Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: acquiring a quality-of-service result regarding each user plane function network element from among M user plane function network elements and an access network device, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and on the basis of the quality-of-service result regarding each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, determining a first user plane function network element from among the M user plane function network elements. The method in the embodiments of the present application facilitates the selection of an appropriate user plane function network element, such that a relatively good transmission path is achieved, thereby improving the transmission performance for services.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411999739.8, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 31, 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] In communication systems, the end-to-end transmission path, such as the transmission path between terminal equipment and user plane function (UPF) network elements, has a significant impact on service transmission performance. A more optimized transmission path results in better service transmission performance.

[0004] Taking non-terrestrial networks (NTN) systems as an example, due to their characteristics such as long communication distance, large coverage area, and flexible networking, the end-to-end transmission path has a greater impact on the transmission performance of services.

[0005] Therefore, how to improve the transmission performance of services has become a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and communication device that helps to select appropriate user plane functional network elements and / or cluster heads, thereby achieving a better transmission path and improving the transmission performance of services.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the first device, or by a device within the first device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device compatible with the first device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the first device. As an example, the first device can be a session management function network element, an access and mobility management function network element, an access network device, an application function network element, or a bearer network element.

[0008] The method includes: obtaining the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and determining the first user plane function network element among the M user plane function network elements based on the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device.

[0009] In this embodiment, the first user plane function network element is selected from M user plane function network elements based on the quality of service results. This makes it easier to select the first user plane function network element to better meet the quality of service of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0010] In some possible implementations, obtaining the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device includes:

[0011] Send first information to each user plane function network element or the access network device, the first information being used to instruct the reporting of the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device; receive second information from each user plane function network element or the access network device, the second information being used to instruct the reporting of the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device.

[0012] Optionally, the first information further includes the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. Optionally, the second information further includes the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0013] In this embodiment of the application, sending first information to each of the M user plane function network elements or access network devices and receiving second information from each user plane function network element or access network device can obtain the quality of service (QoS) result between each user plane function network element and the access network device. This helps to select the first user plane function network element that meets the QoS of the service from the M user plane function network elements based on the QoS result, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending third information to the access network device, the third information being used to instruct the access network device to establish one or more packet data unit sessions with the M user plane function network elements.

[0015] Optionally, the third information further includes: the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, the identifier of the second user plane function network element among the M user plane function network elements, and / or the packet data unit session or tunnel identifier corresponding to the second user plane function network element. The second user plane function network element is the user plane function network element initially used for data transmission.

[0016] Optionally, the third information is also used to indicate that only the tunnel or packet data unit session corresponding to the second user plane function network element is activated.

[0017] In this embodiment, sending third information to the access network device facilitates the establishment of one or more packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the M user plane function network elements. This helps to obtain the quality of service (QoS) results between each user plane function network element and the access network device based on the one or more packet data unit sessions. This, in turn, helps to select the first user plane function network element that meets the QoS requirements of the service from the M user plane function network elements based on the QoS results, thereby improving the transmission performance of the service.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending a fourth message to the access network device, the fourth message being used to instruct the release of packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the other user plane function network elements among the M user plane function network elements, excluding the first user plane function network element.

[0019] Optionally, the fourth information may further include at least one of the following: the packet data unit session identifier or tunnel identifier corresponding to the other user plane function network element, the identifier of the other user plane function network element, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, and the packet data unit session identifier or tunnel identifier corresponding to the first user plane function network element.

[0020] In this embodiment of the application, sending the fourth information to the access network device helps to promptly release the packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the other user plane function network elements (excluding the first user plane function network element) after obtaining the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device, thereby helping to reduce the waste of system resources.

[0021] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from a core network element, the fifth information being used to instruct the access network device to report to a first user plane function network element; and sending sixth information to the core network element, the sixth information being used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

[0022] Optionally, the fifth information may further include the identifiers of the M user plane functional network elements. Optionally, the sixth information may further include the identifier of the first user plane functional network element.

[0023] In this embodiment of the application, the fifth information is used to instruct the access network device to report the first user plane function network element. Based on the fifth information, the sixth information is sent to the core network element, so that the core network element can determine the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services on the transmission path containing the first user plane function network element, it helps to meet the service quality of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0024] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending information for requesting the identifier of the access network device; and receiving information for indicating the identifier of the access network device.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending information for requesting the identifier of each of the M user plane function network elements; and receiving information for indicating the identifier of each of the M user plane function network elements.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending information to the access network device to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element.

[0027] Optionally, the information used to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element may further include the identifier of the first user plane function element.

[0028] In this embodiment of the application, information is sent to the access network device to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element. This facilitates the establishment of a packet data unit session between the access network device and the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services through the packet data unit session, it helps to meet the quality of service of the services, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the services.

[0029] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving information from the core network element instructing the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element.

[0030] Optionally, the information used to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element may further include the identifier of the first user plane function element.

[0031] In this embodiment of the application, information from a core network element is received to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element. This facilitates the establishment of a packet data unit session between the access network device and the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services through the packet data unit session, it helps to meet the quality of service of the services, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the services.

[0032] In some possible implementations, obtaining the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device includes:

[0033] Receive seventh information, which indicates the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device; or receive eighth information, which indicates historical statistics of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device; predict the QoS result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device based on the historical statistics.

[0034] Optionally, the seventh information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. Optionally, the eighth information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0035] In this embodiment of the application, receiving the seventh or eighth information can obtain the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network device. This helps to select the first user plane functional network element that meets the QoS requirements of the service from the M user plane functional network elements based on the QoS results, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0036] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending a ninth message to a core network element, the ninth message being used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

[0037] Optionally, the ninth information may also include the identifier of the first user plane functional network element.

[0038] In this embodiment, the ninth information is used to instruct the first user plane function network element to send the ninth information to the core network element, so that the core network element can determine the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services on the transmission path containing the first user plane function network element, it helps to meet the quality of service of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0039] In some possible implementations, the method further includes:

[0040] The tenth message is received, which is used to request one or more of the following: user plane function network elements, the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, or the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device via a specific first cluster head device; wherein, the first cluster head device refers to the access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network elements.

[0041] Optionally, the tenth information may further include one or more of the following: the identifier of the access network device, the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, or the identifiers of available user plane function network elements. Optionally, the tenth information may also be used to indicate the identifier of the first cluster head device.

[0042] In some possible implementations, the method further includes:

[0043] Send a tenth message, which is used to request one or more of the following: user plane function network elements, the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, or the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device via a specific first cluster head device; wherein, the first cluster head device refers to the access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network elements.

[0044] Optionally, the tenth information may further include one or more of the following: the identifier of the access network device, the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, or the identifiers of available user plane function network elements. Optionally, the tenth information may also be used to indicate the identifier of the first cluster head device.

[0045] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a second device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the second device, or by a device within the second device (e.g., a chip, chip system, circuit, or processor), or by a device compatible with the second device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the second device. As an example, the second device can be a user plane function network element or an access network device.

[0046] The method includes: receiving first information from a core network element, the first information being used to indicate the quality of service (QoS) results between each user plane function in M ​​user plane function network elements and the access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and sending second information to the core network element, the second information being used to indicate the QoS results between each user plane function and the access network device.

[0047] Optionally, the first information further includes the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. Optionally, the second information further includes the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0048] In this embodiment, first information is received from the core network element, and second information is sent to the core network element. This facilitates the core network element in obtaining the quality of service (QoS) results between each user plane function network element and the access network device. It also helps to select the first user plane function network element that meets the QoS requirements of the service from among the M user plane function network elements based on the QoS results, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0049] In some possible implementations, the method includes: receiving third information from a core network element, the third information being used to instruct the access network device to establish one or more packet data unit sessions with the M user plane function network elements.

[0050] Optionally, the third information further includes: the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, the identifier of the second user plane function network element among the M user plane function network elements, and / or the packet data unit session or tunnel identifier corresponding to the second user plane function network element. The second user plane function network element is the user plane function network element initially used for data transmission.

[0051] Optionally, the third information is also used to indicate that only the tunnel or packet data unit session corresponding to the second user plane function network element is activated.

[0052] In this embodiment, receiving third information from the core network element facilitates the establishment of one or more packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the M user plane function network elements. This helps to obtain the quality of service (QoS) results between each user plane function network element and the access network device based on the one or more packet data unit sessions. This, in turn, helps to select the first user plane function network element that meets the QoS requirements of the service from the M user plane function network elements based on the QoS results, thereby improving the transmission performance of the service.

[0053] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving fourth information from the core network element, the fourth information being used to indicate the release of packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the other user plane functions among the M user plane functions, excluding the first user plane function.

[0054] Optionally, the fourth information may further include at least one of the following: the packet data unit session identifier or tunnel identifier corresponding to the other user plane function network element, the identifier of the other user plane function network element, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, and the packet data unit session identifier or tunnel identifier corresponding to the first user plane function network element.

[0055] In this embodiment of the application, receiving the fourth information from the core network element helps to promptly release the packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the other user plane function network elements (excluding the first user plane function network element) after obtaining the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device, thereby helping to reduce the waste of system resources.

[0056] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving information from the core network element for requesting the identifier of the access network device; and sending information to the core network element for indicating the identifier of the access network device.

[0057] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving information from the core network element instructing the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element.

[0058] Optionally, the information used to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element may further include the identifier of the first user plane function element.

[0059] In this embodiment of the application, information from a core network element is received to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element. This facilitates the establishment of a packet data unit session between the access network device and the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services through the packet data unit session, it helps to meet the quality of service of the services, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the services.

[0060] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a third device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the third device, or by a device within the third device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device compatible with the third device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the third device. As an example, the third device can be a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0061] The method includes: sending fifth information to an access network device, the fifth information being used to instruct the access network device to report a first user plane function network element among M user plane function network elements, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and receiving sixth information from the access network device, the sixth information being used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

[0062] Optionally, the fifth information may further include the identifiers of the M user plane functional network elements. Optionally, the sixth information may further include the identifier of the first user plane functional network element.

[0063] In this embodiment, the fifth information is used to instruct the access network device to report the first user plane function network element, send the fifth information to the access network device, and receive the sixth information from the access network device, so as to facilitate the determination of the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services on the transmission path containing the first user plane function network element, it helps to meet the service quality of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0064] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending information to the access network device to request the identifier of the access network device; and receiving information from the access network device to indicate the identifier of the access network device.

[0065] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending information to the access network device to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element.

[0066] Optionally, the information used to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element may further include the identifier of the first user plane function element.

[0067] In this embodiment of the application, information is sent to the access network device to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element. This facilitates the establishment of a packet data unit session between the access network device and the first user plane function network element. In this way, when transmitting services through the packet data unit session, it helps to meet the quality of service of the services, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the services.

[0068] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a fourth device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the fourth device, or by a device within the fourth device (e.g., a chip, chip system, circuit, or processor), or by a device compatible with the fourth device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the fourth device. As an example, the fourth device can be an application function network element, a bearer network element, or other routing equipment (such as other access network equipment between a user plane function network element and an access network device).

[0069] The method includes: sending a seventh message, the seventh message being used to indicate the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or, sending an eighth message, the eighth message being used to indicate historical statistics of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device.

[0070] Optionally, the seventh information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. Optionally, the eighth information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0071] In this embodiment of the application, sending the seventh or eighth information facilitates obtaining the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network equipment. This helps to select the first user plane functional network element that meets the QoS requirements of the service from the M user plane functional network elements based on the QoS results, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0072] In some possible implementations, the method further includes:

[0073] Send a tenth message, which is used to request one or more of the following: user plane function network elements, the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, or the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device via a specific first cluster head device; wherein, the first cluster head device refers to the access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network elements.

[0074] Optionally, the tenth information may further include one or more of the following: the identifier of the access network device, the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, or the identifiers of available user plane function network elements. Optionally, the tenth information may also be used to indicate the identifier of the first cluster head device.

[0075] Fifthly, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a fifth device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the fifth device, or by a device within the fifth device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device compatible with the fifth device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the fifth device. As an example, the fifth device can be a first access network device or a first cluster head device.

[0076] The method includes: acquiring first information, the first information including one or more of the following: a first quality of service (QoS) result between a first access network device and a first cluster head device, a second QoS result between a first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device, a third QoS result between the first user plane function network element and the first access network device, the number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices, the time interval for changing the cluster head device, or the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device; determining whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information; wherein, the first cluster head device refers to the access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0077] In this application embodiment, determining whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information facilitates changing the first cluster head device when it fails to meet the service quality requirements of the service, or in other words, facilitates changing the first cluster head device when the service transmitted on the transmission path containing the first cluster head device fails to meet the service quality requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0078] In some possible implementations, prior to obtaining the first information, the method further includes: receiving second information from the first cluster head device or the first access network device, the second information indicating a first quality of service result measured between the first access network device and the first cluster head device.

[0079] In this embodiment of the application, the second information is used to indicate the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device. Receiving the second information from the first cluster head device or the first access network device helps to obtain the first information based on the second information, thereby helping to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, and helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0080] In some possible implementations, obtaining the first information includes: receiving third information from the first cluster head device, the third information being used to indicate a second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device.

[0081] Optionally, the third information may also include the identifier of the first user plane function network element.

[0082] In this embodiment of the application, the third information is used to indicate the second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device. Receiving the third information from the first cluster head device helps to obtain the first information based on the third information, thereby helping to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, and helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0083] In some possible implementations, obtaining the first information includes: receiving fourth information from a user plane function network element, the fourth information being used to indicate a second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device.

[0084] In this embodiment, the fourth information is used to indicate the second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device. Receiving the fourth information from the user plane function network element helps to obtain the first information based on the fourth information, thereby helping to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, and helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0085] In some possible implementations, before obtaining the first information, the method further includes: receiving the fifth information from a second access network device or a core network element, the fifth information being used to indicate one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices, a threshold for the time interval for changing cluster head devices, or a threshold for the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device.

[0086] For example, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the number of handovers between the first terminal device and the access network device is greater than or equal to the handover number threshold; or, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the time interval for changing the cluster head device is greater than or equal to the time interval threshold; or, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device is greater than or equal to the number of hops threshold.

[0087] In this embodiment of the application, the fifth information is used to indicate one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of handovers between the first terminal device and the access network device, a threshold for the time interval for changing the cluster head device, or a threshold for the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device. Receiving the fifth information from the second access network device or the core network element helps to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information and the fifth information, and helps to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0088] In some possible implementations, after determining whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, the method further includes: if it is determined that the first cluster head device should be changed, sending sixth information to the core network device, the sixth information being used to indicate the change of the first cluster head device.

