Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a communication apparatus, which relate to the technical field of communications. The method is applied to a first network element, wherein the first network element is used for managing a plurality of second network elements, and the plurality of second network elements comprise a first target network element and a second target network element. The method comprises: receiving first information from a first target network element, wherein the first information is received by the first target network element in a media service request of a terminal device, or is received by the first target network element during the process of providing a media service for the terminal device; determining a second target network element on the basis of the first information and second information, wherein the second information is used for indicating a basic state of each of a plurality of second network elements, a resource state of each second network element, and / or media dynamic information of each second network element; and sending third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, wherein the third information is used for giving an instruction to establish a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, and the connection is used for acquiring a media resource. The method provided in the present application can maximize the media content distribution efficiency.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411824986.4, filed on December 10, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, specifically to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] Media content distribution refers to the process of efficiently transmitting multimedia content (such as video, audio, and images) from one or more sources to a large number of users. CDNs deploy a large number of edge nodes globally, enabling media content to be cached in advance on these nodes, allowing users to obtain content from the nearest geographical location and reducing latency. However, since CDNs are built outside the network, the efficiency of media content distribution and the reduction in latency are limited when CDNs provide media content to users through communication networks.

[0004] Among related technologies, the MoQ (Media over QUIC) distribution mechanism is a solution designed for efficient and low-latency media streaming. It leverages the advantages of the QUIC protocol to optimize the distribution of multimedia content. However, MoQ itself is a distributed technology, and information is controlled by distributed MoQ distribution nodes, resulting in limited media content distribution efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can improve the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving first information from a first target network element, the first information being received by the first target network element in a media service request of a terminal device, or received by the first target network element in the process of providing media services to the terminal device; determining a second target network element based on the first information and second information, the second information being used to indicate the basic state of each of the plurality of second network elements, the resource state of each of the second network elements, and / or the media dynamic information of each of the second network elements; and sending third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, the third information being used to indicate the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources.

[0007] For example, the communication method can be implemented by a first network element, or by modules, units, processors, circuits, chips, or chip systems included in the first network element. Optionally, the first network element can be a media control function network element or a session management function network element.

[0008] The method provided in this application involves a first network element acting as a control center, controlling multiple second network elements. During the process of receiving a media service request from a terminal device, or during the process of providing media services to a terminal device, a first target network element sends first information to the first network element. Based on the first information and the basic status, resource status, and / or media resource information of each second target network element, the first network element determines a second target network element among the multiple second network elements that will provide media resources to the first target network element. This second target network element can provide the first target network element with media resources that the first target network element does not possess. Using this second target network element to send media resources can improve the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0009] Optionally, the resource status of each second network element in the second information includes at least one of the following: the storage resource status of each second network element, the computing resource status of each second network element, or the communication resource status of each second network element.

[0010] It should be understood that the storage resource status can be used to indicate the storage capacity of the second network element, the computing resource status can be used to indicate the computing capacity of the second network element, and the communication resource status can be used to indicate the communication capacity of the second network element.

[0011] Furthermore, based on the resource status of the second network element, it can be determined whether the second network element has sufficient storage, computing, and communication capabilities to transmit media resources.

[0012] Optionally, the basic status of each second network element in the second information includes at least one of the following: the signaling transmission channel between the first network element and each second network element, the media resource transmission channel between each second network element, the location of each second network element, the IP address of each second network element, the storage resources of each second network element, the computing resources of each second network element, or the communication resources of each second network element.

[0013] It should be understood that this basic state is used to represent the connection status, location information, and overall resource status of the second network element.

[0014] Specifically, the signaling transmission channel between the first network element and each second network element indicates that after the first network element establishes a connection with multiple second network elements, the first network element controls the second network elements respectively based on this signaling transmission channel. The media resource transmission channel between each second network element indicates that after the second network elements establish a connection under the management of the first network element, the media resource transmission channel between the second network elements is established. The IP address of each second network element is used by the first network element to control multiple second network elements to establish connections based on this IP address. The location of each second network element is used by the first network element to reasonably determine the second target network element based on the location of the second network element, so as to maximize the efficiency of media content transmission. The storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources of each second network element can be understood as the total storage resources, total computing resources, and total communication resources of each second network element. Based on the total resource status of each second network element and the current resource status reported by the second network element, the first network element can determine the remaining available resource status.

[0015] Optionally, the media dynamic information of each second network element can be understood as the media resources that each second network element can provide. Since the media resources of each second network element change during each media service distribution, it is called media dynamic information, that is, the media resources of each second network element are dynamically changing.

[0016] In some embodiments, the first information is received by the first target network element in the media service request of the terminal device. It can be understood that when the terminal device subscribes to media resources from the first target network element, or when the terminal device retrieves media resources from the first target network element, the first target network element sends the first information to the first network element.

[0017] Furthermore, when the terminal device subscribes to media resources from the first target network element, or when the terminal device retrieves media resources from the first target network element, the first information is used to indicate the subscribed or retrieved media resources, and the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resources.

[0018] In this application, the first target network element can obtain the media dynamic information of the first target network element and cache the media dynamic information of the first target network element by reporting the first information to the first network element.

[0019] Furthermore, based on this first information, the first network element can determine whether the first target network element can provide media resources to the terminal device.

[0020] When the first target network element cannot provide media resources to the terminal device, the first network element determines a second target network element among multiple second network elements that can provide the media resources, so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, ultimately enabling the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0021] In other embodiments, the first information is received by the first target network element during the process of providing media services to the terminal device. This can be understood as the first target network element sending media resources to the terminal device, or the terminal device subscribing to or retrieving media resources subscribed to or retrieved from the third target network element.

[0022] Furthermore, when the first target network element sends media resources to the terminal device, and the media resources of the first target network element change, the first target network element sends first information to the first network element. The first information is used to indicate the media resource information of the first target network element, and the first information includes the content of the media resources received or deleted by the first target network element.

[0023] Optionally, the first network element can store the media resources received by the first target network element. When other second network elements need the media information, the first network element can control the first target network element to distribute the media resources to other second network elements.

[0024] Optionally, when the permission of the first target network element to possess a certain media resource expires, after the media resource is deleted from the first target network element, the first network element can re-determine a second target network element that can provide the media resource from among multiple second network elements.

[0025] In this application, the first target network element reports the first information to the first network element, and the first network element can obtain the media dynamic information of the first target network element. Furthermore, when the first network element determines that the first target network element cannot provide media resources to the terminal device, the first network element can determine the second target network element so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, and ultimately enables the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0026] Alternatively, during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, when the terminal device subscribes to or retrieves media resources subscribed to or retrieved from the third target network element, the first information is used to indicate the content corresponding to the subscribed or retrieved media resources, and the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resources.

[0027] In this application, the first target network element reports the first information to the first network element, and the first network element can obtain the media dynamic information of the first target network element. Furthermore, when the first network element determines that the third target network element cannot provide media resources to the first target network element, the first network element can determine the second target network element so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, and ultimately enables the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0028] Alternatively, when the first target network element provides media services to the terminal device, and the terminal device subscribes to or retrieves the media resources subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device from the third target network element, the resource status of the third target network element changes. The first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element, and the first information includes at least one of the following: storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources.

[0029] In this application, the first target network element reports the first information to the first network element, and the first network element can obtain the resource dynamic information of the third target network element. Furthermore, when the first network element determines that the third target network element cannot provide media resources to the first target network element, the first network element can determine the second target network element so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, and ultimately enables the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0030] In some embodiments, the third information is also used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0031] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element uses the same signaling (third message) to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection, and instructs the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0032] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending fourth information to a first target network element, the fourth information being used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from a second target network element.

[0033] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element uses two signaling instructions to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection, and the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0034] In some embodiments, the method further includes sending a fifth message to a second target network element, the fifth message being used to instruct the second target network element to provide advertising media resources to the first target network element.

[0035] In this embodiment of the application, before the first target network element subscribes to or retrieves media resources from the second target network element, the second target network element may send an advertising message to the first target network element. The advertising message is used to inform the first target network element of the media resources it owns.

[0036] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving the second information sent by each of a plurality of second network elements.

[0037] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can receive second information sent by each of the multiple second network elements. Based on the second information, the first network element can act as a control center to allocate and coordinate the resources of the entire network.

[0038] In other embodiments, the second information can also be stored in a shared database, meaning each second network element can send the second information to the shared database, and the first network element can retrieve the second information from the shared database. In this implementation, the first network element can directly establish a connection with each second network element and can also obtain the second information from each second network element.

[0039] In some embodiments, after sending the third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, the above method further includes: saving the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

[0040] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element and the second target network element establish a connection, the first target network element or the second target network element can inform the first network element that the connection has been established, and the first network element saves the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

[0041] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: updating the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the first target network element, and / or updating the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the second target network element.

[0042] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element obtains media resources from the second target network element, the resource status and media dynamic information of the first target network element and the second target network element will change. The first network element updates the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the first target network element, and / or updates the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the second target network element, so that the first network element can obtain the latest status of the updated first target network element and the second target network element in a timely manner.

[0043] In some embodiments, after sending the third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, the method further includes: sending a sixth information to the first target network element and / or the second target network element, the sixth information being used to instruct the first target network element and / or the second target network element to terminate the communication connection.

[0044] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element and the second target network element complete the distribution of media resources, the first network element can instruct either the first target network element or the second target network element to dismantle the connection, thereby reducing the load on the first target network element and the second target network element and avoiding waste of communication resources.

[0045] It should be understood that the first network element can instruct the first target network element or the second target network element to immediately disconnect after completing the distribution of media resources, or, if the first network element detects that there is no data transmission between the first target network element and the second target network element within a preset time period, it can instruct the first target network element or the second target network element to disconnect the connection.

[0046] Secondly, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving a media service request from a terminal device, and sending first information to a first network element based on the media service request; or, sending the first information to the first network element during the process of providing media services to the terminal device; receiving third information from the first network element, the third information being used to indicate the establishment of a connection between a first target network element and a second target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources, the third information being determined by the first network element based on the first information and the second information, the second information being used to indicate the basic state of each of the plurality of second network elements, the resource state of each of the plurality of second network elements, or the media resource information of each of the plurality of second network elements, the plurality of second network elements including the second target network element; and establishing a connection with the second target network element based on the third information.

[0047] For example, the communication method can be implemented by a first target network element, or by modules, units, processors, circuits, chips, or chip systems included in the first target network element. Optionally, the first target network element can be a media processing function network element or a user plane function network element.

[0048] The method provided in this application involves a first network element acting as a control center, controlling multiple second network elements. After a first target network element among the multiple second network elements receives a media service request from a terminal device, it sends first information to the first network element based on the media service request. This allows the first network element to obtain the media status of the first target network element. Alternatively, during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, it sends the first information to the first network element, enabling the first network element to obtain the resource status or changes in media resources of the first target network element during the process of providing media services to the terminal device. Then, it receives the first network element's... The third information sent by the first network element is used to instruct the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element. This third information is determined by the first network element based on the first information and the basic state, resource state, or media resource information of each of the multiple second target network elements. For example, the resource state of the second target network element may be better than that of the first target network element, or the second target network element may provide the first target network element with media content that the first target network element does not have. Therefore, using the second target network element to send media resources can maximize the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0049] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving fourth information from a first network element, the fourth information being used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from a second target network element.

[0050] In this embodiment of the application, the first target network element can send a subscription request or a retrieval request to the second target network element based on the fourth information in order to obtain media resources.

[0051] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: receiving advertising media resources from a second target network element.

[0052] In this embodiment of the application, before the first target network element sends a subscription request or a retrieval request to the second target network element, it receives an advertising message sent by the second target network element. The advertising message is used to instruct the second target network element to provide the media resource.

[0053] In some embodiments, after receiving the third information from the first network element, the above method further includes: reporting the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

[0054] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element and the second target network element establish a connection, the first target network element can inform the first network element that the connection has been established, so that the first network element knows that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection.

[0055] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: sending the changed resource status and / or the changed media dynamic information to the first network element.

[0056] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element obtains media resources from the second target network element, the resource status and media dynamic information of the first target network element will change. The first target network element reports the changed resource status and / or media dynamic information, so that the first network element can obtain the latest status of the updated first target network element in a timely manner.

[0057] In some embodiments, after receiving the fourth message from the first network element, the method further includes: receiving a sixth message from the first network element, the sixth message being used to instruct the first target network element to tear down the connection.

[0058] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element and the second target network element complete the distribution of media resources, the first target network element can dismantle the connection, thereby reducing the load on the first target network element and the second target network element and avoiding waste of communication resources.

[0059] It should be understood that the first target network element can be dismantled immediately after completing the distribution of media resources, or the first target network element can dismantle the connection after a preset time period.

[0060] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving third information from a first network element, the third information being used to indicate establishing a connection between a first target network element and a second target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources; establishing a connection with the first target network element based on the third information; and providing media resources to the first target network element based on the connection.

[0061] For example, the communication method can be implemented by a second target network element, or by modules, units, processors, circuits, chips, or chip systems included in the second target network element. Optionally, the second target network element can be a media processing function network element or a user plane function network element.

[0062] The method provided in this application involves the third information of the second target network element being sent by the first network element. The first network element acts as a control center, controlling multiple second network elements. The first network element uses the third information to instruct the second target network element and the first target network element to establish a connection, so that the second target network element provides media resources to the first target network element based on the connection. Furthermore, using the second target network element to send media resources can maximize the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0063] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from the first network element, the fifth information being used to instruct the second target network element to advertise the media resource to the first target network element.

[0064] In this embodiment of the application, before the second target network element receives the subscription request or retrieval request sent by the first target network element, it sends an advertising message to the first target network element. The advertising message is used to instruct the second target network element to provide the media resource.

