Data flow transmission method, network device, radio access network, medium and system

Abstract

A data flow transmission method, a network device, a radio access network, a computer storage medium and a data flow transmission system, which relate to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: a PCF network element generating a PCC rule for data flows, and sending the PCC rule to an SMF network element, wherein the PCC rule includes a target identifier (S210); and the SMF network element sending the target identifier to a radio access network (RAN) on the basis of the received PCC rule, wherein the target identifier is used for indicating data flows that belong to the same multimodal service (S220). The method can provide for the radio access network the target identifier for indicating the data flows that belong to the same multimodal service, thereby improving the data flow transmission effect. (FIG. 2)

Description

Data stream transmission methods, network devices, wireless access networks, media and systems

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411691095.6, filed on November 22, 2024, entitled “Data Stream Transmission Method, Network Device, Wireless Access Network, Medium and System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a data stream transmission method, network device, wireless access network, computer storage medium, and data stream transmission system. Background Technology

[0004] As current communication methods, primarily focused on clear voice, evolve towards immersive and interactive communication, XR services will become the main business carried by future networks. XR services typically include multiple audio and video data streams. To ensure the best user experience, DL / UL data streams belonging to the same service need to be coordinated during transmission.

[0005] In related technologies, the AF network element can send the identifier MMSID of the multimodal communication service to the PCF network element, enabling the PCF network element to generate corresponding policies for data streams belonging to the same service, thereby ensuring the coordinated transmission of each data stream.

[0006] However, in the above method, the Radio Access Network (RAN) failed to obtain the MMSID and could not identify data streams belonging to the same service. Summary of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a data stream transmission method is provided, comprising: a PCF network element generating PCC rules for a data stream and sending the PCC rules to an SMF network element; the PCC rules containing a target identifier; the SMF network element sending the target identifier to a radio access network (RAN) according to the received PCC rules; wherein the target identifier is used to indicate data streams belonging to the same multimodal service.

[0008] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the target identifier is a multimodal service identifier issued by the AF network element, or a multimodal data stream identification identifier generated by the PCF network element based on the multimodal service identifier.

[0009] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the PCF network element generates PCC rules for data streams, including: the PCF network element receiving an AF session request; and the PCF network element generating PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the content of the AF session request.

[0010] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the PCF network element generates PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the content of the AF session request. This includes: the PCF network element generating corresponding PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink direction based on whether the user equipment has the capability to support uplink data stream transmission; and the PCF network element generating corresponding PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service in the downlink direction based on the content of the AF session request.

[0011] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the step of generating corresponding PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink direction based on whether the user equipment has the capability to support uplink data stream transmission includes: if the user equipment has the capability, when a PDU session is established, the SMF network element receives the capability reported by the user equipment, and the SMF network element sends the capability to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element generates corresponding PCC rules based on the capability; if the PCF network element does not receive the capability reported by the user equipment, the PCF network element rejects the uplink data stream establishment request and transmission coordination request issued by the AF network element, and the user equipment does not need to send data streams with the same target identifier to the radio access network.

[0012] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the AF session request includes at least: a multimodal service identifier, latency requirements for specific downlink / uplink data streams, synchronization thresholds between different modal data streams in the downlink / uplink, QoS monitoring requests for each data stream, QoS parameters for each data stream, optional QoS configurations for each data stream, and the correspondence between the optional QoS configurations for each data stream.

[0013] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: an SMF network element generating a corresponding N4 rule based on the received PCC rule, and sending the N4 rule to a UPF network element; the UPF network element performing QoS monitoring on each data stream based on the N4 rule, and reporting the QoS monitoring results and the latency of each data stream to the PCF network element; wherein, the N4 rule includes rules for guiding the UPF network element to perform QoS monitoring.

[0014] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: the PCF network element acquiring the QoS monitoring results of each data stream, and calculating the actual latency difference of each data stream based on the latency of each data stream; and determining whether each data stream belonging to the same multimodal service satisfies coordinated transmission based on the actual latency difference and a synchronization threshold.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, determining whether data streams belonging to the same multimodal service satisfy coordinated transmission based on the actual latency difference and the synchronization threshold includes:

[0016] If the actual delay difference is less than or equal to the synchronization threshold, it is determined that each data stream meets the coordinated transmission requirement; if the actual delay difference is greater than the synchronization threshold, the QoS configuration of each data stream is redefined, and QoS monitoring is performed based on the redefined QoS configuration to redetermine the actual delay difference, until the redefined actual delay difference is less than or equal to the synchronization threshold.

[0017] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the step of re-determining the QoS configuration of the data stream includes: for the data stream, determining a target QoS configuration for the data stream from a plurality of optional QoS configurations, and configuring a QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration for other data streams having the same target identifier.

[0018] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: the SMF network element sending a corresponding QoS configuration to the radio access network to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the downlink, wherein the QoS configuration includes a target identifier; and / or, the SMF network element sending a corresponding QoS rule to the user equipment (UE) to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the uplink.

