Flow-Based QoS Control via MAC PDU Sub Header Flow ID
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current LTE systems face challenges in implementing fine-granularity Quality of Service (QoS) control, particularly in reflecting application layer information and differentiating QoS at a flow granularity, which is essential for 5G mobile communications.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a method for QoS control that includes pre-scheduling processing at the PDCP layer, where QoS information is obtained and used to process data flows, and a flow-based QoS architecture that maps flows to bearers and radio bearers, allowing for finer-granularity QoS management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If multiple flows are mapped to the same radio bearer to reduce MAC protocol data unit sub header overheads, then overhead is reduced, but different priorities of the flows cannot be reflected and QoS of application layer granularity cannot be reflected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the QoS control function by introducing a flow identifier (Flow ID) field in the MAC PDU sub header that can identify up to 8 different flows. This allows the system to maintain a single radio bearer structure while internally differentiating between multiple flows with different QoS requirements, thus reducing overhead compared to creating separate radio bearers for each flow while still enabling QoS differentiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by enabling QoS differentiation at the flow level within a radio bearer through the Flow ID field and corresponding QoS parameter associations. Each flow can have its own QoS characteristics (priority, bandwidth, delay tolerance) while sharing the same radio bearer resources, allowing precise local QoS control without the overhead of multiple bearers.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a flow-based QoS architecture is implemented to achieve finer-granularity QoS control, then QoS differentiation is improved, but the complexity of mapping flows to bearers and managing QoS parameters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the flow identification and QoS parameter management functions from the complex flow-to-bearer mapping process by introducing a simplified Flow ID field in the MAC PDU sub header. This Flow ID directly associates with pre-configured QoS parameters, eliminating the need for complex real-time mapping decisions and reducing the complexity of flow-based QoS management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the association between Flow IDs and QoS parameters before data transmission. The network can pre-establish which Flow ID corresponds to which QoS characteristics, so that during actual data transmission, the UE simply needs to identify the flow using the Flow ID field without performing complex QoS parameter matching or bearer selection.
3Ease of operation
If current MAC layer scheduling based on logical channel priority is used, then scheduling is simplified, but QoS of application layer granularity cannot be reflected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds another dimension to the scheduling system by introducing the Flow ID field in the MAC PDU sub header, which enables identification of multiple flows within a single logical channel. This allows the scheduling mechanism to operate at two levels: the traditional logical channel level for resource allocation and the new flow level for QoS differentiation, thus maintaining scheduling simplicity while achieving fine-grained QoS control.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates Quality of Service, QoS, control. The method includes a terminal device receiving a first data packet of a data flow via a first radio bearer of a source base station from the source base station. The data flow has a first mapping relationship with the first radio bearer of the source base station. During handover of the terminal device from the source base station to a target base station, the terminal receives a second data packet of the data flow via a second radio bearer of the target base station from the target base station. The second data packet is received by the source base station from a core network and forwarded to the target base station during the handover. The data flow has a second mapping relationship with the second radio bearer of the target base station, and the second radio bearer corresponds to the first radio bearer.