, DRB identification, LCH identification.

[0524] In the embodiments of the present application, the granularity of the first information includes at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0525] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-UE, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of the UE, rate information of the UE, congestion information of the UE, network load information of the UE, channel information of the UE, an uplink indication of the UE, a downlink indication of the UE, and an ID of the UE. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the overall current status of the UE, so that rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on all services of the UE.

[0526] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-QoS flow, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of each QoS flow, rate information of each QoS flow, congestion information of each QoS flow, network load information of each QoS flow, channel information of each QoS flow, an uplink indication of each QoS flow, a downlink indication of each QoS flow, and an ID of each QoS flow. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the QoS flow of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more QoS flows of the first node.

[0527] In the case where the granularity of the first information is per-session, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication of each session, rate information of each session, congestion information of each session, network load information of each session, channel information of each session, an uplink indication of each session, a downlink indication of each session, and an ID of each session. In this scenario, the first information can reflect the current status of the session of the first node, so that accurate rate adjustment or rate control can be performed on the data flow corresponding to one or more sessions.

[0528] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-bearer, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication for each bearer, rate information for each bearer, congestion information for each bearer, network load information for each bearer, channel information for each bearer, an uplink indication for each bearer, a downlink indication for each bearer, and an ID of each bearer. In this case, the first information can reflect the current status of the bearers of the first node, so that the rate of one or more bearers can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the bearers can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0529] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-DRB, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication for each DRB, rate information for each DRB, congestion information for each DRB, network load information for each DRB, channel information for each DRB, an uplink indication for each DRB, a downlink indication for each DRB, and an ID of each DRB. In this case, the first information can reflect the current status of the DRBs of the first node, so that the rate of one or more DRBs can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the DRBs can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0530] In a case where the granularity of the first information is per-LCH, the first information can include at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication for each LCH, rate information for each LCH, congestion information for each LCH, network load information for each LCH, channel information for each LCH, an uplink indication for each LCH, a downlink indication for each LCH, and an ID of each LCH. In this case, the first information can reflect the current status of the LCHs of the first node, so that the rate of one or more LCHs can be accurately adjusted or controlled. In addition, the mapping relationship of the LCHs can be known based on the MAC layer, and the first information can be indicated through the MAC layer, without complex inter-layer interaction, so that the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0531] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can include at least one of the following:

[0532] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a terminal, and the first information includes a terminal identifier.

[0533] 2) The granularity of the first information comprises a QoS flow, the first information comprises a QoS flow identity, or the first information comprises a QoS flow identity and at least one of the following: a terminal identity, a session identity, a bearer identity, a DRB identity, a LCH identity.

[0534] 3) The granularity of the first information comprises a session, the first information comprises a session identity, or the first information comprises a session identity and at least one of the following: a terminal identity, a QoS flow identity, a bearer identity, a DRB identity, a LCH identity.

[0535] 4) The granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, the first information comprises a bearer identity, or the first information comprises a bearer identity and at least one of the following: a terminal identity, a QoS flow identity, a session identity, a DRB identity, a LCH identity.

[0536] 5) The granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, the first information comprises a DRB identity, or the first information comprises a DRB identity and at least one of the following: a terminal identity, a QoS flow identity, a session identity, a bearer identity, a LCH identity.

[0537] 6) The granularity of the first information comprises a LCH, the first information comprises a LCH identity, or the first information comprises a LCH identity and at least one of the following: a terminal identity, a QoS flow identity, a session identity, a bearer identity, a DRB identity.

[0538] In the embodiments of the present application, in the case where the first information does not carry the identity information, the object indicated or applied by the first information can comprise at least one of the following:

[0539] 1) The granularity of the first information comprises a terminal, and the first information indicates or applies to all QoS flows, all sessions, all bearers, all DRBs or all LCHs.

[0540] 2) The granularity of the first information comprises a QoS flow, and the first information indicates or applies to all QoS flows.

[0541] 3) The granularity of the first information comprises a session, and the first information indicates or applies to all sessions.

[0542] 4) The granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, and the first information indicates or applies to all bearers.

[0543] 5) The granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, and the first information indicates or applies to all DRBs.

[0544] 6) The granularity of the first information comprises a LCH, and the first information indicates or applies to all LCHs.

[0545] The first information relates to a rate, including at least one of a bit rate, a coding rate, a data rate, a resource rate, and a source rate.