[0065] In some embodiments, after receiving the third information from the first network element, the above method further includes: reporting the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

[0066] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element and the second target network element establish a connection, the second target network element can inform the first network element that a connection has been established, so that the first network element knows that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection.

[0067] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: sending the changed resource status and / or the changed media dynamic information to the first network element.

[0068] In this embodiment of the application, after the second target network element distributes media resources to the first target network element, the resource status and media dynamic information of the second target network element will change. The second target network element reports the changed resource status and / or media dynamic information, so that the first network element can obtain the latest status of the updated second target network element in a timely manner.

[0069] In some embodiments, after providing media resources to the first target network element based on the connection, the method further includes: receiving sixth information from the first network element, the sixth information being used to instruct the second target network element to tear down the connection.

[0070] In this embodiment, after the first target network element and the second target network element complete media resource distribution, the second target network element can disconnect the connection, thereby reducing the load on the first and second target network elements and avoiding waste of communication resources. It should be understood that the second target network element can disconnect the connection immediately after completing media resource distribution, or the second target network element can disconnect the connection after a preset time period.

[0071] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: determining congestion information of a network device, the congestion information being used to indicate the congestion state of the network device when providing communication services to a terminal device, the congestion information including an identifier of the network device; determining a first edge relay network element for providing media services to the terminal device based on the identifier of the network device and an identifier of the terminal device served by the network device, the first edge relay network element being any one of a plurality of edge relay network elements; and sending seventh information to the first edge relay network element, the seventh information being used to instruct the first edge relay network element to delay processing the media services provided to the terminal device.

[0072] For example, the communication method can be implemented by a first network element, or by modules, units, processors, circuits, chips, or chip systems included in the first network element. Optionally, the first network element can be a media control function network element or a session management function network element.

[0073] The method provided in this application allows a first network element to obtain congestion information of a network device and a terminal device connected to the network device. Then, based on the identifier of the network device and the identifier of the terminal device, it indexes a first edge relay network element that provides services to the terminal device. When congestion occurs in the process of the network device providing communication services to the terminal device, the first network element instructs the first edge relay network element to delay the processing of media services provided to the terminal device through a seventh piece of information, thereby reducing the load on the network device and alleviating the congestion of the network device.

[0074] In some embodiments, the congestion information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate the congestion state when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device.

[0075] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can receive first indication information, which indicates that congestion has occurred when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device.

[0076] In some other embodiments, the first indication information received by the first network element includes a first field, which is used to indicate that congestion has occurred when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device, and the first field also carries the identifier of the network device.

[0077] Alternatively, the first indication information received by the first network element includes a first field, which includes two values: one value indicates that congestion has occurred when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device, and the other value indicates the identifier of the network device.

[0078] It should be understood that the first edge relay network element provides services to multiple terminal devices. The terminal devices mentioned in this application embodiment are terminal devices served by the first edge relay network element and accessed through the congested network.

[0079] It should also be understood that the subscription or retrieval of the first edge relay network element upstream refers to the subscription or retrieval initiated by the first edge relay network element upstream in order to provide media resources to terminal devices accessing the congested network.

[0080] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a subscription message or retrieval message from the first edge relay network element, wherein the subscription message or retrieval message is used to instruct the terminal device to subscribe to or retrieve a first media resource, and the subscription message includes the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the first edge relay network element.

[0081] In this embodiment, after the first network element receives a message from the terminal device that it has subscribed to or retrieved from the first edge relay network element, the first network element can determine the correspondence between the first edge relay network element and the terminal device. After the first network element receives the congestion information of the network device, the first network element can determine the identifier of the terminal device accessing the network device. Then, the first network element indexes out the first edge relay network element based on the correspondence between the first edge relay network element and the terminal device, as well as the identifier of the terminal device.

[0082] In some embodiments, the media service provided to the terminal device by the delayed processing includes: reducing the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or reducing the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0083] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element alleviates network congestion by instructing the first edge relay to reduce the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or instructing the first edge relay to reduce the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource from upstream.

[0084] In some embodiments, the seventh information is further used to instruct the first edge relay element to adjust the first transmission timeout duration to a second transmission timeout duration, wherein the second transmission timeout duration is longer than the first transmission timeout duration. And / or, the seventh information is further used to instruct the first edge relay element to adjust the first buffer duration of the first media resource to a second buffer duration, wherein the second buffer duration is longer than the first buffer duration.

[0085] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element instructs the first edge relay network element to increase the transmission timeout duration and / or instructs the first edge relay network element to increase the media resource caching duration, so that when delaying the processing of media services provided to the terminal device, the user terminal will not fail to obtain resources, thereby ensuring the user experience as much as possible.

[0086] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the congestion of the network device is relieved, sending an eighth message to the first edge relay element, the eighth message being used to indicate normal processing of the media services provided to the terminal device.

[0087] In some embodiments, normal processing of media services provided to the terminal device includes: restoring the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or restoring the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0088] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can promptly meet the user's need to obtain media resources by instructing the first edge relay to restore the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or instructing the first edge relay to restore the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource from upstream.

[0089] In some embodiments, the eighth information is further used to instruct the first edge relay element to adjust the second transmission timeout duration to the first transmission timeout duration, and / or the eighth information is further used to instruct the first edge relay element to adjust the second buffer duration of the first media resource to the first buffer duration.

[0090] Fifthly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: receiving seventh information sent from a first network element, the seventh information being used to instruct the first edge relay network element to delay processing of media services provided to a terminal device, the first network element being used to manage a plurality of edge relay network elements, the plurality of first edge relay network elements including the first edge relay network element; and delaying the provision of media services to the terminal device according to the seventh information.

[0091] For example, the communication method can be implemented by a first edge relay network element, or by modules, units, processors, circuits, chips, or chip systems included in the first edge relay network element. Optionally, the first edge relay network element can be a media processing function network element or a user plane function network element.

[0092] The method provided in this application allows a first network element to instruct a first edge relay network element to delay processing of media services provided to a terminal device when congestion occurs during the process of providing communication services to a terminal device. This reduces the load on the network device and alleviates the congestion.

[0093] In some embodiments, delaying the provision of media services to a terminal device according to the seventh information includes: reducing the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, wherein the first media resource is subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device; and / or reducing the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0094] In this embodiment of the application, the first edge relay alleviates network congestion by reducing the priority of sending media resources to terminal devices and / or reducing the priority of subscribing to or retrieving media resources from upstream devices.

[0095] In some embodiments, the method further includes: adjusting a first transmission timeout duration to a second transmission timeout duration, wherein the second transmission timeout duration is longer than the first transmission timeout duration, and / or adjusting a first cache duration of the first media resource to a second cache duration, wherein the second cache duration is longer than the first cache duration.

[0096] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element instructs the first edge relay network element to increase the transmission timeout duration and / or instructs the first edge relay network element to increase the media resource caching duration, so that when delaying the processing of media services provided to the terminal device, the user terminal will not fail to obtain resources, thus ensuring the user experience as much as possible.

[0097] In some embodiments, after delaying the provision of media services to the terminal device based on the seventh information, the method further includes: receiving eighth information sent from the first network element, the eighth information indicating normal processing of the media services provided to the terminal device. Based on the eighth information, the media services provided to the terminal device are then processed normally.

[0098] In some embodiments, the step of normally processing the media service provided to the terminal device according to the eighth information includes: restoring the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or restoring the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0099] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can promptly meet the user's need to obtain media resources by instructing the first edge relay to restore the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or instructing the first edge relay to restore the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource from upstream.

[0100] In some embodiments, the method further includes: adjusting the second transmission timeout duration to the first transmission timeout duration, and / or adjusting the second caching duration of the first media resource to the first caching duration.

[0101] A sixth aspect provides a communication apparatus comprising: a module (e.g., including a processing module and a communication module) for performing the steps of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or a module for performing the steps of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or a module for performing the steps of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or a module for performing the steps of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or a module for performing the steps of the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0102] A seventh aspect provides a communication apparatus comprising at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to execute: the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to execute the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to execute the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to execute the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to execute the method of the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0103] In one possible implementation, the communication device may further include a memory storing a computer program. At least one processor executes the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof by executing the computer program stored in the memory, or executes the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or executes the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or executes the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or executes the method of the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the processor and the memory may be integrated together.

[0104] In one possible implementation, at least one processor executes the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect through logic circuits or processing circuits, or executes the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or executes the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, or executes the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, or executes the method of the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect.

[0105] In one possible implementation, the communication device may further include an interface circuit for performing specific signal transmission and reception. For example, the communication device may be a first entity, a component within the first entity (a chip, chip system, or processor), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal functions.

[0106] For example, the communication device may be a first network element, a first target network element, a second target network element, or a first edge relay network element; it may also be a component (chip, chip system, or processor) in the first network element, the first target network element, the second target network element, or the first edge relay network element; or it may be a logical node, logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first network element, the first target network element, the second target network element, or the first edge relay network element.

[0107] Eighthly, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program that, when executed by a processor, performs the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0108] Ninthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program that, when executed, performs the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or performs the method of the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0109] In a tenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a communication device on which the chip is installed to execute a method for performing the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect; or for performing the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect; or for performing the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect; or for performing the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect; or for performing the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect.

[0110] Eleventhly, a communication system is provided, comprising the first network element, the first target network element, and / or the second target network element described above. The first network element is used to manage the first target network element and the second target network element. The first network element is used to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The first target network element is used to execute the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The second target network element is used to execute the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0111] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, the communication system including the first network element and the first edge relay network element described above, the first network element managing the first edge relay network element, the first network element being used to perform the methods in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, and the first edge relay network element being used to perform the methods in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0112] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of UDP data encapsulation.

[0113] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the hierarchical structure of the QUIC media transport protocol.

[0114] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of media distribution in a CDN.

[0115] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the Mobile CDN architecture.

[0116] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication system architecture.

[0117] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system.

[0118] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0119] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0120] Figure 9 shows a schematic interaction diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0121] Figure 10 shows a schematic interaction diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0122] Figure 11 shows a schematic interaction diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0123] Figure 12 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0124] Figure 13 shows a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0125] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" in the embodiments of this application 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, where A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" refers to 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 plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. Additionally, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with essentially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or the order of execution, and that the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply that they are different.

[0127] In the various method embodiments of this application, the order of the sequence numbers does not imply the order of execution. The execution order should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0128] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, descriptions such as "under the circumstances," "if," "when," and "if..." can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, these descriptions all refer to the corresponding processing that will be carried out under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a specific time, nor do they require any judgment action during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0129] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of this application can be implemented independently in certain scenarios without relying on other features, such as the current solution on which they are based, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. Alternatively, they can be combined with other features as needed in certain scenarios. Correspondingly, the apparatus given in the embodiments of this application can also implement these features or functions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0130] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, and in the various implementation methods / methods / implementations within each embodiment, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments and between the various implementation methods / methods / implementations within each embodiment are consistent and can be mutually referenced. The technical features in different embodiments and the various implementation methods / methods / implementations within each embodiment can be combined according to their inherent logical relationships to form new embodiments, implementation methods, methods, or implementation approaches. The embodiments of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0131] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. Wireless communication between communication devices can include wireless communication between network devices and terminal devices, wireless communication between network devices, and wireless communication between terminal devices. In this application, "wireless communication" can also be simply referred to as "communication," and "communication" can also be described as "data transmission," "information transmission," or "transmission."

[0132] It should be understood that all node and message names in this application are merely names set for the convenience of description, and the names may be different in the actual network. This application should not be construed as limiting the names of various nodes and messages. On the contrary, any name that has the same or similar function as the node or message used in this application is regarded as the method or equivalent substitution of this application and is within the protection scope of this application. This will not be elaborated further below.

[0133] In this application, "sending information to...(terminal)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal, which may include sending information to the terminal directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from...(terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, which may include receiving information from the terminal directly or indirectly. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be interpreted similarly, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0134] It should also be understood that the step numbers in the embodiments of this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the order in which the steps occur.

[0135] To facilitate understanding of this application, some of the technical terms involved in this application are explained below.

[0136] MoQ: Media Over QUIC (MoQ) refers to the use of the Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) protocol to transmit media data, such as audio, video, and live streaming. QUIC is a transport layer protocol built on top of UDP, designed to solve some inherent problems of TCP, such as connection establishment latency and congestion control. QUIC is designed to provide low latency, high reliability, and security, making it suitable for real-time media transmission.

[0137] MoQ Namespaces: These divide accessed media resources into isolated groups. Resource names within the same namespace are unique. A typical form of identifying a namespace is an ordered N-tuple of bytes. A typical namespace identifier can be a namespace ID; for example, ("example.com", "meeting=123", "participant=100") and ("example.com", "meeting=123", "participant=200") are two MoQ namespaces.

[0138] A MoQ track is a group of objects, uniquely identified by the MoQ namespace and the track name (typically represented by a URL). It represents the minimum amount of content a subscriber can subscribe to. The unique identifier for a track within the namespace is called the Track ID. In short, the MoQ entity includes both the MoQ namespace and the entirety of the track.

[0139] MoQ Object: An addressable unit consisting of the smallest sequence of bytes processed by MoQ. It is the basic data element of MoQT and its content cannot be changed during MoQ transmission and distribution. The packet header relay is visible.

[0140] MoQ Groups: Composed of ordered sequences of objects, one or more MoQ groups constitute a Track. MoQ Subgroups are a more refined form of grouping mapping of MoQ groups.

[0141] Subscriber: Subscribes to and receives tracks. Subscribers interact with the relay by sending a SUBSCRIBE control message for the track they are interested in. The relay must ensure that subscribers have access to content related to the track.

