Communication methods, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to communication methods, a communication device, a communication system, a storage medium, and a program product. A communication method is executed by a first node, and comprises: on the basis of first information, determining a second node for a first session, wherein the first information is used for indicating support for asynchronous type communication, the first session is associated with the asynchronous type communication, and the second node is used for processing service data of the asynchronous type communication. The solution of the present disclosure enables the discovery and selection of network devices supporting asynchronous type communication in a communication network.

Description

Communication methods, communication equipment, communication systems, storage media and software products Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication, and more particularly to a communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product. Background Technology

[0002] Communication systems are offering increasingly diverse services. Some services may have low latency requirements and / or do not require immediate processing. Communication systems need to be able to support the implementation of such services. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure relates to a communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a first node. The method includes: determining a second node for a first session based on first information, wherein the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, and the second node is used to process business data of the asynchronous communication.

[0005] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a second node. The method includes: receiving fourth information sent by a first node, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; and / or sending fifth information to the first node, wherein the fifth information is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication; wherein the second node is used to process service data for asynchronous communication.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided. The method is performed by a fourth node. The method includes: sending second information to a first node, wherein the second information indicates an available second node, the available second node being used by the first node to determine a second node for a first session based on first information, the first information indicating support for asynchronous communication, the first session being associated with asynchronous communication, and the determined second node being used to process business data of the asynchronous communication.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided. This communication device is used to perform the communication method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a first node, a second node, and a fourth node. The first node is configured to perform the communication method as described in the first aspect. The second node is configured to perform the communication method as described in the second aspect. The fourth node is configured to perform the communication method as described in the third aspect.

[0009] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a storage medium is provided. The storage medium stores instructions. When executed on a communication device, the instructions cause the communication device to perform the communication method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0010] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a program product is provided. The program product includes at least one of a program and instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a communication device, they implement the steps of the communication method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0011] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided. When the computer program is run on a computer, it causes the computer to perform the communication method as described in the first, second, or third aspect.

[0012] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a chip or chip system is provided. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the communication methods described in the first, second, or third aspects.

[0013] According to embodiments of this disclosure, network devices in a communication network that support asynchronous communication can be identified, so as to transmit service data using asynchronous communication methods.

[0014] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the invention.

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 4A is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 4B is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 4C is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 4D is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5A is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of the communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 5B is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of the communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 5C is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of the communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 5D is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of the communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0030] This disclosure provides a communication method, communication device, communication system, storage medium, and program product.

[0031] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method. The method is performed by a first node. The method includes: determining a second node for a first session based on first information, wherein the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, and the second node is used to process business data for asynchronous communication.

[0032] In the above embodiments, the first node can determine a second node to process the service data of the first session based on the first information. Since the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the second node determined based on the first information has support for asynchronous communication functionality. Thus, for the first session associated with asynchronous communication, the first node can determine a second node that supports asynchronous communication, thereby enabling the processing of the service data of the asynchronous communication in the first session by means of the second node, improving the transmission capacity and flexibility of the communication system.

[0033] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous type communication; pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication; network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication; and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0034] In the above embodiments, the first node can be determined based on indication information, pre-configuration information, network slicing information, capability information, etc., from the third node. Thus, if the third node indicates asynchronous communication characteristics through indication information, the first node receiving the indication information can determine that the second node needs to support asynchronous communication. Similarly, if at least one of the pre-configuration information, network slicing information, and capability information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the first node can also determine that the second node needs to support asynchronous communication. Based on this, the determined second node can support asynchronous communication, enabling the processing of service data for asynchronous communication in the first session.

[0035] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the function of asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: storing business data; transmitting business data.

[0036] In the above embodiments, if the second node determined by the first node for the first session supports asynchronous communication, then the second node can store and / or transmit service data. Thus, in asynchronous communication, the second node can first store service data and then transmit the stored service data to the corresponding network function and / or terminal after a certain period of time. In this way, the second node can achieve delayed transmission of service data, improving the transmission capacity and flexibility of the communication system.

[0037] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second node can support asynchronous communication functionality.

[0038] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, service data may be associated with at least one of the following services: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0039] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the above method may further include: receiving second information sent by a fourth node, wherein the second information is used to indicate an available second node, and the determined second node is at least one of the available second nodes.

[0040] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the above method may further include: sending third information to a fourth node, wherein the third information is used to request the fourth node to provide an available second node.

[0041] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the third information indicates support for asynchronous type communication.

[0042] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the above method may further include at least one of the following: sending a fourth message to a second node, wherein the fourth message is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; receiving a fifth message sent by the second node, wherein the fifth message is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication.

[0043] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish a session association between the first node and the second node.

[0044] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish or modify a session between the first node and the second node.

[0045] In a second aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method. This method is executed by a second node. The method includes: receiving fourth information sent by a first node, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; and / or sending fifth information to the first node, wherein the fifth information is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication; wherein the second node is used to process service data for asynchronous communication.

[0046] In the above embodiments, the first node and the second node can interact, allowing the first node to inform the second node of its support for asynchronous communication via a fourth piece of information, and / or the second node to inform the first node of its support for asynchronous communication via a fifth piece of information. In this way, the first node and the second node can mutually determine that the other supports asynchronous communication, thereby ensuring the implementation of asynchronous communication.

[0047] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth and / or fifth information can be used to establish a session association between the first node and the second node.

[0048] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, fourth and / or fifth information may be used to establish or modify a session between the first node and the second node.

[0049] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second node may be determined by the first node for the first session based on first information used to indicate support for asynchronous type communication, the first session being associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0050] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous type communication; pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication; network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication; and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0051] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the function of asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: storing business data; transmitting business data.

[0052] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the service data may be associated with at least one of the following services: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0053] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second node can be at least one of the available second nodes determined by the fourth node, and the available second nodes are registered in the fourth node.

[0054] In a third aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method. This method is executed by a fourth node. The method includes: sending second information to a first node, wherein the second information indicates an available second node, the available second node is used by the first node to determine a second node for a first session based on the first information, the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, and the determined second node is used to process business data of the asynchronous communication.

[0055] In the above embodiments, the fourth node can provide available second nodes to the first node via second information, enabling the first node to determine the second node for processing service data of the first session based on the first information. Since the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the second node determined based on the first information supports asynchronous communication functionality. Thus, for a first session associated with asynchronous communication, the first node can determine a second node that supports asynchronous communication, thereby enabling the processing of service data for asynchronous communication in the first session using this second node, improving the transmission capacity and flexibility of the communication system.

[0056] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by the third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous type communication; pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication; network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication; and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0057] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the determined second node may support asynchronous communication.

[0058] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the service data may be associated with at least one of the following services: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0059] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the above method may further include: receiving third information sent by the first node, wherein the third information is used to request the fourth node to provide an available second node.

[0060] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the third information may indicate support for asynchronous type communication.

[0061] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication method. The method is executed by a communication system. The communication system includes a first node and a fourth node. The method includes: the fourth node sending second information to the first node; the first node sending a second node for a first session based on the first information; wherein the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, the second information indicates an available second node, the available second node is used by the first node to determine a second node for the first session based on the first information, and the determined second node is used to process service data of the asynchronous communication.

[0062] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the communication system may further include a second node. The method also includes at least one of the following: the first node sends fourth information to the second node, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; the second node sends fifth information to the first node, wherein the fifth information is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication.

[0063] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device implements a first node. The communication device includes a processing module. The processing module is configured to: determine a second node for a first session based on first information, wherein the first information indicates support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, and the second node is used to process service data for asynchronous communication.

[0064] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous type communication; pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication; network slicing information associated with asynchronous type communication; and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0065] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the function of asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: storing business data; transmitting business data.

[0066] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the second node can support asynchronous communication functionality.

[0067] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the service data may be associated with at least one of the following services: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0068] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the above-described communication device may further include a transceiver module; the transceiver module is configured to receive second information sent by a fourth node, wherein the second information is used to indicate an available second node, and the determined second node is at least one of the available second nodes.

[0069] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the transceiver module may also be configured to send third information to the fourth node, wherein the third information is used to request the fourth node to provide an available second node.

[0070] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the third information indicates support for asynchronous type communication.

[0071] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the transceiver module may also be configured to perform at least one of the following: sending a fourth message to a second node, wherein the fourth message is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; receiving a fifth message sent by the second node, wherein the fifth message is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication.

[0072] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information and / or the fifth information are used to establish a session association between the first node and the second node.

[0073] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish or modify a session between the first node and the second node.

[0074] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device implements a second node. The communication device includes a transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to: receive fourth information sent by a first node, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; and / or, send fifth information to the first node, wherein the fifth information is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication; wherein the second node is used to process service data for asynchronous communication.

[0075] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth information and / or the fifth information can be used to establish a session association between the first node and the second node.

[0076] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the fourth and / or fifth information can be used to establish or modify a session between the first and second nodes.

[0077] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the second node may be determined by the first node for the first session based on first information used to indicate support for asynchronous type communication, the first session being associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0078] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous type communication; pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication; network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication; and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0079] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the function of asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: storing business data; transmitting business data.

[0080] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the service data may be associated with at least one of the following services: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0081] In conjunction with some embodiments of the sixth aspect, in some embodiments, the second node can be at least one of the available second nodes determined by the fourth node, and the available second nodes are registered in the fourth node.