[0546] In an embodiment of the present application, the device is further configured to adjust or control the rate according to the first information.

[0547] In an embodiment of the present application, the device is further configured to adjust or control the rate in at least one of the following manners:

[0548] 1) adjusting or controlling the rate after receiving the first information and after a preset time period;

[0549] 2) adjusting or controlling the rate within a preset time period;

[0550] 3) adjusting or controlling the rate from a preset data unit, wherein the preset data unit includes a current data unit or an Nth data unit after the current data unit, and N is a positive integer;

[0551] 4) adjusting or controlling the rate for a preset number of data units, wherein the preset number is one or more.

[0552] In an embodiment of the present application, the data unit includes at least one of a session, a quality of service flow, a burst packet, a frame, a protocol data unit (PDU), a PDU set, a data set, and a service data unit (SDU).

[0553] In an embodiment of the present application, the device is further configured to:

[0554] Before receiving the first information sent by the first node, the device is configured to send a request message or an inquiry message to the first node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire the first information.

[0555] The granularity of the request message or the inquiry message includes at least one of a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0556] In an embodiment, the request message or the inquiry message is sent at a preset time or after a prohibition period ends. In an embodiment of the present application, the prohibition period is used to control whether the request message or the inquiry message can be sent, and to control when the request message or the inquiry message is sent.

[0557] The prohibition period can include a start time and a time length, and the time range corresponding to the time length is the prohibition period. The processing mechanism of the prohibition period includes at least one of the following:

[0558] 1) the start time of the prohibition period (i.e., the start time of the prohibit timer), and the second node can send the request message or the inquiry message to the first node;

[0559] 2) In the prohibit period (i.e. during the running of the prohibit timer), the second node is prohibited to send a request message or a query message to the first node;

[0560] 3) After the end of the prohibit period (i.e. the end of the prohibit timer), the second node can send a request message or a query message to the first node.

[0561] The above manner can avoid the second node from frequently sending a request message or a query message to the first node, thereby saving network overhead.

[0562] In the embodiments of the present application, the granularity of the prohibit period comprises at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

[0563] And / or,

[0564] In the embodiments of the present application, the prohibit period comprises a prohibit period for uplink and a prohibit period for downlink, or the prohibit period comprises a prohibit period for uplink rate adjustment or control corresponding request message or query message, and a prohibit period for downlink rate adjustment or control corresponding request message or query message.

[0565] In the case where the granularity of the prohibit period is per-UE, the UE (i.e. the second node) performs at least one of the following mechanisms:

[0566] 1) At the start time of the prohibit period, the UE can send a request message or a query message to the first node;

[0567] 2) In the prohibit period, the UE is prohibited to send a request message or a query message to the first node;

[0568] 3) After the end of the prohibit period, the UE can send a request message or a query message to the first node.

[0569] In the case where the granularity of the prohibit period is per-session, per-QoS flow, per-DRB, per-bearer, or per-LCH, the second node performs at least one of the following mechanisms:

[0570] 1) At the start time of the prohibit period corresponding to a certain session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer, or LCH, the second node can send a request or query message of the corresponding session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer, or LCH to the first node;

[0571] 2) within the prohibit period corresponding to a certain session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH, the second node prohibits sending a request or inquiry message of the corresponding session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH to the first node;

[0572] In this scenario, the terminal can initiate a request or inquiry message of another session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH, if the request or inquiry message of the other session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH does not correspond to a running prohibit period.

[0573] 3) After the prohibit period corresponding to a certain session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH ends, the second node can initiate a request or inquiry message of the corresponding session, QoS flow, DRB, bearer or LCH to the first node again.

[0574] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0575] The second mapping information is sent to the upper layer by the bottom layer to assist the upper layer in adjusting or controlling the rate. The second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0576] 1) The granularity of the first information includes LCH, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0577] LCH mapping relationship;

[0578] LCH and DRB mapping relationship;

[0579] LCH and bearer mapping relationship;

[0580] LCH and session mapping relationship;

[0581] LCH and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0582] 2) The granularity of the first information includes DRB, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0583] DRB and LCH mapping relationship;

[0584] DRB and bearer mapping relationship;

[0585] DRB and session mapping relationship;

[0586] DRB and QoS flow mapping relationship.

[0587] 3) The granularity of the first information includes bearer, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0588] mapping relationship between the bearer and the LCH;

[0589] mapping relationship between the bearer and the DRB;

[0590] mapping relationship between the bearer and the session;

[0591] mapping relationship between the bearer and the QoS flow.

