Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method relates to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: an SMF determines, for a first service data flow, a first QoS flow and a second QoS flow, wherein a service data flow carried in the first QoS flow supports L4S, and L4S is enabled for the first service data flow; and a service data flow carried in the second QoS flow does not support L4S, and L4S is not enabled for the second QoS flow. According to the method, a terminal and / or a UPF can identify a data packet of the first service data flow, and if the data packet indicates that the first service data flow supports L4S, the first service data flow is bound to the first QoS flow, thereby reducing the packet loss rate of the first service data flow and improving the communication performance.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510134200.4, filed on February 6, 2025, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods and communication devices. Background Technology

[0003] Low latency, low loss, and scalable throughput (L4S) technology enables service providers to better perceive network conditions and improve packet transmission efficiency. L4S technology is an extension of explicit congestion notification (ECN) technology. ECN consists of two bits in the Internet Protocol (IP) header used to inform the sender or receiver that congestion has occurred at a transmission node. For example, the ECN field in the data can be set to "11," or it can be described as marking the ECN field as Congestion Experienced (CE), thus indicating that congestion has occurred during the current network transmission. L4S technology reuses the architecture of ECN technology and also uses the two bits described above. By analyzing the percentage of packets carrying the CE flag in multiple packets transmitted over a period of time, it indicates the degree of network congestion at the sender or receiver. For example, the higher the proportion of packets carrying the CE tag among multiple packets, the higher the current network congestion level; the lower the proportion of packets carrying the CE tag among multiple packets, the lower the current network congestion level; and the lower the proportion of packets not carrying the CE tag among multiple packets, the lower the current network congestion level.

[0004] Release 18 (R18) of the protocol standard proposes that L4S marking can be performed by the radio access network (RAN) or user plane function (UPF). Performing L4S marking refers to adding a CE identifier to the IP header of data packets when network congestion occurs. The session management function (SMF) and policy control function (PCF) can enable L4S for QoS flows corresponding to service data flows. Enabling L4S can be understood as enabling L4S marking by the RAN or UPF. However, how to enable L4S when the SMF and PCF are unsure whether the service data flow supports L4S is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device that enables L4S for service data streams, thereby reducing the packet loss rate of the service data streams and improving communication performance.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a session management function. This session management function (or session management function device) can refer to the session management function itself, or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system implementing the method within the session management function. The method includes: determining a first quality of service (QoS) stream and a second QoS stream for a first service data stream. The service data stream carried by the first QoS stream supports low latency, low loss, and scalable throughput (L4S), and L4S is enabled for the first QoS stream. The service data stream carried by the second QoS stream does not support L4S, and L4S is not enabled for the second QoS stream.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, through the session management function determining the first QoS stream and the second QoS stream for the first service data stream, the terminal and / or user plane function can identify the data packets of the first service data stream. If the data packet indicates that the first service data stream supports L4S, then the first service data stream is bound to the first QoS stream, and L4S is enabled for the first QoS stream. If the data packet indicates that the first service data stream does not support L4S, then the first service data stream is bound to the second QoS stream, and L4S is not enabled for the second QoS stream. Therefore, L4S can be enabled when the first service data stream supports L4S, thereby reducing the packet loss rate of the first service data stream and improving communication performance.

[0008] In some possible implementations, first information and second information are sent to the user plane function. The first information is used to detect the service data packets carried by the first QoS flow, and the second information is used to detect the service data packets carried by the second QoS flow. The first information includes third information, but the second information does not include the third information. The third information is flow detection information that supports L4S.

[0009] The flow detection information refers to the detection of the first service data flow in the downlink direction. Except for the flow detection information supporting L4S, the other flow detection information in this first information is the same as the flow detection information included in the second information. The flow detection information included in both the first and second information includes one or more of the following: the Internet Protocol (IP) triplet corresponding to the first service data flow, the IP quintuple corresponding to the first service data flow, or the application identifier corresponding to the first service data flow, etc.

[0010] Optionally, the first information and the second information are packet detection rules (PDRs). Here, the PDR described in this application refers to rules that can be used to classify and detect service packets, and this application does not limit the name of the PDR. For example, the first information and the second information can also be other information besides PDRs that can be used to classify and detect service packets, and this application does not limit this. For simplicity, the first information will be referred to as the first PDR, and the second information as the second PDR. It should be understood that the first information and the second information can also have other names.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the first piece of information has a higher priority than the second piece of information. Based on this implementation, user plane functions can prioritize classifying and detecting service data packets based on the first piece of information, which includes L4S flow detection information.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the first information also includes a fourth information, while the second information does not include the fourth information. The fourth information is used to indicate whether L4S is enabled. In this way, when the first service data flow supports L4S, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the first QoS flow and indicate the network congestion status to the user plane function through the GTP-U layer. The user plane function performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby enabling the external access of network status information.

[0013] In some possible implementations, when the first PDR also includes an application identifier corresponding to the first service data flow, the method further includes: receiving a first packet flow description (PFD) for the application identifier of the first service data flow sent from the network open function; and sending the first PFD to the user plane function. Alternatively, the first PFD can also be described as a PFD containing a TOS (IPv4) or service flow category and mask (IPv6) description information with an ECN bit of ECT(1) or CE. In addition, the first PFD includes a PFD ID and one or more of the following: a triple (including protocol, server-side IP address, and port number), a significant portion of the uniform resource locator (URL) to be matched (e.g., hostname), a domain name matching criterion, and information about the applicable protocol. Based on the first PFD, accurate application detection can be performed using the user plane function.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending first QoS configuration information and second QoS configuration information to the access network device. The first QoS configuration information includes fifth information, while the second QoS configuration information does not. The fifth information is used to indicate L4S enabling. The first QoS configuration information is for a first QoS flow, and the second QoS configuration information is for a second QoS flow. All QoS parameters in the first QoS configuration information except for the fifth information are the same as those in the second QoS configuration information. In this way, when the first service data flow supports L4S, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the first QoS flow and perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby enabling the on-path exposure of network congestion information.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the fifth piece of information is also used to instruct the access network device to send congestion information to the user plane function, the congestion information being used to indicate the network congestion status.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending to the terminal a first QoS rule corresponding to the first QoS flow and a second QoS rule corresponding to the second QoS flow, wherein the first QoS rule includes L4S-supporting flow detection information, and the second QoS rule does not include L4S-supporting flow detection information. The flow detection information is used for detecting the first service data flow in the uplink direction.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the first QoS rule has a higher priority than the second QoS rule. Based on this approach, the terminal can prioritize classifying and detecting service packets based on the first QoS rule, which includes L4S flow detection information.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are determined based on local configuration.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving a first policy and charging control (PCC) rule and a second PCC rule from the policy control function, wherein the first PCC rule includes a first service data flow template supporting L4S and a sixth message, and the second PCC rule does not include the first service data flow template supporting L4S and the sixth message, wherein the sixth message is used to indicate enabling L4S; the first PCC rule is bound to a first QoS flow, and the second PCC rule is bound to a second QoS flow.

[0020] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving a third PCC rule from a policy control function, the third PCC rule including a first service data flow template and a seventh message, the seventh message indicating whether L4S is enabled based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0021] Secondly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a policy control function. This policy control function (or policy control function device) can refer to the policy control function itself, or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the policy control function that implements the method. The method includes: determining a first PCC rule and a second PCC rule for a first service data stream. The first PCC rule includes a service data stream template supporting L4S and a sixth piece of information. The second PCC rule does not include a service data stream template supporting L4S and the sixth piece of information. The sixth piece of information is used to indicate enabling L4S. The first PCC rule and the second PCC rule are then sent to a session management function.

[0022] Based on the method described in the second aspect, the session management function can determine a first QoS stream and a second QoS stream based on the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule. The service data stream carried by the first QoS stream supports L4S, so the first QoS stream is L4S enabled. The service data stream carried by the second QoS stream does not support L4S, so the second QoS stream is L4S disabled. The terminal and / or user plane function can identify the data packets of the first service data stream. If the data packet indicates that the first service data stream supports L4S, then the first service data stream is bound to the first QoS stream, and the first QoS stream is L4S enabled. If the data packet indicates that the first service data stream does not support L4S, then the first service data stream is bound to the second QoS stream, and the second QoS stream is L4S disabled. Therefore, it is possible to enable L4S in the first service data stream when L4S is supported, thereby reducing the packet loss rate of the first service data stream and improving communication performance.

[0023] In some possible implementations, the priority of business data flow detection in the first PCC rule is higher than the priority of business data flow detection in the second PCC rule. Based on this implementation, the session management function can determine the order in which business data flow templates are applied during business data flow detection, execution, and billing.

[0024] In some possible implementations, the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule are determined based on local configuration.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving an application function (AF) request, which includes business flow description information of a first business data flow, and a first PCC rule and a second PCC rule determined based on the AF request.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the AF request indicates whether to enable L4S based on whether the first business data stream supports L4S.

[0027] Thirdly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a session management function. This session management function (or session management function device) can refer to the session management function itself, or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the session management function that implements the method. The method includes: sending a ninth message to a user plane function. The ninth message includes a tenth message and an eleventh message. The tenth message is used by the user plane function to detect whether a first service data stream supports L4S, and the eleventh message instructs the user plane function to report whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0028] Based on the method described in the third aspect, the session management function enables the user plane function to detect whether the first service data stream supports L4S and report whether the first service data stream supports L4S. The session management function can determine whether to enable L4S for the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream based on the reported detection information.

[0029] In some possible implementations, the ninth message sent by the session management function to the user plane function is called a PDR (Programmable Decision Record). Here, the PDR described in this application refers to rules that can be used to classify and detect service data packets, and this application does not limit the name of the PDR. For example, the ninth message can also be other information besides the PDR that can be used to classify and detect service data packets, and this application does not limit this. It should be understood that the ninth message can also have other names; for the sake of brevity, it will be referred to as PDR hereafter.