[0082] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device. The communication device implements a fourth node. The communication device includes a transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to send second information to a first node, wherein the second information indicates an available second node, the available second node being used by the first node to determine a second node for a first session based on the first information, the first information indicating support for asynchronous communication, the first session being associated with asynchronous communication, and the determined second node being used to process service data for asynchronous communication.

[0083] In conjunction with some embodiments of the seventh aspect, in some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous type communication; pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication; network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication; and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0084] In conjunction with some embodiments of the seventh aspect, in some embodiments, the determined second node may support asynchronous communication.

[0085] In conjunction with some embodiments of the seventh aspect, in some embodiments, the service data may be associated with at least one of the following services: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated sensing communication.

[0086] In conjunction with some embodiments of the seventh aspect, in some embodiments, the transceiver module may also be configured to: receive third information sent by the first node, wherein the third information is used to request the fourth node to provide an available second node.

[0087] In conjunction with some embodiments of the seventh aspect, in some embodiments, the third information may indicate support for asynchronous type communication.

[0088] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication device. This communication device is used to perform the communication methods described in any of the first, second, third, and possible embodiments thereof.

[0089] In a ninth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system. The communication system includes a first node, a second node, and a fourth node. The first node is configured to perform the communication method as described in any of the first aspect and its possible embodiments. The second node is configured to perform the communication method as described in any of the second aspect and its possible embodiments. The fourth node is configured to perform the communication method as described in any of the third aspect and its possible embodiments.

[0090] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a storage medium. The storage medium stores instructions. When executed on a communication device, the instructions cause the communication device to perform the communication method as described in any of the first, second, third, and possible embodiments thereof.

[0091] In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a program product. The program product includes at least one of a program and instructions. When executed by a communication device, the program or instructions implement the steps of the communication method as described in any of the first, second, third, and possible embodiments thereof.

[0092] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer program. When run on a computer, the computer program causes the computer to perform the communication methods described in any of the first, second, third, and possible embodiments thereof.

[0093] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a chip or chip system. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the communication methods described in any of the first, second, third, and possible embodiments thereof.

[0094] It is understood that the aforementioned communication devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, and chip systems are all used to execute the methods provided in the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here.

[0095] This disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, a storage medium, and a program product. In some embodiments, terms such as communication method, information processing method, and information transmission method can be used interchangeably; terms such as communication device, communication equipment, network equipment, network function, and network entity can be used interchangeably; and terms such as communication system and information processing system can be used interchangeably.

[0096] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0097] In the embodiments disclosed herein, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0098] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0099] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0100] In the embodiments of this disclosure, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0101] In some embodiments, the terms “at least one of A or B, at least one of A and B”, “one or more”, “a plurality of”, “multiple”, etc., may be used interchangeably.

[0102] In some embodiments, the notation "at least one of A and B", "A and / or B", "A in one case, B in another", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether there is a branch B); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether there is a branch A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, both A and B are executed. The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0103] In some embodiments, the notation "A or B" may include the following technical solutions, depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A regardless of whether a branch B exists); in some embodiments, B (execute B regardless of whether a branch A exists); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The same applies when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0104] The prefixes "first," "second," etc., used in the embodiments of this disclosure are merely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not impose restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the descriptive objects. The description of the descriptive objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions. For example, if the descriptive object is a "field," the ordinal numbers preceding "field" in "first field" and "second field" do not restrict the position or order of the "fields." "First" and "second" do not restrict whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they restrict the order of "first field" and "second field." Similarly, if the descriptive object is a "level," the ordinal numbers preceding "level" in "first level" and "second level" do not restrict the priority between "levels." Furthermore, the number of descriptive objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, in "first device," the number of "devices" can be one or more. Furthermore, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the object being described is "device", then "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. Similarly, if the object being described is "information", then "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their content can be the same or different.

[0105] In some embodiments, “including A,” “containing A,” “for indicating A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0106] In some embodiments, terms such as “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “when…”, “if…”, etc. can be used interchangeably. These descriptions all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not necessarily limit the time, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when implementing it, nor do they mean that there must be other limitations.

[0107] In some embodiments, terms such as “greater than,” “more than,” “higher than,” and “exceeding” can be used interchangeably; terms such as “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably; terms such as “less than,” “less than,” and “lower than” can be used interchangeably; and terms such as “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below” can be used interchangeably.

[0108] In some embodiments, devices, etc., can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. Terms such as “device”, “equipment”, “circuit”, “network element”, “node”, “function”, “unit”, “section”, “system”, “network”, “chip”, “chip system”, “entity”, and “subject” can be used interchangeably.

[0109] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in a network (e.g., access network devices, core network devices, etc.).

[0110] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)," "radio access network device (RAN device)," "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "fixed station," "node," "access point," "transmission point (TP)," "reception point (RP)," "transmission / reception point (TRP)," "panel," "antenna panel," "antenna array," "cell," "macro cell," "small cell," "femto cell," "pico cell," "sector," "cell group," "serving cell," "carrier," "component carrier," and "bandwidth part (BWP)" can be used interchangeably.

[0111] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", "subscriber station", "mobile unit", "subscriber unit", "wireless unit", "remote unit", "mobile device", "wireless device", "wireless communication device", "remote device", "mobile subscriber station", "access terminal", "mobile terminal", "wireless terminal", "remote terminal", "handset", "user agent", "mobile client", and "client" can be used interchangeably.

[0112] In some embodiments, access network devices, core network devices, or network devices can be replaced by terminals. For example, embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to structures where communication between access network devices, core network devices, or network devices and terminals is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (e.g., device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the structure can also be configured such that the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can be replaced with terms corresponding to communication between terminals (e.g., "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., can be replaced with sidelink channel, and uplink link, downlink, etc., can be replaced with sidelink link.

[0113] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, core network device, or network device may also be configured to have all or some of the functions of the terminal.

[0114] In some embodiments, the acquisition of data, information, etc., may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the location is situated.

[0115] In some embodiments, data, information, etc., may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0116] Furthermore, each element, each row, or each column in the table of this disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and any combination of any element, any row, or any column can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0117] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 includes a first node 101, a second node 102, a third node 103, a fourth node 104, and a fifth node 105.

[0118] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may be a control plane network element.

[0119] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may be responsible for session management, selection and control of UPF, and implementation of quality of service (QoS) policies.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may be, for example, a session management function (SMF).

[0121] In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be a user plane network element or a data plane network element.

[0122] In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be responsible for data routing and forwarding, policy enforcement and flow control, QoS management, etc. In some embodiments, the second node 102 may support asynchronous type communication (ATC).

[0123] In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be, for example, a user plane function (UPF).

[0124] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be a control plane network element, a user plane network element, a data plane network element, or a network element located outside the core network.

[0125] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be, for example, an application function (AF).

[0126] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be, for example, a policy control function (PCF).

[0127] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be, for example, an access management function (AMF).

[0128] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be, for example, a unified data management (UDM) function.

[0129] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be, for example, an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) function.

[0130] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be a UPF, for example. For example, the third node 103 may be another UPF different from the second node 102.

[0131] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may be a control plane network element.

[0132] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may be used to store network function (NF) profiles, provide NF discovery and selection services, etc.

[0133] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may be, for example, a network repository function (NRF).

[0134] In some embodiments, the fifth node 105 may be, for example, an OAM function.

[0135] In some embodiments, one or more of the first node 101, second node 102, third node 103, fourth node 104, and fifth node 105 may be deployed in the core network. For example, one or more of the first node 101, second node 102, third node 103, fourth node 104, and fifth node 105 may be deployed in a 5GS communication system, particularly in a 5G core network (5GC). For example, one or more of the first node 101, second node 102, third node 103, fourth node 104, and fifth node 105 may be deployed in a 6GS communication system, particularly in a 6G core network (6GC).

[0136] In some embodiments, at least one of the first node 101, the second node 102, the third node 103, the fourth node 104, and the fifth node 105 may be located outside the core network. In one example, the third node 103 may be located outside the core network. For example, the third node 103 may be an AF (Automatic Field Controller).

[0137] Figure 2 is an exemplary architecture diagram of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2, the communication system 100 may include a first NF 201, a second NF 202, a third NF 203, a fourth NF 204, a fifth NF 205, a sixth NF 206, a seventh NF 207, and an eighth NF 208.

[0138] In some embodiments, the first NF 201, the third NF 203, the fourth NF 204, the fifth NF 205, the sixth NF 206, and the seventh NF 207 can be control plane network elements. In one example, the first NF 201 can be the first node 101. For example, the first NF 201 can be an SMF (Super Node Function). In one example, the third NF 203 can be the fifth node 105. For example, the third NF 203 can be an OAM (Operational Awareness and Management) function. In one example, the fourth NF 204 can be the fourth node 104. For example, the fourth NF 204 can be an NRF (Network Function Function). In one example, the fifth NF 205, the sixth NF 206, and the seventh NF 207 can all be the third node 103. For example, the fifth NF 205 can be a PCF (Programmable Node Function). For example, the sixth NF 206 can be an AMF (Advanced Management Function). For example, the seventh NF 207 can be a UDM (User Device Function).

[0139] In some embodiments, the second NF 202 can be a user plane network element or a data plane network element. In one example, the second NF 202 can be a second node 102. For example, the second NF 202 can be a UPF.

[0140] In some embodiments, the eighth NF 208 can be a network element located outside the core network. In one example, the eighth NF 208 can be a third node 103. For example, the eighth NF 208 can be an AF.