[0142] Publisher: Processes and sends objects for the requested Track. It notifies subscribers who made the subscription request of the subscription result via the SUBSCRIBE_OK or SUBSCRIBE_ERROR control message. For successful subscriptions, the publisher maintains a list of subscribers for each Track. Relay publishing begins with the publisher sending an ANNOUNCE control message with the Track Namespace. Based on the congestion response, each new object belonging to a Track within the subscription scope is forwarded to each active subscriber.

[0143] Subscribe: Subscribers subscribe to the publisher to receive the latest MoQ objects for the MoQ theme.

[0144] Fetch: The subscriber retrieves the published MoQ objects of the MoQ theme from the publisher.

[0145] Server Name Indication (SNI): In the QUIC TLS ClientHello, the client indicates to the peer the name (usually a domain name) of the server it wants to connect to, enabling the server to retrieve the certificate based on that name.

[0146] Client: The party that initiates the MoQ transport session.

[0147] Server: The party that receives incoming transmission sessions.

[0148] MoQ Transport Session: Raw QUIC connection or WebTransport session.

[0149] Service IP address: The destination address of the service data packets sent by the UE, used to enable the network to identify the data packets at the IP layer when transmitting service data packets, not an address used for IP layer routing.

[0150] The aforementioned QUIC protocol defines a layer on top of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), introducing error handling, reliability, flow control, and built-in security (via TLS 1.3) to UDP. The first initial packet from the client contains all or the beginning of the client's first encrypted handshake message, which is the ClientHello for TLS. The server may need to parse the complete ClientHello (e.g., to access extensions such as Server Name Authentication (SNI) and Application Layer Protocol Negotiation (ALPN)) before deciding whether to accept the new incoming QUIC connection. However, the enhanced security of the QUIC protocol requires that the header of the first QUIC packet exchanged between the client and server be encrypted. Neither the server nor any intermediate node in the QUIC client-server session can obtain the business information accessed by the client without terminating the QUIC session.

[0151] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of UDP data encapsulation. As shown in Figure 1, UDP data includes a UDP datagram header and a UDP datagram payload. The UDP datagram payload includes the QUIC packet header and payload. The QUIC packet payload includes the QUIC frame header and payload. The QUIC frame payload includes the MoQ frame header and payload. Through this hierarchical encapsulation structure, MoQ can provide a more efficient media transmission mechanism on top of QUIC, while leveraging the low latency of UDP to ensure high-quality transmission of real-time media streams.

[0152] Because the MoQ protocol is designed so that its main protocol layer, MoQ Transport, can be based on a raw QUIC connection or a WebTransport session, and the WebTransport session is also built on top of a raw QUIC connection, for ease of description, the QUIC connection referred to in this application can be either a raw QUIC connection or a WebTransport session.

[0153] Figure 2 illustrates the hierarchical structure of the QUIC media transport protocol. As shown in Figure 2, Raw QUIC is the foundational layer of the QUIC protocol, providing low-latency and high-reliability transport services. WebTransport is a transport layer protocol based on QUIC, providing a higher level of abstraction for transporting data in web applications. Media over QUIC Transport is a publish / subscribe (pub / sub) protocol used to transmit binary messages, particularly media data. WARP Streaming Format is a specific streaming media format. Streaming Format B is another streaming media format. Streaming Format N represents more streaming media formats. Based on this hierarchical structure of the media transport protocol, from the bottom-level Raw QUIC to the higher-level WebTransport and Media over QUIC Transport, media data is ultimately mapped to MQQT objects through different streaming media formats (such as WARP Streaming Format), achieving efficient media transmission.

[0154] In media resource distribution technologies, content can be delivered from the origin server to the user terminal based on a content delivery network (CDN). It should be understood that a CDN is a distributed network service designed to cache and distribute content to the node closest to the user by deploying server nodes across multiple geographical locations globally, thereby improving content loading speed and availability. The main goals of a CDN are to reduce network latency, improve user experience, and alleviate the burden on the origin server.

[0155] Figure 3 illustrates a media distribution diagram of a CDN. As shown in Figure 3, mobile devices connect to the CDN via 5G RAN (Radio Access Network) and UPF; virtual reality (VR) / mixed reality (MR) devices connect to the CDN via other networks; personal computers connect to the CDN via FTTH (Fiber to the Home); and television devices connect to the CDN via FTTH. The CDN connects to the origin server or source site via the network. Terminal devices (such as mobile devices, VR / MR devices, PCs, and televisions) send content requests to CDN nodes. Based on the type and location of the requested content, the CDN nodes efficiently distribute the content to various terminal devices on behalf of the origin site.

[0156] As shown in Figure 3, after multiple terminal devices (such as mobile devices, VR / MR devices, PCs, and TVs) request media content from CDN nodes, the CDN provides media services to each terminal device through the communication network. However, the CDN consumes network resources multiple times when providing media services to multiple terminal devices, resulting in high interface bandwidth transmission costs. The CDN needs to traverse the entire network when distributing media resources through the communication network, so the latency reduction is limited. Furthermore, the CDN is equivalent to a relatively centralized server cluster. When faced with a sudden surge in massive business requests, a failure within the CDN can lead to media distribution failure.

[0157] In summary, when distributing media services based on CDN, the CDN is deployed behind the network, meaning it is built outside the network and independent of it. Therefore, it cannot leverage the network topology to extend further to the user side. The efficiency of media resource distribution and the reduction in latency are unrelated to the interface and location of the network gateway, thus the reduction in media resource distribution efficiency and latency is limited. Furthermore, the tree structure used in CDN-based media service distribution results in high bandwidth transmission costs for dedicated interfaces, making it impossible to optimize the distribution of common services. Based on a relatively centralized server cluster, it suffers from poor robustness when facing sudden surges in service requests.

[0158] The basic working process of CDN is as follows: (1) When a user clicks on a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) on a website page, after resolution by the local Domain Name System (DNS), the DNS system will eventually transfer the domain name rights to the Canonical Name Record. (1) The CDN's DNS server (CNAME) points to the CDN's dedicated DNS server; (2) The CDN's DNS server returns the CDN's global load balancer IP address to the user; (3) The user initiates a content URL access request to the CDN's global load balancer; (4) The CDN's global load balancer selects a regional load balancer for the user based on the user's IP address and the content URL requested by the user, and tells the user to initiate a request to this device; (5) The regional load balancer will select a suitable cache server to provide services for the user. After a series of analyses, the regional load balancer will return the IP address of a cache server to the global load balancer; (6) The global load balancer will return the IP address of this cache server to the user; (7) The user sends a request to this cache server. The cache server responds to the request and the upper-level regional load balancer returns the data required by the user to the global load balancer. If the data required by the user is not found, the process of (5)(6)(7) is repeated until it is found.

[0159] In another related technology, Mobile CDN is a CDN specifically optimized for mobile devices and the mobile internet. Essentially, Mobile CDN offloads some of the caching functionality of a traditional CDN to nodes or transports on the mobile network to reduce latency and transmission costs. In terms of management and business usage, it is not fundamentally different from a traditional CDN. Through a series of optimization measures, Mobile CDN ensures that mobile users can obtain a fast, stable, and high-quality internet experience.

[0160] Figure 4 illustrates the architecture of a Mobile CDN. As shown in Figure 4, in this system architecture, UE represents the terminal device, typically a mobile device such as a mobile phone or tablet. It is the main entry point for users to interact with the network.

[0161] eNB (eNodeB): An eNodeB is a base station in an LTE network, responsible for transmitting and receiving wireless signals and managing communication with the UE. UGW (User Gateway): A User Gateway that manages traffic and enforces policies, and may also act as a data aggregation point for users. Internet GW (Gateway): An Internet Gateway that connects to the public internet, allowing data from the MCDN to flow to external networks. MCDN Edge: An MCDN edge node, which may be a caching server or other type of edge computing device placed close to users, designed to reduce latency and improve content delivery efficiency. MCDN Core: The MCDN core, which may contain more servers and infrastructure, is used to coordinate the operation of the entire network, including content management and distribution. MCDN Internet: This represents the connection between the MCDN and the internet, which may involve cooperation with other CDN service providers or direct access to the internet backbone.

[0162] In Mobile CDN, the CDN actually decomposes the cache and deploys it on the network. However, it is still a separate system from the network. It cannot be deeply integrated with network characteristics (network topology, mobility, user sessions, QoS) and has poor scalability. Mobile CDN is still based on traditional Internet protocols, resulting in low transmission and distribution efficiency. The business model of Mobile CDN is still client-server, which cannot support emerging media distribution methods and cannot optimize media distribution in the form of video conferencing.

[0163] The IETF MoQ (Media over QUIC) working group is developing a simple, low-latency media delivery solution for media acquisition and distribution. This solution is suitable for use cases including live streaming, gaming, and media conferencing, and is highly scalable. The solution will be implemented in both browser and non-browser endpoints. The focus of this work is establishing protocol mechanisms for media publishing, as well as methods for identifying and receiving media.

[0164] The media publishing protocol will allow the transmission of media including audio, video, and timing metadata (such as closed captions and cue points). A common protocol for publishing media for reception and distribution will support: one or more media formats; an interoperable method for indicating the media being transmitted and its format; a rate-adaptive strategy based on changes in codec rate, selected media encoding / quality, or other mechanisms; and a cache-friendly media mechanism. Mechanisms for naming and receiving media will be enabled: requesting the server to begin transmitting media associated with a given point in the stream; selecting the desired encoding (language, bitrate, etc.).

[0165] Media will be mapped to the underlying QUIC mechanism (QUIC streams and / or QUIC datagrams) and can be used via raw QUIC or WebTransport. The proposed solution will provide scalability to support different media formats and will support multiple media types and encodings. The working group will define MoQ so that media delivery protocols can leverage coordination relays, caching, or replication points to improve delivery performance.

[0166] This solution will provide clients with a simple method to authenticate with relays or servers transmitting or receiving media. The media will be encrypted at the transport layer using the standard QUIC mechanism. In some use cases, the media content may be end-to-end encrypted, where the "end-to-end" key is available to the media source and consumer, but not to the relay. Even if the media content is end-to-end encrypted, the relay can still access the necessary metadata (such as timestamps), make media forwarding decisions (such as dropping or delaying in case of congestion), etc. Such media metadata will be subject to end-to-end authentication and integrity protection. The mechanism for establishing keys for these end-to-end protections is beyond the scope of this group.

[0167] The core protocol, Media over QUIC Transport (MoQT), is a media transport protocol designed to run on both QUIC and WebTransport, both offering similar functionality. MoQT allows media producers to publish data and consume it by subscribing to multiple endpoints. It supports intermediate content delivery networks and is designed for large-scale, low-latency distribution. MoQT is a protocol optimized for QUIC, used directly on top of QUIC or via WebTransport for media distribution. MoQT uses a publish / subscribe workflow where media producers publish data in response to subscription requests from multiple endpoints. MoQT supports a variety of use cases with varying resilience and latency requirements without compromising scalability and cost-effectiveness associated with content network delivery networks. MoQT is a general-purpose protocol designed to work with multiple MoQ streaming formats. These MoQ streaming formats define how content is encoded, packaged, and mapped to MoQT objects, as well as strategies for discovery and subscription.

[0168] MoQT servers accessible via WebTransport can be identified using an HTTPS URI. A MoQT session can be established by sending an extended CONNECT request to the host along with the path indicated by the URI. MoQT servers accessible via QUIC can be identified using a URI containing "moq". The "moq" URI scheme is defined as follows, using the definition in [RFC3986]: moq-URI = "moq"": / / "authority path-abempty["?"query]. Clients can establish a connection to a MoQ server identified by a given authority URI by setting up a QUIC connection with the host and port identified by the URI portion.

[0169] However, MoQ is a distributed architecture, and information is controlled by distributed MoQ distribution nodes, which makes it impossible to balance and optimize network resources, and thus cannot achieve efficient content distribution when distributing media resources.

[0170] In conclusion, how to efficiently distribute media content and improve resource utilization is a problem that needs attention.

[0171] In view of this, this application provides a communication method that combines MoQ technology with mobile network architecture. It utilizes the distributed architecture of MoQ technology and interconnects multiple MoQ distribution nodes. Based on the centralized control strategy of the mobile network architecture, it centrally controls multiple MoQ distribution nodes, thereby achieving overall network resource balancing and optimization. Specifically, this method includes introducing a centralized control network element (MCF) and multiple processing network elements (MPFs). The MCF collects the basic state, state information, and media dynamic information of multiple MPFs. Based on changes in MPF ​​state information or media dynamic information, it triggers the MCF to allocate the optimal media resource distributor among the multiple MPFs for the MPF that has undergone the aforementioned changes.

[0172] To support the implementation of MoQ technology, a possible communication system architecture is shown in Figure 5. The network architecture shown in Figure 5 may include terminal devices, radio access network (RAN) devices, and core network elements.

[0173] The terminal device in this application embodiment can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless core network element, user agent, user device, or terminal device. The terminal device in this application embodiment can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, and can be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as handheld devices with wireless connectivity, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. The terminal devices in the embodiments of this application can be mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc. Optionally, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station. For example, the terminal device can act as a dispatching entity, providing sidelink signals between terminal devices in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or device-to-device (D2D) communications. For example, cellular phones and cars communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cellular phones and smart home devices communicate without relaying communication signals through base stations.

[0174] Access network equipment refers to devices that terminals access wirelessly within this network architecture. They are primarily responsible for air interface-side radio resource management, Quality of Service (QoS) management, data compression, and encryption. Access network equipment can also be called radio access network (RAN) equipment, such as base stations. A base station can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names including: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master eNB (MeNB), secondary eNB (SeNB), multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, micro base station, relay node, donor node, or similar entities, or combinations thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. A base station can also be a mobile switching center, a device that performs base station functions in D2D, V2X, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, or a device that performs base station functions in future communication systems. Base stations can support networks using the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the access network equipment.