[0030] For example, the ninth information is referred to as the third PDR, which includes the tenth and eleventh information. For instance, the third PDR can detect the packet filtering set of service data streams supporting L4S, or it can detect the application identifier of service data streams supporting L4S. Specifically, the packet filtering set that can detect service data streams supporting L4S includes a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE, and the application identifier that can detect service data streams supporting L4S refers to the PFD(s) corresponding to the application identifier containing a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE.

[0031] For example, this ninth piece of information is referred to as the fourth PDR. The session management function sends at least two PDRs for the first service data flow to the user plane function. These at least two PDRs include the fourth PDR and the fifth PDR. Both the fourth and fifth PDRs include flow detection information corresponding to the first service data flow. The flow detection information includes one or more of the following: IP triples, IP quintuples, or application identifiers, etc. The fourth PDR is used to detect whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The fourth PDR includes tenth and eleventh pieces of information. For example, the fourth PDR includes a packet filtering set capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S, or an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S. The fourth PDR also includes usage reporting rules (URR) or session reporting rules (SRR), which are used to instruct the user plane function to report whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The fifth PDR does not include a packet filtering set capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S, nor an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S. The fifth PDR includes the QoS enforcement rule (QER) for the first service data flow, which indicates the QoS requirements of the first service data flow. Optionally, the fourth PDR has a higher priority than the fifth PDR. Alternatively, the fifth PDR has a higher priority than the fourth PDR.

[0032] Optionally, the eleventh piece of information can be carried in the URR. Alternatively, the eleventh piece of information can also be carried in the SRR. Or, the eleventh piece of information can also be carried in other information, which is not limited in this application.

[0033] In some possible implementations, the session management function can autonomously determine to send the ninth message; alternatively, the method further includes receiving a fifth PCC rule from the policy control function that includes a first service data flow template and a sixteenth message, the sixteenth message indicating whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The session management function can then determine to send the ninth message to the user plane function based on the sixteenth message.

[0034] In some possible implementations, the ninth piece of information sent by the session management function to the user plane function includes the application identifier of the first service data flow. The method also includes: receiving a first PFD for the application identifier of the first service data flow from the NEF; sending the first PFD to the user plane function, the first PFD further including eighth information, which is descriptive information indicating that the first service data flow supports L4S. Alternatively, the first PFD can also be described as a PFD containing a TOS (IPv4) or service flow class and mask (IPv6) description information with an ECN bit of ECT(1) or CE. The first PFD includes a PFD ID and one or more of the following: a triple (including protocol, server-side IP address, and port number), a significant portion of the URL to be matched (e.g., hostname), a domain name matching criterion, and information about the applicable protocol. Based on the first PFD, accurate application detection can be performed by the user plane function.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving detection information from the user plane function for a first service data stream, the detection information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S; sending a twelfth message to the user plane function, the twelfth message indicating that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream enables L4S; and sending a thirteenth message to the access network device, the thirteenth message indicating that the access network device reports congestion information of the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream to the user plane function. This congestion information indicates the network congestion status. This implementation allows the access network device to detect the network congestion status of the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream and indicate this network congestion status to the user plane function through the GTP-U layer. The user plane function performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby enabling the external access to network status information, which helps reduce the packet loss rate of the first service data stream and improves communication performance.

[0036] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving detection information from the user plane function for the first service data stream, the detection information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S; and sending twelfth information to the access network device, the twelfth information being used to indicate that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream enables L4S. Through this implementation, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream and perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby enabling the outgoing network congestion information along with the path, which helps reduce the packet loss rate of the first service data stream and improve communication performance.

[0037] In some possible implementations, the session management function or policy control function can determine whether to enable L4S for the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream.

[0038] Optionally, if the policy control function determines whether to enable L4S for the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow, the method further includes: sending detection information to the policy control function; receiving fourteenth information from the policy control function, the fourteenth information being used to indicate that the PCC rule corresponding to the first service data flow be updated to the fourth PCC rule, the fourth PCC rule including the fifteenth information, the fifteenth information being used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow is enabled for L4S.

[0039] Fourthly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a policy control function. This policy control function (or policy control function device) can refer to the policy control function itself, or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the policy control function that implements the method. The method includes: determining a fifth PCC rule for a first service data stream, the fifth PCC rule including a first service data stream template and sixteenth information; and sending the fifth PCC rule to a session management function, the sixteenth information being used to indicate whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0040] Based on the method described in the fourth aspect, the policy control function can send an instruction to the user plane function through the session management function, so that the session management function can instruct the user plane function to detect whether the first service data stream supports L4S and report whether the first service data stream supports L4S, thereby determining whether to enable L4S for the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream based on the detection information.

[0041] Optionally, the fifth PCC rule may be determined by the policy control function based on local configuration and / or an AF request, wherein the AF request includes service flow description information of the first service data flow, which includes information such as IP triples, quintuples, or application identifiers. Further optionally, the AF request may also indicate whether to enable L4S based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0042] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving detection information from a session management function, the detection information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S; sending a fourteenth message to the session management function, the fourteenth message indicating that the PCC rule corresponding to the first service data stream is updated to a fourth PCC rule, the fourth PCC rule including a fifteenth message, the fifteenth message indicating that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream enables L4S.

[0043] Fifthly, this application provides a communication method that can be executed by a user plane function. The user plane function (or user plane function device) can refer to the user plane function itself, or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the user plane function that implements the method. The method includes: receiving ninth information from a session management function, the ninth information including tenth and eleventh information, the tenth information being used by the user plane function to detect whether a first service data stream supports L4S, and the eleventh information instructing the user plane function to report whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0044] The beneficial effects of the fifth method and its possible implementations can be found in the description in the third aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending detection information for the first service data stream to the session management function, the detection information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0046] In some possible implementations, the method further includes receiving a twelfth piece of information from the session management function, which indicates that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow should enable L4S. This implementation allows the client plane function to perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby enabling the external access to network status information. This helps reduce the packet loss rate of the first service data flow and improves communication performance.

[0047] In some possible implementations, the ninth information received by the user plane function is called PDR. Here, the PDR described in this application refers to rules that can be used to classify and detect service data packets. This application does not limit the name of the PDR. For example, the ninth information can also be other information besides PDR that can be used to classify and detect service data packets. It should be understood that the ninth information can also have other names; for simplicity, it is uniformly referred to as PDR here.

[0048] For example, the ninth information is referred to as the third PDR, which includes the tenth and eleventh information. For instance, the third PDR can detect the packet filtering set of service data streams supporting L4S, or it can detect the application identifier of service data streams supporting L4S. Specifically, the packet filtering set that can detect service data streams supporting L4S includes a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE, and the application identifier that can detect service data streams supporting L4S refers to the PFD(s) corresponding to the application identifier containing a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE.

[0049] For example, this ninth piece of information is referred to as the fourth PDR. The user plane function receives at least two PDRs from the session management function for the first service data flow. These at least two PDRs include the fourth PDR and the fifth PDR. Both the fourth and fifth PDRs include flow detection information corresponding to the first service data flow. The flow detection information includes one or more of the following: IP triples, IP quintuples, or application identifiers, etc. The fourth PDR is used to detect whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The fourth PDR includes tenth and eleventh pieces of information. For example, the fourth PDR includes a packet filtering set capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S, or an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S. The fourth PDR also includes a URR or SRR, which is used to instruct the user plane function to report whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The fifth PDR does not include a packet filtering set capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S, nor an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S. The fifth PDR includes a QER for the first service data flow, which is used to indicate the QoS requirements of the first service data flow. Optionally, the fourth PDR has a higher priority than the fifth PDR. Alternatively, the fifth PDR has a higher priority than the fourth PDR.

[0050] Optionally, the eleventh piece of information can be carried in the URR. Alternatively, the eleventh piece of information can also be carried in the SRR. Or, the eleventh piece of information can also be carried in other information, which is not limited in this application.

[0051] In some possible implementations, the ninth piece of information may also include the application identifier of the first business data stream.

[0052] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device for executing the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects. The communication device includes a module for executing the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects.

[0053] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device including a processing circuit for executing a method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects. The processing circuit executes a program, and when the program is executed, the method shown in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects is executed.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory for storing the program.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the aforementioned communication device.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the memory is located within the aforementioned communication device.

[0057] Furthermore, the processing circuitry and memory can be integrated into a single device; that is, the processing circuitry and memory can be combined. For example, the communication device can be a chip.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication circuit for receiving information (or inputting information) or sending information (or outputting information).

[0059] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a processing circuit and a communication circuit. The processing circuit can be a logic circuit, and the communication circuit can be an interface circuit. The logic circuit and the interface are coupled. The interface circuit is used to input and / or output information, and the logic circuit is used to execute a method of any possible implementation of any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0060] Ninthly, this application provides a communication system comprising a communication device for performing the method described in the first aspect and a communication device for performing the method described in the second aspect. Alternatively, the communication system comprises a communication device for performing the method described in the third aspect and a communication device for performing the method described in the fourth aspect. Optionally, the communication system may further comprise a communication device for performing the method described in the fifth aspect.

[0061] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the method shown in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects to be executed.

[0062] In the eleventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product that, when run on a computer, causes the method shown in any possible implementation of any of the first to fifth aspects to be executed. Attached Figure Description

[0063] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network system architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0064] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a core network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a data packet provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the execution of L4S tagging provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0074] The specific embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] The terms "first" and "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0076] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0077] In this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three or more, and "and / or" is used to describe the correspondence between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0078] In this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface from other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY via the air interface from other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via buses, traces, or interfaces.

[0079] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0080] In this application, "instruction" may include: direct instruction, or indirect instruction, or explicit instruction, or implicit instruction.

[0081] In this application, "including" can include: direct inclusion, indirect inclusion, explicit inclusion, or implicit inclusion.

[0082] It should be understood that existing technologies may change as technical solutions evolve, and the technical solutions provided in this application are not limited to the existing technologies provided.