[0141] In some embodiments, each of the first NF 201, the second NF 202, the third NF 203, the fourth NF 204, the fifth NF 205, the sixth NF 206, and the seventh NF 207 can provide services through a service-based interface.

[0142] In some embodiments, the communication system 100 may further include an access network device 209 and a terminal 210. The terminal 210 may communicate with the core network, for example, through the access network device 209.

[0143] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: mobile phone, wearable device, Internet of Things device, car with communication function, smart car, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal device in industrial control, wireless terminal device in self-driving, wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal device in smart grid, wireless terminal device in transportation safety, wireless terminal device in smart city, and wireless terminal device in smart home.

[0144] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that connects a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following in a 5G communication system: evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved node B (HeNB), radio backhaul device, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in a 6G communication system, open RAN, cloud RAN, base station in other communication systems, and access node in a Wi-Fi system.

[0145] In some embodiments, the technical solutions of this disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN. The processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented by software or programs.

[0146] In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The CU may also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can separate the protocol layer of the access network device. Some of the protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining part or all of the protocol layer functions are distributed in the DU and centrally controlled by the CU. However, this is not the only possibility.

[0147] In some embodiments, the communication system 100 described above may be a 5G communication system or a 6G communication system. It should be noted that the communication system 100 may also be other communication systems, such as a 4G communication system, and this disclosure does not specifically limit it in this regard.

[0148] It is understood that the communication system described in this disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of this disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions proposed in this disclosure are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0149] The following embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1, or some of the main components in the communication system 100, but are not limited thereto. The main components shown in FIG1 are illustrative. The communication system 100 may include all or some of the main components in FIG1, or may include other main components other than those in FIG1. ​​The number and form of each main component are arbitrary. Each main component may be physical or virtual. The connection relationship between the main components is illustrative. The main components may not be connected or may be connected. The connection can be in any way, it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection, it can be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0150] The embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), and IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth (a registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems built upon them, etc. Furthermore, multiple systems can be combined (e.g., a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0151] Here, we will explain the important concepts involved in the disclosed embodiments.

[0152] 1. 6G Use Cases

[0153] Communication technology is evolving from 5G to 6G. For 6G communication systems, in addition to enhancements in system architecture and functionality, support for more use cases and scenarios has been proposed.

[0154] In some embodiments, the proposed use cases for 6G communication technology include: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0155] In some embodiments, immersive communication is an extension of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) in 5G. Immersive communication covers use cases that provide users with rich, interactive video (immersive) experiences, including interactions with machine interfaces.

[0156] In some embodiments, immersive communication is used in a range of environments, including hotspots, towns, and rural areas, creating additional and new demands compared to eMBB in 5G.

[0157] In some embodiments, typical use cases for immersive communication include immersive extended reality (XR), remote multi-sensory presentation, and holographic communication. Supporting mixed data streams of video, audio, and other environmental data in a time-synchronized manner is an integral part of immersive communication, and also includes independent support for sound.

[0158] In some embodiments, across various environments, the ability to achieve enhanced spectral efficiency and a consistent service experience is critical, along with the need to balance higher data rates and greater mobility. Specific immersive communication use cases requiring responsive and precise interaction with real and virtual objects also need to support high reliability and low latency, as well as large system capacity for simultaneous connections of a large number of devices.

[0159] In some embodiments, the use cases for Hyper-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) extend the use cases of Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) in 5G. The use cases covered by URLLC are expected to have more stringent requirements in terms of reliability and latency. This is typically used for time synchronization operations, where failure to meet these requirements can lead to serious consequences for the application.

[0160] In some embodiments, typical use cases for ultra-reliable low-latency communication include communications for full automation, control, and operation in industrial environments. These communication types facilitate a variety of applications, such as machine interaction, emergency services, telemedicine, and monitoring of power transmission and distribution.

[0161] In some embodiments, use cases for ultra-reliable low-latency communication may require support for enhanced reliability and low latency, and depending on the use case, may also require precise location and connection density.

[0162] In some embodiments, massive communication is used in 5G for massive machine-type communication (mMTC). Massive communication involves connecting large-scale devices or sensors for a wide range of use cases and applications.

[0163] In some embodiments, typical use cases for large-scale communications include expansion and new applications in smart cities, transportation, logistics, health, energy, environmental monitoring, agriculture, and other areas where various IoT devices, either without batteries or with long-life batteries, are required.

[0164] In some embodiments, large-scale communication use cases may require support for high connection density, and depending on the use case, may also require different data rates, low power consumption, mobility, extended coverage, and high security and reliability.

[0165] In some embodiments, ubiquitous connectivity is used to improve connectivity and, more importantly, to bridge the digital divide. Connectivity can be improved, particularly through interoperability with other systems. A key focus of ubiquitous connectivity use cases is addressing currently uncovered or difficult-to-reach areas, especially rural, remote, and sparsely populated regions.

[0166] In some embodiments, typical use cases for ubiquitous connectivity include, but are not limited to, IoT and mobile broadband communications.

[0167] In some embodiments, the use cases of integrated artificial intelligence and communication can support distributed computing and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Typical use cases for integrated artificial intelligence and communication include autonomous driving, automated collaboration between devices for assistive medical applications, the transfer of heavy computational operations across devices and networks, and the creation and prediction of digital twins.

[0168] In some embodiments, the use cases of integrated communications intelligence may require support for high regional traffic capacity and high data rates for user experience, as well as low latency and high reliability, depending on the specific use case. Beyond communications, the use cases of integrated communications intelligence are expected to include a range of new capabilities related to the integration of AI and computing functions, including the acquisition, preparation, and processing of data from different sources; distributed AI model training, model sharing, and distributed inference across international mobile telecommunications (IMT) systems; and the orchestration and linking of computing resources.

[0169] In some embodiments, integrated sensing and communication use cases facilitate new applications and services that require sensing capabilities. This helps provide wide-area, multi-dimensional sensing, providing spatial information about unconnected objects and connected devices, as well as their movement and surrounding environment.

[0170] In some embodiments, use cases for integrated communication and sensing include navigation, activity detection and motion tracking (e.g., gesture recognition, fall detection, vehicle / pedestrian detection), environmental monitoring (e.g., rain / pollutant detection), and providing sensing data / information related to the surrounding environment for use in AI, XR, and digital twin applications.

[0171] In some embodiments, along with the provided communication capabilities, the use cases of integrated communication and sensing need to support high-precision positioning and sensing-related capabilities, including range / rate / angle estimation, object and presence detection, positioning, imaging, and mapping.

[0172] It should be noted that each of the 6G use cases described above can also be considered a corresponding type of service. For example, the service in the immersive communication use case can be an immersive communication service. For example, the service in the ultra-reliable low-latency communication use case can be an ultra-reliable low-latency communication service. For example, the service in the massive MIMO use case can be a massive MIMO service. For example, the service in the ubiquitous connectivity use case can be a ubiquitous connectivity service. For example, the service in the integrated intelligent communication use case can be an integrated intelligent communication service. For example, the service in the integrated communication sensing use case can be an integrated communication sensing service.

[0173] 2. Asynchronous communication

[0174] Some communication information transmitted in a communication system may not have strict latency requirements or real-time processing requirements. In order to implement the transmission of this type of communication information in a targeted manner, the concept of asynchronous communication was proposed.

[0175] Asynchronous communication is designed to meet the service and communication requirements of communication systems. Asynchronous communication can be understood as a mechanism, feature, or function. It involves delaying the transmission of communication information. In some embodiments, when using asynchronous communication, the communication system, particularly the core network, can delay the transmission of communication information.

[0176] In some embodiments, when asynchronous communication is employed, the core network can store or buffer the communication information after acquiring it, and then transfer or synchronize the stored or buffered information at an appropriate time. For example, communication information from a specific network function to a terminal can use an asynchronous communication mechanism. The communication information from the network function can be stored in the core network after arriving at the core network, and the core network will then transmit the communication information to the terminal at an appropriate time. Similarly, communication information from one network function to another can use an asynchronous communication mechanism. The communication information from the former can be stored in the core network after arriving at the core network, and the core network will then transmit the communication information to the latter at an appropriate time. Thus, the asynchronous communication mechanism enables delayed transmission of communication information.

[0177] In some embodiments, asynchronous communication may target communication information that includes service signaling and / or service data. In one example, asynchronous communication may be applied to the transmission of service signaling. In another example, asynchronous communication may be applied to the transmission of service data.

[0178] For the core network to support asynchronous data communication, the network functions within the core network need to have the capability to support asynchronous data communication. Therefore, how to discover and select network functions that support asynchronous communication is a problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0179] Figure 3 is an interactive schematic diagram of the communication method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to the communication system 100. As shown in Figure 3, the communication method of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes steps S301 to S310.

[0180] In step S301, the third node 103 sends an instruction message to the first node 101.

[0181] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may send indication information. In some embodiments, the indication information may be sent by the third node 103, but is not limited thereto, and may also be sent by other entities.

[0182] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may receive indication information. In some embodiments, the indication information may be received by the first node 101, but is not limited thereto, and may also be received by other entities.

[0183] In some embodiments, the indication information may be used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the indication information may be used to indicate the use of asynchronous communication for service signaling and / or service data.

[0184] In some embodiments, the third node 103 can be one of the following: AF, PCF, AMF, UDM, OAM, UPF. It is understood that the third node 103 can also be other network elements, and this disclosure does not specifically limit them.