[0592] 4) the granularity of the first information includes a session, and the second mapping information includes at least one of:

[0593] mapping relationship between the session;

[0594] mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow;

[0595] mapping relationship between the session and the bearer;

[0596] mapping relationship between the session and the DRB;

[0597] mapping relationship between the session and the LCH.

[0598] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further used for:

[0599] sending, by the bottom layer, the second mapping information to the upper layer to assist the upper layer in adjusting or controlling the rate. The second mapping information includes at least one of:

[0600] 1) QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0601] 2) mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the session;

[0602] 3) mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the bearer;

[0603] 4) mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB;

[0604] 5) mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the LCH;

[0605] 6) session mapping relationship;

[0606] 7) mapping relationship between the session and the QoS flow;

[0607] 8) mapping relationship between the session and the bearer;

[0608] 9) mapping relationship between the session and the DRB;

[0609] 10) mapping relationship between the session and the LCH.

[0610] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus is further used for:

[0611] The second mapping information is sent from the upper layer to the lower layer to assist the lower layer in adjusting or controlling the rate. The second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0612] 1) The granularity of the first information includes a QoS flow, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0613] A QoS flow mapping relationship;

[0614] A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session;

[0615] A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer;

[0616] A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB;

[0617] A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH.

[0618] 2) The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0619] A session mapping relationship;

[0620] A mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow;

[0621] A mapping relationship between a session and a bearer;

[0622] A mapping relationship between a session and a DRB;

[0623] A mapping relationship between a session and an LCH.

[0624] 3) The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0625] A mapping relationship between a bearer and a QoS flow;

[0626] A mapping relationship between a bearer and a session;

[0627] A mapping relationship between a bearer and a DRB;

[0628] A mapping relationship between a bearer and an LCH.

[0629] In the embodiments of the application, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0630] The second mapping information is sent from the upper layer to the lower layer to assist the lower layer in adjusting or controlling the rate. The second mapping information includes at least one of the following:

[0631] 1) A mapping relationship between an LCH and a DRB;

[0632] 2) A mapping relationship between an LCH and a bearer;

[0633] 3) A mapping relationship between an LCH and a session;

[0634] 4) mapping relationship between LCH and QoS flow;

[0635] 5) mapping relationship between DRB and bearer;

[0636] 6) mapping relationship between DRB and session;

[0637] 7) mapping relationship between DRB and QoS flow;

[0638] 8) mapping relationship between bearer and session;

[0639] 9) mapping relationship between bearer and QoS flow.

[0640] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information is carried in at least one of the following messages: a non-access stratum (NAS) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message, a downlink control information (DCI) message, and an uplink control information (UCI) message.

[0641] In an embodiment of the present application, the RRC message includes at least one of the following: an RRC reconfiguration message, a connection setup message, terminal assistance information (UAI), an RRC reconfiguration complete message, and a connection setup complete message.

[0642] In an embodiment of the present application, the first node and the second node are different devices, and there can be various scenarios, including but not limited to one of the following:

[0643] 1) the first node is a base station, and the second node is a terminal, a core network node, or an application layer node; or

[0644] 2) the first node is a terminal, and the second node is a base station, a core network node, or an application layer node; or

[0645] 3) the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal; or

[0646] 4) the first node is an application layer node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal.

[0647] The above-described apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application can perform the method in any of the above method embodiments with the second node as the execution subject, and the detailed process is described in the method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0648] The above-described apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application can receive, by the second node, the first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information. The first information can assist the second node to adjust the rate or control the rate, without multiple feedbacks, so that the rate control can be completed more quickly and more accurately, the time consumption of the rate control is reduced, and the efficiency of the rate control is improved.

[0649] Embodiments of the present application provide a rate control apparatus, which can be a communication device or a component in a communication device, such as a chip, as an example. The communication device can be a terminal, a network-side device, a server, or the like. Exemplarily, the terminal can include, but is not limited to, the types of terminals listed above, the network-side device can include, but is not limited to, the types of network-side devices listed above, and embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0650] The rate control apparatus includes a receiving module, a sending module, and a processing module. The receiving module, the sending module, and the processing module can be implemented by software or by hardware. When implemented by hardware, the processing module can be implemented by a processor, which can include a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, or the like, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an artificial intelligent (AI) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a network processor (NP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, a gate circuit, a transistor, a discrete hardware component, or the like. The receiving module and the sending module can be implemented by a communication interface, which can include one or more of a transceiver, a pin, a circuit, a bus, a radio frequency unit, or the like.