[0083] It should be noted that different embodiments or some steps (e.g., any one or more steps) in different embodiments of this application can be combined with each other to form new embodiments. It should also be noted that the scope of this application is not limited to including optional steps in a certain embodiment, mandatory steps in a certain embodiment, or both optional and mandatory steps in a certain embodiment.

[0084] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced in each other.

[0085] It should be noted that the order of the steps in the embodiments of this application is not limited by this application.

[0086] It should be noted that the terms "after" and "time" in this application do not strictly limit the specific point in time.

[0087] It should be noted that the nouns and terms used in this application are merely examples and may be other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0088] To better understand the embodiments of this application, the system architecture involved in the embodiments of this application will be described first below:

[0089] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, New Radio (NR), the 3rd Generation Partner Project (3GPP) service-based architecture (SBA) and other 5th generation (5G) communication systems or future communication systems.

[0090] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a network system architecture provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, a terminal device can access a wireless network to obtain services from an external network (e.g., a data network (DN)) or communicate with other devices, such as other terminal devices, through the wireless network. This wireless network includes a radio access network ((R)AN) and a core network (CN). The (R)AN (hereinafter referred to as RAN) is used to connect the terminal device to the wireless network, and the CN is used to manage the terminal device and provide a gateway for communication with the DN. The terminal device, RAN, CN, and DN involved in the system architecture shown in Figure 1 will be described in detail below.

[0091] I. Terminal Equipment

[0092] Terminal devices include devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, a terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and it can be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (AR) terminals, wireless terminals in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminals, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, wearable terminals, etc. The embodiments in this application do not limit the application scenarios. Terminal equipment may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), access terminal, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, UE terminal, wireless communication equipment, UE agent, or UE device, etc. A terminal can be fixed or mobile. It is understood that all or part of the functions of the terminal in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). In this application, the terminal equipment will be referred to simply as a terminal.

[0093] 2. RAN

[0094] The RAN may include one or more RAN devices (or access network devices). The interface between the access network device and the terminal can be a Uu interface (or air interface). Of course, in communications evolved after 5G, the names of these interfaces may remain unchanged or may be replaced with other names; this application does not limit this.

[0095] Access network equipment refers to nodes or devices that connect terminals to a wireless network. Examples of access network equipment include, but are not limited to: next-generation node B (gNB), evolved node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) in 5G communication systems, radio backhaul equipment, radio network controllers (RNC), node B (NB), home evolved node B (HeNB) or (home node B (HNB)), baseband unit (BBU), transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), mobile switching center, devices that perform base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and also include centralized units in cloud radio access network (C-RAN) systems. Network equipment in communication systems such as CU (Communication Unit), distributed unit (DU), and non-terrestrial network (NTN) can be deployed on high-altitude platforms or satellites, etc., and this application does not specifically limit this. The RAN in this application can be a RAN for 5G or a future RAN, and this application does not limit this.

[0096] III. Core Network

[0097] The core network involved in this application embodiment can be an evolved packet core (EPC) of 4G core network, or a 5G core network (5GC), or a converged network architecture of EPC and 5GC, or a possible future core network form. The CN can include one or more network functions (NFs) (also referred to as CN devices or functional network elements).

[0098] For example, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a core network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application. The CN shown in Figure 2 includes multiple NFs: User Plane Function (UPF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Network Function Repository Function (NRF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository Function (UDR), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), and Application Function (AF). Among them:

[0099] UPF is a gateway provided by the operator, serving as the gateway for communication between the operator's network and the DN. UPF includes user plane-related functions such as packet routing and transmission, packet inspection, quality of service (QoS) processing, uplink packet inspection, and downlink packet storage.

[0100] NEF is a control plane function provided by the operator, which can provide core network capability openness and allow external network elements to interact with the core network through this network element.

[0101] NRF is a control plane function provided by the operator, which can be used to maintain real-time information about network functions and services in the network. For example, it supports network service discovery, maintains the NF configuration data (NF profile) of NF instances to show the services supported, supports service communication proxy (SCP) service discovery, maintains the SCP configuration data (SCP profile) of SCP instances, sends notifications about newly registered, deregistered, and updated NFs and SCPs, and maintains the health status of NFs and SCPs.

[0102] PCF is a control plane function provided by the operator, including user subscription data management, policy control, billing policy control, QoS control, etc. It is mainly used to provide the SMF with policies for Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions. These policies can include billing-related policies, QoS-related policies, and authorization-related policies.

[0103] UDM is a control plane function provided by the operator, mainly used to manage user subscription data and authentication data, as well as to perform authentication credit processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, subscription management, and SMS management.

[0104] UDR is a control plane function provided by the operator, which provides UDM with the ability to store and retrieve subscription data, PCF with the ability to store and retrieve policy data, and stores and retrieves user NF group ID information, etc.

[0105] AUSF can be responsible for authenticating terminals and determining their legitimacy.

[0106] AMF is a control plane function provided by the operator's network, responsible for access control and mobility management of terminal access to the operator's network, including functions such as mobility state management, assigning temporary user identities, authenticating and authorizing users.

[0107] SMF (Service Controller Function) is a control plane function provided by the operator's network, responsible for managing the terminal's PDU sessions. A PDU session is a channel used to transmit PDUs; the terminal needs to exchange PDUs with the DN (Network Controller) through the PDU session. The SMF is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and deleting PDU sessions. SMF includes session management (such as session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between the UPF and RAN), UPF selection and control, service and session continuity (SSC) mode selection, roaming, and other session-related functions.

[0108] The primary function of AF is to provide services through interaction with the core network, thereby influencing service flow routing, access network capability exposure, and policy control.

[0109] NWDAF is a control plane function provided by the operator. Its main function is to collect data from NF, external application function (AF) and operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) system, and provide NWDAF service registration, data opening and analysis data to NF and AF.

[0110] In Figure 2, Nnef, Nausf, Nnrf, Namf, Npcf, Nsmf, Nudm, Nudr, Naf, Nnwadf, N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9 are interface sequence numbers. The meanings of these interface sequence numbers can be found in the definitions in the relevant standard protocols, and are not limited here.

[0111] It should be noted that the aforementioned NF can also be referred to as core network equipment, network element, or functional network element. In a 5G communication system, each functional network element can be the name shown in Figure 2. In communication systems evolved after 5G, each functional network element can still use the names shown in Figure 2, or it can have other names. For example, in a 5G communication system, the user plane function can be UPF. In communication systems evolved after 5G, the user plane function can still be UPF, or it can have other names; this application is not limited to this.

[0112] It should also be noted that in 5G communication systems, the functions implemented by each functional network element can be independent, as shown in Figure 2. In communication systems evolved after 5G, the functional network elements can still remain independent as shown in Figure 2, or they can be integrated into a single functional network element that implements the functions of multiple functional network elements in Figure 2. For example, in 5G communication systems, user plane related functions are implemented by the UPF, and access and mobility management related functions are implemented by the AMF. In communication systems evolved after 5G, user plane related functions can still be implemented by the UPF, and access and mobility management related functions can still be implemented by the AMF. Alternatively, a single integrated functional network element can simultaneously implement both user plane related functions and access and mobility management related functions. This application does not limit this.

[0113] IV. DN

[0114] DN, also known as packet data network (PDN), is a network located outside the operator's network. The operator's network can access multiple DNs, and application servers corresponding to various services can be deployed in the DN to provide a variety of possible services to the terminal.

[0115] The technical terms used in the embodiments of this application are described below:

[0116] 1. Displaying explicit congestion notification (ECN)

[0117] ECN consists of two information bits (or simply bits) in the Internet Protocol (IP) header, used to inform the sender or receiver that congestion has occurred at the transmission node. For example, Figure 3 shows the format of the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) header, which includes the ECN field.

[0118] The ECN field has four status values: 00, 01, 10, and 11. 00 indicates that the data does not support ECN (Not ECN-capable transport, Not-ECT). 01 and 10 both indicate that the data supports ECN (ECN-capable transport, ECT). 11 indicates congestion experienced (CE); if congestion occurs, the ECN field value is set to 11. The four status values ​​of the ECN field can also be understood as four code points for ECN: Not-ECT, ECT(1), ECT(0), and CE. Not-ECT corresponds to 00, ECT(1) corresponds to 01, ECT(0) corresponds to 10, and CE corresponds to 11.

[0119] II. Low latency, low loss, and scalable throughput (L4S)

[0120] L4S technology is an extension of ECN technology that enables service providers to better perceive network conditions and improve packet transmission efficiency.

[0121] L4S uses the ECN field in the IP header to indicate network congestion status. For example, in L4S technology, the percentage of packets carrying the CE (Congestion Detection) tag among multiple data packets transmitted over a period of time indicates the degree of network congestion at the sending or receiving end. A packet carrying the CE tag can also be described as a packet with the ECN field set to "11". For instance, a higher percentage of packets carrying the CE tag indicates higher network congestion; a lower percentage indicates lower congestion; and no packets carrying the CE tag indicate no network congestion.

[0122] L4S is based on the ECN field in the IP header to indicate whether L4S capability is supported. For example, carrying an ECT(1) or ECT(0) flag in a packet indicates that the corresponding service data flow (SDF) supports L4S capability. A packet carrying an ECT(1) or ECT(0) flag can be described as a packet with the ECN field set to "10" or "01".

[0123] L4S technology enables the sender to perceive the current network status in a timely manner, thereby allowing it to make rapid adjustments based on the network conditions. For example, for media services, the sender can adjust the transmission bitrate in real time according to the network conditions.

[0124] The protocol version 18 (release 18, R18) standard proposes that ECN-based L4S marking can be performed by the RAN or UPF. For convenience, ECN-based L4S marking will be referred to as L4S marking from now on. Performing L4S marking refers to adding the CE identifier to the IP header of data packets when network congestion occurs. Performing L4S marking can also be referred to as performing L4S marking.