[0185] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be an AF or an agent AF. In some embodiments, the third node 103 may initiate a session request for the first service.

[0186] In some embodiments, the service type of the first service may include: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

[0187] In some embodiments, the session request initiated by the third node 103 may target an asynchronous communication type for the first service. In some embodiments, the first service may support asynchronous communication type. In some embodiments, the first service may require asynchronous communication type. In some embodiments, indication information may be used to indicate the characteristics of asynchronous communication type. In some embodiments, the indication information may include requirement information and / or parameter information of the first service. In some embodiments, requirement information may indicate that the first service requires asynchronous communication type. In some embodiments, parameter information may indicate that the first service supports asynchronous communication type.

[0188] In some embodiments, when the third node 103 is an SMF (Software-Defined Function), step S301 may include: the third node 103 sending indication information to the first node 101 through the network exposure function (NEF) and / or PCF (Programmable Component Function). In some embodiments, the third node 103 may initiate a session establishment process to establish a first session for a first service. The third node 103 may send indication information to the first node 101 during the session establishment process. In some embodiments, the third node 103 may initiate a session modification process to modify the first session for the first service. The third node 103 may send indication information to the first node 101 during the session modification process. In some embodiments, the first session may be associated with asynchronous communication.

[0189] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be a PCF. In some embodiments, the third node 103 may determine a policy for a first session of a first service.

[0190] In some embodiments, when the third node 103 is a PCF, step S301 may include: the third node 103 sending indication information to the first node 101. In some embodiments, the indication information may include policy information and / or requirement information for asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the policy information may indicate that the first service supports asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the requirement information may indicate that the first service requires asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the first session of the first service may be associated with asynchronous communication. In one example, the policy information may indicate that the first session supports asynchronous communication. In one example, the requirement information may indicate that the first session requires asynchronous communication.

[0191] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be an SMF. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may be an SMF, and the third node 103 may be another SMF different from the first node 101.

[0192] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be an AMF.

[0193] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be a UDM.

[0194] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be OAM.

[0195] In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be a UPF. In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be a UPF, and the third node 103 may be another UPF different from the second node 102. In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be an older UPF processing a first session of the first service, and the second node 102 may be a new UPF processing a first session of the first service. In some embodiments, the third node 103 may be a UPF (or service UPF) currently processing a first session of the first service, and the second node 102 may be a new UPF processing a first session of the first service.

[0196] In some embodiments, when the third node 103 is one of SMF, AMF, UDM, and UPF, step S301 may include: the third node 103 sending indication information to the first node 101. In some embodiments, the indication information may include policy information and / or requirement information for asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the policy information may indicate that the first service supports asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the requirement information may indicate that the first service requires asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the first session of the first service may be associated with asynchronous communication. In one example, the policy information may indicate that the first session supports asynchronous communication. In one example, the requirement information may indicate that the first session requires asynchronous communication.

[0197] In some embodiments, upon obtaining indication information, the first node 101 can perform the discovery and selection of the second node 102, thereby realizing the discovery, selection, reselection, etc. of the second node 102 that supports asynchronous communication.

[0198] In some embodiments, the indication information may explicitly or implicitly indicate support for asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the indication information may include a first field. The first field may be used to explicitly indicate that a first service supports asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, based on at least one of the policy information, parameter information, and requirement information indicated by the indication information, the first node 101 may determine that the first service supports asynchronous communication.

[0199] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine first information in order to discover, select, or reselect the second node 102. Upon determining the first information, the first node 101 can determine the second node 102 based on the first information.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first information may be used to indicate support for asynchronous communication.

[0201] In some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by the third node 103, pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication, network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication, and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0202] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine the first information based on the indication information from the third node 103. In some embodiments, the first information may include the indication information from the third node 103.

[0203] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine the first information based on pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: operations administration and maintenance (OAM) configuration, operator policy, and local configuration. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine the first information based on at least one of OAM configuration, operator policy, and local policy.

[0204] In some embodiments, the first node 101 can determine the first information based on network slice information associated with asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the network slice information associated with asynchronous communication can be used to indicate the network slice where the first service resides. In some embodiments, the network elements in the network slice indicated by the network slice information can have asynchronous communication capabilities. For example, the network slice can be a network slice used to implement asynchronous communication, in which case the network slice can be associated with network elements supporting asynchronous communication, or can be dedicated to network elements supporting asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the network slice information can include at least one of the following: single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) and data network name (DNN). In one example, the network slice can be determined by S-NSSAI. In another example, the network slice can be determined by both S-NSSAI and DNN.

[0205] In some embodiments, capability information associated with asynchronous communication can indicate whether asynchronous communication is enabled or activated. In some embodiments, capability information associated with asynchronous communication can indicate the network's support status for asynchronous communication. For example, capability information associated with asynchronous communication can indicate that network support for asynchronous communication is enabled or activated. For example, capability information associated with asynchronous communication can indicate that network support for asynchronous communication is not enabled or activated. In some embodiments, capability information associated with asynchronous communication can indicate whether support for asynchronous communication is enabled or activated. In this case, the capability information associated with asynchronous communication can be used to enable or activate the network's asynchronous communication functionality.

[0206] In some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on indication information provided by the third node 103, and at least one of pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication, network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication, and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0207] In some embodiments, step S301 may not be performed. In this case, the first information may be determined based on at least one of pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous communication, network slicing information associated with asynchronous communication, and capability information associated with asynchronous communication.

[0208] In step S302, the first node 101 sends third information to the fourth node 104.

[0209] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may send third information. In some embodiments, the third information may be sent by the first node 101, but is not limited thereto, and may also be sent by other entities.

[0210] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may receive third information. In some embodiments, the third information may be received by the fourth node 104, but is not limited thereto, and may also be received by other entities.

[0211] In some embodiments, the third information may be determined based on the first information. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may use the first information as the third information. For example, the third information may include the first information. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine the third information while taking the first information into account. Then, the first node 101 may send the determined third information to the fourth node 104.

[0212] In some embodiments, the third information may be used to request the fourth node 104 to provide an available second node 102. In some embodiments, the third information may be used to request the fourth node 104 to provide an available second node 102. In some embodiments, the available second node 102 may refer to a second node 102 that supports or can be used for asynchronous type communication.

[0213] In some embodiments, the third information may indicate support for asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the third information may be used to discover and select a second node 102 that supports asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the third information may be used to indicate that the second node 102 needs to support asynchronous communication.

[0214] In some embodiments, the third information may indicate the functionality of asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the third information may indicate that the second node 102 supports at least one of the following functions: storing business data and transmitting business data.

[0215] In some embodiments, the third information may include indication information received by the first node 101. In one example, the third information may include indication information, and the indication information may indicate at least one of strategy information, parameter information, and requirement information for asynchronous communication.

[0216] In some embodiments, the third information may be included in the provisioning information. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may send the provisioning information to the fourth node 104. This provisioning information may be used to indicate the characteristics and / or parameters that the second node 102 needs to have. In one example, the provisioning information may include the third information.

[0217] In some embodiments, third information may be carried in the request message. This request message can be used to request an available second node 102 from the fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may obtain the second node 102 from the fourth node 104 through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery service operation. In some embodiments, the request message may be an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message.

[0218] In some embodiments, the third information may be carried in the subscription message. This subscription message can be used to subscribe to notifications for the available second node 102 from the fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may subscribe to the second node 102 from the fourth node 104 via the Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusSubscribe service operation. In some embodiments, the subscription message may be an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusSubscribe message.

[0219] In step S303, the fourth node 104 sends the second information to the first node 101.

[0220] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may send second information. In some embodiments, the second information may be sent by the fourth node 104, but is not limited thereto, and may also be sent by other entities.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may receive the second information. In some embodiments, the second information may be received by the first node 101, but is not limited thereto, and may also be received by other entities.

[0222] In some embodiments, the second information may be used to indicate a second node 102. In some embodiments, the second information may be used to provide a second node 102 determined by a fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the second node 102 indicated by the second information may be a node that supports asynchronous communication, discovered by the fourth node 104 based on third information.

[0223] In some embodiments, the functions supported by the second node 102 supporting asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: storage of business data and transmission of business data. In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be used to implement storage of business data. In one example, the second node 102 may be used to implement caching of business data. In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be used to implement transmission of business data. In one example, the second node 102 may be used to implement synchronization of business data.

[0224] In some embodiments, the transmission of service data may be triggered by a first condition. In some embodiments, service data stored in the second node 102 may be transmitted when the first condition is met.

[0225] In some embodiments, the first condition may include at least one of the following: timeout, event occurrence.

[0226] In some embodiments, the second node 102 can be used to transmit stored business data when a preset time expires, thereby enabling asynchronous communication of business data. In some embodiments, the preset time may include a point in time, a time period, a duration, etc.

[0227] In some embodiments, the second node 102 can be used to transmit stored service data upon the transmission of a preset event, thereby enabling asynchronous communication of the service data. In some embodiments, the preset event may include the storage of service data reaching its capacity limit, the terminal to which the service data is targeted accessing the network, or the terminal to which the service data is targeted accessing the network in a specific manner.

[0228] In some embodiments, the number of second nodes 102 indicated by the second information can be one or more. In some embodiments, these one or more second nodes 102 can be second nodes 102 that support asynchronous type communication, as determined by the fourth node 104.