[0651] The apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiments, and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0652] As shown in FIG. 8, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device 800, which includes a processor 801 and a memory 802. The memory 802 stores programs or instructions executable on the processor 801. For example, when the communication device 800 is a terminal, the programs or instructions are executed by the processor 801 to implement each step of the above method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. When the communication device 800 is a network-side device, the programs or instructions are executed by the processor 801 to implement each step of the above method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0653] The embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled with the processor, and the processor is configured to run programs or instructions to implement the steps in the method embodiments. The terminal embodiment corresponds to the method embodiments, and each implementation process and implementation manner of the method embodiments can be applied to the terminal embodiment and achieve the same technical effects. The terminal can be the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 or 7. Specifically, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a terminal for implementing the embodiment of the present application.

[0654] The terminal 900 comprises, but is not limited to, at least part of components such as a radio frequency unit 901, a network module 902, an audio output unit 903, an input unit 904, a sensor 905, a display unit 906, a user input unit 907, an interface unit 908, a memory 909, and a processor 910.

[0655] Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal 900 can further comprise a power supply (such as a battery) for supplying power to each component, and the power supply can be logically connected with the processor 910 through a power management system, so as to realize functions such as management of charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal structure shown in FIG. 9 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal, and the terminal can comprise more or fewer components than those shown, or combine certain components, or different component arrangements, which will not be described here.

[0656] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 904 can comprise a graphic processor 9041 and a microphone 9042, and the graphic processor 9041 processes image data of a still picture or a video obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in a video capture mode or an image capture mode. The display unit 906 can comprise a display panel 9061, which can be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 907 comprises at least one of a touch panel 9071 and other input devices 9072. The touch panel 9071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 9071 can comprise two parts of a touch detection device and a touch controller. The other input devices 9072 can comprise, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, on-off keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, etc., which will not be described here.

[0657] In the embodiment of the present application, the radio frequency unit 901 can transmit downlink data from a network side device to the processor 910 for processing, and can transmit uplink data to the network side device. Generally, the radio frequency unit 901 comprises, but is not limited to, an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low-noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

[0658] The memory 909 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 909 can mainly include a first storage area storing programs or instructions and a second storage area storing data, wherein the first storage area can store an operating system, application programs or instructions required by at least one function (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory 909 can include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static RAM (SRAM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a Synch link DRAM (SLDRAM), and a Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 909 in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0659] The processor 910 can include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 910 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and an application program, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It can be understood that the above-mentioned modem processor can also not be integrated into the processor 910.

[0660] The radio frequency unit 901 is configured to send first information to a second node or receive first information sent by a first node, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

[0661] The terminal provided in the embodiments of the present application can send first information to the second node or receive first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information. The first information can assist the second node to adjust the rate or control the rate, and the rate control can be completed more quickly and more accurately without multiple feedbacks, thereby reducing the time consumption of the rate control and improving the efficiency of the rate control.

[0662] It can be understood that the implementation processes of the implementation manners mentioned in the embodiments can refer to the related descriptions of the method embodiments and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, the details are not described herein again.

[0663] The embodiments of the present application further provide a network side device, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to run programs or instructions to implement the steps of the method embodiments with the network side device as the execution subject. The network side device embodiments correspond to the network side device method embodiments, and each implementation process and implementation manner of the method embodiments can be applied to the network side device embodiments and achieve the same technical effects.

[0664] Specifically, the embodiments of the present application further provide a network side device, which can be the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 or 7. As shown in FIG. 10, the network side device 1000 comprises an antenna 101, a radio frequency device 102, a baseband device 103, a processor 104 and a memory 105. The antenna 101 is connected to the radio frequency device 102. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 102 receives information through the antenna 101 and sends the received information to the baseband device 103 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 103 processes the information to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency device 102. The radio frequency device 102 processes the received information and sends it out through the antenna 101.

[0665] The method performed by the network side device in the above embodiments can be implemented in the baseband device 103, which comprises a baseband processor.

[0666] The baseband device 103 may, for example, comprise at least one baseband board, which is provided with a plurality of chips, as shown in FIG. 10. One of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 105 through a bus interface to call programs in the memory 105 and perform the network device operations shown in the above method embodiments.