[0125] For example, as shown in Figure 4, in the scheme where L4S marking is performed by the RAN, the RAN detects the network congestion status of the QoS flow and performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby enabling the network congestion information to be exposed along with the flow. In the scheme where L4S marking is performed by the UPF, the RAN detects the network congestion status of the QoS flow and sends this network congestion status to the UPF side through the congestion information in the header of the General Packet Radio Service tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) packet of the uplink data packet. The UPF performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the RAN, thereby enabling the network status information to be exposed.

[0126] III. QoS Flow

[0127] A QoS flow refers to a data transmission channel defined to meet specific quality requirements. QoS flows schedule and manage network resources, providing priority and bandwidth guarantees to ensure timely and reliable transmission of critical data even under network congestion or high load. In a 5G system (5GS), when a UE has service communication needs, a PDU session is established. The specific service flow carried within the PDU session is the corresponding QoS flow. Specifically, the UE obtains an IP address through the PDU session establishment to interact with external service servers and achieve service communication. 5GS, based on service flow description information, such as the Service Data Flow Template (SDF template), maps the corresponding service to different QoS flows and performs appropriate QoS processing.

[0128] IV. Packet flow descriptions (PFD(s))

[0129] PFD management enables the UPF to perform accurate application detection when the application service provider (ASP) provides PFD(s). The UPF can then take appropriate actions according to the instructions in the policy and charging control (PCC) rules. Operators can configure predefined PCC rules in the SMF or generate dynamic PCC rules in the PCF. These PCC rules include at least the application identifier (APP ID) and charging control information (i.e., the charging key) for service data flow detection. Optionally, the PCC rules may also include a sponsor identifier and / or an ASP identifier. Depending on the service level agreement between the operator and the ASP, the ASP may provide the SMF with a single PFD or a complete set of PFDs maintained by the ASP for each application identifier through the PFD management service (packet flow description function, FPFD) in the NEF. The PFDs are part of the application detection filters in the SMF or UPF, enabling the UPF to detect application identifiers based on the PFD(s) for arriving packets.

[0130] PFD includes a PFD ID and one or more of the following: a triple (including protocol, server-side IP address, and port number), key parts of the uniform resource locator (URL) to be matched (e.g., hostname), domain name matching criteria, and information about the applicable protocol.

[0131] The NEF (PFDF) should provide PFD(s) to the SMF when the SMF requests or the NEF requests PFD management. Optionally, the provision of PFD(s) by the NEF (PFDF) to the SMF when the SMF requests PFD management can be termed "pull mode," while the provision of PFD(s) by the NEF (PFDF) to the SMF when the NEF requests PFD management can be termed "push mode." Furthermore, the NEF (PFDF) can subscribe to the NWDAF to be notified or request PFD "deterministic analysis" for known applications, and decide whether to create, update, or delete PFDs based on specific NWDAF analyses. When the UPF has packet detection rules (PDR(s)) with application identifiers corresponding to the PFD(s), the SMF should provide the PFD(s) to the UPF. If the SMF does not have cached PFD(s), the SMF will obtain the PFD(s) by retrieving them from the NEF (PFDF). When the SMF receives any updates to PFD(s) from the NEF (PFDF), and a PDR for the activity of the application identifier still exists in the UPF, the SMF should provide the UPF with an updated set of PFDs corresponding to the application identifier using a PFD management message. When the UPF receives updated PFDs for the same application identifier from the same or different SMFs, the most recently received PFD(s) should overwrite any existing PFD(s) stored in the UPF.

[0132] Based on the above description, SMF and PCF can enable L4S for the QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow. Enabling L4S can be understood as enabling L4S marking by the RAN or UPF. However, how to enable L4S when SMF and PCF are unsure whether the service data flow supports L4S is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0133] To enable L4S for service data flows while supporting L4S, thereby reducing packet loss and improving communication performance, this application proposes a communication method based on the network architecture shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 5, this communication method includes steps 501 to 504, and the order of execution of these steps is not limited in this application embodiment. The execution entities of this method include SMF, UPF, access network equipment, and terminal, or include modules of SMF, UPF, access network equipment, and terminal. For example, the SMF module can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in the SMF; the UPF module can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in the UPF; the access network equipment module can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in the access network equipment; and the terminal module can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in the access network equipment. This application embodiment uses SMF, UPF, access network equipment, and terminal as the execution entities for illustration.

[0134] 501. SMF determines a first QoS stream and a second QoS stream for the first service data stream. The service data stream carried by the first QoS stream supports L4S, and the first QoS stream is enabled for L4S. The service data stream carried by the second QoS stream does not support L4S, and the second QoS stream is not enabled for L4S.

[0135] In this embodiment of the application, the terminal and / or UPF can identify the data packets of the first service data stream by using the two QoS streams determined by the SMF for the first service data stream. If the data packet indicates that the first service data stream supports L4S, then the first service data stream is bound to the first QoS stream and L4S is enabled for the first QoS stream. If the data packet indicates that the first service data stream does not support L4S, then the first service data stream is bound to the second QoS stream and L4S is not enabled for the second QoS stream.

[0136] In this application embodiment, the enabling described can also be replaced by activating or enabling. The disenabling can also be replaced by disabling, deactivating, or turning off, etc., and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0137] For example, the service data stream carried by the first QoS stream supports L4S, which can be understood as the first QoS stream including a set of packet filters or application identifiers that support L4S; the service data stream carried by the second QoS stream does not support L4S, which can be understood as the second QoS stream not including a set of packet filters or application identifiers that support L4S.

[0138] Optionally, the first QoS stream or the second QoS stream may be newly generated by SMF, or it may be an existing QoS stream. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0139] In some possible implementations, the first QoS flow and second QoS flow determined by the SMF for the first service data flow can be determined based on local configuration and / or PCC rules. Specifically, when the first QoS flow and second QoS flow are determined based on PCC rules, the following two implementation methods are available:

[0140] Option 1: The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are determined based on the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule. The first PCC rule includes a first service data flow template that supports L4S and a sixth piece of information. The second PCC rule does not include the first service data flow template that supports L4S and the sixth piece of information. The sixth piece of information is used to indicate whether L4S is enabled. The first PCC rule is bound to the first QoS flow, and the second PCC rule is bound to the second QoS flow.

[0141] For example, this optional method 1 specifically includes the following steps 1 and 2:

[0142] Step 1: PCF determines a first PCC rule and a second PCC rule for the first service data flow. The first PCC rule includes a service data flow template that supports L4S and a sixth information. The second PCC rule does not include a service data flow template that supports L4S and the sixth information. The sixth information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled.

[0143] Step 2: The PCF sends the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule to the SMF. Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule from the PCF.

[0144] The first service data flow template supporting L4S refers to either a set of IP packet filters capable of detecting service data flows supporting L4S, or an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows supporting L4S. Further, the set of IP packet filters capable of detecting service data flows supporting L4S includes a Type of Service (TOS) (IPv4) or Traffic class and Mask (IPv6) with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE. The application identifier capable of detecting service data flows supporting L4S refers to the PFD(s) corresponding to that application identifier containing a TOS or Traffic class and Mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE.

[0145] In some examples, the first PCC rule has a higher priority than the second PCC rule. Alternatively, it can be described that a PCC rule supporting L4S has a higher priority than a PCC rule that does not support L4S; or, since the first PCC rule includes a first service flow template supporting L4S, while the second PCC rule does not, it can also be described that a PCC rule containing more IP packet filters has a higher priority than a PCC rule containing fewer IP packet filters. In other words, service flow detection in the first PCC rule has a higher priority than service flow detection in the second PCC rule. By prioritizing the first PCC rule over the second PCC rule, SMF can determine the order in which service flow templates are applied during service flow detection, execution, and billing.

[0146] Optionally, the PCF can determine the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule based on local configuration and / or an AF request. Further optionally, the PCF can determine the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule based on the AF request. For example, this implementation can be as follows: the AF sends an AF request to the PCF, and correspondingly, the PCF receives the AF request. The PCF determines the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule according to the AF request. The AF request includes service flow description information for the first service data flow, which includes information such as the IP triplet, quintuple, or application identifier corresponding to the first service data flow. Further optionally, the AF request also indicates whether to enable L4S based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0147] In some examples, the instruction to enable L4S based on whether the first service data stream supports L4S can also be understood as the instruction to enable L4S based on the supported functions of the first service data stream. If the first service data stream supports L4S, then L4S is enabled; if the first service data stream does not support L4S, then L4S is disabled. Alternatively, it can be understood as the instruction to enable L4S when the first service data stream supports L4S, and / or to disable L4S when the first service data stream does not support L4S. The subsequent description of "instructing to enable L4S based on whether the first service data stream supports L4S" also applies to this understanding and will not be elaborated further.

[0148] Option 2: The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are determined based on a third PCC rule. This third PCC rule includes a first service data flow template and a seventh piece of information. The seventh piece of information indicates whether L4S is enabled based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The first QoS flow and the second QoS flow are bound to the third PCC rule.

[0149] For example, this optional method 2 specifically includes the following steps 1 and 2:

[0150] Step 1: PCF determines a third PCC rule for the first service data flow. The third PCC rule includes the first service data flow template and the seventh information. The seventh information indicates whether L4S is enabled based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0151] Step 2: The PCF sends the third PCC rule to the SMF, and the SMF receives the third PCC rule from the PCF.

[0152] Optionally, the PCF can determine the third PCC rule based on local configuration and / or an AF request. Further optionally, the PCF determines the third PCC rule based on the AF request. For example, this implementation can be as follows: the AF sends an AF request to the PCF, and correspondingly, the PCF receives the AF request and determines the third PCC rule according to the AF request. The content included in the AF request is the same as the AF request described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0153] 502. The SMF sends first information and second information. The first information is used to detect the service data packets carried by the first QoS stream, and the second information is used to detect the service data packets carried by the second QoS stream.

[0154] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first and second information.