[0019] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: if the QoS parameters of a data stream do not meet the transmission requirements, and the QoS configuration of any data stream corresponding to the same target identifier is changed to the target QoS configuration, then the QoS configuration of other data streams corresponding to the same target identifier is changed to the QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration.

[0020] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, sending the target identifier to the Radio Access Network (RAN) includes: sending the target identifier to the RAN such that the RAN identifies data flows belonging to the same multimodal service; wherein, the RAN identifies data flows belonging to the same multimodal service by: if one or more data flows that play a critical role in user experience fail to be admitted among the data flows corresponding to the same target identifier, all data flows corresponding to the same target identifier are considered to have failed, and all established data flows with the same target identifier are released; if radio resources cannot be allocated to one or more data flows that play a critical role in user experience, radio resources are stopped from being allocated to other data flows.

[0021] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: the PCF network element reporting the QoS monitoring results and the actual latency difference to the AF network element.

[0022] In one exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, the target identifier is sent by the user equipment to the radio access network (RAN).

[0023] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a data stream transmission method is provided, comprising: receiving a target identifier sent by an SMF network element or a user equipment, the target identifier being used to indicate data streams belonging to the same multimodal service; and identifying data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier.

[0024] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a network device is provided, comprising: a processor; and

[0025] A memory is configured to store executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the data stream transfer method described above by executing the executable instructions.

[0026] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a wireless access network is provided, comprising: an identifier receiving module configured to receive a target identifier sent by an SMF network element or a user equipment, the target identifier being used to indicate data streams belonging to the same multimodal service; and a data identification module configured to identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier.

[0027] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a computer storage medium is provided that stores a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the data stream transmission method according to any one of the preceding claims.

[0028] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a data stream transmission system is provided, comprising: a network device, wherein a PCF network element of the network device generates a PCC rule containing a target identifier for a data stream and sends the PCC rule to an SMF network element; the SMF network element sends the target identifier to a radio access network (RAN) according to the received PCC rule; the RAN is configured to receive the target identifier sent by the network device or a user equipment (UE), and determine a data stream belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier; and the UE is configured to send the target identifier to the RAN, determine a data stream belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier, and cooperate with the RAN to perform data transmission. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a system architecture diagram for data stream transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 2 schematically illustrates a flowchart of a data stream transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 3 schematically illustrates a multimodal data flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 4 schematically illustrates the interaction flow diagram of an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0033] Figure 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of another data stream transmission method in an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0034] Figure 6 schematically shows a block diagram of a data stream transmission system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0035] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided to make this disclosure more comprehensive and complete, and to fully convey the concept of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a full understanding of embodiments of this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the technical solutions of this disclosure can be practiced with one or more of the specific details omitted, or other methods, components, apparatus, steps, etc., can be employed. In other instances, well-known technical solutions are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of this disclosure.

[0036] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0037] As communication evolves from primarily clear voice to immersive and interactive methods, XR services will become the main business carried by future networks. XR services typically contain multiple data streams of different types, which may originate from a single UE, a single device connected to a single UE, multiple devices, or multiple UEs. To ensure the best user experience, DL / UL data streams belonging to the same service need to be coordinated during transmission.

[0038] According to the current TS 23.501 description, MMSID is an identifier for a multimodal communication service, and data flows belonging to the same multimodal service have the same multimodal service ID. In related technologies, the AF network element can send the MMSID to the PCF network element, enabling the PCF network element to generate corresponding policies for data flows belonging to the same service, thereby ensuring the coordinated transmission of various data flows.

[0039] However, when the PCF network element generates and distributes a policy containing the MMSID to the SMF network element, the RAN fails to obtain the MMSID and cannot identify data streams belonging to the same service.

[0040] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this disclosure provides a data stream transmission method that can be applied to network devices. Figure 1 schematically illustrates a system architecture diagram for implementing the data stream transmission method.

[0041] Referring to Figure 1, the system architecture 100 may include a wireless access network 110, user equipment 120, and a network device 130. The wireless access network 110 is responsible for connecting user equipment to the network and handling data transmission. The network device 130 may be a device that communicates with user equipment 120 (or a communication terminal, terminal). The network device 130 can provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and can communicate with terminals located within that coverage area.

[0042] The system architecture 100 also includes at least one user equipment 120 located within the coverage area of ​​the network equipment 110.

[0043] The aforementioned user equipment can be a user equipment with wireless transceiver capabilities or a chip system embedded in the user equipment. For example, the aforementioned user equipment can also be referred to as a station (STA), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device. The aforementioned user equipment includes, but is not limited to: mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality devices, augmented reality devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and sensor devices such as monitoring terminals.

[0044] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary network device and a user device. Optionally, the system architecture 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other numbers of user devices within its coverage area. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0045] Optionally, the system architecture 100 may also include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0046] It should be understood that Figure 1 is a simplified schematic diagram for ease of understanding, showing only user equipment and network equipment. In the embodiments of this application, the system architecture may also include other network equipment (such as core network equipment) or other user equipment, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0047] The aforementioned communication system can be applied to 5G networks, 6G networks, or other similar networks, or future networks, and this application embodiment does not specifically limit its application. Furthermore, in different networks, the network devices and user equipment in the above system architecture may have different names; those skilled in the art will understand that the names do not constitute a limitation on the devices themselves.