[0175] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move depending on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a device to communicate with another base station.

[0176] In some deployments, the access network device in this application embodiment may refer to a CU or a DU, or the access network device may include both a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0177] Core network elements may include user plane function (UPF) elements, access and mobility management function (AMF) elements, session management function (SMF) elements, policy control function (PCF) elements, network slice selection function (NSSF) elements, authentication server function (AUSF) elements, unified data management (UDM) elements, network exposure function (NEF) elements, NRF elements, network slice-specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF) elements, network slice admission control function (NSACF) elements, edge application server discovery function (EASDF) elements, service communication proxy (SCP) elements, charging function (CHF) elements, and location management function (LMF) elements. Among them, the UPF network element is mainly responsible for the transmission of user data, while other network elements can be called control plane function network elements, which are mainly responsible for authentication, authorization, registration management, session management, mobility management and policy control, so as to ensure reliable and stable transmission of user data.

[0178] UPF network elements can be used to forward and receive data from terminals. For example, a UPF network element can receive service data from the data network and transmit it to the terminal through access network equipment; a UPF network element can also receive user data from the terminal through access network equipment and forward it to the data network. The transmission resources allocated and scheduled by the UPF network element for the terminal are managed and controlled by the SMF network element. The bearer between the terminal and the UPF network element can include: the user plane connection between the UPF network element and the access network equipment, and the establishment of a channel between the access network equipment and the terminal. The user plane connection is where a QoS flow (transmission flow) for data transmission can be established between the UPF network element and the access network equipment.

[0179] AMF network elements can be used to manage terminal access to the core network, such as terminal location updates, network registration, access control, terminal mobility management, and terminal attachment and detachment. When providing services for a terminal's session, AMF network elements can also provide control plane storage resources for that session to store session identifiers and the associated SMF network element identifiers.

[0180] SMF network elements can be used to select user plane network elements for terminals, redirect user plane network elements for terminals, assign Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to terminals, establish bearers (also known as sessions) between terminals and UPF network elements, modify and release sessions, and perform QoS control.

[0181] PCF network elements are used to provide policies to AMF and SMF network elements, such as QoS policies and slice selection policies.

[0182] The NSSF network element is used for network slice selection and supports the following functions: selecting the set of network slice instance examples to serve the terminal device; determining the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI), and, when necessary, determining the mapping to the subscribed single-network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI); determining the configured NSSAI, and, when necessary, determining the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI; determining the AMF set that may be used to query the terminal device, or determining a list of candidate AMF network elements based on the configuration.

[0183] The AUSF network element is used to receive requests from the AMF network element to authenticate the terminal. It requests a key from the UDM network element and then forwards the issued key to the AMF network element for authentication processing.

[0184] UDM network elements include functions such as generating and storing user subscription data and managing authentication data, and support interaction with external third-party servers.

[0185] NEF network elements are used for capability exposure, meaning that network capabilities can be exported to external networks based on NEF network elements. External untrusted applications can access core network data through NEF network elements to ensure network security. NEF network elements can provide functions such as external application QoS capability exposure, event subscription, and application function (AF) network element request distribution.

[0186] NRF network elements are used for core network element registration, management, and status detection, thereby achieving automated management of core network elements. When a core network element starts up, it must register with the NRF network element before it can provide services. Registration information may include, for example, the core network element's type, address, and service list.

[0187] CHF network elements can be used to generate call detail records (CDRs) and provide the quotas needed for online billing to SMF network elements.

[0188] LMF network elements can include the following functions: supporting the location determination of terminal devices; obtaining downlink location measurement or location estimation from terminal devices; obtaining uplink location measurement; and obtaining auxiliary data related to non-terminal devices.

[0189] The network architecture shown in Figure 5 can also include AF network elements and data network (DN) network elements.

[0190] AF network elements can be used to interact with 3GPP core network elements to support the routing of application-affected data, access network exposure functions, and interact with PCF network elements for policy control, etc.

[0191] DN network elements can provide data services to users for networks such as IP Multimedia Service (IMS) networks and the Internet. A DN network element can contain various application servers (AS) that provide different application services, such as carrier services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AS can implement the functions of the AF network element.

[0192] The 5G systems defined by 3GPP, implemented and deployed by the industry, and the 5G-A (5.5G, a broader concept encompassed within the 5G system) systems currently being defined by 3GPP, are essentially wireless communication conduits for most applications. Aside from interacting with terminals via air interface and NAS to establish communication channels and transmit data, the network only provides limited services such as IMS. While it can manage and control these services on the terminal, it cannot manage or control the terminal operating system or other application layer capabilities, thus limiting the provision of richer services. Other applications are implemented by third parties installing software on the terminal and communicating with systems outside the network via wireless communication channels. This situation restricts mobile communication networks, despite their vast topologies, agile communication state awareness, and computing infrastructure, from providing users with a better service experience and lower-cost, more efficient service applications.

[0193] Currently, driven by ITU-R, 3GPP is planning to develop standards for 6G (sixth generation) mobile communication systems. In addition to traditional communication channels, the network may establish higher-level collaboration with terminals. 6G networks will also possess richer capabilities, such as radar-like sensing, AI, on-network computing, and efficient data processing, storage, transmission, and sharing. Therefore, the architecture of 6G networks may undergo certain changes, and network functions may be recombined, integrated, or newly added. This invention is based on 5G system descriptions and uses 5G network function and interface names, but it is still applicable to the corresponding newly defined 6G network functions and interfaces.

[0194] As mentioned earlier, to support the implementation of MoQ technology, the network architecture shown in Figure 5 can also include MoQ service control function network elements and MoQ service processing function network elements. The MoQ service control function network element can control the routing and forwarding of the MoQ service processing function network element, QUIC / MoQ layer processing, and management of the transmission tunnel between MPFs based on the media and user information sent by the media source and information within the network, thereby achieving efficient publishing and distribution of MoQ services within the network. The MoQ service processing function network element is used to forward media content between media content producers and media subscribers.

[0195] It should be understood that the above-mentioned network elements in the core network can also be referred to as functional entities, and this application does not limit this. For example, a UPF network element can also be referred to as a UPF entity, and an AMF network element can also be referred to as an AMF entity, etc.

[0196] It should also be understood that in some embodiments, the functional entity or network element can be simply referred to as xx. For example, a UPF entity (or UPF network element) can be simply referred to as UPF, and an AMF entity (or AMF network element) can be simply referred to as AMF. For ease of description, the xx (such as UPF, AMF, etc.) mentioned in the embodiments of this application can refer to the xx entity or xx network element, which will not be repeated hereafter.

[0197] The network elements in Figure 5 can be network components in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions implemented on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). It should be noted that the embodiments of this application are not limited to the system architecture described above and can be applied to other future communication system architectures. Furthermore, the names of the various network elements used in the embodiments of this application may remain functionally the same in future communication systems, but their names may change.

[0198] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application is first described with reference to FIG6. As shown in FIG6, the communication system includes a terminal device, a network device, multiple second network elements, and a control plane including AMF network elements, SMF network elements, PCF network elements, a first network element, NEF network elements, and EASDF network elements, etc.

[0199] The first network element is used to control multiple network elements, and the multiple second network elements include the first target network element, the second target network element, and the third target network element, etc.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first network element may be an SMF network element, and the second network element may be a UPF network element.

[0201] One possible interpretation is that the SMF network element can execute the method of the first network element mentioned in this application, and the UPF network element can execute the method of the second network element provided in this application.

[0202] In other embodiments, the first network element may be an MPF ​​network element, and the second network element may be an MCF network element.

[0203] Among them, the MPF network element can be a trunk network element deployed on the UPF, or the MPF can also be a trunk network element deployed on a network device.

[0204] One possible interpretation is that the MPF network element after deploying a relay network element on the UPF can execute the method of the second network element mentioned in this application, or the MPF network element deployed with a relay network element on the network device can execute the method of the second network element provided in this application.

[0205] It should be understood that the relay element refers to an entity that forwards media content between media source providers and media requesters, and may cache or forward the media content.

[0206] When multiple subscribers request the same media content, relay elements can aggregate authorized subscriptions for a given topic. Relay elements can forward subscription requests and receive published media content for caching, which can then be shared among subscribers.

[0207] It should be noted that the media content and media resources mentioned in this application are interchangeable, and unless otherwise specified, media content and media resources have the same meaning.

[0208] Furthermore, the second network element, composed of relay network elements and UPF, can generally be divided into edge relay network elements, non-edge relay network elements, or transparent transmission network elements.

[0209] Among them, the edge relay network element refers to the entity that is closest to the terminal device and can provide the first-hop relay service for the terminal device. That is, the edge relay network element can receive the terminal device to establish a MoQ connection.

[0210] Non-edge relay network elements refer to entities that do not provide first-hop relay services for terminal devices. A non-edge relay can be the last entity that an uplink data packet leaves the operator's network and the first entity that a downlink data packet enters the operator's network, or it can be a network element located in the middle of the network that provides relay services for other non-edge relays.

[0211] A transparent transmission network element refers to a network element that does not process user MoQ messages in any way, but transmits uplink and downlink data packets. In other words, the transparent transmission network element has the same function as the existing UPF network element, and only forwards data packets.

[0212] It should be understood that edge trunk network elements and non-edge trunk network elements refer to the MoQ service of the serving terminal equipment. The edge trunk network element of one terminal equipment can be the non-edge trunk network element of another terminal equipment.

[0213] The terminal device in Figure 6 refers to the final subscriber of the media resources, and the MoQ client application can be installed and run on this terminal device.

[0214] In some embodiments, a first network element can acquire the basic status, resource status, and media dynamic information of multiple second network elements. When a terminal device initiates a media service request to a first target network element, or when the first target network element provides media services to the terminal device and receives first information from the first target network element, the first network element determines a second target network element from among the multiple second network elements and uses the second target network element to send media resources to the first target network element for efficient publishing and distribution within the network. For example, the resource status of the second target network element may be superior to that of the first target network element, or the second target network element may provide the first target network element with media content that the first target network element does not have. Therefore, using the second target network element to send media resources can maximize the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0215] Therefore, the communication system shown in Figure 6 can improve the efficiency of media resource distribution.

[0216] In other embodiments, in the system shown in FIG6, the first network element can manage multiple edge relay network elements. For example, in the example of FIG6, the first target network element is the edge relay network element of the terminal device.

[0217] Furthermore, when network equipment serving terminal devices becomes congested, the first network element can control the first target network element to delay the processing of media services provided to the terminal devices.

[0218] Furthermore, when the network congestion is relieved, the first network element can control the first target network element to normally process the media services provided to the terminal device.

[0219] Therefore, the communication system shown in Figure 6 can also alleviate network device congestion.

[0220] It should be understood that Figure 6 is a simplified schematic diagram for ease of understanding, and the communication system may also include other network devices or other terminal devices.

[0221] It should also be understood that Figure 6 is only one application scenario of the present application embodiment, and the present application does not specifically limit the scenario in which the method is applied.

[0222] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below.

[0223] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 7 may, for example, involve interaction between a first network element and multiple second network elements.

[0224] S711, The terminal device sends a media service request to the first target network element.

[0225] S712, the first target network element provides media services to the terminal equipment.

[0226] In some embodiments, when the terminal device sends a media service request to the first target network element based on step S711, or when the first target network element provides media services to the terminal device based on step S712, the media resources of the first target network element, the resource status of the third target network element that provides media resources to the first target network element, or the resource status of the first target network element may change.

[0227] It should be noted that either step S711 or step S712 is an optional step.

[0228] Optionally, the terminal device sending a media service request to the first target network element can be understood as the terminal device sending a subscription message to the first target network element, which is used to subscribe to media resources, or the terminal device sending a retrieval message to the first target network element, which is used to retrieve media resources.

[0229] Furthermore, the provision of media services by the first target network element to the terminal device can be understood as the first target network element distributing the media resources subscribed to or extracted by the terminal device to the terminal device.

[0230] It can also be understood that the upstream of the first target network element (e.g., the third target network element, not shown in Figure 7) distributes media resources to the first target network element, and these media resources are subscribed to or extracted by the terminal device.

[0231] It can also be understood as the first target network element subscribing to or retrieving media resources from the third target network element, and these media resources are also subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device.

[0232] S713, The first target network element sends the first information to the first network element.

[0233] In some embodiments, when a terminal device sends a media service request to a first target network element, or when a first target network element provides a media service to a terminal device, the first target network element sends first information to the first network element, and correspondingly, the first network element receives the first information from the first target network element.

[0234] Optionally, when the terminal device subscribes to media resources from the first target network element, or when the terminal device retrieves media resources from the first target network element, the first information is used to indicate the subscribed or retrieved media resources, and the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resources.

[0235] In this embodiment of the application, the first target network element can obtain the media dynamic information of the first target network element by reporting the first information to the first network element.

[0236] Furthermore, based on this first information, the first network element can determine whether the first target network element can provide media resources to the terminal device.

[0237] When the first target network element cannot provide media resources to the terminal device, the first network element determines a second target network element among multiple second network elements that can provide the media resources, so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, ultimately enabling the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0238] Optionally, when the first target network element subscribes to or retrieves content from the third target network element, the first information is used to indicate the subscribed or retrieved media resources, and the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resources.

[0239] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can determine whether the third target network element can provide media resources to the first target network element based on the first information. When the third target network element cannot provide media resources to the first target network element, the first network element can determine the second target network element so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, and ultimately enables the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0240] Optionally, when the first target network element is sending media resources to the terminal device, and the media resources of the first target network element change, the first information is used to indicate the media resource information of the first target network element. The first information includes the identifier of the content of the media resources received or deleted by the first target network element.

[0241] In the implementation of this application, the first target network element can obtain the media dynamic information of the first target network element by reporting the first information to the first network element.

