Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, applicable to the field of satellite communications, such as non-terrestrial networks. The method comprises: sending first information, wherein the first information is used for requesting a protocol type of a transport layer, or the first information is used for indicating preference information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used for indicating first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the protocol type of the transport layer supported by an access network; and receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for determining the protocol type of the transport layer. Use of the present application can reduce the transmission delay of a data packet, and reduce the loss of the data packet.

Description

Communication methods and devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411736002.7, filed on November 27, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Currently, the architecture of a communication system consists of two parts: a core network and a radio access network. The logical interface between the core network devices in the core network and the access network devices in the radio access network is the NG interface. The NG interface includes the NG control plane (NG-C) interface and the NG user plane (NG-U) interface. Correspondingly, the NG interface protocol stack includes the NG-C interface protocol stack and the NG-U interface protocol stack. The logical interface between the access network devices in the radio access network is the Xn interface. The Xn interface includes the Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface and the Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface. Correspondingly, the Xn interface protocol stack includes the Xn-C interface protocol stack and the Xn-U interface protocol stack.

[0004] In current communication systems, the protocols used at the transport layer by the NG-U and Xn-U interface protocol stacks lack congestion control and retransmission mechanisms for data packets. While this may meet transmission performance requirements in wired transmission scenarios, future converged communication scenarios may present more complex backhaul situations. For example, in non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication scenarios, the NG and Xn interfaces may be used for wireless transmission. Therefore, how to better achieve data transmission becomes a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application proposes a communication method and apparatus that can reduce data packet transmission delay and reduce data packet loss.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be applied to a first device. In one possible implementation, the first device can be an access network device, or a component within the access network device (e.g., a module, a communication module, a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device. In another possible implementation, the first device can be a core network device, or a component within the core network device (e.g., a module, a communication module, a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the core network device. The method includes: sending first information, wherein the first information is used to request a protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network; and receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0007] In the above method, by using the first information to request the transport layer protocol type, the second device can determine the transport layer protocol type based on the first information and send first indication information to the first device. This allows the first device to know the transport layer protocol type based on the first indication information, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by the first device based on the transport layer protocol type. By using the first information to indicate transport layer protocol type preference information, where the preference information refers to the type of transport layer protocol the first device wants to use, the second device can take its preference information into account when determining the transport layer protocol type, thus ensuring that the first device's preference is met. Furthermore, by using the first information to indicate first capability information, the second device can clearly know the transport layer protocol types supported by the first device when determining the transport layer protocol type, avoiding situations where the first device does not support the transport layer protocol type determined by the second device. In summary, by sending the first information and receiving the first indication information, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by both parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type. Furthermore, when both parties transmit data based on the determined transport layer protocol type, since this determined transport layer protocol type differs from the protocol used by the NG-U interface protocol stack and Xn-U interface protocol stack in the prior art at the transport layer, namely User Datagram Protocol (UDP) overlaid with User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U), compared to UDP which lacks flow control, congestion control, and retransmission mechanisms, and GTP-U which has a simple timeout retransmission mechanism for GTP signaling messages but lacks congestion control and retransmission mechanisms for GTP-U user plane messages, the transport layer protocol type determined through the above negotiation mechanism supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms. This can avoid the occurrence of packet loss or congestion problems in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as in NTN communication scenarios, where the NG interface and Xn interface may be wireless transmissions. That is, the congestion control mechanism solves the potential congestion problem, and the retransmission mechanism solves the potential packet loss problem, thereby further reducing the transmission latency of data packets and reducing data packet loss.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: the first information includes a first protocol type; or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer's protocol type, including: the first information includes the preference information of the first protocol type.

[0009] In the above method, by including the first protocol type in the first information, or by including preference information of the first protocol type in the first information, the second device can know the protocol type of the transport layer that the first device wants to use, i.e., the first protocol type. Furthermore, the second device can take the first protocol type into consideration when determining the protocol type of the transport layer, thereby satisfying the preference of the first device.

[0010] In another possible implementation, the first protocol type belongs to a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

[0011] In the above method, when the first protocol type includes TCP and / or QUIC, because the first protocol type supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms, it can avoid potential packet loss or congestion problems in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as NTN communication scenarios where the NG interface and Xn interface may be wireless transmissions. That is, congestion control mechanisms address potential congestion problems, and retransmission mechanisms address potential packet loss problems, reducing data packet transmission latency and minimizing data packet loss. Furthermore, since the connection in the QUIC protocol is persistent and may be tunnel-free, it avoids the need for frequent updates to the NG user plane tunnel address during terminal device handover, saving signaling overhead. When the first protocol type includes GTP-U and / or UDP, it increases the diversity of the first protocol type selection.

[0012] In another possible implementation, the set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, wherein the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

[0013] The above method, by introducing the MP-QUIC protocol, can support multipath transmission of user data, which can further improve data transmission speed, increase data transmission reliability and fault tolerance, improve network resource utilization, and reduce transmission latency.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0015] In the above method, by including confirmation information about the transport layer protocol type in the first indication information, the second device can provide positive or negative confirmation of the transport layer protocol type to the first device, thereby further determining the transport layer protocol type. By including the transport layer protocol type indication information in the first indication information, the first device can determine the transport layer protocol type. In summary, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission between the two parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type.

[0016] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network, and the first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

[0017] In the above method, by including second capability information in the first indication information, the first device can learn the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the second device. This allows the first device to determine the protocol type of the transport layer based on the protocol type of the transport layer it supports and the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the first device. For example, when determining the protocol type of the transport layer, the first device can choose a protocol type of the transport layer supported by both the first device and the second device, which further ensures the normal transmission of data.

[0018] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the method further includes: receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a first mapping relationship; and mapping user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0019] In the above method, by using the first indication information to indicate the QUIC protocol, or by determining the transport layer protocol type as QUIC based on the first indication information, it is possible to support the introduction of a new transport layer protocol, such as QUIC, for user plane data transmission between access network devices and core network devices, and between access network devices. By having the first device receive the second indication information and map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship, it is possible to avoid situations where the user data cannot be correctly mapped after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as QUIC, thus preventing the normal transmission of user data. Furthermore, it ensures the normal transmission of user data. In addition, since the QUIC protocol supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms, it can reduce packet transmission latency and reduce packet loss.

[0020] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0021] In the above method, the first mapping relationship can determine the QoS stream included in a PDU session or DRB corresponding to a stream transmission. This enables the first device to avoid the situation where user data cannot be transmitted normally due to the inability to correctly map user data after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, when transmitting user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of user data.

[0022] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

[0023] In the above approach, by including QoS flow identification information in the header, it is possible to avoid the inability to identify and determine the user data packet (T-PDU), for example, the inability to determine the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, thus further ensuring the normal transmission of the user data packet. Furthermore, since the header includes identification information for at least one stream, and the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, the identification information of the PDU session can be determined based on the stream identification information included in the header and the first mapping relationship. Therefore, it is unnecessary to include the PDU session identification information in the header, thereby reducing signaling indication overhead.

[0024] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The mapping relationship between the identification information of m, the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first QoS flow is any one of the at least one QoS flow, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0025] In the above method, the QoS stream that needs to be transmitted for each stream in at least one stream can be determined through the first mapping relationship. This enables the first device to avoid the situation where user data cannot be transmitted normally due to the inability to correctly map user data after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, when transmitting user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of user data.

[0026] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0027] In the above method, since the header includes identification information of at least one connection and identification information of at least one stream, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS stream and the identification information of at least one stream. At this time, the identification information of the PDU session can be determined based on the identification information of the connection included in the header and the mapping relationship between the identification information of the connection and the identification information of the PDU session in the first mapping relationship, so there is no need to include the identification information of the PDU session in the header. Based on the identification information of the stream included in the header and the mapping relationship between the identification information of the stream and the identification information of the QoS stream in the first mapping relationship, the identification information of the QoS stream can be determined, so there is no need to include the identification information of the QoS stream in the header. In summary, the above method can reduce the signaling indication overhead.

[0028] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: transmitting data at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after processing by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0029] In the above method, the information that needs to be indicated in the header is defined in the above manner, which can avoid the inability to identify and determine the user data packet (T-PDU), that is, the inability to determine the PDU session corresponding to the user data packet (T-PDU) and the inability to determine the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and further ensure the normal transmission of the user data packet.

[0030] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a second device. In one possible implementation, the second device may be a core network device, or a component within the core network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the core network device's functions. In another possible implementation, the second device may be an access network device, or a component within the access network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the access network device's functions. The method includes: receiving first information, wherein the first information is used to request a protocol type for the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network; and sending first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0031] In the above method, by using the first information to request the transport layer protocol type, the second device can determine the transport layer protocol type based on the first information and send first indication information to the first device. This allows the first device to know the transport layer protocol type based on the first indication information, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by the first device based on the transport layer protocol type. By using the first information to indicate transport layer protocol type preference information, where the preference information refers to the type of transport layer protocol the first device wants to use, the second device can take its preference information into account when determining the transport layer protocol type, thus ensuring that the first device's preference is met. Furthermore, by using the first information to indicate first capability information, the second device can clearly know the transport layer protocol types supported by the first device when determining the transport layer protocol type, avoiding situations where the first device does not support the transport layer protocol type determined by the second device. In summary, by receiving the first information and sending the first indication information, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by both parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type. Furthermore, when both parties transmit data based on the determined transport layer protocol type, since this determined transport layer protocol type differs from the protocol used by the NG-U interface protocol stack and Xn-U interface protocol stack in the prior art at the transport layer, namely User Datagram Protocol (UDP) overlaid with User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U), compared to UDP which lacks flow control, congestion control, and retransmission mechanisms, and GTP-U which has a simple timeout retransmission mechanism for GTP signaling messages but lacks congestion control and retransmission mechanisms for GTP-U user plane messages, the transport layer protocol type determined through the above negotiation mechanism supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms. This can avoid the occurrence of packet loss or congestion problems in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as in NTN communication scenarios, where the NG interface and Xn interface may be wireless transmissions. That is, the congestion control mechanism solves the potential congestion problem, and the retransmission mechanism solves the potential packet loss problem, thereby further reducing the transmission latency of data packets and reducing data packet loss.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: the first information includes a first protocol type; or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer's protocol type, including: the first information includes the preference information of the first protocol type.