[0048] Next, the data stream transmission method in the embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to Figure 2.

[0049] In step S210, the PCF network element generates PCC rules for the data flow and sends the PCC rules to the SMF network element; the PCC rules contain a target identifier.

[0050] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the target identifier can be a multimodal service identifier issued by the AF network element, or the target identifier can be a multimodal data stream identification identifier generated by the PCF network element based on the multimodal service identifier issued by the AF network element.

[0051] A Multi-modal Service ID (MMSID) is an identifier for a multi-modal communication service. Data streams belonging to the same multi-modal service share the same MMSID. A Multi-modal Data Stream Identification Identifier is an identifier generated by the PCF network element based on the received MMSID to identify the multi-modal data stream.

[0052] The data stream can be a multimodal data stream, which refers to multiple associated data streams of different types. The data stream can include various types such as audio streams, video streams, and haptic data streams. These data streams may originate from a single UE, a single device connected to a single UE, or multiple devices, or multiple UEs. A downlink / uplink multimodal data stream can be illustrated in Figure 3.

[0053] A PCF (Policy Control function) network element can generate corresponding PCC rules for data flows belonging to the same service. The PCC rule can include a target identifier, such as a multimodal service identifier (MMSID) or a multimodal data flow identifier.

[0054] In some embodiments, before the PCF network element generates PCC rules for the data flow, not all user equipment (UE) can support uplink UL data flow transmission. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether the UE supports uplink UL data flow transmission. If it does, the UE needs to send its capability to support uplink UL data flow transmission to the PCF network element to help the PCF network element generate more accurate PCC rules.

[0055] Therefore, when a PDU session is established, the User Equipment (UE) can send its capability to support uplink UL data flow transmission to the SMF (Session Management Function) network element. The SMF network element then sends this capability to the PCF network element, enabling the PCF network element to generate corresponding PCC rules based on the reported capability. This helps the PCF network element generate PCC rules, which in turn guide the SMF network element to generate and send corresponding QoS rules to the UE, ensuring the coordinated transmission of uplink UL data flow. Here, the UE's capability to support uplink data flow transmission refers to its ability to support multimodal services.

[0056] Furthermore, the AF (Application Function) network element can send an AF session request to the NEF (Network Exposure Function) network element. The AF session request may include the Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID), the latency requirements of specific downlink / uplink data flows (latency requirements of specific DL / UL data flows), the synchronization threshold between different modal data flows in the downlink / uplink (synchronization threshold between different modal data flows in DL / UL), the QoS monitoring request for each data flow, the QoS parameters of each data flow, the optional QoS configurations (AQP, Alternative QoS Profiles) for each data flow, and the correspondence between the optional QoS configurations for each data flow.

[0057] After receiving an AF session request from a third-party AF network element, the NEF network element can authorize the AF session request from the third-party AF network element. Furthermore, the NEF network element can send the received AF session request to the PCF network element. The AF session request sent to the PCF network element may include a multimodal service identifier, latency requirements for specific downlink / uplink data flows, synchronization thresholds between different modal data flows in the downlink / uplink, QoS monitoring requests for each data flow, QoS parameters for each data flow, optional QoS configurations for each data flow, and the correspondence between the optional QoS configurations for each data flow.

[0058] PCF network elements can generate PCC rules for data flows belonging to the same multimodal service based on the content of the AF session request. For example, PCC rules can be generated for data flows belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink and / or downlink directions based on the content of the AF session request. When generating PCC rules for data flows belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink direction, the PCF network element needs to consider whether the user equipment reports its own capability to support uplink data flow transmission. Specifically, PCC rules can be generated for data flows belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink direction based on whether the user equipment reports its own capability to support uplink data flow transmission. When generating PCC rules based on the content of the AF session request, the target identifier included in the PCC rules is the multimodal service identifier.

[0059] If the user equipment (UE) has the capability to support uplink data stream transmission, during PDU session establishment, the SMF (Software-Defined Function) network element receives the capability reported by the UE and, based on the UE's capability, further sends this capability to the PCF (Power-On-Function) network element, instructing the PCF to generate the corresponding PCC (Multimodal Service Identity) rule. If the PCF does not receive the capability reported by the UE, the PCF rejects the uplink data stream establishment request and transmission coordination request issued by the AF (Active Front-End) network element. Furthermore, the UE does not need to send data streams with the same multimodal service identifier to the Radio Access Network (RAN). By considering the UE's reported capability when generating PCC rules in the uplink direction, PCC rules can be generated accurately.

[0060] For example, only certain VR headsets can support UL haptic data stream transmission. Therefore, for the uplink UL direction, when generating the corresponding PCC rules, it is necessary to consider whether the user equipment (UE) has the ability to support uplink data stream transmission.

[0061] When the PCF network element generates PCC rules for the downlink (DL) direction, since the user equipment can directly receive them, it is not necessary to consider whether the user equipment reports its own ability to support uplink data stream transmission when generating PCC rules for the downlink direction. The PCC rules are generated directly based on the content of the received AF session request.