[0242] Optionally, the first network element can store the media resources received by the first target network element. When other second network elements need the media information, the first network element can control the first target network element to distribute the media resources to other second network elements.

[0243] Furthermore, when the first network element determines that the first target network element cannot provide media resources to the terminal device, the first network element can determine the second target network element so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, ultimately enabling the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0244] It should be understood that in this example, the first target network element cannot provide media resources to the terminal device, possibly because the terminal device's subscription permission to the first target network element has expired.

[0245] Optionally, when the first target network element provides media services to the terminal device, and the terminal device subscribes to or retrieves the media resources subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device from the third target network element, the resource status of the third target network element changes. The first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element, and the first information includes at least one of the following: storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources.

[0246] In the implementation of this application, the first target network element can obtain the resource dynamic information of the third target network element by reporting the first information to the first network element.

[0247] Furthermore, when the first network element determines that the third target network element cannot provide media resources to the first target network element, the first network element can determine the second target network element so that the second target network element distributes the media resources to the first target network element, ultimately enabling the first target network element to provide media services to the terminal device.

[0248] In some other embodiments of this application, the first information may also be reported by the third target network element to the first network element.

[0249] It should be understood that in this example, the inability of the third target network element to provide media resources to the first target network element may be due to insufficient storage, computing, or communication resources of the third target network element.

[0250] S714. The first network element determines the second target network element based on the first information and the second information. The second information is used to indicate the basic status of each second network element, the resource status of each second network element, and / or the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0251] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can receive second information sent by each of the multiple second network elements. Based on the second information, the first network element can act as a control center to allocate and coordinate the resources of the entire network.

[0252] In other embodiments, the second information can also be stored in a shared database, meaning each second network element can send the second information to the shared database, and the first network element can retrieve the second information from the shared database. In this implementation, the first network element can directly establish a connection with each second network element and can also obtain the second information from each second network element.

[0253] In some embodiments, the resource status of each second network element in the second information includes at least one of the following: the storage resource status of each second network element, the computing resource status of each second network element, or the communication resource status of each second network element.

[0254] It should be understood that the storage resource status can be used to indicate the storage capacity of the second network element, the computing resource status can be used to indicate the computing capacity of the second network element, and the communication resource status can be used to indicate the transmission capacity of the second network element.

[0255] Furthermore, based on the resource status of the second network element, it can be determined whether the second network element has sufficient storage, computing, and communication capabilities to transmit media resources.

[0256] It should also be understood that the resource status may include other parameters representing the resource status of the second network element. The above resource status is just an example and does not constitute a limitation on the specific content of the resource status of the second network element.

[0257] Optionally, the basic status of each second network element in the second information includes at least one of the following: the signaling transmission channel between the first network element and each second network element, the media resource transmission channel between each second network element, the location of each second network element, the IP address of each second network element, the storage resources of each second network element, the computing resources of each second network element, or the communication resources of each second network element.

[0258] It should be understood that this basic state is used to represent the connection status, location information, and overall resource status of the second network element.

[0259] Specifically, the signaling transmission channel between the first network element and each second network element indicates that after the first network element establishes a connection with multiple second network elements, the first network element controls the second network elements respectively based on this signaling transmission channel. The media resource transmission channel between each second network element indicates that after the second network elements establish a connection under the management of the first network element, the media resource transmission channel between the second network elements is established. The IP address of each second network element is used by the first network element to control multiple second network elements to establish connections based on this IP address. The location of each second network element is used by the first network element to reasonably determine the second target network element based on the location of the second network element, so as to maximize the efficiency of media content transmission. The storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources of each second network element can be understood as the total storage resources, total computing resources, and total communication resources of each second network element. Based on the total resource status of each second network element and the current resource status reported by the second network element, the first network element can determine the remaining available resource status.

[0260] It should also be understood that the basic state may include other information representing the basic state of the second network element. The above basic states are just examples and do not constitute a limitation on the specific content of the basic state of the second network element.

[0261] In some embodiments, the second information may further include the role of a second network element, which is determined by the first network element based on the media service request of the terminal device and the location of the second network element.

[0262] In other embodiments, the second information may also include a media source that can be provided by the second network element. The media source can be understood as the second network element not caching the media content subscribed to by the terminal device. However, the second network element can subscribe to or extract media content from upstream nodes and provide the media content to the terminal device at the granularity of the URL or domain name of the media source, the namespace identifier of the media, or the track identifier of the media.

[0263] In some examples, the first network element determines the second target network element based on the first information and the second information, which can be implemented in the following ways.

[0264] For example, when the first information is used to indicate the media resources to be subscribed to or retrieved, the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource. The first network element determines the second target network element based on the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource and the media dynamic information of each second network element in the second information.

[0265] It should be understood that when the first target network element reports the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource to the first network element, the first network element, as the management center, determines the second target network element that can provide the media resource. In this example, the second target network element can act as a media content provider and distribute the media resource to the first target network element.

[0266] Optionally, the first network element may also determine the second target network element based on the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource, the resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0267] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the resource status of each second network element and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, the second target network element may be the one with the better resource status among the multiple second network elements, thereby making the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0268] It should also be understood that "better resource status" can be understood as at least one of better storage resource status, better computing resource status, and better communication resource status, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0269] Optionally, the first network element may also determine the second target network element based on the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource, the basic status of each second network element, the resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element in the second information.

[0270] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the basic state of each second network element, the resource state of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, a second network element that is closer to the terminal device or has a better resource state can make the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0271] For example, the first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element. The first information includes at least one of the following: storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources. The first network element can determine the second target network element based on the resource information of the third target network element and the storage resource status of each second network element in the second information, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0272] It should be understood that when a third target network element distributes media resources to a first target network element, or when a third target network element is about to distribute media resources to a first target network element, the resource status of the third target network element changes. The first network element, as a management or control center, determines a second target network element among multiple second network elements. The storage status and media dynamic information of the second target network element can meet the distribution of media resources to the first target network element.

[0273] Specifically, assuming a third target network element distributes media content to a first target network element, or is about to distribute media content to the first target network element, when the storage resources of the third target network element decrease, the space for storing the media content in the third target network element decreases, or the third target network element has no space to store the media content, the first target network element may not receive the media content distributed by the third target network element. Therefore, the first network element determines a second target network element among multiple second network elements. This second target network element has sufficient storage resources to subscribe to or retrieve the media content that the first target network element wants to subscribe to or retrieve. When the location of the second target network element is relatively close to the location of the first target network element and has sufficient storage space, the second target network element sends the media resource to the first target network element.

[0274] When the resource status refers to the computing resource status, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on this computing resource status, the computing resource status of each second network element in the second information, and the media dynamic information of each second network element. Assuming a third target network element is distributing media content to or about to distribute media content to the first target network element, when the computing resources of the third target network element decrease, the speed at which the first target network element distributes media content may decrease, or the distribution of media content to the first target network element may fail. Therefore, the first network element determines the second target network element from among multiple second network elements. This second target network element has sufficient computing resources and includes the media content that the first target network element wants to subscribe to or retrieve. In this example, the second target network element can act as a media content provider, distributing media content to the first target network element.

[0275] When the resource status refers to the communication resource status, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the communication resource status of the first network element and the media dynamic information of each second network element in the second information. Assuming a third target network element is distributing media content to or about to distribute media content to the first target network element, when the communication resources of the third target network element decrease, the third target network element may only distribute part of the media content to the first target network element, or the distribution of media content to the first target network element may fail. In this case, the first network element determines the second target network element from among multiple second network elements, ensuring that the second target network element has sufficient communication resources and contains media content subscribed to or retrieved by the first target network element. In this embodiment, the second target network element can act as a media content provider, distributing media content to the first target network element.

[0276] Optionally, the first network element may also determine the second target network element based on the resource information of the third target network element, the basic status of each second network element in the second information, the storage resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0277] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the basic state of each second network element, the resource state of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, a second network element that is closer to the terminal device or has a better resource state can make the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0278] For example, when a first target network element is sending media resources to a terminal device, and the media resources of the first target network element change, the first information is used to indicate the media resource information of the first target network element. The first information includes the content of the media resources received or deleted by the first target network element. The first network element stores the media resources received by the first target network element, or the first network element determines the second target network element based on the deleted media resources.

[0279] It should be understood that when the first target network element reports a deleted media resource to the first network element (for example, the first target network element's subscription permission for the media resource has expired), the first network element, as the management center, determines the second target network element that can provide the media resource (for example, the second target network element has the permission for the media resource).

[0280] Optionally, the first network element can also determine the second target network element based on the identifier of the deleted media resource, the resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0281] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the resource status of each second network element and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, the second target network element may be the one with the better resource status among the multiple second network elements, thereby making the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0282] It should also be understood that "better resource status" can be understood as at least one of better storage resource status, better computing resource status, and better communication resource status, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0283] Optionally, the first network element can also determine the second target network element based on the identifier of the deleted media resource, the basic status of each second network element in the second information, the resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0284] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the basic state of each second network element, the resource state of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, a second network element that is closer to the terminal device or has a better resource state can make the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0285] S715. The first network element sends third information to the first target network element. The third information is used to instruct the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element. The connection is used to acquire media resources.

[0286] In this embodiment of the application, after the first network element determines the second target network element that can provide media resources to the terminal device, the first network element can send third information to the first target network element. The third information is used to instruct the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, and the connection is used to obtain media resources.

[0287] In some embodiments, the third information is also used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0288] It is evident that the first network element can use the same signaling (third message) to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection, and instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0289] In this implementation, signaling overhead can be reduced by using the same signaling to send instructions for establishing a connection and acquiring media resources.

[0290] In other embodiments, the first network element may also send a fourth message to the first target network element, which instructs the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0291] It can be seen that the first network element uses two signaling instructions to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection, and the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0292] In this implementation, two signaling instructions are used to indicate different timing sequences, which allows for more flexible control of the first target network element.

[0293] In some other embodiments of this application, the first network element may also send third information to the second target network element, which is used to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection (not shown in FIG7).

[0294] Furthermore, this third information can also be used to instruct the second target network element to provide media resources to the first target network element.

[0295] It is evident that the first network element can use the same signaling (third message) to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection, and instruct the second target network element to provide media resources to the first target network element.

[0296] In this implementation, signaling overhead can be reduced by using the same signaling to send instructions for establishing a connection and providing media resources.

[0297] In other embodiments, the first network element may also send a fourth message to the second target network element, which instructs the second target network element to provide media resources to the first target network element.

[0298] It can be seen that the first network element uses two signaling instructions to instruct the first target network element and the second target network element to establish a connection, and the second target network element to obtain media resources from the first target network element.

[0299] In this implementation, two signaling instructions are used to indicate different timing sequences, which allows for more flexible control of the second target network element.

[0300] S716. The first target network element establishes a connection with the second target network element based on the third information.

[0301] Correspondingly, after receiving the third information sent by the first target network element, the first target network element establishes a connection with the second target network element.

[0302] In the embodiments of this application, the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element means that the first target network element and the second target network element establish a connection at the underlying tunneling protocol layer, a transport layer layer, and a media session layer layer.

[0303] In some embodiments, the underlying tunneling protocol connection can be based on protocols such as GPRS transport protocol (GPT), IPsec, GRE, PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol), PPPoE (Point-to-Point Tunneling over Ethernet), Anything In Anything (AYIYA, e.g., IPv6 over UDP over IPv4, IPv4 over IPv6, IPv6 over TCP IPv4), etc.

[0304] Furthermore, transport layer connections can be based on the QUIC protocol, the transport control protocol (TCP), the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP), the Real-Time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP), and so on.

[0305] Furthermore, the media session layer connection can be a MoQ session, a (hypertext transfer protocol, HTTP) session, or a (session initiation protocol, SIP) session, etc., which are signaling sessions used for media access and transmission distribution.

[0306] In one possible implementation, the third information includes the GTP-U address of the second target network element, the tunnel identifier, and the IP address of the MoQ service of the second target network element, so that the first target network element actively establishes a connection with the second target network element based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier of the second target network element.

[0307] In some other embodiments of this application, after receiving the third message sent by the first network element, the second target network element establishes a connection with the first target network element.

[0308] In one possible implementation, the third information includes the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier of the first target network element, and the IP address of the MoQ service of the second target network element, so that the second target network element can actively establish a connection with the first target network element based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier of the first target network element.

[0309] S717, The second target network element provides media resources to the first target network element.

[0310] Based on the connection established between the first target network element and the second target network element, the second target network element provides media resources to the first target network element. These media resources are either subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device.

[0311] In some possible implementations, the second target network element sends an advertising message to the first target network element, which is used to advertise the media resources that the second target network element can provide.

[0312] Furthermore, the first target network element sends a subscription or retrieval message to the second target network element, which is used to subscribe to or retrieve the media resource.

[0313] Finally, the second target network element distributes media resources to the first target network element based on the first target network element's subscription.

[0314] The method provided in this application involves a first network element acting as a control center, controlling multiple second network elements. A first target network element, during the process of receiving a media service request from a terminal device or providing services to a terminal device, sends first information to the first network element. Based on the first information sent by the first target network element and the basic status, resource status, or media resource information of each of the multiple second network elements, the first network element determines a second target network element among the multiple second network elements that serves as the media resource for the first target network element. For example, the resource status of this second target network element may be superior to that of the first target network element, or the second target network element may provide media content that the first target network element does not possess. Therefore, using this second target network element to send media resources can maximize the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0315] The following example illustrates the communication method provided in this application embodiment by taking the example of the first target network element sending first information to the first network element in the media service request of the terminal device.

[0316] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 8 may involve, for example, the interaction between a terminal device, a first network element, and multiple second network elements.