[0033] In the above method, by including the first protocol type in the first information, or by including preference information of the first protocol type in the first information, the second device can know the protocol type of the transport layer that the first device wants to use, i.e., the first protocol type. Furthermore, the second device can take the first protocol type into consideration when determining the protocol type of the transport layer, thereby satisfying the preference of the first device.

[0034] In another possible implementation, the first protocol type belongs to a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

[0035] In the above method, when the first protocol type includes TCP or QUIC, because the first protocol type supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms, it can avoid packet loss or congestion problems that may occur in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as NTN communication scenarios where the NG interface and Xn interface may be wireless transmissions. That is, congestion control mechanisms solve potential congestion problems, and retransmission mechanisms solve potential packet loss problems, reducing data packet transmission latency and minimizing data packet loss, thus meeting transmission performance requirements. Furthermore, since the connection in the QUIC protocol is persistent and may be tunnel-free, it can avoid the frequent updates of the NG user plane tunnel address during terminal device handover, saving signaling overhead. When the first protocol type includes GTP-U and / or UDP, it increases the diversity of the first protocol type selection.

[0036] In another possible implementation, the set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, wherein the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

[0037] The above method, by introducing the MP-QUIC protocol, can support multipath transmission of user data, which can further improve data transmission speed, increase data transmission reliability and fault tolerance, improve network resource utilization, and reduce transmission latency.

[0038] In another possible implementation, the first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0039] In the above method, by including confirmation information about the transport layer protocol type in the first indication information, the second device can provide positive or negative confirmation of the transport layer protocol type to the first device, thereby further determining the transport layer protocol type. By including the transport layer protocol type indication information in the first indication information, the first device can determine the transport layer protocol type. In summary, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission between the two parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type.

[0040] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network, and the first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

[0041] In the above method, by including second capability information in the first indication information, the first device can learn the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the second device. This allows the first device to determine the protocol type of the transport layer based on the protocol type of the transport layer it supports and the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the first device. For example, when determining the protocol type of the transport layer, the first device can choose a protocol type of the transport layer supported by both the first device and the second device, which further ensures the normal transmission of data.

[0042] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the method further includes: sending second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a first mapping relationship; and mapping user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0043] In the above method, by using the first indication information to indicate the QUIC protocol, or by determining the transport layer protocol type as QUIC based on the first indication information, it is possible to support the introduction of a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, for user plane data transmission between access network devices and core network devices, and between access network devices. By having the first device receive the second indication information and map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship, it is possible to avoid situations where user data cannot be correctly mapped after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, thus preventing the normal transmission of user data. In addition, since the QUIC protocol supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms, it can reduce data packet transmission latency and reduce data packet loss.

[0044] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0045] In the above method, the first mapping relationship can determine the QoS stream included in a PDU session or DRB corresponding to a stream transmission. This enables the first device to avoid the situation where user data cannot be transmitted normally due to the inability to correctly map user data after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, when transmitting user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of user data.

[0046] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

[0047] In the above approach, by including QoS flow identification information in the header, it is possible to avoid the inability to identify and determine the user data packet (T-PDU), for example, the inability to determine the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, thus further ensuring the normal transmission of the user data packet. Furthermore, since the header includes identification information for at least one stream, and the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, the identification information of the PDU session can be determined based on the stream identification information included in the header and the first mapping relationship. Therefore, it is unnecessary to include the PDU session identification information in the header, thereby reducing signaling indication overhead.

[0048] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The mapping relationship between the identification information of m, the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first QoS flow is any one of the at least one QoS flow, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0049] In the above method, the QoS stream that needs to be transmitted for each stream in at least one stream can be determined through the first mapping relationship. This enables the first device to avoid the situation where user data cannot be transmitted normally due to the inability to correctly map user data after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, when transmitting user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of user data.

[0050] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0051] In the above method, since the header includes identification information of at least one connection and identification information of at least one stream, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS stream and the identification information of at least one stream. At this time, the identification information of the PDU session can be determined based on the identification information of the connection included in the header and the mapping relationship between the identification information of the connection and the identification information of the PDU session in the first mapping relationship, so there is no need to include the identification information of the PDU session in the header. Based on the identification information of the stream included in the header and the mapping relationship between the identification information of the stream and the identification information of the QoS stream in the first mapping relationship, the identification information of the QoS stream can be determined, so there is no need to include the identification information of the QoS stream in the header. In summary, the above method can reduce the signaling indication overhead.

[0052] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: transmitting data at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after processing by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0053] In the above method, the information that needs to be indicated in the header is defined in the above manner, which can avoid the inability to identify and determine the user data packet (T-PDU), that is, the inability to determine the PDU session corresponding to the user data packet (T-PDU) and the inability to determine the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and further ensure the normal transmission of the user data packet.

[0054] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device. In one possible implementation, the communication device can be an access network device, or a component within the access network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device. In yet another possible implementation, the communication device can be a core network device, or a component within the core network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the core network device.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include modules, units, or means that correspond one-to-one with the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect. These modules, units, or means may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes: a processing unit and a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit being configured to send first information, the first information being configured to request a protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information being configured to indicate preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information being configured to indicate first capability information; wherein the first capability information is configured to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network; the transceiver unit being configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information being configured to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: the first information includes a first protocol type; or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer's protocol type, including: the first information includes the preference information of the first protocol type.

[0058] In another possible implementation, the first protocol type belongs to a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

[0059] In another possible implementation, the set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, wherein the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

[0060] In another possible implementation, the first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0061] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network, and the first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

[0062] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the transceiver unit is further used to receive second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate the first mapping relationship; the processing unit is used to map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0063] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0064] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

[0065] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The mapping relationship between the identification information of m, the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first QoS flow is any one of the at least one QoS flow, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0066] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0067] In another possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to perform data transmission at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after being processed by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0068] For the technical effects of the third aspect or possible implementation, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementation.

[0069] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device. In one possible implementation, the communication device may be a core network device, or a component within the core network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or it may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the core network device functions. In another possible implementation, the communication device may be an access network device, or a component within the access network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or it may be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the access network device functions.

[0070] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include modules, units, or means that correspond one-to-one with the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect. These modules, units, or means may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to receive first information, the first information being used to request a protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information being used to indicate preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information being used to indicate first capability information; wherein the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the access network; the transceiver unit is further configured to send first indication information, the first indication information being used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0072] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: the first information includes a first protocol type; or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer's protocol type, including: the first information includes the preference information of the first protocol type.

[0073] In another possible implementation, the first protocol type belongs to a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

[0074] In another possible implementation, the set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, wherein the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

[0075] In another possible implementation, the first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0076] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network, and the first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

[0077] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the transceiver unit is further used to send second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate the first mapping relationship; the processing unit is used to map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0078] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0079] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

[0080] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The mapping relationship between the identification information of m, the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first QoS flow is any one of the at least one QoS flow, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0081] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0082] In another possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to perform data transmission at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after being processed by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0083] For the technical effects of the fourth aspect or possible implementation, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects of the second aspect or corresponding implementation.

[0084] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes at least one processor that invokes a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or a possible implementation thereof.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a memory and a communication interface. Optionally, the memory and processor are integrated together.

[0086] In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device.

[0087] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device including at least one processor, which invokes a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to execute the method described in the second aspect or a possible implementation thereof.

[0088] In one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a memory and a communication interface. Optionally, the memory and processor are integrated together.

[0089] In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device.

[0090] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip device including at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to execute computer programs or instructions to implement any of the above aspects or possible implementations of any of the above aspects.

[0091] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any of the above-mentioned aspects or possible implementations, and the output of the chip device corresponds to the transmitting operation in any of the above-mentioned aspects or possible implementations.

[0092] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0093] Optionally, the chip device may also include a memory storing computer program instructions.

[0094] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a processor, implement the methods described above.

[0095] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product that includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a processor, implement the method described in any of the above aspects.

[0096] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system comprising: the apparatus as described in the fifth aspect and the apparatus as described in the sixth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0097] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0098] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0099] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a network-side protocol stack and network element module provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0100] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an O-RAN or ORAN system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0101] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an NG-C interface and an NG-U interface protocol stack;

[0102] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the Xn-C interface and Xn-U interface protocol stack;

[0103] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the protocol stack for GTP-U user plane messages;

[0104] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a GTP-U header format;

[0105] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an extended header format;

[0106] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0107] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between a connection and a stream provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0108] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the format of data packets included in a stream according to an embodiment of this application;

[0109] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of an NG-U interface protocol stack provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0110] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of a mapping provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0111] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of yet another mapping provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0112] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of a data packet unit after transport layer processing provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0113] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0114] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0115] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0116] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0117] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this application mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0118] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or". For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Furthermore, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0119] It is understood that in this application, "instruction" can include direct instruction, indirect instruction, explicit instruction, and implicit instruction. When describing a certain instruction information to indicate A, it can be understood that the instruction information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0120] In this application, the information indicated by the instruction information is called the information to be instructed. In specific implementations, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed, such as, but not limited to, directly instructing the information to be instructed, such as the information to be instructed itself or its index; indirectly instructing the information to be instructed by instructing other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be instructed; or instructing only a part of the information to be instructed, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing instruction overhead to some extent.