[0062] After generating PCC rules, PCF network elements can send PCC rules for processing each data stream of DL / UL to SMF network elements. The PCC rules contain multimodal service identifiers, that is, the PCC rules contain MMSIDs.

[0063] In step S220, the SMF network element sends the target identifier to the radio access network according to the received PCC rule.

[0064] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after receiving the PCC rule containing the target identifier sent by the PCF network element, the SMF network element can send the target identifier to the radio access network RAN ​​according to the received PCC rule.

[0065] For example, the SMF network element generates a corresponding N4 rule based on the received PCC rule and sends the N4 rule to the UPF network element. The N4 rule contains rules to guide the UPF network element in performing QoS monitoring. The N4 rule is used to instruct the UPF network element to process downlink data.

[0066] UPF network elements perform QoS monitoring on each data flow in the uplink / downlink according to the N4 rule to obtain QoS monitoring results, and report the latency of each data flow to the PCF network element. QoS monitoring is performed on an individual data flow basis. For example, a data flow can be multiple data flows of different modes, and a mode can include multiple data flows.

[0067] According to the multimodal service requirements defined in TS 22.261, in order to ensure the best user experience, the latency of a specific data stream should meet the latency KPI requirements of the application. For example, for immersive multimodal VR, the maximum permissible end-to-end latency of the haptic data stream in the uplink UL direction is 5ms.

[0068] The UPF network element performs QoS monitoring on each data stream, and the PCF network element can obtain the QoS monitoring results of each data stream and calculate the actual latency difference based on the latency of each data stream. During this process, the UPF network element can perform QoS monitoring on each data stream according to the N4 rule to obtain the end-to-end latency of each data stream and calculate the actual latency difference between each data stream.

[0069] It's important to note that the transmission latency between different modal data streams belonging to the same multimodal service needs to be below a synchronization threshold to ensure optimal transmission quality. The synchronization threshold refers to a synchronization latency threshold. If the actual latency difference is lower than the synchronization threshold, the synchronized and coordinated transmission of data streams with the same Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID) can be guaranteed. For example, the transmission latency threshold for audio streams relative to haptic data streams is 50ms, and the transmission latency threshold for video streams relative to haptic data streams is 15ms. Only when the actual transmission latency is below the threshold can the best user experience be guaranteed.

[0070] Based on this, the Application Function (AF) needs to send the latency requirements of specific data streams in the data stream and the synchronization thresholds of different modal data streams to the 5GS, so that the PCF network element can generate corresponding PCC rules to guide the data stream transmission coordination.

[0071] In some embodiments, the comparison between the actual latency difference and a synchronization threshold can be used to determine whether data streams belonging to the same multimodal service meet the requirements for coordinated transmission. When the comparison result shows that the actual latency difference is less than or equal to the synchronization threshold, it can be determined that data streams belonging to the same multimodal service meet the requirements for coordinated transmission. When the comparison result shows that the actual latency difference is greater than the synchronization threshold, it can be considered that data streams belonging to the same multimodal service do not meet the requirements for coordinated transmission. In this case, the QoS configuration of the data streams can be redefined, and QoS monitoring can be performed based on the redefined QoS configuration to redefine the actual latency difference until the redefined actual latency difference is less than or equal to the synchronization threshold. For example, the PCC rules are updated according to the correspondence between the alternative QoS profiles (AQPs) carried in the AF session request and the alternative QoS configurations of each data stream, and the QoS parameters of the corresponding data streams are reconfigured and QoS monitoring is performed until the redefined QoS configuration satisfies that the actual latency difference is less than the synchronization threshold, so that data streams belonging to the same multimodal service meet the requirements for coordinated transmission.

[0072] In some embodiments, if the actual latency difference is greater than the synchronization threshold, it can be considered that the data streams belonging to the same multimodal service do not meet the coordinated transmission requirements. For data streams with actual latency differences greater than the synchronization threshold, one of the multiple optional QoS configurations corresponding to that data stream can be selected as the target QoS configuration for that data stream. At the same time, for other data streams with the same target identifier, a QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration is configured. Here, other data streams with the same target identifier refer to other data streams with the same multimodal service identifier.

[0073] For example, for an audio stream, the target QoS configuration, such as parameter 2, can be determined from multiple optional QoS configurations corresponding to the audio stream. Based on this, for other data streams belonging to the same multimodal service identifier as the audio stream, their QoS configurations can be determined according to the target QoS configuration. For instance, these other data streams are data streams belonging to different modalities than the target data stream. QoS configurations that correspond to the target QoS configuration can be determined as the QoS configurations of these other data streams. For example, when the target QoS configuration for the audio stream is parameter 2, and the configuration corresponding to parameter 2 for the audio stream is parameter 2 for the video stream, then parameter 2 can be determined as the QoS configuration for the video stream.

[0074] In this embodiment of the disclosure, when the actual delay difference is greater than the synchronization threshold, the AF network element can send the delay requirements of a specific data stream in the data stream, the synchronization delay threshold between different modal data streams, the QoS monitoring requests of each data stream, and the QoS parameters of each data stream to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element can generate corresponding PCC rules to guide the transmission of the data stream.