[0667] The network side device can further comprise a network interface 106, which is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0668] Specifically, the network side device 1000 of the embodiment of the present application further includes instructions or programs stored in the storage 105 and executable on the processor 104, the processor 104 invokes the instructions or programs in the storage 105 to execute the method performed by each module shown in FIG. 6 or 7 and achieve the same technical effects, to avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0669] Specifically, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network side device. As shown in FIG. 11, the network side device 1100 includes a processor 1101, a network interface 1102 and a storage 1103. Wherein, the network interface 1102 is, for example, a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI).

[0670] Specifically, the network side device 1100 of the embodiment of the present application further includes instructions or programs stored in the storage 1103 and executable on the processor 1101, the processor 1101 invokes the instructions or programs in the storage 1103 to execute the method performed by each module shown in FIG. 6 or 7 and achieve the same technical effects, to avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0671] The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, the readable storage medium stores programs or instructions, the programs or instructions are executed by a processor to realize each process of the above method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved, to avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0672] Wherein, the processor is the processor in the terminal in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer readable memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc. In some examples, the readable storage medium can be a non-transitory readable storage medium.

[0673] The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled, the processor is used to run programs or instructions, realize each process of the above method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved, to avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0674] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can also be referred to as a system chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system on chip, etc.

[0675] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program / program product, the computer program / program product is stored in a storage medium, the computer program / program product is executed by at least one processor to realize each process of the above method embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved, to avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0676] The embodiments of the present application further provide a rate control system, comprising: a terminal and a network side device, wherein the terminal is configured to perform the steps of the rate control method, and the network side device is configured to perform the steps of the rate control method.

[0677] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising", "including", or any other variant thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that processes, methods, articles, or apparatuses that comprise a list of elements are not limited to those elements, but can also include other elements not expressly listed, or inherent to such processes, methods, articles, or apparatuses. Without further limitation, an element preceded by "comprising" does not, without more constraints, foreclose the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the recited element. In addition, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatus of the present embodiments are not limited by the order of the steps or the sequences of the steps, as some steps can occur simultaneously, in other steps can occur sequentially, or in other steps can occur in reverse order, unless expressly limited by the context. Furthermore, features described with respect to certain examples can be combined in other examples.

[0678] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be realized by means of computer software products and general hardware platforms, and of course, can also be realized by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disc, optical disc, etc.), and includes a plurality of instructions for making the terminal or network side device execute the method described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0679] The embodiments of the present application are described above in combination with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific embodiments, and the above-mentioned specific embodiments are only illustrative, but not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can make many forms of embodiments under the inspiration of the present application without departing from the scope of the present application and the scope protected by the claims, and these embodiments all belong to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A rate control method, comprising: a first node sending first information to a second node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, rate adjustment information. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first information is used to assist the second node to adjust or control rate, or the first information is used by the second node to adjust or control rate according to the first information.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, the first information comprises at least one of the following: a rate adjustment indication; rate information; congestion information; network load information; channel information; quality of service (QoS) information; uplink indication; downlink indication; identification information. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the rate adjustment indication comprises at least one of the following: increase rate, increase rate level, decrease rate, decrease rate level, rate unchanged, rate level unchanged, rate adjustment factor, rate level adjustment factor; and / or the rate information comprises at least one of the following: rate, rate level, rate range; and / or the congestion information comprises at least one of the following: whether congestion, congestion level, congestion cause, congestion channel, congestion scenario, congestion associated service, congestion associated session, congestion associated QoS flow, congestion associated data radio bearer (DRB), congestion associated logical channel (LCH), congestion associated channel; and / or the network load information comprises at least one of the following: load level, whether overload, whether light load, whether heavy load, load cause, load associated cause, load associated scenario, load associated service, load associated session, load associated QoS flow, load associated DRB, load associated LCH, load associated channel; and / or the channel information comprises at least one of the following: channel measurement result, channel measurement level, channel status, channel condition; and / or the QoS information comprises at least one of the following: QoS parameter, QoS requirement, QoS allocation, QoS mapping information; and / or the identification information comprises at least one of the following: terminal identification, QoS flow identification, session identification, bearer identification, DRB identification, LCH identification.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, the granularity of the first information comprises at least one of the following: terminal, QoS flow, session, bearer, DRB, LCH. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the granularity of the first information comprises terminal, and the first information comprises terminal identification; and / or the granularity of the first information comprises QoS flow, and the first information comprises QoS flow identification, or the first information comprises QoS flow identification and at least one of the following: terminal identification, session identification, bearer identification, DRB identification, LCH identification; and / or the granularity of the first information comprises session, and the first information comprises session identification, or the first information comprises session identification and at least one of the following: terminal identification, QoS flow identification, bearer identification, DRB identification, LCH identification; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, the first information comprises a bearer identifier, or the first information comprises a bearer identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a DRB identifier, and an LCH identifier; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, the first information comprises a DRB identifier, or the first information comprises a DRB identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and an LCH identifier; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises an LCH, the first information comprises an LCH identifier, or the first information comprises an LCH identifier and at least one of the following: a terminal identifier, a QoS flow identifier, a session identifier, a bearer identifier, and a DRB identifier.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, The first information does not carry identification information; wherein, The granularity of the first information comprises a terminal, and the first information indicates or applies to all QoS flows, all sessions, all bearers, all DRBs, or all LCHs; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a QoS flow, and the first information indicates or applies to all QoS flows; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a session, and the first information indicates or applies to all sessions; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, and the first information indicates or applies to all bearers; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, and the first information indicates or applies to all DRBs; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises an LCH, and the first information indicates or applies to all LCHs.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The rate comprises at least one of the following: a bit rate, a coding rate, a data rate, a resource rate, and a source rate.

9. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The first node sends the first information in at least one of the following cases: The first node determines that it is necessary to adjust or control the rate; The first node determines that it is necessary to inform the second node of the first information; The first node receives a request message or an inquiry message sent by the second node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire about the first information.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, Before the first node sends the first information to the second node, the method further comprises: The first node receives a request message or an inquiry message sent by the second node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire about the first information, and the granularity of the request message or the inquiry message comprises at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH.

11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, Further comprising: The upper layer of the first node sends first mapping information to the lower layer of the first node to assist the lower layer in determining the first information; wherein, The granularity of the first information comprises a QoS flow, and the first mapping information comprises at least one of the following: a QoS flow mapping relationship; a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session; a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer; a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB; a mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH; and / or, The granularity of the first information comprises a session, and the first mapping information comprises at least one of the following: a session mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between the session and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between the session and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the session and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the session and an LCH; And / or, The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between the bearer and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a session; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the bearer and an LCH.

12. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, Further comprising: An upper layer of the first node sends first mapping information to a lower layer of the first node to assist the lower layer in determining the first information; wherein the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between the LCH and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a session; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between the DRB and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the DRB and a session; A mapping relationship between the DRB and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a session; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a QoS flow.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, Further comprising: A lower layer of the first node sends first mapping information to an upper layer of the first node to assist the upper layer in determining the first information; wherein The granularity of the first information includes an LCH, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: An LCH mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a session; A mapping relationship between the LCH and a QoS flow; And / or, The granularity of the first information includes a DRB, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between the DRB and an LCH; A mapping relationship between the DRB and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the DRB and a session; A mapping relationship between the DRB and a QoS flow; And / or, The granularity of the first information includes a bearer, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between the bearer and an LCH; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a session; A mapping relationship between the bearer and a QoS flow; And / or, The granularity of the first information includes a session, and the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: A session mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between the session and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between the session and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the session and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the session and an LCH.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein, Further comprising: A lower layer of the first node sends first mapping information to an upper layer of the first node to assist the upper layer in determining the first information; wherein the first mapping information includes at least one of the following: A QoS flow mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between the QoS flow and a session; A mapping relationship between the QoS flow and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the QoS flow and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the QoS flow and an LCH; A session mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between the session and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between the session and a bearer; A mapping relationship between the session and a DRB; A mapping relationship between the session and an LCH.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-14, wherein, The first information is carried in at least one of the following messages: a non-access stratum (NAS) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message, a downlink control information (DCI) message, and an uplink control information (UCI) message.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The RRC message comprises at least one of the following: an RRC reconfiguration message, a connection setup message, terminal assistance information (UAI), an RRC reconfiguration completion message, and a connection setup completion message.

17. The method of any one of claims 1-16, wherein: the first node is a base station, and the second node is a terminal, a core network node, or an application layer node; or the first node is a terminal, and the second node is a base station, a core network node, or an application layer node; or the first node is a core network node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal; or the first node is an application layer node, and the second node is a base station or a terminal.