[0089] In this embodiment of the application, the sixth information is used to indicate the change of the first cluster head device. The sixth information is sent to the core network device so that the core network device can change the cluster head device according to the sixth information, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0090] In some possible implementations, the sixth information includes the identifier of the modified second cluster head device.

[0091] In this embodiment of the application, the sixth information includes the identifier of the modified second cluster head device, which facilitates the core network device to change the first cluster head device to the second cluster head device, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of services.

[0092] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a sixth device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the sixth device, or by a device within the sixth device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device compatible with the sixth device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the sixth device. As an example, the sixth device can be a first access network device or a first cluster head device.

[0093] The method includes: sending second information, the second information being used to indicate a first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device.

[0094] In this embodiment of the application, the second information is used to indicate the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device. Sending the second information helps to obtain the first information based on the second information, thereby helping to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, and helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0095] In some possible implementations, obtaining the first information includes sending third information, the third information including a second quality of service result indicating the relationship between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device.

[0096] In this embodiment of the application, the third information is used to indicate the second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device. Sending the third information helps to obtain the first information based on the third information, thereby helping to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, and helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0097] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a seventh device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the seventh device, or by a device within the seventh device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device compatible with the seventh device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the seventh device. As an example, the seventh device can be a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0098] The method includes sending fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of handovers between the first terminal device and access network devices, a threshold for the duration interval of changing cluster head devices, or a threshold for the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network devices.

[0099] In the embodiments of this application, the fifth information is used to indicate one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of handovers between the first terminal device and the access network device, a threshold for the time interval for changing the cluster head device, or a threshold for the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device. Sending the fifth information helps to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information and the fifth information, and helps to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0100] In some possible implementations, the method further includes receiving sixth information, the sixth information being used to indicate a change to the first cluster head device.

[0101] In this embodiment of the application, the sixth information is used to indicate the change of the first cluster head device. Receiving the sixth information facilitates the change of the cluster head device according to the sixth information, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0102] In some possible implementations, the sixth information includes the identifier of the modified second cluster head device.

[0103] In this embodiment of the application, the sixth information includes the identifier of the modified second cluster head device, which facilitates the modification of the first cluster head device into the second cluster head device, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0104] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to an eighth device. That is, the communication method can be executed by the eighth device, or by a device within the eighth device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device compatible with the eighth device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the eighth device. As an example, the eighth device can be a session management function network element, an access and mobility management function network element, an application function network element, or a bearer network element.

[0105] The method includes: acquiring first information, the first information indicating a first quality of service (QoS) result between each of the N cluster head devices and a first user plane function network element, and / or a second QoS result between each of the N cluster head devices and a first access network device, where N is a positive integer; determining a first cluster head device among the N cluster head devices based on the first information; wherein the first cluster head device refers to an access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0106] Optionally, the first information may further include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of the N cluster head devices.

[0107] In this embodiment, the first cluster head device is determined based on a first quality of service result or a second quality of service result. This makes it easier to select a first cluster head device that better meets the quality of service requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0108] In some possible implementations, obtaining the first information includes: receiving second information, the second information indicating a first quality of service (QoS) result between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or a second QoS result between each cluster head device and the first access network device; or receiving third information, the third information indicating first historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or second historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device; and predicting the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result based on the third information.

[0109] Optionally, the second information further includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of the N cluster head devices. Optionally, the third information further includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of the N cluster head devices.

[0110] In the embodiments of this application, receiving the second information or the third information can obtain the first service quality result and / or the second service quality result, which helps to select the first cluster head device that meets the service quality of the service from N cluster head devices based on the first service quality result and / or the second service quality result, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0111] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending fourth information to the core network element, the fourth information being used to instruct the first cluster head device.

[0112] Optionally, the fourth information may also include the identifier of the first cluster head device.

[0113] In this embodiment, the fourth information is used to instruct the first cluster head device to send the fourth information to the core network element, so that the core network element can determine the first cluster head device. In this way, when transmitting services on the transmission path containing the first cluster head device, it helps to meet the quality of service of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0114] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving fifth information, the fifth information being used to request one or more of the following: cluster head devices, a first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or a second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device.

[0115] Optionally, the fifth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first access network device, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, or the identifier of an available cluster head device.

[0116] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending fifth information, the fifth information being used to request one or more of the following: cluster head devices, a first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or a second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device.

[0117] Optionally, the fifth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first access network device, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, or the identifier of an available cluster head device.

[0118] A ninth aspect provides a communication method applied to a ninth device. This communication method can be executed by the ninth device, by a device within the ninth device (e.g., a chip, chip system, circuit, or processor), by a device compatible with the ninth device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the ninth device. As an example, the ninth device can be an application function network element, a bearer network element, or other routing equipment (such as other access network equipment between a user plane function network element and a first access network device).

[0119] The method includes: sending second information, the second information indicating a first quality of service (QoS) result between each of the N cluster head devices and a first user plane function network element, and / or a second QoS result between each of the N cluster head devices and a first access network device, where N is a positive integer; or sending third information, the third information indicating first historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or second historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device; and predicting the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result based on the third information.

[0120] Optionally, the second information further includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of the N cluster head devices. Optionally, the third information further includes one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of the N cluster head devices.

[0121] In this application embodiment, sending second or third information facilitates obtaining the first or second service quality result, which helps to select the first cluster head device that meets the service quality of the service from N cluster head devices based on the first or second service quality result, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0122] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending fifth information, the fifth information being used to request one or more of the following: cluster head devices, a first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or a second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device; wherein, the first cluster head device refers to an access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0123] Optionally, the fifth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first access network device, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, or the identifier of an available cluster head device.

[0124] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: the communication device can be used in any of the devices (or network elements) described above; the communication device can be the device (or network element), or a device in the device (or network element) (e.g., a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit, or a processor), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the device (or network element), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the device (or network element).

[0125] The communication device includes modules that perform the methods / operations / steps / actions described in any aspect or any possible implementation of any aspect. These modules can be hardware circuits, software, or a combination of hardware circuits and software.

[0126] Eleventhly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory, the processor being coupled to the memory, the memory being used to store a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), the computer program being executed by the processor causing the device to perform a method of any one aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0127] In some possible implementations, the device also includes a memory coupled to the processor.

[0128] In some possible implementations, there are one or more processors, and / or one or more memories.

[0129] In some possible implementations, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be set up separately from the processor.

[0130] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) is stored, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods of any of the above aspects or any possible implementations of any of the above aspects.

[0131] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any of the foregoing aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0132] In a fourteenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory, the memory for storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), the processor for calling and running the computer program stored in the memory, such that an apparatus or device on which the chip is mounted performs the method of any of the above aspects or any possible implementation thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0133] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a QoS model in one embodiment of this application.

[0134] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the user plane end-to-end protocol stack in one embodiment of this application.

[0135] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the network elements involved in the PDU session establishment process and the interfaces between these network elements.

[0136] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of the PDU session establishment process in one embodiment of this application.

[0137] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the PDU session release process in one embodiment of this application.

[0138] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a distance-based UPF in an embodiment of this application.

[0139] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to this application.

[0140] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a transparent satellite architecture according to an embodiment of this application.

[0141] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a regenerative satellite architecture without inter-satellite links in an embodiment of this application.

[0142] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a regenerative satellite architecture with inter-satellite links in an embodiment of this application.

[0143] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a gNB-DU satellite architecture in an embodiment of this application.

[0144] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture in an embodiment of this application.

[0145] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of an O-RAN system architecture according to an embodiment of this application.

[0146] Figure 14 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application.

[0147] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the tunnel between the RAN and UPF in one embodiment of this application.

[0148] Figure 16 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0149] Figure 17 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0150] Figure 18 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0151] Figure 19 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0152] Figure 20 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0153] Figure 21 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0154] Figure 22 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0155] Figure 23 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0156] Figure 24 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0157] Figure 25 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0158] Figure 26 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0159] Figure 27 is a schematic flowchart of a communication device provided in one embodiment of this application.

[0160] Figure 28 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0161] Figure 29 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0162] Figure 30 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0163] Figure 31 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0164] Figure 32 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0165] Figure 33 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0166] Figure 34 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0167] Figure 35 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0168] Figure 36 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus provided in one embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0169] To better illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, relevant knowledge will be introduced below.

[0170] Communication systems can include the following services: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services, characterized by high capacity, high speed, and dynamic bandwidth allocation, such as ultra-high-definition video, virtual reality, and augmented reality; ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (uRLLC) services, characterized by high reliability, high availability, and low latency, such as internet-connected robotic factories and remote surgery; and massive machine-type communication (mMTC) services, characterized by high capacity, high speed, and dynamic bandwidth allocation, such as smart city and other Internet of Things (IoT) services.

[0171] This demonstrates that different services have different network service performance requirements. Therefore, the network needs to use Quality of Service (QoS) to ensure that different applications receive appropriate network resources, and to allocate and schedule priorities.

[0172] QoS is a description or measurement of the overall performance of a service (such as telephone or computer network services). To quantitatively measure service quality, QoS typically focuses on several key performance indicators, such as packet loss rate, bit error rate, bit rate, throughput, packet latency, and jitter (the magnitude of network latency variation).

[0173] In communication systems, the QoS management mechanism between the core network and the access network ensures the efficient transmission of Internet Protocol (IP) data streams. A QoS flow, as the basic unit of service transmission in a communication system, carries one or more aggregated IP data streams, enabling fine-grained management of these streams. On the core network side, IP data streams can be mapped to QoS flows; while on the access network side, QoS flows can be further mapped to data radio bearers (DRBs).

[0174] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the QoS model. As shown in Figure 1, the QoS model is based on QoS flows, with each QoS flow equipped with a unique QoS flow identifier (QFI). The QFI value can range from 0 to 63. At the non-access stratum (NAS) level, the QoS flow is the smallest unit for achieving QoS differentiation within a packet data unit (PDU) session. User plane traffic with the same QFI will receive consistent forwarding processing. In Figure 1, QFI 0 and QFI 1 are mapped to DRB 1, and QFI 2 is mapped to DRB 2.

[0175] The characteristics of QoS flows are jointly determined by the QoS profile and QoS rules. The QoS profile is configured by the core network to the wireless access network (RAN) via the NG interface to guide air interface processing; the QoS rule is configured by the core network to the UE to indicate the QoS flow mapping from uplink user plane services to the UE. At the access stratum (AS) layer, the DRB defines the packet processing for the air interface, ensuring that packets of the same category receive consistent forwarding processing.

[0176] The rules and general conventions of QoS are as follows:

[0177] (1) The core network can establish one or more PDU sessions for each UE;

[0178] (2) Supports one PDU session to be associated with one or more DRBs;

[0179] (3) The RAN is responsible for mapping data packets from different PDU sessions to different DRBs;

[0180] (4) The UE associates uplink and downlink data packets with QoS flow with the NAS-level packet filter in the core network, allowing multiple IP flows to be mapped to the same QoS flow;

[0181] (5) The AS-level mapping rules between the UE and the radio access network (RAN) associate uplink and downlink QoS flows with DRBs, supporting multiple QoS flows to be mapped to a single DRB.

[0182] In end-to-end transmission (from UE to UPF or from UPF to UE), application data packets are classified or mapped to the appropriate QoS flow by user plane function (UPF) network elements in the downlink (DL) or by the UE in the uplink (UL). The UPF performs the mapping based on packet detection rules (PDR), or the UE performs the mapping based on QoS rules.

[0183] The communication system supports multiple PDRs and rules, which are evaluated in priority order, and unmatched packets are discarded. On the N3 interface between the UPF and the access network (AN), packets are marked in the encapsulation header via QFI, and the AN uses this to identify the QoS flow to which the packet belongs.

[0184] The Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) sublayer in the AN maps QoS flows to DRBs, while the UE's SDAP sublayer performs the reverse mapping from DRBs to QoS flows. The processing flow for UL packets is similar: the UE marks the packet with a QFI in the SDAP header, the AN marks it with a QFI in the N3 encapsulation header, and the UPF verifies whether the received QFI matches the configured QoS rule or reflected QoS.

[0185] In summary, the RAN and core network perform packet processing through the following two steps of mapping based on QoS requirements:

[0186] (1) At the NAS layer, the packet filters of the UE and the core network map the IP flow of UL and DL to the QoS flow, and complete the association / mapping of QoS flow and PDU session;

[0187] (2) At the AS layer, the UE and RAN map the QoS flow to the DRB based on QoS rules. This mapping is performed by the SDAP sublayer. Each independent PDU session is configured with an SDAP entity.

[0188] The QoS process involves the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions across the entire network (including the RAN and CN sides). The basic process for establishing a PDU session is described below.

[0189] A PDU session is an abstract concept in a communication system. Its function is to provide a service to facilitate the transfer of PDUs between the UE and the data network (DN) (e.g., the Internet or a service network of an operator).

[0190] Figure 2 illustrates a user plane end-to-end protocol stack. This stack includes the UE, RAN, and UPF. Through the collaboration of different protocol layers among the UE, RAN, and UPF, the transmission and transfer of PDUs between the UE and UPF are achieved. One of the key characteristics of a PDU session is the PDU session identifier. Each UE can have multiple PDU sessions, and the PDU session identifier is used to uniquely identify a UE's PDU session. When a UE initiates a PDU Session Establishment request, it needs to provide this ID. Figure 3 illustrates the network elements involved in the PDU session establishment process and the interfaces between these network elements.

[0191] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the PDU session establishment process. The meaning of each step in Figure 4 is explained below.

[0192] S401, the UE sends a PDU Session Establishment Request to the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the core network.

[0193] As an example, the request message is encapsulated in the N1 session manage (SM) container of the NAS message.

[0194] As an example, this request message contains key information such as the PDU session ID, the requested PDU type, and the requested session and service continuity (SSC) mode. The SSC mode indicates the data service's IP continuity requirements, covering SSC Mode 1 / 2 / 3, and includes tolerance for IP address changes.

[0195] It is understandable that S401 can be referred to as the UE initiating a request.

[0196] For S402, AMF should be selected as SMF.

[0197] For example, the AMF selects the appropriate session management function (SMF) based on the data network name (DNN) and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) in the UE request.

[0198] S403, AMF and SMF interact to establish SM context.