[0229] In some embodiments, the second information may be carried in a response message. In some embodiments, the response message may be sent in response to a request message. In some embodiments, the second information may be carried in an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request response message.

[0230] In some embodiments, the second information may be carried in a notification message. In some embodiments, the notification message may be sent in response to a subscription message. In some embodiments, the notification message may be used to inform the first node 101 of the second node 102.

[0231] In some embodiments, the second information carried in the notification message may be used to indicate a second node 102 that has been registered in the fourth node 104 to support asynchronous communication.

[0232] In some embodiments, the second node 102 indicated by the second information may be an available second node. In other words, the second node 102 indicated by the second information may be a second node available for asynchronous type communication.

[0233] In some embodiments, the second information may include identification information of the second node 102. For example, the second information may include an identifier of the second node 102. For example, the second information may include an identifier of an instance of the second node 102.

[0234] In some embodiments, the second information may include group identification information of the group of the second node 102. In some embodiments, the second information may include the group identifier of the group of the second node 102. In some embodiments, the group may include one or more second nodes 102 that support asynchronous communication. In other words, one or more second nodes 102 in the group may support asynchronous communication.

[0235] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 can notify the second node 102 to the first node 101 through the Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify service operation. In some embodiments, the notification message may include an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify message.

[0236] In step S304, the second node 102 is deployed.

[0237] In some embodiments, a new second node 102 may be deployed in the network.

[0238] In some embodiments, the deployment of the second node 102 may include the deployment of an instance of the second node 102. In some embodiments, a new instance of the second node 102 may be deployed in the network.

[0239] In step S305, the second node 102 is configured.

[0240] In some embodiments, the second node 102 may be configured during or after its deployment.

[0241] In some embodiments, the second node 102 or an instance of the second node 102 may be configured with at least one of the following: identification information and configuration information.

[0242] In some embodiments, the second node 102 may use the configuration information in the registration process of step S306. It is understood that the use of the configuration information in registration does not require the second node 102 to understand the configuration information. In some embodiments, the second node 102 may not understand its own configuration information.

[0243] In some embodiments, the configuration of the second node 102 can be implemented by the fifth node 105 sending a configuration message to the second node 102. In some embodiments, the second node 102 can receive the configuration message from the fifth node 105. In some embodiments, the configuration message can be used to determine the configuration information of the second node 102.

[0244] In some embodiments, provisioning information can be used to determine the profile of the second node 102. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the information in the provisioning information can be included in the profile of the second node 102. In some embodiments, the provisioning information may include specific configuration information for the second node 102, such as configuration parameters and corresponding parameter values. In some embodiments, the profile can be determined based on the provisioning information. In one example, the profile of the second node 102 can be determined by organizing the provisioning information of the second node 102. In other words, the profile can be viewed as a way of organizing the provisioning information.

[0245] In step S306, the second node 102 sends the sixth message to the fourth node 104.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second node 102 may send a sixth message. In some embodiments, the sixth message may be sent by the third node 103, but is not limited thereto, and may also be sent by other entities.

[0247] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may receive the sixth information. In some embodiments, the sixth information may be received by the fourth node 104, but is not limited thereto, and may also be received by other entities.

[0248] In some embodiments, the sixth information may be used to register the second node 102 to the fourth node 104. In some embodiments, in order to register the second node 102 to the fourth node 104, the sixth information may be used to indicate the configuration file of the second node 102. In some embodiments, the sixth information may be used to provide the configuration file of the second node 102 to the fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the sixth information may include the configuration file of the newly deployed second node 102. In some embodiments, the sixth information may be used to notify the fourth node 104 that the second node 102 has been deployed. In some embodiments, the sixth information may be used to instruct the fourth node 104 to notify other nodes (e.g., the third node 103) that the third node 103 is available.

[0249] In some embodiments, the sixth information may include the configuration file of the second node 102.

[0250] In some embodiments, the sixth piece of information may be carried in the registration request message. In some embodiments, the second node 102 may send a registration request message to the fourth node 104 to register the second node 102 with the fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the registration request message may be an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister request message. In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may complete the registration of the second node 102 based on the sixth piece of information in the registration request message. During this process, the fourth node 104 may obtain the configuration file of the second node 102 from the sixth piece of information and save it locally. In one example, the fourth node 104 may mark the second node 102 as available. The second node 102 marked as available may be selected through a discovery and selection process. In some embodiments, in response to the registration request message, the fourth node 104 may send a registration response message to the second node 102. The registration response message may be used to indicate the registration result of the second node 102, for example, registration successful or registration failed. In some embodiments, the registration response message may be an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister response message.

[0251] In step S307, the fifth node 105 sends the sixth message to the fourth node 104.

[0252] In some embodiments, the fifth node 105 may send a sixth message. In some embodiments, the sixth message may be sent by the fifth node 105, but is not limited thereto; it may also be sent by other entities.

[0253] In some embodiments, the fourth node 104 may receive the sixth information. In some embodiments, the sixth information may be received by the fourth node 104, but is not limited thereto, and may also be received by other entities.

[0254] In some embodiments, the sixth information may be used to provide the fourth node 104 with the configuration information of the second node 102. In some embodiments, the third information may include the configuration information of the newly deployed second node 102.

[0255] In some embodiments, steps 306 and S307 may be performed selectively or both may be performed. Through steps S306 and / or S307, the new second node 102 can be registered to the fourth node 104, and the configuration file of the second node 102 can be provided to the fourth node 104.

[0256] In step S308, the fourth node 104 sends the second information to the first node 101.

[0257] The optional implementation of step S308 can be found in the optional implementation of step S303 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0258] In some embodiments, the second information may be used to indicate a second node 102. In some embodiments, the second information may be used to provide a second node 102 determined by a fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the second node 102 indicated by the second information may be a node that supports asynchronous communication, discovered by the fourth node 104 based on third information.

[0259] In some embodiments, the second information may indicate all second nodes 102 that are registered in the fourth node 104 that support asynchronous type communication. In one example, the available second nodes 102 indicated by the second information in step S308 may include the second node 102 indicated by the second information in step S303, as well as the second nodes 102 newly registered through steps S306 and / or S307.

[0260] In some embodiments, the second information may indicate a second node 102 newly registered in the fourth node 104 that supports asynchronous communication. In one example, the available second node 102 indicated by the second information in step S308 may include only the second node 102 newly registered in steps S306 and / or S307 that supports asynchronous communication.

[0261] In some embodiments, the functions supported by the second node 102 that supports asynchronous communication may include at least one of the following: storage of business data and transmission of business data.

[0262] In step S309, the first node 101 determines the second node 102.

[0263] In some embodiments, the first node 101 determines the second node 102 of the first session of the first service based on the first information. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may obtain the first information and determine the second node 102 based on the first information.

[0264] In some embodiments, the first information may be used to determine a second node 102 for a first session. In some embodiments, the first information may be used to select a second node 102 that supports asynchronous communication for the first session.

[0265] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may obtain one or more available second nodes 102 based on third information. Each of these available second nodes 102 may support asynchronous communication.

[0266] In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine the second node 102 for the first service from among these available second nodes 102. It is understood that the determined second node 102 may be referred to as the target second node 102. In some embodiments, the first node 101 may determine the target second node 102 through NF discovery and selection. In some embodiments, the target second node 102 may be selected by the first node 101 from one or more available second nodes 102.

[0267] In some embodiments, the number of available second nodes 102 indicated by the third information may be greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, if the third information indicates one available second node 102, then the first node 101 may determine that the available second node 102 as the target second node 102. In some embodiments, if the third information indicates multiple available second nodes 102, then the first node 101 may select at least one of the multiple available second nodes 102 as the target second node 102.

[0268] In some embodiments, the first information may be determined based on at least one of the following: indication information provided by the third node 103, pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication, network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication, and capability information associated with asynchronous type communication.

[0269] In some embodiments, the selection of the second node 102 by the first node 101 may take into account indication information. For example, the first node 101 may select the second node 102 while taking into account indication information.

[0270] In some embodiments, the selection of the second node 102 by the first node 101 may take into account pre-configuration information associated with asynchronous type communication. For example, the first node 101 may select the second node 102 taking into account local configuration, and / or OAM configuration, and / or carrier policies.

[0271] In some embodiments, the selection of the second node 102 by the first node 101 may take into account network slice information associated with asynchronous type communication. For example, the first node 101 may select the second node 102 located in the network slice indicated by the network slice information.

[0272] In some embodiments, the selection of the second node 102 by the first node 101 may take into account capability information associated with asynchronous communication. For example, the first node 101 may select the second node 102 whose support for asynchronous communication is enabled or activated.

[0273] In some embodiments, the third information in step S302 may not indicate support for asynchronous communication. In this case, the fourth node 104 may not consider support for asynchronous communication when discovering the second node 102. Correspondingly, the available second node 102 indicated by the second information sent by the fourth node 104 to the first node 101 may include a second node 102 that supports asynchronous communication and / or a second node 102 that does not support asynchronous communication. In other words, the available second node 102 returned by the fourth node 104 may, in some embodiments, allow the first node 101 to select a second node 102 that supports asynchronous communication from the available second nodes 102 indicated by the third information based on the first information.

[0274] In some embodiments, the available second node 102 obtained through the second information can be stored in the first node 101. In some embodiments, the first node 101 can store identification information and / or configuration information of one or more available second nodes 102. In this case, the first node 101 can determine the second node 102 supporting asynchronous communication based on the first information and one or more locally stored available second nodes 102.