[0075] Based on this, the AF network element sends the optional QoS configurations of each data stream and the correspondence between the optional QoS configurations of each data stream to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element can generate the corresponding PCC rules, reconfigure the QoS parameters of the data stream and monitor the QoS, so as to meet the transmission delay and thus meet the coordinated transmission requirements, thereby dealing with the situation where the QoS parameters cannot be met or the QoS parameters change.

[0076] In addition, in other embodiments, the QoS configuration of a data stream can be adjusted if its QoS parameters do not meet transmission requirements. For example, the QoS parameters of each data stream in a set of data streams are sent to the 5GS via the AF network element. These QoS parameters can be mapped to different QoS configurations, such as 5QI, ARP, PDB, PER, etc. The 5GS needs to satisfy the QoS parameters of each data stream in the multimodal data stream.

[0077] However, in practical applications, some data streams may not meet the QoS requirements for transmission. To address this, the AF (Automatic Front-End) network element can provide alternative QoS profiles (AQPs) for each data stream and the correspondence between these AQPs. If the QoS configuration of any data stream corresponding to the same target identifier is changed to the target QoS configuration, the QoS configuration of other data streams corresponding to the same target identifier will be changed to the QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration. The target identifier can be a multimodal service identifier. The transmission requirement can be transmission within a preset time. The preset time can be determined based on resource availability or actual needs. When transmission cannot be completed within the preset time due to radio resource degradation or insufficient resources, the QoS parameters are considered to fail to meet the transmission requirements. Therefore, the QoS parameters of the data stream that fails to meet the transmission requirements can be downgraded to an AQP to change its QoS configuration to the target QoS configuration. Simultaneously, the QoS configuration of other data streams belonging to the same multimodal service identifier as the data stream that fails to meet the transmission requirements can be changed to the QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration. For example, alternative QoS configurations can be selected for other data streams that share the same multimodal service identifier to adjust the QoS parameters of a group of data streams. For instance, QoS parameters such as PDB and PER can be adjusted to change the QoS configuration of other data streams.

[0078] Based on this, by determining the target QoS configuration from the optional QoS configurations of a certain data stream, and then setting other data streams to QoS configurations that correspond to the target QoS configuration, it is possible to achieve the function of coordinated transmission of the group of data streams even if the initially configured QoS parameters cannot meet the transmission requirements or change.

[0079] It should be noted that the PCF network element can also report the QoS monitoring results and actual latency difference for each data stream to the AF network element. Of course, this reporting can be done according to actual needs, such as periodic reporting, real-time reporting, or no reporting at all.

[0080] In some embodiments, the SMF network element can send corresponding QoS configurations to the Radio Access Network (RAN) to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the downlink (DL). The QoS configuration operates on the RAN and is used to instruct the RAN on scheduling and the QoS parameters that the RAN must meet. The QoS configuration may include information such as 5QI, ARP, PDB, and PER. In addition, the QoS configuration may also include a target identifier, such as a Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID).

[0081] In other embodiments, the SMF network element sends corresponding QoS rules to the User Equipment (UE) to achieve coordinated transmission of uplink UL data streams. QoS rules are used to instruct the UE to process uplink data.

[0082] It should be noted that the SMF network element generates the corresponding N4 rules through the PCC rules and sends the N4 rules to the UPF network element. The SMF network element sends the corresponding QoS configuration to the Radio Access Network (RAN) to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the downlink. The SMF network element also sends the corresponding QoS rules to the user equipment to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the uplink. These processes can be executed in parallel or sequentially, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0083] After obtaining the target identifier from the QoS configuration received from the SMF network element, the Radio Access Network (RAN) can identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier, thereby implementing access control or resource reservation for the data streams. For example, the target identifier can be the Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID). The RAN can determine that data streams with the same MMSID belong to the same multimodal service. For instance, if the MMSID of video stream 1 is identifier 1 and the MMSID of audio stream 2 is identifier 1, then video stream 1 and audio stream 2 can be considered to belong to the same multimodal service.

[0084] In some embodiments, when the Radio Access Network (RAN) identifies data streams belonging to the same multimodal service, if one or more data streams with the same target identifier that are critical to the user experience fail to gain admission, then all data streams corresponding to that target identifier are considered failed, and the 5GS releases all established data streams belonging to the same multimodal service. If radio resources cannot be allocated to one or more data streams that are critical to the user experience, then no radio resources need to be allocated to other data streams. The target identifier can be, for example, a multimodal service identifier. The data streams that are critical to the user experience can differ for different applications, depending on the application type. For example, for conferencing, the data stream that is critical to the user experience can be an audio stream. For cloud gaming, the data stream that is critical to the user experience can be a video stream.

[0085] For user equipment, the user equipment (UE) identifies data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on target identifiers such as the multimodal service identifier (MMSID) or the multimodal data stream identifier, and then works with the radio access network to perform subsequent SDU (Service Data Unit) Discard or DSR (Data Set Ready) Report.