[0199] For example, the AMF forwards information such as the N1SM container, DNN, PDU session ID, AMF ID, and user location information to the SMF. The SMF creates (corresponding to a newly created PDU session) or updates (corresponding to an existing PDU session) the SM context, generates the SM context ID, and sends it back to the AMF.

[0200] Optionally, if dynamic policy and charging control (PCC) is required, the SMF needs to select the policy control function (PCF).

[0201] S404, SMF should be UPF.

[0202] For example, the SMF determines the SSC mode, selects the UPF, and assigns an IP address or IP prefix to the UE based on the PDU session type.

[0203] S405, N4 interface signaling interaction.

[0204] For example, the SMF and UPF complete the signaling interaction on the N4 interface. The SMF will inform the UPF of the rules for monitoring, executing, and reporting this PDU session packet.

[0205] Furthermore, in this signaling interaction, the core network tunnel information (CN Tunnel Info) may be communicated by the SMF to the UPF, or vice versa. The CN Tunnel Info is the core network address of the N3 or N9 tunnel corresponding to the PDU session. As an example, this core network address includes the tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) and the IP address used by the UPF for the PDU session.

[0206] S406, N1 / N2 interface information transmission.

[0207] For example, the SMF transmits N1 and N2 interface information to the AMF. The N2SM information (including CN Tunnel Info, QoS profiles, and S-NSSAI) will be forwarded by the AMF to the RAN, while the N1SM information carries the PDU Session Establishment Accept message and is ready to be forwarded to the UE.

[0208] S407, AMF, RAN and UE interaction information.

[0209] For example, the AMF sends N2SM information and N1NAS messages to the RAN. The RAN then sends a PDU Session Establishment Accept and a radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration to the UE to establish an air interface DRB. After the UE responds, the RAN sends N2SM information (including AN Tunnel Info, i.e., the access network address of the N3 tunnel) back to the AMF.

[0210] S408 to S410, N2SM information update.

[0211] For example, the AMF forwards the RAN's N2SM information to the SMF, triggering an N4Session Modification signaling interaction, updating the AN Tunnel Info to the UPF, and completing the establishment of the user plane channel (DRB establishment between UE and RAN, and N3Tunnel establishment between RAN and UPF).

[0212] After a PDU session is established, a PDU session anchor UPF (PSA UPF) is generated, which serves as the IP anchor for the PDU session. When the PSA UPF remains unchanged, the IP address remains stable. However, in scenarios where the PSA UPF changes, the IP address will be updated, which may have varying degrees of impact on certain data services, depending on the degree to which the service relies on IP continuity.

[0213] In some scenarios, the communication system supports the simultaneous existence of a PSA UPF and a normal / serving UPF, i.e., the true user plane exit. When the SMF receives a new location notification from the AMF and detects that the UE has moved out of the service area with an existing intermediate UPF, it can switch to the normal / serving UPF.

[0214] The following describes the basic process of PDU Session release.

[0215] In some communication systems, when a specific service terminates, the UE can selectively release the PDU session associated with that service while maintaining its connection to the network. The PDU session release request can be initiated by the UE or triggered by a network-side entity (such as AMF, SMF, PCF, or RAN).

[0216] For example, SMF can determine and trigger the release of PDU session based on data network requests, such as changes in user subscription data on the unified data management (UDM) network element, or instructions for the UE to leave the local data network service area, or based on local configuration policies (such as determining whether UPF needs to be reassigned according to SSC mode).

[0217] In short, SMF releases the IP address / prefix allocated to the PDU session through the N4 interface, and at the same time releases the corresponding user plane resources.

[0218] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the PDU session release process. The details of each step are described below.

[0219] S501, SMF sends an N4 Session Release Request message to UPF.

[0220] As an example, this message carries N4Session ID information. If multiple UPFs are activated, the SMF needs to send an N4Session Release Request message to each UPF.

[0221] S502, UPF sends an N4 Session Release Response message to SMF.

[0222] As an example, the message carries N4Session ID information.

[0223] S503, SMF sends a message to AMF to instruct RAN to release radio resources.

[0224] As an example, the message is the Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer service operation message, which carries information such as the N1SM container (carrying the PDU Session Release Command) and skip indicator.

[0225] If there are active user plane resources, the message will also carry an N2Resource Release request message (carrying a PDU session ID).

[0226] As an example, if the AMF decides to release the PDU session, the AMF initiates an Nsmf_PDUSession_ReleaseSMContext request to the SMF. After receiving the request, the SMF executes the N4Session Release process described above with the UPF and returns a Namf_PDUSession_ReleaseSMContext response message to the AMF.

[0227] In certain situations, such as when the PDU session states between the UE and AMF are inconsistent, the AMF and SMF must release all context information related to that PDU session, including deleting all event subscriptions. If the reason for release is a slice change, the SMF must release the PDU session associated with the slice instance.

[0228] S504, AMF instructs RAN to release the access network resources corresponding to the PDU session.

[0229] As an example, after completing the N4Session Release, the AMF or SMF instructs the RAN to release the AN resources corresponding to the PDU session.

[0230] S505, the AMF instructs the UE to release the access network resources corresponding to the PDU session through the RAN.

[0231] As an example, after completing the N4Session Release, the AMF or SMF instructs the UE to release the AN resources corresponding to the PDU session through the RAN.

[0232] Furthermore, when the user plane connection of a PDU session is deactivated, the SMF can release the UPF. For a PDU session where the user plane connection is deactivated and the SMF has subscribed to location change notifications, the SMF can decide to change / replace the UPF and delete / reconfigure the inter-UPF tunnel based on receiving a new UE location notification from the AMF and detecting that the UE has moved out of the service area of ​​the current UPF.

[0233] The following section introduces QoS monitoring and reporting.

[0234] QoS monitoring mechanisms involve the measurement and reporting of specific QoS monitoring parameters, aiming to assess and ensure the quality of network services for service data flows (SDF).

[0235] As an example, QoS monitoring can be triggered / enabled based on third-party application requests or carrier policies. AF can request measurements of one or more of the following QoS monitoring parameters to trigger QoS monitoring of the QoS flow:

[0236] (1) Uplink packet delay, downlink packet delay, and round-trip packet delay of business data flow;

[0237] (2) Congestion, such as congestion information / congestion level of uplink / downlink QoS flow;

[0238] (3) Data rate;

[0239] (4) Changes in data packet delay;

[0240] (5) Round-trip packet delay between the uplink of one business data stream and the downlink of another business data stream.

[0241] As an example, the network elements / nodes / hardware involved in the QoS monitoring and reporting process and their functions are as follows:

[0242] PCF: Generates authorized QoS monitoring policies, which are included in PCC rules and provided to SMF.

[0243] SMF: Based on the authorized QoS monitoring policy received from PCF or local configuration, configures UPF to perform QoS monitoring and report the monitoring results. SMF may also configure NG RAN to measure QoS monitoring parameters.

[0244] UPF: Performs QoS monitoring, measures QoS monitoring parameters, and reports monitoring results. UPF may also be required to monitor and expose uplink and / or downlink QoS flow congestion information reported from the RAN.

[0245] RAN: Based on the QoS monitoring request from SMF, measure and report uplink and / or downlink QoS Flow congestion information to PSA UPF.

[0246] AMF: During configuration, AMF informs SMF about the support for QoS monitoring functions. Based on whether RAN QoS monitoring capabilities and UPF QoS monitoring capabilities are received from AMF, SMF determines whether QoS monitoring is possible for PDU sessions.

[0247] In some implementations, the PCF can generate authorized QoS monitoring policies for service data flows based on QoS monitoring requests received from the AF, or based on PCF local policies or configuration reasons. The PCF includes the authorized QoS monitoring policies in PCC rules and provides them to the SMF.

[0248] The SMF can configure the UPF to monitor specific QoS flows and instruct the UPF to report monitoring rules. These rules can be formed based on the SMF's local configuration or based on authorized QoS monitoring policies received by the SMF from the PCF. The SMF can also send QoS monitoring requests based on authorized QoS monitoring policies received from the PCF and / or local configurations to configure RAN-side QoS monitoring parameters.

[0249] In some scenarios, the AMF, during configuration, notifies the SMF about RAN support for QoS monitoring features during PDU session establishment, PDU session modification, service requests, and UE mobility. The SMF determines whether QoS monitoring can be performed on the PDU session based on whether it receives (or does not receive) RAN QoS monitoring capabilities from the AMF and QoS monitoring capabilities from the UPF.

[0250] In some scenarios, the parameters that the SMF carries when configuring QoS monitoring to the UPF include:

[0251] QoS monitoring parameters (parameter(s)): used to indicate the monitoring target;

[0252] The reporting period is defined as follows: if the UPF has no measurement results within the reporting period, the UPF should report a measurement failure.

[0253] Reporting frequency: Indicates whether the report type is "periodic" or "event-triggered". Periodic reporting means that the UPF should send a report at the end of each reporting period. Event-triggered reporting requires setting a reporting threshold and minimum waiting time for each monitored parameter. When the measurement result reaches or exceeds the threshold, the UPF sends a report, and then does not send any more reports within the minimum waiting time until the waiting time expires and the reporting conditions are met again.

[0254] The reporting target and indication of direct event notification (UPF) are specified: This indicates that the report can be sent to the SMF or other NFs, with the target NF notified via the notification target address and notification correlation ID. The SMF can also request the UPF to send the report to both the target NF and itself. If no direct event notification is specified, the UPF defaults to sending the report to the SMF. This parameter is optional.

[0255] Indication of QoS flow associated with the default QoS rule: If the QoS monitoring report is related to a QoS flow associated with the default QoS rule, the UPF should forward this indication when sending the report. This parameter is optional.

[0256] UPF performs QoS monitoring, measures QoS monitoring parameters, and sends monitoring report results to SMF using QoS monitoring reports.

[0257] The following describes the QoS measurement method under the General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol for User Plane (GTP-U tunnel).

[0258] QoS monitoring is performed by the GTP-U endpoint (UP function), which receives, stores, and executes QoS monitoring policies. As shown in Figure 2, the GTP-U tunnel refers to the data channel between the RAN-side gNB and UPF, used to encapsulate and transmit user plane data, i.e., user data traffic. The following details how the 5G network system performs GTP-U QoS measurements.

[0259] (1) Monitoring Activation: The SMF sends QoS monitoring policies to each involved UPF via the N4 interface and to the RAN via the N2 interface. The SMF can request to activate QoS monitoring for all GTP-U paths between all UPFs and the RAN based on locally configured policies.

[0260] (2) GTP-U round trip time (RTT) measurement: The GTP-U transmitter (which can be UPF or RAN) estimates the RTT of the GTP-U receiver by sending an echo message and measuring the time between sending the request message and receiving the response message.

[0261] Typically, user data is transmitted through GTP-U tunnels, with specific TEIDs used to identify the two ends of the tunnel. However, to avoid being affected by QoS mechanisms in the network when measuring latency, Echo request and response messages need to be transmitted outside the GTP-U tunnel, i.e., not encapsulated in the GTP-U header. This means that Echo messages use a TEID set to 0, indicating that they are not transmitted through any specific GTP-U tunnel, but directly on the underlying network. How the underlying transmission distinguishes data streams with different QoS requirements depends on the specific implementation.

[0262] QoS monitoring can be used to measure packet delay along the transmission path. An exemplary process includes the following steps:

[0263] (1) Monitoring activation: SMF activates QoS monitoring of the GTP-U path between all UPFs and all RAN nodes based on the locally configured policy;

[0264] (2) UPF performs monitoring and reporting: Peer network nodes are identified using IP destination addresses. UPF calculates packet latency based on the IP destination address and port identifier by sending an Echo request and measuring the RTT / 2 when the Echo response is received. The end result is that UPF determines the measured latency for each entry (e.g., network instance) for each IP destination address. UPF reports the measurement results to SMF based on reporting rules (e.g., periodicity, event-triggered, etc.).

[0265] The concepts of Echo requests and responses can be understood as follows: Echo requests and responses are common mechanisms used in network communication to test network connectivity and measure network latency, typically used in the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0266] While Echo requests and responses may be implemented differently across various network protocols and scenarios, their fundamental principles and purposes remain similar. In the ICMP protocol, an Echo request (also known as a Ping request) and an Echo response (also known as a Ping response) are used. When a device (such as a computer or router) sends an ICMP Echo request, it sends a data packet to the target device. This packet contains information such as the sender's IP address and a sequence number. Upon receiving this request, if everything is normal, the target device sends an ICMP Echo response to the sender. This response contains the information from the original request to confirm that the request has been received and processed.

[0267] In the UDP protocol, Echo requests and responses use UDP data. UDP Echo services typically run on specific ports (such as UDP ports 7 or 37). When a device sends a UDP Echo request, it sends a data packet to the Echo service. Upon receiving the request, the server returns the data packet to the sender unchanged, thus implementing the Echo response.

[0268] The following section introduces the packet internet groper (Ping). Ping is a computer network technology / tool ​​used to check network connectivity and measure network response time. It is mainly used in IPv4 and IPv6 networks and is based on the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0269] Ping technology sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) request echo packet to a specified host, then waits to receive the response packet. Based on the time and the number of successful responses, it estimates the packet loss rate and round-trip time, thereby determining whether the packet can reach the specified host via the IP protocol. This enables basic diagnosis of network operation status, including network connectivity checks, response time measurement, troubleshooting (such as routing failures, network congestion, or equipment failures), and network monitoring (such as periodically performing Ping to monitor the online status and response time of network devices).

[0270] Ping's exemplary workflow is as follows:

[0271] (1) The sending end constructs an ICMP Echo Request packet, which contains the sending end's IP address and a sequence number to identify this specific request;

[0272] (2) The data packet is sent to the target host over the network;

[0273] (3) After the target host receives the request, if everything is normal, it constructs an ICMP Echo Reply packet containing the sequence number of the original request and the IP address of the target host, and then sends it back to the sender.

[0274] (4) After receiving the reply, the sending end calculates the round-trip time and displays the results, which usually include the minimum, average and maximum response times, as well as the packet loss rate.

[0275] In end-to-end (E2E) scenarios, such as UE to UPF, QoS (Quality of Service) depends on the selection of the UPF, and changes in satellite link status can significantly impact QoS guarantees. Typically, existing technologies select the UPF based on distance.