[0155] In this embodiment of the application, for the detection of the first service data flow in the downlink direction, the first information includes third information, which is L4S-supporting flow detection information, while the second information does not include the third information. The other flow detection information in the first information, excluding the third information, is the same as the flow detection information included in the second information.

[0156] Among them, L4S-supporting flow detection information refers to the set of IP packet filters capable of detecting L4S-supporting service data flows, or the application identifier capable of detecting L4S-supporting service data flows. Further, the set of IP packet filters capable of detecting L4S-supporting service data flows includes a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit set to ECT(1) or CE. The application identifier capable of detecting L4S-supporting service data flows refers to the PFD(s) corresponding to that application identifier containing a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit set to ECT(1) or CE.

[0157] Optionally, both the first information and the second information can be PDRs. For example, the first information can be called the first PDR and the second information can be called the second PDR.

[0158] In some examples, the first information has a higher priority than the second information. Alternatively, when both the first and second information are PDRs (Programmable Detection Lists), the first information is called the first PDR, and the second information is called the second PDR. The first PDR has a higher priority than the second PDR. Alternatively, it can be described that a PDR containing L4S-supporting flow detection information has a higher priority than a PDR that does not contain L4S-supporting flow detection information. Or, since the first information includes L4S-supporting flow detection information, while the second information does not, it can also be described that a PDR containing more IP packet filters needs to be higher than a PDR containing fewer IP packet filters. By prioritizing the first information over the second information, the UPF (User Processing Filter) can preferentially classify and detect service packets based on the first information containing L4S-supporting flow detection information.

[0159] Optionally, when the SMF decides to use the scheme where L4S marking is performed by the UPF, the first information also includes a fourth piece of information, while the second information does not include the fourth piece of information. The fourth piece of information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled. In this way, when the first service data flow supports L4S, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the first QoS flow and indicate the network congestion status to the UPF through the GTP-U layer. The UPF then performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby enabling the external access of network status information.

[0160] In some possible implementations, the first information may also include the application identifier corresponding to the first business data stream. Before step 502, the method further includes the following steps 1 to 3:

[0161] Step 1: The AF sends a first PFD (Application Detector) for the first service data stream to the NEF, and the NEF receives the first PFD from the AF. This first PFD contains eighth information, which is descriptive information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0162] Alternatively, the first PFD can also be described as a PFD containing TOS (IPv4) or traffic flow class and mask (IPv6) description information with ECN bit set to ECT(1) or CE. The first PFD includes a PFD ID and one or more of the following: triples (including protocol, server-side IP address and port number), essential parts of the URL to be matched (e.g., hostname), domain name matching criteria, and information about the applicable protocol.

[0163] Step 2: NEF sends the first PFD to SMF, or SMF actively retrieves the first PFD for the application identifier of the first service data stream from NEF.

[0164] Step 3: SMF sends the first PFD to UPF.

[0165] UPF, based on the first PFD, can perform more accurate application detection on the first business data stream.

[0166] 503. SMF sends the first QoS configuration information and the second QoS configuration information.

[0167] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first QoS configuration information and the second QoS configuration information.

[0168] In this embodiment of the application, the first QoS configuration information is the configuration information for the first QoS flow, and the second QoS configuration information is the configuration information for the second QoS flow.

[0169] Optionally, when the SMF decides to use the access network device to implement the L4S marking scheme, the first QoS configuration information also includes the fifth information, while the second QoS configuration information does not include the fifth information. The fifth information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled. Further optionally, the fifth information is also used to instruct the access network device to send congestion information to the UPF, and the congestion information is used to indicate the network congestion status. Except for the fifth information, the QoS parameters included in the first QoS configuration information and the second QoS configuration information are the same.

[0170] In this way, when the first service data stream supports L4S, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the first QoS stream and perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby enabling the network congestion information to be exposed to the outside along the way.

[0171] 504. SMF sends the first QoS rule corresponding to the first QoS stream and the second QoS rule corresponding to the second QoS stream.

[0172] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first QoS rule and the second QoS rule.

[0173] In this embodiment of the application, for the detection of the first service data stream in the uplink direction, the first QoS rule includes flow detection information supporting L4S, while the second QoS rule does not include flow detection information supporting L4S. Specifically, the other flow detection information in the first QoS rule besides the flow detection information supporting L4S is the same as the QoS flow detection information included in the second QoS rule.

[0174] In some examples, the first QoS rule has a higher priority than the second QoS rule. Based on this approach, the terminal can prioritize classifying and detecting service packets based on the first QoS rule, which includes L4S flow detection information.

[0175] After step 504, the terminal, core network equipment, UPF, SMF, and PCF complete the remaining PDU session modification procedures. The remaining PDU session modification procedures can be found in the descriptions of the relevant protocols and will not be repeated here.

[0176] After completing the PDU session modification, for the uplink terminal, the data packets of the first service data stream arriving at the terminal are identified according to the first QoS rule and the second QoS rule. If the data packet supports L4S, it is placed on the first QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the first QoS stream. If the data packet does not support L4S, it is placed on the second QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the second QoS stream. For the downlink service data stream, the UPF detects the received data packets of the first service data stream according to the first information and the second information. If the data packet supports L4S, it is placed on the first QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the first QoS stream. If the data packet does not support L4S, it is placed on the second QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the second QoS stream. Based on this implementation, L4S can be enabled in the first service data stream if it supports L4S, thereby reducing the packet loss rate of the service data stream and improving communication performance.

[0177] Based on the above description, Figure 6 is used as an example to introduce the overall process described in the embodiments of this application. Figure 6 includes steps 601, 602a, 603a, 602b, 603b, and steps 604 to 610. Steps 601, 602a, 603a, 602b, 603b, 604, 605, and 607 are optional steps. Steps 602a and 603a are optional method 1, and steps 602b and 603b are optional method 2. Optional methods 1 and 2 are parallel schemes and do not need to be executed simultaneously. Steps 606, 608 to 610 are the same as the steps described in steps 501 to 504 above. The embodiments of this application do not limit the order in which the steps are executed.

[0178] 601. The AF sends an AF request to the PCF, which includes the service flow description information of the first service data flow.

[0179] Correspondingly, the PCF receives AF requests from the AF.

[0180] The AF request includes service flow description information for the first service data flow, which may include information such as IP triples, quintuples, or application identifiers. Optionally, the AF request may also indicate whether to enable L4S based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0181] PCF can determine PCC rules based on local configuration and / or AF requests, for example, through the steps described in optional method 1 or optional method 2. Optional method 1 includes the following steps 602a and 603a:

[0182] 602a. PCF determines a first PCC rule and a second PCC rule for the first service data flow. The first PCC rule includes a first service data flow template that supports L4S and a sixth message. The second PCC rule does not include a first service data flow template that supports L4S and a sixth message. The sixth message is used to indicate enabling L4S.

[0183] 603a. PCF sends the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule to SMF.

[0184] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule from the PCF.

[0185] Option 2 includes the following steps 602b and 603b:

[0186] 602b. PCF determines a third PCC rule for the first service data flow. The third PCC rule includes the first service data flow template and the seventh information. The seventh information indicates whether L4S is enabled based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0187] 603b. PCF sends a third PCC rule to SMF.

[0188] 604. AF sends a first PFD to NEF, which contains eighth information, which is description information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0189] Correspondingly, the NEF receives a first PFD from the AF, which is a PFD for the application identifier of the first service data stream.

[0190] 605. NEF sends the first PFD to SMF.

[0191] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first PFD from the NEF.

[0192] Alternatively, step 605 can also be that the SMF actively retrieves the first PFD for the application identifier of the first business data stream from the NEF.

[0193] 606. SMF determines a first QoS stream and a second QoS stream for the first service data stream. The service data stream carried by the first QoS stream supports L4S, so the first QoS stream is enabled for L4S. The service data stream carried by the second QoS stream does not support L4S, so the second QoS stream is not enabled for L4S.

[0194] The SMF can determine the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow based on local configuration and / or PCC rules. The PCC rules can be a first PCC rule and / or a second PCC rule. Alternatively, the PCC rules can be a third PCC rule.

[0195] 607. SMF sends the first PFD to UPF.

[0196] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first PFD from the SMF.

[0197] 608. The SMF sends the first information corresponding to the first QoS stream and the second information corresponding to the second QoS stream to the UPF.

[0198] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first and second information from the SMF.

[0199] Specifically, for the detection of the first service data flow in the downlink direction, the first information includes the third information, which is L4S-supported flow detection information, while the second information does not include the third information. The other flow detection information in the first information, excluding the third information, is the same as the flow detection information included in the second information.

[0200] Optionally, both the first information and the second information can be PDRs. For example, the first information can be called the first PDR and the second information can be called the second PDR.

[0201] Optionally, when the SMF decides to use the scheme where L4S marking is performed by the UPF, the first information also includes a fourth piece of information, while the second information does not include the fourth piece of information. The fourth piece of information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled. In this way, when the first service data flow supports L4S, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the first QoS flow and indicate the network congestion status to the UPF through the GTP-U layer. The UPF then performs L4S marking based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby enabling the external access of network status information.

[0202] Optionally, if the first information sent by the SMF to the UPF includes the application identifier corresponding to the first service data stream, steps 604, 605, and 607 above need to be executed. If the first information does not include the application identifier corresponding to the first service data stream, steps 604, 605, and 607 above do not need to be executed.

[0203] 609. The SMF sends the first QoS configuration information and the second QoS configuration information to the access network equipment.

[0204] Correspondingly, the access network device receives first QoS configuration information and second QoS configuration information from the SMF. The first QoS configuration information is the configuration information for the first QoS flow, and the second QoS configuration information is the configuration information for the second QoS flow.

[0205] Optionally, when the SMF decides to use the access network device to perform L4S marking, the first QoS configuration information also includes a fifth piece of information, while the second QoS configuration information does not. This fifth piece of information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled. Further optionally, this fifth piece of information is also used to instruct the access network device to send congestion information to the UPF, where the congestion information indicates the network congestion status. In this way, when the first service data flow supports L4S, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the first QoS flow and perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby enabling the network congestion information to be exposed along with the network.