[0086] In addition, the application client of the user equipment (UE) can interact with the application server to obtain the MMSID. Therefore, the radio access network (RAN) can also obtain the multimodal service identifier (MMSID) or multimodal data stream identifier from the user equipment (UE).

[0087] In this embodiment, the PCF network element can generate PCC rules containing target identifiers for the corresponding data flow based on local configuration or information received from the AF network element. The PCF network element can send the PCC rules to the SMF network element. The SMF network element provides the target identifier, such as a Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID), to the Radio Access Network (RAN) based on the received PCC rules, for use by the relevant data flow (i.e., the QoS flow) during PDU session establishment or modification. During the handover process of the NG-RAN, the SMF network element provides the MMSID to the target NG-RAN after the handover to support subsequent multimodal QoS flow processing.

[0088] The multimodal service identifier issued by the AF network element is sent to the radio access network through the SMF network element or user equipment, so that the radio access network can support the processing of data streams. The radio access network can identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the multimodal service identifier, and then coordinate the transmission of data streams belonging to the same service to ensure the quality of user experience.

[0089] Figure 4 schematically illustrates the data flow interaction flowchart. Referring to Figure 4, the main steps include:

[0090] In step S400, when a PDU session is established, the user equipment (UE) indicates to the SMF network element that it has the capability to support uplink UL data stream transmission. The SMF network element further sends this capability to the PCF network element to help the PCF network element generate PCC rules to guide the SMF network element to generate and send corresponding QoS rules to the UE, so as to ensure the coordination of uplink UL data stream transmission.

[0091] In step S411, the AF network element sends a session request to the NEF network element. The session request includes the Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID), the latency requirements of specific data streams in DL / UL, the synchronization threshold between different modal data streams in DL / UL, the QoS monitoring request for each data stream, the QoS parameters of each data stream, the optional QoS configurations for each data stream, and the correspondence between the optional QoS configurations for each data stream.

[0092] In step S412, considering that the application client of the user equipment (UE) can interact with the application server to obtain the multimodal service identifier (MMSID), and the radio access network (RAN) can also obtain the MMSID from the user equipment (UE), the latency requirements of specific data streams in DL / UL, and the synchronization threshold between different modal data streams in DL / UL are taken into account.

[0093] In step S420, the NEF network element authorizes the request from the third-party AF network element.

[0094] In step S430, the NEF network element sends the received AF session request to the PCF network element, which contains the same content as in step S411.

[0095] In step S440, the PCF network element generates corresponding PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service in the DL / UL direction based on the content of the received AF request.

[0096] When generating PCC rules in the uplink UL direction, it is necessary to consider whether the UE has the capability to support uplink UL data stream transmission. When generating PCC rules in the downlink DL direction, it is not necessary to consider whether the UE has the capability to support uplink UL data stream transmission.

[0097] In step S450, the PCF network element sends PCC rules for processing each data stream of DL / UL to the SMF network element. The PCC rules contain the multimodal service identifier (MMSID).

[0098] In step S460, the SMF network element generates and sends the corresponding N4 rules to the UPF network element based on the received PCC rules. These rules include rules for guiding the UPF network element to perform QoS monitoring.

[0099] In step S471, the UPF network element performs QoS monitoring on each data stream of UL / DL according to the N4 rule and reports the latency of each data stream.

[0100] In step S472, the PCF network element acquires the QoS monitoring results of each data stream and calculates the actual delay difference. Coordinated transmission can only be satisfied if the actual delay difference is less than the synchronization threshold; otherwise, the PCC rules are updated based on the correspondence between the AQP carried in the AF session request and the AQPs of different data streams. The QoS parameters for the corresponding data streams are then reconfigured and QoS monitoring is performed until the actual delay difference is less than the synchronization threshold.

[0101] In step S473, the PCF network element reports the QoS monitoring results and actual latency difference to the AF as needed.

[0102] In step S481, the SMF network element sends the corresponding QoS configuration to the Radio Access Network (RAN) to achieve coordinated transmission of downlink DL data streams, which includes the Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID).

[0103] In step S482, the SMF network element sends the corresponding QoS rules to the user equipment (UE) to achieve coordinated transmission of uplink UL data streams.

[0104] In step S491, the Radio Access Network (RAN) identifies data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the received Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID).

[0105] If admission fails for one or more data streams that play a critical role in user experience among data streams with the same Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID), then all data streams in that group are considered to have failed, and 5GS releases all established data streams belonging to the same multimodal service. If radio resources cannot be allocated to one or more data streams that play a critical role in user experience, then no radio resources need to be allocated to other data streams.

[0106] In step S492, the user equipment (UE) identifies data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the multimodal service identifier (MMSID) and works with the radio access network to perform subsequent SDU (Service Data Unit) Discard or DSR (Data Set Ready) Report.

[0107] The technical solution in this disclosure provides the Multimodal Service Identifier (MMSID) to the Radio Access Network (RAN) to help the RAN identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service. This enables the RAN to accurately identify data streams, thereby achieving coordinated data stream processing. It optimizes the current data stream transmission mechanism, better ensuring successful transmission of each data stream and better coordinating transmission between them.