[0276] Figure 6 illustrates a distance-based UPF selection method. In Figure 6, UPF 1 is the UPF closest to the UE, transmission path 1 is the transmission path between the UE and UPF 1, and the latency of transmission path 1 is approximately 155 milliseconds (ms). Transmission paths 2 and 3 are two different transmission paths between the UE and UPF 2. The latency of transmission path 2 is approximately 61 ms, and the latency of transmission path 3 is approximately 80 ms. It can be seen that transmission path 2 is the optimal transmission path, and UPF 2 is the optimal UPF, but UPF 2 is not the UPF closest to the UE. Therefore, as shown in Figure 6, the distance-based UPF selection method may not be able to select the optimal UPF and the optimal transmission path for the UE.

[0277] For example, in non-terrestrial networks (NTN) scenarios, NTN link service capabilities vary greatly, and the processing capabilities of nodes / network elements are also relatively limited. These differences in link and node capabilities mean that selecting a UPF based on distance may not yield a satisfactory or optimal UPF in NTN scenarios, thus failing to obtain a optimal transmission path. Therefore, how to select a UPF to obtain a better transmission path is a pressing technical problem that needs to be solved.

[0278] Furthermore, in the NTN regenerator base station cluster architecture, considering that the base station cluster architecture requires data to be transmitted to the UPF / access satellite via the cluster head, the selection of the cluster head will have a significant impact on the QoS of inter-satellite links and NG data streams. Therefore, how to select the cluster head to obtain a better transmission path is also a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0279] To address at least one of the aforementioned problems, this application provides a new technical solution. The technical solution described below, with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of this application, will be explained in detail.

[0280] In the description 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 this application merely describes 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 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 terms "first," "second," etc., do not limit the quantity or order of execution, and that "first," "second," etc., do not necessarily imply that they are different. It should be understood that in this application, descriptions such as "in the case of," "if," "when," "if," etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0281] The wireless communication system in this application can be various wireless communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) systems, new radio (NR) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, satellite and other non-terrestrial communication systems, and communication systems that integrate terrestrial and non-terrestrial communication. The technical solution provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems.

[0282] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, a wireless communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application will first be described with reference to FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes a wireless access network 100. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (FIG. 110a, 110b and 110c in FIG. 1), and may also include at least one terminal (FIG. 120a to 120g in FIG. 1).

[0283] The terminal device in this application embodiment may refer to user equipment (UE), station, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), user terminal, terminal (or terminal device), wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device, etc., or a device used to provide voice or data connectivity to users, or an Internet of Things device. For example, terminal devices include handheld devices with wireless connection functions, vehicle-mounted devices, etc., but this application embodiment does not limit this. The terminal device in this application embodiment may be a mobile phone, cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication function, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, large screen, vehicle-mounted device (e.g., car, bicycle, electric vehicle, airplane, ship, train, high-speed rail, etc.), wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, smart bracelet, pedometer, smart glasses, etc.), machine type communication (MTC) terminal device, terminal device in 5G network, or terminal device in future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., and is not limited to this in this application embodiment.The terminal device in the embodiments of this application may also be a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a point of sale (POS) machine, customer-premises equipment (CPE), a light UE, a reduced capability UE (RedCap UE), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a smart home device (e.g., a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electricity meter, etc.), a smart robot, a robotic arm, workshop equipment, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, or a flying device (e.g., a smart robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. Terminal devices can also be vehicle devices, such as vehicle devices, vehicle modules, vehicle chips, on-board units (OBU), or telematics boxes (T-BOX). Terminal devices can also be other devices with terminal functions. For example, a terminal device can also be a device that plays a terminal function in device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0284] In some implementations, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station. Optionally, the terminal device can act as a scheduling entity to provide sidelink signals between terminal devices in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or device-to-device (D2D) scenarios. For example, cellular phones and cars can communicate using sidelink signals, or cellular phones and smart home devices can communicate using sidelink signals without relaying communication signals through a base station.

[0285] The network device (or communication device) in this application embodiment can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, and can also be called a base station (BS). For example, the network device can be a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), an access point (AP), a network device (such as a satellite) in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, a base station in a future mobile communication system or an access point (AP) in a WiFi system, a wireless controller, relay station, access point, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearable device, or network device in other future evolved communication systems, etc.

[0286] In some implementations, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node (i.e., the network device in this application) can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs). In different systems, CUs (or CU-CPs and CU-UPs), DUs, or RUs may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, a CU can also be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU can also be called an open DU (O-DU), a CU-CP can also be called an O-CU-CP, a CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, and a RU can also be called an O-RU. Any of the units among the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific technology or specific device form used in the network equipment.

[0287] In some implementations, the network device can be fixed or mobile, and this application does not limit this. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a mobile network device, and one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile network device. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a device to communicate with another network device.

[0288] In some implementations, network devices can be deployed on land or in the air, and this application does not limit this. For example, network devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on airplanes, balloons, and satellites.

[0289] In this embodiment, the terminal device or network device may include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on top of the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. Furthermore, this embodiment does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution entity of the method provided in this embodiment, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided in this embodiment by running a program that records the code of the method provided in this embodiment.

[0290] Furthermore, various aspects or features of this application can be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). Additionally, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0291] With the development of communication technology, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) systems are being used more and more widely. Compared with terrestrial communication systems, NTN systems have the advantages of large coverage area and flexible networking. In addition, NTN systems can also be used in emergency rescue (such as disaster monitoring and emergency communication), the Internet of Things, and high-speed mobile scenarios (such as high-speed rail and airplanes).

[0292] Network devices (also referred to as NTN devices) in an NTN system can be satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), drones, or other non-ground devices / equipment. HAPS are typically located at an altitude of 8–50 km above the ground. An NTN system that uses satellites (such as network devices) for networking can be called a satellite communication system. For ease of description, the following examples use a satellite communication system as an example to illustrate the NTN system.

[0293] In satellite communication systems, satellites can be classified into three types based on their orbital altitude: geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and low Earth orbit (LEO).

[0294] GEO satellites orbit at an altitude of 35,786 km. Their main advantages are relative stationary position relative to the ground and the ability to provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellites also have significant disadvantages: 1) The large distance between GEO satellites and Earth's orbits results in significant free-space propagation loss, straining communication link budgets and requiring larger-diameter antennas to increase transmit / receive gain; 2) High communication transmission latency, with round-trip delays reaching around 500 ms, which cannot meet the demands of real-time services; 3) Relatively limited orbital resources, high launch costs, and inability to provide coverage to the polar regions.

[0295] MEO satellites orbit at altitudes ranging from 2000km to 35786km. Their advantage is that global coverage can be achieved with a relatively small number of MEO satellites. However, MEO satellites orbit at much higher altitudes than LEO satellites, resulting in significantly longer transmission delays. Considering both advantages and disadvantages, MEO satellites are primarily used for positioning and navigation.

[0296] LEO satellites orbit at altitudes ranging from 160 km to 2000 km. Compared to MEO and GEO satellites, LEO satellites have lower orbital altitudes, resulting in advantages such as lower data propagation latency, lower transmission loss, and relatively lower launch costs. Therefore, NTN communication based on LEO satellites has received widespread attention in recent years.

[0297] The network architecture of a satellite communication system (which can be called a satellite network architecture) can include the following network elements: gateway (also called a gateway station), service link, feeder link, base station, satellite, and inter-satellite link (ISL). Base stations are usually located on the ground and can also be called satellite base stations (which can be understood as base stations in a satellite network); gateway stations are used to connect satellites and terrestrial public networks, and there can be one or more gateway stations, usually located on the ground; feeder links are the links for communication between gateway stations and satellites, and can also be called satellite radio interfaces (SRI); service links are the links for communication between terminal equipment and satellites; inter-satellite links are the links for communication between satellites; the interface between base stations can be an Xn interface, the interface between a base station and the core network can be a next-generation (NG) interface, and the interface between the core network and the data network can be an N6 interface.

[0298] Satellite communication systems include a variety of different network architectures, such as transparent satellite architecture, regenerative satellite architecture without inter-satellite links, regenerative satellite architecture with inter-satellite links, gNB-DU satellite architecture, and satellite architecture with integrated access and backhaul (IAB) functionality.

[0299] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of this application. This communication system can be called a transparent satellite communication system. In the transparent satellite communication system, the role of the satellite is: wireless frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification, that is, the satellite mainly acts as a Layer 1 (L1) relay to regenerate physical layer signals, and does not have other higher protocol layers.

[0300] The satellite communicates with the NTN gateway station on the ground via wireless signals. The gateway station is connected to the gNB via a wired connection. In this architecture, the satellite can be understood as the remote radio unit of the ground gNB. The satellite only provides simple physical signal coverage. However, this radio remote function requires the gateway station and the microwave link between the satellite and the gateway station to reach the satellite. In the process, no protocol layer processing is involved, and no logical interface is established.

[0301] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to another embodiment of this application. The satellite in this communication system is a regenerated satellite without inter-satellite links, but it has the processing functions of a base station. Here, ISL refers to inter-satellite link.

[0302] In this communication system architecture, the satellite acts as a base station, possessing all the protocol layer processing functions of a base station. The satellite transmits back to the ground gateway station via microwave, and the gateway station is connected to the core network via wired connection. In the regenerable satellite scenario, the link between the base station and the gateway station is generally referred to as the satellite radio interface (SRI) or feeder link.

[0303] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to another embodiment of this application. The satellite in this communication system is a regenerating satellite with inter-satellite links and has the processing function of a base station.

[0304] In this communication system architecture, satellites also serve as base stations. The difference from the communication system shown in Figure 9 is that the communication system shown in Figure 10 has inter-satellite links (ISL), which can establish Xn interfaces between satellites. Furthermore, when the serving satellite and the ground gateway are not visible to the terminal equipment, data from the serving satellite can be transmitted back to the ground through other satellites.

[0305] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to another embodiment of this application. In the communication system shown in Figure 11, the satellite acts as a gNB-DU and connects to the ground gNB-CU through a ground gateway station.

[0306] In another communication system of this application, a satellite with integrated access and backhaul (IAB) functionality is used. This communication system is similar to the communication system shown in Figure 11, but the difference is that the satellite in this communication system acts as an IAB node. In addition to deploying a DU, the satellite also deploys an MT module. Backhaul is performed using the MT and the NR air interface of the ground base station, eliminating the need to establish a separate microwave backhaul link between the satellite and the gateway station.

[0307] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to another embodiment of this application. The architecture of this communication system can be called a regenerable satellite base station cluster architecture. Here, the base station cluster is a set of satellites, including access satellites and cluster head satellites; the access satellites are satellites in the base station cluster that provide wireless communication services to the UE and have all the protocol layer processing functions of the base station; the cluster head satellites are satellites in the base station cluster that are connected to the UPF, i.e., the user plane exit.

[0308] For example, uplink data needs to be transmitted through the cluster head satellite to reach the UPF, and the NG data stream sent by the network side needs to be transmitted through the cluster head to the access satellite, and then transmitted by the access satellite to the UE. The regenerable satellite base station cluster architecture supports UE handover commands within the base station cluster, and has the characteristic of being unaware of the UE and CN. For example, the cluster head satellite can be understood as the anchor satellite, and the CN is unaware of the UE's handover within the base station cluster.

[0309] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of an open RAN system according to another embodiment of this application. This communication system may include: a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) and a gNB.

[0310] Among them, RIC can be a near real-time RAN intelligent controller. RIC can be used to collect network information and perform necessary optimization tasks; gNB can support O-RAN functions, and gNB can support CU-DU separation, such as gNB being separated into gNB-CU and gNB-DU.

[0311] The RIC can interact with the gNB via the E2 interface, as shown in Figure 11. The RIC can interface with both the gNB-CU and gNB-DU. The gNB-CU and gNB-DU can interact with each other via the F1 interface.

[0312] To address one or more of the aforementioned technical problems, this application proposes a communication method and communication apparatus that helps in selecting appropriate user plane functional network elements and / or cluster heads, thereby achieving a better transmission path and improving service transmission performance.

[0313] The communication method in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 14.

[0314] Figure 14 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 1400 shown in Figure 14 may include steps S1410 and S1420.

[0315] The communication method of this application embodiment can be applied to a first device. That is, the method can be executed by the first device, or by a device in the first device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device that can be matched with the first device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the first device.

[0316] As an example, the first device can be a session management function (SMF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, access network device, application function (AF) network element, or transport network (Transport NW) network element in any of the aforementioned communication systems.

[0317] S1410, the first device obtains the quality of service results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0318] The access network equipment can refer to communication equipment that provides communication services to terminal equipment, such as the access satellite in Figure 12. The M user plane function network elements can refer to user plane function network elements that can establish packet data unit sessions with the access network equipment, or user plane function network elements that can establish tunnels (such as the N3 tunnel) with the access network equipment.

[0319] Depending on the executing entity and / or the specific acquisition method, step S1410 may include a variety of different implementation methods, as follows:

[0320] Implementation Method 1: The first device is a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0321] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0322] The first device sends first information to each of the M user plane function network elements. The first information can be used to indicate the service quality results between each user plane function network element and the access network device.

[0323] The first device receives second information from each user plane function network element, which can be used to indicate the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network equipment.

[0324] For example, the first device sends first information to each of the M user plane function network elements. After receiving the first information, each user plane function network element can perform QoS measurement and send second information to the first device to report the QoS results between each user plane function network element and the access network device. Here, QoS results can refer to QoS measurement results. Specific methods for QoS measurement can be found in the QoS monitoring described in the preceding embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0325] Optionally, the granularity of the quality of service result of the first information request can be per QoS flow, per terminal device, or per tunnel.

[0326] Optionally, the first information may also include the identifier of the access network device.

[0327] Optionally, the second information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. The identifier of the access network device may refer to the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the access network device or other identifiers of the access network device, and the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements may refer to the IP addresses of the M user plane function network elements or other identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0328] In some embodiments, before obtaining the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, the first device may send third information to the access network device. The third information may be used to instruct the access network device to establish one or more packet data unit sessions with the M user plane function network elements.

[0329] For example, the third information can be used to instruct the access network device to establish a PDU session with M user plane function network elements, as shown in Figure 15. M N3 tunnels can be established between the access network device and the M user plane function network elements (the M user plane function network elements and the M N3 tunnels can correspond one-to-one). All M N3 tunnels can be associated with the same PDU session (e.g., the third information indicates the establishment of a single PDU session). These M N3 tunnels can use different tunnel identifiers, or they can be distinguished by their respective UPF identifiers. It can be assumed that one of these M N3 tunnels is a real tunnel (used for UE data transmission), as shown in N3 tunnel i in Figure 15. The other N3 tunnels besides this real tunnel can be considered virtual tunnels (used only for measuring QoS results), as shown in N3 tunnel 0, ..., N3 tunnel M, etc. (other N3 tunnels besides N3 tunnel i) in Figure 15.