[0206] 610. SMF sends the first QoS rule corresponding to the first QoS stream and the second QoS rule corresponding to the second QoS stream to the terminal.

[0207] Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first QoS rule and the second QoS rule from the SMF.

[0208] Specifically, for the detection of the first service data stream in the uplink direction, the first QoS rule includes flow detection information supporting L4S, while the second QoS rule does not include flow detection information supporting L4S. The other flow detection information in the first QoS rule, excluding the flow detection information supporting L4S, is the same as the QoS flow detection information included in the second QoS rule.

[0209] After step 610, the terminal, core network equipment, UPF, SMF, and PCF complete the remaining PDU session modification process.

[0210] After completing the PDU session modification, for uplink, the terminal identifies the data packets of the first service data stream arriving at the terminal according to the first QoS rule and the second QoS rule. If the data packet supports L4S, it is placed on the first QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the first QoS stream. If the data packet does not support L4S, it is placed on the second QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the second QoS stream. For downlink, the UPF detects the data packets of the received first service data stream according to the first information and the second information. If the data packet supports L4S, it is placed on the first QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the first QoS stream. If the data packet does not support L4S, it is placed on the second QoS stream, i.e., transmitted through the second QoS stream. Based on this implementation, L4S can be enabled in the first service data stream if it supports L4S, thereby reducing the packet loss rate of the service data stream and improving communication performance.

[0211] Based on the above description, SMF and PCF can enable L4S for the QoS flow corresponding to the service data flow. However, since SMF and PCF are unsure whether the service data flow supports L4S, how to detect whether the uplink and / or downlink service flows of the service data flow support L4S, and how to enable L4S, are technical problems that urgently need to be solved.

[0212] To enable L4S for service data flows while supporting L4S, thereby reducing packet loss and improving communication performance, this application proposes a communication method based on the network architecture shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 7, this communication method includes steps 701, 702, 703a, 704a, and 703b. Steps 702, 703a, 704a, and 703b are optional, and steps 703a and 704a are executed under two different conditions. This application does not limit the order of execution of the steps. The execution entities of this method include SMF, UPF, and access network equipment, or include modules of SMF, UPF, and access network equipment. For example, the module of SMF can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in SMF; the module of UPF can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in UPF; and the module of access network equipment can be a chip, processor, or processing unit in access network equipment. This application uses SMF, UPF and access network equipment as examples to illustrate the implementation.

[0213] 701. The SMF sends the ninth message to the UPF. The ninth message includes the tenth message and the eleventh message. The tenth message is used by the UPF to detect whether the first service data stream supports L4S. The eleventh message instructs the UPF to report whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0214] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the ninth message from the SMF.

[0215] In this embodiment, the SMF sending the ninth message to the UPF can also be described as the SMF sending the tenth and eleventh messages to the UPF. Optionally, the tenth and eleventh messages can be carried in the same signaling or in different signaling. Optionally, the tenth and eleventh messages can be sent simultaneously or sequentially; this embodiment does not limit the timing of the transmission of the tenth and eleventh messages.

[0216] Based on this approach, SMF enables UPF to detect whether the first service data stream supports L4S and reports whether the first service data stream supports L4S. SMF can then determine whether to enable L4S for the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream based on the reported detection information.

[0217] In some possible implementations, the ninth piece of information is called a PDR (Programmable Decision Record). Here, the PDR described in this application refers to rules that can be used to classify and detect service data packets, and this application does not limit the name of the PDR. For example, the ninth piece of information can also be other information besides PDR that can be used to classify and detect service data packets, and this application does not limit this. It should be understood that the ninth piece of information can also have other names; for the sake of brevity, it is uniformly referred to as PDR here.

[0218] For example, the ninth information is referred to as the third PDR, which includes the tenth information. For instance, the third PDR can detect the packet filtering set of service data streams supporting L4S, or it can detect the application identifier of service data streams supporting L4S. The packet filtering set that can detect service data streams supporting L4S includes a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE. The application identifier that can detect service data streams supporting L4S refers to the PFD(s) corresponding to the application identifier containing a TOS or service flow category and mask with ECN bit ECT(1) or CE.

[0219] For example, this ninth piece of information is referred to as the fourth PDR. The SMF sends at least two PDRs to the UPF for the first service data flow. These at least two PDRs include the fourth PDR and the fifth PDR. Both the fourth and fifth PDRs include flow detection information corresponding to the first service data flow. The flow detection information includes one or more of the following: IP triples, IP quintuples, or application identifiers, etc. The fourth PDR is used to detect whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The fourth PDR includes tenth and eleventh pieces of information. For example, the fourth PDR includes a packet filtering set capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S, or an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S. The fourth PDR also includes usage reporting rules (URR) or session reporting rules (SRR), which instruct the UPF to report whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The fifth PDR does not include a packet filtering set capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S, nor an application identifier capable of detecting service data flows that support L4S. The fifth PDR includes the QoS enforcement rule (QER) for the first service data flow, which is used to indicate the QoS requirements of the first service data flow.

[0220] Optionally, the fourth PDR has a higher priority than the fifth PDR. Alternatively, the fifth PDR has a higher priority than the fourth PDR.

[0221] Optionally, the eleventh piece of information can be carried in the URR. Alternatively, the eleventh piece of information can also be carried in the SRR. Or, the eleventh piece of information can also be carried in other information, which is not limited in this application.

[0222] In some possible implementations, the SMF can independently determine to send the ninth message, or the PCF can determine and instruct the SMF to send the ninth message by sending a PCC rule that includes detecting whether the first service data stream supports L4S. For example, the PCF determines a fifth PCC rule for the first service data stream and sends the fifth PCC rule to the SMF. This fifth PCC rule includes a template of the first service data stream and a sixteenth message, which is used to indicate whether the first service data stream supports L4S. The SMF then sends the ninth message to the UPF based on the sixteenth message.

[0223] Optionally, the fifth PCC rule may be determined by the PCF based on local configuration and / or an AF request, wherein the AF request includes service flow description information of the first service data flow, which includes information such as IP triples, quintuples, or application identifiers. Further optionally, the AF request may also indicate whether to enable L4S based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0224] In some examples, the instruction to enable L4S based on whether the first service data stream supports L4S can also be understood as the instruction to enable L4S based on the supported functions of the first service data stream, including whether L4S is supported or not. Alternatively, it can be understood as the instruction to enable L4S when the first service data stream supports L4S, and / or to disable L4S when the first service data stream does not support L4S. This understanding also applies to subsequent descriptions regarding "instructing to enable L4S based on whether the first service data stream supports L4S," and will not be elaborated further.

[0225] In some possible implementations, the ninth message sent by the SMF to the UPF includes the application identifier of the first service data stream. Prior to step 701, the method further includes the following steps 1 through 3:

[0226] Step 1: The AF sends a first PFD (Application Detector) for the first service data stream to the NEF, and the NEF receives the first PFD from the AF. This PFD contains eighth information, which is descriptive information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0227] Alternatively, the first PFD can also be described as a PFD containing TOS (IPv4) or traffic flow class and mask (IPv6) description information with ECN bit set to ECT(1) or CE. The first PFD includes a PFD ID and one or more of the following: triples (including protocol, server-side IP address and port number), essential parts of the URL to be matched (e.g., hostname), domain name matching criteria, and information about the applicable protocol.

[0228] Step 2: NEF sends the first PFD to SMF, or SMF actively retrieves the first PFD for the application identifier of the first service data stream from NEF.

[0229] Step 3: SMF sends the first PFD to UPF.

[0230] After the UPF receives the ninth message from the SMF, the UPF can inspect the first service data stream. For example, the UPF receives the data packet of the first service data stream and determines whether the first service data stream supports L4S based on the ECN field in the data packet. For instance, if the ECN field is set to 00, indicating that the first service data stream does not support L4S, the UPF sends inspection information for the first service data stream to the SMF. This inspection information indicates that the first service data stream does not support L4S, and the SMF or PCF can determine based on this inspection information that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream does not need to enable L4S. In the case determined by the PCF, the SMF needs to forward the inspection information to the PCF. Alternatively, if the first service data stream does not support L4S, the UPF does not need to report the inspection information; in this case, the SMF can default that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream does not need to enable L4S. For another example, if the ECN field is set to 01 or 10, indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S, the UPF can perform the following step 702.

[0231] 702. The UPF sends detection information to the SMF for the first service data stream, which indicates that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0232] The corresponding SMF receives detection information from the UPF.

[0233] In some possible implementations, the SMF or PCF can decide whether to enable L4S for the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow.

[0234] Optionally, if the PCF decides whether to enable L4S for the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow, the SMF can send detection information to the PCF, and the PCF receives the detection information. Based on the detection information, the PCF determines that the first service data flow supports L4S and sends the fourteenth information to the SMF. The SMF receives the fourteenth information, which instructs that the PCC rule corresponding to the first service data flow be updated to the fourth PCC rule. This fourth PCC rule includes the fifteenth information, which instructs that L4S be enabled for the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow. Based on the fourteenth information, the SMF updates the PCC rule corresponding to the first service data flow to the fourth PCC rule.

[0235] The SMF can decide independently, or send the twelfth information to the UPF or access network device under different circumstances based on the fifteenth information. This twelfth information is used to instruct the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow to enable L4S. For example, in case 1, steps 703a and 704a are executed, and in case 2, step 703b is executed. In case 1, the SMF decides to use the scheme where the UPF performs L4S marking. In case 2, the SMF decides to use the scheme where the access network device performs L4S marking.

[0236] 703a. The SMF sends the twelfth message to the UPF, which is used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

[0237] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the twelfth message from the SMF.

[0238] 704a. The SMF also sends a thirteenth message to the access network device, which instructs the access network device to report congestion information of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow to the UPF. This congestion information is used to indicate the network congestion status.