[0108] Figure 5 schematically illustrates another data stream transmission method applied to a wireless access network. Referring to Figure 5, the main steps include:

[0109] In step S510, a target identifier sent by an SMF network element or user equipment is received, the target identifier being used to indicate a data stream belonging to the same multimodal service;

[0110] In step S520, data streams belonging to the same multimodal service are identified based on the target identifier.

[0111] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the Radio Access Network (RAN) can receive a target identifier sent by the SMF network element or by the User Equipment (UE). The RAN processes data streams and data packets. Further, the RAN can identify data streams with the same target identifier based on the received target identifier, thus classifying data streams with the same target identifier as belonging to the same multimodal service. The target identifier is either a multimodal service identifier issued by the AF network element or a multimodal data stream identification identifier generated by the PCF network element based on the multimodal service identifier.

[0112] This disclosure also provides a data stream transmission system 600, which mainly includes a network device 601, a wireless access network 602, and a user equipment 603, wherein:

[0113] Network device 601: The PCF network element of the network device generates a PCC rule containing a target identifier for the data stream and sends the PCC rule to the SMF network element; the SMF network element sends the target identifier to the radio access network RAN ​​according to the received PCC rule;

[0114] The wireless access network 602 is configured to receive a target identifier sent by a network device or user equipment, and determine the data stream belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier;

[0115] User equipment 603 is configured to send a target identifier to the radio access network (RAN), determine the data stream belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier, and cooperate with the RAN to transmit data.

[0116] In this embodiment, the target identifier can be sent to the radio access network via an SMF network element in the network device or a user equipment, enabling the radio access network to identify data streams with the same multimodal service identifier based on the target identifier. This optimizes the current multimodal data stream transmission mechanism, better achieves successful transmission of each multimodal data stream and better coordination between data streams, and improves the reliability of coordinated data stream transmission.

[0117] In an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, a network device capable of implementing the above-described method is also provided.

[0118] Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented as a system, method, or program product. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms: a completely hardware implementation, a completely software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software aspects, collectively referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system."

[0119] Network devices are manifested in the form of general-purpose computing devices. The components of a network device may include, but are not limited to: at least one processing unit, at least one storage unit, a bus connecting different system components (including storage units and processing units), and a display unit.

[0120] The storage unit stores program code that can be executed by the processing unit to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. For example, the processing unit can perform the steps shown in FIG2.

[0121] The storage unit may include readable media in the form of volatile storage units, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or cache storage units, and may further include read-only memory (ROM).

[0122] The storage unit may also include a program / utility having a set (at least one) of program modules, including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0123] A bus can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory cell bus or memory cell controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus that uses any of the various bus structures.

[0124] Network devices can also communicate with one or more external devices (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), one or more devices that enable users to interact with the network device, and / or any device that enables the network device to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., routers, modems, etc.). This communication can be achieved through input / output (I / O) interfaces. Furthermore, network devices can communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapters. As shown in the figure, the network adapter communicates with other modules of the network device via a bus. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with the network device, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0125] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, terminal device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0126] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, having stored thereon a program product capable of implementing the methods described above. In some possible implementations, various aspects of this disclosure may also be implemented as a program product including program code that, when run on a user device, causes the user device to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0127] The program product for implementing the above-described method according to embodiments of the present disclosure may employ a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may run on a user device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In this document, the readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that may be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0128] The program product may employ any combination of one or more readable media. A readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of readable storage media (a non-exhaustive list) include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0129] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0130] The program code contained on the readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0131] Program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0132] Furthermore, the above figures are merely illustrative of the processes included in the method according to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure and are not intended to be limiting. It is readily understood that the processes shown in the above figures do not indicate or limit the temporal order of these processes. Additionally, it is readily understood that these processes may be executed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

[0133] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention described herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not invented by this disclosure. The specification and embodiments are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A data stream transmission method, wherein, include: The PCF network element generates PCC rules for the data flow and sends the PCC rules to the SMF network element; The PCC rule contains a target identifier; The SMF network element sends the target identifier to the radio access network RAN ​​according to the received PCC rule; The target identifier is used to indicate data streams belonging to the same multimodal service.

2. The data stream transmission method according to claim 1, wherein, The target identifier is either a multimodal service identifier issued by the AF network element, or a multimodal data stream identification identifier generated by the PCF network element based on the multimodal service identifier.

3. The data stream transmission method according to claim 2, wherein, The PCF network element generates PCC rules for the data flow, including: PCF network element receives AF session request; The PCF network element generates PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the content of the AF session request.

4. The data stream transmission method according to claim 3, wherein, The PCF network element generates PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the content of the AF session request, including: Based on the content of the AF session request, the PCF network element generates corresponding PCC rules for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink direction, depending on whether the user equipment has the capability to support uplink data stream transmission. Based on the content of the AF session request, the PCF network element generates corresponding PCC rules for data flows belonging to the same multimodal service in the downlink direction.