[0330] For example, the third information can be used to instruct the access network device to establish M PDU sessions with M user plane function network elements, and the M N3 tunnels can be associated with different PDU sessions (such as the M PDU sessions established as indicated by the third information). In this case, it can be assumed that there is one real PDU session (used for UE data transmission) among these M PDU sessions, as shown in Figure 15, where UPF i corresponds to the PDU session, and i is an integer greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to M; the other PDU sessions among these M PDU sessions (excluding the real PDU session) can be considered as virtual PDU sessions (used only for measuring QoS results).

[0331] Optionally, the third information may further include: the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, the identifier of the second user plane function network element among the M user plane function network elements, and / or the packet data unit session or tunnel identifier corresponding to the second user plane function network element. The second user plane function network element can be the user plane function network element initially used for data transmission (or the user plane function network element used for data transmission before the change), as shown in Figure 15, and the second user plane function network element can be UPF i.

[0332] The identifiers of the M user plane functional network elements can refer to the IP addresses of the M user plane functional network elements or other identifiers of the M user plane functional network elements. The identifier of the second user plane functional network element can refer to the IP address of the second user plane functional network element or other identifiers of the second user plane functional network element.

[0333] Optionally, the third information can also be used to indicate that only the tunnel or packet data unit session corresponding to the second user plane function network element is activated.

[0334] Implementation Method 2: The first device is a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0335] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0336] The first device sends first information to each user plane function network element. The first information can be used to instruct the reporting of the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network equipment.

[0337] The first device receives second information from each user plane function network element, which can be used to indicate the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network equipment.

[0338] Optionally, the first information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. Optionally, the second information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0339] For example, the first device sends first information to each of the M user plane function network elements. After receiving the first information, each user plane function network element can perform QoS measurement via Ping packets and send second information to the first device, reporting the QoS results between each user plane function network element and the access network device. Here, QoS results can refer to QoS measurement results. For specific methods of performing QoS measurement via Ping packets, please refer to the Ping mechanism described in the preceding embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0340] In some embodiments, before obtaining the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, the first device may send information to the access network device to request the identifier of the access network device; correspondingly, the first device may receive information from the access network device to indicate the identifier of the access network device.

[0341] Implementation Method 3: The first device is a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0342] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0343] The first device sends first information to the access network device. The first information can be used to instruct the reporting of the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device.

[0344] The first device receives second information from the access network device, which can be used to indicate the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device.

[0345] Optionally, the first information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements. Optionally, the second information may further include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0346] For example, the first device sends first information to the access network device. After receiving the first information, the access network device can perform QoS measurement via Ping packets and send second information to the first device, reporting the QoS results between each user plane function network element and the access network device. Here, QoS results can refer to QoS measurement results. For specific methods of performing QoS measurement via Ping packets, please refer to the Ping mechanism described in the preceding embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0347] In some embodiments, before obtaining the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, the first device may send information to each of the M user plane function network elements to request the identifier of each user plane function network element; correspondingly, the first device may receive information from each user plane function network element to indicate the identifier of each user plane function network element.

[0348] Implementation Method 4: The first device is an access network device.

[0349] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0350] The first device performs QoS measurement via Ping packets to obtain the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network equipment.

[0351] In some embodiments, before obtaining the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, the first device may receive fifth information from the core network element, which may be used to instruct the access network device to report to the first user plane function network element.

[0352] Optionally, the fifth piece of information may also include the identifiers of the M user plane functional network elements.

[0353] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the fifth information from the core network element, the core network element may send information to each of the M user plane function network elements to request the identifier of each user plane function network element; correspondingly, the core network element may receive information from each user plane function network element to indicate the identifier of each user plane function network element.

[0354] Implementation Method 5: The first device is a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0355] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0356] The first device receives the seventh information from the application function network element or the bearer network element. The seventh information can be used to indicate the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device.

[0357] Among them, service quality results can refer to service quality prediction results.

[0358] Optionally, the seventh information may also include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0359] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the seventh information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the application function network element or the bearer network element may receive information from other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, which is used to indicate the historical statistical information of other routing devices; the application function network element or the bearer network element may predict the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device based on the historical statistical information.

[0360] Historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, queue non-empty probability, or average remaining service time. Other routing devices may refer to access network devices between user plane function network elements and access network devices.

[0361] Optionally, before the application function network element or bearer network element receives information from other routing devices indicating historical statistical information of those devices, the application function network element or bearer network element may send information to the other routing devices requesting their historical statistical information. The information requesting the other routing devices' historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical quantities, etc.

[0362] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the seventh information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the first device may send tenth information to the application function network element or the bearer network element. The tenth information may be used to request one or more of the following:

[0363] The quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network equipment, or the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements after passing through a specific first cluster head device and the access network equipment. The first cluster head device may refer to the access network equipment that establishes a connection with the user plane function network elements.

[0364] Optionally, the tenth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the access network device, the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, or the identifiers of available user plane function network elements. The access network device may refer to communication equipment that provides communication services to the terminal device, such as the access satellite shown in Figure 12. Available user plane function network elements may refer to user plane function network elements capable of establishing packet data unit sessions with the access network device, or user plane function network elements capable of establishing tunnels (such as the N3 tunnel) with the access network device; for example, available user plane function network elements may refer to the M user plane function network elements.

[0365] Optionally, the tenth information can also be used to indicate the identification of the first cluster head device.

[0366] Implementation Method Six: The first device is a session management function network element or an access and mobility management function network element.

[0367] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0368] The first device receives the eighth information from the application function network element or the bearer network element. The eighth information can be used to indicate the historical statistics of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device.

[0369] The first device predicts the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network equipment based on historical statistical information.

[0370] Historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, queue non-empty probability, or average remaining service time. Service quality results may refer to service quality prediction results. Other routing devices may refer to access network devices between user plane function network elements and access network devices.

[0371] Optionally, the eighth information may also include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0372] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the eighth information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the application function network element or the bearer network element may receive information from other routing devices for indicating historical statistics of other routing devices.

[0373] Optionally, before the application function network element or bearer network element receives information from other routing devices indicating historical statistical information of those devices, the application function network element or bearer network element may send information to the other routing devices requesting their historical statistical information. The information requesting the other routing devices' historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical quantities, etc.

[0374] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the eighth information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the first device may send tenth information to the application function network element or the bearer network element. The tenth information may be used to request one or more of the following: a user plane function network element, the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, or the QoS result between each of the M user plane function network elements via a specific first cluster head device and the access network device. The first cluster head device may refer to the access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0375] Optionally, the tenth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the access network device, the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, or the identifiers of available user plane function network elements. The access network device may refer to communication equipment that provides communication services to the terminal device, such as the access satellite shown in Figure 12. Available user plane function network elements may refer to user plane function network elements capable of establishing packet data unit sessions with the access network device, or user plane function network elements capable of establishing tunnels (such as the N3 tunnel) with the access network device; for example, available user plane function network elements may refer to the M user plane function network elements.

[0376] Optionally, the tenth information can also be used to indicate the identification of the first cluster head device.

[0377] Implementation Method 7: The first device is an application function network element or a bearer network element.

[0378] In some embodiments, the first device acquiring the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function elements and the access network device may include:

[0379] The first device receives eighth information from other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device. The eighth information can be used to indicate historical statistical information of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device.

[0380] The first device can predict the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network equipment based on historical statistical information.

[0381] Historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, queue non-empty probability, or average remaining service time. Service quality results may refer to service quality prediction results. Other routing devices may refer to access network devices between user plane function network elements and access network devices.

[0382] Optionally, the eighth information may also include the identifier of the access network device and / or the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements.

[0383] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the eighth information from other routing devices, the first device may send information to the other routing devices to request their historical statistics. This information may include time windows and / or statistical measures, etc.

[0384] In some embodiments, before the first device receives the eighth information from other routing devices, the first device may receive the tenth information from core network elements. The tenth information may be used to request one or more of the following:

[0385] The quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network equipment, or the QoS results between each of the M user plane function network elements after passing through a specific first cluster head device and the access network equipment. The first cluster head device may refer to the access network equipment that establishes a connection with the user plane function network elements.

[0386] Optionally, the tenth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the access network device, the identifiers of the M user plane function network elements, or the identifiers of available user plane function network elements. The access network device may refer to communication equipment that provides communication services to the terminal device, such as the access satellite shown in Figure 12. Available user plane function network elements may refer to user plane function network elements capable of establishing packet data unit sessions with the access network device, or user plane function network elements capable of establishing tunnels (such as the N3 tunnel) with the access network device; for example, available user plane function network elements may refer to the M user plane function network elements.

[0387] Optionally, the tenth information can also be used to indicate the identification of the first cluster head device.

[0388] S1420, the first device determines the first user plane function element among the M user plane function elements based on the quality of service results between each user plane function element and the access network device.

[0389] For example, the first device can select the user plane function element with the best service quality result among M user plane function elements as the first user plane function element.

[0390] In some embodiments, in the first implementation described above, after the first device determines the first user plane function network element based on the quality of service result, the first device may send fourth information to the access network device. The fourth information may be used to instruct the access network device to release the packet data unit sessions corresponding to the other user plane function network elements among the M user plane function network elements, excluding the first user plane function network element.

[0391] In this embodiment of the application, the first device sends fourth information to the access network device, which helps to promptly release the packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the other user plane function network elements (excluding the first user plane function network element) after obtaining the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device, thereby helping to reduce the waste of system resources.

[0392] Optionally, the fourth information may further include at least one of the following: the identifier of the packet data unit session corresponding to other user plane function network elements, the tunnel identifier corresponding to other user plane function network elements, the identifier of other user plane function network elements, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the packet data unit session identifier corresponding to the first user plane function network element, and the tunnel identifier corresponding to the first user plane function network element.

[0393] In some embodiments, in the above-described second and third implementations, after the first device determines the first user plane function network element based on the quality of service result, the first device may send information to the access network device to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function network element.

[0394] Compared to existing technologies, this method obtains QoS results before establishing a PDU session and selects a UPF based on those results. In NTN scenarios, PDU sessions established based on the selected UPF can better meet the service quality requirements of the business, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the business.

[0395] Optionally, the information used to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element may further include the identifier of the first user plane function element.

[0396] In some embodiments, in the above-described implementation method four, after the first device determines the first user plane function network element based on the quality of service result, the first device may send sixth information to the core network element, and the sixth information may be used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

[0397] Optionally, the sixth information may also include the identifier of the first user plane functional network element.

[0398] Optionally, after the core network element receives the sixth information, the core network element may send information to the first device to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element.

[0399] Optionally, the information used to instruct the access network device to establish a packet data unit session with the first user plane function element may further include the identifier of the first user plane function element.

[0400] In some embodiments, in the above-described implementation method seven, after the first device determines the first user plane function network element based on the quality of service result, the first device may send ninth information to the core network element, and the ninth information may be used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

[0401] Optionally, the ninth information may also include the identifier of the first user plane functional network element.

[0402] In this embodiment, the first user plane function network element is selected from M user plane function network elements based on the quality of service (QoS) result. This makes it easier for the selected first user plane function network element to better meet the QoS requirements of the service. In other words, when transmitting services on a transmission path that includes the first user plane function network element, it helps to meet the QoS requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0403] The following, with reference to Figure 16, provides a detailed example of the implementation method 1400 described above.

[0404] Figure 16 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method 1600 shown in Figure 16 may include steps S1610 to S1660.

[0405] S1610, SMF or AMF sends an NG message to the access gNB.

[0406] The NG message can carry indication information, which can be used to indicate the establishment of a PDU session and carries the identifier of the initial UPF. The initial UPF can be the second user plane function network element in the aforementioned implementation method one, meaning the initial UPF can be used for data transmission.

[0407] In step S1610, the content of the indication information carried by the NG message can be the PDU session establishment request sent by the UE to the AMF in step S401 as shown in Figure 4 above.

[0408] Optionally, the SMF / AMF can instruct the access gNB to establish a PDU session via an NG message, which can carry a list of candidate UPF IP addresses corresponding to the access gNB; or, the SMF / AMF can instruct the access gNB to establish multiple PDU sessions via an NG message, carrying a list of candidate UPF IP addresses corresponding to the access gNB, in which case each PDU session corresponds to one candidate UPF IP address.

[0409] For example, an NG message can instruct the establishment of a PDU session, as shown in Figure 15, where M N3tunnels can be associated with the same PDU session ID. The M N3tunnels can use different tunnel IDs, or they can be distinguished by their corresponding UPF identifiers (such as UPF IPs).

[0410] For example, an NG message can instruct the establishment of multiple PDU sessions. As shown in Figure 15, M N3tunnels can be associated with different PDU session IDs. In this case, only the tunnel corresponding to the initial UPF (UPF i in Figure 15) is used for actual UE data transmission (N3tunnel i in Figure 15), while the other N3tunnels (N3tunnel 0, ..., N3tunnel M in the figure) are not used for actual UE data transmission, but only for QoS measurement.

[0411] S1620, the access gNB sends a response / feedback NG message to the SMF / AMF, which may carry the access gNB IP address.

[0412] The function of the NG message in step S1620 depends on the implementation of step S1610. For example, if the NG message sent in step S1610 is used for "request", then the NG message in step S1620 is "response" accordingly; otherwise, it is "feedback".

[0413] After receiving the NG message, the SMF / AMF can indicate the access gNB IP address to each UPF.

[0414] S1630, SMF / AMF requests QoS measurement results from each UPF.

[0415] Optionally, the SMF / AMF may indicate the access gNB IP address to each UPF while requesting QoS measurement results from each UPF.

[0416] The granularity of the QoS measurement results requested by SMF / AMF can be per QoS flow, per terminal device, or per tunnel.

[0417] S1640, the UPF performs QoS measurements to obtain the QoS measurement results between the UPF and the access gNB.

[0418] For specific methods of QoS measurement, please refer to the QoS monitoring described in the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0419] UPF can report QoS measurement results to SMF / AMF.

[0420] S1650, SMF / AMF determines the selected UPF based on QoS requirements and / or QoS measurement results.