[0121] The information to be instructed can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information messages, and the sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific sending method. The sending period and / or timing of these sub-information messages can be predefined, for example, according to a protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0122] It is understood that "send" and "receive" in this application refer to the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface from other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY via the air interface from other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0123] In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, wiring, or interfaces.

[0124] It is understandable that information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and destination, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar statements in this application can be interpreted in a similar way and will not be elaborated further.

[0125] The communication method provided in this application can be applied to cellular communication systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 4th generation (4G) communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems, and also to 5th generation (5G) communication systems, such as 5G New Radio (NR) communication systems, or to various future communication systems and future communication networks. The method provided in this application can be applied to terrestrial network communication systems as well as non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems. The NTN system can be an NTN system integrated with 4G, 5G, and any future generation of communication systems, such as NR NTN, IoT NTN, etc. The NTN communication system can be, for example, a satellite communication system, and can also include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and other aerial access network equipment; this application does not limit this. The method provided in this application can also be applied to Bluetooth systems, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, LoRa systems, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, supporting communication systems that integrate multiple wireless technologies, and device-to-device (D2D) systems. The wireless communication systems involved in this application also include, but are not limited to: narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) systems, global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems, code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000) systems, or time division-synchronization code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, or may be a communication system integrating two or more of the above systems.

[0126] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. The application scenario used in this application will be described using the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 as an example. The communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system also includes an Internet 300. RAN 100 includes at least one access network device, such as at least one RAN node (110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as 120). RAN may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). Terminal device 120 is connected to RAN node 110 wirelessly. RAN node 110 is connected to core network 200 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The core network 200 includes at least one core network device. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions. The RAN node 110 can be any type of RAN node described below, and the terminal device 120 can be any type of terminal device described below. It is understood that Figure 1 only shows one possible communication system architecture that can be applied to the embodiments of this application. In other possible scenarios, the communication system architecture may also include other devices. It should be noted that the methods described in the embodiments of this application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1.

[0127] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in this application embodiment. The application scenario used in this application will be described using the communication system architecture shown in Figure 2 as an example. The communication system includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a Core Network (CN). The RAN includes at least one access network device, and the core network includes at least one core network device. For example, the access network device included in the RAN can be a next-generation NodeB (gNB) or a next-generation evolved NodeB (NG-eNB). The access network devices are interconnected through the Xn interface, i.e., Xn is the logical interface between gNBs, between NG-eNBs, and between gNBs and NG-eNBs. The access network devices are connected to the RAN through the NG interface. For example, the core network device included in the core network can be an access and mobility management function (AMF) entity or a user plane function (UPF) entity. The logical interface between the core network equipment and the access network equipment in the radio access network is the NG interface. The NG interface includes an NG control plane (NG-C) interface and an NG user plane (NG-U) interface. More specifically, the access network equipment connects to the AMF entity via the NG-C interface, which provides reliable signaling transmission services, and connects to the UPF entity via the NG-U interface, which provides non-guaranteed data transmission services. It is understood that Figure 2 only shows one possible communication system architecture that can be applied to the embodiments of this application. In other possible scenarios, the communication system architecture may also include other devices. It should be noted that the methods described in the embodiments of this application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 2.

[0128] (1) Terminal equipment 120, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., is a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user. Specifically, it includes devices that provide voice connectivity to a user, devices that provide data connectivity to a user, or devices that provide both voice and data connectivity to a user. For example, it may include a handheld device with wireless connectivity or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal equipment can communicate with the core network via a radio access network (RAN), exchange voice or data with the RAN, or interact with the RAN for both voice and data. Currently, terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, laptops, handheld computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices (such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.), in-vehicle devices (such as cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, smart home devices (such as refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, robotic arms, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in autonomous driving, wireless terminals in driverless driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in smart offices, wireless terminals in smart wearables, wireless terminals in intelligent transportation, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, or wireless terminals in smart homes, and flying equipment (such as intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, helicopters, airplanes), etc. Terminal equipment can also be other devices with terminal functions. For example, a terminal device can be a satellite communication terminal, such as a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) (commonly referred to as a VSAT terminal), a portable station, a fixed station, a vehicle-mounted or airborne satellite communication terminal, etc. Terminal equipment can also be a device that performs terminal functions in D2D communication.Terminal devices can also include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) terminal devices, machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal devices, internet of things (IoT) terminal devices, light UEs, reduced capability UEs (REDCAP UEs), subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, remote stations, access points (APs), remote terminals, access terminals, user terminals, user agents, or user devices, and drone equipment. For example, this can include mobile phones (or "cellular" phones), computers with mobile terminal devices, portable, pocket-sized, handheld, and computer-embedded mobile devices, etc. Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). It also includes limited devices, such as devices with low power consumption, limited storage capacity, or limited computing power. Examples include information sensing devices such as barcode scanners, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), and laser scanners. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal device. In this application, terminal devices with wireless transceiver capabilities and chips that can be installed in the aforementioned terminal devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices.

[0129] It should be noted that the terminal device may be a device or apparatus with a chip, or a device or apparatus with integrated circuitry, or a chip, module or control unit in the device or apparatus shown above. This application does not limit the specific device.

[0130] (2) RAN node 110 is a device deployed in a radio access network to provide wireless communication functions for terminal equipment. RAN node 110 may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) entity, access node, network node, or communication device, etc.

[0131] Specifically, RAN nodes can be access network equipment for cellular systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Examples include fourth-generation (4G) mobile communication systems, 5G mobile communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, or future-oriented evolution systems. RAN nodes can also be access network equipment in open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), cloud radio access networks (CRAN), or wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems. Alternatively, the network equipment can be access network equipment in a communication system resulting from the fusion of two or more of the above communication systems.

[0132] Multiple RAN nodes 110 in a communication system can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN nodes 110 and terminal devices 120 are relative. For example, network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j that access RAN 100 through network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; but for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. RAN nodes 110 and terminal devices 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0133] RAN nodes include, but are not limited to: base stations, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), Node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved Node Bs, or home Node Bs (HNBs)), baseband units (BBUs), access points (APs) in Wi-Fi systems, macro base stations (e.g., 110a in Figure 1), micro base stations or indoor stations (e.g., 110b in Figure 1), radio relay nodes, donor nodes, radio controllers in CRAN scenarios, radio backhaul nodes, transmission points (TPs), or transmission reception points (TRPs). RAN nodes can also be access network equipment in 5G mobile communication systems. For example, next-generation base stations (gNBs), TRPs, TPs in New Radio (NR) systems, or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G mobile communication system. RAN nodes can also be base stations in future mobile communication systems, or they can be servers, wearable devices, vehicles, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, in satellite communication systems, RAN nodes can be satellites or base station equipment mounted on satellites. In vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, RAN nodes can be roadside units (RSUs).

[0134] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs). CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included within the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). In some deployments, CUs and DUs separate the gNB's protocol layers, with some protocol layer functions centrally controlled by the CU, and the remaining partial or complete protocol layer functions distributed across the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. In one possible implementation, as shown in Figure 3(a), the CU deploys the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer from the protocol stack; the DU deploys the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and Physical Layer (PHY) from the protocol stack. Thus, the CU has the processing capabilities for RRC, SDAP, and PDCP, while the DU has the processing capabilities for RLC, MAC, and PHY. It is understood that the above functional division is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and DU. In another possible implementation, see Figure 3(b), the CU-CP is deployed with the RRC layer and the packet data convergence protocol-control plane (PDCP-C) in the protocol stack, the CU-UP is deployed with the SDAP layer and the packet data convergence protocol-user plane (PDCP-U) in the protocol stack, and the DU is deployed with the RLC layer, MAC layer, and physical layer (PHY) in the protocol stack.Therefore, CU-CP has the processing capabilities of RRC and PDCP-C, CU-UP has the processing capabilities of SDAP and PDCP-U, and DU has the processing capabilities of RLC, MAC, and PHY. It is understood that the above functional division is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation on CU and DU.

[0135] O-RAN, or ORAN system, aims to achieve an intelligent and open access network. A key feature of the O-RAN architecture is the separation of hardware and software, enabling the virtualization of network functions and the standardization of hardware. Furthermore, O-RAN incorporates artificial intelligence (AI).

[0136] It should be noted that CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in O-RAN or ORAN systems, CU may also be called an open central unit (O-CU) or an open CU, DU may also be called an open distributed unit (O-DU), central unit control plane (CU-CP) may also be called an open central unit control plane (O-CU-CP) or an open CU-CP, central unit user plane (CU-UP) may also be called an open central unit user plane (O-CU-UP) or an open CU-UP, and RU may also be called an open radio unit (O-RU). This application does not impose any specific limitations. Any of the units CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU in this application may be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an O-RAN or ORAN system provided in an embodiment of this application. The O-RAN or ORAN system includes: non-real-time RIC, near-real-time RIC, O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU, and O-RU. The correspondence between the ORAN access network equipment (network element modules) and their implementable protocol layer functions can be found in Table 1, as follows:

[0137] Table 1

[0138] It is understood that a RAN node can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device that includes both CU and DU nodes. Furthermore, a CU can be classified as a device in the radio access network or as a device in the core network; there are no restrictions on this.