[0317] S810, the terminal device sends a subscription or retrieval message to the first target network element.

[0318] In some embodiments, the terminal device sends a subscription message or a retrieval message to the first target network element, the subscription message or retrieval message being used to subscribe to or retrieve media resources.

[0319] S811. The first target network element sends first information to the first network element. The first information is used to instruct the subscription or extraction of content corresponding to the media resource. The first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource.

[0320] In this embodiment, a first target network element sends first information to another network element, which instructs the user to subscribe to or retrieve content corresponding to media resources. The first network element can store this first information, thereby updating the media dynamic information of the first target network element in a timely manner.

[0321] Furthermore, the first network element can determine whether the first target network element can provide the media resource to the terminal device. If the first target network element cannot provide the media resource to the terminal device, the first network element determines a second target network element from among multiple second network elements, so that the second target network element can provide the media resource to the terminal device.

[0322] In some embodiments, the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource.

[0323] It should be understood that the first network element can obtain, based on the identifier of the terminal device, which terminal device initiated the subscription or retrieval to the first target network element, or the first network element can obtain, based on the identifier of the media resource, the media resource that the terminal device needs to subscribe to or retrieve.

[0324] In some possible implementations, the identifier of the media resource can be the URL or domain name corresponding to the media resource; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ namespace identifier; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ theme identifier; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ object identifier; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ group identifier.

[0325] Of course, the content of the media resource can also be represented by the identifier of other media resources. This application embodiment does not specifically limit the identifier of the media resource.

[0326] S812. Determine the second target network element based on the first information and the second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the basic status of each second network element, the resource status of each second network element, and / or the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0327] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element determines the second target network element based on the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource and the second information.

[0328] In some embodiments, the first network element can determine the second network element that provides the media resource based on the identifier of the media resource subscribed to by the terminal device and the media dynamic information of multiple second network elements.

[0329] In other embodiments, the first network element determines the second network element that provides the media resource based on the identifier of the media resource subscribed to by the terminal device, the resource status information of multiple second network elements, and the media dynamic information of multiple second network elements.

[0330] It should be understood that if multiple second network elements can provide the media resource, the first network element can use the network element with the better resource status as the second target network element, thereby improving the efficiency of media distribution.

[0331] It should also be understood that the "good resource status" can refer to storage resources, computing resources, and / or communication resources, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0332] In other embodiments, the first network element determines the second target network element based on the identifier of the media resources subscribed to by the terminal device, the basic status of multiple second network elements, the resource status of multiple second network elements, and the media dynamic information of multiple second network elements, and uses the second target network element to distribute media resources to the first target network element.

[0333] For example, if the basic state of each second network element includes the location of each second network element, then assuming that there are two second network elements that can provide media resources, the first network element can choose the network element that is closer to the first target network element and the network element with better resource status as the second target network element, thereby improving media distribution efficiency.

[0334] It should be understood that the above examples are intended to illustrate that when determining the second target network element, the first network element can comprehensively consider the basic state, resource state information, and media dynamic information of the second network element. Further examples will not be provided here.

[0335] S813. The first network element sends third information to the first target network element. The third information includes the GTP-U address, tunnel identifier, and MoQ session IP address of the second target network element.

[0336] S814: Based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier, initiate the establishment of a QUIC connection and MoQ session to the MoQ session IP address of the second target network element.

[0337] In some embodiments, the first network element sends the GTP-U address, tunnel identifier, and IP address of the MoQ service of the second target network element to the first target network element, so that the first target network element establishes a connection with the second target network element based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier of the second target network element.

[0338] It should be understood that a GTP-U address refers to the IP address used for GTP-U tunnel communication. This IP address is primarily responsible for forwarding user data packets.

[0339] It should also be understood that the tunnel identifier is used to uniquely identify a GTP-U tunnel. Connections can be established between second network elements based on GTP-U addresses and tunnel identifiers, and data packets can be transmitted through these established tunnels. This ensures that media streams can be correctly transmitted between the second network elements.

[0340] After the first target network element and the second target network element establish a GTP-U tunnel, the first target network element initiates a QUIC connection and a MoQ session with the IP address of the second target network element's MoQ service within the GTP-U tunnel.

[0341] Alternatively, in some other embodiments of this application, the first network element may also send the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier of the first target network element to the second target network element, so that the second target network element establishes a connection with the first target network element based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier of the first target network element (not shown in FIG8).

[0342] Furthermore, the second target network element initiates the establishment of a QUIC connection and a MoQ session with the IP address of the first target network element's MoQ service within the GTP-U tunnel.

[0343] S815. The first target network element reports to the first network element that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection.

[0344] In some embodiments, after the first target network element and the second target network element establish a connection, the first target network element sends a connection response to the second target network element, which is used to indicate that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection.

[0345] In other embodiments, after the first target network element and the second target network element establish a connection, the second target network element can send a connection response to the first network element. This connection response is used to indicate that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection (not shown in Figure 8).

[0346] It should be noted that this application embodiment does not specifically limit whether the first target network element or the second target network element reports the connection response message to the first network element.

[0347] S816. The first network element sends a fourth message to the first target network element. The fourth message is used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0348] In some embodiments, after receiving a connection response from a first target network element or a second target network element, the first network element sends a fourth message to the first target network element, which instructs the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0349] In other embodiments, after receiving a connection response from a first target network element or a second target network element, the first network element sends a fourth message to the second target network element, which is used to instruct the second target network element to provide media resources from the first target network element (not shown in Figure 8).

[0350] S817. The first network element sends the fifth information to the second target network element. The fifth information is used to instruct the second target network element to provide advertising media resources to the first target network element.

[0351] S818, the second target network element sends an advertising message to the first target network element.

[0352] In this embodiment of the application, the second target network element, as a media sender, can send an advertising message to the first target network element. The advertising message is used to inform the first target network element that there is media content in the second target network element that terminal devices need to subscribe to or retrieve.

[0353] S819, the first target network element sends a subscription message or a retrieval message.

[0354] Based on the advertising message sent by the second target network element, the first target network element sends a subscription message or retrieval message to the second target network element. The subscription message or retrieval message is used to subscribe to or retrieve the media content required by the terminal device.

[0355] S820, the second target network element sends media resources to the first target network element.

[0356] The second target network element sends media resources to the first target network element based on the subscription or retrieval messages of the first target network element.

[0357] S821, The first target network element sends the changed resource status and / or media dynamic information to the first network element.

[0358] In some embodiments, after the first target network element receives the media resources sent by the second target network element, the resource status and media dynamic information of the first target network element will change. Then, the first target network element sends the changed resource status and / or media dynamic information to the first network element so that the first network element can update the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the first target network element in a timely manner in the second information.

[0359] Furthermore, since the second target network element distributes media resources to the first target network element, the resource status and / or media dynamics of the second target network element may also change. If the resource status and / or media dynamics of the second target network element may also change, the second target network element will also report the changed resource status and / or media dynamics information to the first network element.

[0360] S822. The first network element sends a sixth message to the first target network element. The sixth message is used to instruct the first target network element to disconnect from the second target network element.

[0361] In this embodiment of the application, after the first target network element and the second target network element complete the distribution of media resources, the first network element can instruct the first target network element to dismantle the connection, thereby reducing the load on the first target network element and the second target network element and avoiding waste of communication resources.

[0362] It should be understood that the first network element can instruct the first target network element to immediately disconnect after completing the distribution of media resources, or the first network element can instruct the first target network element to disconnect if it detects that there is no data transmission between the first target network element and the second target network element within a preset time period.

[0363] In some other implementations of this application, the first network element may also send a sixth message to the second target network element, the sixth message being used to instruct the second target network element to disconnect from the first target network element (not shown in Figure 8).

[0364] It should be understood that the first network element can instruct the second target network element to immediately disconnect after completing the distribution of media resources, or the first network element can instruct the second target network element to disconnect if it detects that there is no data transmission between the first target network element and the second target network element within a preset time period.

[0365] S823. Based on the sixth message, the first target network element disconnects from the second target network element.

[0366] In some embodiments, the first target network element disconnects from the second target network element based on the sixth message.

[0367] Specifically, the first target network element dismantles the MoQ session, QUIC connection, and GTP-U tunnel connection established with the second target network element.

[0368] Alternatively, in other embodiments, the second target network element disconnects from the first target network element based on the sixth message.

[0369] Specifically, the second target network element dismantles the MoQ session, QUIC connection, and GTP-U tunnel connection established with the first target network element.

[0370] The communication method provided in this application embodiment involves a first target network element sending first information to a terminal device in a media service request. The first information is the content of a subscribed or extracted media resource. The first network element acts as a control center, and based on the first information sent by the first target network element and the basic status, resource status, or media resource information of each of the multiple second network elements, it determines the second target network element that provides the media resource to the first target network element, thereby maximizing the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0371] The following example illustrates the communication method provided in this application when the resource status of the upstream network element (e.g., the third target network element) of the first target network element changes during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, and the first target network element sends first information to the first network element.

[0372] Figure 9 shows a schematic interaction diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9, the method may include steps S910 to S924.

[0373] S910, the terminal device sends a subscription or retrieval message to the first target network element.

[0374] In some embodiments, the terminal device sends a subscription message or a retrieval message to the first target network element, the subscription message or retrieval message being used to subscribe to or retrieve media resources.

[0375] S911, the first target network element sends a subscription or retrieval message to the third target network element.

[0376] In some embodiments, when there are no media resources in the first target network element that a terminal device can subscribe to or retrieve, or when the media resources in the first target network element cannot satisfy the terminal device's subscription or retrieval, the first target network element sends a subscription or retrieval request to the third target network element.

[0377] Furthermore, when the resources of the third target network element are insufficient, it cannot send the media resources subscribed or retrieved by the terminal device to the first target network element, or the media resources sent by the third target network element to the first target network element cannot fully satisfy the subscription or retrieval needs of the terminal device.

[0378] S912. The first target network element sends first information to the third target network element. The first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element. The first information includes at least one of the following: storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources.

[0379] In some embodiments, a first target network element sends first information to a third target network element. The first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element, including the storage resources, computing resources, and / or communication resources of the third target network element.

[0380] In some possible implementations, the first information may take the form of remaining storage resources, remaining computing resources, or remaining communication resources.

[0381] In some other possible implementations, the first information may take the form of information about the usage of storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources.

[0382] It should be understood that the first information can also take other forms, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0383] In other embodiments of this application, the third target network element may also send the first information to the first network element (not shown in Figure 9).

[0384] S913. The first network element determines the second target network element based on the first information and the second information. The second information is used to indicate the basic status of each second network element, the resource status of each second network element, and / or the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0385] Accordingly, the first network element receives the first information sent by the first target network element. Based on this first information, the first network element determines that the third target network element cannot send media resources to the first target network element.

[0386] It should be noted that the inability of the third target network element to send media resources to the first target network element can be understood as the third target network element not having any media resources subscribed to or retrieved by terminal devices, or as the third target network element having insufficient storage, computing, and / or communication resources to provide media resources to the first target network element.

[0387] In some embodiments, the first network element determines the second target network element based on the first information and the second information.

[0388] For example, if the third target network element does not contain media resources that the terminal device subscribes to or retrieves, or if the media resources in the third target network element cannot fully satisfy the media resources that the terminal device subscribes to or retrieves, or if the storage resources, computing resources, and / or communication resources of the third target network element are insufficient to provide media resources to the first target network element, then the first network element determines the second target network element based on the media dynamic information of other second network elements in the second information. The media resources stored in the second target network element can provide the required media resources to the terminal device, and the second target network element has sufficient storage resources, computing resources, and / or communication resources to provide media resources to the terminal device.

[0389] It should be understood that if the media resources provided by the first target network element and the third target network element cannot fully satisfy the subscription or retrieval needs of the terminal device, then the media resources provided by the second target network element to the terminal device can be media resources that the first target network element and the third target network element cannot provide.

[0390] It should also be understood that there can be multiple second target network elements.

[0391] S914. The first network element sends third information to the first target network element. The third information includes the GTP-U address, tunnel identifier, and MoQ session IP address of the second target network element.

[0392] S915, the first target network element initiates the establishment of a QUIC connection and a MoQ session to the MoQ session IP address of the second target network element based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier.

[0393] S916, The first target network element reports that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection.

[0394] S917. The first network element sends a fourth message to the first target network element. The fourth message is used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0395] S918. The first network element sends the fifth information to the second target network element. The fifth information is used to instruct the second target network element to provide advertising media resources to the first target network element.

[0396] S919, the second target network element sends an advertising message to the first target network element.

[0397] S920: The first target network element sends a subscription message or a retrieval message to the second target network element.

[0398] S921, The second target network element sends media resources to the first target network element.

[0399] S922, The first target network element sends the changed resource status or media dynamic information to the first network element.

[0400] S923. The first network element sends a sixth message to the first target network element. The sixth message is used to instruct the first target network element to disconnect from the second target network element.

[0401] S924. The first target network element disconnects from the second target network element based on the sixth message.

[0402] Steps S914-S924 can be referred to the description of steps S813-S823, and will not be repeated here.

[0403] The method provided in this application embodiment involves a first target network element sending a first information message to the first network element regarding the resource status of the third target network element when the resource status of the third target network element changes during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device. The first network element acts as a control center, and based on the first information sent by the first target network element and the basic status, resource status, and / or media resource information of each of the multiple second network elements, it determines the second target network element among the multiple second network elements to provide the media resource to the first target network element. By using the second target network element to send the media resource to the first target network element, the efficiency of media content distribution can be maximized.

[0404] The following example illustrates the communication method provided in this application by sending first information to the first network element when the media resource status of the first target network element changes during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device.

[0405] Figure 10 shows a schematic interaction diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the method shown in Figure 10 may include steps S1010 to S1023.