[0275] In step S310, the first node 101 interacts with the second node 102.

[0276] In some embodiments, the first node 101 and the second node 102 can interact to exchange capabilities that support asynchronous communication.

[0277] In some embodiments, during the interaction between the first node 101 and the second node 102, the first node 101 may send fourth information to the second node 102, and / or the second node 102 may send fifth information to the first node 101. In some embodiments, the fourth information may be used to indicate that the first node 101 supports asynchronous communication. In some embodiments, the fifth information may be used to indicate that the second node 102 supports asynchronous communication. Thus, the first node 101 may determine that the second node 102 supports asynchronous communication based on the received fifth information, and the second node 102 may determine that the first node 101 supports asynchronous communication based on the received fourth information.

[0278] In some embodiments, the execution of step S310 may enable the selection and / or reselection of the second node 102. In some embodiments, in order to determine the second node 102 from the available second nodes 102 indicated by the second information, the first node 101 may enable the selection and / or reselection of the second node 102 by interacting with the second node 102. In some embodiments, step S310 may be executed after the selection and / or reselection of the second node 102 has been completed.

[0279] In some embodiments, if no session exists for the first service, a new first session can be established for the first service and a second node 102 can be determined. In this case, step S310 can be implemented through a session association setup procedure.

[0280] In some embodiments, the session association establishment process can be used to establish a session association between the first node 101 and the second node 102.

[0281] In some embodiments, step S310 may include: the first node 101 sending a connection establishment request message to the second node 102, and the second node 102 sending a connection establishment response message to the first node 101. In one example, the connection establishment request message may carry fourth information. In one example, the connection establishment response message may carry fifth information.

[0282] In some embodiments, step S310 may include: the second node 102 sending an association establishment request message to the first node 101, and the first node 101 sending an association establishment response message to the second node 102. In one example, the association establishment request message may carry fifth information. In one example, the association establishment response message may carry fourth information.

[0283] In some embodiments, if a first service exists for a first service, a second node 102 can be determined for the first session. In this case, step S310 can be implemented through a session management procedure. For example, the session management procedure may include a session establishment procedure, a session modification procedure, etc.

[0284] In some embodiments, the session establishment process can be used to establish a session between the first node 101 and the second node 102.

[0285] In some embodiments, step S310 may include: the first node 101 sending a session establishment request message to the second node 102, and the second node 102 sending a session establishment response message to the first node 101. In one example, the session establishment request message may carry fourth information. In one example, the session establishment response message may carry fifth information.

[0286] In some embodiments, step S310 may be performed independently of steps S301 to S309, and this disclosure does not specifically limit this.

[0287] It should be noted that the second node 102 in this embodiment of the present disclosure can also be an instance of the second node 102.

[0288] The communication method of this embodiment can be implemented through steps S301 to S310.

[0289] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc., are not limited to the names described in the embodiments. Terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0290] In some embodiments, the terms “radio”, “wireless”, “radio access network (RAN)”, “access network (AN)”, and “RAN-based” can be used interchangeably.

[0291] In some embodiments, terms such as “moment,” “point in time,” “time,” and “time location” can be used interchangeably, as can terms such as “duration,” “segment,” “time window,” “window,” and “time.”

[0292] In some embodiments, “get,” “obtain,” “receive,” “transmit,” “bidirectional transmission,” and “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining through self-processing, or autonomous implementation, among other meanings.

[0293] In some embodiments, terms such as “send,” “transmit,” “report,” “distribute,” “transfer,” “bidirectional transmission,” “send and / or receive” can be used interchangeably.

[0294] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain", "preset", "default", "set", "indicated", "a certain", "any", and "first" can be used interchangeably. "Certain A", "preset A", "default A", "set A", "indicated A", "a certain A", "any A", and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-defined in a protocol or the like, or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or instruction, or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, but are not limited thereto.

[0295] In some embodiments, the determination or judgment can be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), or by a true or false value (boolean), or by a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., a comparison with a predetermined value), but is not limited thereto.

[0296] In some embodiments, the terms "service", "business", and "traffic" can be used interchangeably.

[0297] In some embodiments, terms such as “transmit,” “synchronize,” “send,” and “distribute” can be used interchangeably.

[0298] In some embodiments, the terms “storage,” “cache,” “buffer,” and “retention” can be used interchangeably.

[0299] The communication method involved in the embodiments of this disclosure may include at least one of steps S301 to S310. For example, step S303 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S308 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S309 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, step S310 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, a combination of steps S303 and S309 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, a combination of steps S308 and S309 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, and a combination of steps S309 and S310 may be implemented as a standalone embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0300] In some embodiments, steps S301, S302, S304, S305, S306, S307, S308, S309, and S310 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments. In some embodiments, steps S301, S302, S303, S304, S305, S306, S307, S308, and S309 are optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or substituted in different embodiments.

[0301] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0302] Figure 4A is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This disclosure relates to a communication method. As shown in Figure 4A, the method includes steps S4101 to S4105.

[0303] In step S4101, the third node 103 sends an instruction message to the first node 101.

[0304] The optional implementation of step S4101 can be found in the optional implementation of step S301 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0305] In step S4102, the first node 101 sends third information to the fourth node 104.

[0306] The optional implementation of step S4102 can be found in the optional implementation of step S302 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0307] In step S4103, the fourth node 104 sends the second information to the first node 101.

[0308] The optional implementations of step S4103 can be found in the optional implementations of steps S303 and S308 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0309] In step S4104, the first node 101 selects the second node 102.

[0310] The optional implementation of step S4104 can be found in the optional implementation of step S309 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0311] In step S4105, the first node 101 interacts with the second node 102.

[0312] The optional implementation of step S4105 can be found in the optional implementation of step S310 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0313] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0314] Figure 4B is a schematic flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This disclosure relates to a communication method. As shown in Figure 4B, the method includes step S4201.

[0315] In step S4201, the first node 101 determines the second node 102 based on the first information.

[0316] The optional implementation of step S4201 can be found in the optional implementation of step S309 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0317] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0318] Figure 4C is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This disclosure relates to a communication method. As shown in Figure 4C, the method includes step S4301.

[0319] In step S4301, the fourth node 104 sends the second information to the first node 101.

[0320] The optional implementations of step S4301 can be found in the optional implementations of steps S303 and S308 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0321] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0322] Figure 4D is an interactive schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This disclosure relates to a communication method. As shown in Figure 4D, the method includes at least one of the following: step S4401 and step S4402.

[0323] In step S4401, the first node 101 sends the fourth information to the second node 102.

[0324] The optional implementation of step S4401 can be found in the optional implementation of step S310 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0325] In step S4402, the second node 102 sends the fifth message to the first node 101.

[0326] The optional implementation of step S4402 can be found in the optional implementation of step S310 in Figure 3, as well as other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0327] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0328] In the following, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be described by way of specific implementation.

[0329] In this disclosure, the selection and reselection functions of the UPF (i.e., the second node) are proposed based on certain characteristics to support asynchronous type communication (ATC) features, such as supporting caching and / or storage of service data, and / or synchronization of service data when transmission conditions are met.

[0330] In some embodiments, 6GC supports asynchronous communication, for example, active asynchronous communication includes at least one of the following functions: (1) the ability to store service data provided to the NF or UE, wherein the UPF is used to store ATC service data; (2) the ability to trigger the transmission and / or synchronization of service data to the forwarding NF or UE, wherein the UPF is used to transmit and / or synchronize ATC service data.

[0331] In some embodiments, when a 6G PDU session is created, it carries an asynchronous type communication indication that informs a first control plane function (CPF) (e.g., SMF) (i.e., the first node) that the session supports asynchronous type communication. In some embodiments, when performing UPF selection, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) considers the asynchronous type communication requirement and selects a UPF that supports asynchronous type communication capabilities.

[0332] In some embodiments, when the AF (i.e., the third node) initiates a session request for a corresponding service (e.g., immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous communication, integrated intelligent communication, integrated communication sensing), it carries an asynchronous communication type indication and sends it to the first CPF (e.g., SMF) (e.g., via PCF or NEF), informing the first CPF (e.g., SMF) of its need to support asynchronous communication. The first CPF (e.g., SMF) selects a UPF that supports asynchronous communication to support the corresponding service session. In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) initiates a 6G PDU session modification to reselect a UPF that supports asynchronous communication.

[0333] In some embodiments, after selecting a UPF that supports asynchronous communication, the UPF supports caching and / or storing business data, and / or synchronizing business data when transmission conditions are met, based on asynchronous communication indications or authorizations.

[0334] In some embodiments, when considering asynchronous type communication functions, the discovery and / or selection and / or reselection of UPFs can be achieved in the first CPF (e.g., SMF) through the UPF selection function.

[0335] In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) considers the following parameters or information for UPF selection and reselection: support for asynchronous communication functions, including caching and / or storage of service data, and / or synchronizing service data when transmission conditions are met.

[0336] In some embodiments, the UPF selection function in a first CPF (e.g., SMF) can use an NRF to discover and / or select and / or reselect a UPF or UPF instance. In this case, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) issues a request to the NRF to discover the UPF. In some embodiments, asynchronous communication functionality is provided in the request for the discovery and / or selection and / or reselection of the UPF or UPF instance.