[0239] Through steps 703a and 704a, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow, and indicate the network congestion status to the UPF through the GTP-U layer. The UPF performs L4S labeling based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby realizing the external access of network status information, which is conducive to reducing the packet loss rate of the first service data flow and improving communication performance.

[0240] 703b. The SMF sends a twelfth message to the access network equipment, which is used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

[0241] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the twelfth message from the SMF.

[0242] Step 703b enables the access network device to detect the network congestion status of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow and perform L4S marking based on the network congestion status, thereby enabling the network congestion information to be opened to the outside along the path, which helps to reduce the packet loss rate of the first service data flow and improve communication performance.

[0243] Based on the above description, Figure 8 is used as an example to introduce the overall process described in the embodiments of this application. Figure 6 includes steps 801 to 810, as well as steps 811a, 812a, and 811b. Except for step 807, all other steps are optional. Steps 811a and 812a, and 811b, are steps executed under two different conditions, respectively. Steps 807, 808, 811a, and 811b are the same as the aforementioned steps 701, 702, 703a, and 703b. The embodiments of this application do not limit the order in which the steps are executed.

[0244] 801. The AF sends an AF request to the PCF, which includes the service flow description information of the first service data flow.

[0245] Correspondingly, the PCF receives AF requests from the AF.

[0246] The service flow description information includes information such as IP triples, quintuples, or application identifiers. Optionally, the AF request may also indicate whether L4S should be enabled based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

[0247] 802. PCF determines the fifth PCC rule for the first business data flow.

[0248] The fifth PCC rule includes a first service data flow template and a sixteenth piece of information. The sixteenth piece of information is used to indicate whether the first service data flow supports L4S. The ninth piece of information determined by SMF is based on the sixteenth piece of information.

[0249] Optionally, the fifth PCC rule may be determined by the PCF based on local configuration and / or AF requests.

[0250] 803. PCF sends the fifth PCC rule to SMF.

[0251] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the fifth PCC rule from the PCF.

[0252] 804. AF sends a first PFD to NEF, which contains eighth information, which is description information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0253] Correspondingly, the NEF receives a first PFD from the AF, which is a PFD for the application identifier of the first service data stream.

[0254] 805. NEF sends the first PFD to SMF.

[0255] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the first PFD from the NEF.

[0256] Alternatively, step 805 can also be that the SMF actively retrieves the first PFD for the application identifier of the first business data stream from the NEF.

[0257] 806. SMF sends the first PFD to UPF.

[0258] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the first PFD from the SMF.

[0259] 807. The SMF sends the ninth message to the UPF. The ninth message includes the tenth message and the eleventh message. The tenth message is used by the UPF to detect whether the first service data stream supports L4S. The eleventh message instructs the UPF to report whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0260] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the ninth message from the SMF.

[0261] In some examples, this tenth information can be indicated by the SMF sending a PDR to the UPF. For instance, the SMF sends a third PDR to the UPF, which includes a packet filtering set capable of detecting L4S-enabled service data flows, or an application identifier capable of detecting L4S-enabled service data flows.

[0262] In some examples, this tenth information can be indicated by a URR sent by the SMF to the UPF. For example, the SMF sends a first URR to the UPF, which is a URR that reports detection information supporting L4S for the first service data stream.

[0263] Optionally, if the third PDR sent by the SMF to the UPF includes the application identifier corresponding to the first service data stream, steps 804 to 806 above need to be executed. If the third PDR does not include the application identifier corresponding to the first service data stream, steps 804 to 806 above do not need to be executed.

[0264] After step 807, the terminal, core network equipment, UPF, SMF, and PCF complete the remaining PDU session modification process.

[0265] The UPF can inspect the first service data stream. If the first service data stream does not support L4S, the inspection information sent by the UPF to the SMF indicates that the first service data stream does not support L4S. The SMF or PCF can determine based on this inspection information that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream does not need to enable L4S. In the case determined by the PCF, the SMF needs to forward the inspection information to the PCF. Alternatively, if the first service data stream does not support L4S, the UPF does not need to report the inspection information; in this case, the SMF can default that the QoS stream corresponding to the first service data stream does not need to enable L4S. If the first service data stream supports L4S, the UPF can perform the following step 808.

[0266] 808. The UPF sends detection information to the SMF for the first service data stream, which indicates that the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0267] Correspondingly, the SMF receives detection information from the UPF.

[0268] 809. SMF sends detection information to PCF.

[0269] Correspondingly, the SMF receives detection information from the UPF.

[0270] 810. The PCF sends the fourteenth message to the SMF. The fourteenth message is used to indicate that the fifth PCC rule is updated to the fourth PCC rule. The fourth PCC rule includes the fifteenth message, which is used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

[0271] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the fourteenth message from the PCF. Based on the fourteenth message, the SMF updates the PCC rule corresponding to the first service data stream to the fourth PCC rule.

[0272] When it is determined that the first service data flow supports L4S, the SMF can send a twelfth message to the UPF or access network device depending on the circumstances. This twelfth message is used to instruct the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow to enable L4S. For example, in case 1, steps 811a and 812a are executed, and in case 2, step 811b is executed. In case 1, the SMF decides to use the scheme where the UPF performs L4S marking. In case 2, the SMF decides to use the scheme where the access network device performs L4S marking.

[0273] 811a. The SMF sends the twelfth message to the UPF, which is used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

[0274] Correspondingly, the UPF receives the twelfth message from the SMF.

[0275] 812a. The SMF also sends a thirteenth message to the access network device, which instructs the access network device to report the congestion information of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow to the UPF. This congestion information is used to indicate the network congestion status.

[0276] Through steps 811a and 812a, the access network device can detect the network congestion status of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow, and indicate the network congestion status to the UPF through the GTP-U layer. The UPF performs L4S labeling based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby realizing the external access of network status information, which is conducive to reducing the packet loss rate of the first service data flow and improving communication performance.

[0277] 811b. The SMF sends a twelfth message to the access network device, which is used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

[0278] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the twelfth message from the SMF.

[0279] Step 811b enables the access network device to detect the network congestion status of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow, and to indicate the network congestion status to the UPF through the GTP-U layer. The UPF performs L4S labeling based on the network congestion status provided by the access network device, thereby enabling the external access of network status information, which helps to reduce the packet loss rate of the first service data flow and improve communication performance.

[0280] The following describes the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0281] This application divides the communication device into functional modules according to the above-described method embodiments. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; in actual implementation, other division methods may be used. The communication device of this application embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 9 to 11.

[0282] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 9, the communication device includes a processing module 901 and a communication module 902. The communication module 902 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 901 is used to implement corresponding processing functions. For example, the communication module 902 can also be an interface, a communication interface, etc.

[0283] In this embodiment, the communication device can be used to execute the actions performed by the SMF in the method embodiment described above. In this case, the SMF can be the SMF itself or a chip or functional module configurable within the SMF. The communication module 902 is used to execute the SMF's transmit / receive related operations in the method embodiment described above, and the processing module 901 is used to execute the SMF's processing related operations in the method embodiment described above. Wherein:

[0284] In some embodiments, the processing module 901 is configured to determine a first QoS stream and a second QoS stream for a first service data stream, wherein the service data stream carried by the first QoS stream supports L4S and the first QoS stream is enabled for L4S, and the service data stream carried by the second QoS stream does not support L4S and the second QoS stream is not enabled for L4S.

[0285] In some embodiments, the communication module 902 is used to send a ninth message to the UPF. The ninth message includes a tenth message and an eleventh message. The tenth message is used by the user plane function to detect whether the first service data stream supports L4S, and the eleventh message indicates that the user plane function reports whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

[0286] In this embodiment, the communication device can be used to execute the actions performed by the PCF in the method embodiment described above. In this case, the PCF can be the PCF itself or a chip or functional module configurable within the PCF. The communication module 902 is used to execute the PCF's transmit / receive related operations in the method embodiment described above, and the processing module 901 is used to execute the PCF's processing related operations in the method embodiment described above. Wherein:

[0287] In some embodiments, the processing module 901 is used to determine a first PCC rule and a second PCC rule for a first service data stream. The first PCC rule includes a service data stream template that supports L4S and first information. The second PCC rule does not include a service data stream template that supports L4S and sixth information. The sixth information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled. The communication module 902 is used to send the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule to the SMF.

[0288] In some embodiments, the processing module 901 is configured to determine a fifth PCC rule for a first service data stream, the fifth PCC rule including a first service data stream template and a sixteenth piece of information, the sixteenth piece of information being used to indicate whether the first service data stream supports L4S; the communication module 902 is configured to send the fifth PCC rule to the session management function.

[0289] Optionally, in the above embodiments, the communication device may further include a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 901 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device can implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0290] The specific descriptions of the communication module and the processing module are merely examples. For the specific functions or execution steps of the communication module and the processing module, please refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be detailed here.

[0291] The communication device of this application embodiment has been described above. The following describes possible product forms of the communication device. Any product possessing the functions of the communication device described in FIG9 above falls within the protection scope of this application embodiment. The following description is merely illustrative and does not limit the product form of the communication device of this application embodiment to this.

[0292] In one possible implementation, in the communication device shown in FIG9, the processing module 901 can be one or more processing circuits, and the communication module 902 can be a communication circuit. Alternatively, the communication module 902 can also be a transmitting module and / or a receiving module. The transmitting module can be a transmitting circuit, and the receiving module can be a receiving circuit. The transmitting module and the receiving module are integrated into one device, such as a communication circuit. In the embodiments of this application, the processing circuit and the communication circuit can be coupled, etc. The connection method of the processing circuit and the communication circuit is not limited in the embodiments of this application. In the process of performing the above method, the process of sending information in the above method can be the process of the processing circuit outputting the above information. When outputting the above information, the processing circuit outputs the above information to the communication circuit so that the communication circuit can transmit (or output). After the above information is output by the processing circuit, it may need to undergo other processing before reaching the communication circuit. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method can be the process of the processing circuit receiving the input above information. When the processing circuit receives the input information, the communication circuit receives the above information and inputs it into the processing circuit. Furthermore, after the communication circuit receives the aforementioned information, the information may need to undergo further processing before being input into the processing circuit.