[0421] S1660, SMF / AMF sends an NG message to the access gNB to instruct the deletion / deactivation / release of the unselected UPF IP address list in the PDU session (corresponding to the case of establishing one PDU session), or to delete / deactivate / release the PDU session ID corresponding to the unselected UPF (corresponding to the case of establishing multiple PDU sessions).

[0422] The schemes described in the above embodiments enable the network side to select a UPF based on the QoS measurement results and QoS requirements between the access gNB and each UPF. This facilitates the selection of a UPF to better meet the QoS of the service, or in other words, when transmitting services on a transmission path that includes the selected UPF, it helps to meet the quality of service of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0423] The following, with reference to Figure 17, provides detailed examples of implementation methods two, three, and four of the above method 1400.

[0424] Figure 17 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 1700 shown in Figure 17 may include steps S1710 to S1760.

[0425] S1710, the SMF / AMF requests an IP address from the UPF and / or access gNB, and correspondingly, the UPF and / or access gNB returns an IP address to the SMF / AMF.

[0426] In method 1700, UPF can be selected in the following ways, as detailed below:

[0427] Method 1: The UPF performs QoS measurements, and the SMF / AMF determines the selected UPF based on the QoS measurement results.

[0428] S1720-1, the SMF / AMF sends an indication message to each UPF to indicate the QoS measurement results between each UPF and the access gNB.

[0429] Optionally, the access gNB IP address may be carried in the instruction message.

[0430] S1730-1, UPF measures the QoS measurement results between UPF and access gNB via Ping packets.

[0431] Based on the access gNB IP address received in step S1720-1, the UPF measures the QoS measurement result between the UPF and the access gNB via Ping packets. For the specific method of QoS measurement via Ping packets, please refer to the Ping mechanism described in the preceding embodiments; it will not be repeated here.

[0432] S1740-1, UPF feeds back QoS measurement results to SMF / AMF.

[0433] S1750-1, SMF / AMF determines the selected UPF based on QoS requirements and / or QoS measurement results.

[0434] Method 2: QoS measurement is performed by the access gNB, and the SMF / AMF determines the selected UPF based on the QoS measurement results.

[0435] S1720-2, SMF / AMF requests the access gNB to measure the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and each UPF.

[0436] Optionally, the request information may include a list of candidate UPF IP addresses.

[0437] S1730-2, based on the candidate UPF IP address list received in step S1720-2, the access gNB measures the QoS measurement results between itself and each UPF via Ping packets.

[0438] S1740-2, access gNB returns QoS measurement results to SMF / AMF.

[0439] Optionally, the access gNB sends the QoS measurement results to the SMF / AMF; or, the access gNB sends the QoS measurement results and the corresponding candidate UPF IP to the SMF / AMF.

[0440] S1750-2, SMF / AMF determines the selected UPF based on QoS requirements and / or QoS measurement results.

[0441] Method 3: The access gNB performs QoS measurements, and the access gNB determines the selected UPF based on the QoS measurement results.

[0442] S1720-3, SMF / AMF requests the selected UPF from the access gNB.

[0443] Optionally, the request information may include a list of candidate UPF IP addresses.

[0444] S1730-3, based on the candidate UPF IP address list received in step S1720-3, the access gNB measures the QoS measurement results between itself and each UPF via Ping packets.

[0445] Optionally, the access gNB determines the selected UPF based on the QoS measurement results and / or QoS requirements obtained in step S1730-3, and returns the selected UPF to the SMF / AMF.

[0446] S1740-3, the access gNB can also return the IP address of the selected UPF to the SMF / AMF.

[0447] After obtaining the selected UPF in SMF / AMF, S1760 can be executed.

[0448] S1760, SMF / AMF sends a PDU session establishment request message to the access gNB via NG message.

[0449] In step S1760, the content of the PDU session establishment request message sent by the SMF / AMF to the access gNB can be the PDU session establishment request sent by the UE to the AMF in step S401 of Figure 4 above. Optionally, the NG message can carry the IP address of the selected UPF.

[0450] The difference between method 1700 and method 1600 is that method 1700 does not require establishing a PDU session before determining the selected UPF.

[0451] The schemes described in the above embodiments enable the network side to select a UPF based on the QoS measurement results and QoS requirements between the access gNB and each UPF. This facilitates the selection of a UPF to better meet the QoS of the service, or in other words, when transmitting services on a transmission path that includes the selected UPF, it helps to meet the quality of service of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0452] The following, with reference to Figure 18, provides detailed examples of implementation methods five, six, and seven of the above method 1400.

[0453] Figure 18 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 1800 shown in Figure 18 may include steps S1810 to S1860.

[0454] In S1810, the SMF or AMF sends a request message to the application function (AF) network element or transport network (Transport NW) network element to request a specified UPF and / or request the QoS result between the UPF and the access gNB. Requesting a specified UPF can be understood as requesting the AF / Transport NW to return the selected UPF to the SMF / AMF, and requesting the QoS result between the UPF and the access gNB can be understood as requesting the return of the QoS result between the UPF and the access gNB, or historical statistical information (used to predict the QoS result between the UPF and the access gNB).

[0455] Optionally, the request information can also be used to request QoS results between the UPF and the access gNB that pass through a specific cluster head.

[0456] Optionally, the request message may carry the access gNB ID, access gNB IP, available header ID list, available header IP list, available UPF ID list, and available UPF IP list.

[0457] For example, one possible implementation is that the SMF / AMF requests the AF, and the AF requests the Transport NW for the QoS results between the UPF and the access gNB; another possible implementation is that the SMF / AMF directly requests the Transport NW for the QoS results between the UPF and the access gNB.

[0458] In S1820, the AF / Transport NW requests historical statistical information, such as time windows and statistics, from the router gNBs. Here, router gNBs can refer to the gNBs between the UPF and the access gNB.

[0459] S1830, router gNBs return historical statistics to AF / Transport NW, such as average queue length, queue non-empty probability, average remaining service time, etc.

[0460] In method 1800, UPF can be selected in the following ways, as detailed below:

[0461] Method 1: Predict QoS results using SMF / AMF and determine the selected UPF.

[0462] S1840-1, AF / Transport NW feeds back historical statistical information to SMF / AMF, such as average queue length, queue non-empty probability, average remaining service time, etc.

[0463] S1850-1, the SMF / AMF predicts the QoS result based on the historical statistical information received in step S1840-1, and determines the selected UPF based on the QoS requirements and / or QoS result.

[0464] Method 2: The QoS result is predicted by AF / Transport NW, and the selected UPF is determined by AF / Transport NW.

[0465] S1840-2, the AF / Transport NW predicts the QoS result based on the historical statistical information received in step S1830, and determines the selected UPF based on the QoS requirements and / or QoS results.

[0466] S1850-2, AF / Transport NW returns the selected UPF to SMF / AMF, and the ID / IP of the selected UPF can be carried in the message.

[0467] Method 3: QoS results are predicted by AF / Transport NW, and the selected UPF is determined by SMF / AMF.

[0468] S1840-3, AF / Transport NW predicts QoS results based on the historical statistical information received in step S1830.

[0469] S1850-3, AF / Transport NW returns QoS results to SMF / AMF.

[0470] Optionally, the AF / Transport NW sends the QoS result to the SMF / AMF; or, the AF / Transport NW sends the QoS result and the corresponding candidate UPF ID / IP to the SMF / AMF.

[0471] S1860-3, SMF / AMF determines the UPF to be selected based on QoS requirements and / or QoS results.

[0472] The schemes described in the above embodiments enable the network side to predict the QoS results between the access gNB and the UPF based on historical statistical information. It can then combine QoS requirements and QoS results to determine the selected UPF, making it easier for the selected UPF to better meet the QoS of the service. In other words, when transmitting services on a transmission path that includes the selected UPF, it helps to meet the service quality of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0473] Figure 19 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 1900 shown in Figure 19 may include steps S1910 to S1960.

[0474] Method 1900 is similar to Method 1800 above, except that the AF / Transport NW in Method 1800 is replaced by RIC (the RIC can be as shown in the O-RAN architecture in Figure 13 above), and the RIC performs the functions related to AF / Transport NW.

[0475] For example, the RIC is responsible for collecting / acquiring historical statistical information of relevant routing nodes and feeding it back to the SMF / AMF; or, the RIC predicts QoS results based on historical statistical information and feeds the QoS results back to the SMF / AMF; or, the RIC determines the selected UPF based on the predicted QoS results and feeds the selected UPF back to the SMF / AMF.

[0476] The specific process of method 1900 can be found in the steps of the embodiment of method 1800 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0477] The communication method in the embodiments of this application will be illustrated in detail below with reference to Figure 20.

[0478] Figure 20 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2000 shown in Figure 20 may include steps S2010 and S2020.

[0479] The communication method of this application embodiment can be applied to a fifth device. That is, the method can be executed by the fifth device, or by a device in the fifth device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device that can be used in conjunction with the fifth device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the fifth device.

[0480] As an example, the fifth device can be either the first access network device or the first cluster head device in any of the aforementioned communication systems. The first access network device can refer to a communication device that provides communication services to the terminal device, such as the access satellite in Figure 12. The first cluster head device can refer to an access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane function network element, such as the cluster head satellite in the base station cluster shown in Figure 12 that establishes a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0481] S2010, the fifth device obtains first information, the first information including one or more of the following: a first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device, a second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device, a third quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first access network device, the number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices, the time interval for changing the cluster head device, or the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device;

[0482] The first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane functional network element.

[0483] Depending on the executing entity and / or the specific acquisition method, step S2010 may include a variety of different implementation methods, as follows:

[0484] Implementation method 1: The fifth device is the first access network device.

[0485] In some embodiments, the fifth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0486] The fifth device acquires the first quality of service (QoS) result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device, the second QoS result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device, and / or the third QoS result between the first user plane function network element and the first access network device.

[0487] For example, the fifth device can perform QoS measurements to obtain a first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device. The first quality of service result can refer to the QoS measurement result. Specific methods for QoS measurement can be found in the QoS monitoring described in the preceding embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0488] For example, the fifth device can receive third information from the first cluster head device, which can be used to indicate a second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device. Optionally, the third information may also include the identifier of the first user plane function network element.

[0489] For example, the fifth device can perform QoS measurement via Ping packets to obtain a third quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first access network device. The third quality of service result can refer to the QoS measurement result. For specific methods of performing QoS measurement via Ping packets, please refer to the Ping mechanism described in the preceding embodiments; it will not be repeated here.

[0490] In some embodiments, before the fifth device measures the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device, the fifth device may receive second information from the first cluster head device, which may be used to indicate the measurement of the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device.

[0491] Implementation Method 2: The fifth device is the first cluster head device.

[0492] In some embodiments, the fifth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0493] The fifth device acquires the first quality of service (QoS) result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device, and / or the second QoS result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device.

[0494] For example, the fifth device can perform QoS measurements to obtain a first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device. The first quality of service result can refer to the QoS measurement result. Specific methods for QoS measurement can be found in the QoS monitoring described in the preceding embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0495] For example, the fifth device can receive fourth information from the first cluster head device, which can be used to indicate the second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device.

[0496] In some embodiments, before the fifth device measures the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device, the fifth device may receive second information from the first cluster head device, which may be used to indicate the measurement of the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device.

[0497] Implementation method 3: The fifth device is the first access network device or the first cluster head device.

[0498] In some embodiments, the fifth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0499] The fifth device obtains the number of times the first terminal device switches between access network devices, and / or the time interval for changing the cluster head device.

[0500] In some embodiments, before the fifth device obtains the first information, the fifth device may receive fifth information from the second access network device. The fifth information may be used to indicate one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of times the first terminal device switches between access network devices, or a threshold for the time interval for changing the cluster head device.

[0501] Implementation Method 4: The fifth device is either the first access network device or the first cluster head device.

[0502] In some embodiments, the fifth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0503] The fifth device obtains the hop count between the first cluster head device and the access network device.

[0504] In some embodiments, before the fifth device obtains the first information, the fifth device may receive fifth information from the second access network device or the core network element. The fifth information may be used to indicate the hop count threshold between the first cluster head device and the access network device.

[0505] S2020, the fifth device determines whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information.

[0506] In some embodiments, in the first implementation described above, the fifth device may determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first quality of service result, the second quality of service result, and / or the third quality of service result.

[0507] In some embodiments, in the second implementation described above, the fifth device may determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first quality of service result and / or the second quality of service result.

[0508] In some embodiments, in the above-described implementation method three, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices is greater than or equal to a threshold number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices; or, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the time interval for changing the cluster head device is greater than or equal to a threshold number of time intervals for changing the cluster head device; or, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices is greater than or equal to a threshold number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices and the time interval for changing the cluster head device is greater than or equal to a threshold number of time intervals for changing the cluster head device.

[0509] In some embodiments, in the above-described implementation method four, the fifth device may determine to change the first cluster head device if the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device is greater than or equal to the threshold number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device.

[0510] In some embodiments, if it is determined that the first cluster head device needs to be changed, the fifth device may send a sixth message to the core network device, which may be used to indicate the change of the first cluster head device.

[0511] Optionally, the sixth information may include the identifier of the modified second cluster head device.

[0512] In this application embodiment, determining whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information facilitates changing the first cluster head device when it fails to meet the service quality requirements of the service, or in other words, facilitates changing the first cluster head device when the service transmitted on the transmission path containing the first cluster head device fails to meet the service quality requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0513] The following, with reference to Figure 21, provides detailed examples of implementation methods one and two of the above method 2000.

[0514] Figure 21 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2100 shown in Figure 21 may include steps S2110 to S2160.

[0515] S2110, the UPF periodically informs the header of the QoS measurement results between the UPF and the cluster head.

[0516] S2120, after the UE switches to the access gNB, the header or access gNB triggers / initiates the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the header.

[0517] Optionally, the QoS measurement process between the access gNB and the header can be triggered / initiated by the header or the access gNB to measure and obtain the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the header. For example, the access gNB can send a QoS monitoring / feedback request to the header; or the header can send a QoS monitoring / feedback request to the access gNB.

[0518] Optionally, the header may also request QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF from the access gNB. For example, the header may request QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF from the access gNB; or, request the access gNB to measure the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF; or, request the access gNB to send a Ping packet to the UPF to measure the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF.

[0519] In method 2100, the following methods can be used to determine whether to change the header, as detailed below:

[0520] Method 1: The QoS between the header and the access gNB is measured by the access gNB (corresponding to step S2120 where the header sends a QoS monitoring request to the access gNB). Optionally, the header can indicate to the access gNB the QoS measurement results between the header and the UPF.