18. A rate control method, comprising: receiving, by a second node, first information sent by a first node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, Further comprising: adjusting, by the second node, a rate or controlling the rate according to the first information.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein, After the second node receives the first information sent by the first node, further comprising: adjusting, by the second node, the rate or controlling the rate in at least one of the following manners: the second node starts to adjust the rate or control the rate after receiving the first information and after a preset time period elapses; the second node adjusts the rate or controls the rate within a preset time period; the second node starts to adjust the rate or control the rate from a preset data unit, wherein the preset data unit comprises: a current data unit or an Nth data unit after the current data unit, N being a positive integer; the second node adjusts the rate or controls the rate for a preset number of data units, wherein the preset number is one or more.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The data unit comprises at least one of the following: a session, a quality of service (QoS) flow, a burst packet, a frame, a protocol data unit (PDU), a PDU set, a data set, and a service data unit (SDU).

22. The method of any one of claims 18-21, wherein, Before the second node receives the first information sent by the first node, further comprising: sending, by the second node, a request message or an inquiry message to the first node, wherein the request message is used to request the first information, and the inquiry message is used to inquire about the first information.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The request message or the inquiry message is sent at a preset time or after a forbidden period ends.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein, The granularity of the forbidden period comprises at least one of the following: a terminal, a QoS flow, a session, a bearer, a DRB, and an LCH. The forbidden period comprises a forbidden period for uplink and a forbidden period for downlink, or the forbidden period comprises a forbidden period for uplink rate adjustment or control of a corresponding request message or inquiry message, and a forbidden period for downlink rate adjustment or control of a corresponding request message or inquiry message. Further comprising:

25. The method of any one of claims 18-24, wherein, sending, by a lower layer of the second node, second mapping information to an upper layer of the second node, to assist the upper layer to adjust the rate or control the rate, wherein the granularity of the first information comprises an LCH, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: an LCH mapping relationship; an LCH-DRB mapping relationship; an LCH-bearer mapping relationship; an LCH-session mapping relationship; an LCH-QoS flow mapping relationship; and / or the granularity of the first information comprises a DRB, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: ​ ​ A mapping relationship between a DRB and an LCH; A mapping relationship between a DRB and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a DRB and a session; A mapping relationship between a DRB and a QoS flow; And / or, A granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between a bearer and an LCH; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a session; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a QoS flow; And / or, A granularity of the first information comprises a session, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A session mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between a session and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a session and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a session and an LCH.

26. The method of any one of claims 18-24, wherein, Further comprising: A bottom layer of the second node sends second mapping information to an upper layer of the second node to assist the upper layer in adjusting a rate or controlling the rate; wherein the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A QoS flow mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH; A session mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between a session and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a session and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a session and an LCH.

27. The method of any one of claims 18-24, wherein, Further comprising: An upper layer of the second node sends second mapping information to a bottom layer of the second node to assist the bottom layer in adjusting a rate or controlling the rate; wherein A granularity of the first information comprises a QoS flow, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A QoS flow mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a session; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a QoS flow and an LCH; And / or, A granularity of the first information comprises a session, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A session mapping relationship; A mapping relationship between a session and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between a session and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a session and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a session and an LCH. And / or, A granularity of the first information comprises a bearer, and the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between a bearer and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a session; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a DRB; A mapping relationship between a bearer and an LCH.

28. The method of any one of claims 18-24, wherein, Further comprising: An upper layer of the second node sends second mapping information to a bottom layer of the second node to assist the bottom layer in adjusting a rate or controlling the rate; wherein the second mapping information comprises at least one of the following: A mapping relationship between an LCH and a DRB; A mapping relationship between an LCH and a bearer; A mapping relationship between an LCH and a session; A mapping relationship between an LCH and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between a DRB and a bearer; A mapping relationship between a DRB and a session; A mapping relationship between a DRB and a QoS flow; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a session; A mapping relationship between a bearer and a QoS flow.

29. A rate control apparatus, comprising: a sending module configured to send first information to a second node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information.

30. A rate control apparatus, comprising: The receiving module is configured to receive first information sent by the first node, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: congestion information, rate control information, and rate adjustment information. 31.A terminal comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing programs or instructions executable on the processor, the programs or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the rate control method according to any one of claims 1-28. 32.A network-side device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing programs or instructions executable on the processor, the programs or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the rate control method according to any one of claims 1-28. 33.A readable storage medium, the readable storage medium storing programs or instructions, the programs or instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the rate control method according to any one of claims 1-28.

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