[0139] It should be noted that the RAN node can be the device or apparatus shown above, or a component (e.g., a chip), module, or unit in the device or apparatus shown above; this application does not limit the specifics.

[0140] (3) Core network equipment refers to equipment in the core network (CN) that provides service support to terminals. Examples of core network equipment include: Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entities, Session Management Function (SMF) entities, User Plane Function (UPF) entities, etc., which will not be listed here. The AMF entity is responsible for terminal access management and mobility management; the SMF entity is responsible for session management, such as user session establishment; and the UPF entity can be a user plane functional entity, primarily responsible for connecting to external networks. It should be noted that in this application, entities can also be referred to as network elements or functional entities. For example, an AMF entity can also be called an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity, and an SMF entity can also be called an SMF network element or an SMF functional entity, etc.

[0141] It should be noted that the core network equipment can be the equipment or apparatus shown above, or it can be a component (e.g., a chip), module, or unit in the equipment or apparatus shown above. This application does not limit the specific details.

[0142] To better understand the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, some terms, concepts or processes involved in the embodiments of this application will be introduced below.

[0143] I. NG Interface

[0144] The current communication system architecture consists of two parts: the core network and the radio access network. The logical interface between the core network equipment in the core network and the access network equipment in the radio access network is the NG interface. The NG interface includes the NG control plane (NG-C) interface and the NG user plane (NG-U) interface. Access network equipment can connect to the AMF entity through the NG-C interface, which can provide reliable signaling transmission services. It can connect to the UPF entity through the NG-U interface, which can provide non-guaranteed data transmission services.

[0145] The NG interface protocol stack includes the NG-C interface protocol stack and the NG-U interface protocol stack. Figure 5(a) shows a schematic diagram of an NG-C interface protocol stack. The NG-C interface protocol stack is based on the Internet Protocol (IP) architecture. At the transport layer, the NG-C interface protocol stack uses the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). SCTP can be seen as an improvement on the Transmission Control Plane (TCP) protocol; it inherits TCP's relatively complete congestion control and improves upon some of TCP's shortcomings. Figure 5(b) shows a schematic diagram of an NG-U interface protocol stack. The NG-U interface protocol stack is based on the IP architecture. At the transport layer, the NG-U interface protocol stack uses the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) overlaid with the General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U). For introductions to UDP, TCP, and SCTP, please refer to Table 2, as follows:

[0146] Table 2

[0147] The reason why the NG-U interface protocol stack uses UDP is that, compared with the signaling data of the control plane, the reliability requirements of user plane transmission data are relatively low, while the real-time requirements of data processing are relatively high. Therefore, the transport layer protocol of the NG-U interface protocol stack needs to be simple to enable fast data processing and forwarding. Thus, after comprehensive comparison, UDP is more likely to meet the latency requirements.

[0148] The reason why the NG-U interface protocol stack uses GTP-U is that the GTP-U interface protocol stack encapsulates all user plane data and tunnels it for transmission. Data between tunnel endpoints is routed using IP addresses and UDP port numbers. Specifically, each protocol data unit (PDU) session establishes its own GTP-U tunnel. A PDU session supports one or more quality of service (QoS) streams (QoS streams: sets of service data streams / service data packets with the same QoS requirements). The user data of these QoS streams is encapsulated by the GTP-U protocol stack and transmitted in the GTP-U tunnel corresponding to the PDU session.

[0149] II. Xn Interface

[0150] The current communication system architecture consists of two parts: the core network and the radio access network. The logical interface between access network devices in the radio access network is the Xn interface, which includes the Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface and the Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface. The Xn interface protocol stack includes the Xn-C interface protocol stack and the Xn-U interface protocol stack. Figure 6(a) shows a schematic diagram of an Xn-C interface protocol stack. The Xn-C interface protocol stack is based on the IP architecture and uses SCTP at the transport layer. Figure 6(b) shows a schematic diagram of an Xn-U interface protocol stack. The Xn-U interface protocol stack is based on the IP architecture and uses UDP overlaid with GTP-U at the transport layer. For introductions to UDP, TCP, and SCTP, please refer to Table 2 above. The reason for using UDP overlaid with GTP-U in the Xn-U interface protocol stack can be found above.

[0151] III. GTP-U Protocol Stack

[0152] GTP-U messages are divided into two types: (1) GTP-U user plane messages, i.e., G-PDU. The protocol stack of GTP-U user plane messages can be seen in Figure 7. G-PDU consists of user data packets (T-PDU) and GTP-U headers. The user data packets (T-PDU) are encapsulated with GTP-U headers and then sent out via UDP or IP. GTP-U user plane messages are used to transmit user data packets between two GTP-U entities. (2) GTP-U signaling messages (control-related signaling), which are GTP-U messages but not G-PDU, including path management and tunnel management messages. Therefore, GTP-U tunnels can be used to transmit data and signaling.

[0153] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of a GTP-U header format. The GTP-U header can consist of two parts. The first part is a fixed part (Octets 1 to 8), which is 8 bits in length. In this part, Version indicates the GTP-U protocol version, PT indicates the protocol type, E indicates whether the Next Extension Header Type field exists or is valid, S indicates whether the sequence number flag exists or is valid, PN indicates whether the N-PDU number flag exists or is valid, Message Type indicates the GTP-U message type, Length indicates the GTP-U message length, and Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) is also included. The second part (Octets 9-12) is the extension section. Based on the values ​​of the relevant flags in the first part, it determines whether the sequence number or the N-PDU number exists or is valid. The sequence number is the G-PDU's sequence number. Next Extension Header Type indicates the type of extension header following this field. Extension headers, such as PDU Set Information Container, PDU Session Container, and GTP-U extension headers, may include a QoS flow ID (QFI). See Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of an extension header format. An extension header may include its length, content, and the type following this field. The extension header type can be a UDP port, RAN Container, PDU Session Container, or PDU Set Information Container, etc.

[0154] As described above, in current communication systems, the protocols used by the NG-U and Xn-U interface protocol stacks at the transport layer lack congestion control and retransmission mechanisms for data packets. While this may meet transmission performance requirements in wired transmission scenarios using the NG and Xn interfaces, future multi-converged communication scenarios may present more complex backhaul situations. For example, in non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication scenarios, the NG and Xn interfaces may be used for wireless transmission. Therefore, how to better achieve data transmission becomes a pressing issue. To address these problems, this application proposes the following solutions.

[0155] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 10 can be applied to a first device and a second device. In one possible implementation, the first device can be an access network device, or a component applied to the access network device (e.g., a module, a communication module, a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor), or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The second device can be a core network device, or a component applied to the core network device (e.g., a module, a communication module, a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor), or it can be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the core network device. In another possible implementation, the first device can be a core network device, or a component applied to the core network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the core network device. The second device can be an access network device, or a component applied to the access network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. In another possible implementation, the first device can be a first access network device, or a component applied in the first access network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first access network device. The second device can be a second access network device, or a component applied in the second access network device (e.g., a module, communication module, circuit or chip responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core), chip system, or processor), or it can be a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second access network device. The embodiments shown in Figure 10 below use the first device and the second device as examples for description. The method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps: The method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0156] Step S1001: The first device sends the first information.

[0157] In this process, the first device sends first information to the second device, and correspondingly, the second device receives the first information from the first device.

[0158] For example, the first device is an access network device and the second device is a core network device. For instance, the first device is 110a or 110b in Figure 1, and the second device is the core network device included in the core network 200 in Figure 1; or, for another example, the first device is gNB or ng-eNB in ​​Figure 2, and the second device is AMF entity or UPF entity in Figure 2.

[0159] For example, the first device is a first access network device and the second device is a second access network device. For example, the first device is 110a in Figure 1 and the second device is 110b in Figure 1; or, for example, the first device is gNB in ​​Figure 2 and the second device is ng-eNB in ​​Figure 2.

[0160] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer. Optionally, the first information used to request the protocol type of the transport layer includes: the first information includes a first protocol type. There are two ways to use the first information to request the protocol type of the transport layer: Method 1: The first device sends the first information, requesting the second device to tell it the protocol type of the transport layer, in which case the first information does not include the first protocol type; Method 2: The first device tells the second device that the protocol type of the transport layer is the first protocol type, in which case the first information includes the first protocol type. Through the above methods, by including the first protocol type in the first information, the second device can know the protocol type of the transport layer that the first device wants to use, i.e., the first protocol type. Furthermore, this allows the second device to take the first protocol type into consideration when determining the protocol type of the transport layer, thereby satisfying the first device's preference.

[0161] In another possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the transport layer protocol type preference information. Optionally, the first information indicating the transport layer protocol type preference information includes: the first information includes preference information for a first protocol type. Here, the preference information refers to the type of transport layer protocol that the first device preferentially wants to use, and the second device takes the first device's preference information into consideration when determining which transport layer protocol type to select. Through the above method, by including the first protocol type preference information in the first information, the second device can know the transport layer protocol type that the first device wants to use, i.e., the first protocol type. Furthermore, the second device can take the first protocol type into consideration when determining the transport layer protocol type to select, thereby satisfying the first device's preference. Here, the first protocol type is a type belonging to a set of transport layer protocol types, wherein the set of transport layer protocol types includes at least one of the following: TCP, GTP-U, UDP, or QUIC protocol. For example, the first protocol type is TCP; or, for example, the first protocol type is UDP and QUIC protocol, i.e., UDP superimposed with QUIC protocol.