[0521] S2130-1, the access gNB initiates a QoS measurement between the header and the access gNB to obtain the QoS measurement results between the header and the access gNB.

[0522] S2140-1, the header indicates the QoS measurement results between the UPF and the header to the access gNB. Optionally, the IP address of the UPF may also be carried in this message.

[0523] Optionally, the access gNB can measure the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF via Ping packets (corresponding to the header requesting the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF in step S2120).

[0524] S2150-1, access gNB determines whether to change the header.

[0525] For example, the access gNB can determine whether to change the cluster header based on QoS requirements and / or QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the header; or, the access gNB can determine whether to change the cluster header based on QoS requirements and / or QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF; or, the access gNB can determine whether to change the cluster header based on QoS requirements, QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the header, and / or QoS measurement results between the header and the UPF; or, the access gNB can determine whether to change the cluster header based on QoS requirements and / or QoS measurement results between the UPF and the header.

[0526] For example, if the access gNB determines that the QoS measurement between the access gNB and the UPF is better than the QoS measurement between the header and the UPF, then the access gNB can determine to change the cluster header to itself, i.e., the access gNB.

[0527] S2160-1, the access gNB instructs the SMF / AMF to change the cluster head. Optionally, the access gNB can also instruct the SMF / AMF to indicate the identifier of the new cluster head.

[0528] Method 2: QoS from the access gNB to the header is measured by the header (corresponding to step S2120 where the access gNB sends a QoS monitoring request to the header).

[0529] S2130-2, the header initiates a QoS measurement between the header and the access gNB to obtain the QoS measurement results between the header and the access gNB.

[0530] S2140-2, header determines whether to change the header.

[0531] For example, the header can determine whether to change the cluster header based on QoS requirements, QoS measurement results between the header and the UPF, and / or QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the header.

[0532] S2150-2, the header indicates to the SMF / AMF that the cluster header has been changed. Optionally, the header may also indicate to the SMF / AMF the identifier of the new cluster header.

[0533] The schemes described in the above embodiments enable the network side to determine whether to change the cluster head based on the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the header, the QoS measurement results between the UPF and the header, and / or the QoS measurement results between the access gNB and the UPF. This facilitates changing the cluster head when the current cluster head cannot meet the service quality requirements of the service, or in other words, it facilitates changing the cluster head when the service transmitted on the transmission path containing the current cluster head cannot meet the service quality requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0534] The following example, with reference to Figure 22, provides a detailed illustration of implementation method three in the above method 2000.

[0535] Figure 22 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2200 shown in Figure 22 may include steps S2210 to S2250.

[0536] S2210, SMF / AMF indicates to the access gNB and / or header the number of subsequent handovers (i.e., the threshold for the number of handovers between gNBs for the UE) or the time interval for how long the cluster head does not need to be changed (i.e., the threshold for the time interval for changing the cluster head device).

[0537] Optionally, the indication information may include information on the number of switching attempts or time information.

[0538] In method 2200, the following methods can be used to determine whether to change the header, as follows:

[0539] Method 1: Transmit the change basis (the change basis can refer to information indicating how many subsequent handovers or how long afterward the cluster head does not need to be changed) to the access / target gNB, and the target gNB determines whether to change the cluster head. The target gNB can refer to the gNB the UE accesses after completing the handover.

[0540] In S2220-1, the access gNB sends a handover request to the target gNB. This handover request may carry indication information, indicating the number of subsequent handovers or the subsequent time period during which no cluster head change is required. Optionally, the indication information may also carry handover count information.

[0541] S2230-1, execute the handover procedure for the access base station. The UE can hand over from the access gNB to the target gNB.

[0542] S2240-1, target gNB determines whether to change the cluster head.

[0543] The target gNB can determine the cluster head to be changed based on the indication information obtained in step S2220-1.

[0544] S2250-1, the target gNB instructs the SMF / AMF to change the cluster head. Optionally, the target gNB can also instruct the SMF / AMF to indicate the identifier of the new cluster head.

[0545] Method 2: Do not pass the change basis to the access / target gNB; let the header determine whether to change the cluster header.

[0546] S2220-2, a UE handover procedure is performed between the access gNB and the target gNB. The UE can hand over from the access gNB to the target gNB.

[0547] S2230-2, the target gNB indicates to the header that the UE handover is complete.

[0548] S2240-2, the header determines whether to change the cluster header.

[0549] The header can be determined based on the indication information obtained in step S2210, or by itself based on the number of handovers (since the header is the anchor base station, after the access base station changes, the header receives the handover completion indication, and the header can determine the number of handovers itself) to change the cluster header.

[0550] S2250-2, the header indicates to the SMF / AMF that the cluster header has been changed. Optionally, the header may also indicate to the SMF / AMF the identifier of the new cluster header.

[0551] In the above embodiments, the new cluster head can be the target gNB or other gNBs, or the selection of the cluster head may be pre-configured, and this application does not limit this.

[0552] The schemes described in the above embodiments enable the network side to determine whether to change the cluster head based on information such as the number of handovers or time information. This facilitates changing the cluster head when the current cluster head cannot meet the service quality requirements of the service, or when the service transmitted on the transmission path containing the current cluster head cannot meet the service quality requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0553] The following example, with reference to Figure 23, provides a detailed illustration of implementation method four in the above method 2000.

[0554] Figure 23 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2300 shown in Figure 23 may include steps S2310 to S2350.

[0555] S2310, SMF / AMF indicates to the access gNB and / or header the maximum number of hops from the cluster head to the access gNB (used as the basis / judgment condition for cluster head changes).

[0556] Optionally, the indication message may carry hop count information (i.e., the maximum hop count information mentioned above). The hop count information may refer to the number of hops between the old / previous header and the current access gNB.

[0557] S2320, a UE handover procedure is performed between the access gNB and the target gNB. The UE can hand over from the access gNB to the target gNB.

[0558] S2330, the target gNB indicates to the header that the UE handover is complete.

[0559] In method 2300, the following methods can be used to determine whether to change the header, as detailed below:

[0560] Method 1: Pass the basis for the change to the access / target gNB, and the target gNB determines whether to change the cluster head.

[0561] S2340-1, target gNB determines whether to change the cluster head.

[0562] The target gNB can determine the changed cluster header based on the hop count from the target gNB itself to the old / previous header. The hop count information refers to the hop count between the old / previous header and the current access gNB. After the UE handover is completed, the target gNB in ​​Figure 23 is the current access gNB.

[0563] S2350-1, the target gNB instructs the SMF / AMF to change the cluster head. Optionally, the target gNB can also instruct the SMF / AMF to indicate the identifier of the new cluster head.

[0564] Method 2: Do not pass the change basis to the access / target gNB; let the header determine whether to change the cluster header.

[0565] S2340-2, the header determines whether to change the cluster header.

[0566] The header can determine the cluster header to be changed based on the number of hops from the header itself to the target gNB.

[0567] S2350-2, the header indicates to the SMF / AMF that the cluster header has been changed. Optionally, the header may also indicate to the SMF / AMF the identifier of the new cluster header.

[0568] In the above embodiments, the new cluster head can be the target gNB or other gNBs, or the selection of the cluster head may be pre-configured, and this application does not limit this.

[0569] The scheme described in the above embodiments enables the network side to determine whether to change the cluster head based on information such as the hop count (the number of hops between the cluster head before the change and the current access gNB). This facilitates changing the cluster head when the current cluster head cannot meet the service quality requirements of the service, or in other words, it facilitates changing the cluster head when the service transmitted on the transmission path containing the current cluster head cannot meet the service quality requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0570] The communication method in the embodiments of this application will be illustrated in detail below with reference to Figure 24.

[0571] Figure 24 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2400 shown in Figure 24 may include steps S2410 and S2420.

[0572] The communication method of this application embodiment can be applied to an eighth device. That is, the method can be executed by the eighth device, or by a device in the eighth device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a circuit, or a processor), or by a device that can be used in conjunction with the eighth device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the eighth device.

[0573] As an example, the eighth device can be a session management function network element, access and mobility management function network element, application function network element, or bearer network element in any of the aforementioned communication systems.

[0574] S2410, the eighth device obtains first information, which is used to indicate the first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, and / or the second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device, where N is a positive integer.

[0575] Optionally, the first information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of N cluster head devices.

[0576] Depending on the executing entity and / or the specific acquisition method, step S2410 may include a variety of different implementation methods, as follows:

[0577] Implementation Method 1: The eighth device is a session management function network element and an access and mobility management function network element.

[0578] In some embodiments, the eighth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0579] The eighth device receives third information from the application function network element or the bearer network element. The third information is used to indicate the first historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or the second historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device.

[0580] The eighth device predicts, based on the third information, the first quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first user plane functional network element, and / or the second quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first access network device.

[0581] The first historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, probability of a queue not being empty, or average remaining service time. The second historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, probability of a queue not being empty, or average remaining service time.

[0582] Optionally, the third information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of N cluster head devices.

[0583] In some embodiments, before the eighth device receives the third information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the application function network element or the bearer network element may receive first historical statistical information from other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or second historical statistical information from other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device.

[0584] Optionally, before the application function network element or bearer network element receives the first historical statistical information and / or the second historical statistical information, the application function network element or bearer network element may send information requesting the first historical statistical information to other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or send information requesting the second historical statistical information to other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device. The information for requesting the first historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical values, etc. The information for requesting the second historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical values, etc.

[0585] In some embodiments, before the eighth device receives the third information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the eighth device may send fifth information to the application function network element or the bearer network element. The fifth information may be used to request one or more of the following: a cluster head device, a first quality of service (QoS) result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or a second QoS result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device. Here, a cluster head device may refer to an access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0586] Optionally, the fifth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first access network device, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, or the identifier of the available cluster head device.

[0587] Implementation Method 2: The eighth device is a session management function network element and an access and mobility management function network element.

[0588] In some embodiments, the eighth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0589] The eighth device receives second information from the application function network element or the bearer network element. The second information can be used to indicate the first quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or the second quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first access network device.

[0590] Optionally, the second information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of N cluster head devices.

[0591] In some embodiments, before the eighth device receives the second information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the application function network element or the bearer network element may receive first historical statistical information from other routing devices between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, and / or second historical statistical information from other routing devices between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device; the application function network element or the bearer network element may predict a first quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element based on the first historical statistical information, and / or predict a second quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first access network device based on the second historical statistical information.

[0592] The first historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, probability of a queue not being empty, or average remaining service time. The second historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, probability of a queue not being empty, or average remaining service time.

[0593] Optionally, before the application function network element or bearer network element receives the first historical statistical information and / or the second historical statistical information, the application function network element or bearer network element may send information requesting the first historical statistical information to other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or send information requesting the second historical statistical information to other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device. The information for requesting the first historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical values, etc. The information for requesting the second historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical values, etc.

[0594] In some embodiments, before the eighth device receives the second information from the application function network element or the bearer network element, the eighth device may send fifth information to the application function network element or the bearer network element. The fifth information may be used to request one or more of the following: a cluster head device, a first quality of service (QoS) result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or a second QoS result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device. Here, a cluster head device may refer to an access network device that has established a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0595] Optionally, the fifth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first access network device, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, or the identifier of the available cluster head device.

[0596] Implementation Method 3: The eighth device is an application function network element or a bearer network element.

[0597] In some embodiments, the eighth device acquiring the first information may include:

[0598] The eighth device receives third information, which can be used to indicate the first historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or the second historical statistics of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device;

[0599] The eighth device predicts, based on the third information, the first quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first user plane functional network element, and / or the second quality of service result between each cluster head device and the first access network device.

[0600] The first historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, probability of a queue not being empty, or average remaining service time. The second historical statistical information may include at least one of the following: average queue length, probability of a queue not being empty, or average remaining service time.

[0601] Optionally, the third information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first user plane function network element, the identifier of the first access network device, or the identifiers of N cluster head devices.

[0602] In some embodiments, before the eighth device receives third information from other routing devices, the eighth device may send information to other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element to request first historical statistical information, and / or send information to other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device to request second historical statistical information. The information for requesting the first historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical values, etc. The information for requesting the second historical statistical information may include time windows and / or statistical values, etc.

[0603] In some embodiments, before the eighth device receives third information from other routing devices, the eighth device may receive fifth information from a core network element. The fifth information may be used to request one or more of the following: a cluster head device, a first quality of service (QoS) result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or a second QoS result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device. Here, a cluster head device may refer to an access network device that has established a connection with a user plane function network element.

[0604] Optionally, the fifth information may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the first access network device, the identifier of the first user plane function network element, or the identifier of the available cluster head device.

[0605] S2420, the eighth device determines the first cluster head device among the N cluster head devices based on the first information;

[0606] The first cluster head device may refer to an access network device that establishes a connection with a user plane function network element.

[0607] In some embodiments, in the above-described implementation method three, after the eighth device determines the first cluster head device based on the first information, the eighth device may send fourth information to the core network element, and the fourth information may be used to indicate the first cluster head device.

[0608] Optionally, the fourth information may also include the identifier of the first cluster head device.

[0609] In this embodiment, the first cluster head device is determined based on the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the first access network device. This makes it easier to select a first cluster head device that better meets the QoS requirements of the service. In other words, when transmitting services on a transmission path that includes the first cluster head device, it helps to meet the QoS requirements of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0610] The following, with reference to Figure 25, provides detailed examples of implementation methods five, six, and seven of the above method 2400.

[0611] Figure 25 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2500 shown in Figure 25 may include steps S2510 to S2560.

[0612] S2510, SMF / AMF sends a request message to AF / Transport NW to request a specified cluster head, request the first QoS result between the header and UPF, and / or request the second QoS result between the header and access gNB.

[0613] Optionally, the request message may carry the access gNB ID, access gNB IP, available header ID list, available header IP list, available UPF ID list, and available UPF IP list.

[0614] For example, one possible implementation is that the SMF / AMF requests the AF, and the AF requests the Transport NW for the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result; another possible implementation is that the SMF / AMF directly requests the Transport NW for the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result.

[0615] S2520, the AF / Transport NW requests historical statistical information, such as time windows and statistics, from the router gNBs. The router gNBs can include gNBs between the header and the UPF, and / or gNBs between the header and the access gNB.