[0406] S1010, the first target network element provides media services to the terminal equipment.

[0407] In some embodiments, the first target network element provides media services to the terminal device, which can be understood as the first target network element distributing media resources to the terminal device based on the terminal device's subscription or retrieval.

[0408] S1011. The first target network element sends first information to the first network element, the first information being used to indicate the media resource information of the first target network element, the first information including the content of the media resources received or deleted by the first target network element.

[0409] In this embodiment of the application, a first target network element sends first information to another network element. The first information is used to indicate the media resource information of the first target network element. The first information includes the content of media resources received or deleted by the first target network element. The first network element can store the media resources received by the first target network element so as to instruct the first target network element to provide the media resources to other second network elements.

[0410] Furthermore, the first network element can determine whether the first target network element can still provide media resources to the terminal device based on the media resources deleted by the first target network element.

[0411] If the first target network element cannot provide media resources to the terminal device, the first network element determines a second target network element from among multiple second network elements so that the second target network element can provide media resources to the terminal device.

[0412] Optionally, the first information may also include the identifier of the media resource received by the first target network element, or the identifier of the media resource deleted by the first target network element.

[0413] In some possible implementations, the identifier of the media resource can be the URL or domain name corresponding to the media resource; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ namespace identifier; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ theme identifier; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ object identifier; or the identifier of the media resource can be the MoQ group identifier.

[0414] Of course, the content of media resources can also be represented using the identifiers of other media resources. This application does not specifically limit the form of the identifier for media resources.

[0415] S1012. Determine the second target network element based on the first information and the second information. The second information is used to indicate the basic status of each second network element, the resource status of each second network element, and / or the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0416] In this embodiment of the application, the content of the media resources deleted by the first target network element and the second information determine the second target network element.

[0417] In some embodiments, the first network element can determine the second network element that provides the media resource based on the media content deleted by the first target network element and the media dynamic information of multiple second network elements.

[0418] Optionally, the first network element can also determine the second target network element based on the identifier of the deleted media resource, the resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0419] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the resource status of each second network element and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, the second target network element may be the one with the better resource status among the multiple second network elements, thereby making the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0420] It should also be understood that "better resource status" can be understood as at least one of better storage resource status, better computing resource status, and better communication resource status, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0421] Optionally, the first network element can also determine the second target network element based on the identifier of the deleted media resource, the basic status of each second network element in the second information, the resource status of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element.

[0422] It should be understood that when multiple second network elements possess the media resource, the first network element can determine the second target network element based on the basic state of each second network element, the resource state of each second network element, and the media dynamic information of each second network element. For example, a second network element that is closer to the terminal device or has a better resource state can make the distribution of media resources from the determined second target network element to the first target network element more efficient.

[0423] It should be understood that when determining the second target network element, the first network element comprehensively considers the basic status, resource status information, and media dynamic information of the second network element, and will not be illustrated with examples here.

[0424] In other embodiments, the first network element can store the media content received by the first target network element. When other terminal devices initiate subscription or retrieval, the first network element can instruct the first target network element to provide media resources.

[0425] S1013. The first network element sends third information to the first target network element. The third information includes the GTP-U address, tunnel identifier, and MoQ session IP address of the second target network element.

[0426] S1014. Based on the GTP-U address and tunnel identifier, initiate the establishment of a QUIC connection and MoQ session to the MoQ session IP address of the second target network element.

[0427] S1015, The first target network element reports that the first target network element and the second target network element have established a connection.

[0428] S1016. The first network element sends a fourth message to the first target network element. The fourth message is used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0429] S1017. The first network element sends the fifth information to the second target network element. The fifth information is used to instruct the second target network element to provide advertising media resources to the first target network element.

[0430] S1018, The second target network element sends an advertising message to the first target network element.

[0431] S1019. The first target network element sends a subscription message or a retrieval message.

[0432] S1020, the second target network element sends media resources to the first target network element.

[0433] S1021, The first target network element sends the changed resource status and / or media dynamic information to the first network element.

[0434] S1022, The first network element sends a sixth message to the first target network element. The sixth message is used to instruct the first target network element to disconnect from the second target network element.

[0435] S1023. Based on the sixth message, the first target network element disconnects from the second target network element.

[0436] Steps S1013-S1023 can be referred to the description of steps S813-S823, and will not be repeated here.

[0437] The method provided in this application embodiment involves a first target network element providing media services to a terminal device. When the media resources of the first target network element change, the first network element acts as a control center. Based on the first information sent by the first target network element and the basic status, resource status, and / or media resource information of each of the multiple second network elements, the second target network element is determined from among the multiple second network elements to provide the media resources to the first target network element. The second target network element can provide the content of the media resources deleted by the first target network element, thereby maximizing the efficiency of media content distribution.

[0438] This application also provides another communication method, in which a first network element controls multiple edge relay network elements, including the first edge relay network element. The first network element can control the first edge relay network element to delay the processing of media services provided to terminal devices when the network devices are congested, thereby alleviating the congestion of the network devices.

[0439] Figure 11 shows a schematic interaction diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the method shown in Figure 11 may include steps S1101 to S1107.

[0440] S1101, The first network element determines the congestion information of the network device. The congestion information is used to indicate the congestion status of the network device when providing communication services to the terminal device. The congestion information includes the identifier of the network device.

[0441] In some embodiments, the congestion information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate the congestion state when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device.

[0442] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element can receive first indication information, which indicates that congestion has occurred when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device.

[0443] In some other embodiments, the first indication information received by the first network element includes a first field, which is used to indicate that congestion has occurred when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device, and the first field also carries the identifier of the network device.

[0444] Alternatively, the first indication information received by the first network element includes a first field, which includes two values: one value indicates that congestion has occurred when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device, and the other value indicates the identifier of the network device.

[0445] It should be understood that the first network element can identify which network device is experiencing congestion based on the network device's identifier.

[0446] In some possible implementations, the congestion information can be the degree of congestion, the level of congestion, or the percentage of congestion. Of course, the congestion information can also be in other forms, and this application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0447] S1102. The first network element determines the first edge relay network element that provides media services to the terminal device based on the identifier of the network device and the identifier of the terminal device served by the network device.

[0448] In some possible implementations, before the first network element determines the first edge relay network element, the first network element receives a subscription message or a retrieval message from the first edge relay network element. The subscription message or retrieval message is used to indicate the media resources that the terminal device subscribes to or retrieves. The subscription message includes the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the first edge relay network element.

[0449] In some other possible implementations, before the first network element determines the first edge relay network element, the first network element receives a report message from the first edge relay network element. The report message is used to instruct the terminal device to subscribe to or retrieve all or part of the media resources. The report message includes the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the first edge relay network element.

[0450] In this embodiment, after the first network element receives a message from the terminal device that it has subscribed to or retrieved from the first edge relay network element, the first network element can determine the correspondence between the first edge relay network element and the terminal device. After the first network element receives the congestion information of the network device, the first network element can determine the identifier of the terminal device accessing the network device. Then, the first network element indexes out the first edge relay network element based on the correspondence between the first edge relay network element and the terminal device, as well as the identifier of the terminal device.

[0451] S1103, the first network element sends the seventh information to the first edge relay network element, the seventh information being used to instruct the first edge relay network element to delay processing the media services provided to the terminal equipment.

[0452] In some embodiments, the first network element may instruct the first edge relay network element to reduce the priority of sending media resources to the terminal device, and / or the first network element may instruct the first edge relay network element to reduce the priority of subscribing to or retrieving media resources from upstream.

[0453] It should be understood that the first edge relay network element provides services to multiple terminal devices, and the terminal devices mentioned in this application embodiment are terminal devices that access the congested network.

[0454] It should also be understood that the subscription or retrieval of the first edge relay network element upstream refers to the subscription or retrieval of media resources by the first edge relay network element upstream in order to provide media resources to terminal devices accessing the congested network.

[0455] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element alleviates network congestion by instructing the first edge relay to reduce the priority of sending media resources to the terminal device, and / or instructing the first edge relay to reduce the priority of subscribing to or retrieving media resources from upstream.

[0456] In some embodiments, the seventh information is also used to instruct the first edge relay element to increase the transmission timeout duration. Increasing the transmission timeout duration can be understood as adjusting the first transmission timeout duration to a second transmission timeout duration, wherein the second transmission timeout duration is longer than the first transmission timeout duration.

[0457] Furthermore, the seventh information is also used to instruct the first edge relay network element to increase the buffer duration of the media resource. Increasing the buffer duration of the media resource can be understood as adjusting the first buffer duration of the media resource to the second buffer duration, where the second buffer duration is longer than the first buffer duration.

[0458] In this embodiment of the application, the first network element instructs the first edge relay network element to increase the transmission timeout duration and / or instructs the first edge relay network element to increase the media resource caching duration, so as to ensure user experience as much as possible while delaying the processing of media services provided to terminal devices to alleviate network device congestion.

[0459] S1104, the first edge relay network element provides media services to terminal devices based on the seventh information with a delay.

[0460] In some embodiments, the first edge relay network element reduces the priority of sending a first media resource to a terminal device based on the seventh information, the first media resource being subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device.

[0461] Alternatively, the first edge relay network element may, based on the seventh information, reduce the priority of subscribing to or extracting the first media resource from upstream.

[0462] In this embodiment of the application, the first edge relay alleviates network congestion by reducing the priority of sending media resources to terminal devices and / or reducing the priority of subscribing to or retrieving media resources from upstream devices.

[0463] In some embodiments, the first edge relay element adjusts the first transmission timeout duration to the second transmission timeout duration.

[0464] Furthermore, the first edge relay network element adjusts the first cache duration of the first media resource to the second cache duration.

[0465] S1105, The first network element determines that the network device has been cleared of congestion.

[0466] In some embodiments, the first network element receives a second indication message sent by other network elements, the second indication message being used to indicate that the network device is not congested when providing communication services to the terminal device.

[0467] In other embodiments, the second indication information received by the first network element includes a second field, which is used to indicate that the network device is not congested when providing communication services to the terminal device, and the second field also carries the identifier of the network device.

[0468] Alternatively, the second indication information received by the first network element may include a second field, which includes two values: one value indicating that the network device is not congested when providing communication services to the terminal device, and the other value indicating the identifier of the network device.

[0469] It should be understood that the first network element can determine which network device is not congested based on the network device's identifier.

[0470] S1106. The first network element sends the eighth information to the first edge relay network element. The eighth information is used to instruct the first edge relay network element to properly process the media services provided to the terminal equipment.

[0471] In some embodiments, the first network element instructs the first edge relay network element to restore the priority of sending media resources to the terminal device, and / or restore the priority of subscribing to or retrieving media resources.

[0472] In some embodiments, the eighth information is also used to instruct the first edge relay element to adjust the second transmission timeout duration to the first transmission timeout duration.

[0473] Furthermore, the eighth information is also used to instruct the first edge relay network element to adjust the second cache duration of the first media resource to the first cache duration.

[0474] S1107, the first edge relay network element provides media services to terminal devices normally based on the eighth information.

[0475] In some embodiments, the first edge relay network element restores the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device according to the eighth information, the first media resource being subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device.

[0476] Alternatively, the first edge relay network element can restore the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource upstream based on the eighth information.

[0477] In this embodiment of the application, the first edge relay restores the priority of sending media resources to the terminal device and / or restores the priority of subscribing to or retrieving media resources from upstream, thereby providing media services to users normally.

[0478] In some embodiments, the first edge relay element adjusts the second transmission timeout duration to the first transmission timeout duration.

[0479] Furthermore, the first edge relay network element adjusts the second cache duration of the first media resource to the first cache duration.

[0480] The method provided in this application embodiment allows a first network element to obtain congestion information of a network device and a terminal device connected to the network device. Then, based on the identifier of the network element and the identifier of the terminal device, it indexes a first edge relay network element that provides services to the terminal device. When congestion occurs in the process of the network element providing communication services to the terminal device, the first network element instructs the first edge relay network element to delay the processing of media services provided to the terminal device through a seventh piece of information, thereby reducing the load on the network device and alleviating the congestion of the network device.

[0481] The method embodiments provided in this application have been described above. The apparatus embodiments provided in this application will be described below. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, any content not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0482] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 may include a transceiver unit 1210 and a processing unit 1220. The transceiver unit 1210 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing unit 1220 is used for data processing. The transceiver unit 1210 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit. Optionally, the device 1200 may further include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 1220 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit to enable the device to implement the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0483] In one possible design, the device 1200 can be a network element as described in the above method embodiments. For example, the device can be a first network element, a first target network element, a second target network element, or a first edge relay network element; it can also be a chip, processor, or chip system that implements the functions of the first network element, the first target network element, the second target network element, or the first edge relay network element; or it can be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the first network element, the first target network element, the second target network element, or the first edge relay network element. The device 1200 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the first network element, the first target network element, the second target network element, or the first edge relay network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0484] For example, the device may be a first network element, or a chip, processor, or chip system that implements the functions of the first network element. It may also be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the first network element. The device 1200 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the first network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0485] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to receive first information from the first target network element, which is received by the first target network element in a media service request from a terminal device, or received by the first target network element in the process of providing media services to the terminal device. The processing unit 1220 is used to determine a second target network element based on the first information and second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the basic status, resource status, and / or media dynamic information of each of the plurality of second network elements; the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to send third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, wherein the third information is used to indicate the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, and the connection is used to acquire media resources.

[0486] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to send fourth information to the first target network element, the fourth information being used to instruct the first target network element to obtain the media resources from the second target network element.

[0487] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to send fifth information to the second target network element, the fifth information being used to instruct the second target network element to advertise the media resource to the first target network element.

[0488] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive the second information sent by each of the plurality of second network elements.

[0489] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 may also save the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

[0490] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 may also update the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the first target network element and / or the second target network element.