[0162] QUIC is a protocol that uses UDP for concurrent multiplexing, offering the following advantages: 1. Reduced TCP three-way handshake and Transport Layer Security (TLS) handshake time. 2. Improved congestion control. 3. Multiplexing that avoids head-of-line blocking. 4. Connection migration. 5. Forward redundancy error correction. QUIC's multiplexing allows multiple session streams to be sent concurrently on a single connection. These streams are independent and undependent, eliminating TCP head-of-line blocking.

[0163] In one example, please refer to Figure 11, which is a schematic diagram of the relationship between a connection and a stream provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, there is a connection between the sending end and the receiving end, on which four streams are sent concurrently, namely stream1, stream2, stream3 and stream4. These four streams are independent of each other and have no dependency. If the application layer has read stream1 and a packet is lost in stream2, it will not affect stream3 and stream4. That is, there is no need to wait for stream2 to be read before reading stream3 and stream4. When stream3 and stream4 arrive, the application layer reads them directly. Please refer to Figure 12. Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the format of a data packet included in a stream according to an embodiment of this application. The data packet includes a header and content. The header includes a flag, connection ID, version number, diversification nonce, and packet number. The content includes a stream frame. A stream frame includes a type, stream ID, offset, data, and stream data (data length).

[0164] In the above approach, when the first protocol type includes TCP or QUIC, the support for congestion control and retransmission mechanisms helps avoid potential packet loss or congestion issues in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as NTN communication where the NG and Xn interfaces may be wireless transmissions. Congestion control and retransmission mechanisms address potential congestion and packet loss, respectively, reducing transmission latency and minimizing packet loss. Furthermore, since the connection in the QUIC protocol is persistent and may be tunnel-free, frequent updates to the NG user plane tunnel address during terminal device handover are avoided, saving signaling overhead. Including GTP-U and / or UDP in the first protocol type increases the diversity of the first protocol type selection.

[0165] The transport layer protocol type set includes the QUIC protocol, with the first protocol type being the MP-QUIC protocol. The MP-QUIC protocol is one of the many types of the QUIC protocol. The above process can be understood as follows: when the first information includes a first protocol type, and the first protocol type is the QUIC protocol, it is necessary to further indicate which of the many types of the QUIC protocol the first protocol type is, for example, it could be the MP-QUIC protocol. The MP-QUIC protocol refers to using multiple network paths to form a QUIC connection for data transmission. These multiple paths can transmit the same data or different data. Data packets from different paths within the same connection are individually numbered.

[0166] By introducing the MP-QUIC protocol, multipath transmission of user data can be supported, which can further improve data transmission speed, increase data transmission reliability and fault tolerance, improve network resource utilization, and reduce transmission latency.

[0167] In another possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate first capability information, wherein the first capability information indicates the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the access network. Alternatively, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the first device.

[0168] The first capability information includes one type from a set of transport layer protocol types, wherein the set of transport layer protocol types includes at least one of the following: TCP, GTP-U, UDP, or QUIC protocol. For example, the first capability information is TCP; or, for another example, the first capability information is UDP and QUIC protocol, i.e., UDP superimposed with QUIC protocol.

[0169] In the above method, by using the first information to indicate the first capability information, the second device can clearly know the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the first device, thus avoiding the situation where the first device does not support the protocol type of the specified transport layer, thereby ensuring normal data transmission.

[0170] Step S1002: The second device sends the first instruction information.

[0171] Specifically, the second device sends a first instruction message to the first device, and correspondingly, the first device receives the first instruction message from the second device.

[0172] The first indication information is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0173] The first indication information includes: confirmation information of the transport layer protocol type, or indication information of the transport layer protocol type. The confirmation information of the transport layer protocol type refers to confirming the transport layer protocol type included in the first information; this confirmation includes positive confirmation or negative confirmation. The indication information of the transport layer protocol type is used to indicate the transport layer protocol type.

[0174] In the above method, by including confirmation information about the transport layer protocol type in the first indication information, the second device can provide positive or negative confirmation of the transport layer protocol type to the first device, thereby further determining the transport layer protocol type. By including the transport layer protocol type indication information in the first indication information, the first device can determine the transport layer protocol type. In summary, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission between the two parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type.

[0175] In another possible implementation, the first information includes a first protocol type, and the first indication information includes confirmation information for the transport layer protocol type. This confirmation information refers to acknowledgment information for the first protocol type. For example, this confirmation information could be consent or permission information for the first protocol type; if the second device disagrees with the first protocol type, it sends rejection or failure information for the first protocol type. Alternatively, the confirmation information could include consent or disagreement, where consent means agreeing to the transport layer protocol type being the first protocol type, and disagreement means disagreeing with the transport layer protocol type being the first protocol type. This approach introduces a negotiation mechanism to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission between the two parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type.

[0176] In another possible implementation, the first information includes preference information for a first protocol type, which includes indication information indicating that the first device prefers to use a first transport layer protocol type. For example, when determining which transport layer protocol type to select, the second device takes the first device's preference information into account. The second device sends first indication information to the first device, which includes indication information for the transport layer protocol type, indicating the transport layer protocol type information determined by the core network. This approach introduces a negotiation mechanism to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission between the two parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type.

[0177] In another possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer protocol type, or the first information is used to indicate the first capability information, and the first indication information includes the indication information of the transport layer protocol type. The indication information of the transport layer protocol type may include one type from a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: TCP, GTP-U, UDP, or QUIC. For example, if the indication information of the transport layer protocol type is TCP, the first device determines that the transport layer protocol type is TCP. For example, Figure 13(a) is a schematic diagram of an NG-U interface protocol stack provided in an embodiment of this application, where TCP is used in the transport layer NG-U interface protocol stack; or, for example, if the indication information of the transport layer protocol type is UDP and QUIC protocols, i.e., UDP superimposed on QUIC protocols, for example, Figure 13(b) is a schematic diagram of an NG-U interface protocol stack provided in an embodiment of this application, where UDP superimposed on QUIC protocols is used in the transport layer NG-U interface protocol stack. The above method introduces a negotiation mechanism to determine the protocol type of the transport layer, enabling the first device and the second device to reach a consensus on the protocol type of the transport layer, which is beneficial for the two parties to transmit data based on the determined protocol type of the transport layer in the future.

[0178] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request protocol capability information of the transport layer supported by the core network, that is, protocol type information of at least one transport layer that the core network can support. The first indication information includes second capability information. The second capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layers supported by the core network. By including the second capability information in the first indication information, the first device can learn the protocol types of the transport layers supported by the second device. This allows the first device to determine the protocol type of the transport layer based on the protocol types of the transport layers it supports, and the protocol types of the transport layers supported by the first device itself. For example, when determining the protocol type of the transport layer, it can choose a protocol type of the transport layer supported by both the first and second devices, further ensuring normal data transmission.

[0179] Optionally, the first information is used to indicate first capability information, and the first information is also used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network. The first indication information includes second capability information. This can be understood as follows: when the first device is an access network device and the second device is a core network device, the first device sends the first information to the second device. The first information is used to indicate first capability information, and by default, the first information is also used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network. That is, the first device can request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network from the second device, and correspondingly, the second device returns the second capability information. The first device determines the protocol type of the transport layer based on the first capability information and the second capability information. For example, this can be determined by taking the intersection. For instance, if the first capability information includes UDP and QUIC protocols, and TCP, and the second capability information includes UDP and QUIC protocols, the first device determines the transport layer protocol type to be UDP and QUIC protocols, i.e., UDP superimposed with QUIC protocol.

[0180] Optionally, the first information is used to indicate first capability information, which includes indication information for a first protocol type. This can be understood as the second device obtaining protocol type information for at least one transport layer supported by the first device based on the first capability information, determining a transport layer protocol type, such as the first protocol type, and indicating it to the first device.

[0181] Optionally, when the first indication information includes indications of the transport layer protocol type to indicate the QUIC protocol, or when the first indication information includes second capability information to indicate the QUIC protocol, further indication is needed to specify which of the multiple QUIC protocols it refers to; for example, it could be the MP-QUIC protocol. Optionally, since the MP-QUIC protocol refers to using multiple network paths to form a QUIC connection for data transmission, the first and second devices can automatically add or remove available network paths based on implementation.

[0182] Optionally, the first information and the first indication information may be carried in messages not related to the terminal device, messages related to the terminal device, or new messages.

[0183] For example, the first information and the first instruction information are carried in a message related to a non-terminal device. Taking the first device as the access network device and the second device as the core network device as an example, for instance, the first information is carried in the NG interface establishment request (NG SETUP REQUEST) message, and the first indication information is carried in the NG interface establishment response (NG SETUP RESPONSE); for instance, the first information is carried in the radio access network configuration update (RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE) message, and the first indication information is carried in the radio access network configuration update reply (RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE) message; for instance, the first information is carried in the AMF configuration update acknowledgment (AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE) message, and the first indication information is carried in the AMF configuration update (AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE) message; for instance, the first information is carried in the NG reset request (NG RESET request) message, and the first indication information is carried in the NG reset response (NG RESET response) message; for instance, the first information is carried in the NG reset acknowledgment (NG RESET ACKNOWLEDGE) message, and the first indication information is carried in the NG reset (NG... For example, the first information is carried in the RESET message; or the first indication information is carried in the Downlink RAN ​​Configuration Transfer message.