5. The data stream transmission method according to claim 4, wherein, Based on whether the user equipment has the capability to support uplink data stream transmission, the corresponding PCC rules are generated for data streams belonging to the same multimodal service in the uplink direction, including: If the user equipment has the capability, when the PDU session is established, the SMF network element receives the capability reported by the user equipment and sends the capability to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element generates the corresponding PCC rule based on the capability. If the PCF network element does not receive the capability reported by the user equipment, the PCF network element rejects the uplink data stream establishment request and transmission coordination request issued by the AF network element, and the user equipment does not need to send a data stream with the same target identifier to the radio access network.

6. The data stream transmission method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein, The AF session request includes at least: a multimodal service identifier, latency requirements for specific downlink / uplink data streams, synchronization thresholds between different modal data streams in the downlink / uplink, QoS monitoring requests for each data stream, QoS parameters for each data stream, optional QoS configurations for each data stream, and the correspondence between the optional QoS configurations for each data stream.

7. The data stream transmission method according to claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: The SMF network element generates the corresponding N4 rule based on the received PCC rule and sends the N4 rule to the UPF network element; The UPF network element performs QoS monitoring on each data stream according to the N4 rule, and reports the QoS monitoring results and the latency of each data stream to the PCF network element. The N4 rules include rules for guiding UPF network elements to perform QoS monitoring.

8. The data stream transmission method according to claim 7, wherein, The method further includes: The PCF network element obtains the QoS monitoring results of each data stream and calculates the actual latency difference of each data stream based on the latency of each data stream. Based on the actual latency difference and the synchronization threshold, it is determined whether the data streams belonging to the same multimodal service meet the requirements for coordinated transmission.

9. The data stream transmission method according to claim 8, wherein, The step of determining whether data streams belonging to the same multimodal service meet the coordinated transmission requirement based on the actual latency difference and synchronization threshold includes: If the actual delay difference is less than or equal to the synchronization threshold, it is determined that each data stream satisfies coordinated transmission. If the actual delay difference is greater than the synchronization threshold, the QoS configuration of each data stream is redefined, and QoS monitoring is performed based on the redefined QoS configuration to redetermine the actual delay difference until the redefined actual delay difference is less than or equal to the synchronization threshold.

10. The data stream transmission method according to claim 9, wherein, The step of re-determining the QoS configuration for the data stream includes: For the data stream, a target QoS configuration is determined from a plurality of optional QoS configurations, and a QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration is configured for other data streams with the same target identifier.

11. The data stream transmission method according to claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: SMF network elements send corresponding QoS configurations to the radio access network to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the downlink. The QoS configurations include target identifiers. And / or, the SMF network element sends corresponding QoS rules to the user equipment (UE) to achieve coordinated transmission of data streams on the uplink.

12. The data stream transmission method according to claim 11, wherein, The method further includes: If the QoS parameters of a data stream do not meet the transmission requirements, and the QoS configuration of any data stream corresponding to the same target identifier is changed to the target QoS configuration, the QoS configuration of other data streams corresponding to the same target identifier will be changed to the QoS configuration corresponding to the target QoS configuration.

13. The data stream transmission method according to claim 1, wherein, Sending the target identifier to the Radio Access Network (RAN) includes: The target identifier is sent to the Radio Access Network (RAN), enabling the RAN to identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service; The Radio Access Network (RAN) identifies data streams belonging to the same multimodal service, including: If one or more data streams that play a key role in user experience fail to be admitted in the data streams corresponding to the same target identifier, all data streams corresponding to the same target identifier will be considered as failed, and all established data streams with the same target identifier will be released. If it is impossible to allocate radio resources to one or more data streams that play a critical role in user experience, stop allocating radio resources to other data streams.

14. The data stream transmission method according to claim 8, wherein, The method further includes: The PCF network element reports the QoS monitoring results and the actual latency difference to the AF network element.

15. The data stream transmission method according to claim 1, wherein, The target identifier is sent by the user equipment to the radio access network (RAN).

16. A data stream transmission method, wherein, include: Receive a target identifier sent by an SMF network element or user equipment, the target identifier being used to indicate a data stream belonging to the same multimodal service; Based on the target identifier, identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service.

17. A network device, wherein, include: processor; as well as Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the data stream transmission method of any one of claims 1 to 15 by executing the executable instructions.

18. A wireless access network, wherein, include: The identifier receiving module is used to receive a target identifier sent by an SMF network element or a user equipment, wherein the target identifier is used to indicate a data stream belonging to the same multimodal service; The data identification module is used to identify data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier.

19. A computer storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the data stream transmission method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or 16.

20. A data stream transmission system, wherein, include: The network device's PCF network element generates a PCC rule containing a target identifier for the data flow and sends the PCC rule to the SMF network element; The SMF network element sends the target identifier to the radio access network RAN ​​according to the received PCC rule; The Radio Access Network (RAN) is configured to receive target identifiers sent by network devices or user equipment, and to determine data streams belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifiers. User equipment is configured to send a target identifier to the radio access network (RAN), determine the data stream belonging to the same multimodal service based on the target identifier, and cooperate with the RAN to transmit data.

Images