[0337] In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) provides asynchronous type communication functionality for the selection and reselection of a UPF or UPF instance, considering at least one of the following conditions:

[0338] - Indication of asynchronous type communication support from SMF or PCF (e.g., indicated by PCC rules);

[0339] - Indicator for asynchronous type communication support from AF or proxy AF;

[0340] - Indication for asynchronous type communication support from legacy UPF or service UPF;

[0341] -OAM configuration and / or carrier policies and / or local configuration;

[0342] - S-NSSAI, or S-NSSAI and DNN, which are related to or dedicated to NFs with asynchronous communication capabilities.

[0343] - Asynchronous communication capabilities, including capability enable or activation indications.

[0344] In some embodiments, the AF may provide an asynchronous type communication support indication (i.e., indication information) to a first CPF (e.g., SMF) to indicate asynchronous type communication characteristics and for the discovery and / or selection and / or reselection of a UPF or UPF instance.

[0345] In some embodiments, the PCF may provide an asynchronous type communication support indication to a first CPF (e.g., SMF) to indicate the strategy and requirements for asynchronous type communication, and for the discovery and / or selection and / or reselection of UPF or UPF instances.

[0346] In some embodiments, AMF, UDM, OAM, legacy UPF, etc., may provide an asynchronous type communication support indication to a first CPF (e.g., SMF) to indicate asynchronous type communication functionality. In some embodiments, asynchronous type communication functionality is used for the discovery and / or selection and / or reselection of UPFs or UPF instances.

[0347] Figure 5A is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of a communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure. This communication method involves a process of providing a UPF instance for a first CPF using an NRF. As shown in Figure 5A, the communication method may include steps S5101 to S5107.

[0348] In some embodiments, this process can be applied when a first CPF (e.g., SMF) wants to obtain information about a UPF available in the network that supports a range of parameters.

[0349] In some embodiments, this process can occur when a first CPF (e.g., SMF) wishes to receive notifications about available UPFs in the network.

[0350] In step S5101, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) issues an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusSubscribe service operation to provide the target UPF configuration information that the first CPF is interested in.

[0351] In some embodiments, when an AF initiates a session request for a corresponding service (e.g., immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive MIMO, ubiquitous communication, integrated intelligent communication, integrated communication sensing), it carries an asynchronous communication type indication and sends it to a first CPF (e.g., SMF) (e.g., via PCF or NEF), informing the first CPF (e.g., SMF) of its need to support asynchronous communication. The first CPF (e.g., SMF) selects a UPF that supports asynchronous communication to support the corresponding service session. In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) initiates a 6G PDU session modification to reselect a UPF that supports asynchronous communication.

[0352] In some embodiments, the AF sends a request to the NRF to discover the UPF, provides the NRF with an asynchronous type communication indication to indicate the asynchronous type communication indication, and is used for the discovery and / or selection and / or reselection of the UPF or UPF instance.

[0353] In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) considers the following parameters or information for UPF selection and reselection: support for asynchronous communication functions, including caching and / or storage of service data, and / or synchronizing service data when transmission conditions are met.

[0354] In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) provides asynchronous type communication functionality for the selection and reselection of a UPF or UPF instance, considering at least one of the following conditions:

[0355] - Indication of asynchronous type communication support from SMF or PCF (e.g., indicated by PCC rules);

[0356] - Indicator for asynchronous type communication support from AF or proxy AF;

[0357] - Indication for asynchronous type communication support from legacy UPF or service UPF;

[0358] -OAM configuration and / or carrier policies and / or local configuration;

[0359] - S-NSSAI, or S-NSSAI and DNN, which are related to or dedicated to NFs with asynchronous communication capabilities.

[0360] - Asynchronous communication capabilities, including capability enable or activation indications.

[0361] In step S5102, the NRF issues an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify, which contains a list of all UPFs currently satisfying the subscription of the first CPF (e.g., SMF). This notification indicates a subset of the target UPF configuration information supported by each UPF.

[0362] In some embodiments, the UPF supports the following functions of the first CPF (e.g., SMF) for UPF selection and reselection requirements: supporting asynchronous type communication functions, including caching and / or storing service data, and / or synchronizing service data when transmission conditions are met.

[0363] In some embodiments, the following steps are performed when a new UPF example is deployed.

[0364] In step S5103, a new UPF instance is deployed at any time.

[0365] In step S5104, the UPF instance is configured with an NRF identifier to contact and register with the NRF, and configuration information of the UPF instance is also configured. In some embodiments, during the registration process using the UPF configuration information, the UPF is not required to understand the UPF configuration information.

[0366] In step S5105, the UPF instance issues an Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister request operation, providing the NF type of the UPF instance, the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or Internet protocol (IP) address, and the UPF configuration information configured in step S5104.

[0367] In step S5106, (as an alternative to steps S5104 and S5105) in some embodiments, OAM registers the UPF on the NRF, indicating the same UPF configuration information provided in step S5105.

[0368] In step S5107, based on the subscription in step S5101, the NRF sends Nnrf_NFManagement_NFStatusNotify to all first CPFs (e.g., SMFs), whose subscriptions match the UPF configuration information of the new UPF.

[0369] In some embodiments, the NRF issues the new UPF to the first CPF (e.g., SMF) if the new UPF supports the following functions required by the first CPF (e.g., SMF) for UPF selection and reselection: supporting asynchronous type communication functions, including caching and / or storing service data, and / or synchronizing service data when transmission conditions are met.

[0370] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0371] In some embodiments, the UPF selection for 6G PDU session establishment includes the following procedures: (1) UPF selection procedure when creating a new PDU session when there is no PDU session. See the association establishment procedure, in which the UPF and the first CPF (e.g., SMF) exchange information on whether related functions are supported; (2) Selecting a UPF for a specific PDU session, see the session management procedure.

[0372] Figure 5B is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of the communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure. This communication method involves a session association establishment process.

[0373] In some embodiments, the session association establishment process can be used to establish a session association between a first CPF (e.g., SMF) and a UPF, so that the first CPF (e.g., SMF) can use the resources of the UPF, and then establish a session related to 6G services.

[0374] In some embodiments, during these processes, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) and UPF may exchange support functions on each side.

[0375] In some embodiments, the support for asynchronous communication features can be exchanged during these processes. In some embodiments, the UPF that supports asynchronous communication features required by the first CPF (e.g., SMF) can be selected or reselected by the first CPF (e.g., SMF).

[0376] In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) may initiate the establishment of a session association.

[0377] In some embodiments, before establishing a first session on a UPF, a first CPF (e.g., SMF) initiates a session association establishment process to request the establishment of a session association with that UPF. Upon receiving the session association establishment request, the UPF may send a session association establishment response.

[0378] Figure 5C is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of a communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure. This communication method involves a session association establishment process.

[0379] In some embodiments, before establishing the first session on the UPF, the UPF may initiate a session association establishment process to request the establishment of a session association with the first CPF (e.g., SMF).

[0380] In some embodiments, when a session association establishment request is received, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) may send an association establishment response.

[0381] Figure 5D is an interactive schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of a communication method provided according to embodiments of the present disclosure. This communication method may involve a session management process, such as session establishment. As shown in Figure 5D, the communication method may include steps S5401 to S5404.

[0382] In step S5401, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) receives a trigger for establishing a new 6G PDU session or changing the UPF for an already established PDU session.

[0383] In some embodiments, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) may consider the following parameters or information for the selection and reselection of the UPF: support for asynchronous communication functions, including caching and / or storage of service data, and / or synchronizing service data when transmission conditions are met.

[0384] In step S5402, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) sends a session establishment request message to the UPF. This UPF contains control information about its operation. This control information defines how the UPF behaves.

[0385] In step S5403, in response, the UPF may send a session establishment response message. This session establishment response message contains any information that the UPF must provide to the first CPF (e.g., SMF) in response to the received control information.

[0386] In step S5404, the first CPF (e.g., SMF) interacts with the network function (e.g., AMF or PCF) that triggered the process.

[0387] In some embodiments, the steps and their optional implementations in other embodiments described before or after this embodiment, as well as other related parts in the specification, can be referred to, and will not be repeated here.

[0388] This disclosure also proposes an apparatus (also referred to as a communication device, etc.) for implementing any of the above methods. For example, this disclosure proposes an apparatus including units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the first node in any of the above methods. For example, this disclosure proposes an apparatus including units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the second node in any of the above methods. For example, this disclosure proposes an apparatus including units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the third node in any of the above methods. For example, this disclosure proposes an apparatus including units or modules for implementing the steps performed by the fourth node in any of the above methods.

[0389] It should be understood that the division of units or modules in the above device is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, the units or modules in the device can be implemented by a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor connected to a memory containing instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or to implement the functions of the units or modules in the above device. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory can be internal or external to the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits. The functionality of some or all of the units or modules can be achieved through the design of these hardware circuits, which can be understood as one or more processors. For example, in one implementation, the hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The functionality of some or all of the units or modules is achieved through the design of the logical relationships between the components within the circuit. In another implementation, the hardware circuit can be implemented using a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gates. The connection relationships between the logic gates are configured through configuration files, thereby achieving the functionality of some or all of the units or modules. All units or modules of the above device can be implemented entirely through processor-called software, entirely through hardware circuits, or partially through processor-called software with the remaining parts implemented through hardware circuits.