[0184] Taking the first device as the first access network device and the second device as the second access network device as an example, specifically, messages related to non-terminal devices can be interface management messages. For example, the first information is carried in the Xn SETUP REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the Xn SETUP RESPONSE message; or, for example, the first information is carried in the NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message, and the first indication information is carried in the NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message; or, for example, the first information is carried in the RESET REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the RESET RESPONSE message; or, for example, the first information is carried in the MOBILITY CHANGE REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the MOBILITY CHANGE ACKNOWLEDGE message.

[0185] For example, the first information and the first indication information are carried in messages related to the terminal device. Taking the first device as a core network device and the second device as an access network device as an example, specifically, the messages related to the terminal device can be context messages of the terminal device. For example, the first information is carried in an Initial Context Setup Request message, and the first indication information is carried in an Initial Context Setup Reply message; for example, the first information is carried in a UE Context Modification Request message, and the first indication information is carried in a UE Context Modification Reply message. Specifically, the messages related to the terminal device can be mobility management messages, for example, the first information is carried in a Handover Request message, and the first indication information is carried in a Handover Request Acknowledgment message; taking the first device as an access network device and the second device as a core network device as an example, specifically, the messages related to the terminal device can be mobility management messages. For example, the first information is carried in the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message.

[0186] Taking the first device as the first access network device and the second device as the second access network device as an example, specifically, the messages related to the terminal device can be mobility management messages. For example, the first information is carried in the HANDOVER REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message; or, for example, the first information is carried in the SN ADDITION REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the SN ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message; or, for example, the first information is carried in the SN Modification REQUEST message, and the first indication information is carried in the SN Modification REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message; or, for example, the first information is carried in the SN Modification REQUIRED message, and the first indication information is carried in the SN Modification CONFIRM message.

[0187] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the first device determines the transport layer protocol type as QUIC based on the first indication information. The method further includes: the first device receiving second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a first mapping relationship, and the first device mapping user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship. By using the first indication information to indicate the QUIC protocol, or by determining the transport layer protocol type as QUIC based on the first indication information, it is possible to support the introduction of a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, for user plane data transmission between access network devices and core network devices, and between access network devices. By having the first device receive the second indication information and map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship, when the first device transmits user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, it avoids the situation where user data cannot be correctly mapped after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, thus preventing the normal transmission of user data. Furthermore, it can ensure the normal transmission of user data. In addition, since the QUIC protocol supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms, it can reduce packet transmission latency and reduce packet loss. By mapping data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship, the mapping method of user data at the transport layer can be made consistent with the mapping method of user data in wireless communication, such as the mapping method of PDU session and QoS, thereby improving the efficiency of user data transmission at the transport layer.

[0188] In this process, the first device receives second indication information from the second device. It should be noted that when the first indication information directly indicates the QUIC protocol, the first device does not need to perform a specific action to determine that the transport layer protocol type is QUIC.

[0189] The mapping of user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship can include: stream splitting of user data based on the first mapping relationship, or determining which data packets are in the same stream and which data packets are in the same connection based on the first mapping relationship. The mapping of user data at the transport layer by the first device based on the first mapping relationship can refer to the mapping of user data at the transport layer by the NG-U in the first device based on the first mapping relationship. The mapping of user data at the transport layer by the second device based on the first mapping relationship can refer to the mapping of user data at the transport layer by the first device based on the first mapping relationship, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0190] Optionally, the first mapping relationship can be carried in NG control plane messages related to the terminal device. Alternatively, the first mapping relationship can be carried in Xn control plane messages related to the terminal device. For example, when the first device is a first access network device and the second device is a second access network device, and the user data requiring mapping is sent from the first device to the second device, the first device sends a terminal device-related Xn control plane message to the second device indicating the first mapping relationship. Conversely, when the user data requiring mapping is sent from the second device to the first device, the second device sends a terminal device-related Xn control plane message to the first device indicating the first mapping relationship. Accordingly, the second device maps the user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0191] The first mapping relationship can also be called the mapping information between PDU sessions and QoS flows. There are two cases for the first mapping relationship, which are described below as Case 1 and Case 2, as follows:

[0192] Case 1: The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session. Alternatively,

[0193] The first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB.

[0194] Wherein, the first stream is any one of at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of at least one DRB.

[0195] Wherein, when the first device is an access network device and the second device is a core network device, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session; when the first device is a first access network device and the second device is a second access network device, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB).

[0196] The mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session may include: the identification information of each stream in the identification information of at least one stream corresponds to the identification information of one PDU session in the identification information of at least one PDU session, that is, one stream corresponds to one PDU session, and the one stream transmits all the QoS streams included in the corresponding PDU session.

[0197] The mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one DRB may include: the identification information of each stream in the identification information of at least one stream corresponds to the identification information of one DRB in the identification information of at least one DRB, that is, one stream corresponds to one DRB, and the one stream transmits all the QoS streams included in the corresponding DRB.

[0198] Please refer to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of a mapping provided by an embodiment of this application. Taking the first mapping relationship as an example, it includes the mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session. There is a connection1 between the sending end and the receiving end, which includes four streams, namely stream1, stream2 and stream3. Stream1 is the first stream. PDU session1 includes 16 QoS streams, namely QoS stream1, QoS stream2, ... QoS stream16. PDU session1 is the first PDU session. Since the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, that is, stream1 corresponds to PDU session1, the corresponding 16 QoS streams included in PDU session1 are transmitted in stream1.

[0199] In the above method, the first mapping relationship can determine the QoS stream included in a PDU session or DRB corresponding to a stream transmission. This enables the first device to avoid the situation where user data cannot be transmitted normally due to the inability to correctly map user data after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, when transmitting user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of user data.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes QoS flow identification information but does not include PDU session identification information.

[0201] The QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packets included in the data packet unit processed by the transport layer belong.

[0202] This can be understood as follows: when the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, or when the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one DRB, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, the header includes the identification information of the QoS stream, but does not include the identification information of the PDU session.

[0203] In the above approach, by including QoS flow identification information in the header, it is possible to avoid the inability to identify and determine the user data packet (T-PDU), for example, the inability to determine the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, thus further ensuring the normal transmission of the user data packet. Furthermore, since the header includes identification information for at least one stream, and the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one PDU session, the identification information of the PDU session can be determined based on the stream identification information included in the header and the first mapping relationship. Therefore, it is unnecessary to include the PDU session identification information in the header, thereby reducing signaling indication overhead.

[0204] Case 2: The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or,

[0205] The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow.

[0206] Wherein, the first stream is any one of at least one stream, the first QoS stream is any one of at least one QoS stream, the first connection is any one of at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of at least one DRB.

[0207] Wherein, when the first device is an access network device and the second device is a core network device, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream; when the first device is a first access network device and the second device is a second access network device, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB.

[0208] The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The first mapping relationship may include: each identification information of at least one connection corresponds to the identification information of one PDU session in the identification information of at least one PDU session, that is, one connection corresponds to one PDU session, and each identification information of at least one QoS flow corresponds to the identification information of one stream in the identification information of at least one stream, that is, one QoS flow corresponds to one stream.

[0209] Wherein, at least one QoS flow can be all QoS flows included in one of at least one PDU sessions, for example, all QoS flows included in the first PDU session, and at least one stream can be streams included in one of at least one connection. For example, at least one stream can be all streams included in the first connection.

[0210] The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. It may include: the first mapping relationship includes: each identification information of at least one connection corresponds to the identification information of one DRB in the identification information of at least one DRB, that is, one connection corresponds to one DRB, and each identification information of at least one QoS flow corresponds to the identification information of one stream in the identification information of at least one stream, that is, one QoS flow corresponds to one stream.

[0211] Wherein, at least one QoS flow can be all QoS flows included in one of at least one DRBs, for example, all QoS flows included in a first DRB, and at least one stream can be streams included in one of at least one connection. For example, at least one stream can be all streams included in a first connection.

[0212] In one example, please refer to Figure 15, which is a schematic diagram of another mapping provided by an embodiment of this application. The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS stream and the identification information of at least one stream. The at least one QoS stream is a QoS stream included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection. Taking the first connection corresponding to the first PDU session and the first stream corresponding to the first QoS stream as an example, there is a connection1 between the sending end and the receiving end. Connection1 is the first connection, and it includes four streams: stream1, stream2, stream3, and stream4. PDU session1 includes four QoS streams: QoS stream1, QoS stream2, QoS stream3, and QoS stream4. PDU session1 is the first PDU session. Since the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, that is, connection1 corresponds to the PDU. In session 1, the first stream corresponds to the first QoS stream. For example, stream 1 corresponds to QoS stream 1, stream 2 corresponds to QoS stream 2, stream 3 corresponds to QoS stream 3, and stream 4 corresponds to QoS stream 4. Accordingly, QoS stream 1 is transmitted in stream 1, QoS stream 2 is transmitted in stream 2, QoS stream 3 is transmitted in stream 3, and QoS stream 4 is transmitted in stream 4.

[0213] In the above method, the QoS stream that needs to be transmitted for each stream in at least one stream can be determined through the first mapping relationship. This enables the first device to avoid the situation where user data cannot be transmitted normally due to the inability to correctly map user data after adopting a new transport layer protocol, such as the QUIC protocol, when transmitting user data at the transport layer based on the QUIC protocol, thereby ensuring the normal transmission of user data.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0215] This can be understood as follows: when the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, or when the first mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include the identification information of the QoS flow and the identification information of the PDU session.