[0616] S2530, the router gNBs return historical statistics to the AF / Transport NW, such as average queue length, queue non-empty probability, and average remaining service time. This historical statistics may include first historical statistics between the header and the UPF, and / or second historical statistics between the header and the access gNB.

[0617] In method 2500, the cluster head can be selected in the following ways, as detailed below:

[0618] Method 1: Predict QoS results using SMF / AMF and determine the selected cluster head.

[0619] S2540-1, AF / Transport NW feeds back historical statistical information to SMF / AMF, such as average queue length, queue non-empty probability, average remaining service time, etc.

[0620] S2550-1, the SMF / AMF predicts the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result based on the historical statistical information received in step S2540-1, and determines the selected cluster head based on the QoS requirements, the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result.

[0621] Method 2: The QoS result is predicted by AF / Transport NW, and the selected cluster head is determined by AF / Transport NW.

[0622] S2540-2, AF / Transport NW predicts the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result based on the historical statistical information received in step S2530.

[0623] AF / Transport NW determines the selected cluster head based on QoS requirements, the first QoS result, and / or the second QoS result.

[0624] S2550-2, AF / Transport NW returns the selected cluster head to SMF / AMF, and the ID / IP of the selected cluster head can be carried in the message.

[0625] Method 3: QoS results are predicted by AF / Transport NW, and the selected cluster head is determined by SMF / AMF.

[0626] S2540-3, AF / Transport NW predicts the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result based on the historical statistical information received in step S2530.

[0627] S2550-3, AF / Transport NW returns the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result to SMF / AMF.

[0628] Optionally, the AF / Transport NW sends the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result to the SMF / AMF; or, the AF / Transport NW sends the first QoS result and / or the second QoS result and the corresponding candidate UPF ID / IP to the SMF / AMF.

[0629] S2560-3, SMF / AMF determines the selected cluster head based on QoS requirements, first QoS result and / or second QoS result.

[0630] The schemes described in the above embodiments enable the network side to predict the QoS results between the access gNB and UPF based on historical statistical information. It can then combine QoS requirements and QoS results to determine the selected cluster head, making it easier for the selected cluster head to better meet the QoS of the service. In other words, when transmitting services on a transmission path that includes the selected cluster head, it helps to meet the quality of service of the service, thereby helping to improve the transmission performance of the service.

[0631] Figure 26 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in one embodiment of this application. The method 2600 shown in Figure 26 may include steps S2610 to S2660.

[0632] Method 2600 is similar to Method 2500 above, except that the AF / Transport NW in Method 2500 is replaced by RIC (the RIC can be as shown in the O-RAN architecture in Figure 13 above), and the RIC performs the functions related to AF / Transport NW.

[0633] For example, the RIC is responsible for collecting / acquiring historical statistical information of relevant routing nodes and feeding it back to the SMF / AMF; or, the RIC predicts QoS results based on historical statistical information and feeds the QoS results back to the SMF / AMF; or, the RIC determines the selected UPF based on the predicted QoS results and feeds the selected UPF back to the SMF / AMF.

[0634] The specific process of method 2600 can be found in the steps of the embodiment of method 2500 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0635] The method embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 14 to 26. The apparatus embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 27 and 36. It should be understood that the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments; therefore, any parts not described in detail can be referred to the preceding method embodiments.

[0636] Figure 27 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 2700 shown in Figure 27 can be used in the first device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 2700 can be the first device, or a device in the first device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the first device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the first device.

[0637] As shown in Figure 27, the communication device 2700 includes an acquisition unit 2710 and a determination unit 2720, as detailed below:

[0638] The acquisition unit 2710 is used to acquire the quality of service results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network equipment, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

[0639] The determining unit 2720 is used to determine the first user plane function element among the M user plane function elements based on the quality of service results between each user plane function element and the access network device.

[0640] Figure 28 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 2800 shown in Figure 28 can be used in the second device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 2800 can be the second device, or a device in the second device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the second device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the second device.

[0641] As shown in Figure 28, the communication device 2800 includes a receiving unit 2810 and a transmitting unit 2820, as detailed below:

[0642] The receiving unit 2810 is used to receive first information from the core network element, the first information being used to indicate the quality of service results between each user plane function in the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

[0643] The sending unit 2820 is used to send second information to the core network element, the second information being used to indicate the quality of service result between each user plane function and the access network device.

[0644] Figure 29 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 2900 shown in Figure 29 can be used in the third device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 2900 can be the third device, or a device in the third device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the third device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the third device.

[0645] As shown in Figure 29, the communication device 2900 includes a transmitting unit 2910 and a receiving unit 2920, as detailed below:

[0646] The sending unit 2910 is used to send fifth information to the access network device, the fifth information being used to instruct the access network device to report the first user plane function network element among M user plane function network elements, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

[0647] The receiving unit 2920 is configured to receive sixth information from the access network device, the sixth information being used to indicate the first user plane function network element.

[0648] Figure 30 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 3000 shown in Figure 30 can be used in the fourth device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 3000 can be the fourth device, or a device in the fourth device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the fourth device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the fourth device.

[0649] As shown in Figure 30, the communication device 3000 includes a transmitting unit 3010, as detailed below:

[0650] The sending unit 3010 is configured to send seventh information, which indicates the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the first access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or,

[0651] The sending unit 3010 is used to send eighth information, which is used to indicate the historical statistical information of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the first access network device.

[0652] Figure 31 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 3100 shown in Figure 31 can be used in the fifth device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 3100 can be the fifth device, or a device in the fifth device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the fifth device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the fifth device.

[0653] As shown in Figure 31, the communication device 3100 includes an acquisition unit 3110 and a determination unit 3120, as detailed below:

[0654] The acquisition unit 3110 is used to acquire first information, which includes one or more of the following: a first quality of service result between a first access network device and a first cluster head device, a second quality of service result between a first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device, a third quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first access network device, the number of times the first terminal device switches between access network devices, the time interval for changing the cluster head device, or the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device;

[0655] The determining unit 3120 is used to determine whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information; wherein, the first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0656] Figure 32 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 3200 shown in Figure 32 can be used in the sixth device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 3200 can be the sixth device, or a device in the sixth device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the sixth device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the sixth device.

[0657] As shown in Figure 32, the communication device 3200 includes a transmitting unit 3210, as detailed below:

[0658] The sending unit 3210 is used to send second information, which is used to indicate the first quality of service result between the first access network device and the first cluster head device.

[0659] Figure 33 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 3300 shown in Figure 33 can be used in the seventh device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 3300 can be the seventh device, or a device in the seventh device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the seventh device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the seventh device.

[0660] As shown in Figure 33, the communication device 3300 includes a transmitting unit 3310, as detailed below:

[0661] The sending unit 3310 is used to send fifth information, which is used to indicate one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of times the first terminal device switches between access network devices, a threshold for the time interval for changing cluster head devices, or a threshold for the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device.

[0662] Figure 34 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 3400 shown in Figure 34 can be used in the eighth device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 3400 can be the eighth device, or a device in the eighth device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the eighth device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the eighth device.

[0663] As shown in Figure 34, the communication device 3400 includes an acquisition unit 3410 and a determination unit 3420, as detailed below:

[0664] Acquisition unit 3410 is used to acquire first information, which is used to indicate the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the first access network device, where M is a positive integer;

[0665] The determining unit 3420 is used to determine the first cluster head device based on the first information; wherein the first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane function network element.

[0666] Figure 35 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 3500 shown in Figure 35 can be used in the ninth device in the foregoing embodiments. The communication device 3500 can be the ninth device, or a device in the ninth device (e.g., a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, or a functional module, etc.), or a device that can be used in conjunction with the ninth device, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the ninth device.

[0667] As shown in Figure 35, the communication device 3500 includes a transmitting unit 3510, as detailed below:

[0668] The sending unit 3510 is used to send second information, which indicates the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the first access network device, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; or,

[0669] The sending unit 3510 is used to send third information, which is used to indicate the historical statistical information of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the first access network device.

[0670] Figure 36 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application. The dashed lines in Figure 36 indicate that the unit or module is optional. This apparatus 3600 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. The apparatus 3600 can be a chip or a communication device.

[0671] Apparatus 3600 may include one or more processors 3610. The processor 3610 may support apparatus 3600 in implementing the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The processor 3610 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be other general-purpose processors, microprocessor units (MPUs), microcontroller units (MCUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), artificial intelligence processors (AI processors) or neural processing units (NPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0672] The device 3600 may further include one or more memories 3620. The memories 3620 store a program that can be executed by the processor 3610, causing the processor 3610 to perform the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The memories 3620 may be independent of the processor 3610 or integrated within the processor 3610. In this embodiment, the memories 3620 may include, but are not limited to, cache, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc.

[0673] The device 3600 may also include a transceiver 3630. The processor 3610 can communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 3630. For example, the processor 3610 can send and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 3630.

[0674] It should be noted that the information interaction and execution process between the above-mentioned devices / units are based on the same concept as the method embodiments of this application. For details on their specific functions and technical effects, please refer to the method embodiments section, and they will not be repeated here.

[0675] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the above-described division of functional units and modules is merely an example. In practical applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The functional units and modules in the embodiments 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. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit. Furthermore, the specific names of the functional units and modules are only for easy differentiation and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. The specific working process of the units and modules in the above system can be referred to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0676] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps described in the various method embodiments above.

[0677] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps described in the various method embodiments above.

[0678] This application also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that a device or equipment (such as a communication device) with the chip installed performs the steps in the above-described method embodiments.

[0679] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments of this application can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed by a processor, it can implement the steps of the various method embodiments described above. The computer program includes computer program code, which can be in the form of source code, object code, executable files, or some intermediate form. The computer-readable storage medium can include at least: any entity or device capable of carrying computer program code to a device / app, a recording medium, a computer memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an electrical carrier signal, a telecommunication signal, and a software distribution medium. Examples include USB flash drives, portable hard drives, magnetic disks, or optical disks. In some possible implementations, the computer-readable storage medium may not be an electrical carrier signal or a telecommunication signal.

[0680] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts that are not described in detail or recorded in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0681] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether 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 implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0682] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus / devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus / device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of modules or 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.

[0683] 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.

[0684] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Get the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane functional network elements and the access network equipment, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; Based on the quality of service results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, the first user plane function network element among the M user plane function network elements is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network equipment includes: Send first information to each user plane function network element or the access network device, wherein the first information is used to instruct the reporting of the quality of service results between each user plane function network element and the access network device; Receive second information from each user plane function network element or the access network device, the second information being used to indicate the quality of service result between each user plane function network element and the access network device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a third message to the access network device, the third message being used to instruct the access network device to establish one or more packet data unit sessions with the M user plane function network elements.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fourth message to the access network device, the fourth message being used to instruct the release of packet data unit sessions between the access network device and the other user plane function network elements among the M user plane function network elements, excluding the first user plane function network element.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The fifth information is received from the core network element, and the fifth information is used to instruct the access network device to report to the first user plane function network element; A sixth message is sent to the core network element, the sixth message being used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send information for requesting the identifier of the access network device; Receive information indicating the identifier of the access network device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send information for requesting the identifier of each of the M user plane function network elements; Receive information indicating the identifier of each of the M user plane function network elements.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the quality of service (QoS) results between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network equipment includes: Receive seventh information, the seventh information being used to indicate the quality of service (QoS) result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device; or... Receive eighth information, which is used to indicate the historical statistics of other routing devices between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device; predict the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device based on the historical statistics.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: A ninth message is sent to the core network element, the ninth message being used to instruct the first user plane function network element.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1, 8, and 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive the tenth message, which is used to request one or more of the following: User plane function network element, the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, or the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device after passing through a specific first cluster head device; The first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane functional network element.

11. The method according to claim 1 or 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a tenth message, which requests one or more of the following: User plane function network element, the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device, or the quality of service result between each of the M user plane function network elements and the access network device after passing through a specific first cluster head device; The first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane functional network element.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain first information, which includes one or more of the following: a first quality of service result between a first access network device and a first cluster head device, a second quality of service result between a first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device, a third quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first access network device, the number of handovers of the first terminal device between access network devices, the time interval for changing the cluster head device, or the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device; Determine whether to modify the first cluster head device based on the first information; The first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane functional network element.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, Before obtaining the first information, the method further includes: Receive second information from the first cluster head device or the first access network device, the second information being used to indicate a first quality of service result measured between the first access network device and the first cluster head device.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first information includes: Receive third information from the first cluster head device, the third information being used to indicate a second quality of service result between the first user plane function network element and the first cluster head device.

15. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first information includes: The system receives fourth information from the User Plane Function (UPF) element, which indicates a second quality of service (QoS) result between the first UPF element and the first cluster head device.

16. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, Before obtaining the first information, the method further includes: The system receives fifth information from a second access network device or a core network element, the fifth information indicating one or more of the following: a threshold for the number of handovers between the first terminal device and the access network device, a threshold for the time interval between changing the cluster head device, or a threshold for the number of hops between the first cluster head device and the access network device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that, After determining whether to change the first cluster head device based on the first information, the method further includes: If it is determined that the first cluster head device needs to be changed, a sixth message is sent to the core network device, the sixth message being used to indicate the change of the first cluster head device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The sixth piece of information includes the identifier of the modified second cluster head device.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain first information, which is used to indicate the first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, and / or the second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device, where N is a positive integer; Based on the first information, determine the first cluster head device among the N cluster head devices; The first cluster head device refers to the access network device that establishes a connection with the user plane functional network element.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The acquisition of the first information includes: Receive second information, the second information being used to indicate a first quality of service (QoS) result between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or a second QoS result between each cluster head device and the first access network device; or, Receive third information, the third information being used to indicate the first historical statistical information of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first user plane function network element, and / or the second historical statistical information of other routing devices between each cluster head device and the first access network device; predict the first quality of service result and / or the second quality of service result based on the third information.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The method further includes: A fourth message is sent to the core network element, the fourth message being used to instruct the first cluster head device.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fifth information, which is used to request one or more of the following: The cluster head device, the first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or the second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device.

23. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fifth message, which requests one or more of the following: The cluster head device, the first quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first user plane function network element, or the second quality of service result between each of the N cluster head devices and the first access network device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A module or unit for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processor and a memory, the processor being coupled to the memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, which, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 23.

26. 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 23.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that, include: 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 23.

28. A chip, characterized in that, include: A processor and a memory, the memory for storing a computer program, the processor for calling and running the computer program stored in the memory, causing a device or apparatus on which the chip is mounted to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 23.

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