[0293] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 100 includes one or more processing circuits 1020 and communication circuits 1010.

[0294] In some embodiments of this application, the communication device can be used to execute the steps, methods, or functions performed by the SMF described above. For example, the processing circuit 1020 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 901 shown in FIG. 9, and the communication circuit 1010 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the communication module 902 shown in FIG. 9. Detailed descriptions of the processing circuit 1020 and the communication circuit 1010 can be found in FIG. 9 or the method embodiments shown above, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0295] In other embodiments of this application, the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods, or functions executed by the PCF described above. For example, the processing circuit 1020 can be used to perform the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 901 shown in FIG. 9, and the communication circuit 1010 can be used to perform the functions or steps implemented by the communication module 902 shown in FIG. 9. Detailed descriptions of the processing circuit 1020 and the communication circuit 1010 can be found in FIG. 9 or the method embodiments shown above, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0296] For example, the processing circuitry may be one or more processors, or all or part of the circuitry within one or more processors. The communication circuitry may be a transceiver, an input / output circuit, or an interface circuit, etc.

[0297] For example, in various implementations of the communication device shown in FIG10, the communication circuit may include a receiver for performing a receiving function (or operation) and a transmitter for performing a transmitting function (or operation). The communication circuit is also used to communicate with other devices / communication devices via a transmission medium.

[0298] Optionally, the communication device 100 may further include one or more memories 1030 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memories 1030 are coupled to the processing circuitry 1020. The coupling in this embodiment is an indirect coupling or communication connection between communication devices, units, or modules, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information exchange between the communication devices, units, or modules. The processing circuitry 1020 may operate in conjunction with the memories 1030. The processing circuitry 1020 may execute the program instructions stored in the memories 1030. Optionally, at least one of the aforementioned memories may be included in the processing circuitry.

[0299] This application embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the communication circuit 1010, processing circuit 1020, and memory 1030. In this application embodiment, the memory 1030, processing circuit 1020, and communication circuit 1010 are connected via a bus 1040 in Figure 10. The bus is represented by a thick line in Figure 10. The connection methods between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to be limiting. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 10, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0300] In the embodiments of this application, the processing circuit may be a general-purpose processing circuit, a digital signal processing circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processing circuit may be a microprocessor circuit or any conventional processing circuit, etc. The steps of the methods in conjunction with the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as the execution of the hardware processing circuit, or the execution of the steps by combining hardware and software modules in the processing circuit, etc.

[0301] In this application embodiment, the memory may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memory such as hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), read-only memory (ROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc. Memory is any storage medium capable of carrying or storing program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and capable of being read and / or written by a computer (such as the communication device shown in this application), but is not limited to these. The memory in this application embodiment may also be a circuit or any other communication device capable of implementing storage functions, used to store program instructions and / or data.

[0302] For example, the processing circuit 1020 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. The memory 1030 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The communication circuit 1010 may include a control circuit and an antenna. The control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals to radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output communication devices, such as touch screens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0303] When the communication device is powered on, the processing circuit 1020 can read the software program in the memory 1030, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processing circuit 1020 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit then performs RF processing on the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processing circuit 1020. The processing circuit 1020 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0304] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and antenna can be set up independently of the processing circuit that performs baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and antenna can be arranged in a remote manner, independent of the communication device.

[0305] The communication device shown in this application embodiment may also have more components than those in Figure 10, and this application embodiment does not limit this. The methods performed by the processing circuit and communication circuit shown above are only examples, and the specific steps performed by the processing circuit and communication circuit can be referred to the methods described above.

[0306] In another possible implementation, in the communication device shown in Figure 9, the processing module 901 can be one or more logic circuits, and the communication module 902 can be an input / output interface, or a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Alternatively, the communication module 902 may also include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module. The transmitting module may include an output interface, and the receiving module may include an input interface. The transmitting module and the receiving module are integrated into one module, such as an input / output interface.

[0307] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, the communication device includes a logic circuit 1101 and an interface circuit 1102. That is, the processing module 901 can be implemented using the logic circuit 1101, and the communication module 902 can be implemented using the interface circuit 1102. The logic circuit 1101 can be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface circuit 1102 can be a communication interface, an input / output interface, pins, etc. For example, the communication device in Figure 11 can be a chip, which includes the logic circuit 1101 and the interface circuit 1102.

[0308] In this embodiment, the logic circuit and the interface can also be coupled to each other. The specific connection method of the logic circuit and the interface is not limited in this embodiment. For example, the logic circuit 1101 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 901 shown in FIG. 9, and the interface circuit 1102 can be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the communication module 902 shown in FIG. 9. For a detailed description of the logic circuit 1101 and the interface circuit 1102, please refer to FIG. 9 or the method embodiment shown above, which will not be detailed here.

[0309] The communication device shown in the embodiments of this application can implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application in hardware form, or it can implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application in software form, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit it in this way.

[0310] This application also provides a communication system including an SMF and a PCF, which can be used to perform the methods in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0311] In addition, this application also provides a computer program for implementing the operations and / or processes performed by various communication devices in the method provided in this application.

[0312] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and / or processes performed by various communication devices in the methods provided in this application.

[0313] This application also provides a computer program product comprising computer code or a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the operations and / or processes performed by various entities in the method provided in this application to be executed.

[0314] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, communication devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the communication device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of modules is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple modules or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, communication devices, or modules, or it may be an electrical, mechanical, or other form of connection.

[0315] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the technical effects of the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0316] Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing module, or each module can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0317] If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0318] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: For the first service data flow, a first quality of service (QoS) flow and a second QoS flow are determined. The service data flow carried by the first QoS flow supports low latency, low packet loss, elastic load balancing (L4S), and L4S is enabled for the first QoS flow. The service data flow carried by the second QoS flow does not support L4S, and L4S is not enabled for the second QoS flow.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first information and second information to the user plane function. The first information is used to detect the service data packets carried by the first QoS flow, and the second information is used to detect the service data packets carried by the second QoS flow. The first information includes third information, and the second information does not include the third information. The third information is flow detection information that supports L4S.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first piece of information has a higher priority than the second piece of information.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The first information also includes a fourth information, while the second information does not include the fourth information, which is used to indicate enabling L4S.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send first QoS configuration information and second QoS configuration information to the access network device. The first QoS configuration information also includes fifth information, while the second QoS configuration information does not include the fifth information. The fifth information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The fifth piece of information is also used to instruct the access network device to send congestion information to the user plane function, and the congestion information is used to indicate the network congestion status.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the first QoS rule corresponding to the first QoS flow and the second QoS rule corresponding to the second QoS flow to the terminal. The first QoS rule includes flow detection information that supports L4S, while the second QoS rule does not include flow detection information that supports L4S.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first QoS rule has a higher priority than the second QoS rule.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first QoS stream and the second QoS stream are determined based on local configuration.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a first policy and charging control (PCC) rule and a second PCC rule from the policy control function. The first PCC rule includes a first service data flow template that supports L4S and a sixth information. The second PCC rule does not include the first service data flow template that supports L4S and the sixth information. The sixth information is used to indicate that L4S is enabled. The first PCC rule is bound to the first QoS flow, and the second PCC rule is bound to the second QoS flow.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: The third PCC rule is received from the policy control function. The third PCC rule includes the first service data flow template and the seventh information. The seventh information indicates whether to enable L4S based on whether the first service data flow supports L4S.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: For the first service data stream, a first policy and charging control (PCC) rule and a second PCC rule are determined. The first PCC rule includes a service data stream template that supports low latency, low packet loss, elastic load balancing (L4S) and a sixth piece of information. The second PCC rule does not include the service data stream template that supports L4S and the sixth piece of information. The sixth piece of information is used to indicate enabling L4S. Send the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule to the session management function.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first PCC rule has a higher priority than the second PCC rule.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The first PCC rule and the second PCC rule are determined based on local configuration.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive an Application Function (AF) request, the AF request including service flow description information of the first service data flow, and the first PCC rule and the second PCC rule are determined based on the AF request.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The AF request indicates whether to enable L4S based on whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a ninth message to the user plane function. The ninth message includes a tenth message and an eleventh message. The tenth message is used by the user plane function to detect whether the first service data stream supports low latency, low packet loss, elastic load balancing (L4S). The eleventh message indicates that the user plane function reports whether the first service data stream supports L4S.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive detection information from the user plane function for the first service data stream, the detection information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S; Send a twelfth message to the user plane function, the twelfth message being used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive detection information from the user plane function for the first service data stream, the detection information indicating that the first service data stream supports L4S; Send a thirteenth message to the access network device, the thirteenth message being used to instruct the access network device to report the congestion information of the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow to the user plane function; or, Send a twelfth message to the access network device, the twelfth message being used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the detection information to the policy control function; The system receives fourteenth information from the policy control function. The fourteenth information is used to indicate that the PCC rule corresponding to the first service data flow is updated to the fourth PCC rule. The fourth PCC rule includes fifteenth information, which is used to indicate that the QoS flow corresponding to the first service data flow enables L4S.

21. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, Before sending the ninth message to the user plane function, the method further includes: The system receives a fifth PCC rule from the policy control function, the fifth PCC rule including sixteenth information, the sixteenth information being used to indicate whether the detection of the first service data stream supports L4S. The sending of the eighth message to the user plane function includes: Based on the sixteenth piece of information, the ninth piece of information is sent to the user plane function.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 1-5, or the communication device includes a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 6-16, or the communication device includes a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 17-21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor configured to enable the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-5, or the processor configured to enable the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 6-16, or the processor configured to enable the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 17-21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-5, or the method as described in any one of claims 6-16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17-21.

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