[0216] In the above method, since the header includes identification information of at least one connection and identification information of at least one stream, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS stream and the identification information of at least one stream. At this time, the identification information of the PDU session can be determined based on the identification information of the connection included in the header and the mapping relationship between the identification information of the connection and the identification information of the PDU session in the first mapping relationship, so there is no need to include the identification information of the PDU session in the header. Based on the identification information of the stream included in the header and the mapping relationship between the identification information of the stream and the identification information of the QoS stream in the first mapping relationship, the identification information of the QoS stream can be determined, so there is no need to include the identification information of the QoS stream in the header. In summary, the above method can reduce the signaling indication overhead.

[0217] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: the first device transmitting data at the transport layer based on a first protocol type.

[0218] The first protocol type is indicated by the first instruction information or determined based on the first instruction information.

[0219] For example, when the first device is an access network device and the second device is a core network device, the NG-U data transmission between the first device and the second device is based on the first protocol type at the transport layer; when the first device is a first access network device and the second device is a second access network device, the Xn-U data transmission between the first device and the second device is based on the first protocol type at the transport layer.

[0220] The data packet unit after being processed by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header. The header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0221] Please refer to Figure 16, which is a schematic diagram of a data packet unit after transport layer processing according to an embodiment of this application. The data packet unit after transport layer processing includes a user data packet and a header. The user data packet can be a User plane PDU or a T-PDU. The header includes QoS flow ID and / or PDU session ID. Including QoS flow ID and / or PDU session ID in the header is optional.

[0222] In the above method, since the current NG-U interface protocol stack and Xn-U interface protocol stack use UDP overlaid with GTP-U at the transport layer, in the GTP-U protocol, user data packets (T-PDU) are transmitted in GTP-U tunnels. A GTP-U tunnel is associated with a PDU session or a PDB. Therefore, the transmission of user data packets (T-PDU) in a GTP-U tunnel can be associated with a PDU session or a PDB. However, when the NG-U interface protocol stack and Xn-U interface protocol stack use a new protocol at the transport layer, such as UDP overlaid with QU... In the IC protocol, a GTP-U tunnel may not exist. Therefore, the user data packet (T-PDU) needs other indication methods to associate it with a PDU session, and the QoS flow is unique within the PDU session. Therefore, including the QoS flow identification information and / or PDU session identification information in the header can avoid the inability to identify and determine the user data packet (T-PDU), that is, the inability to determine the PDU session corresponding to the user data packet (T-PDU) and the inability to determine the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, thus further ensuring the normal transmission of the user data packet.

[0223] In the method described in Figure 10, by using the first information to request the transport layer protocol type, the second device can determine the transport layer protocol type based on the first information and send first indication information to the first device. This allows the first device to know the transport layer protocol type based on the first indication information, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by the first device based on the transport layer protocol type. By using the first information to indicate transport layer protocol type preference information, where the preference information refers to the type of transport layer protocol the first device wants to use, the second device can take its preference information into account when determining the transport layer protocol type, thus ensuring that the first device's preference is met. Furthermore, by using the first information to indicate first capability information, the second device can clearly know the transport layer protocol types supported by the first device when determining the transport layer protocol type, avoiding situations where the first device does not support the transport layer protocol type determined by the second device. In summary, by sending the first information and receiving the first indication information, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by both parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type. Furthermore, when both parties transmit data based on the determined transport layer protocol type, since this determined transport layer protocol type differs from the protocol used by the NG-U interface protocol stack and Xn-U interface protocol stack in the prior art at the transport layer, namely User Datagram Protocol (UDP) overlaid with User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U), compared to UDP which lacks flow control, congestion control, and retransmission mechanisms, and GTP-U which has a simple timeout retransmission mechanism for GTP signaling messages but lacks congestion control and retransmission mechanisms for GTP-U user plane messages, the transport layer protocol type determined through the above negotiation mechanism supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms. This can avoid the occurrence of packet loss or congestion problems in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as in NTN communication scenarios, where the NG interface and Xn interface may be wireless transmissions. That is, the congestion control mechanism solves the potential congestion problem, and the retransmission mechanism solves the potential packet loss problem, thereby further reducing the transmission latency of data packets and reducing data packet loss.

[0224] Please refer to Figure 17, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 17 can be applied to a first device and a second device. In one possible implementation, the first device can be an access network device, or a component applied to the access network device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device. The second device can be a core network device, or a component applied to the core network device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the core network device. In another possible implementation, the first device can be a core network device, or a component applied to the core network device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the core network device. The second device can be an access network device, or a component applied to the access network device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device. In another possible implementation, the first device can be a first access network device, a component applied in the first access network device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first access network device. The second device can be a second access network device, a component applied in the second access network device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second access network device. The embodiment shown in Figure 17 below uses the first device and the second device as examples for description. The method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0225] Step S1701: The first device sends the first information to the second device.

[0226] Correspondingly, the second device receives the first information from the first device.

[0227] The first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, or to indicate the preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, or to indicate the first capability information; wherein the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network. For details, please refer to the relevant description in step S1001.

[0228] Step S1702: The second device sends the first instruction information to the first device.

[0229] Correspondingly, the first device receives the first instruction information from the second device.

[0230] The first indication information is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer, and the specific details can be found in the relevant description in step S1002.

[0231] Step S1703: The first device and the second device transmit data at the transport layer based on the first protocol type.

[0232] This step is optional.

[0233] Wherein, the first protocol type is indicated by or determined based on the first indication information, and the data packet unit after transport layer processing includes a user data packet and a header, the header including at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs. Refer to the relevant description in step S1002 for details.

[0234] Step S1704: The second device sends a second instruction message to the first device.

[0235] Correspondingly, the first device receives the second instruction information from the second device.

[0236] This step is optional.

[0237] Before the second device sends the second indication information to the first device, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined by the first and second devices based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol. The second indication information is used to indicate the first mapping relationship. For details, please refer to the relevant description in step S1002.

[0238] Step S1705: The first device and / or the second device map the user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0239] For details, please refer to the relevant description in step S1002.

[0240] In the method described in Figure 17, by using the first information to request the transport layer protocol type, the second device can determine the transport layer protocol type based on the first information and send first indication information to the first device. This allows the first device to know the transport layer protocol type based on the first indication information, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by the first device based on the transport layer protocol type. By using the first information to indicate transport layer protocol type preference information, where the preference information refers to the type of transport layer protocol the first device wants to use, the second device can take its preference information into account when determining the transport layer protocol type, thus ensuring that the first device's preference is met. Furthermore, by using the first information to indicate first capability information, the second device can clearly know the transport layer protocol types supported by the first device when determining the transport layer protocol type, avoiding situations where the first device does not support the transport layer protocol type determined by the second device. In summary, by sending the first information and receiving the first indication information, a negotiation mechanism is introduced to determine the transport layer protocol type, enabling the first and second devices to reach a consensus on the transport layer protocol type, which is beneficial for subsequent data transmission by both parties based on the determined transport layer protocol type. Furthermore, when both parties transmit data based on the determined transport layer protocol type, since this determined transport layer protocol type differs from the protocol used by the NG-U interface protocol stack and Xn-U interface protocol stack in the prior art at the transport layer, namely User Datagram Protocol (UDP) overlaid with User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U), compared to UDP which lacks flow control, congestion control, and retransmission mechanisms, and GTP-U which has a simple timeout retransmission mechanism for GTP signaling messages but lacks congestion control and retransmission mechanisms for GTP-U user plane messages, the transport layer protocol type determined through the above negotiation mechanism supports congestion control and retransmission mechanisms. This can avoid the occurrence of packet loss or congestion problems in future multi-converged communication scenarios, such as in NTN communication scenarios, where the NG interface and Xn interface may be wireless transmissions. That is, the congestion control mechanism solves the potential congestion problem, and the retransmission mechanism solves the potential packet loss problem, thereby further reducing the transmission latency of data packets and reducing data packet loss.

[0241] It should be noted that when the embodiments of this application are applied to an open RAN architecture, for example, the first device is an access network device and the second device is a core network device. The access network device includes a CU, DU, or RU. The interaction between the CU, DU, or RU and the terminal device can be referred to Figure 10. The first device in Figure 10 can be replaced with a CU, DU, or RU. In one possible implementation, the access network device includes a CU and a DU. The first device sending the first information in step S1001 can refer to the DU in the first device sending the first information to the CU in the first device, and the CU in the first device sending the first information to the second device. The second device sending the first indication information in step S1002 can refer to the second device sending the first indication information to the CU in the first device.

[0242] Optionally, the steps of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may be appropriately adjusted, for example, by adjusting the order of the steps, adding or removing steps, etc. For example, the first device and / or the second device may not perform one or more of the steps S1701 to S1705.

[0243] The methods of the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above, and the apparatus of the embodiments of this application is provided below.

[0244] Please refer to Figure 18. Figure 18 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 1800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1800 may include modules, units, or means that correspond one-to-one with the methods / operations / steps / actions performed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiments. The modules, units, or means may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1800 may include a processing unit 1801 and a transceiver unit 1802, the specific details of which are as follows:

[0246] The processing unit 1801 is used for data processing. The transceiver unit 1802 can implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 1802 can also be called a communication interface or a communication module.

[0247] Optionally, the communication device 1800 may further include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 1801 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module to enable the implementation of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0248] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1802 may include a sending unit and a receiving unit. The sending unit is used to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiments. The receiving unit is used to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiments.

[0249] It should be noted that the communication device 1800 may include a transmitting unit but not a receiving unit. Alternatively, the communication device 1800 may include a receiving unit but not a transmitting unit. Specifically, it depends on whether the above-described scheme executed by the communication device 1800 includes both transmitting and receiving actions.