[0390] In this embodiment, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction read and execute capabilities, such as a central processing unit, microprocessor, graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a type of microprocessor), or digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationships of hardware circuits. The logical relationships of the aforementioned hardware circuits are fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device, such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and configuring the hardware circuit can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. Furthermore, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), tensor processing unit (TPU), deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0391] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the communication device 600 may include at least one of the following: a transceiver module 601 and a processing module 602.

[0392] In some embodiments, the communication device 600 may be a first node 101. In some embodiments, the processing module 602 may be configured to: determine a second node for a first session based on first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, and the second node is used to process service data for asynchronous communication. Optionally, the transceiver module 601 may be used to perform at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S301, S302, S303, S308, S310, but not limited thereto) performed by the first node 101 in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here. Optionally, the processing module 602 may be used to perform at least one of the other steps (e.g., step S309, but not limited thereto) performed by the first node 101 in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here.

[0393] In some embodiments, the communication device 600 may be a second node 102. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 601 may be configured to: receive fourth information sent by a first node, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; and / or send fifth information to the first node, wherein the fifth information is used to indicate that the second node supports asynchronous communication; wherein the second node is used to process service data for asynchronous communication. Optionally, the transceiver module 601 may be used to perform at least one of the communication steps (e.g., steps S304, S305, S306, S310, but not limited thereto) performed by the second node 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be elaborated here.

[0394] In some embodiments, the communication device 600 may be a third node 103. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 601 may be configured to send indication information to the first node. Optionally, the transceiver module 601 may be used to perform at least one of the communication steps (e.g., step S301, but not limited thereto) performed by the third node 103 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail here.

[0395] In some embodiments, the communication device 600 may be a fourth node 104. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 601 may be configured to send second information to a first node, wherein the second information is used to indicate an available second node, the available second node is used for the first node to determine a second node for a first session based on the first information, the first information is used to indicate support for asynchronous communication, the first session is associated with asynchronous communication, and the determined second node is used to process the service data of asynchronous communication. Optionally, the transceiver module 601 may be used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the fourth node 104 in any of the above methods (e.g., steps S302, S303, S306, S307, S308, but not limited thereto), which will not be elaborated here.

[0396] In some embodiments, the communication device 600 may also be implemented as a communication equipment.

[0397] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module. The transmitting and receiving modules may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with a transceiver.

[0398] In some embodiments, the processing module may be a single module or may include multiple sub-modules. Optionally, the multiple sub-modules may each perform all or part of the steps required by the processing module. Optionally, the processing module may be interchangeable with a processor.

[0399] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 7100 can be a terminal (e.g., a user equipment), a network device (e.g., a core network device, an access network device), a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal in implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the network device in implementing any of the above methods. The communication device 7100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above method embodiments.

[0400] As shown in Figure 7A, the communication device 7100 includes one or more processors 7101. The processor 7101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit (CPU). The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the CPU can be used to control communication devices (e.g., base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Optionally, the communication device 7100 can be used to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, one or more processors 7101 can be used to invoke instructions to cause the communication device 7100 to execute any of the above methods.

[0401] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more transceivers 7102. When the communication device 7100 includes one or more transceivers 7102, the transceiver 7102 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (e.g., steps S301, S302, S303, S304, S305, S306, S307, S308, S310, but not limited thereto), and the processor 7101 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., step S309, but not limited thereto). In optional embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, interface circuit, interface, etc., can be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, transmitting circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0402] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more memories 7103 for storing data. Optionally, all or part of the memories 7103 may be located outside the communication device 7100. In optional embodiments, the communication device 7100 may include one or more interface circuits 7104. Optionally, the interface circuits 7104 are connected to the memories 7103 and can be used to receive data from the memories 7103 or other devices, and to send data to the memories 7103 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 7104 can read data stored in the memories 7103 and send the data to the processor 7101.

[0403] The communication device 7100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 7100 described in this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 7100 may not be limited by FIG. 7A. The communication device may be a standalone device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) a standalone integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection may also include storage components for storing data and programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, terminal device, smart terminal device, cellular phone, wireless device, handheld device, mobile unit, vehicle device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0404] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For cases where the communication device 7100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the chip 7200 shown in Figure 7B, but it is not limited thereto.

[0405] Chip 7200 includes one or more processors 7201. Chip 7200 is used to perform any of the above methods.

[0406] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more interface circuits 7202. Optionally, terms such as interface circuit, interface, and transceiver pin can be used interchangeably. In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more memories 7203 for storing data. Optionally, all or part of the memories 7203 may be located outside chip 7200. Optionally, interface circuit 7202 is connected to memory 7203, and interface circuit 7202 can be used to receive data from memory 7203 or other devices, and interface circuit 7202 can be used to send data to memory 7203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 7202 can read data stored in memory 7203 and send the data to processor 7201.

[0407] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 7202 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method (e.g., steps S301, S302, S303, S304, S305, S306, S307, S308, S310, but not limited thereto). The interface circuit 7202 performing the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above-described method refers, for example, to the interface circuit 7202 performing data interaction between the processor 7201, the chip 7200, the memory 7203, or the transceiver device. In some embodiments, the processor 7201 performs at least one of other steps (e.g., step S309, but not limited thereto).

[0408] The modules and / or devices described in the various embodiments, such as virtual devices, physical devices, and chips, can be combined or separated arbitrarily as needed. Optionally, some or all steps can also be performed collaboratively by multiple modules and / or devices, which is not limited here.

[0409] This disclosure also proposes a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a communication device 7100, cause the communication device 7100 to perform any of the methods described above. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but not limited thereto; it may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0410] This disclosure also proposes a program product that, when executed by a communication device 7100, causes the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0411] This disclosure also proposes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods.

[0412] Other embodiments of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention that follow the general principles of the invention and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only.

[0413] It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, executed by a first node, wherein, The method includes: Based on the first information, a second node is determined for the first session, wherein the first information is used to indicate support for asynchronous type communication, the first session is associated with the asynchronous type communication, and the second node is used to process the business data of the asynchronous type communication.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first information is determined based on at least one of the following: Indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of the asynchronous communication type; Pre-configuration information associated with the asynchronous communication type; Network slice information associated with the asynchronous type of communication; Capability information associated with the asynchronous type of communication.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The asynchronous communication type includes at least one of the following functions: Store business data; Transmit business data.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The second node supports the asynchronous communication function.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The business data is associated with at least one of the following businesses: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive communication, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, The method further includes: Receive second information sent by the fourth node, wherein the second information is used to indicate available second nodes, and the determined second node is at least one of the available second nodes.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, The method further includes: Send a third message to the fourth node, wherein the third message is used to request the fourth node to provide the available second node.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The third piece of information indicates support for the asynchronous type of communication.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: Send a fourth message to the second node, wherein the fourth message is used to indicate that the first node supports the asynchronous type of communication; The fifth message sent by the second node is received, wherein the fifth message is used to indicate that the second node supports the asynchronous type of communication.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish a session association between the first node and the second node.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish or modify a session between the first node and the second node.

12. A communication method, executed by a second node, wherein, The method includes: Receive fourth information sent by the first node, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the first node supports asynchronous communication; and / or Send a fifth message to the first node, wherein the fifth message is used to instruct the second node to support the asynchronous communication type; The second node is used to process the business data of the asynchronous communication.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish a session association between the first node and the second node.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The fourth and / or fifth information is used to establish or modify a session between the first node and the second node.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein, The second node is determined by the first node for the first session based on first information, the first information being used to indicate support for the asynchronous type of communication, and the first session being associated with the asynchronous type of communication.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The first information is determined based on at least one of the following: Indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of the asynchronous communication type; Pre-configuration information associated with the asynchronous communication type; Network slice information associated with the asynchronous type of communication; Capability information associated with the asynchronous type of communication.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein, The asynchronous communication type includes at least one of the following functions: Store business data; Transmit business data.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein, The business data is associated with at least one of the following businesses: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive communication, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein, The second node is at least one of the available second nodes determined by the fourth node, and the available second nodes are registered in the fourth node.

20. A communication method, executed by a fourth node, wherein, The method includes: Send a second message to the first node, wherein the second message is used to indicate an available second node, the available second node is used by the first node to determine a second node for the first session based on the first message, the first message is used to indicate support for asynchronous type communication, the first session is associated with the asynchronous type communication, and the determined second node is used to process the business data of the asynchronous type communication.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, The first information is determined based on at least one of the following: Indication information provided by a third node, wherein the indication information is used to indicate the characteristics of the asynchronous communication type; Pre-configuration information associated with the asynchronous communication type; Network slice information associated with the asynchronous type of communication; Capability information associated with the asynchronous type of communication.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein, The identified second node supports the asynchronous communication type.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein, The business data is associated with at least one of the following businesses: immersive communication, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, massive communication, ubiquitous connectivity, integrated intelligent communication, and integrated communication sensing.

24. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein, The method further includes: The third information sent by the first node is received, wherein the third information is used to request the fourth node to provide the available second node.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein, The third piece of information indicates support for the asynchronous type of communication.

26. A communication device, wherein, The communication device is used to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-11, 12-19, and 20-25.

27. A communication system comprising a first node, a second node, and a fourth node, wherein, The first node is configured to implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, the second node is configured to implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 12 to 19, and the fourth node is configured to implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 20 to 25.

28. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is executed on the communication device, the communication device performs the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-11, 12-19, and 20-25.

29. A program product comprising at least one of a program and instructions, characterized in that, When at least one of the programs or instructions is executed by the communication device, it implements the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-11, 12-19, and 20-25.

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