[0491] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to send a sixth message to the first target network element and / or the second target network element, the sixth message being used to instruct the first target network element and / or the second target network element to dismantle the communication connection.

[0492] Alternatively, in other embodiments, the processing unit 1220 is configured to determine congestion information of a network device, the congestion information indicating the congestion state of the network device when providing communication services to a terminal device, the congestion information including the identifier of the network device; the processing unit 1220 is further configured to determine a first edge relay element for providing media services to the terminal device based on the identifier of the network device and the identifier of the terminal device served by the network device, the first edge relay element being any one of a plurality of edge relay elements; the transceiver unit 1210 is configured to send an eighth message to the first edge relay element, the eighth message instructing the first edge relay element to delay processing the media services provided to the terminal device.

[0493] Optionally, the congestion information includes first indication information, which is used to indicate the congestion status when the network device provides communication services to the terminal device.

[0494] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive subscription messages or retrieval messages from the first edge relay network element. The subscription message or retrieval message is used to instruct the terminal device to subscribe to or retrieve the first media resource. The subscription message or retrieval message includes the identifier of the terminal device and the identifier of the first edge relay network element.

[0495] Optionally, the delay processing for media services provided to the terminal device includes: reducing the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or reducing the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0496] Optionally, the seventh information is further used to instruct the first edge relay network element to adjust the first transmission timeout duration to a second transmission timeout duration, wherein the second transmission timeout duration is longer than the first transmission timeout duration, and / or to adjust the first buffer duration of the first media resource to a second buffer duration, wherein the second buffer duration is longer than the first buffer duration.

[0497] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to send an eighth message to the first edge relay element when the congestion of the network device is relieved. The eighth message is used to instruct the first edge relay element to process the media services provided to the terminal device normally.

[0498] Optionally, the normal processing of the media services provided to the terminal device includes: restoring the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or restoring the priority of subscribing to the first media resource, which is subscribed to by the terminal device.

[0499] Optionally, the eighth information is further used to instruct the first edge relay network element to adjust the second transmission timeout duration to the first transmission timeout duration, and / or to adjust the second buffer duration of the first media resource to the first buffer duration.

[0500] For example, the device may be a first target network element, or a chip, processor, or chip system that implements the function of the first target network element, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the first target network element. The device 1200 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the first target network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0501] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to receive media service requests from terminal devices and, based on the media service requests, send first information to a first network element; or, during the process of providing media services to the terminal devices, send the first information to the first network element; the transceiver unit 1210 is also used to receive third information from the first network element, the third information being used to indicate the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources, the third information being determined by the first network element based on the first information and the second information, the second information being used to indicate the basic state of each of the plurality of second network elements, the resource state of each of the plurality of second network elements, or the media resource information of each of the plurality of second network elements, the plurality of second network elements including the second target network element; the transceiver unit 1210 is also used to establish a connection with the second target network element based on the third information.

[0502] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive fourth information from the first network element, the fourth information being used to instruct the first target network element to obtain the media resource from the second target network element.

[0503] Optionally, the media service request includes subscription or retrieval by the terminal device, and the first information is used to indicate subscription or retrieval of content corresponding to the media resource. The first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource.

[0504] Optionally, during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, when the first target network element subscribes to or retrieves from the third target network element, the first information is used to indicate the content corresponding to the subscribed or retrieved media resources, and the first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resources.

[0505] Optionally, when the resource status of the third target network element changes, the first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element, and the first information includes at least one of the following: storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources.

[0506] Optionally, when the media resources of the first target network element change during the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, the first information includes the content of the media resources received or deleted by the first target network element.

[0507] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive media resources from the second target network element advertisement.

[0508] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to report the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

[0509] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to send the changed resource status and / or changed media dynamic information to the first network element.

[0510] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive sixth information from the first network element, the sixth information being used to instruct the first target network element to dismantle the connection.

[0511] Optionally, the resource status includes at least one of the following: storage resource status, computing resource status, or communication resource status.

[0512] Optionally, the basic state includes at least one of the following: the signaling transmission channel between the first network element and each second network element, the media resource transmission channel between each second network element, the location of each second network element, the IP address of each second network element, the storage resources of each second network element, the computing resources of each second network element, or the communication resources of each second network element.

[0513] For example, the device can be a second target network element, or a chip, processor, or chip system that implements the second target network element, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the second target network element. The device 1200 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the second target network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0514] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to receive third information from the first network element, the third information being used to instruct the establishment of a connection between the second target network element and the first target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources; the transceiver unit 1210 is also used to establish a connection with the first target network element based on the third information; the transceiver unit 1210 is also used to provide media resources to the first target network element based on the connection.

[0515] Optionally, the third information is also used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

[0516] The fifth information is received from the first network element, and the fifth information is used to instruct the second target network element to advertise the media resource to the first target network element.

[0517] Optionally, the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element can be reported.

[0518] Optionally, the changed resource status and / or changed media dynamic information can be sent to the first network element.

[0519] Optionally, a sixth message is received from the first network element, the sixth message being used to instruct the second target network element to dismantle the connection.

[0520] For example, the device may be a first edge relay network element, or it may be a chip, processor, or chip system that implements the function of the first edge relay network element, or it may be a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the first edge relay network element. The device 1200 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the first edge relay network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0521] Specifically, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to receive a seventh message sent from a first network element, the seventh message being used to instruct the first edge relay network element to delay processing of media services provided to the terminal device, the first network element being used to manage multiple edge relay network elements, the multiple first edge relay network elements including the first edge relay network element; the processing unit 1220 is used to delay providing media services to the terminal device according to the seventh message.

[0522] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to reduce the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, wherein the first media resource is subscribed to or retrieved by the terminal device; and / or the processing unit 1220 is further configured to reduce the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0523] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to adjust the first transmission timeout duration to a second transmission timeout duration, wherein the second transmission timeout duration is longer than the first transmission timeout duration, and / or, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to adjust the first cache duration of the first media resource to a second cache duration, wherein the second cache duration is longer than the first cache duration.

[0524] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1210 can also be used to receive an eighth message sent from the first network element, the eighth message being used to indicate that media services are being provided to the terminal device normally;

[0525] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is also configured to provide media services to the terminal device normally based on the eighth information.

[0526] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to restore the priority of sending the first media resource to the terminal device, and / or the processing unit 1220 is further configured to restore the priority of subscribing to or retrieving the first media resource.

[0527] Optionally, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to adjust the second transmission timeout duration to the first transmission timeout duration, and / or, the processing unit 1220 is further configured to adjust the second buffer duration of the first media resource to the first buffer duration.

[0528] It should be understood that the "unit" in device 1200 can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. For example, the "unit" can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, combined logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. As another example, transceiver unit 1210 can be replaced by transceiver circuitry (e.g., may include receiving and transmitting circuitry), and processing unit 1220 can be replaced by a processor or processing circuitry.

[0529] Figure 13 shows a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1300 can be any of the above-mentioned network elements. For example, the communication device can be a first network element, or a chip, chip system, or processor within the first network element that implements the above-described method. This device can be used to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above-described method embodiments.

[0530] The communication device 1300 may include one or more processors 1310, which may also be referred to as processing units, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 1310 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0531] In an alternative design, the processor 1310 may also store instructions and / or data that can be executed by the processor 1310 to cause the communication device 1300 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0532] In another alternative design, the communication device 1300 may include a communication interface 1320 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 1320 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0533] Optionally, the communication device 1300 may include one or more memories 1330, which may store instructions that can be executed on the processor 1310, causing the communication device 1300 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 1330 may also store data. Optionally, the processor 1310 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 1310 and the memories 1330 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0534] It should be understood that, in one possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided in this application can be implemented by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0535] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied in the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0536] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0537] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes performed by the network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0538] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes performed by the network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0539] This application also provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface, the interface being used to send and / or receive signals, causing the processor to execute the various steps or processes performed by the network element in any of the above method embodiments.

[0540] The above-described device and method embodiments are completely corresponding, with corresponding modules or units performing corresponding steps. For example, a communication unit or communication interface performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiment, while other steps besides sending and receiving can be performed by a processing unit or processor.

[0541] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. The embodiments of this application do not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0542] As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," etc., are used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. As illustrated, applications running on computing devices and computing devices can both be components. One or more components may reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and components may be located on a single computer and / or distributed among two or more computers. Furthermore, these components can be executed from various computer-readable storage media on which various data structures are stored. Components can communicate, for example, via local and / or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component between a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

[0543] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0544] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be based on the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0545] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0546] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0547] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0548] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented 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 instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) 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 media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs), etc.

[0549] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, essentially or in other words, the parts that contribute to the prior art, or parts of the technical solutions, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0550] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first network element, which manages multiple second network elements, including a first target network element and a second target network element. The method includes: Receive first information from the first target network element, wherein the first information is received by the first target network element in a media service request of the terminal device, or received by the first target network element in the process of providing media services to the terminal device; The second target network element is determined based on the first information and the second information, wherein the second information is used to indicate the basic status of each of the plurality of second network elements, the resource status of each of the second network elements, and / or the media dynamic information of each of the second network elements; Send a third message to the first target network element or the second target network element, the third message being used to instruct the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: A fourth message is sent to the first target network element, which instructs the first target network element to obtain the media resource from the second target network element.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Before sending the fourth information to the first target network element, the method further includes: Send a fifth message to the second target network element, the fifth message being used to instruct the second target network element to advertise the media resource to the first target network element.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second information is received from each of the plurality of second network elements.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, After sending the third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, the method further includes: Save the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Update the resource status and / or media dynamic information of the first target network element and / or the second target network element.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, After sending the third information to the first target network element or the second target network element, the method further includes: A sixth message is sent to the first target network element and / or the second target network element, the sixth message being used to instruct the first target network element and / or the second target network element to dismantle the communication connection.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first target network element, which manages multiple second network elements, including the first target network element and second target network elements. The method includes: Receive a media service request from a terminal device, and send first information to a first network element based on the media service request; or, in the process of providing media services to the terminal device, send first information to the first network element. The system receives third information from the first network element, the third information being used to indicate the establishment of a connection between the first target network element and the second target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources, the third information being determined by the first network element based on the first information and the second information, the second information being used to indicate the basic status of each of the plurality of second network elements, the resource status of each of the plurality of second network elements, or the media resource information of each of the plurality of second network elements, the plurality of second network elements including the second target network element; Based on the third information, a connection is established with the second target network element.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives a fourth message from a first network element, the fourth message being used to instruct the first target network element to obtain the media resource from the second target network element.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The media service request includes subscription or retrieval by the terminal device. The first information is used to indicate the subscription or retrieval of content corresponding to the media resource. The first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resource.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, During the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, when the first target network element subscribes to or retrieves from the third target network element, the first information is used to indicate the content corresponding to the subscribed or retrieved media resources. The first information includes the identifier of the terminal device and / or the identifier of the media resources.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, When the resource status of the third target network element changes, the first information is used to indicate the resource information of the third target network element, and the first information includes at least one of the following: storage resources, computing resources, or communication resources.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, During the process of the first target network element providing media services to the terminal device, if the media resources of the first target network element change, the first information includes the content of the media resources received or deleted by the first target network element.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9-13, characterized in that, Before sending the fourth information to the first target network element, the method further includes: Receive media resources from the second target network element advertisement.

15. The method according to any one of claims 8-14, characterized in that, After receiving the third information from the first network element, the method further includes: Report the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

16. The method according to any one of claims 8-15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the changed resource status and / or changed media dynamic information to the first network element.

17. The method according to any one of claims 8-16, characterized in that, After receiving the fourth message from the first network element, the method further includes: The sixth information is received from the first network element, and the sixth information is used to instruct the first target network element to dismantle the connection.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1-17, characterized in that, The resource status includes at least one of the following: storage resource status, computing resource status, or communication resource status.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1-18, characterized in that, The basic state includes at least one of the following: the signaling transmission channel between the first network element and each second network element, the media resource transmission channel between each second network element, the location of each second network element, the IP address of each second network element, the storage resources of each second network element, the computing resources of each second network element, or the communication resources of each second network element.

20. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a second target network element, where a first network element manages multiple second network elements, including both the first target network element and the second target network element. The method includes: Receive third information from the first network element, the third information being used to instruct the establishment of a connection between the second target network element and the first target network element, the connection being used to acquire media resources; Based on the third information, establish a connection with the first target network element; Based on the connection, media resources are provided to the first target network element.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1-20, characterized in that, The third information is also used to instruct the first target network element to obtain media resources from the second target network element.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The method further includes: The fifth information is received from the first network element, and the fifth information is used to instruct the second target network element to provide advertising media resources to the first target network element.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20-22, characterized in that, The method further includes: Report the connection relationship between the first target network element and the second target network element.

24. The method according to any one of claims 20-23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the changed resource status and / or changed media dynamic information to the first network element.

25. The method according to any one of claims 20-24, characterized in that, After providing media resources to the first target network element based on the connection, the method further includes: The sixth information is received from the first network element, and the sixth information is used to instruct the second target network element to dismantle the connection.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1-25, characterized in that, The first network element is a media control function network element or a session management function network element, and / or the second network element is a media processing function network element or a user plane function network element.

27. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first network element, a first target network element, and a second target network element. The first network element is used to manage the first target network element and the second target network element. The first network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7. The first target network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 8 to 19. The second target network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 20 to 26.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A module or unit for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or a module or unit for performing the method as described in any one of claims 8 to 19, or a module or unit for performing the method as described in any one of claims 20 to 26.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processor and a memory, the processor being coupled to the memory for storing a computer program, the computer program being executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 19, or to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 26.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 8 to 19, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 20 to 26.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that, include: A computer program, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 8 to 19, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 20 to 26.

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