[0250] Optionally, the communication device 1800 is used to perform the actions performed by the first device in the embodiment shown in FIG10. For details, please refer to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in FIG10, which will not be elaborated here. For example, the communication device 1800 is used to perform the following scheme:

[0251] The transceiver unit 1802 is configured to send first information, which is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate the protocol type preference information of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the access network; the transceiver unit 1802 is configured to receive first indication information, which is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0252] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: the first information includes a first protocol type; or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer's protocol type, including: the first information includes the preference information of the first protocol type.

[0253] In another possible implementation, the first protocol type belongs to a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

[0254] In another possible implementation, the set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, wherein the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

[0255] In another possible implementation, the first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0256] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network, and the first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

[0257] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the transceiver unit 1802 is further used to receive second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate the first mapping relationship; the processing unit 1801 is used to map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0258] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0259] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

[0260] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The mapping relationship between the identification information of m, the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first QoS flow is any one of the at least one QoS flow, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0261] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0262] In another possible implementation, the processing unit 1801 is further configured to perform data transmission at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after being processed by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0263] It should be noted that the implementation and beneficial effects of each module can also be described in the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in FIG10.

[0264] Optionally, the communication device 1800 is used to perform the actions performed by the second device in the embodiment shown in FIG10 above. For details, please refer to the relevant description in the embodiment shown in FIG10 above; it will not be elaborated here. For example, the communication device 1800 is used to perform the following scheme:

[0265] The transceiver unit 1802 is configured to receive first information, which is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate the protocol type preference information of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol type of the transport layer supported by the access network; the transceiver unit 1802 is further configured to send first indication information, which is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0266] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: the first information includes a first protocol type; or the first information is used to indicate the preference information of the transport layer's protocol type, including: the first information includes the preference information of the first protocol type.

[0267] In another possible implementation, the first protocol type belongs to a set of transport layer protocol types, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

[0268] In another possible implementation, the set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, wherein the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

[0269] In another possible implementation, the first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

[0270] In another possible implementation, the first information is further used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network, and the first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

[0271] In another possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the protocol type of the transport layer determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the transceiver unit 1802 is further used to send second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate the first mapping relationship; the processing unit 1801 is used to map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

[0272] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0273] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

[0274] In another possible implementation, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, the first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream. The mapping relationship between the identification information of m, the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; wherein the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first QoS flow is any one of the at least one QoS flow, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU session, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRB.

[0275] In another possible implementation, the data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

[0276] In another possible implementation, the processing unit 1801 is further configured to perform data transmission at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after being processed by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

[0277] It should be noted that the implementation and beneficial effects of each module can also be described in accordance with the corresponding description of the method embodiment shown in FIG10. The division of modules in this application embodiment is illustrative and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0278] The processing unit 1801 in the above embodiments can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuitry. The transceiver unit 1802 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuitry. The transceiver unit 1802 can also be referred to as a communication module or communication interface. The storage module can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0279] Please refer to Figure 19. Figure 19 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 1900 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1900 may include modules, units, or means that correspond one-to-one with the methods / operations / steps / actions performed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiments. The modules, units, or means may be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0280] The communication device 1900 includes at least one processor 1901. Optionally, it also includes a communication interface 1903 and a memory 1902. The processor 1901, memory 1902, and communication interface 1903 are interconnected via a bus 1904. Optionally, the processor 1901 and memory 1902 can be integrated together.

[0281] The memory 1902 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and is used for related computer programs and data. The communication interface 1903 is used for receiving and sending data.

[0282] Processor 1901 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs). If processor 1901 is a CPU, the CPU can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0283] The processor 1901 in the communication device 1900 is used to read computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1902 to implement the functions of the aforementioned processing unit, and the communication interface 1903 in the communication device 1900 is used to implement the functions of the aforementioned transceiver unit.

[0284] This application also provides a chip device including at least one processor for executing computer programs or instructions to cause the processor to perform the methods provided in the above embodiments.

[0285] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any of the above embodiments, and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in any of the above embodiments.

[0286] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0287] Optionally, the chip device may also include a memory storing computer program instructions.

[0288] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a processor, implement the method performed by the first or second device in the above method embodiments.

[0289] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions that, when run on a processor, implement the method executed by the first device or the second device in the above method embodiments.

[0290] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a first device and a second device as described in the above embodiments. The first device is used to perform some or all of the operations performed by the first device in the above method embodiments, and the second device is used to perform some or all of the operations performed by the second device in the above method embodiments.

[0291] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0292] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or terminal.

[0293] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0294] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0295] In the description of this application, terms such as "first", "second", "S1001" or "S1002" are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and for the convenience of context. Different sequence numbers do not have specific technical meanings themselves and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying the order of execution of operations. The order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send first information, which is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate the protocol type preference information of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network. Receive first indication information, which is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the transport layer protocol type determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the method further includes: Receive second indication information, which is used to indicate the first mapping relationship; User data is mapped at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

3. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information, which is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate the protocol type preference information of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network. Send a first indication message, which is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the transport layer protocol type determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; the method further includes: Receive second indication information, which is used to indicate the first mapping relationship; User data is mapped at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: The first information includes a first protocol type; or The first information is used to indicate the preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, including: The first information includes preference information for the first protocol type.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first protocol type belongs to one of the transport layer protocol type sets, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, and the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first information is also used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network. The first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

10. The method according to claim 2 or 4, characterized in that, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; Wherein, the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU sessions, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRBs.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

12. The method according to claim 2 or 4, characterized in that, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow. Wherein, the first stream is any one of the at least one streams, the first QoS stream is any one of the at least one QoS streams, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU sessions, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRBs.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Data transmission is performed at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after processing by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

15. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes processing units and transceiver units. The transceiver unit is configured to send first information, which is used to request a protocol type of the transport layer, or to indicate a preference for a protocol type of the transport layer, or to indicate first capability information; wherein, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network. The transceiver unit is used to receive first indication information, which is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the transport layer protocol type determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive second indication information, which is used to indicate the first mapping relationship; The processing unit is used to map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes processing units and transceiver units. The transceiver unit is configured to receive first information, which is used to request a protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate a preference for a protocol type of the transport layer, or the first information is used to indicate first capability information; wherein, the first capability information is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the access network. The transceiver unit is used to send first indication information, which is used to determine the protocol type of the transport layer.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that, The first indication information is used to indicate the QUIC protocol, or the transport layer protocol type determined based on the first indication information is the QUIC protocol; The transceiver unit is further configured to receive second indication information, which is used to indicate the first mapping relationship; The processing unit is used to map user data at the transport layer based on the first mapping relationship.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15-18, characterized in that, The first information is used to request the protocol type of the transport layer, including: The first information includes a first protocol type; or The first information is used to indicate the preference information for the protocol type of the transport layer, including: The first information includes preference information for the first protocol type.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first protocol type belongs to one of the transport layer protocol type sets, which includes at least one of the following: Transmission Control Protocol TCP, User Plane General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP-U, User Datagram Protocol UDP, or Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection QUIC.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, characterized in that, The set of transport layer protocol types includes the QUIC protocol, and the first protocol type is the Multipath Fast User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection MP-QUIC protocol.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15-21, characterized in that, The first indication information includes: confirmation information of the protocol type of the transport layer, or indication information of the protocol type of the transport layer.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15-21, characterized in that, The first information is also used to request the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network. The first indication information includes second capability information, which is used to indicate the protocol types of the transport layer supported by the core network.

24. The apparatus according to claim 16 or 18, characterized in that, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one session stream and the identification information of at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session, wherein the first stream corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first PDU session; or, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one stream and the identification information of at least one data radio bearer (DRB), wherein the first stream corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream transmits at least one QoS stream included in the first DRB; Wherein, the first stream is any one of the at least one stream, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU sessions, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRBs.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, characterized in that, The data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header includes identification information of the Quality of Service (QoS) flow, but does not include identification information of the PDU session.

26. The apparatus according to claim 16 or 18, characterized in that, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one PDU session, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first PDU session, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first PDU session, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow; or, The first mapping relationship includes: a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one connection and the identification information of at least one DRB, and a mapping relationship between the identification information of at least one QoS flow and the identification information of at least one stream, wherein the at least one QoS flow is a QoS flow included in the first DRB, and the at least one stream is a stream included in the first connection, wherein the first connection corresponds to the first DRB, and the first stream corresponds to the first QoS flow. Wherein, the first stream is any one of the at least one streams, the first QoS stream is any one of the at least one QoS streams, the first connection is any one of the at least one connection, the first PDU session is any one of the at least one PDU sessions, and the first DRB is any one of the at least one DRBs.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, characterized in that, The data packet unit processed by the transport layer includes a header, wherein the header does not include QoS flow identification information and PDU session identification information.

28. The apparatus according to any one of claims 15-27, characterized in that, The processing unit is further configured to perform data transmission at the transport layer based on a first protocol type, wherein the first protocol type is indicated by the first indication information or determined based on the first indication information, wherein the data packet unit after being processed by the transport layer includes a user data packet and a header, wherein the header includes at least one of the following: QoS flow identification information or PDU session identification information, wherein the QoS flow identification information is used to identify the QoS flow to which the user data packet belongs, and the PDU session identification information is used to identify the PDU session to which the user data packet belongs.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to invoke a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-14.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a processor, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-14.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when run on a processor, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-14.

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